Meg's Boutique: Makeover

Hello Lovelies!

A little while ago one of my friends from school messaged me asking if I could do a post showing some of the looks you can create with the Naked 2 eyeshadow palette from Urban Decay (full post on that palette here-naked-2) and as my other friend Lydia had also asked me to create some easy eye shadow looks for her I saw a perfect opportunity... So here is a simple and subtle step by step golden smoky eye look that I created on Lydia using the Naked 2 that could be worn with eye liner and lashes for a night out or on its own for a natural daytime look-

To create this look I started by applying my favourite shade, 'half baked' all over the lids using the large fluffy end of the Urban Decay eyeshadow brush to give Lydia a nice gold base, taking it quite high up towards the brow bones to widen the eyes. I then used this part of the brush again to sweep 'chopper' from half way across the lids all the way to the outer corners to add a pretty copper colour that starts to create the smoky effect. I then finished the look by lining the crease and very outer corners of the lids with the shimmery dark brown shade, 'snakebite' using the thinner crease end of the brush, which emphasised the smoky effect and added definition to Lydia's eyes.

Lydia was very happy with how this look turned out as she thought it added some pretty definition to her eyes whilst still looking quite natural, so I hope it's helpful to anyone looking for smoky eye or Naked 2 tips...What do you think of this bronze smoky look? Are you a fan of the Naked 2 palette and what other looks do you like to create with it?

I've just had a really lovely time with my boyfriend and family this weekend as we had a cute day out yesterday playing crazy golf (I love a bit of golfing fun) and going somewhere nice for dinner. Then tomorrow I'm off to Bluewater with Lydia and faye so hopefully I'll have a few goodies to show you when I come back, I really want those River Island disco pant dupes so I'll definitely be trying those on and deciding if my bank balance will let me have them! Also most excited for the closing ceremony of the Olympics tonight (particularly the Spice Girls)...

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend!

Love Meg

Hello Lovelies!

I've got a bit of a different post for you today as it's a makeover/tutorial type one starring my lovely friend Alice. Alice wanted to get some new core items for her make up bag so I gave her a little makeover using some of my drugstore favourites so she could see what she liked. Like me, she's on quite a strict student budget so I chose nice purse friendly items and she also likes her make up to look quite natural and be quick to apply so I kept this in mind by using a fairly minimal amount of easy to work with products and I think she looks gorgeous!

Before...

and after!

The look I created with the make up below consisted of a natural base with statement eyes and lips that could be worn during the day or night time. The first thing I did to create this look was apply the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer in 'light 2' to any blemishes, open pores and under eye circles. I then lightly stippled one and a half pumps of Bourjois healthy mix foundation in '52' all over her face to cover redness and even out skin tone. Because Alice has oily skin I then powdered over this with Rimmel stay matte powder in 'Transparent' using my Ecotools powder brush. To finish the base I added a touch of MUA blush in 'shade 4' (such an amazingly pigmented blush for only a £1!) on the apples of her cheeks up to the cheekbones using the Ecotools blush brush, which gave her a lovely healthy glow. Next I moved onto creating some statement eyes by lining the upper lash line with Maybelline gel liner and very subtly lining the lower lash line with Rimmel soft kohl, which were both in 'black'. This added definition to the eyes as well as making it a suitable look for both day and night. To finish the eye make up I added a few coats of 17's wild curls mascara (which is my friend Lydia's new absolute favourite). I fancied pairing the glamorous eye make-up with colourful lips so used the L'oreal rouge caresse in 'cheeky magenta' to add a wearable, yet bright pop of colour. The rouge caresse's are great for a girl like Alice who doesn't like to wear much lip product, because they are so easy to apply and are more like a long lasting, non sticky, pigmented balm than a lipstick.

The affordable and brilliant products I used to give Alice a new look

My friend Faye finished the 'makeover' off by giving her some gorgeous curls using her Enrapture Totem Hair Styler, which I'm now adding to my wish list after seeing how easy it was to create such lovely curls and volume. Alice really loved the overall look and is going to buy everything I used, although she's going to get the lipstick and eye liner a bit later so it actually only comes to £25 for everything else that will totally update her make up bag! Just shows you don't need to spend a fortune to get a fresh new look :)

What are your drugstore favourites? Have you updated your make up bag lately?

I was very sad that Andy lost the tennis on Sunday so having a make up night with the girls was just what I needed on Sunday night! and I had a lovely day yesterday too as I went to see the new Spiderman film with my boyfriend, which I thought was so amazing (turns out new Spidey is quite a dish) Right now I'm just sat on the sofa in work out gear staring at the rain outside...so much for my afternoon run today!

I hope you've all had a great start to your week!

Love Meg