NOTD: NYE 2014 Illamasqua Raindrops

Morning (just about) Sparkles!

I've gotten up and made lots of a tummy goodies for my sister's NYE party tonight and painted my nails to boot! Inspired by the "beautiful" NI weather here at home, I'm channelling pathetic fallacy with my nails using Raindrops by Illamasqua.

Christmas Eve Ombré Lip of the Day (LOTD) - Red

Morning Christmas Sparkles!!

First of all sorry for the failure on blogmas. Despite my personal determination between illness and work I just didn't get there for the missing ten posts. I'm planning a little post Christmas fun to try to make up for it though.

In the meantime...

My first ombré lip!

This is done by lining and covering my lip in a red liner from Barry M. I then filled in with Blake's Red from L'Oreal and shaded the edges with Black Dahlia colour pencil from OCC.

I feel a little glammed up and a lot ready for Christmas! Now, to flick on Mr Buble's Holly Jolly Christmas and the scene is complete!!

What's your Christmas Eve beauty look? 

Til next time kitty kats - love, hugs and gradient shaded kisses 

xx Josephine xx

Blogmas 2014: #15 Tip of the Day - starter brushes for eyes

Jeepers, creepers….where'd you get those peepers?

Monday again…but the holiday season is almost upon us.

So heads down and let's keep cracking for the rest of the week!

A very common question I get is around the brushes I use and what, if people are buying them, should they make sure is in their starter kit. Foundation and blush brushes are probably a whole separate topic - but let's assume that you can get where you need to there with fingers in a pinch, so I'm going to concentrate on eyes.

Blogmas 2014: #13 Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet Nude-ist

Happy Saturday Sparkles! 

What a relief to be into my second half of Blogmas now. It's a real challenge to come up with things to blog about on a daily basis. Not to mention I'm sure I'm going to be chopped off a load of Facebook news feeds (more on the male front) for my shameless spamming!

However, as is my wont, I thought Blogmas had perhaps been a little eye focused (my name is Josephine and I am a liner addict….*hello, Josephine* says internet), so let's bring back the lips.

Mattes were not really a welcome resurgence for me. I've got thin lips which pretty much totally disappear when I properly smile or laugh. believe me when I say the perils of rainbow coloured teeth are real in my life. That being said, brands have come a long way with their matte formulations - the newest of which appears to be the liquid velvet finish lipstick.

So, this stuff applies like a gloss but looks like a wet lipstick and then dries to a velvet matte finish. The shade I picked up is 07 Nude-ist. It's actually quite a pinkish nude tone and very wearable. These feel slightly drying but not ridiculously so. I wear Nuxe lip balm underneath on days where my lips feel very chapped.

Long lasting but not all day (I suspect this is partially because it's not a super drying formula). I like it and it's a fairly affordable way of trying out the currently very popular velvet formulations. Revolution cosmetics have some out also but I preferred the more wearable shades in the Bourjois range personally.

Happy Saturday and enjoy silky soft kisses, hugs and Christmas tunes til tomorrow kitty kats

xx Josephine xx

Blogmas 2014: #12 RMK Ingenious Powder eyes (EX-04)

Happy Friday pals!

Well, post-Christmas party I must confess I could be feeling a little better rested and happy within myself than I do right at this instance. However, to make up for the lack of inner sparkle I might be feeling, I believe in distraction tactics and the hearty application of a pretty glitter shadow any time I'm in doubt or feeling a little lack lustre.

Enter this very pretty little number from RMK. The box makes me think of Alice in Wonderland and all the little "eat me" or "drink me" labels. Terribly cute - and it just gets better when you open it up…

Blogmas 2014: #11 L'Oreal Color Riche Collection Exclusive Pure Reds (Blake)

Happy Christmas Party day readers!

Ok, so it might not be the Christmas party for all of you, but tonight I shall be cruising the Thames with my fellow bean counters - imbibing more wine than is healthy, talking more loudly than should be permitted and (I sincerely hope) seeing some cheesy dancing to hits such as Wham's Last Christmas.

Getting me through all of this, with a Christmas themed smile on my face shall be one of the latest offerings from L'Oreal in the form of Blake Lively's contribution to the Pure Reds collection.

Blogmas 2014: #10 Urban Decay shadow in Sin

Calling all nude lovers…

That might get a few more unsolicited page views than my general openers, eh?

This week's Hump Day treat is brought to you courtesy of Urban Decay (but I bought this with my own pennies).

I love it as a base for a neutral eye look, or just generally as a pretty base shade for a cut crease or smokey look. I think this shade is really wearable across the board and the texture of UD shadows is worth at least some of the extra pennies you'll have to fork out to have them.

Sin is perhaps best described as a champagne shade which verges on having pinkish tones. I use it as a precision highlighter (brow bones and inner corner) in addition to the whole-lid looks it can act as base for.

Blogmas 2014: #9 Product Review TopShop The Foundation

So pretttty, you seductive little minx of a vial, you...

Morning beauty addicts!

Today's FOTD is with TopShop's Foundation, in shade 1.0. There are currently five shades available in the product which is claimed to be self-correcting in order to match with your skin tone. While I'm pretty pale I actually prefer to wear a foundation which is darker than my natural skin tone and then blend it in using a mixture of the product itself and bronzer. My first inclination was therefore to try the second shade - however it was far too dark and orange.

In fact Shade 1.0 gives me the darker shade I wanted - so first bit of bad news here not one to pick up for your pale and interesting gal pals / relatives.

Blogmas 2014: #8 Quick and dirty removal

One third of the way through the season…

My preferred options (other than the No7 wipes)
because I think the wipes for more "mature" skin are
more sensitive skin friendly. Could just be me. 

I don't know about you guys and girls but sometimes I can be LAY-ZEE when it comes to removing my make-up at night. Especially when your'e working longer hours, socialising more often and crashing for 6 hours a night, rather than the preferred 10. 

I'm sorry mothers of the readership - please don't hate me for my childfree person sleep preferences. I'm sure I'll pay for it somehow, someday. 

In any case, sometimes (mostly) I'm not going to start with the cream cleanser and hot cloth, no doubt a contributing factor to my increasing skin flakiness and dullness. Enter - cleansing wipes. 

(*Audible gasp from stage left*) Ahem, and I continue…

Blogmas 2014: #7 Lips to last through your cocoa (or mulled wine)

Hey ladies, lucky number 7...

No-one wants to be caught out with a smear of lippie across your teeth while talking to the cute guy from [sales/accounts/across the floor] in the vicinity of the mistletoe - but similarly long wear lipsticks can be slightly drying. That's where a glossy stain can come in to be your new BFF.

These products offer some of the pigment of a lipstick, the shine of a gloss but with the added benefit of a staining function which will ensure you still have a hint of colour after dinner when the dance floor time comes.

I've got the L'Oreal and Maybelline versions of these products but really like the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain. There's a decent range of colours that actually look pretty wearable (the Barbie pink LA shade probably isn't going to do my non-whitened teeth any favours but I'd give the rest of the pinkish shades a bash)…

Blogmas 2014: #6 Tip of the day - lower lash line eyeliner

Happy weekend!

While I am a chronic eyeliner addict, I do like to experiment with the ways I wear it and formulas I wear. Recently I have been wearing my lower eyeliner only part of the way across my eye rather than entirely around the eye and have been asked how to get a subtle finish on this, rather than looking like a bad clown!

End result - using Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 palette 

The trick I find is to make sure you've not applied the eyeliner, before blending, to the entire area that you want to see it in. Rather, I apply the eyeliner a half to two thirds of the way along where I want it to end up and then blend out - see above for the finished look and below for where I actually applied the eyeliner.

Blogmas 2014: #5 White eyeliner (something different)

Wakey, wakey rise and shine!

Obviously, as with Mr Bing Crosby we're all dreaming of a white Christmas here in the UK. In reality it might actually involve some damp, drizzle and perhaps some wind. So if Mother Nature won't oblige, perhaps Illamasqua can help us out.

DSLR with flash, artificial light.

I bought Precision Ink in Scribe a little while ago but haven't actually use it for much other than filling in the "gap" on a double wing look with black mascara.  It seemed like this time of year might then be appropriate to try something a little new and specifically white!

Blogmas 2014: #4 Hair hero - Tresemme hairspray

Guys and gals

With my fine locks which have a tendency to be neither straight nor wavy, I've come to understand that hairspray can be my friend. Now Cheryl & co may look fabulous with Elnett, not to mention the ability to brush a style out easily and without residue may be an attractive notion when doing studio styling. For real life - I want some serious clout.

My hairspray needs to deal with sweaty Tube scalp syndrome, probable light to heavy rains and winds, heat styling and being stuffed into giant scarves. That's before I reach the office - with the onslaught of hair pulling, air con, central heating and general fussing which occurs throughout the day.

Is it any wonder my hair looks like an assault victim by 4pm?

Blogmas 2014: #3 Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy polish

With the festive season being one of the most demanding on my time with work deadlines, client events and (obviously) social events with friends and family, I don't have as much time to repair manis as for the rest of the year.

I picked up this polish and accompanying top coat to see if the long lasting promise would live up to the claims.

I bought "Showtime" a blue-purple shade, shot through with a lot of shimmer. This polish looks more purple in the bottle, blue in daylight and violet when photographed with flash. While I love those shades - they're not the friendliest to capture on screen!

Blogmas 2014: #2 Festive earrings courtesy of Accessorize

Can there be a greater joy than that of teeny weeny
snowmen, non-gender specific gingerbread people,
glittering stars and Christmas trees?
World peace aside... 

Happy Blogmas my beautiful readers one and all!

I hope you're enjoying the tiny chocolate laden path to a day filled with wonderful family smiles, nibbles, tipples, snoozes and arguments over who really won that last round of the game. Ah, no…. just me at 163, then?

In any case, I'll be indulging myself with some pretty little earrings from Accessorize. At least, until the base metal they're made of renders my ears so sensitive they can't touch me for a week.

Even so, I shall persevere in the name of Christmas cheer.

Blogmas 2014 - #1 Body Shop Vanilla Brûlée range

Happy Monday beauty addicts!

A scrumptious selection of bakery scented goodies
suitable for any sweet-toothed lady in your life!

The first day of Blogmas is sprung (I only discovered the existence of this term for my personal challenge last night on Twitter!)

Now it's a lovely, fairy light-lit, twinkling adventure to the funnest family day of all on the 25th. All very exciting, but as a gal with an aversion to all things cinnamon and clove scented, I can find the Christmas season somewhat nauseating with a profusion of such scented candles, pot pourri and oil burners.

How delightful then that the Body Shop has come up with some other festive scents. There are three scents in the range - glazed apple, frosted cranberry and vanilla brûlée.

While slightly saccharine the VB range is very much of that the ilk of the Laura Mercier bath and body products I adore but tend to hoard rather than using them as wantonly as I might with these beauties.

Preparing for a beautiful Christmas…and an Advent challenge to myself

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Selfridges, all prettified for
Christmas 2014

Hello readers most dear…

This year has been a little patchier than I would have liked in terms of the target number of posts I had versus the number I actually managed to publish! So, let's end it by going big (and then, going home to NI, but of course)…

Beautiful baubles in a window,
Warwick Avenue

Over the coming weeks I'll be posting daily products, tips, tricks and wish list items both large and small.

Hopefully you'll find some inspiration for presents - either for family, friends or (best of all) yourself!

I hope you enjoy, kitty kats - 'til next time…love, hugs and Christmas themed kisses 

xx Josephine xx

FOTD: Black glitter liner

Complete look - with and without
filter on Instagram

Morning guys and gals

Today's look is brought to you thanks to my looking forward to seeing the latest Hunger Games film since Katniss came from District 12 - coal mining (not to mention an obsession with all things glitter in the run up to the party season…or any time of year really). I like the larger glitter flakes and the way they give a bit of a more subtle glitter look.

I think even for those of you who don't like to wear a ton of make up this look should be easy to adapt to the level you are comfortable with. I've included a step by step below…any all the glitter products are very affordable (plus should be accessible on the High Street).

And now, for something a little different…Winter 2014 Trend - FRECKLES!!!

Freckle ambition: achieved!

Guys and gals,

When I was little and we went on sunny holidays I got freckles across my nose and cheeks (relatively rare, given my parents' belief that small children shouldn't be on aeroplanes hence we spent a lot of time going to Ireland and Scotland as summer holidays). We're not talking a face wide join the dots puzzle, but just some across the bridge of my nose and cheeks.

And. I. Loved. Them.

Even if I still had freckles (I don't) I'm not a sheer coverage foundation kind of girl so they wouldn't be visible anyway.

Enter: TopShop's Freckle Pencil.

NOTD: Seeking black glitter

Sunday again, readers dearest…

Last week someone pointed out a beautiful black glitter nail polish in a magazine. My inner magpie was intrigued and I had an intense lemming-like craving to get that polish. Imagine my disappointment upon arrival at my Givenchy counter to discover the polish itself is a kind of translucent charcoal, with teeny tiny black glitter and slightly larger holographic particles in there. 

I'm assuming the mag either used four coats of the polish alone, or put it over a black cream base. Undeterred I applied two coats of the polish itself to my pinky and tried it over a coat of black cream on my ring finger. I then toddled off to Boots, to seek a dupe for under a fiver…

Product review: OCC Lip Tar

OCC Lip Tar and Colour Pencil
Black Dahlia

Happy Friday beauty junkies!

In celebration of the upcoming weekend and (relatively) pleasant autumn vibes, I'm hoping to rock a vampy lip today - it is dress down so hopefully my day job coworkers won't be too shocked!

My view:

Lip tars are tricky. However, widely seen as being worth the effort given the really fun shade range available. This shade is my second and given the issues I had with my first one I highly recommend looking at swatches online before buying so you've got a realistic view of the shades before you might order online. My preferred application method is to use a similar lip liner shade as a base, then apply a bead of colour to the provided brush and apply from the centre out per the instructions.

Product review: Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation

Morning girls and boys!

Stock image - my empty looks
rather abused and unattractive!!

I have just finished up my first Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. To be honest when I bought this a few months ago I was somewhat skeptical, but the positive reviews on the various blogs I read meant I wanted to have a little nosey!

In a nutshell:

I think it's great foundation, although I do supplement coverage on bad skin days with some mineral foundation underneath (thank you Wayne Goss for that tip!) It gives a beautiful finish to the skin, particularly for the price paid. Hygienic dispenser also. 

Winter survival kit - Dr PawPaw ointment

Salutations boys and girls, 

I feel like the combination of central heating, air con, wind and rain recently has left my skin a little parched. Not to mention the slathering on of face paints for Halloween type fun. As a result I've had chapped lips and more redness in my cheeks than usual. 

This presented the perfect opportunity to try out the cult product which is Dr PawPaw ointment - there are three colour options available; clear, pink/peach and red. I selected pink/peach. 

I confess I was skeptical, as I've been obsessed with Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm all year. Particularly because it's a matte balm (great for guys and also those who want to slick lippie on top). 

Long time object of lust….Lime Crime Serpentina

Serving Victoriana goth
realness in this vignette shot

Greetings Guys and Dolls,

This post is probably one of the more "alternative" ones that I do, since it definitely won't have universal appeal, but ever since I saw this little beauty online my eyes were shaded a beautiful metallic green of pure covetousness!

Hardly for everyday wear, but something which appeals to the beauty experimentalist in me - let's be honest I'm not going to wear this one out of the house in daylight hours, but actually think it will work for a different take on the typical vampy lip look which we're seeing a lot of in the autumn and winter months. Probably a year or two too late to be keeping up with the Pantone shades of the year, but there we have it…

Simple Halloween looks with eyeliner - cat and witch

Hey guys and gals

Fear not if you've just decided to head out for Halloween at the last minute with just a flick of some eyeliner you too can be a sexy kitten or a wicked witch (per Miranda Hobbs in SATC, the only two choices for women at Halloween…if not in life).

Halloween 2014 - Creepy skull

Inspiration picture!

Hello Guys and Gals…

This look is really one which can be used by either chaps or chapettes come Friday. I'm personally being commissioned to recreate a version of this for my Baby Sister and her hubby as they want to go to their Halloween party as the Lady Gaga and friend skulls from Born this Way.

I think I'd like to update it a little to use some tips from Phee's Makeup Tips tutorial, which looked ace on Instagram.

Halloween 2014 - Miss Argentina (Beetlejuice)

Side by side with my aim (no wig arrived at this point!)

Hello lovely ladies (and gents!)

This year I've decided that against all better judgement I'm going to paint myself green (well, a slight turquoise to be exact) and dress up as a suicidal beauty queen in a port-a-kabin in the Irish countryside. Never let it be said I'm not a classy bird…

I watched the Pixiwoo Miss Argentina tutorial, and got a great tip to use the Sleek Ultra Matte v2 palette for the eye shadows. I've got a different product list to Sam, the below is my rehearsal version but I'll try to video it on the actual day to do a tutorial on it (too late for this year, unless you have an upcoming Beetlejuice party!)…

Eyeliners - blackest blacks and fun colours

Hola chicas y chicos

How are you doing on this fine and dandy Wednesday? Hopefully you're on a quick coast to the weekend now you've broken the back of the week.

So I've been building up to The Eye posts for a while now…my name is Josephine and I'm a Liner-holic. I've been on a 16 year + quest to find the blackest blacks, the truest colours in eyeliner pencils. Hopefully in a medium that doesn't actually drag half of my eyelid to my ear to show some colour…

Day to Night make-up…(almost) all drugstore

Hi Girls and Guys,

There have been a few requests for day to night make-up (and indeed for more natural make up looks generally) so hopefully I can use this post to kill two birds with one stone…metaphorically speaking, of course.

The photos here are with no filter, but a few were taken in more direct sunlight (top left below for the natural look) and on the second camera on my iPhone. I was struggling to show the colours properly as they were quite pale.

Day to night and the Iconic 3 palette from Cosmetic
Revolution - available online & at Superdrug for now.

Scents of summer #2…re-living summer nights in September sun

Well, guys and dolls, more summer reminiscing...

We've had a think as to which fragrances make us remember burning sand on our toes and sun on our shoulders, but which fragrances will keep alive the memories of balmy evenings where you didn't need a jacket, skipped home along the beach - tracing the tideline and watching the moon...

For 2014, for me they'll be:

Liz Earle Botanical Essence No 15

This is actually quite a masculine scent - I've discovered by accident in work that it's very similar to Victor & Rolf's Spicebomb.

This one is going to be divisive, but I love it. Despite not liking clove and cinnamon in real life, they mix beautifully with the other extracts here to create a warm, organic scent which lasts all evening.

Opening with fresh, spice notes of pink pepper, cinnamon and bergamot this dries down to a heart of rose, while sandalwood and vanilla bean come out in the base notes.

Scents of summer #1…stretching warmer days to autumn evenings.

Hey guys and gals,

I don't know about you, but there are just certain scents and smells which make me think of summer. Probably picked up from particular holidays, friends or sisters' choices along the way. Some of these I don't wear everyday, as my tastes have changed over the years towards slightly deeper fragrances.

As August draws to a close - and I expect I lie nursing a slight sore head and much more painful feet from my first night on the tiles in Ibiza - I am sure I will be wondering how to make summer stretch out just a few more weeks after my return to London climes. If I can't actually bring the sun back with me, why don't we just bring back memories of sun and the scents that invoke them….

Summer days, for me mean...

L'Eau de Issey by Issey Miyake

I remember first picking this up on a family holiday to the States when I was about 16. It's just such a classic, light perfume but really feminine without being overly floral. I love this one - if the pocketbook won't stretch you can pick up something really similar in Isis from Marks & Spencer.

Talon Tips #4 - Nail of the Week

Morning guys and dolls,

Happy Hump Day!

For this week's mani I'm very excited for my upcoming break to the White Isle and in honour of that have decided to make my mani white hot this week.

Polish used is Rita Ora 60 seconds nail polish by Rimmel (shade: White Hot Love #703), two medium thick coats, with Leighton Denny's all in one base and top coat.

Friends of Josephine….introducing Spaghetti Styles!!

Hot on the heels of Ella Bella, here's a second friend of the blog…although more interested in alternative make-up looks than her bigger sister!

The younger one of the two bounciest sisters in all of Kent…..this is Spaghetti Styles!!

As before, we used The Mindy Project guide to naming alter egos i.e. favourite singers and food stuffs across the world.

So here's a little more info on one of the world's future comedy stars...

Friends of Josephine…..introducing Ella Bella!!

Hello guys and dolls of the blog-o-sphere!

Happy Notting Hill Carnival weekend!

Today I'd like to introduce you to a little firecracker who reads the blog and has made an early start to a fascination with make-up. Introducing one of the two bounciest sisters in all of Kent…..Ella Bella.

In the time honoured tradition of The Mindy Project those are of course alter ego names chosen from favourite singers and food stuffs across the world.

We are having some brownie and Bank Holiday fuelled fun today with some of the more colourful elements of my make-up bag which I've packed up and brought out of London with me. So here's a little more info on one of the world's future make-up stars...

In my make-up bag: Day to Night make-up

Greetings beauty addicts,

For any girl with weeknight plans it can be a challenge to go from desk to dance floor without carrying a suitcase of products around all day, so here are a few key items I regularly use.

For daytime I like to use a foundation with decent coverage in a tone which matches my skin. I've got bad under eye circles so I also use a peachy toned concealer (Illamasqua Skin Base Lift - Light 1) and set with a light dusting of powder. A duo fibre brush gives a more natural finish.

Talon Tips: Nail of the week #3

Evil Queens of August

This one is a little late….apologies! And the eagle eyed amongst you will notice that there was no #2, which is mostly because I've ended up going unpolished for a great deal of the month. Shame on me.

In any case, last week I was rocking some Liz Earle Colour Polish in Pure Poetry, giving in to my inner darkness a little recently - but I promise a flavour of summer will be coming up soon!

Illamasqua sale haul - summer 2014

Greetings Kitty Kats!

Per my post last week, I was mucho excited about the Illamasqua sale. However I did try to hold myself back a little on the eyeliner and foundation front as I've already gotten far too many to ever get through!

I grabbed a back up of Beguile pure pigment, because it was just too pretty not to and have included a picture trying to capture the sparkle a little better than the website swatch in my emergency post last week…

In addition, I picked up a coffret set with Freak EdP 75ml, a lip gloss, liquid metal and nail polish which was reduced to £40. The UK website states it used to cost £104, but the assistant in the Beak Street shop said she thought it maybe been £80. In any case, with a bottle of the perfume retailing at £75 it's a pretty good deal whichever way you look at it.

I also had the chance to try their Freak Scarab Extrait de Parfum. It was delicious, really rich and 6 hours later it's still wearing really well from just one little spritz on my wrists. It's expensive at £85 for 75ml - at least for someone who's not desperately into their perfumes like me - but that is firmly on the Santa request list. Sorry Mummsy and Daddsy Sparkles!

What have you bought in the Illamasqua sale? Have you tried them before and if so, what's your must have product? If not, check out their website and beautiful images for each collection. Absolutely stunning artistry even if you're not into such extreme make-up on a day to day basis.

Until next time

xx Josephine xx

Summer Survivors - favourite products for summer skin

Hail Evil Queens,

As promised, this post will go through summer skin care - apologies in advance for the French pharmacy theme here. Essentially since a trip in March where I came back with a suitcase which weighed as much as lead, I've been in French product heaven. But all of the products are available in either good independent pharmacies here in the UK, or online.

Cleansers

For an in shower cleanser, I massage on an oil cleanser while waiting for the water to warm up and just rinse off.

Sale bargain alert! Illamasqua pure pigment in Beguile

Despite my love affair with make-up really being all about the eyes, I've been quite light touch on that throughout the blog to date.

However one of my favourite party products is this loose, shimmer pigment. It's so beautiful and the shimmer multi-coloured....snap it up for 50% at only £7.50 here!!!

Killer Cheekbones - Contouring for Evil Queens

Salutations Your Majesties

Thanks for popping by again for your Humpday make-up update. Per requests, today's post is a "How to" for one of the most essential weapons in the arsenal of any beauty queen - some cheekbones second only to your wit in terms of sharpness.

As beautifully illustrated by Mr Williams the key here is to make the cheekbones stand out through highlighting the top while creating a shadow underneath, to emphasise the bone structure. This pictorial is for a much more subtle look than that sported by Kim Kardashian - but I think that's ultimately better given that we don't walk around everyday under a million flashlights.

Talon Tips #1 - Nail of the Week

Happy Mani-day beauty addicts and evil queens!

Well, slightly late but I hope you'll forgive the irresistible pun - and to be fair I painted my nails on Monday evening so I think it's a valid use.

Normally in the summer I like to experiment a little with brighter shades and alternatives to the classics, but I've been craving a postbox red recently - up steps L'Oreal's Color Riche nail polish - shade 401. It also felt like a fitting start to my first Evil Queen nail of the week post.

Evil Queens….Josephine needs YOU!!

Calling all Inner (and Outer) Evil Queens…

These amazing and downright righteous illustrations
are by the wonderful, up and coming talent that is
Hayden Williams - if you're on Instagram follow him
for some amazing, fashion-based art on the tag
@hayden_williams. If you're not on Instagram, I don't
want to be impudent, but why on earth not - get on there
and discover a wonderful world of pretty girls, gorgeous
guys, artists, poets and REALLY gorgeous kittens and
puppies.
Oh, I'm on there too….if you're interested ;)

More specifically I need your comments, ideas and requests to make sure that you're getting everything that you want from the blog.

How can I be more valuable than your Magic Mirror? What makes you want to throw me into an Endless Well of Doom?

Give me the good, the bad and….oh, on second thoughts spare me the ugly - life's too short for that!

No spell request, curse conundrums or troublesome young, upstart-based issue too large or small to be tackled by me, Your Most Scarily Fantabulous Majesty!

And I'm just dying to get a couple of your royal visages involved as volunteer models to give the wider world what it needs….VARIETY!

Smokey Eye Looks: Colourful version

Greetings Guys and Gals,

So I started the smokey eye series back in February when I first started on the blog and actually never quite finished before disappearing into my rather dull day job for a few months. Now I've re-surfaced and joined the blogging world again I thought I'd finish the original eyeshadow series.

For my skin I applied Illamasqua Cream foundation (#133) on my cheeks, centre forehead, chin, upper jaw and centre of my nose. I then used MUA Cosmetics concealer on my temples, under my cheek bones, edges of my chin, lower jaw and sides of my nose. I set that all with translucent powder and went to work on the eyes.

FOTD: RuPaul DragRace Inspired Colourful Cut Crease

Happy Saturday Beauty addicts!

While we all love to find a natural and pretty look - a la the eyeshadow quad in my last post, it has to be said that I adore nothing more than the transformation of drag make-up and the explosion of colour that usually ensues. Obviously not for everyday wear (least of all for the exciting accountants amongst our number!) I do love playing around with bold looks.

When I got the e-mail from Netflix announcing the launch of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6, I literally squealed with joy.