I had another baby - Friday Video

I know there has been not a lot going on here or on my YouTube recently...

Nudestix Magnetic Eye Colour

Since trying this eye pencil I have been avoiding Space NK because if I go in there I will buy every single product from Nudestix that they have available. In fact I'm struggling to think of even one thing that I don't like about this eye pencil... I mean. I don't like the price but this, once again, proves you get what you pay for.

Regular readers (hello!) will know that I am a little bit obsessed with eye shadow pencils and my quest to find the perfect one led me to Nudestix Magnetic Eye Colour and, well this could be the perfect eye pencil. It's soft. Soft enough that if you drop it you will break it (thanks Libs) but not so soft that the pencil is going to break during application. It is the ideal consistency for using directly onto the eye lid and although I then blend with a brush, that's just my personal preference, you an use your finger or, for paler colours you technically don't need to blend at all. But I'm a make-up artist so I'm never going to advise not blending.

What's the most annoying thing about most eye shadow pencils? Sharpening. Well Nudestix have that covered by providing a sharpener in the amazing tin the pencil comes in which is itself reusable and has a mirror on the lid. Need a small make-up kit in your clutch? Use the Nudestix tin. Ace.

It's long lasting and great on it's own or as a base for powder shadows or blended with other creams. If you have oily lids then these are worth a try, they are waterproof with great colour payoff. I have Angel. I want Immortal next. Subtle, flattering colours to suit everyone.

And these are not the only string to the Nudestix bow... they do everything. Concealer, contour, bronzing, lip and cheek, blemishes, correcting. I want to try them all... and hopefully I will. When a newborn isn't nixing my spending.

What You Need to Know - Nudestix Magnetic Eye Colour

• £24 or US$24
• 8 colours
• Long lasting
• Suitable for everyone including oily skin
• Available in the UK from Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic, Space NK,
• Available in the US from Nudestix, Sephora,

I had another baby...

James Alexander Reuben Harrod, Jim, arrived on Tuesday 2nd June so my posts may be a little erratic for the next couple of weeks. He's heaven...

Monday's Make-up Muse - Tori Amos

From the To Venus and Back sleeve - toriamos.com

Tori Amos has to be one of the biggest female influences on my life in terms of her music and the way she looks. I can still remember hearing To Venus and Back in my friends kitchen, buying it the next day and looking at the sleeve and thinking she just looked so amazing - it was the first time I tried to do my make-up to look like someone else rather than just messing about on how I wanted my face to look.

Since there I've seen her play live as often as possible and even though sometimes she wears something I wouldn't personally choose she has a fantastic and unique sense of style that I love. Though not known for her make-up particularly, she often looks pretty fresh-faced and it's much more her fashion that is dramatic, it's the look she had in the late '90s when that album came out that I loved (dark red hair, red lip, grungy black liner) and I can still see in my everyday make-up. So, as this is my blog and she's my make-up muse, that's the look I'm going to aim for in my recommendations below which are going to be pretty basic because it's pretty hard to see what she's actually wearing due to the purple tinge on all the pictures. I've looked at a lot of her live recordings from the time and thing I can safely say there was quite a lot of taupe going on... it's the '90s after all.

from galleryhip.com

Eye Shadows - the whole Tori late '90s eye look is a bit grungy - insert heart eyed emoji - satiny, smudgy, almost glossy. A light goldeny base like Make Up For Ever's Aqua Cream in 13 (Fuschia Pink apparently but mine is very pale) with a shimmery taupe over the top - my absolute favourite is Satin Taupe eye shadow by MAC.

Eye Liner - defined and smudgy. If you want ultimate definition then a liquid liner close to the lash line - Make Up For Ever's Ink Liner is my choice. Smoulder eye kohl by MAC smudged over the top with a little bit of black shadow on a Laura Mercier Smokey Liner Brush.

Skin - luminous and, in the album photos, contoured. If I want to have really dewy skin then I use Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer and Dior Star Fluid foundation if you want to skip the primer then NARS Sheer Glow. For the contour the ideal is Soleil Tan de Chanel but if you want something more high street priced then I've been really impressed by the NYX contour stick which is going to be available soon. You want to use creams here to keep the finish as luminous as possible. If you have the  House of Glam Dolls Glam Base Wheel that would be great here too - and a better option for darker skin tones.

Lips - often either red or a sort of brown. Usually glossy. To go ultimate '90s then we'll have to go with brown... well, browny nude and this will depend on your skin tone. I like NYX glosses (Tiramisu or Creme Brulee look good choices for this) , Charlotte Tilbury and MAC lipstick and lip liners.

Q Cover 1998

To Venus and Back cover - from toriamos.com