Winter Wishing

My absolute favourite time of the year is Autumn/Winter.

Have you noticed that you either suit the colours that are more fashionable in winter or those in summer. Well, I'm best suited to the wines, crimson, purple, deep colours of winter. The fact that it's almost (and that's a big almost) heading into autumn I'm excited to think about the trends that will be big in those months.

Pairing the full eyebrows with a wine coloured lip is one of my favourite things to pull off during the colder month. Other than a wine colour, a deeper red on a full coverage face always looks great too.

If your eyes are your best feature then you can keep it natural on your face and your lips and frame your face lightly with some contouring and lightly fill in your lashes before doing a black or brown smokey eye with a lot of mascara piled on.

Lashes are also becoming increasingly popular lately, which I love because I can never find enough reason to wear them and I love how they transfer my look when I do. You can go from more 'natural looking' lashes to full on night out lashes. You can start from cheap ones that you can find on ebay to begin with so you can learn how to apply them yourself before you splurge on some better quality ones. For glue, I'd recommend using Duo which in Australia you can pick up on ebay or from Kit Cosmetics/Mecca which is online and in store.

If you're not into applying fake lashes but still want the full lash effect making sure you curl your lashes before you apply mascara is always a good first step. And layering up your mascara or using a few typed of mascaras used for different purposes that can do good as well. Or if you wanted to get lash extensions that's another semi permanent solution to having fuller lashes as well.

The other thing that I love about the colder seasons is the wardrobe! I love tights, boots, cosy jumpers, jackets and beanies. I love layering my clothes and that feeling of being chilly!

What's your favourite season? And what's your favourite makeup or clothing thing about that season?

Love to love you guys!

Shelf life - mascaras

After my post about my favourite mascaras I began thinking about how you should be replacing your makeup after a certain amount of time and one of the things that you should apparently be replacing quite frequently is your mascara.

Typically, you should be replacing your mascaras after six months of owning them. And if you're like me you may have thought this was a money-making scam on behalf of the cosmetic companies to keep you coming back. But, it's actually more of a health and safety thing. If you keep something that you're using on your eyes (or your face/body) for a long time, after each use the bacteria from the air, your eyes and anything else it comes into contact with is making its way back into that tube. 

This sounds kinda scary, but there are some things that you can actively do to keep this from happening so soon, so that instead of updating it every 6 months you can wait a little longer. Besides, Mascaras do have a tendency to begin to dry up after around 6 months, and dry, clumpy mascara? not me! 

• Don't share mascaras -If you don't share your mascara with your best friend/sister/mum etc you're reducing the amount of bacteria that's entering your mascara tube. And you should be wary about hygiene practices when it comes to mascara and makeup in general as well. Unless you're taking the correct precautionary steps when it comes to sharing makeup - just don't do it. 

• Always make sure you screw your lid back on tight, to prevent it drying up. If you don't screw the lid back on tight you could be feeding the mascara the air it needs for the bacteria to grow. And not only that, leaving it to get an air supply will dry it out even quicker.

•  Never put water in your mascara tube. For one, the formula is made with a very particular amount of ingredients, you may think that adding water to it will maybe 'fix' dried mascara, but it wont. It actually will increase the bacteria in the tube and your chance of getting an eye infection increases.

•  And as always, remember to take your eye makeup off before you go to sleep at night. Leaving your makeup on over night can clog your pores and create unsightly and annoying spots, and it gives your mascara a chance to flake heavily, drop into your eye and cause eye infections. 

So, as you can see there are some things you can do to prevent any infections from happening, but of course do so with caution because it's still a possibility. I also look at the '6 month rule' as a good reason to try out different mascaras which leave me with plenty of options to buy new things and find new products to love. 

Do you have a favourite Mascara? 

Sammie xx

Mascaras

I'm going to let you in on a little secret, you want your mascara to make your lashes look elongated and full? Of course you do. Here are my top Mascaras I've ever used, some high end and cheaper options help you with your next mascara purchase.

You may have heard that you should be throwing away your mascara and repurchasing them anywhere between three and six months. In my next post I'll let you know what I think about that! But for now, here are my top five mascaras!

1. Benefit: They're Real Mascara. 

Basically is what it says it is. In my opinion it makes your lashes look like you've got falsies on but in reality they're real! Love the wand, love the formula, love it! You can find it at the benefit counter in Myer, or online.  

2. Clinique: Bottom Lash Mascara. 

This is used to target your bottom lashes. I was getting into applying mascara on my bottom lashes but was finding it a chore to get it done without the wands making a mess under my eyes. This eliminates any difficultly if you're the kind of person that likes their lower lashes lengthened! 

3. Bourjois: Volumizer! 

This is one of my all time favourites. I first purchased it when I was in england and oh my gosh it's amazing! I get a similar finished look as the they're real mascara but for like, half the price. It's amazing. It's harder to find here in Australia, Priceline and Target both stock the brand, however when they run out of products it takes them quite a while to get them back in. If you can buy it online you're probably better off and you'll find if for cheaper. Asos stocks Bourjois if you're looking for free shipping. 

4. Lancome: Hypnose Doll Eyes. 

Amazing. This mascara is amazing! I absolutely adore it, and i've all run out at the moment. The only reason why I haven't repurchased yet is the price. when I can find others that make my eyelashes look as good as this but for a lot cheaper I can't pass that up. I will repurchase it soon, but not just yet. If you've got the money to spend, don't even hesitate it's the best Lancome Mascara I've tried! 

5. Natio: Dramatic Lashes

I love this one. I originally brought it, along with eyeliner and a brow kit, for my mum for christmas. After I used it on her I fell instantly in love and every time I do her makeup I put it on her. I'll be buying one for my kit as soon as I can because it really is spectacular and such a good price. Unfortunately I think that Natio is an Australian only brand, and I know it's not widely stocked in other countries, but I believe it can be found in the UK and Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand and possibly some other places. How readily available it is though, I'm not entirely sure. 

Hope you've found something interesting in this post,

Sammie xx

On trend makeup

I feel as if I should be posting some content regarding makeup, considering that is my field. I want to begin by posting some insight to the trends that are appearing in makeup at the moment and that seem to be what's 'it' for the year to come.

The one that I think I'll be having the hardest time with is the inclusion of blues and emerald greens on the eye. Bright blue liner, whilst its something that I do happen to have in my collection, is one of my least used products. However, perhaps now is the time to begin experimenting and not stopping at liner either. No, the trend extends to eyeshadows and mascara as well. From the weird and whacky looks that you see on the catwalk, to the ones you could actually recreate at home for a night out. You could apply it over the lid (as seen on the right),  apply it on the lower lashline or as a liquid liner for a pop of colour. Or even invest in a blue mascara and wear it like Cara does (see the left picture). It wouldn't be a bad idea to invest in this trend as typically you should only be keeping your mascaras for around six months and the trend may only last that long anyway.

Next, is one of my all time favourites- the cat eye. I love myself some winged eyeliner, whether you use gel, liquid, or even a kohl pencil with some blending I'm a fan. The winged eye has been a favourite of mine for so long I feel as if I could even say its part of my signature look. You can go full on with it, like on the catwalk, or tone it down for a more every day wear kind of look

And my favourite thing to have come into the spotlight recently is defined brows! I was never really a fan of pencil thin brows, and was devastated when one time that I went to get my brows done and they took off a little too much leaving me feeling sufficiently naked. Not only that but they were also uneven! I've been desperately waiting for them to grow back and they're on their way to being their original selves just in time for this wonderful trend to be setting off! My personal favourite when it comes to brows is the beautiful Cara Delevingne who has the most enviable brows on the planet, and she has the cutest personality to boot! I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of her in the future, as her career seems to be really taking off!

They are my top three outstanding trends that I've been noticing from all of the fashion festivals and collection launches over the last few months. And I especially can't wait to see more focus on brows in the already speeding-by 2013. Can you believe it's already weeks into February? Crazy! Which reminds me, I hope you all had a love filled Valentines day!

Stay beautiful,

Sammie xx


*disclaimer: none of the above photographs were taken by me! Although, I wish that I had been that close to Cara!