Halloween Makeup Puncture Effect Tutorial

Hi Everyone,

Its Monday again and for a lot of us its the first day of the working week, I hope it went quickly for you all!
 
With Halloween fast approaching, I thought I would do a quick post and share with you a little tip I have discovered for creating a scars/vampire bites and wound effects etc.

To get the look you will need the following

• A Brown eyeliner pencil
• A Purple eyeliner pencil
• PVA glue
• Fake Blood
• Concealer/Foundation
• An old small paintbrush

I apologise for the hairiness on the picture but I used my other half as a model, although he wasn't very helpful and kept moving!

For this example I am going to do a puncture, but you can make it any shape it can be a gash or anything your imagination can come up with really.

Firstly pick the area you want the put the puncture and make a mark with the purple eyeliner roughly to the size of the blood effect you want.

Then with the brown eyeliner and the purple, trace the veins that come away from the blotch very gently.

Once you have done this you move on to the PVA glue. Apply it with the paintbrush so that you have created a shape around the eyeliner. Do one coat then wait for it to dry then apply a second coat.

Once the glue has dried you need to then use the concealer to cover the PVA glue and then blend this out a bit so it looks like it is a raised bit of skin (my other half's skin is a bit sallower than mine but if you are using your own concealer you should get a pretty good match)

Once the concealer has dried you then dab the fake blood into the puncture you have made. (I didn't have any fake blood so I improvised and it doesn't look dark enough but you get the idea)

Finally if you want to you can use the fake blood to make it look like there are drips of blood coming from the wound.

I hope this was easy to follow and I would love to hear if you have any tips for creating good Halloween makeup.

Heather xx

Pay Day High End Make Up Haul

Hello Everyone,

The other week was pay day for me so off I went to spend spend spend! I had a great girly day out with one of my friends who is also a beauty addict like me so I think we kind of encouraged each other a bit, hence me going a bit crazy, oops!

I apologise for the camera quality in advance, I've been hinting to the Mr that I want a DSLR but he's produced nothing so far (huff!) note to self to step that one up!

Heres the haul :-

Starting from the top we have a Smashbox Try It Kit of their best sellers and a Smashbox Brow Tech To Go in brunette.

The Try It Kit contains the following:-

• Photo Finish Foundation Primer
• Photo Finish Lid Primer
• Limitless Eye Liner in Onyx
• Full Exposure Mascara in Jet Black
• Lip Enhancing Gloss in Illume

Here is what it looks like when you get the goodies out of the box :-

These are my first Smashbox products, Miss Budget Beauty raves about the Brow Tech To Go so I went in to Boots with the intention of getting that. However, when I went there was a points deal on if you bought two Smashbox items (I am such a sucker for a Boots point deal!) so I picked up the try it kit as I thought it would give me a good overview of the range. I have used the Brow Tech To Go and I really rate it and its already on my re purchase list for when it runs out.

I have been reading good things about the Oribe Texturising Spray which I have been wanting to get but couldn't justify the cost. I have been looking for cheaper alternatives and the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Dryspun Finish has been blogged about a lot recently as being a good dupe so I thought I would try it out.

With my purchase I was luckily enough to get free samples of the Thickening Hairspray and the Straight Blow Dry Serum. I am looking forward to giving those a go but secretly hoping I don't like them as otherwise that's more money to be spent!

Then we come to what is a regular seasonal purchase for me, I love this little set and used my Boots Points after Christmas shopping last year to purchase this so when I saw it again I snatched it up!  :-

The pack contains :-

• Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara
•  Bi-Facil
• Mini Crayon - Khol Noir

This is a great purchase for me as I love the Doll eyes mascara so it is something I would buy anyway so the added eye make up remover and eyeliner are a great extra, the Bi-Facil is really good at removing heavy eye make up and the size is perfect for when I go away.

While walking past the YSL Counter my eye was caught by the new Rebel Nude Glossy Stains, after a swatch or four I decided on number 107 Naughty Mauve. It was a hard decision as there were a few I liked but this one in particular had a slight duo chrome effect which really appealed to me. It's a lovely day to day wearable shade and the formulation on the Glossy Stains is really lovely and very long lasting I will definitely be going back to add a few more to my collection :-

Below the Glossy stain on the haul picture there are a couple of  Urban Decay samples that I was lucky enough to be given. The card holds four samples of their new Revolution Lipsticks in shades F-Bomb,Naked,Obsessed and Anarchy there was also a travel size 24/7 glide on Lip Pencil in Naked. This is such a good sample and I am excited to give these a go before most likely picking one up.

As usual whilst out shopping the Mac counter called out my name and lured me in with the new Rhianna collection. Some would say it was fate, but this trip was cleverly planned! It was a good job I went to the store as last time I don't think my Mr was too happy when I hijacked his day and asked him nicely (told him) to sit at the computer all day from the release time and spend his hard earned pennies on securing me goodies from the last release.

He managed to get me the the RiRi Woo Lipstick and the Hibiscus Kiss blusher and bronzer duo. So this time I went for:-

From left to right:-

• 'Nude' Matte Lipstick
• 'Diamonds' Cream Colour Base
• 'RiRi Woo' Lipglass Lip Gloss

The RiRi Woo Lip gloss matches the lipstick that the Mr kindly purchased for me and as the RiRi Woo
Lipstick is a Matte this gives it a different dimension and a lovely shine.

The Diamonds cream colour base is a lovely sheeny champagne colour and is perfect as a highlighter or as a cream eyeshadow I will get a lot of use from this as it is very versatile.

I was initially unsure about the Nude lipstick as it looked quite dark and looks like it would be more suited to a deeper skin tone than mine however after speaking to one of the girls at my local counter she layered it over a pinkish lip liner (Hip N Happy if you are interested) and put a peachy/pink gloss over the top which morphed it into a perfect classic nude lip.

I also picked up a pro pan 'Star Violet' eye shadow to add to my pro palette, I have slowly built up my palette and now only have one space to fill. I am very excited to pick up my last shade but am unsure of what I should get so any suggestions are welcome.

Below the Mac is a little (well little-ish!)  Nars haul. This is another brand that I have not really tried before but I have heard so many positive reviews that I had to get a few bits :-

So we have from left to right :-

• 'Andy Warhol' Larger Than Life Lip Gloss in Candy Says
• Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu
• Sheer Glow Foundation in Mount Blanc
• 2 samples of the Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser in Finland and Groenland

I got the Lip gloss to go with the Nude lipstick from Mac (obviously I was completely ignoring the fact I have plenty of lip glosses at home), its a beautiful peachy pink shimmery colour and really works well with the Nude Lipstick and is just as good on its own.

The Velvet Matte lip pencil was picked up as part of my new Autumn dark lip kick it is a very dark blueish purple. It is very vampy on, I like it a lot! I will say that your lips need to be in good condition and well moisturised to get the best effect as it can cling to dry patches, I really like the formula on the Velvet Matte pencils and I will be getting a few more soon.

Lastly I picked up the much reviewed and adored Nars Sheer Glow foundation. I wont say too much about this as I will be posting a review of my own soon, but I will say that I really rate this and its gives my skin a great finish, it has even been enough to tempt me away from my beloved YSL Teint Touche Eclat which is saying something indeed. I was also given a couple of samples of the Tinted moisturiser to have a play with which was really nice of them.

Finally I was able to get a quite a few samples including the new YSL Youth Liberator and the Giorgio Armani Maestro Foundations. I was also able to get a sample of the Laura Mercier Primer and one of the new Clinique ones.

Well thank you for staying with me and reading what has turned into a huge post, sorry about that! Have I picked up anything you would like a more detailed review on or is a must have in your own collections? Please let me know of any hints or tips you have to get the best use out of it, if so I always love hearing from you guys!.

Heather xx

Skincare Tag!

Hello Everyone,

First off please accept my apologies for the lack of posts in the past week. I have been a super busy monkey with work and family commitments but I am now back and itching to blog!

I have a few posts planned this week so I hope I don't overload you!

Last week the lovely Louise over at Lou Loves Beauty tagged me to do my first ever tag!

This one is right up my street to as I do love a bit of skincare, it has become a necessity since I have got older and we all know we only get one skin so we may as well look after it! Please do pop over and see what Louise had to say, I have linked her post here.

Anyway onto the tag!

Describe your skin routine in 5 words

Double Cleanse, Exfoliate/Toner (that's one word I'm sure!) Treat & Hydrate!

I have to say this is a condensed version than I would usually use to describe it, but I was only allowed 5 words!

What's your skin type?

I have combination skin I think, it gets oilier on my T-Zone but I can get dry patches just above my eyebrows in winter. I also get quite bad spots around my chin area which can really get me down.

Top Blemish Zapper?

I used to use the Origins Super Spot remover which is really good and does do a fab job of bringing down redness and drying the spot out.

More recently though I have been just making sure I cleanse really well and then I have been giving the general area of the spot a gentle rub with some Trilogy Rose Hip Oil. I think this is working well for me as I tend to get the under the skin 'no-head' painful spots rather than ones with heads and the oil nourishes the skin rather than drying it out.

Face Wipes Yay or Nay? 

These are a definite nay for me, I have previously mentioned in my Evening Skincare Routine post the hilarious quote by the skincare maven that is Caroline Hirons regarding face wipes and their purpose in life and I have to admit that since I have stopped using them to cleanse my skin has improved by leaps and bounds. So just say no to face wipes!

  
Toner Yay or Nay?

I am firmly in the toning camp, I use an exfoliating toner now. Before that I used to use the Lush Tea Tree toner in an attempt to curtail spots and it did an ok job. However my skins texture and the frequency of break outs has really diminished since I began using an exfoliating toner. I have tried a few but I am using the Pixi Glow Tonic at the moment and I really cant sing its praises high enough.

High End Skincare or High Street Make Up

This is a easy question for me as I love my higher end skincare (and make up) and don't really use that much high street make up. Also I believe that if you start with a good canvas i.e the skin on your face, then your make up will look far better and in the long run you wont feel that you have to use as much to get the effect you want.

Whats the most unusual skin care product you have used?

Hmm this is a hard one I would have to say for me it would be the Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Face Mask, as I have been used to clay style masks as a rule. This felt like I was putting jam on my face that tingled, I don't regret it though as it is a great treatment and leaves my skin glowing and its well worth the price tag!

Whats your top Skincare tip?

My top tip would be to have a routine and to try and stick to it. Your skin is an organ and it needs to be taken care of the same way you would care for your heart. If you keep it clean and listen to its needs then its should work as its supposed to! Obviously its helped by drinking plenty of water and not eating food that is high in fats and sugars, but hey I know its not easy, I for one am not someone who can say no to pizza easily!

That was fun, it's my turn to tag now so I tag.

Tia from Bellezza Babe

Hannah from Lippy in London

Stacey from Beautiful Solutions

Thats it for this evening hope you have enjoyed the post please let me know if you decided to do this tag as I would love to hear your answers!

Heather xx

Mac New York Apple & Diva back to Mac haul

Evening guys,

I can't believe its Sunday night again! Oh how the time fly's when you are having fun!

When I was in Debenhams the other day I managed to have a sneaky stop at the Mac counter. This is something that I never seem to be able to avoid and I always seem to walk away with one of their black bags, clutched in my eager hands!

On this occasion I feel no guilt though, as I was actually being good and recycling, honest! As I am sure you know Mac do 'Back To Mac', this is where you can take 6 empty Mac containers i.e. Blusher, Eyeshadow or lipstick, hand them in and you can select a new lipstick (at Mac stores I think you get to choose between a lipstick, an eyeshadow or a lip glass, but I'm pretty sure if it's a concession you can only get lipstick).

I have recently bought two pro palettes and had a major de-potting session with my eye shadows and blushers which left me with enough containers for two new lipsticks. Now as they were in my mind 'free' I decided to be a bit more adventurous than I would normally be.

In my Monthly Crave post I said I said I have been lusting after New York Apple and Odyssey. Unfortunately Odyssey wasn't in stock so I had to pick another (I was prepared in case this happened and wanted 'So Chaud' but this wasn't in stock either! Annoying much!) After some searching and swatching I settled on Diva.

New York Apple, as I said was on my monthly crave wish list. Its a frost finish and is described as a muted red with a pink shimmer. The shimmer makes the lipstick look shiny, which makes the little voice in my head that tells me I should put glitter on everything in sight happy!

I gave it a swatch in the store and it was love at first swatch! Although it does have a definite shimmer to it, I don't think its overly frosty and it feels almost like a cremesheen to me! This is one of only a couple of frost finish lipsticks I own and thankfully its not a regret.

On my fairly pinkish lips it comes over as a lovely raspberry red and is quite glossy and sheer. The only down side to this lipstick is that it does seem to bleed quite quickly so I will need to pick up a lip liner to compliment it and to put a stop to any feathering. But apart from that its one I can see myself reaching for a lot over the next coming months.




Diva is a deep red matte finish lipstick. Its a bold colour and the deep red reminds me of mulled wine at Christmas (only 86 days away *slightly excited/worried face!*).

When I swatched it, it was so pigmented and rich that I had to get it. Diva is quite a change from the colours I would usually wear. I don't normally go for such dark bold colours but I think this is actually what persuaded me to get it, as I am trying to get out of my comfort zone and wear new lipstick shades.

This also seems like it will require a lip liner to stop it feathering (Another trip to Mac! Like I need an excuse!) On my lips it comes up a very deep berry red and I think will be perfect for the autumn/winter months that are rapidly approaching us.

Well that's my little 'Back to Mac' haul for you!

What's your view on these shades? Are they favourites of yours? (if so I would love some suggestions for Lip liners) Please leave a comment I would love to hear your opinions.

Heather xx

Heather's Addiction Social Media Links

Hello everyone, hope you are having a nice weekend.

Today I've been a busy 'technical' bee and have managed to add links to all my Social Media on my homepage. (Feeling like a very clever monkey indeed!)

Please feel free to connect to any of them.



Heather xx

Benefit VIP Christmas Gift Set Preveiw

Well I hope you are all ok and looking forward to the weekend.

This week seems to have gone so quickly! I was very excited little make up addict yesterday, as last night I was lucky enough to be invited to a preview of the new Benefit Christmas gift sets at my local Debenhams.
(Please be warned now this is a picture heavy post!)

We arrived a bit early so had a wander round the Beauty Hall which was full of temptations as not only did they have 10% off all beauty and fragrance but its was triple points too!




 Once we had managed to drag ourselves away we were taken to the little cafe upstairs where they had set everything out so we could have a look and a play. They had some delicious Apple and Cranberry sparkling juice for us to drink and jars full of Maoam dotted around for nibbling.


The lovely Benebabes Libby and Louise then gave a short presentation where they talked about what sets were being launched. We then got to get a closer look at what each set contained.

This years gift sets are some of the best I have seen. The ones that really stood out to me were the ones that came in tins. There are four large tins, one of the features I really liked about these is that they are all stackable so will make great storage solutions. All the stickers on them are all easy peel off and the tin designs and colours are very eye catching and pop art like (I have my eye on one already  "It's a love fest!" You will be mine!).

I scoped out which ones had what in just for you, my lovely readers. If you click on the links it will take you to the Debenhams website where there is a 10% discount on at the moment  :-

  It's a love fest! -

• The POREfessional
• They're real!
• Sun beam medium 4ml
• Ultra plush lip gloss mini in COARlista

  Love me b.right! -

• It's potent eye cream
• Triple performing facial emulsion
• Total moisture facial cream mini
• The POREfessional mini 7.5ml

   Primed for lovin'! -

• They're real!
• High beam
• The POREfessional
• Ultra plush lip gloss mini in sugarbomb

Gimme some lovin'!

• They're real!
• Hoola
• High beam mini 2.5ml
• The POREfessional mini 7.5ml

As well as the four large tins they are also doing two small tins with make up kits inside. These kits will make great gifts as again once you have finished with the products you will have a little keepsake tin rather than an empty cardboard container. They are:-

Groovy Kind-a-love!

• The POREfessional mini 7.5ml
• They're real! Mini
• Benetint - medium 4ml
• Dandelion & Bella Bamba - cheek powder duo with brush
• 4 shade eyeshadow palette
• double-ended sponge applicator

Luv it up! 

• 3 longwear powder shadows - call my buff, nude swings, thanks a latte.
• Creaseless cream shadow mini in r.s.v.p
• Ultra plush lip gloss mini in dandelion

This was my favourite and the one that managed to make me part with some cash even though I told myself I was only going to look! I just have no will power when it comes to pretty make up's!

I had a really lovely time, the Benebabes were very knowledgeable about the products and were just all round nice girls! There were definitely a few more bits that I may have to drop some hints for around Christmas!
We were even given little mini goody bags so we could trial a couple of the products which I thought was a really nice touch.

I will be posting a review on the palette that I got with some close up pictures and a swatch or two!
Please let me know what you think of the offerings from Benefits Christmas range this year I would love to hear your opinions. Speak to you all again soon!

Heather xx

The Monthly Crave #1

Hello again!

Well as the month is drawing to a close and pay day is fast approaching, I thought I would share with you a few bits that I have been lusting after and may possibly be treating myself to, if I can justify their necessity!

First up is something I have had my eye on for a little while now, and that is the Nars Fairy Kiss Eyeshadow Palette.
Nars describe it as "An enchanted autumnal vision for eyes. A six-shadow palette of high-fashion, fanciful hues for an infinite range of artistic effect" I describe it as "ohhh so pretty I want"

It has the most beautiful purple shades which is one of my favourite colours. I have only heard good things about the Nars Eye shadows so I think it would be rude of me not to add this to my stash!

Nars Fairy Kiss Palette

Its now officially Autumn or Fall depending on what side of the pond you live on and in the spirit of autumnal shades I feel I should add some berry colours to my lipstick collection. I think these two Mac lovelies would do just the trick.

Mac New York Apple is one of their frost finishes and is a deep raspberry red. It looks like it has a beautiful shimmer to it and I am looking forward to getting to my local Mac counter to give it a swatch.

Another one I shall be swatching to see if I can pull it of is Mac Odyssey this is another of the frost finishes and I have seen it described as a berry wine with good coverage.


I'm not sure why I seem to be wanting the frost finishes all of a sudden as normally I prefer the amplified or matte finish I think it may be that they both have a bit of shine to them and this appealing to my magpie tendencies!


I have been wanting the next item for a few months now, I keep sniffing it whenever I am in the fragrance counters of my local department stores but as yet have restrained myself from buying as I have quite a few perfumes on the go and I should really finish some of them before I buy any more.

Alien Eau De Parfum

My final item is not beauty related and is of more a practical nature as with the season changed my footwear needs a bit of a reboot. I have seen these ones which are both practical and sassy and I can see myself getting a lot of wear from them. 

I have even found them for a good price on one of my favourite websites for shoe shopping Shoeaholics

Sammy Boot Carvela Kurt Geiger

So that's my list! What are your cravings for this month? Please leave a comment and let me know I would love to hear and maybe get some more inspiration! 

Heather xx