Love Luxe

Hello everyone, hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Hasn't it flown by? Sadly my boyfriend is back to work today so I'm all alone so I thought I'd blog and then maybe pop to the sales... I already seem to have bought two pairs of boots even before the sales arrived, which is slightly naughty.

Anyway, with Christmas been and gone I thought I could focus all my efforts on NYE. My motto with a new years look is the more glam and glitz, the better. Luxe is the perfect NYE look. Think gold, think glitter, think dark vampy lips, et voila!

Barry M paint pots are brilliant for creating this sort of look because they have such a selection of glitzy colours that are highly pigmented. My tip for using these is to use a flat eyeshadow brush, dip into the pot and lightly tap the end of the brush so all excess comes off. Otherwise, you will look like a pantomime dame. Gently blend the shadow into your eyelid. To define your eyes, take a dark brown colour to softly create a line along the lash line using an eye liner brush. This gives the illusion of longer, fuller lashes.

To create more glamour, I always recommend using false lashes on an occasion like NYE. I have used many different lashes in my time but my favourite ones I've used, which I am currently working my way through is the individual lashes from Eyelure. You can apply each lash to where it is needed so your lashes look long and lovely but still look and feel really natural.

Stick to your usual evening foundation base so you feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. I usually go for a dewy base and set it with mineral powder, so when the camera makes an appearance you can be sure the light will bounce off your face giving you a gorgeous glow. If you use a matte foundation but still want that 'glow' use Benefit's High Beam. Dot it along your cheekbone to have the glow of a supermodel.

Next up for lips, the darker you dare to go the better! Start off by prepping your lips with a soft toothbrush, gently rub on your lips to remove any dead skin. Next plump and soften your lips using my old favourite Creme de Rose from Dior. Choose a lip colour that will complement your complexion as not everyone can wear a deep berry shade.

Pale skinnned beauties should opt for pinks and light coral shades. However for an evening when you are trying to vamp it up a bit opt for a red shade. When choosing a red shade it's all about the undertones of your skin to be able to get it right. Pink skinned girlies should always go for a cherry red.

Olive/medium skinned lovelies can be more daring with their lip colour, berry colours are extremely flattering. Reds don't always work very well for olive skinned girls but if you really want to wear red then stick to bold, fire-engine red. But make sure you apply with a lip brush to slowly build up the colour. I'm olive skinned so I have extremely pale skin in the winter with a yellowy tinge and then if I'm in the sun I go a lovely colour. Red really doesn't suit me so I tend to stay well away from it. But I do love purple shades and a burgundy berry colour from Rimmel.

Dark skin darlings have it the best because bright and bold look absolutely stunning in contrast to the dark skin. Deep plum colour is extremely flattering for an evening look, or if you want to go for red then a deep re is the best way to go.

Bobbi brown always says the best lip shade for your skin tone is just two shades darker than your natural lip colour. When you go shopping for a new lipstick, apply to half of your lip and see how much darker it is to your natural colour. It's as easy as that.