ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY

Wellity wellity wellity

2012-01-20T15:22:00.000Z

Well Hello!!
How was everyones Christmas and New year? Was Santa good too you? Pick up any good beauty bargains in the January sales?

In case you didn't notice by my absence, my December and January was/has been HECTIC! Christmas is one of my busiest times in work, so I do apologise that I haven't been about, but things are settling down now, so I can actually think about something other than work!

So, I will be posting part 2 of my haul very shortly, just need to photograph a few more bits and pieces, and then me Bex and Michelle will get on to our exciting posts!

Also, and this is SUPER exciting, on the 2nd of March, me and Bex from Bex's Fashion Tips are going to London to attend IMAT's. yayayayayayayayaya!!! For those of you that don't know, IMAT's (International Make up Artist Tradeshow) runs annually in London, Sydney, LA, New York, Toronto and Vancouver. Basically it's a make up lovers playground, amazing demo's and guest speakers (seriously, Oscar winning MUA's doing SFX demo's!) lot's of different exhibitors, from MAC and Ilamasqua to OCC and LA splash.
I'M SO FREAKIN EXCITED!!!

lol, sorry......excitement overload there.....if you wanna check out IMAT's you can visit their website http://www.imats.net/london/london_index.php check out the galleries for the incredible things that go on there.

We are taking a few extra days there to toodle round London and see the sights, and by that I mean, Shop.
While we are there we will take loads of pics of our shenanigans (if booking the flights and hotel was anything to go by, this is going to be a hilarious girly weekend) and all the exciting things and people we see at IMAT's.

So as much as I am excited, I'm fairly certain me and my bank account are about to have a major falling out!

I hope you all forgive me for my absence, and I'll get off my bum and get some good beauty posts sorted for the next week.

Speak to you all soon!!
Much Love

A very excited and soon to be broke Bex
xx

Bad blogger :(

2011-12-16T10:48:00.000Z

Hey guys, just wanted to apologise for my serious lack of blogging this last two weeks. Unfortunately this is the busiest time of the year for me at work and I am suuuuper stressed and snowed under. I promise you I have some lovely posts coming up when I finish work for the year (22nd of dec)
Hope you guys understand, and are all having a lovely Christmas season!

Bex
Xx

Gone Haulin? Part 1

2011-12-05T17:18:00.001Z

I decided I would do a 'Haul' blog for you all, of some bits and pieces I have picked up recently. I'm still waiting on a package from MAC, Urban Decay, and Sleek Make up. Which horrifies me slightly, because my goodness, I have bought A LOT recently. And this isn't even all of it :s

This is the beauty kinda stuff, I'm remembering a few other bits and bobs I've picked up that I've forgotten to photograph, I might just leave them out, for the sake of not looking like a maniac!
I've also bought some new clothes and accessories lately, if you're interested in seeing them, let me know :)

I'll go through bit by bit so you can have a gander at what I picked up, some I have used already, some I haven't. If you would like a review on any of it let me know!

First up we have a few bits and bobs I picked up from MAC, I got a couple of new brushes, an eye shadow in 'Twinks' and some pigment samples.

The colours are from L-R - Pink Opal, Basic Red (pro) and another Pink Opal, Neo Orange (pro) and Reflects Pearl.

Label M - Curl Cream - This was recommended to me by a client and I LOVE it. I definitely recommend it if you have curly or very wavy hair. Keeps your curls looking bouncy without any frizz!

I ordered some bits and pieces from ELF, unfortunately for us here in the UK ELF is only available online :(

Firstly I picked up this Exact Lash Mascara, which is said to be a dupe of the Clinique bottom lash mascara.

This is the Complexion Perfection Powder. Don't be fooled by all the colours, its basically transparent.

The Matte lip colours in (L-R) Tea Rose, Natural, Coral and Praline

This empty palette fits MAC eye shadows, and is only £1.50 in comparison to MAC's quads, at £9

Some Collection 2000 goodies!!

Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream and Love your lips gloss (L-R) Cotton Candy, Fairy Cake an Adore

The Big Fake mascara (larger wand) in comparison to the L'Oreal Voluminous Brush. It's HUGE.

Shade 3 and 2 of the Long Lasting concealer. Oddly, the light shade is a runnier consistency.....

And finally, 3 of the Extreme 24 hour felt tip liners (L-R) Black, Teal and Purple.

Urban Decay Primer Potion. I think this is fairly well known!

Yeaaaaah I went a bit mad for nail polish eeeep :s from top to bottom - OPI Rainbow Connection, Barry M - Purple Crackle, Number 17 magnetic polish in Lilac, Green and Grey, Models Own - Bronze Rage and finally, Number 17 Crackle top coat, black with gold glitter!

Right guys, ONE last lot, I swear!

GLITTERRRRRRR AGHHHHHH LOT'S OF BEAUTIFUL GLITTERRRR. This makes me happier than it should.....

I've also picked up a Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream, Murad Cleanser, Clean and Clear spot gel, Estee Lauder Night Repair and a few wee other things.

Hope you guys enjoyed looking at why my bank balance hates me!lol

Bex

My Name is Bex, and I'm an Addict.

2011-12-05T15:12:00.002Z

I have a problem, it's not a problem I noticed before, but it has recently been brought to my attention.
I'm addicted to Nail Polish.
That's the first step right? Admitting you have a problem? I promised myself I wouldn't buy anymore nail polish......since then I've bought 7. I know, I know! I need some sort of intervention!!!
Anyway, I bought some nail wheels so I could swatch all my beautiful nail polishes, and today I took some pictures for you guys! (any excuse to show off all the pretty colours)

First off, I store all my polishes in this bad boy (excuse the phone pic)

I made this fantastic storage, shelf jobby thing with some foam board and patterned tape! I followed this youtube tutorial: DIY: Nail Polish Wall Rack
This holds 100 nail polishes if they are lined up single file, I've had to double up in some places :s eeep. As you can see they are in colour order, because I am a maniac, my wardrobe is the same.....
It is meant to be wall mounted, but I haven't quite got that far yet...

So now.....to my shame, swatches of my lovely nail polishes :)

First up, some natural colours and shimmery top coats.

Some lovely oranges!

Pretty Pinks

Some red shades, the two at the end that don't appear red have red reflects in them.

PURPLE PEOPLE EATER....that's what my school bus was called.

Touch of the blues? (these captions are getting cheesier as we go on...)

Greens and Yellows, I know it's wrong, but I feel that I need more yellows....I told you I need help.

Browns, Bronzes, rusty reds and plums. Autumn colours really!

Blacks, silvers, platinum's.

Nail effects, Shatters, Metallic, Magnetic and nail strippers

and finally, my favourite

GLITTERS!!!!!!!!! I DEFINITELY need more glitters!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this wee nosey in to my obsession!

If you want to know what any of the colours are, just let me know :)

Bex

x

Make up before and after, did it last?!

2011-12-05T03:05:00.000Z

So as some of you may know, I sing. Not just in the shower, but on a slightly more professional level.
Before I studied to be a make up artist, I did a Bachelor of Performing arts with a major in Jazz singing, and since moving in to NI, I auditioned and secured a place in Belfast Community Gospel Choir. The choir is in no affiliated with any church or religion and has members from all walks of life, gay, straight, black, white, all colours, all creeds, and we have SO much fun. Anyway, I digress.

On Saturday night past, I was singing with 19 other girls and guys, including my Dad who is also a member, and the lovely Gemma Louise from champagne lifestyle student budget, and I was also going to the Skrillex after party straight afterwards.
Thing is, my skin is having a meltdown, I have no idea why, but I got a spot, and I'm not talking a wee blemish, I mean a MASSIVE spot. (trust me, you'll see the pics!)
So I needed my make up to cover the redness and pigmentation of the spot, and stay put through me performing and hour and forty minute set dancing and singing with the choir, then the hours of dancing to follow. All in all, I needed some heavy duty make up.

So, I primed, and I primed, and I primed. Yes, I used 4 primers on my face/eyes, but you will see, my make up barely moved!
Oh and NO TOUCH UPS! I promised I wouldn't so you could all see how it held up. (the things I do for you.....lol)

So these first pictures were actually taken in the car right after the concert, I didn't have time to take one before we went on stage, we literally had to run, it was madness.
The make up was applied around 8-8.30pm.

Check out the other head growing on my chin!!! I told you!! Under normal circumstances, that bad boy would have been edited out before it saw the light of day on the interwebs, but alas, I couldn't very well edit pics about my make up and put them up here! So the bare truth it is!

My eyes were primed with UD primer potion, followed by MAC paint pot in Painterly, AND then UD cream shadow ransom. PHEW! The shadow on the lid is MAC typographic, the crease is MAC beautiful Iris, with a wee bit of MAC Vibrant Grape to blend them together. The liner is the Collection 2000 Extreme 24 Felt Tip Liner, with Collection 2000 Glam Crystal liner in Rock Chick over the top, and lashings of L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara.
On the upper and lower water lines I used MAC Fluid Line in Black Track.

So! The middle of the night, sweatin like a maniac, I nipped to the ladies, and took a pic of how my make up was holding up (cue strange looks from people in the toilets)

Not too bad, the horrendous mountain on my face is still covered, so that's a win! Any sign of lip gloss has vanished, but I'm fine with that.

For my base I used Mac Prep and Prime, this is personally my favourite primer, I just love the texture and the wear. My foundation is a Rimmel 16 Hour wear in the colour Ivory. Concealer of course is the AMAZING Collection 2000 16hr concealer that I adore (you only need look at the mountain to see why!)
I powdered with the ELF complexion perfection powder. I powdered lightly as well by the way, one light sweep across the face was enough.
For contour I used Illamasqua powder blush in Disobey, blush was Elizabeth Arden Terra-Rose, Highlight was a number 7 one, I have no clue what its called however (sorry :s)

And finally, at 3am, when we stumbled back to the car, feet and legs aching from dancing non stop to the amazing beats of Skrillex, in the sweat box that is Stiff Kitten

The eyeshadow has started to wear away at the bottom corners of my eyes, and my blush is gone, leaving only the contour, which ends up looking quite severe, and I certainly don't look as 'fresh' but all in all, I'm pretty damn pleased!!

So a few wee tips, use long wear products, I wouldn't normally use the rimmel foundation, but I know it's super long wearing.
And DO NOT rub your face. This is a biggie. People tend to wipe their faces when they get sweaty, and in turn wipe off all their make up. The trick is, get a bit off toilet paper or a tissue, and pat any sweat or oil off your face, you'll be lifting the excess off the skin without disturbing your base.

Oh yes, and forgive my eyebrows, I have my waxing appt on Tuesday, I just can't tweeze them, it's far too sore!

Hope you guys enjoyed this!

If you have any questions about the products I used, or how to get your make up to last longer, give me a shout and I'll see if I can help.

Bex

x

Exciting Collaboration

2011-11-30T01:13:00.000Z

So I have some fairly exciting news, well, I'm excited!

On Tuesday I was sitting in work, fantasising about all the things I would rather be doing than sitting in work and I had a sudden thought, I wanna do a collaboration, and I know exactly the girls I want to do it with!

So a little later that day I approached Bex from Bexs Fashion Tips to see if her and Michelle would be interested? Thankfully they were!
So the plan! Each week, we will bring you two themed looks, I will be doing a wearable make up and a more avante garde/fashion/dramatic make up, Bex will bring you two nail looks in the same styles, and Michelle will bring you two outfits that will pair perfectly with your make up and nails!
I am SUPER excited.

For the first week, to get things started we have chosen the theme of '1920's/30's'

We would LOVE you guys to get involved, either recreating one of our looks, or creating your own and sharing them with us, and suggesting different themes, after the first week we will be choosing a theme from ones you guys suggest!

I hope you are all as excited as I am, I can't wait to get going!!

Speak to you all soon, and make sure you follow Bex and Michelle's blog so you get to see the fab nails and outfits!

Bex
x

Flawless Base Step by Step

2011-11-28T11:21:00.001Z

Base is tricky subject, and varies a lot by personal preference, from a more full coverage effect to a more natural 'own skin but better' effect.
I am very lucky to have spent over half my life in New Zealand, and the rest of it here in Northern Ireland (apart from a short stint in Sydney with Jess from Something Unique, that involved some questionable pool antics), so I have gained a view on general make up application from both ends of the world.
In New Zealand, we tend to go by the less is more approach, where as in the UK I have found that there is a trend for a much heavier more 'glamour' style, neither is wrong in my opinion, and can both can look gorgeous when done correctly.

So, where to begin, I think I'll start with moisturiser.

It is always really really important to moisturise your skin before applying foundation, this stops the foundation from grabbing on any dry patches and helps to create an even coverage.
I really can't stress enough how important moisturising your skin is, even if you have oily skin, you must moisturise. Some people seem to think if you have oily skin you should avoid moisturising, but this is most definitely not the case, you are in turn causing your skin to produce even more oil to compensate from the natural oils that are striped away when cleansing. Therefore, you end up with even oilier skin.

In all cases, especially if you find you have an oilier skin type, I suggest you moisturise 5 -10 Min's before you apply your base as this will give it time to soak in, if at this point there is any excess sitting on the skin, you can blot it off with a tissue or blotting papers. But please please please PLEASE, for love of all that is good and holy, MOISTURISE!!

Now we move on to primers.

Some people love em', some people hate em', I think they're great, when they're used correctly.
Primers can be used on oily skin types AND dry skin types, personally I lean towards the drier side so use a primer suited to my skin type (in my case MAC prep and prime), most primers available will indicate what skin type they are best suited for.
You only need a small amount of primer, unfortunately some people think, the more the better and slather it on like 50+ SPF on a freckly ginger kid, this is far far too much and won't work the way it should.
Really guys, a little goes a long way, and you only need to apply a small amount to the area's of your skin that need it, so the area's that tend to get oily (for me, around my nose and chin) and any dry patches or blemishes. The primer will help smooth out the dry patches and blemishes so foundation won't grab to them and go patchy.
With all that said, I don't believe primers are essential to your make up application, I only use one if I'm going to be wearing my make up for a really long time under conditions that I may be sweating eg. on a night out, working etc.
It's all down to personal preference, but if you would like some recommendations I'd be happy to help.

Colour Correctors.

Again I don't believe these are always essential. A lot of people love green colour correctors for redness and blemishes, personally I don't think they make enough difference to run out and buy one at the sight of a broken capillary.
However I think in some cases they can be great, if you suffer from very dark circles, peach/salmon colour correctors are great to cancel out some of the bluey purple undertones, and also work great on indo-asian and african american skin that has a blue tone around the mouth and nose area.
Colour correctors should be used SPARINGLY so as not to give the skin a strange hue, I would like to stress, that this will NOT erase any pigmentation issues you have, it may tone them down slightly, but it will not get rid of them.

Foundation.

Foundation comes in all different shapes and sizes, from tinted moisturisers and the recently popularised Beauty Balm creams, to full coverage no nonsense foundation.
Again, this is a very personal choice, it depends a lot on skin type and confidence! However, here are a few of my thoughts on the subject:
Foundation is just that, a FOUNDATION. Too many of us pile it on to cover every single mark or blemish, girls, stop it! That's what concealer is for! Use your foundation to create a base that you can work from, that evens out most of your skin tone.
If you have good skin that is generally clear of blemishes I would urge you not to slap on full coverage foundation like muck. It pains me when I see girls do this, and I just can't understand why on earth they do it!
Instead I suggest you opt for a tinted moisturiser, or a light to medium coverage foundation. These are available in all price ranges so should be easy enough to pick up.
If are very freckly (like myself) I also advise you steer clear of full coverage foundations as they will cover all the freckles on your face, and make you look like you are wearing a mask,unless you are planning on covering your whole body with foundation.

If you suffer from acne or large breakouts, don't feel you need to put on the heaviest foundation you can find, it's very likely that there are area's of your skin that are clear of acne and are very lovely! So let them shine through by using a medium coverage foundation and concealing any acne breakouts afterwards.

To be honest, I don't have a need for full coverage foundation very often, sometimes on fashion shoots or shows, but in general, I prefer to keep skin looking naturally flawless.

Concealer.

As with foundation, concealer comes in many different shapes and sizes and what works for you will vary on your skin type, tone and texture. So again, a few of my thoughts on concealer:

Concealer is your best friend. End of story. It makes the difference between you looking alright, and looking flawless. Not a single person in the planet couldn't benefit from a dab or two of concealer.

Under eye concealing - If you find you have fine lines under your eyes, I recommend you use a creamier concealer or illuminator. Drier concealers will slip in to the fine lines during the day and end up accentuating them. Not good. You also only need to conceal the areas under your eyes that actually NEED concealing. Very few people have darkness under the entire eye, it's generally in the inner eye area, so only conceal what needs covering. This stops an overload of products which can sometimes cause the effect of having heavy make up on.

Redness - Women tend to suffer from redness between the brows, around the nose and around the mouth and chin area. This is due to hormones, and unfortunately unavoidable. Some of us suffer worse than others, but if you're a woman with hormones, you've got it! Use a concealer that suits your skin type and texture and lightly buff concealer on the area, you can use a fluffy brush or your finger, but remember to blend it out well, you want just enough to cover the redness, but not so much that its obvious. It's always best to start with a little and build up.

Acne/Blemishes - The same rules apply here, only conceal what needs concealed. If you have two spots on your cheek, don't cover your whole cheek in concealer, simply dab some concealer on the blemish itself and blend out the edges. Again you can use your finger, but I find a fluffy brush does all the hard work for you!

Acne scars/Scars - I know sometimes it can be difficult to get foundation or concealer to stick to any scarring you may have from acne, chicken pox, etc. as the skin texture of a scar is very smooth and doesn't have pores or hairs to grab products, in this case, I suggest using a small amount of translucent powder on the area before applying your concealer, this will give the concealer something to grab too and keep it in place for you.

Finally, Setting Powders

If you find you have dry skin and your make up doesn't move throughout the day, then you can skip this step! I am personally of this skin type, and would sometimes use a small amount of translucent powder through my t-zone to take down any unattractive shine from my foundation or concealer and find that is sufficient for me.
If you have an oilier skin type or combination skin, I suggest you powder the area's of your face you find become most oily during the day. Sometimes you may have to touch up your powder during the day, so it's handy to keep a compact and brush with you, and/or some blotting papers to get rid of any shine you don't want.

One thing I will warn you of however, are HD powders, they are fantastic don't get me wrong, but I would strongly advise you avoid them if you are planning on being photographed, lest this should happen:

I think it's time to sack the make up artist Nicole!

Phew, okay, I think that's it! Did you manage to stick with me through all of that?!
I hope I managed to help a little, and if you have any questions, or want any advice, feel free to give me a shout and I'll see what I can do.

As always you can find me on facebook Rebecca Bryson - Make up Artist
Or on twitter - the link is at the side there :)

Speak soon!

Bex
x

Time for a rave

2011-11-26T10:30:00.000Z

And I don't mean of the early 90's Acid fueled variety.

Often times, as a make up artist, I overlook high street (drugstore) brands for higher end brands, mainly because when people pay money to have their make up done, they like it to be special and with luxury products they may otherwise never get to use.

Not long ago, I was asked to work on a film, I would be getting paid for use of special FX products, but otherwise, no moolah. I'm sure you can understand that I begrudged using my expensive products on an unpaid job, so I decided to try and find some cheaper alternatives.

Let's just say, the high street brands put me in my place. The quality available now from cheaper brands is astounding! Years ago, you never would have found a nice creamy black kohl, or different finishes in foundations in a chemist, but now, flip me, needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised.

So here are a few of my favs I have picked up along the way, I'd love to know some of your guys favourites so I can try them out!

Firstly we have the Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner:

Originally made 'famous' by the fabulous Pixiwoo girls www.pixiwoo.com this comes in at £6.00, and let me tell you, these eyeliners are DEVINE! Now personally I am a fan of the Gel type eyeliners, I find they don't budge from my waterline when everything else I have tried does.
So naturally, when I saw they were on sale for £3.99 I bought 8. Yes, 8. Now, to be fair, they weren't ALL for me, just 3 of them. The rest I gave to some girlfriends as part of their Christmas pressies.
Now one problem I have with the supershock liners, and, it's a biggie; I'm allergic to them. Yep, can't even use them! Well, not on my waterline anyway.
But they have made an excellent addition to my kit, and I only know of one other person that has had a reaction (oddly enough, we have the same name and are basically the same person....) otherwise everyone seems to love them!
They glide on like a dream, they blend so beautifully and don't budge for anything! I really do recommend them, and I do use it on the lid, just not the waterline.

Next up, my new favourite product EVER!

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer

Hello my precious :)

Now I had heard that this concealer had magical powers or something of the sort, but I thought, mon' now, at £4.19 how good can it be?
But I bought it anyway, I wanted to see what all the hype was about.
So heading out for my birthday, I decided I would give it a whirl, and HOLY CRAP THIS STUFF IS AMAZING!!!! Yes, I just just text shouted at you.
So I thought, surely within the hour, this unbelievable coverage and silky smooth finish will either have A.gone patchy, B.disappeared, or C. a combination of both.
So off I trotted to the ladies room to touch up what I was sure was going to be a horrendous mess on my face, but oh no, smooth silky perfectly concealed skin stared back at me in the mirror, I thought it was a joke, perhaps my friends had conned stiff kitten in to installing some sort of illusion mirror in the ladies room, but oh no, it was all me! Or rather, it was all this delightful concealer! About 9 hours later I arrived home and went to take my make up off, you won't believe this, IT WAS STILL FLAWLESS!!
I don't know what these people have put in this, but it is the concealer of the gods, and for £4.19!!

The above would be my absolute favourite gems I have come across in a chemist, but there are plenty more that hold a special place in my kit and my personal collection.

For the glitter lovers, these collection 2000 Glam Crystals put all other glitter liners I have used to shame, and I mean the so loved Urban Decay Heavy Metal liners ain't got nothing on these!
At 2.99 a pop, you can't go wrong, these are packed with glitter, and I LOVE the black liner for a bit or sparkle at the lashline on a night out.

Now, I have no doubt everyone has heard of the Sleek range, especially their palettes which retail at £6.49 for 12 shadows in beautiful packaging. I'm a big fan. Their black eyeshadow which features in every palette, is one of the blackest opaque black eye shadows I've ever come across, and let me tell you, if I've tried one, I've tried 20.
Now I know the Sleek palettes have their downfalls, the main one being the amount of fallout created by these shadows if you aren't very very careful, but ya know what, for the excellent colour pay off, the finish, and the ease of blending for such a small price, well I don't mind doing a bit of clean up.

The last brand I want to touch on today is ELF, as they aren't available in stores in NI, I can understand the hesitation from most people here to buy their products, but a while ago, I took the plunge.
I'm not gunna lie, some of it has been horrendous, but some products have become staples in my kit and personal routine. I think I'll do a more in depth review of the ELF products I have bought, but for now, here are a couple of my faves that I whole heartedly recommend. the products range in general from £1.50 - £3.50.

One of my more recent purchases, but so far, loving them, they are very creamy for a matte lipstick and have excellent staying power.

The blushes are gorgeous, smooth and very pigmented.

Personally I don't use a stippling brush on myself for foundation application, but I do like using it on guys or if you want a small amount of foundation. I find it gives a much lighter application.

Finally for today, these compacts fit MAC eye shadows and at £1.50 are a hell of a lot cheaper than the MAC quads, I've bought a couple of these and use them until I have enough to fill a 15 MAC palette. Saves me some money!

This was a long one! I hope I haven't bored you all to tears, I'll probably do one of these again as there are a few other products that I love.

As always you can find me on Facebook
And Twitter

Bex
x

When I think

2011-11-25T18:00:00.000Z

of Halloween, I always think of The Rocky Horror picture show.
I think it's the elaborate costumes, the fantastic dancing and singing, and the general creepy-ness. Never the less, I flippin LOVE it!
Anyway, irrelevant, this post is going to be a bit of a round up of my Halloween looks.I couldn't decide initially what I wanted to do, so naturally, I decided to do one look on one half of my face (a dark/evil queen of hearts) and the other look on the other half of my face (A sugarskull, inspired by a painting by Sylvia Ji)

I used about a million products for the sugar skull, and it took me a good while, but the queen of hearts look was fairly easy and quick!

I blocked my brow using scar wax, but you can use a glue stick, it does the same job, then I just carved out the shape I wanted with a black eyeliner and blended it, I then set that with a black eyeshadow.

In the inner corner and lid I used a red colour and blended it in to the black, in this case I used cranberry from MAC.I then dabbed a little red glitter on the same area to give it a bit more drama, whacked on some mascara and a half lash on the bottom and that was the eyes done!

For the lips I drew out a heart shape and filled it in with black liner, over the top I put some red lipstick and again dabbed on some of the red glitter.

The skin was paled out and contoured with black shadow (lightly!) and a red shadow was blended on top of the check bone, around the temple and through the hair line.All in all, I was pretty pleased!Then there was the sugar skull.....now this wasn't as easy, not because the actual aplication was difficult, it just requires a lot more accuracy and patience.

and both together, for a laugh

In the end I went for the queen of hearts look, complete with a big ginger mess of hair and Queen of hearts dress!!

Hope you enjoyed :)

Bex
x

Sometimes in life....

2011-11-25T11:00:00.000Z

Ya get lucky, and I have to say, when it comes to having babes for friends, I definitely got lucky!!
Now one of the joys (Although I'm sure some of my friends would call it a pains) of being friends with me, is that I want to experiment. On their faces.
And seeing as they are my friends, well they don't really have much choice do they!! (suckers!)

So below, is some pictures of bits and pieces I have experimented with on some of my friends faces.

Meet Jenny:

And Jenny sporting a mermaid inspired look:

And this is Grace!

This is with a flash

Anddddd then this one just for kicks:

Anyways, hope you liked my messing about stuff!
As always, theres more goodies on my facebook: www.facebook.com/rebeccaMUAbryson
And ya can fine me on twitter @red_ribbon :)

Thanks for looking guys!

Bex
x

She asks, She shall receive!

2011-11-24T22:48:00.000Z

So I posted a wee link to my blog earlier on twitter, and one of my good friends Julie, who is a fabulous photographer that I work with regularly, demanded that I post some pictures of myself! So Julie, here ya go!

First up, two pictures actually taken by Julie herself, on a random night that we decided to go for a wander round Belfast Castle.

I'm pretty much in love with Julie for making my skin look like perfection!! You can check out some more of Julie's amazing work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliemullin/

No doubt you will see plenty of my mug in the future, but in case you were curious as too what I look like, well, here ya go!

And this is me with Sam and Nic from Pixiwoo. I had the absolute joy of getting a make up session with them last year. Wonderful, amazing, beautiful artists and people.

Anyway, now ya know who I am and what I look like, and Julie got her post!lol

Hope you enjoyed :)

Bex
x

Well hello there!

2011-11-24T18:45:00.000Z

So I've been MIA for about oh...... 7 months? I know, bad Bex, slap on the wrist etc. I don't really have a valid excuse, I just got super busy, and out of the rythm of blogging!

Anyhow, of late, I have been chatting with some lovely bloggers on twitter and they've got me all inspired to give this blog another go and maybe try my hand at some youtube tutorials :s scary biscuits!

I'm not sure why my pictures aren't working on my older posts, Im gunna see if I can find someone that can fix it, fingers crossed!!

So over the last 7 months, I've been a busy busy girl, over the next wee while I'll post pictures and video's etc of shoots I have been working on and also a TV series called Coast that I worked on over the summer (www.coastmovie.com) so I will have lots of good stuff to come, I promise!!

For today, I thought I would post some pics that have inspired my first possible youtube tutorial! It was requested by the gorgeous Sera from http://theagoraphobicfashionista.blogspot.com/
The concept was thought up by the wonderful photographer Julie Mullin http://juliemullinphotography.com, she wanted to do a 60's inspired shoot. We decided to use model Sharon Watson, as with her short platinum blonde hair, big eyes and long limbs, she has a very 'twiggy' look.

This is one of my personal favourites from the shoot, I love the look of her eye peeking out!

This is just a wee taster, there are more pics on my facebook page wwww.facebook.com/rebeccaMUAbryson

And finally, this stunning picture was used as an advertisement for Paul Stafford Hair after Paul saw the picture!

Hope you guys liked this first post back! I promise I'll keep em coming!

Bex
x

FOTD 31/03/2011

2011-04-02T02:58:00.000+01:00

Well check me out all blogging everyday! Today again is just a wee quick FOTD.

Yet again, I went to the cinema! What can I say? I'm just little Miss Popular haha!

I went to see Sucker Punch tonight, which was really good! Had total make up envy!! Especially babydoll, BEAUT! Visually it was incredible, along the lines of 300 and Sin City (I think the same guy directed them) I would definitely recommend it.

So my bake! ( Which means face for those of you not from Northern Ireland!) Now I have kept it true to life, meaning I didn't do any touch ups before I took these photo's and I had been wearing it for about 6 hours, so you can see the shadow is creasing very slightly and there is wear on my t zone. I always think its better to see fotd that people have been wearing for a while without touch ups, gives you an idea of how the products really last so you won't be dissapointed.

so on the eyes we have:
Urban decay cream shadow in ransom
MAC eyeshadow in Beautiful Iris
MAC pigment in Pink Bronze
MAC Vanilla as a higlight
MAC Blacktrack flidline
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

Face:
Same as usual

Lips: Okay, so I was lazy and in a rush, so its just strawberry chapstick.lol

Hope you enjoyed that :)

Bex
x

FOTD 30/03/2011

2011-04-01T01:15:00.001+01:00

Just a quick Face of the day, pretty simple as I only went out to the cinema so noone could see me in there anyway!
Also I died my hair today, so it's suuuuuper red!! I think I like it......

One the eyes we have:
MAC Painterly Paint Pot
MAC All that glitters - on the lid
MAC Soft brown and Handwritten - in the crease
MAC Blacktrack fluidline
Urban Decay Cream Shadow in Weeds - lower lash line
Urban Decay Vert - Overs weeds
L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

On the face:
Stila tinted moisturiser in Tone
MAC studio finish concealer in NW25
Ilamasqua blush in Disobey - as light contour
ELF Blush in Rose

MAC all that glitters and Jest to highlight

Brows - awee bit of MAC Omega

Lips:
MAC Lip Gelee in Slicked Pink

Phew!

Hope you enjoyed this wee short post!

Bex
x

GIVEAWAAAAYS

2011-03-30T04:02:00.002+01:00

I flippin LOVE giveaways, I also flippin love nail polish! I've come across two awesome giveaways on nail blogs that you should definitely check out!

The first belongs to the lovely ladies at Nail Addicts anonymous who are giving away 80 nail polishes AND some nail art stuff! MADNESS. Get yourself entered quickly if you want a chance to win 80, yes you read right 80 nail polishes!

And secondly, the lovely Carina from down under is having an awesome giveaway as she hit the 500 follower mark! wahoo!! (btw she is now up to 1283 followers! Check her out!)

There's a stack of awesome polishes and some MAC make up, which we all love, some lashes and other make up bits and bobs!

Now scootch off and enter before they close!!

Bex
x

Well Hiya!

2011-03-30T03:03:00.000+01:00

So my friend Bex (http://bexsfashiontips.blogspot.com/) has inspired me to get off my backside and actually use this blog!

So for my first post in a million years, I thought I'd share with you some nail polish's I bought yesterday on an improptu visit to superdrug!

Above you will see 2 lovely polishes from Barry M called 308 Berry l/c and 297 Blue Glitter, followed by 3 gorgeous summery shades from Miss Sporty (theres currently a 3 polishes for £3.99 deal on Miss Sporty at superdrug)called.....now....here's the question, where on earth are the names/numbers on these bad boys?? I'm gunna take a guess and go for the number on the label that is in a box, because the rest aren't in a box so it just seems to make logical sense....right? So the coral shade appears to be called 304, the blue seems to be 320 and finally that amazing minty pastelly green looks like it's called 330. Well done on the inventive and elusive name front Miss Sporty!

On the nails these are all fairly true to the colour in the bottle.please excuse the messy application, Im a user of the 'wash the messy bits off in the shower' method.

You can see they are super pretty colours, the 3 Miss Sporty shades are probably the most spring/summer appropriate, but I'm a sucker for some glitter and pastels!

My intention was just to swatch them, then pick one and do a mani with it, however, I couldn't pick, so instead I whacked some Barry M effects in black (I am addicted) over the colours and stuck with it!

Before top coat:

And with Sally Hansen hard as nails in clear as a top coat:

Right, well that wasn't so bad! I am going to try and update this as much as possible and be a good girl blogger!lol.

Enjoy!

Bex
x

Do you ever?

2009-08-13T01:49:00.007+01:00

Write something, or say something, then have that after thought of....is that even a real word or saying? I just had that. I literally looked up Once bitten Twice shy to make sure I didn't imagine it up. I was in luck, I had not.

So I've decided to introduce you to a few people whose names will more than likely crop up a lot in this blog, name to a face and all.

Firstly, Adam and Ryan, they are my flatmates, and both pretty awesome. Anyone from Belfast may recognise Adam, he used to be the goalie for the Belfast Giants, but he's a big teddy bear, and saved me from a huge spider this morning, brownie points! And Ryan, well he's a big ball of energy and a good laugh, a bit ditzy, but probably one of the kindest people you will ever meet, he also has a lovely boyfriend Chris, who will pop up a bit too I imagine.

So here they are....Adam is the one with the beard....

So then we've got the lovely Grace, breakin heart's left right and centre. She is hilarious, mostly due to her extreme lack of common sense, but don't confuse that with lack of intelligence

Then we have my brothers, Thomas aka Twinny whose not really my twin, or in fact related to me at all, but we pretend, and then my real brother Grant who has recently moved to Belfast aswell....Ryan also features in the pic or me and Grant. Oh and I'm not sure why we are pulling those faces, but they make me laugh.

And finally, Jenny, I use her as a model a lot for my make up things, so here she is looking ravishing as always, sporting a mermaid inspired look:

So I'd say I've bored you enough for now, so tarah!

Bex
xx

Hello....anyone?

2009-08-13T01:10:00.000+01:00

Well, finally I have given in and got myself a blog. After months of reading other people's I thought I'd give it a whirl.

So, My name in Rebecca, but I get called Bex by nearly everyone, I'm 23, I lived in New Zealand for 15 years and I now Live in belfast (where I was born).

I am an interior designer, but I also studied performing arts (major in jazz singing) and have a certificate in fashion make up and design.

Yeah, so this blog is basically gunna be about, make up and beauty things, and my life, and some interior design stuff, and basically whatever is on my mind at the time.

So hopefully I shall speak to you (whoever you are,lol) soon!

Bex
x