Thursday 13 September 2012

How to: Victoria's Secret bombshell makeup



Step one: Moisturise 
It's so important to moisturise before you apply your makeup if you want that radiant & healthy glow all the Angels flaunt. Go for one that has an illuminating feature with light reflecting particles, so your face can catch more light and give you that VS glow. 

rubysare suggests: 
Loreal luminosity day cream
Step two: Prime (optional)
For longer lasting makeup, and an even base for your foundation, apply a primer to smooth out your complexion! There are loads out there, be it for redness, uneven skin tone, dark spots, dullness... for a VS bombshell look, go for one that has a highlighting effect with light reflecting particles (not sparkles). 

rubysare suggests:



Benefit's Porefessional
Benefit's that gal
Step three: Apply a light-medium coverage foundation
Go for a foundation that has light coverage,  you should let your real skin shine through for that natural VS beauty! Plus, you can always build it up in areas that need that extra coverage! ☼ ☀ Also, try to go for a foundation with a yellow undertone in it, even if you don't have a yellow undertone. This will contribute to the golden glow effect (and give you more of that tanned look) 

rubysare suggests:




Step four: Apply concealer
Four the flawless VS finish, conceal any blemishes or redness with a long lasting, natural finish concealer (make sure it matches your skin colour!). Also go for a concealer with a pink undertone (to get rid of dark under eye bags) to use just under your eyes and above your cheek bones to highlight the high points of your face. 

rubysare suggests:


Benefit's Boi-ing 
Step five: Shape your brows for that youthful look
Shaping your brows with a slight arch can transform your face completely! It creates a sort of frame for your eyes and cheek bones, to make them look more defined! As a rule of thumb, if you want a foolproof brow color, go 2-3 shades lighter for darker hair, and for lighter hair, go 2-3 shades darker.


rubysare suggests:
Benefit's Brows a-go-go
Step six: powder your T-zone 
To matte down shiny areas of your face, apply SPARINGLY some natural finishing powder to set your makeup in the centre of your face, and let the outer high points of your face shine! The dewey finish is the VS bombshell must have. Go for a powder that doesn't leave your face looking cakey or powdery, rather one that applies a matte sheen to the centre of your face so you don't look oily :) 

rubysare suggests:

Bare Minerals Original SPF foundation
Step seven: Contour and bronze
Go for a matte bronzer to contour (under cheek bones, bridge of nose, temples) and a bronzer with shimmer for the tops of cheek bones & temples. For that extra glow, go for a cream based bronzer that gives a nice sheen to your cheeks and temples :)

rubysare suggests:

Daniel Sandler Watercolor Creme Bronzer 
Mac Mineralise Skin finish Gold Deposit
Step eight: A flush of blush
Go for a peached toned /coral blush for the warm, rosie flus of colour the VS angel all have! They tend to go for powder blushes rather than cream blushes! 

rubysare suggests:

Benefit's Coralista
TheBalm's Hot Mama
Nars orgasm
Step nine: Highlight your face
Highlight the tops of cheek bones, bridge of nose, eyebrow bones, temples for that notorious VS glow! Go for one with a bronze shimmer for a golden glow effect! Also, see my post Get her Glow for more suggestions. 

rubysare suggests:


Becca's Shimmering Skin perfecter in opal
Benefit's sun beam


Step ten: Eyeshadow
There are soooo many eye shadow combos you could to to imitate a VS bombshell look, however one thing all the looks have in common is shimmery, pearly, champagne, peachy, bronzed, golden toned colours. More of a bronze smokey eye than an original black or silver smokey eye. Go for a palette that has many of these colours so you can create a different one every time. 

rubysare suggests:


Urban Decay's Naked Palette
Step eleven: Eyeliner 
If you notice in the photos of the Angels, They don't wear a lot of eyeliner, if at all. But a common bombshell trend is to wear a liquid liner on the upper lid with a slight, slight wing. Another way to make it more subtle, is to use some black or dark brown eyeshadow, and with a liner brush apply on your outer portions of your lids
rubysare suggests:

Step twelve: Bombshell Lashes
Now, most of the time the angels with be wearing false lashes, for that extra flirty look. But if you're anything like me at applying falsies like a complete loonie, there are some great mascaras that can give a great false lash effect. Also, for flirty lashes, apply just to top lashes (or more layers to the top lashes), and you'll be fluttering like a VS butterfly! 

rubysare suggests:

Step thirteen: Lush Lips 
To get luscious VS lips, don't go for a matte lipstick, or a lipstick for that matter, go for a tinted lip balm, lip balm, or lipgloss, because they always have healthy looking, shiny lips! A nude, pink, natural, berry colour is most often seen for a bombshell look! 

rubysare suggests:

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm in Honey

Tarte's LipSurgence Balm tint in Enchanted
Mac's Plushglass in Posh it up 
Clinique's Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry




Love, 

            rubysare 

What's in my current makeup bag?

Obviously I have an unhealthy appetite for cosmetics, so the one's that make it into my daily cosmetics bag have the highest of honours worthy of king makeup items. Funnily enough, on a daily basis I don't wear any makeup at all, but on occasions that I do, I'm the biggest sucker for the most natural "No makeup, makeup" look that screams effortless! In my current beauty bag, I keep a selection of basics that give me that extra glow and radiance I love 

 I purchased this bag from Myer for $15, I love how it's sturdy, waterproof, not too big and has lasted me almost a year now! 

 So this all fits snuggly into my makeup bag, amazing, no? I usually change around items once a month so I can use up the rest of my makeup collection and reduce wastage (shopping my stash). 
Normally in my makeup bag I keep: 
 a foundation
concealer
primer
blush
green stick (always)
bronzer
powder
lip stain
mascara
cream eye shadow
brow kit
and highlighter
 Right now, I'm loving this combo of MAC's paint pot in "GROUNDWORK" (which is a browny mauve that  blends right into my eyelids giving a completely natural and invisible shadow in my crease and outer corners) and Benefit's Creaseless cream eyeshadow in "SIPPIN N' DIPPIN" which is a peach champagne colour that looks so pretty on the centre of the lid & gives almost a 3D effect making my blue eyes stand out!
A lip balm in my beauty bag is a must, and at the moment i'm digging the EOS lip balms, especially the SWEET MINT flavoured one :) And for a pop of ze colour I also love the new Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm stain in HONEY , it's so moisturising and give a my lips but better effect for a more healthy overall look. 


 Okay can we just take a moment to thank the beauty heavens for this product ♥ ☼  
I purchased this in Feb (2012) and my golly gosh, my other bronzers just can't keep up. It's Chanel's SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL "bronzing base", which I use as a bronzer every single day. It is kind of like a cream/mousse to powder product, that can be used to contour your cheek bones, blend into your temples for a sun-kissed glow, on the bridge of your nose and my personal fav on the sides of your nose (looks like you've been on the Island in a season of Lost). I just love it, it gives the most natural finish (not dewey, but more of a sheen). However be careful to not apply too much because it is slightly orange based (snooki say whaaaat?) so you definitely get a bang for your buck, I haven't even gone through the little knob at the top of the product! 
Totes Fetch. 
 So these are my current complexion holy grails! From left to right, is BECCA's Compact Concealer in the shade Torrone, which has a pink-toned darker shade on the left for covering dark under eyes, and a lighter colour for blemishes and cover ups! I love how it doesn't crease and stays put all day long 
Next, is MAC's FACE AND BODY in the shade C2, perfect tone for my skin (they have a great colour range). It is the lightest of MAC foundations, perfect for summer and daily makeup, giving a dewey tone correcting finish, letting your natural skin shine through. 
Next, is MAC's PRO LONGWEAR CONCEALER in the shade NC20, which I use on any redness or blemishes on my face. I can assure you, you won't be disappointed with the lasting power on this concealer! Plus - mac have great colour ranges for al skin tones. Minus- the pump give out way too much product at a time. 
And finally I've got MAC's MINERALIZE SKIN FINISH NATURAL in Medium, which I really only use to matte my face if I feel too shiny, but personally I love a dewey finish so I use this sparingly on my T zone area! 
 So these are items that pretty much always remain in my beauty bag: 
My Maybelline COVER STICK CONCEALER in the green shade! I am a picker, so I have a couple pimple scars that are slightly more red or darker than my skin tone. I apply this little baby after I moisturise and prime, and dab it on scars that I need covering and just blend with my ring finger until there is no obvious green left. Then you just whack on some foundation and wallah, your scars are gone! 
Now you are probable saying, why on earth do you need 2 primers in your beauty bag Sarah... Well let me explain amigo. I use my Stilla ONE STEP CORRECT on my T-zone (over my nose, forehead, under eyes and chin to correct and even my skin tone (the green, pink and purple correct uneven skin tones) and my Benefit THAT GAL primer on my cheek bones, forehead and temples because it has light reflecting particles that attracts light in those areas for a luminous glow.
 Next I have My Maybelline FULL N' SOFT mascara, my holy grail mascara that triumphs over all my high end mascaras for the most natural lash that is lengthened and each lash is really defined (making you look like you have more eyelashes). 
And of course my Benefit BROWS A-GO-GO kit, to make my blonde eyebrows a little darker to frame my face. 
And last, but not least, my love of the moment, the Daniel Sandler Water Colour Fluid Blush !! All you need is a drop onto a buffing/stippling brush, & blend on your both cheekbones evenly for a natural flush of colour without the dreaded powdery look. The colour I'm using at the mo, is Cherub. It's so fetch...... I need to stop using fetch, it's just not going to happen.

Love, 
            rubysare 

Get her GLOW


So you cyber stalk Rosie-Huntington Whiteley, Miranda Kerr, and Candice Swanepoel on a daily basis, wondering how in the hell they always look like a bloody walking candle 24/7? 
Fear not fellow matte-faced friends, I have some tips on how to get that Victoria's Secret glow that you can wear all year round 


TIP ONE MOISTURISE 
The most important tip for that radiance you want! MOISTURISE your face ALL THE TIME, under everything you put on your face! And no whining oily faced people, this includes you too! No matter how late you did tequila shots to last night, if your face could easily supply the oil for a bbq, or how much of a rush you are in, this always comes first! If you have oily skin and don't moisturise, your subcutaneous glands within your skin will produce more oil to compensate for a lack of hydration..
= more oil buildup 
= more clogging of pores 
= more breakouts urrghh! 

One i've been using for years because I simply haven't found anything as good is the LOREAL YOUTH CODE LUMINOSITY DAY CREAM . It would be best to get a moisturiser that claims luminosity, because like this holy grail product, It has light infusing particles that evens out your skin tone more more luminous, youthful skin! 
TIP TWO HIGHLIGHT 
A touch of highlight really is the icing on the cake for a glowing radiant complexion, however you should use one that doesn't make you look like a disco ball during the day for a more natural look (like the ones swatches) and save the more intense ones for when you go out and know you're getting in photos. Now I have a ridiculous amount of highlighters, but I've done my research, and chosen the ones that doubled as a bronzing affect relative to the Victoria's secret golden glow theme of this blog post.
EXTRA TIP: apply sparingly to tops of cheek bones, travelling up around your eyes to your temples, a tiny bit on the higher portions of your temples (getting more into the forehead), the bridge of your nose, and under the brow on the brow bones so your face can catch the light in all the right places! 

Such a pretty highlighter. Comes with a brush applicator, but personally I wipe a small amount on the back of my hand and apply with a regular foundation brush for a more even effect. Bronze, liquid, smooth consistency with a natural finish if applied lightly! 
So I uhhh LOVE this product! Never caught onto the hype of it until recently when I purchased in in the colour OPAL... a bronze, sheer, natural glow that makes you look 150% natural, more of a sheen on the cheekbones for a HEALTHY GLOW. 
When I purchased this from Lush I was so hesitant because it looks so scary to apply because it is super pigmented and dark. However I have grown to love this little gem, but you have to be very careful to when applying, don't experiment before a night out, have a play around with it at home first. It is a creamy, almost burnt orangy colour with beautiful gold shimmer within it, that when blended properly into the skin created a golden, tanned, shine. I like to mix it in with my foundation (after i've applied foundation without it) and apply it to the tops of my cheek bones, the bridge of my nose and temples for a tan that makes me look like i've been in Bora Bora with the Kardashians for 3 weeks. 
So i'm a sucker for cream stick products, be it blush, highlighter, or bronzer. Thankfully NYX brought out two that combines both a highlighter and a bronzing effect in one easy stick applicator. You get so much product too, a great bang for your buck! It's creamy and a little harder to apply than the liquid bronze highlighters above, however it leaves a natural sheen that is worth the tiny bit of extra time :) Today i've swatched 2 colours - "bronzy lambada" which is the darker of the two for a more tanned sheen, and "tango and highlight" which gives the most natural sheen out of all the above highlighter for an effortless glow during the day. 
UN-BLENDED (Bronze Lambada, Tango and Highlight, Becca shimmering skin perfecter in opal, Benefit Sun Beam,  Lush Charisma tint)
BLENDED (Bronze Lambada, Tango and Highlight, Becca shimmering skin perfecter in opal, Benefit Sun Beam,  Lush Charisma tint)