Hey everyone! My good friend Anna, another blogger and former work colleague is giving a fantastic giveaway to one of her readers! I've left how to find her page here, follow her, leave your name and e-mail and get lots of amazing goodies! :) Nothingbutbeauty7.blogspot.ie :)

I'm Back with a beauty vengeance

AS you can probably tell, I haven't been blogging at all in the last while! But I'm back with a vengeance and determined to stick at this now! I'll tell you a bit about what I've been up to and my life now :) I think I lost hope when dreams of makeup artistry came tumbling down, die to the current economic climate..and due to the realization that certain makeup counters care more about sales than actual makeup. you could do a makeover on a clown to look more like a clown and it didn't matter as long as you sold the products! I have more pride than that! I then went into the fashion industry and by god was that crazy! And sooo not me! But now I', sticking to what I'm good at. Beauty & Makeup. I am a working beauty therapist running a business with a friend and loving it. Being your own boss you get to put your ethics and beliefs first and I believe providing the best treatment as possible is important more than whacking out a few crappy makeovers or nail treatments to get bucks in! I would advise clients coming to me not to be in a rush as I like to give a perfected relaxed and in time with the "energetic flow" or creative energies/aura's that are in the room at the time. Not to get all hippie on you but you know what I mean. If clients are at their most relaxed and got the full potential out of the treatment they will come back and that's the best sales strategy out there! Aoife's (my gorgeous partner and creator of Total-Beauty) specialty is nails with the best gel nails I've ever seen. Her creativeness has no end! Mine, would be massage and make-up most definitely! And next week we are both attending a period makeup workshop! 1920's, 1940's/50's (As you know I'm period makeup mad) so I'm definitely looking forward to that! I'm going to be posting beauty news, my own opinions on products & treatments and my life as it evolves into the never ending beauty world. X Shell X

1920's smokey eyes

As you can probably tell, I love the 1920's era, and its my favourite post 1900's period make-up!
To do a smokey eye, I use GOSH smokey eye pallet in 001 smokey eyes. To get a soft smokey eye first use a firm eye shadow brush and pat on the white or light grey colour all across the eyelid and up to the brow bone.
Next use a softer brush and sweep across the outer half of the eye and socket in dark grey. Blend this in using a soft blending brush so the colour appears to be gradually fading from light to dark across the eye.
For a more defined look and a more sultry look apply the dark black colour along the eyelid and socket line and blend in well.
To make the "smokey effect" use a clean soft brush along the outer brow bone to make the colour appear as though it fades into the skin naturally. It might take a while but practice makes perfect :)

MAC studio fix liquid foundation

It took me a while but I eventually bought the MAC studio fix foundation! It's amazing! Great coverage and staying power..looks flawless on the skin however for porcelain skin it doesn't blend in immaculately, however the NC15 is a close match for the paler skins out there like me. So if you're looking for a great coverage foundation this one is definitely worth a peep :) costs 30 euro which is good value in my opinion. My make-up love of the week!