Weekend of Weddings

Last weekend was packed with bridal parties and weddings so I thought I'd share my hair, makeup and outfits. To those of you who aren't familiar with Asian weddings, they're usually very bright and flamboyant! 

Mehndi Night

The bride hosts a Mehndi party (where her hand is decorated with henna patterns) a few nights before the wedding. 

The Wedding

Wearing: A white sari with antique gold detailing

Hair & Makeup: I used MAC's Tan Pigment on the eyes and MAC By Candlelight MSF as an iridescent highlight. for the hair I tonged it all over and then backcombed the crown.

Loving: Sarah false lashes from the Eylure Girls Aloud collection :)

The bride in a bright red embellished sari... Her makeup looked amazing but I couldn't get a close up... sorry!

So as you can see I've had a very busy weekend, but it was loads of fun! I love Asian weddings because I can go a little crazy with my hair and makeup lol

Anyone else love weddings as much as me?!!

Sami xx

PS Outfit fail of the night: Not only was it impossible to walk in my sari, the Bride's sisters all wore the EXACT same colour as me... so much for standing out eh?! 

Indian Bridal Look !

This look was inspired by MAC Lipstick in Impassioned, which is such an amazingly vivid pinky/red, and I think it works well on Indian bridal looks. Asian brides usually wear very bight and bold outfits with lots of jewellery so the makeup needs to be just as bold and extravagant! 

What I Used:

FACE

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation mixed w/Strobe Cream

MAC Studio Select Concealer

MAC MSF Natural 

Ruby and Millie Matte Bronzer

MAC Blusher in Breezy

MAC MSF in Candlelight

EYES

UDPP

MAC Paintpot in Groundwork

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Yellow Gold

Gosh Pigment in Gold

Gosh Pigment in Bronze

Urban Decay Half Baked

MAC Blusher in Breezy

Shu Uemura Gel Liner

Cheryl Cole False Lashes

LIPS

YSL Lip Contour

MAC Lipstick in Impassioned

Hope you guys liked :- )

Sami x

Easy Peasy Smoky Eyes

If I'm being honest I'm a bit scared of smoky eyes... When applied wrong it can look a bit Taylor Momsen (Eeeek!) but if done right, it can look really glamorous and sultry. Well, I've managed to find a way to achieve it with minimal effort and maximum impact! 

This was my first proper go at it so it's by no means perfect... and I still haven't plucked up the courage to leave the house with it on... Maybe one day!

I used: Urban Decay Primer Potion, Urban Decay Naked Palette, L'Oreal Millionize Mascara, Gosh Liquid Eyeliner, Black Khol

HOW I DID IT

After applying a primer on the eyelids, dab a black shadow, like Gunmetal with a flat brush up to the crease (DON'T GO ABOVE THE CREASE - we're not going for a Panda look here). Extend the eyeshadow out with a pointed brush so it creates a winged out effect.

With a small fluffy brush apply a neutral colour, like Naked to blend out any harsh edges.Apply liquid liner on the top eyelid for extra definition and wing it out.

Apply a black khol or eyeliner to the bottom eyelids and smudge with a pointy brush or your fingers. Add a highlight, like Sin, to the tearduct. Or for more of a cat eye join the eyeliner. 

Apply a generous amount of volumising mascara then finish the look off with a matt bronzer to contour and a highlight on the top of the cheekbones. 

I also applied MAC Lipstick in Blankety to help offset the intensity of the smoky eyes. 

This look is quite strong because it's ultimately a solid black on your eyes, but it can be softened with a highlight. Once I master a 'proper' smoky eye I will definitely post it (but don't hold your breath!)

What do you guys think? How do you do your smoky eye?

Sami x

Golden Makeup Look

Here's a look I did recently for The Asian Beautifier's blog competition where I had to create either a Golden Goddess or Sparkle Diva makeup look. Of course I love gold so I went for that option! 

I wanted to go for a dramatic, yet glamorous, look so I took inspiration from Cleopatra and went for heavy black eyeliner, lots of gold and statement brows (I used a black eyeshadow to make them really stand out but it came out a little messy :S )

Close up...

What I Used...

FACE

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC42

MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC42

MAC MSF Natural

Chanel Bronze Universal

Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick

EYES

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Urban Decay Half Baked Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Urban Decay Virgin Eyeshadow

Urban Decay Sin Eyeshadow

GOSH Gold Pigment

Shu Uemura Gel Liner

L'Oreal Volumize Mascara

Eyelure False Lashes in Glamour 120

LIPS

YSL Lip Contour

MAC Lipstick in Faux

THE REST...

I straightened my hair and put it in a middle parting. Then I clipped a earring in the middle (like a tika) togive it more of a glam/eastern vibe.

Hope you likey :- )

Sami xx

The Naked Palette

What does one do when they're on a self imposed makeup ban? Use birthday money to gift themselves with makeup of course! Okay, so using my birthday is a rubbish excuse... but I had some extra money burning a hole in my purse. That, and I was crippled with fear that the Urban Decay Naked palette would become SOLD OUT. 

So anyhu, here it is in all it's Naked glory... 

Lovely velvet casing with a Primer Potion to boot

Preeeeety neutral colours that suit EVERYONE

I'm not going to go into a long detailed description on this palette because chances are ALL the major beauty blogs have covered it (I'm a bit late on it : - ( lol ). But what I will say is that the quality of these shadows are wicked... my current faves are: Naked, Smog and Gunmetal.

Did I really need another eyeshadow palette? No... but it is something that I will use time and time again.Who else has the Naked palette and what are your fave looks? I can't wait to experiment with more combos!

Sami xx

Purple Eyes

I know I tend to be quite boring with my makeup looks so I thought I'd attempt to do something different today. A few months ago I was given an eyeshadow quad from No7 as part of their Christmas range and it had the most amazing blues, greens and purples (I'll do a seperate post on these as I COMPLETELY forgot to take pics... silly me!!) The matte purple stood out to me the most because it was so vibrant and looks so lovely with brown eye/tanned skin.

So anyway, here's my take on the 'purple smoky eye'. It's not amazing but it is my first try!

FACE: MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation in NC42, Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid*,

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer, MAC MSF in By Candlelight, MAC Natural MSF

EYES: Shu Uemura Gel Liner, MAC Pigment in Dark Soul*,

Purple Matt Eyeshadow from Quad*,

MAC MSF in By Candlelight as a Highlighter, L'Oreal Millionize Mascara

LIPS: Rimmel Lipstick in Vintage Pink,

Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme Plump

 

Hope you likey xx

Sari Style!

Sooooo I went to a wedding last weekend and I thought I'd post my outfit/makeup for the night...

The Outfit

I wore this gorgeous peachy pink sari with gold stones and work on it. FYI I'm completely USELESS @ wearing a sari... seriously, this is like the one out four times I stood up! Anyway I decided to keep my jewellery simple and fuss free so I could concentrate on keeping the sari on :- |

The Hair & Makeup

Curled my hair with jumbo curling tongs (Nicky Clarke... I think?!) Then added a few extensions for more volume and body. Makeup was kept simple because the sari is such a light colour.

Here's a list of stuff I used to create the face:

FACE

L'oreal Studio Secrets Primer

YSL Pore Primer

MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation

Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer

Chanel Bronze Universal

Barry M Blusher in Orchid

EYES

GOSH Gold Pigment

Shu Uemura Gel Liner

Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara

Benefit It Stick

LIPS

YSL Lip Contour

MAC Lipstick in Chatterbox

As you can see I didn't use much on the eyes - just the gold pigment and loads of mascara. What do you guys think of the pink lips? Is it too light??

....In Other News

The latest issue of Asian Woman Mag is out and it has the lovely Sugababes wearing saris on the cover! Check it out girls... it's got my interview with them on it!!

                                           

Sami xx

Jai Ho Inspired Makeup Look

I know the song is old but I absolutely LOVED Nicole Scherzinger's makeup/outfits in the Jai Ho video so, during a boring afternoon I thought I'd recreate the makeup look, as you do...

Now, I'm not attempting to be like Nicole Scherzinger in any way (I realise she is way hotter and so my look is just a version from the vid!) But I'm sure you get the overall idea - lots of pink, bold eyes, bindi, etc....

Here's how to get the look:

Face: Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Barcelona all over face. Barry M Blusher in Pink Orchid over the cheekbones. Ruby & Millie Bronzer below cheekbones as a contour and Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick on the top of the cheekbones as a highlight.

Eyes: Urban Decay Sin Primer Potion all over eyelids. Dark brown eyeshadow from Too Faced used to define and thicken eyebrows. Too Faced eyeshadow in Velvet Revolver all over eyelids (the Sin primer makes the colour come out really intense!) Gosh Liquid Eyeliner over the top lashline and slightly flicked out at the ends. Shu Uemura Gel Liner over the lower lashline (apply it quite thickly for a more intense look). Finish with  two coats of mascara (I forgot which one I used :-S) or you could apply falsies (I wasn't bothered). Add highlight to the eyebrows with Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick.

Lips: Mac Lipstick in Girl About Town lightly applied on lips (like a stained effect) and Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss for a fuller pout!

Extras: If you want to go for a more Asian/Eastern look add a Bindi!