Hogmanay Inspired Look

Last night I was extremely bored and decided to do a makeup look inspired by Hogmanay (New Years Eve in Scotland).  Although Hogmanay takes place at night during the cold, dark Scottish winter, I always associate it with both warmth and light as a lot of the coverage of the various events across the country involve fire (like Up Helly Aa, the Fire Twirling at Stonehaven and the fires and lighting in Edinburgh Castle) and of course everyones homes are warm and lit up as everyone welcomes in the New Year plus the skies are always full of fireworks.  Like most Scots, I love Hogmanay and consider it to be the main event of the year (my Mother never really got to celebrate Christmas as a child and all emphasis was on Hogmanay, so the traditions in her family were kept as we were growing up- although we got Christmas as well). So this look tries to capture the warmth and sparkle of Hogmanay (although the photographs don't show it too well, it is much more vibrant, the colours better defined and sparkly in reality).

Anyway, hope the New Year is good to everyone and you everyone stays safe if they are out celebrating.

Happy New Year!

TFSI
Sleek Molten Metal in Gold- Lid
Sugarpill Goldilux- lid and middle 1/3 on lower lashline
Barry M Orange (77) Dazzle dust- inner 1/3 of crease
Barry M White Gold-y (15) Fine Glitter Dust- over 77 and inner 1/3 lower lashline.
GOSH loose eyeshadow in Fox- outer 2/3 of crease
MAC Black Tied-Crease and outer 1/3 of lower lashline
MAC Gold Dusk-Highlight
Collection 2000 Glitterliner in Funk (it is gold)- over Goldilux
Bourjois Glittery liquidliner- Upper lashline
Bourjois Clubbing mascara- Black
GOSH Velvet Touch Liner in Black- Waterline

Swatches: Lip Whips from High Voltage Cosmetics

Lip Whips $6.25 from High Voltage Cosmetics

Tainted Love, Hot Head, Synth Pop, Midnite Desire

Tainted Love

Hot Head

Synth Pop

Midnite Desire ( sadly it made my teeth look incredibly yellow)

Swatches: Barry M Lip Paints (Part 3)

lp146- Dolly pink
lp62- Vibrant Pink
lp121- Pillar Box Red
lp54- Peach

Swatches: Illamasqua Atomic and Flare Lipsticks

Brand: Illamasqua

Atomic (Pink)

Flare (Orange)

Collection: Toxic Nature S/S 2011

Price: £15.50 each

Swatches: Orange and Purple Lipstcks

L-R: Barry M 117, MAC Meltdown, Morange And Neon Orange
L-R: Barry M 129, 143, MAC Purple Rite, Up the Amp, Illamasqua Fetish, MAC Violetta and Style Curve.

Violetta (Perm, PRO) and Style Curve (LE) are both very similar, SC is slightly more red toned and is a cremesheen rather than an Amplified Creme.

Morange (Perm) and Neon Orange (LE and Perm PRO) are also similar both are AC but NO is slightly more red toned.

If you have Violetta, you probably won't need to get SC. If you have Morange or NO you won't really need the other.

Swatches: MeMeMe Baked e/s quad- Fire Eyes

£6.50 from Superdrug

EOTD: Autumn

I am one of those people who dislikes summer, it is usually too humid, rainy or sunny (I burn very easily and very badly) so autumn always comes as a relief. Plus the colours tend to suit me better and the light is just gorgeous.

TFSI

MAC Bare study

Ben Nye Aztec Gold

BN Tangerine

BN Iced Gold

UD Twice Baked

UD Midnight Cowboy Rides Again

MAC e/l Costa Riche

Maybelline Great lash mascara brownish black

Swatch: Barry M Lipstick 117 (orange)

Barry M lipstick 117 (orange) £4.25



(Left: 117, Right: MAC's Morange, which has much more red in it)

Review: China Glaze Nail Polish

China Glaze Nail polishes in "In the Lime Light" and "Japanese Koi" (£8.95) from http://www.thebeautypartnership.com/ (for UK buyers) and I believe it is avaliable from Sallys beauty supplies in the USA and possibly Canada.

After reading all of the rave reviews of china glaze online I decided to try it out for myself and ordered In the Lime Light, a neon green and Japanese Koi, a neon orange colour. Like most polishes they required two coats and they tended to dry reasonanbly quickly, but had a tendency to look a little bit dull, so a good glossy top coat is necessary. I wasn't a big fan of how they looked but this could be down to the fact that when I ordered I had no idea that they were neon (I prefer creme finishes) and had hoped that In The Lime Light would be like MACs Peppermint Patti (I really wish I had bought it) and that Japanese Koi would be good with my Morange lipstick. That said they do stock a wide range of colours and textures including creme, shimmer, glitter and holographic.

(Pictured: 2 coats of "Japanese Koi")

For the price paid you do get quite a lot for your money (14 ml compared with 10ml for nails inc which costs more) and the promotional booklet that came with it states that it has a long wearing formula with hardeners, I tend to remove my nail polish the night after I apply it (or chip it of if really bored and it has chipped) so I cant really say how long wearing it is but it did last me all day without chipping so I was fairly happy (chipped nail polish is a pet hate of mine, esp when you see a little bit in the centre of bitten nails- yuck!).

I would recommend china glaze but personally I think I'd go for a different finish rather than neon. 4.5/5