Valentine's day is here, the most romantic day in the year. Everything is brimming with hearts, shops and supermarkets, shop windows with glittery paper hearts, heart-shaped chocolates with strawberry filling, and why not? our makeup too.

So today I come to you as the Queen of Hearts. 

We start with foundation this time, since later it will be harder to apply the products without muddying up the design. I started using the primer by Essence 'Fix and Last Jelly Primer', it's quite cool to the touch, I don't see any pore reduction, but it does help the base to last longer, and with my oily skin that's rather important. After, I used the Essence 'Pretty Natural' foundation in the shade 'cool porcelain', I apply it with a brush, since I like the results better, and then with the NYX concealer palette I covered up my dark circles, and as blush I used a matte red eyeshadow. 

Once I had the base set, I applied the eyeshadow primer and with a big, dense brush I did a coat of a light beige shade with a holographic shine to it in pink and lilac, and with a white eye pencil I traced the hearts design, trying to achieve some measure of symetry and also making sure that it was all visible with my eyes open. You can see that I had to make corrections, it doesn't matter, it will end up covered, if it's not perfect the first try, keep trying.

Now I started with a dark matte red, using the shadow wet for further definition, and using a lip brush, which is ideal to get the needed precision. I blended a bit towards the center of the heart. No worries about any mistakes, we'll be cleaning up later.

With a very, very thin liner brush I traced the edge with a wine/purple shade, and with a flat brush I added some vibrant red towards the center of the heart, creating a gradient.

With the same brush, cleaning it between uses, I added fuchsia pink and finally orange, up to the heart's center.

Once I had that heart done and the edges cleaned (I used a wipe around a dotting tool) I applied some eyelash glue on the inner side of the eyelid and the higher part of the cheekbone, right next to the heart's tail, and then I glued some holographic heart-shaped glitter. I also added some shimmer in the inner corner and at the center of the lash line.  

We do the same in the other eye, a couple coats of mascara and a good red lipstick (I'm using the XXL lingerie by NYX in the shade Stamina), and this is the result:

I hope you liked it and that you put your mind into trying it out, remember, makeup can be removed, so there's no problem with experimenting, making mistakes and starting over. 

Hello beauties! It's already 2023, time sure does fly. I hope you got off to a good start this year, I sure did. 

Now that the craze of the holidays is over, I wanted to share something with you. Those who know me know that for me singing is something I love, and for the past two years I have been learning to sing in a music school, with the relentless support of those closest to me. This past christmas we finally had a concert after all the lockdowns and issues the pandemic caused, my first time on stage with people who had actually paid to see us. It was easily the most exciting moment this past year. 

I felt the look for that super special moment had to be glam, but also delicate and elegant, and I liked very much what I came up with. It's a softened version of a cutcrease in cool browns and champagne gold. As I said I liked it, so I'm sharing the look with you, the pictures were taken that day so you can see the excitement in my face. 

As always I started with preparing the canvas, cleansing and moisturizing the skin. Let it have a few minutes for the products to sink in before moving on to the next phase. 

I primed the lids, this time with the essence 'prime like a boss' primer, which I have been trying out. It has amazing staying power, although I like the wet n wild better, but for people with drier skin types this might actually be better. It certainly works well with my oily skin. 

I always like to set the primer with some eyeshadow that is close to my skin tone, and for darker skin, I would go for a lighter base to make colours pop. 

Then with a blending brush I defined the crease using a matt taupe shade. 

Compare the one with shadow and the one yet untouched, the shadow adds depth and changes the shape of my lid.

Then I darkened the crease with a smaller brush, using a cool brown, extending and lifting the shadow to the tail of my brow, carefully respecting the blank space. 

Using a darker brown and a thin angled brush, I darkened the crease trying to create an ombre effect. 

Then I filled in the blank space with a golden champagne shimmery shade using a small flat brush that is densely packed with bristles, and with an angled brush I lined the eyes with the same darkest brown, and added a spot of light in the inner corner. I added a couple coats of mascara. 

For the skin, I chose the Essence Pretty Natural, because I rather like the formula, and it evens out the tone without being overpowering. My shade is 010 Cool Porcelain. A bit of blush and for lipstick I chose the Nyx Lingerie XXL in Strip n tease. 

I hope you liked it, I felt like a star that night!

Hello again!

I'm bringing today a look based on the colours of the natural pools where we spent the hottest hours this summer, a beautiful place of cool waters, waterfalls and blackberry bushes, with dragonflies of all colours. A way to remember the heat of the sun and the coolness of the watercalls, now that we're all the way in autumn. 

It's a halo effect look in blue and green saturated shades, intense on light skin tones, but I do believe it would look good on dark skin tones, although I would use a white or light base to keep the intensity of the shades. 

We start with the primer, which we seal with a matte bone shade that will make blending easier. Next we trace two almost vertical lines with a thick flat blush, almost at the corners of the eye leaving some room. We use a matte teal shade. 


With a white primer and a synthethic flat brush that is rather thin we fill in the center part, longer on the upper side than on the lower bit, and we blend in the edges. 

 

On to the final touches, we blend the upper side, and with the pencil brush we darken the eye corners with a matte black shade. Then we highlight the inner corner with a light green/gold shimmer shade, we line the lower lash line with the dark teal and add a couple coats of mascara. 

Today ends Pride Month. A month where it became clear that there's much yet to improve, but where we've also seen a lot of support. I look at the new generations with hope, they are creating a world where there's room for everyone.

I'm seeing it a lot in the makeup world, which is a world I know dearly. Assistants in makeup shops that are not cis women. Trans people asking for help with makeup in social media, and getting not only answers but messages of support and love. The Drag Queen phenomenon. There's more room each day for people who want to enjoy the art of makeup. 

I used for this look a glitter palette by Beuty Glazed that was gifted to me (and I was pleasantly surprised by it). I did a subtle look with a sparkly twist to it, for those who enjoy a more natural look who want some glam on a festive night. 

First I applied my trusty primer, the wet n wild photofocus, and dusted the lid with a light matte shade. Then I deepened the crease with a warm pinkish matte shade, making sure to blend well. 

After that, I painted on a light gold shimmery colour all over the lid, without covering the other shadow, blending in the edges with a fluffy brush.

For the next step, I chose a dark, matte brown to deepen the outer corner and lift the eye. To achieve that, I blended towards the tail of the brow. 

Then I picked a light gold glitter and with a thin brush drew a line, like eyeliner but glittery. 

I did two coats of mascara and foundation - I am using the Nyx can't stop won't stop one in shade alabaster. Instead of blush, I used a transfer-proof lipstick. I dabbed a tiny bit on the cheek and blended well before it dried. This was very helpful in keeping my blush from transferring to my mask. 

As for lips, I tried two choices. First a natural, just-kissed colour, then a deep red gloss. It felt more festive with the red gloss, but natural felt good too. 

I hope you enjoyed this! 

Hello beauties! I'm bringing today a review and some swatches of one of the latest palettes I have bought, the Jewelled by revolution, which belongs to their Reloaded series. This series consist of 15 shades palettes, with textures ranging from matte to foil, shimmer... lots of variety. They are pretty cheap, about 5 to 6 euros depending to where you get them, and the pans are quite big too.