Warrior Goddess Fantasy Beauty Shoot with Chiara Aprea

C.A Photography
Yesterday has gotta go down as one of the most memorable days in my life!

I had the pleasure of being made up & captured by Chiara Aprea of C.A Photography

I was petrified as this shoot was set to throw me head first outta my comfort zone and it really did do just that!

Chiara is fabulous, she exudes confidence and her artistry skills are fantastic.  I had been admiring her work for some time and I knew that she would be the perfect catalyst to explore a more unique side of me.

She instantly made me feel at ease with her warm personality, I wasn't afraid any more but just eager to see how her vision of what she wanted to achieve could be portrayed using little ole me!

The poses were tough but she gave impeccable direction and I felt like an utter muppet doing it but gee whizz did they photograph well.

I will totally be booking up with her again and exploring as many looks as I can cram in before she makes it big and becomes completely outta my price range! (with her talent this is inevitable!!)

If you are interested in stepping away from the norm and trying something fabulously creative then give her a call - she will NOT disappoint!






You can sample some more of Chira's amazing work on Instagram; https://instagram.com/ca_muartistry

Coastal Scents Palette "Revealed" :) *Review*

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This palette is so versatile; it features a selection of both shimmer & matte shades which can create both subtle daytime looks as well as dramatic smokey eyes.

Many people have compared the shades in this palette to the Urban Decay Naked & Naked 2 palettes, claiming that Coastal Scents have managed to recreate rather viable dupes for many of the shades.  Unfortunately I haven't got either of the UD palettes to compare but I'll be honest I have seen many other blog reviews and from their swatches I would tend to agree.

I had been searching for a neutral palette that packs a punch in terms of pigments and variation of colours.  This baby does not disappoint!

You can pick up this palette directly via the CS website for a very attractive price; $19.95 (currently on sale) or even through Amazon for £25.00 with free delivery!


The outer cardboard packaging mirrors the palette; displaying the same image, the palette itself was wrapped in bubble wrap for added protection :)


CS didn't name the shades which in my opinion is a real shame. So I have numbered the shades for ease.

Numbers 1, 4, 5, 7, 11 & 17 are all matte shades.
All the other numbers have a shimmer to the shade.

I will try and describe the colours for you below;








1 - Matte - Beige
2 - Shimmer - Nude/Pink
3 - Shimmer - Dusky Pink
4 - Matte - Taupe
5 - Matte - Mushroom
6 - Shimmer - Mushroom
7 - Matte - Light Brown
8 - Shimmer - Light Copper
9 - Shimmer - Dark Gold
10 - Shimmer - Silver/Gold
11 - Matte - Black
12 - Shimmer - Grey/Silver
13 - Shimmer - Brown
14 - Shimmer - Rose Gold
15 - Shimmer - Pewter
16 - Shimmer - Red/Brown
17 - Matte - Dark Brown
18 - Shimmer - Dark Silver
19 - Shimmer - Bronze/Dark Gold
20 - Shimmer - Bronze

Here is a look I created using only this palette.  I used 7 as a base.  I layered 8 into the inner corner and smoked out using 13 & 11.  I used 4 and a dash of 2 as a brow bone highlight and finally 2 in my inner duct.


I added a splash of colour by adding +MAC Cosmetics Viva Glam Lipstick lined with Cork lip liner.


I love this palette, it does make me wanna go by the UD Naked palettes just to see if they do dupe as easy as everyone says!  Honestly though, if you are looking for a good collection of nudes & shimmer shades then this baby is just the ticket!  I'm actually dreading hitting pan on this one!!

Have you tried this palette?  What did you think?  

*Review* MUA Lipsticks

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If you were to delve into my make up collection you would probably assume that (quite rightly so) I am totally in love with +MUAcosmeticsTV products. Their lipsticks are no exception. 



I initially started building my MUA lipstick family over a year ago.  At the time I had never worn a bright red lippy so I thought that I would ease myself in with a reasonably priced one rather than dishing out for an expensive one.  By first purchase would have been Shade 13; a gorgeously daring red.   I had picked it up from Superdrug at a steal of a price; just £1!  What a bargain!  The texture had quite a creamy consistency, far thicker than I had imagined for the price and I must admit, with it being such a low price I hadn't held out much hope.  I was blown away by the quality. The colour was highly pigmented & it had a gorgeous vanilla scent.  I imagined that it would dry out my lips but it was quite the opposite. My lips felt lovely and moisturised.  The staying power of the lippy was the only downfall, but when it only costs a pound you can reapply to your hearts content.  The packaging caught my eye, on the rack they looked far more expensive than the price tag.  It was only when I got home that I realised that the bottom of the lippy had a sample pot screwed into the bottom, This is quite a novel quirk, I'm not entirely sure what it was designed for, but it's a cool feature in my opinion.

I had instantly fallen in love.  So much so that the very next day I set my self a mission to buy every shade they offer.  Superdrug always seem to sell out both online & in store so quickly, so I haven't completed my collection, but it's a work in progress.

I would thoroughly recommend these lipsticks.  They are extremely good quality & impeccable value and the shades are beautiful.  There are definitely some which are not the best colours for me, but that won't stop my buying them all!

You can pick up these babies at ANY +Superdrug store, online via their website or via the MUA website directly.




Shade 1

 

















Shade 3







Shade 7


Shade 8









 Shade 9










 Shade 13



Shade 16









Shades from left to right; Shade 16, Shade 13, Shade 9, Shade 8, Shade 7, Shade 3 & Shade 1




Have you got any of these lipsticks, what do you think of them?

Black Widow Make-up Pictorial

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I'm playing with the idea of doing more in-depth make up tutorials, but I am no pro, so it will only be my self taught methods.

 If you want more info on this look, or details of what products were used, let me know & I will post a little rundown for ya!

 :)

Budding MUA - Looks for other people

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Recently I've had the pleasure of doing one of the things I love most; Make Up looks for others.

All three lovely ladies, didn't want anything too extravagant, but wanted to look/feel pretty.

So I tried my hand at making these already gorgeous ladies unleash their inner vixens.

It was so much fun - I love making things look pretty and although I am by no means a pro - I think the colours and looks I created for each of these girlies enhanced their natural beauty and made them feel amazing.


Kirstie;  She wanted a look that was subtle & smoky to compliment the red lippy she'd bought recently and to fall in line with her outfit of a simple black shift dress, matching black clutch and killer Louboutins.  She applied her own lipstick and unfortunately I couldn't get a pic without the top hair rollers in, cos she used the age old trick of leaving those babies in her hair until she got out of the car for added "oomph" to her curls.





Moya; She asked for a smoky eye but a bold lip and for me this is a signature look.  She specifically wanted to rock MAC Cosmetics' Ruby Woo lippy so I teamed that with a darker eye.  Moya has beautiful big eyes and this proved to be quite a challenge as she also has a monolid eye shape.  I used my first ever cut crease method to create the effect of a crease and smoked out the outer eye to creat definition.  I also accentuated the inner eye to create depth.  The eyeliner was thinner toward the inner part of the eye but thickened out creating a nice wing to enhance those beauties.  Moya's complexion was another challenge.  Her make up request was impromptu, so I had to manipulate two shades of foundation to match her, this was nerve-wrecking to say the least!
Moya was promoting the LuvLust Clothing Brand in her pictures, who's logo is primarily black & red so the colours complimented the brand well.  
Check her out "Throwing her L's Up" for LuvLust_London 




Gabi;  She was attending her work Christmas meal and wanted to look her best, so I chose another subtle look to compliment her natural colours.  I used a copper colour as the basis for the eyes and kept the lips very neutral.  Gabi looked radiant :)




What do you think of these looks?