MAC Halloween Looks & Rick Baker Collection

Hi Guys & Ghouls!

Halloween, my favourite time of year is nearly upon is and of course that means dressing up and playing around with new makeup looks to get into the spirit (spirit, geddit? OK, I'll leave all the cheesy puns for now.) In case you're in need of some inspiration for tomorrow nights festivities, I thought I'd share some of my most favourite MAC Halloween looks along with some tips on how to achieve the looks along with a peek of some of the latest Rick Baker looks from MAC's newest MAC + Rick Baker collection which is out now.

The Capitol’s couture queen, Effie Trinkett, was also spotted wearing a runway-worthy makeup look.

KEYS TO THE LOOK: 

Pale white skin, bright eye makeup seamlessly connecting with the blush on cheekbones, pursed lips.

THE METHOD: 

To cop Effie's pale matte skin, use a foundation one shade lighter than your skin tone. Mix two blush shades as an eyeshadow and cheek color, and create a corner flush by applying blush high on your cheekbones, and finally defining eyes using a black kohl liner. To achieve Effie's pursed lips, conceal the outer corners of your pucker using a white kohl pencil. Apply lipstick on the center of your lips, and top it off with gloss.

Inspired by the book and movie The Great Gatsby set in the Roaring Twenties, it's the definitive look of the era when women started sporting short bobs instead of long locks, and short, sleeveless dresses as compared to the previous decade’s long, restrictive frocks.

KEYS TO THE LOOK: 

Lips were colored in deep shades of brick red. Eyes were defined by using dark shadows and adorned with lush, doll-like lashes. Eyebrows were thin and sloped down.

THE METHOD: 

Draw eyebrows downwards and set with clear brow gel. Do a soft smokey eye using a dark eye shadow on the outer crease and a stark white shadow on the lid. Curl lashes and apply four coats of mascara. Perfect the 1920s look by dabbing on some black cherry lipstick.

The original va-va-voom sex symbol from the 1950s Marilyn Monroe is always a Halloween fave! Complete the look by wearing a short blonde wig with large vintage curls, a white, deep-neckline dress, and sexy kitten heels. Don't forget the flirtatious confidence!

KEYS TO THE LOOK: 

Flawless skin, framed brows, winged eyeliner, and Hollywood-red lipstick.

THE METHOD: 

Highlight the browbone, nose bridge, cupid’s bow, and cheekbones using How to Marry. On the crease use a matte beige eye shadow and contour using an espresso shade. Line eyes and apply false eyelashes. Of course, Marilyn's bombshell beauty wouldn’t be complete without her signature red lipstick, so apply one using a lip brush and blot with a tissue, sex kitten-style.

Why wear a mask when you can just draw it? The daring cat-loving villainess from the Batman comic series, the Catwoman hides her identity by wearing a winged eye mask. She pairs it with luscious red lips.

KEYS TO THE LOOK: 

Drawn-on mask with a classic red lip.

THE METHOD: 

Start by sweeping a terracotta eye shadow all over the lid. To offset the black mask, brighten the lower lashline and inner corners with white kohl pencil. Trace the desired mask shape by using a felt-tip liner. Fill it in by using a black kohl pencil. Seal the deal by painting on gel liner all over the area. Don't forget to swipe on a bold red lipstick. Purr-fect!
Gotye’s music video “Somebody I Used To Know” conquered music charts and most probably some broken hearts too. Gotye had graphic face art on his face imitating the Art Deco backdrop and making for a perfect pop culture reference.

KEYS TO THE LOOK: 

Four painted slices on half of the face.

THE METHOD: 

Use four different brushes when applying each color per face section. Mix lipsticks with foundation to achieve salmon and brown. Use two different shades of gray on the forehead and eye area. Use a black liner to define each sections to make them more distinct. Leave skin bare and set with translucent powder.

Performer Nicki Minaj is famous for her bold, colorful, even outlandish makeup looks, almost like a modern-day Barbie doll.

KEY TO THE LOOK: 

Rainbow popping colors and throwing makeup inhibitions out the window.

THE METHOD: 

To achieve Nicki's perfectly arched brows, mix two shades of eyebrow pencil to get the right shade. For eyes, use a canary yellow eye shadow as base, applying it past the crease. Lightly pat on a green eyeshadow on the lid concentrating on the outer edge of the eye. On your lower lashline and using a flat brush, sweep on a blue eye shadow. Define lashes by using a black kohl liner, making the line more intense by using a felt tip liner. Lightly dust apples of the cheeks using a pink blush, and finish off the Barbie look by painting your pout with a warm pink lipstick

Next up are some of the recently released face charts and their stunning real life promo shots from the new MAC + Rick Baker Collection for you to feast your eyes on! 

Happy Halloween everyone! Please let me know in the comments below what you're planning on dressing up as - I'd love to hear what kinda looks you're all going for :D

Thanks for reading! x

What's In My Handbag

Want a peek to see what's inside?

I'm not really a "bag" person per se, but for some reason or another I do seem to have accumulated quite a few down through the years so I'm forever chopping and changing bags (yeah, I've done the whole going out thing only to realise I've left my wallet in my "other" bag before too, eeek!) but here's a lil snapshot of what I've been carrying around with me lately.

Inside:

Nook Simple Touch Glowlight - this goes everywhere with me! I love being able to catch up on a good book whilst on the go. For anyone that's interested I'm currently reading Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey.

What should be in the photo but isn't: Samsung Galaxy S3 - again, this goes everywhere with me and it's not in the photo because it was taking the photos at the time :)

BRTC Jasmine Water BB Cream - good for dry skin and paler skintypes - handy for on the go as application is a cinch and it gives a nice dewy, medium coverage finish.

Boots No. 7 Dry Skin Rescue - comes in useful when you've got an annoying dry or flaky patch, this usually sorts it out in a jiffy.

Illamasqua Powder Foundation in 230 - I recently picked this up in one of their sales. It's a foundation for darker skin tones but I bought it with the intention of using it as a powder contour shade for my pale NC15 skin and it's absolutely perfect for the job!

ARTDECO Bronzing Glow Blusher in "Sundance" from their Tribal Sunset Collection - REVIEW

Gorgeous complementing shades of pinks, corals and bronzes - 

perfect for those with a porcelain complexion to give a radiant, sun 

kissed  glow. Buttery soft and richly pigmented - I love this!

Catrice Lipstick in Color Bomb from their Revoltaire Collection

This is one of my most favourite lipsticks EVER! A gorgeous coral matte shade. 

MAC Lipstick in Rebel

A lovely wine shade for evenings and just an all round really wearable and flattering plum shade for all skintones

Illamasqua Brow Cake in Thunder

Catrice Liquid Liner from the Spectaculart Collection

Super fine point on this makes cat eye flicks an effortless task

GOSH Velvet Touch Lip Primer
Perfect primer to use as a base before any lip products - it really does make your lips feel velvety smooth! It's also great to use on it's own to condition your lips throughout the day.

Collection Cosmetics Killer Curves Mascara - REVIEW

A decent mascara that does what it's supposed to without costing the Earth, what's not to like?

And finally a few brushes. I normally just bring the bare basics when it comes to brushes so here's three of my every day staples:

Sedona Lace FB 07 from their Vortex Set

E.L.F Mineral Powder Brush

The small size of this brush makes it ideal as a contour brush

Benefit Hard Angle Liner

I use this for filling in my brows, with gel liners and if I'm really stuck, as a lip brush when on the go - and it works a treat for all three tasks!

And that's it!

Thanks for looking, as always,

Best of the High Street Foundations for Paler Skins - Revlon, Maybelline & Rimmel

I have fairly typical Irish skin and I'm definitely on the whiter shade of pale end of the colour spectrum, so foundation shopping can be a bit of a chore to say the least. Higher end brands like MAC and Illamasqua have a great selection of shades on offer all the way from ivory to ebony, but for the times you don't want to splash the cash and just want to pick up a low-mid priced new base from your local pharmacy the choice can, unfortunately be a lot more limited, with shades often leaning towards Oompa Loompa territory.

So after a quick raid in Boots I've snapped up some samples of the lightest shades of some of the most popular drugstore foundations currently found on stands. I know personally when choosing a new foundation, I find online swatches a godsend when trying to narrow down options and hopefully make up my mind before I hit the shops. Onwards with the swatching!

MAC Retro Matte Collection - Fall 2013

Who doesn’t like MAC's luxe matte lipstick Ruby Woo? Well if you’re a fan you are going to love the Fall palette inspired by this stunning shade.

ARTDECO Bronzing Collection for Summer - Tribal Sunset

It's only March but as soon as I received a sample of the latest collection from ARTDECO - Tribal Sunset, I was immediately whisked away to thoughts of exotic and far flung destinations. This really did put a smile on my face and bring a little ray of sunshine into an otherwise dull and dreary day.

I'm a huge fan of ARTDECO - highly pigmented and hard workings formulas manufactured in Germany and available at very reasonable pricing over here. I've always been a fan of the brand and often felt that they're highly under-rated and don't get as much love as they should on these shores.

They've been playing a blinder recently with their fantastic collaborations with Dita Von Teese and more recently their gorgeous Butterfly Dreams release. Tribal Sunset is yet again upping the game and I am completely head over heels for it.

ARTDECO Dita Von Teese Fall Favourites 2012

Hi Guys & Dolls!

As a lot of you may know by now, I'm a HUGE fan of Dita Von Teese - she's the epitome of sophisticated style and old Hollywood Glamour, so what better choice than for ARTDECO to choose Miss Von Teese as the face of ARTDECO's latest offerings.

ARTDECO recently launched a new range entitled "Dita Von Teese Classics" which was a great success upon it's release in Ireland. As you can imagine the range featured all you needed for that Dita Von Teese look - think full on fluttery lashes, glossy dark liquid liner and mascara and of course, her signature red lipsticks.

You can read more about the Dita Von Teese Classics range here;

http://bellemortebeauty.blogspot.ie/2012/05/artdeco-and-dita-von-teese-team-up-for.html

http://bellemortebeauty.blogspot.ie/2012/05/artdeco-dita-von-teese-teaser-sneak.html

http://bellemortebeauty.blogspot.ie/2012/05/artdeco-dita-von-teese-classics.html

http://bellemortebeauty.blogspot.ie/2012/07/dita-von-teese-launches-today.html

Dita Von Teese now presents her Fall Favouries Collection, featuring her ultimate shades for Autumn. The Fall Favourites Collection is an ideal compliment to her first collection. It includes beautiful jewel toned shades of eyeshadow with an intensive colour brilliance, new shades of red lipstick and lip lacquer to capture the season, a luxurious illuminating baked powder with marbled powder texture and some more beauty necessities!

I've been trying out a few pieces from the new and eagerly awaited Fall Favourites Collection which hits stores in October and I am in LOVE! 

First up is a brand new blush in No. 26 "Orchide" which comes in a refill which you can pop into one of your existing ARTDECO Palettes / Beauty Boxes. 

Blusher in Orchide is just €10.85 

The back is magnetic so you can pop it into your palette and be at ease knowing that this baby isn't budging and not gonna go anywhere!

Orchide is a beautiful dusky pink shade with soft lilac undertones and a hint of gold. I would go as far to say as this would be a universal blush for nearly all skintones. It's highly pigmented, so a little goes a long way. It's has a rich, almost creamy consistency - you can feel the quality in the product right away - it's definitely NOT a talcy, chalky powder which goes on wishy-washy - a pet hate of mine!

As you can see from the swatches above, it gives a lovely, delicate "flushed" look to your skin. Again, a little goes a long way, so you can build up the colour if you want to create a more intense look.

Next up is of course, the signature red lipstick as is synonymous of Dita Von Teese.

This lipstick is in shade No. 631 - Manslayer and is priced at €19.25

I love the name "Manslayer" for this lipstick - honestly, I would buy the lipstick for the name alone!
As the name suggests, it's a gorgeous, deep, rich true red - giving you luscious scarlet lips which will leave men quivering in your presence! ;)

As you can see from the swatches below, Manslayer is a true red with hints of a blue undertone. Blue-based Reds are a personal favourite of mine - not alone do they look great on cool-skinned gals and those with an ivory complexion but they also have the added bonus of making your teeth appear whiter!

Manslayer is highly pigmented - the above swatch is after just one stroke from the tube! It's a very rich and creamy consistency which leaves your lips moisturised and doesn't dry them out.

Longevity is excellent with this lipstick, I've been easily getting 6+ hours of wear on one application alone. If you're looking for a classic red to complete your pin up look, then Manslayer just may well be the perfect lippie for you!

Included with Dita's Fall Favourites are 3 foundations including a new shade in No. 40.

They're a long-lasting foundation in an oil-free formula (perfect for those with combination or oily skin types) with an SPF of 20.

The three shades come in: No. 10, No. 25 and the newest No. 40.

The foundations are well priced at €25.40

I received a sample size in shade No. 40 to try out;

Swatched:

Unfortunately the sample I received in No. 40 is too dark for my casper-alike hue, so I won't be doing any full faced swatches with this, I have however been trialling this out at home and the coverage is excellent.

It provides a matte finish to give you that flawless faced look which is a signature of Dita's. As it comes in an oil-free formula, this will work great with anyone who has combination or oily skin types. It really is a long-lasting foundation - you can expect to get a full 10 hours of flawless wear with this baby - and you don't need to set it with powder either to get a long-lasting finish.

This is quite a yellow-based foundation, so this should work well for people with pink undertones / high redness in their face. Yellow counteracts redness to create a neutral base to help give you that porcelain skin effect.

Swatches:

Foundation in Shade No. 40, Lipstick in 631 - Manslayer, Blush in Orchide.

There are also 3 Nail Lacquers included in this collection - 2 glossy reds and one mini white.

The perfect combo to get Dita's signature half moon manicure.

The Nail Lacquers included are:

No. 24 in De Sade - 6ml - €11.05

No. 26 in Vanitas - 6ml - €11.05

No. 5 in Paper Moon - 6ml - €6.45

De Sade

De Sade is a vibrant, glossy, glamourous red. The formula has a nice rich consistency - I found you can get opaque coverage in just one coat! I've been wearing this for 5 days now, and no chipping so far!

Next is the mini-bottle in Paper Moon - perfect for trying out your half moon manicures with! This will also make a great polish for your french manicures.

Paper Moon is an alpine white shade, when used in conjunction with De Sade it really makes your nails pop!

Last but most certainly not least is a clear Eyebrow Gel in Crystal.

When you've completed your Dita look you need to make sure that your brows are properly groomed for that manicured finish. Keep your brows in place and keep any straggly hairs at bay with this Eyebrow Gel in Crystal - priced at €14.05

The wand features full, dense bristles which makes taming your brows into place a piece of cake.

Crystal is a clear gel which means it can be used universally on any brow colours. It sets your eyebrows for the day ensuring that they look well groomed all day long.

A lot of people neglect their brows when doing their makeup, which is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Your brows afterall, frame your face and complete your look. Popping on a touch of this brow gel keeps your brows in tip top shape all day long and is well worth having in your stash.

Overall, I'm loving the Dita Von Teese Fall Favourites collection in collaboration with ARTDECO. All of the pieces from the collection are well priced and are of fantastic quality - they really do rival any of the higher end brands out there, for a fraction of the price.

Created in 1985, ARTDECO is Germany's No. 1 makeup brand in perfumeries, beauty salons, and selected department stores, and is also present in Europe and all over the world. This market leader in selective cosmetic market offers a unique variety of products which cover all areas of color cosmetics.

Henlmut Baurecht is the Founder and Owner of the ARTDECO Cosmetic Group. He has been awarded the "A Life of Beauty" award in 2007 for his achievements in the professional cosmetics industry.

One of my personal highlights from the new collection when it's launched, I'm certain is to be the Illuminating Baked Powder in Aura priced at €42.30.

I haven't had the chance to try this out yet, but I'm really looking forward to it!

It instantly reminded me of MAC's limited edition Lightscapade MSF - which sold out almost as soon as it was released and can now be found on eBay for eye watering prices of €200+

If you missed out on Lightscapade when it was released - make sure you don't miss out on Aura by ARTDECO - it looks like it could be a fantastic dupe! I'm so excited by this product and cannot wait to get my hands on one! :D

You can get your hands on any of the items above and indeed the entire Dita Von Teese Classics and Fall Favourites collections by ARTDECO in Debenhams throughout the country.

Have you checked out any of the Dita Von Teese Classics Collection yet? Spy any items you think you'd like to try once the Fall Favourites is released? If so, let me know in the comments below! :)