60's Inspired Bridal Look

After receiving these last week, I wanted to share a few shots of the lovely Leah Dow who got married in February this year. I have done Leah's make-up several times for various occasions so we had a good idea on what worked well on her. Leah's has fantastic skin, it's practically poreless, so many foundations would look great. For her big day she wanted 'flawless skin with great coverage' so we settled on Laura Mercier's 'silk creme' foundation.

On Leah's eyes I used MAC 'shale' and 'sketch' shadows to really bring out the green in her eyes. They were then lined top and bottom with Urban Decay rockstar 24-7 pencil. Strip lashes were used to add intensity to the lashline. MAC 'pink swoon' blush gave a beautiful flush to the cheeks and lips were kept simple with 'juicy rose glow' by L'Oreal. The overall look worked really well with the 60's inspired hair. I just loved the simple ribbon detail fixed with a gorgeous brooch. So simple but very effective.

Photography was by Absolutely Fabulous.

Twice as Nice

Paula McDonough who got married back in December 2009 forwarded on some beautiful images to me this week, courtesy of Scott at Premier Photography (http://www.premierphotography.co.uk/).

As an identical twin, Paula was concerned about her make-up as she wanted to look quite different from her sister Caroline. Both girls wanted natural looks so the obvious choice of going smoky with one and dark/bright lips on the other was not an option. We agreed that the use of shadow colour and application of lashes would be used to create difference.

Soft light shadow was used on Paula's eyes, defined with gel liner and topped off with a full set of lashes. For Caroline a darker shadow was used but we kept her lashes natural. The end result was both girls looking fresh but still quite different.

It's now Caroline's turn to get married this year. Looking forward to seeing them both again and working out more make-up idea's.

Best Eyeshadow Primers

Now that we're heading into summer, keeping eyeshadow in place all day can be tricky. A lot of people complain that their shadow disappears by lunchtime, particularly in the crease line. In most cases this problem can be resolved by adding an eyeshadow primer before applying any shadow. In addition to holding shadow in place, a good primer will also help the colour stay true all day and bring out the colour pigment.

Here are a few of my favourites..

Urban Decay Primer Potion (purple bottle)

A cult classic. It's completely clear so you can add any colour on top. Ideal for people who like to change their eyeshadow colour on a regular basis. A variant of this primer has now launched, named 'sin' (gold bottle). Although I haven't tried this yet I'm sure it will also be great and ideal good for those who like to wear gold toned colours. £11.50 (Boots)

MAC Paint in 'stilife'

This is my 'go to' primer when I'm using warm toned colours. It's a light champagne shade which adds a gorgeous shimmery champagne sheen to the eye. It's very pretty to use on it's own but comes into it's own when shadow is applied on top. £13

MAC Paint Pot in 'painterly'

When I'm looking to create a sophisticated matte eye, this is the primer I use. Goes on super smooth and is a perfect base to most matte colours. £13

More Great Brushes

Already a fan of Louise Young brushes, this week I tried out her new socket brush LY38 (£16). Eyeshadow brushes are probably the most important brushes to get right. They need to be nice and dense when you place them against the skin to avoid shadow falling where you don't want it. Some cheaper brands may be OK for some brushes (i.e. loose powder) but I find the bristles will often splay when I test them against the back of my hand. This makes them very difficult to control.

This brush is great. Not only are the bristles tightly packed but there is no hint of splaying, even after washing. The dome shape makes applying any crease shade a doddle.

Tip: Use a matte shade, keep your eyes open, look straight ahead in the mirror and let the brush sink in to the natural crease. Run the brush into this socket line using a lighter hand as you go towards the inner eye.

I'm also loving the mini socket brush LY13 (£10) for applying a soft sexy smudge of shadow under the eye.

For the quality, the price of these brushes are brilliant. The LY38 is very similar to Laura Mercier's excellent eye crease brush which retails at £26 and as much as I love my MAC 217 (£14.50) for blending, the LY38 is superior for adding colour.

Both available at www.louiseyoungcosmetics.com