Makeup Through Time

Some words of wisdom stick with us forever. They help us take risks ("only regret the things you don't do"), help us make wise decisions (do unto others....) and others just simply make it impossible for me to browse Vogue ads without scrutinising the styling to pinpoint the era of influence.

Last year, Sam (from Pixiwoo) pointed out during a lesson on makeup history, that almost any print ad will have drawn on a time in style history for it's inspiration. At the time, I casually flicked through a couple of magazines and thought 'hmmmm'. Now, it's become almost an obsession. I buy Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire et al and spend about 80% of my reading time scrutinising the ads, trying to work out which is the prominent era. Look below, you'll see she was right too...

Please excuse the shoddy quality of the pics, I took them all on my iPhone. All of these pics are from May 2011 Vogue (UK).

Louis Vuitton

A supremely modern take on the 20's. Check out those blacker than black lips & owl shaped eyes.

Still not convinced? How about that straight, downward facing eyebrow...

Marc Jacobs

The bright bold prints, the flares & the massive hats scream 1970's. But that's a dupe. Check out that makeup & you go straight back into the flapper 20's!

Dior

Some all-american 40's post-war babe?

Dolce & Gabbana

A red lip can sometimes be hard to pin-point. Tell tale signs of the period include tone of red, shape of the lips & the styling of the rest of the makeup. This one is verging on a sort of neutral modern basic red lip look, but the sexy sleepy eyes & strong arched brows are just a little too reminiscent of Monroe. I'm going with 50's.

Michael Kors

This could easily be dismissed as a pretty, glowing modern makeup, but the beachy hair & slightly brown lipstick kicks out 1990's to me.

Purple Eyes & Lips with MAC

MAC Hepcat, Satellite Dreams & Sketch Eyeshadows

MAC Rebel Lipstick

Sunny Days...

Aberdeen usually gets about 3 days of 'summer'. By summer, I mean warmer than 12c & not snowing. Unfortunately for us, summer this year has happened in April which means we now face at least 6 months before the weather will turn bad enough & we get to experience the joy of being snowed in for 3 weeks. We may get another day or 2 in September or freakishly, November.

Since husband doesn't seem to have twigged to my hints of moving to San Diego yet, I have been forced to make the most of this unseasonably hot weather and we took a trip to 'Back o' Bennachie' - a lovely spot about 15 miles north of Aberdeen. Bennachie is a large hill (I'd say more of a mountain!), atop which there are remains of a iron-age hill fort. If you're feeling adventurous enough, it makes a lovely trek up & situated at the foot are a few lovely picnic spots (and more importantly, Pittodrie House Hotel, where we got married!). Here are just a few snaps from our afternoon...

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser (Oil Free)

This week, my makeup purchases have been truly 'winning'. I have had my eye on this tinted moisturiser forever & finally handed over my £33 (!!). My Estee Lauder Day Wear Plus moisturiser had run out & I needed a replacement; after much humming & haahing, I decided to take the risk, shunned the Lauder counter & headed for Laura Mercier instead.

I'm so glad I did. I have nothing, nothing but praise for this product (aside from the price tag). The moisturiser comes in a massive variety of shades. I chose the oil-free version in 'Bisque'; usually when I'm using a TM it's because I've got a bit of colour in my face & need something much more yellow based.

The coverage is better than some foundations I've tried & the finish is insane! It sits quite 'wet' for about 5 minutes - do the rest of your makeup and by the time you've finished, you'll be faced with a beautiful semi-matte, naturally flawless skin. As it is not a full coverage foundation, it doesn't hide EVERYTHING, but it subtly blends any blemishes away to un-noticeable, rather than covered up.

The moisturiser, in my opinion, once it's on the skin takes on the texture of almost like a gel - it's so blendable & because it's so sheer, it can be taken right down onto the neck & decolletage without it looking like you've just painted yourself in foundation. Coverage can be built up without caking.

I can't decide if I like this more or less than the Lauder DWP - I think I will sit on the fence & say I like them equally. The overall performance of them both is equally as good, but they are quite different. The Mercier one has much more coverage, but the Lauder one is so fresh & cooling to use. I can't choose... You know that episode of FRIENDS where Joey is asked to choose between Sex & Food? Yup. I can't. I'm going to end up with a very expensive tinted moisturiser habit...

Laura Mercier Metallic Eye Creme in Gold

Occasionally a product comes along that, once you've used it, you can't remember what your makeup was like without it. Well, let me introduce you to Laura Mercier's Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Gold.

Instead of shopping for products for my kit, I had the rare opportunity to pick up a few products just for me last weekend & I took full advantage of the newly vamped beauty hall in House of Fraser, Glasgow. I did have high hopes for NARS, but nothing took my fancy. Probably just as well, since this little baby set me back £16.50 (and it's tiny!). But boy, it's beautiful.

I love that it's not too yellow. It has stunning flecks of taupe running through the base, with a lovely patina-ish (technical term) gold overtones. It's very metallic without giant chunks of glitter.

The creme is so densely pigmented, you need the tiniest smidge (seriously, hold me back on the science talk!) to cover an eyelid & it spreads for miles, without compromising the coverage or pay-off. You get a good 10-15 seconds to move it around & blend, before it sets. Once set, it wont budge, crease or transfer. I have been wearing it both on it's own & as a base to both Satin Taupe & Patina E/S by MAC. It manages to not change the appearance of either of these shadows, rather it just enhances the density of their own colours.

There are 5 shades in total (Platinum is next on my list). You can buy online at House of Fraser where it will cost £16.50. Available at Space NK also, but it's £18.50 there.

Kate Moss for Dior Addict 2011: Makeup Tutorial

Vivienne Westwood - Oh How I Love Thee...

A little bit of Vivienne Westwood accessory porn for those who love her as much as me. This is the scarf I picked up on Sunday in Glasgow. Apparently the shop has been there for 3 years; I never knew! I've always waited for trips to London to visit in-store. Now my wallet stands no chance!

This scarf is ma-hoosive! I'm estimating about at least 1m squared, although it's slightly rectangly. It's just as well I'm not a fashion blogger. I can't even describe a 1 dimensional shape! It's a very light white t-shirt jersey cotton, although the sheer size of it makes it quite weighty. I think it's going to be perfect in the summer for wearing just with a t-shirt, if it cools down in the evening but will be great later in the year too for layering.

Once I had actually had it laid out in the shop, it took about 3 seconds to decide I was going to take it; the prints are exactly my kind of 'in your face' retro-pop-rock-quirk style. The kind of thing I'd like to have my walls in my house, but would never be allowed by my minimalist loving husband. So, I guess I'll just wear it instead!

Scottish Ballet Presents... Alice!

Yesterday was such a fabulous day! As mentioned previously, I was off to Glasgow for a Scottish Ballet bloggers event which was being held at the Blythswood Square hotel (which, by the way is stunning!). I caught the train at 6.30am so I could squeeze in a couple of hours shopping (more on that later on...).

At 11.30, I headed on up to Blythswood Square, where we were greeted with some champagne (not necessarily recommended on an empty tummy before breakfast!). After a bit of mingling, we were led through to the in-house cinema room, where we were shown some short movies about the making of Alice. The films covered the history of the stories, explanations behind the narrative, the costumes, the characters and just generally explaining what we could expect from the production.

After the cinema, we were whisked away for afternoon tea. It was delicious - there was even purple striped Cheshire Cat cake!!

Typical beauty blogger; one of the first things that caught my eye was the MAC face charts, detailing the unique makeup looks created by MAC Senior Artist Caroline Donnelly (@mac_caroline_d). I've followed Caroline on Twitter for a while & I am a huge fan of her work - she twitpics a lot of her creations & I can't wait to see what she does with Scottish Ballet in the future.

Other delightful treats of the afternoon included Leighton Denny hand massages provided by the Spa team at the Blythswood...

Kirsten from Saskia the Style Fairy

The Blythswood Spa

Smujj Makeup were there to refresh everyone's faces & the girls from Rainbow Room International were giving everyone ballet perfect up-do's ready for the theatre later on...

Claire from Bee Waits

Me, not really sure what was happening...

But I got an AMAZING Gaga-esque bow!! I was gutted taking it down last night :(

I'm not normally one to divulge the contents of a goodie bag & whilst I wont dwell on this, I do just want to give a special mention to ROX for providing us all with these beautiful semi-precious bracelets. The bags also contained various vouchers, one of which is for the Blythswood Spa, so I will definitely be heading back down there again sometime soon!

Before we knew it, it was time for the show. I was a bit worried that after how much I loved Cinderella, that I would not feel the same about Alice, but I needn't have been concerned - all the magic, delights, style, fantasy & sheer character was captured beautifully.

The biggest difference between this production and previous shows by this company is that Alice foregoes the story-book narrative that normally helps the viewers understand & interpret what is happening on stage. This production commanded attention & thought - the Artistic Director Ashley Page was adamant that Alice would not just be lifted straight out of the book. Instead, the ballet, the choreography and the scores have been worked together to create a representation of Charles Dodgson's (Lewis Carroll) mind, his relationship with children and both the books Alice in Wonderland & Alice Through the Looking Glass.

For those just looking for an awe-insping visual performance will not be disappointed. The set & the styling was as on-point as usual, with a John Galliano-esque Caterpillar, a Johnny Depp-esque Mad Hatter and a King & Queen of Hearts with costumes that would make any Vivienne Westwood fan swoon. I am already planning my outfit for when the production hits Aberdeen in May...

Kirsten, Toni & Kirsty

Massive thanks to everyone involved in yesterday's event, in particular to Ann from Girl in The City who was responsible for pulling everything together and Leon & his team at the Blythswood Square Spa.

You can find details of the Alice tour here

And I will leave you with a sneak peek of one my purchases from yesterday...

A xx

Scottish Ballet Presents... Alice!

I loved loved loved the Scottish Ballet production of Cinderella which I went to see in January. I am triply excited for Saturday which will see me hop on the train at 6.33am (!!!!) & head for Glasgow for the latest offering; Alice. Based, quite obviously, on the story of Alice in Wonderland, the visuals promise yet another stunning whirlwind of elegant costumes, colours and amazing hair & makeup.

Aside from the Ballet, there are a host of other little treats in store for me which I will report back on next week. I am also very much looking forward to catching up with my girls Kirsten at Saskia The Style Fairy and Ann from Girl in The City Glasgow (who is responsible for organising this entire event). I am also v. excited to meet Kirsty from 44 Sunsets - a blog I read solely for her unique awesome writing style. (I am also very excited to meet all the other bloggers who will be there too, but so many to mention!)

Hopefully from next week, I will be able to get back into blogging - I have been so busy recently that unfortunately my blog has taken a bit of a back seat. This can't do & I hope things will get back on track soon! Until then, enjoy some snaps from Alice!