The Smokey Eye

Who doesn't love a smokey eye? I felt like glamming it up a bit the other night and decided to do a graphite/charcoal themed smokey eye. I paired it with a nude gloss to keep the focus on the eyes and used a bronzing blush to sculpt my cheeks and not introduce too much colour. I love this look and will definitely be re-creating it at the weekend when I go out for a Christmas meal! 

I am so obsessed with eyeshadows and my collection is ever-growing. I wanted to delve into some more smokey/dark colours so I added the ones I used here to my collection recently. I usually wear browns, neutrals and bronzes but I am really getting into my red toned browns, greens and greys lately.

Here I used:

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Cashew

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25

Estee Lauder Automatic Brow Pencil in Soft Brown

Benefit Speed Brow

Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

Clinique All About Shadow Eye Shadow in Graphite

Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow in Black Crystals

Estee Lauder Double Wear Eye Pencil in Graphite

Estee Lauder Lash Primer Plus

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara in Black

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder

Benefit Dallas Box 'O Powder

Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss in Tempting Tearose

Are you a fan of the smokey eye look?

My new best friend! Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover

Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover - £17 here.

 I posted this pic on Instagram (username: cocomykel - follow me!) the other day of my new favourite thing - the Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover for waterproof and heavy make-up. I nabbed this the other day as I was getting a bit fed up of melting my eye make-up off with my cleansing balm at night (I use the Clinique Take The Day Off one to take my make-up off). The balm is effective in taking it off, but it always takes a little extra rubbing of my eyes than I'd prefer, and as the eye area is quite sensitive and I'm conscious of losing lashes, I thought I'd give the Clarins a go!

It's one of those dual-phase make-up removers which requires you to shake it (which is secretly quite fun!), the girl on Clarins told me when I bought it that you have to "shake it to wake it!" and she seemed rather amused!

After shaking well so both blue and clear liquids are mixed, I pop some on a cotton pad and hold over my eye before carefully wiping it around my eye area and removing all eyeshadow and mascara, before I go into my proper cleanse at the sink. This stuff feels great on the eyes and is not irritating to me whatsoever. It feels a tad oily compared to say Bioderma, but I think that's why it's so effective. It leaves my eye area feeling smooth and I cleanse afterwards anyway so the remainder of it is always being removed.

I haven't tried this bad boy with waterproof mascara as I don't tend to wear it, but it's designed to do so and I'm sure it works a treat. I highly recommend this eye make-up remover if you wear a lot of eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara like I tend to and want something that whips it off easily and effectively.

What's your favourite way to remove your eye make-up?

Face of the Day - 04/06/13

A cheeky little face of the day from Wednesday and a very firm affirmation that I am indeed in love with bronzer. My Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Deep 4 infact (review here). I urge every girl to try it when you're next near a Bobbi Brown counter, it's such a great quality product. The shades are perfect for bronzing, I feel like mine is quite red toned, which keeps me from looking 'orange' and like I'm 'tango-ed' LOL! The texture is very blendable and not heavy what-so-ever which makes this bronzer so easy to use. 

My favourite bronzing brush is my Real Techniques Buffing Brush, traditionally used for foundation. It provides precision bronzing with the perfect shape and soft synthetic brush hairs that buff out the product to look natural and perfect.

In the photos, I have contoured my nose also which I had never done before. Again I achieved it with the BB Bronzing Powder and my Eco Tools Airbrush Concealer brush which worked really well. I kept the rest of my makeup simple with only mascara on my eyes, some brows and a lipstick.

Heres what I wore:

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Cashew

Benefit Erase Paste in Medium No2

Estee Lauder Ideal Light in Medium

Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Natural Tan

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Deep 4

Estee Lauder Automatic Brow Duo in Soft Brown

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara

MAC Lipstick in Kinda Sexy




I clipped my hair back as it needed a wash and my top is from Zara! I hope you enjoyed the post! Please let me know of other things you'd like to see on the blog - and I may have an outfit of the day post ready for next week of my outfit for this Saturday night!

Remember to check out my blog sale here!

What make-up have you been sporting recently?

'The Estée Lauder Face'

Just a quick snap of the make-up I did for my first day on Estée Lauder. I didn't have any Lauder blushes when I started, but have bought one since which will feature in one of my next posts! So the make-up here is pretty clean and simple and I applied blush once I got there before the store opened.

I was going for a clean and flawless look rather than a smokey eye or anything, as I think Lauder's image is quite sophisticated and understated. The eyeshadow I wore, Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha completely stole the show and I got so many compliments on it!

Double Wear Flawless Wear Concealer in
Warm Medium and Ideal Light Brush-On
Illuminator in Medium

For concealer I went for Double Wear Flawless Wear Concealer in Warm Medium to help conceal any redness. I then mixed this concealer with Advanced Night Repair Eye to create something hydrating enough for under the eye as the DW Concealer on it's own is quite drying for that area. At Lauder we call this the 'Fatigue Fighter' and it's used to help hydrate and conceal the eye to give a more flawless and awake look, hiding bags and dark circles.

I then used Ideal Light in Medium as it is a brush-on illuminator that reflects light and helps to brighten under the eye further. It's a correcting salmon type shade which is perfect for dark circles. The texture is great for the under-eye area as it is light and not drying. 

For brows I used my Automatic Brow Pencil in Soft Brown which has a dry/waxy texture which is great for natural looking brows that stay all day. I have used this non-stop since I got it - a great product.

Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha

Now for the hero - Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha, a shade that sometimes looks Taupe, sometimes looks Purple and sometimes looks Blue. Underwhelming in the pan, this shadow looks amazing on, and can be worn lightly swept on or more heavily with other darker shadows depending on what look you are going for. 

A slick of mascara and gloss and I was done. I used Sumptuous Extreme mascara and Pure Color Gloss in Rock Candy. 

Pure Color Gloss in Rock Candy

It's going really well at Lauder, I have a lot to learn still but I am really enjoying it and getting to grips with it all as quick as I can :-) My favourite part has been doing the iMatch (foundation matching) and getting to grips with all the foundation shades and the application.

I am really missing my other make-up as it feels like I am only using my Lauder products *cries*, but it's nice to explore the brand and see what make-up they have to offer, as everything I've tried has been of amazing quality and I've really been enjoying using them. 

I will update again on how I'm getting on soon - feel free to ask me any questions that you may have, I'd love to read them!

Ta ta for now!

Face of the Day - 14/04/13 & 15/04/13

So heres what my face has been looking like the past two days - interesting, huh? All jokes aside, I love knowing what products people are wearing and how they achieve each look. Both looks are pretty natural, the second being pretty fuss free but good for everyday.

Ignore the fact that I wear this necklace in 99.9% of my photos - I like it, okay?

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Primer

Estee Lauder Double Wear in 3W2 Cashew

Benefit Erase Paste in Medium No.2

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25

Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake in Thunder

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude

MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel 

MAC Cremeblend Blush in Something Special

MAC Cream Colour Base in Shell

Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipgloss in Rock Candy

Yesterday I only had to pop out for a bit so I thought I'd just do something natural. I'd been watching Made in Chelsea (MIC, don'tcha know) most of the day, and was loving the make-up that a lot of the girls sport on that programme. A flawless base, often dewy looking, neat and tidy brows, a smudge of black liner on the top lash line, super super curled eyelashes and lashings of mascara - top lashes only - bronzed cheekbones and a bit of gloss - done!

Laura Mercier Oil-Free Primer

Estee Lauder Double Wear in 3W2 Cashew

Benefit Erase Paste in Medium No.2

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25

Illamasqua Eyebrow Cake in Thunder

Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Black

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Deep 4

Jouer Tinted Lip Conditioner in Cosmo

Still loving my Double Wear, and my MAC CCB in Shell copious amounts - I'll do a review soon!

What make-up have you been reaching for lately?

Eylure Dylash Kit Review

Eylure Dylash Eyelash and Brow Dye Kit - £7.14 at Debenhams

On a whim, I decided to pick up this Dylash Eyelash and Brow Dye Kit as I've always fancied a more rich colour for my taupe coloured brows. I have quite ashy tones brow hairs and being brunette, I've never thought that they matched my hair properly, bearing in mind most peoples don't.

I thought I'd give this kit a go just to see what kind of results I got, as I'm so reluctant to have other people tamper with my brows - their my babies!

My eyebrows before:

The dyeing process:

I started off with cleansed skin and removed any oils/make-up from my eye area with Bioderma Crealine H20.

The circular well inside the packaging was to be used to create the dye and house the ingredients.

I squeezed roughly 2cm worth of Dylash Cream Colour into the well.

I then dropped in 5 drops of the Dylash Activating Solution.

The last step was to mix the two together with the plastic wand provided until a creamy consistency was formed. 

I then brushed the cream through both brows with the spoolie provided in the pack, ensuring to coat each hair sufficiently. Loving my scouse brow look here! LOL

My eyebrows after:

 The end result was very subtle, and not that dramatic. I didn't expect a very dark colour but I do think the tint made a slight difference. 

Before and after comparison:

The darkness of my brows is basically the same, it's more the tone of my brows that have changed. They have gone from a taupe shade to a more classic brown shade. They also looked fairly glossy afterwards which they never normally do. I'm glad that they still look natural and I am quite pleased with the result.

I will add that the tint was most noticeable after I'd applied my brow products when putting on my make-up the next day, my brows did look quite a bit darker which took me by surprise as I didn't think they would.

The overall process of dyeing my eyebrows was really easy and the tools in the kit made it quick and mess-free. I won't be using it for my lashes (although you can use it for both) as my lashes are already really dark.

Have you tinted your brows before?

No7 Make-Up

For my birthday from my lovely Nan and Grandad-in-law I got some gorgeous make-up from No7. I was so chuffed and surprised that they would get me such a lovely gift and I know they will be reading this at some point as they are big fans of my blog - so hello Nan and Pops if you are reading!!! Love ya both xx

(From L-R) No7 Stay Perfect™ lipstick in Classic Rose and No7 Moisture Drench lipstick in Mulberry

The products I am most looking forward to using are the lipsticks as the shades are gorgeous and I have never tried any No7 lipsticks before! I got two different formulas - Stay Perfect™ lipstick in Classic Rose and Moisture Drench lipstick in Mulberry with SPF 15. 

Mulberry looks like such a lovely every day colour so I can't wait to try that one, and Classic Rose looks like a shade that could be worn either day or night as it has more of a red/pink hue.

I also got a Stay Perfect™Eye Shadow in a taupe shade (can't find the actual shade name on the packaging!) It looks like a satin finish and would look great on the eyelid with a deeper colour in the crease.

I am a complete mascara junkie so I was really pleased to get this No7 Extreme Length Mascara in Black. The brush looks like my kind of brush - very lengthening. I'll be sure to do a review on it soon once I've used up my Lancôme Hypnôse and my Clinique High Impact.

Last but not least I got a Stay Perfect™ Metallic Eyes Pencil in a gorgeous silver-metallic shade. It looks like the Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner Pencil which is really easy to use and has a nice formula, so this one looks promising too!

I'm sure you'll be seeing these products again soon in reviews or favourites posts so keep your eyes peeled!!

Have you tried any No7 make-up?

Review: Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara

Lancôme Hypnôse mascara in 01 Noir

It's safe to say that I love this mascara. I did have a MASSIVE relationship with Max Factor False Lash Effect mascara, however this one has beat it on a few factors. This is the non-waterproof version as I don't get on well with waterproof mascara formulas. Although they are long wearing, I hate getting them off and they always make my lashes feel stiff and unnatural. Despite this being non-waterproof, it wears extremely well and doesn't flake off or melt when my eyes get watery.

For starters I love the wand, I've always preferred bristle brush mascara wands despite the Max Factor having a large plastic one. This wand teamed with the inky, creamy texture of the mascara just does wonders. It coats the lashes with a plush and almost creamy layer of mascara which dries quite quickly and sets, preventing clumps. I have not had a clumpy mascara day with this one once!

The fact that it dries quickly allows you to be able to do more coats without it caking up and getting clumpy - so important. The brush is long and thin which is great for reaching the smaller lashes in the corners and the fact that it sets so well means that it doesn't flake all day. Some mascaras set quite dry which means they go flaky during the day, this one dries but doesn't make the lashes feel stiff, they are still slightly feathery to the touch and look quite glossy.

It's not the most volumizing mascara, however I prefer length over volume so this is perfect for me. It holds it's own when I wear it with eyeliner or a smokey eye, still making my lashes look lengthy and thick.

My Shu eyelash curlers

I always, always curl my lashes before I apply my mascara as it makes such a difference - my favourites are the Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, they are incredible!

Close-up: No mascara, uncurled lashes

Close-up: Lashes curled with Shu Uemura eyelash curlers and wearing two
coats of Lancôme Hypnôse mascara in 01 Noir

I have quite naturally long lashes that are dark and thick, but I am pleased with the outcome that this mascara gives, and I am VERY fussy with mascara! Very. 

What are your thoughts? Do you have an all time favourite mascara?