My recent shoot with Becky Golder & Nils Bratby

Hello beauties,

I am so excited as I have received some of the images from my recent shoot with the lovely model Becky Golder and photographer Nils Bratby of Immortaleye Studio.

I am so pleased with how they turned out as I went a bit experimental with her hair!

My Trip to Venice: Part Two

Buon giorno

After going through my images from Venice and it was so hard to choose the ones to share that I thought, why not share more!

So here are a few more!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Glamorous Xmas Party Look

Hello lovelies,

As this time of year is filled with parties and events, I thought I would try out a glamorous look for the festive season.

When I apply make-up on myself I tend to focus on the eyes rather than the lips and enjoy rocking a dramatic eye with nude lips and this is what I have created in this case.

To create this look I used the following,

The products I used were the following: 

FACE:

Foundation: Mary Kay Matte finish foundation in Ivory4

Concealer: Mary Kay Concealer in Ivory 2

Powder: MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

EYES:

Primer: Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Eyeshadows: MAC Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in A Natural Flirt, Extra Dimension Eyeshadow in Tall, Dark and Handsome. MAC Eyeshadow in Electra and Nylon
Eyeliner: Collection2000 Extreme 24hfelt tip liner in black
Mascara: Mary Kay Lash Love Mascara in Black

CHEEKS:

Bronzer: MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft and Gentle

Blush: Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades Quad in 2. Blushalicious

LIPS: 
Lipstick: Rouge Dior in 264 Mitzah Lilac

Happy partying everyone! 

xxxxxxx

My Beauty Fix: Make your eyeliner stay put!

Hello and welcome to My Beauty Fix,

I recently had someone ask me what they could use to make sure their eyeliner stays put all day as it kept smudging after a few hours. So I thought I would turn it into a Beauty fix for all of you that have the same problem.

There are a few things that could be causing your eyeliner to smudge,

• Your eyelids may become oily throughout the day, making the liner slide.
• You may have hooded eyes, which is where the skin from your upper eyelid hangs down over the crease and rubs against the liner.
• Or the eyeliner you are using is not a suitable formula or is not manufactured very well (you can usually rule this one out if it is a well known brand).

Regardless of the reason for your eyeliners movements there are steps you can take to ensure your eyeliner stays put all day and doesn't fade.

Fix 1: Prime your eyes! You can find some great eyeshadow primers on the market that are made specially to solve this problem. Urban Decay, Too Faced, Mary Kay, MAC and many more create many different types of primer to suit specific needs.

This will create a good base for your eyeliner and even eyeshadow and will keep it all in place for longer. Remember to apply to all the areas you are going to apply liner to, so don't forget under the lower lash line.

Fix 2: Set your liner! Just as you set your foundation with translucent or mineral powder to help it last, the same can be done with your eyeliner. Choose an eyeshadow that matches your eyeliner shade and gently press on over your applied eyeliner. This will set the liner and make it stay in its place.

Fix 3: if the above fixes don't work for you, then it may be time to invest in some different formulas. I find gel liners are really hard working and rarely smudge, there are some great gel liners on the market in brands such as MAC, Urban Decay, Bobby Brown, Maybelline, Collection Cosmetics and many more.

There are also many waterproof or long lasting eyeliner formulas from Urban Decay, Make Up For Ever, Barry M, Benefit and many more.

I hope this is able to fix any eyeliner issues you may be having, but if you are still having problems please let me know as I will be happy to help find a solution that is right for you.

Thank you for stopping by for My Beauty Fix, if you are having any problems with your beauty regime that you think I may be able to help with then please leave me a comment with your problem or email me at dani@daniduffymakeup.co.uk quoting 'Beauty Fix' in the subject and I will do everything I can to find you a solution!

My recent shoot with Ravinder Crone & Michelle Duckett

Hello lovelies,

I have just received some of the shots from my recent shoot with Ravinder Crone Photography and the lovely model Michelle Ducket.

I am so excited that I wanted to share it with you all!

My Trip to Venice!

Buonasera,

I am back from Venice and I still feel in a daze after such a wonderful trip! Venice is such a beautiful and magical place and we had an amazing time, it just feel such a shame that its all over now and were back to the rat race.

For those of you that follow me on Instagram you may have seen some of these images already, but I just wanted to share with you some of the images from my wonderful trip!

(From left to right) On the plane getting ready to leave Gatwick Airport, the beautiful Grand Canal in Venice and the view from the famous Rialto Bridge.

(From left to right) The amazing pasta, the amazing pizza and wine, the lovely view as we crossed the lagoon on the vaporetto (public boat transport).

(From left to right) The lovely Xmas market in Padua, examples of the stunning Murano glass on the Island of Murano, the beautiful view along the Island of Murano.

(From left to right) The Rialto Bridge from afar, me on the Rialto Bridge, the beautiful streets of Venice.

Venice was so amazing, such lovely people, beautiful architecture and stunning views. We managed to explore  most of the main islands and took day trips to Padua and Treviso.

What was great was that everyone seems so laid back there, it is frowned upon to try and eat dinner before 8pm at night and you are supposed to enjoy an 'Ombra' which translates to 'shadow' (of wine). So you fill the early evening with a few glasses of wine and then head for dinner later on. It's all very social and a lot of fun!

I cannot stress what a lovely place this was to visit, we spent a week exploring and walking an awfully long way but every moment was worth it. It was such a relaxing holiday that I wish I was still out there.  If you ever have the chance to visit Venice, please do as you will not regret it!

Have you had the chance to visit Venice?

MAC Glamour Daze Extra Dimension Eye Shadows

So as I was strolling through the House of Fraser in Reading, I spotted the amazing new Glamour Daze Collection stand from MAC and became mesmerized by the pretty colours!

How amazing! Taken with my Iphone

It was so lovely, I just had to treat myself to a couple of the amazing Extra Dimension Eye Shadows.  So I went away and ordered the Eye Shadows in 'A Natural Flirt' and 'Tall, Dark & Handsome'.

'A Natural Flirt' is a soft, peachy, nude colour with a real pearly shimmer to it. This is a great base shadow and highlighter.

'Tall, Dark and Handsome' is a black/charcoal shade with a pearly shimmer. This can be applied very dark or can be blended out for a greyish contour which is great to add definition to your eyes. 

 

I absolutely love these eyeshadows and have been using them almost every day since they arrived! If you get a chance to take a peek at this range, please do as they are a great collection of shades.

This isn't a review, but just me sharing my love so keep an eye out and I will work on a deeper review and some looks for you.

Have you had a chance to try any other shades from this collection?
xxxx

Our work has been published!!

Hello lovelies,

I am so excited to annouonce one of my shoots has been published!! The shoot was with the lovely model Becky Golder and amazing photographer Magic Owen of Gloss Envy. It was a great shoot and so much fun and it has all paid off now.

The Magazine that our work has been published in the December 2012 issue of a magazine called Editorial which is a collection of fashion images.

Editorial is a collection of fashion imagery. It is a magazine filled with photographs from artists all around the world. No words; just images.

 Our images are on pages 38 and 39! I cannot wait until my copy arrives!

My Beauty Fix: Fading Eyeshadow

Welcome to My Beauty Fix!

This weeks problem is about fading eyeshadow, don't you just hate it when you spend ages applying some lovely colours to your lids, but after a few hours they've disappeared! Well here's my tips on how to keep them looking fresh and smouldering all day long!

Step One: Always apply make-up to clean, we'll moisturised skin. This goes for your whole face, not just the eye area.

Step Two: Apply an eyeshadow primer to the eye area. There are many products on the market that are tailored for this purpose, some of my favourites are Urban Decays Eyeshadow Primer Potion, MAC's Prep and Prime Eye, Benefits Lemon Aid and Too Faced Shadow Insurance Eyeshadow Primer, although there are many more out there.  These work great under your eyeshadows to help them blend and stay put all day.

Alternatively, if you don't want to spend money on a primer just for your eyes, try using a light layer of concealer across your lids, not only will this counteract any colour you may have on your lids, but it will also act as a primer to help the colour last all day.

Another option is to use a product like MAC's paint pots in Painterly (nude matte) or Bare Study (nude with gold shimmer) which I love as they give a lovely wash of colour but also helps keep any other colours in their place.

Step Three: Apply your eyeshadows as normal but make sure you blend well, this will help push the colours into the primer/concealer which will help them last longer.

Step Four: this is an optional step, if you are really concerned about your make-up fading or sliding, try a finishing or setting spray like Urban Decay's All Nighter, MAC's Fix+ (I haven't tried either of these yet so I can't comment how how long they will last but I have heard good things), Collection Cosmetics Fix Me Up or any of the other setting sprays that are out there.  For big events I use the Model in a Bottle setting Spray, but because this is quite heavy I don't recommend it for everyday use, but it works amazingly!

Step Five: If after all of these steps your eyeshadow is still not lasting all day, then there must be something wrong with the product you are applying. If you have had it for a long time it may have gone off, so smell it and see if there is anything funky about it and if there is then please throw it out! It is better to have wasted your money than risk your health, so throw it away and treat yourself to some new eyeshadows!

Now you can practice applying those smouldering eye looks that will last you all day and night!

Thank you for stopping by for My Beauty Fix, if you are having any problems with your beauty regime that you think I may be able to help with then please leave me a comment with your problem or email me at dani@daniduffymakeup.co.uk quoting 'Beauty Fix' in the subject and I will do everything I can to find you a solution!

MUA Lip Boom in OK.COM

Hello my beautiful readers,

On my mission to be extremely well planned for my holiday I was on the search for some make-up products that will help me reduce the amount of products I need to take with me and I came across this item from MUA: Make-up Academy.

The Lip Boom is a double ended product with a full-sized lipstick on one end and a substantially-sized lipgloss on the other end. These come in many different shades, but for me I found the best choice was the OK.Com shade which combines a strong nude lipstick with a peachy, glittery lipgloss.

What I love about this item is that for £3 you have one product that covers your lip and glossy needs. It really will reduce the amount of things I have to pack as everything takes up so much more room when you have a limit you have to stick to!

The swatches I tried on myself came out really well, but I haven't had a chance to fully try it out yet, so I will fill you in as soon as I can give it a good test run!

Do you have any great items that reduce your packing size?

My Travel Essentials

I'm sure many of you know already, but I am getting ready to go on holiday to Venice for a week and I am so excited! Although I have been away for odd weekends here and there, this feels like my first real holiday this year as it will just be me and the Boyf for a whole week of relaxation and exploration. I k now, I can see you all saying, "But the years almost over?" And I am nodding along in agreement, it is almost the end of the year and in our usual laid back manner, we have left our holiday to the last minute! Oh we'll, at least we're making it away somewhere and I am so pleased to be leaving the UK for a while to explore an exotic city.

http://www.holiday-velvet.com

As I am going to be so busy in the lead up to the trip, I decided it was time to start planning my packing early rather than leaving it all to the last minute and I wanted to share with you my Beauty travel essentials to help keep your packing as light as possible and efficient.

Usually, I am all about packing for the 'just in case' moment that never arrives and realise that my bag is so heavy I'm going to hurt my back if I have to carry it any longer. So this year I've decided to stick with the essentials, and here is my checklist:

Travel Essentials

• Eye Make-up Remover and make-up wipes - it is important to remove all of your make-up no matter where you are as this will keep your skin clean and clear of breakouts.
• Cleanser - Very important to keep your skin clean wherever you go
• Moisturiser - very important to keep your skin looked after as it won't be used to the new temperatures whether hot or cold.
• Sunscreen - this is very important if you are travelling to a hot country, if you aren't then try to pick a moisturiser that contains an SPF so your skin is still protected no matter what the weather.
• Shampoo & Conditioner - my hair goes haywire in unknown humidities so its good to have the right products to tame, and even better if you get them in miniatures!
• Toothpaste and toothbrush - not sure this requires an explanation, lol
• Deodorant, talc and any other travel sized toiletries you may need - I love anything that comes in a miniature/travel size, but try to keep it minimal and only what you need on a daily basis.

Make-up Essentials

• Primer/oil control mattifier - depending on your skin type
• Concealer
• Foundation
• Translucent or mineral powder
• Blush/Bronzer - great if you can find a travel palette like Mary Kay's 
• Eyeshadow - this is down to personal preference and what you like to wear everyday. Personally I like to define my eyes everyday, but I try to keep it minimal and take a couple of shades for he day and a couple for night which is great if you can put them together in a travel palette.
• Eyeliner - if you're not into wearing a lot of eyeshadow each day then taking a couple of different coloured eyeliners will allow you to define your eyes and spice up your looks for the day/night with minimal effort and space.
• Mascara
• Tinted Lip balm - great for taking care of your lips in any temperature and gives you a natural glow for when you can't be bothered with lipstick.
• Lipstick and lip gloss - I like to take two shades of lipstick with me so I can have a choice when I'm away, a natural (almost nude) shade and a brighter colour.
• Brow gel or clear mascara - there's no need to go crazy on your brow products while your away, but a quick brush through with some gel or clear mascara will help keep them in check.
  

Well, I think that's about everything I could possibly need.... I hope!

Do you have any special packing rituals or tips?

Highly Commended in November's SWPP Monthly Competition!

Hello lovelies,

Now, I'm no photographer but the SWPP is the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers and in the last few months I have been working closely with Ravinder Crone Photography to put together some great shoots.  The shoots we have worked on have been filled with inspiration, excitement and some very beautiful models. Recently, we worked with the lovely Fredau H and we entered one of the images we created to the SWPP's Monthly Competition.  

I am so excited, because our image was awarded Highly Commended! There are so many amazing images entered into this competition and I am so proud that our images can be a part of that.

Here is the image we submitted!

 

I can't wait to see the rest of the images from our shoots

My Beauty Fix: Smudged Mascara

Hello Beauties and welcome to My Beauty Fix!

Today's fix is just a quick one, but it happened to me this morning and I had a little Eureka moment! You know when you're in a rush getting ready (which I'm sure is most of us, the majority of the time) and you apply your concealer, eyeshadow and liner perfectly then when you come to put your mascara on, you blink too quickly and end up with mascara smudged everywhere!

Now, you have two options, you can either huff and wipe off your make-up in the areas that have been tainted with mascara and reapply or you can try my quick and simple fix.

My fix: Wait for the mascara to dry and then use a cotton bud to wipe away the dry flakes of mascara. The trick here is to wait until the mascara is dry. It is natural to want to wipe away the smudge as soon as possible, but fight the urge as wet mascara will end up smudging more.

Give it a try next time, It is really that simple!

Thank you for stopping by for My Beauty Fix, if you are having any problems with your beauty regime that you think I may be able to help with then please leave me a comment with your problem or email me at dani@daniduffymakeup.co.uk quoting 'Beauty Fix' in the subject and I will do everything I can to find you a solution!