Urban Decay- Naked 2 Palette

Hello beautiful people! I'm here with my review on the gorgeous Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay! I got this as a birthday present for my 18th birthday and I'm in love with it. It's one of those palettes that I've always had my eye on when looking in the shops. 

I already own the Smoked palette which is also by Urban Decay so I am familiar with how pigmented and creamy their eyeshadows are! 

The eyeshadows in this palette are stunning. I love how this pallete is taupe centric and allows you to create many different looks, ranging from lovely neutral eyes to very dark, sexy smokey eyes. 

The formula of the shadows are so creamy which makes them very easy to blend. This is essential when creating a smokey eye - you want the colours to blend seamlessly together and I think anybody, professional or not, would find the shadows in this palette very easy to use  to create gorgeous looks! 

This palette does retail at £37 which is expensive, but when you think about the quality of the products your getting  I think it is very reasonable - this palette will last you a very long time as you get 1.3 grams of product in each pan and they are very versatile shades. 

There is a full size mirror in the palette making it portable and very handy...

The case is a hard tin exterior with a click/ snap closure. You do get a high quality blending brush from Urban Decay in this palette which contributes to the retail price . .  I do not think this is a bad brush to have in your kit as it does a good job of applying the shades and blending- way better than those mini sponge applicators you usually get with palettes! 

I have swatched the shades for you and they have come up very true to colour, you can see just how pigmented these really are. The only negative thing I have to say about this palette is that there are only three matte shades and the rest are shimmer / glitter shades . Nevertheless ,  this does not stop me loving it! 

Foxy -cream bisque matte - 

 Half Baked -golden bronze shimmer

Bootycall -cork shimmer

Chopper -copper shimmer /silver micro-glitter

Tease -creamy pale brown matte

Snakebite -dark bronze shimmer

Suspect -pale golden beige shimmer

Pistol -light grayish brown shimmer

Verve -oyster shimmer

YDK -cool bronze shimmer

Busted -deep brown shimmer

Blackout -blackest black matte 

That is the list of all the shades in the palette ; my favourite shades are chopper , half baked , tease and blackout . Tease is a  taupe/ brown that is perfect for the crease and blackout is honestly the most pigmented matte black I've ever worked with so far! I have Carbon from Mac which used to be my favourite matte black but Blackout puts Carbon to shame ! Everyone needs a fab matte black in their collection and if you don't have one you love I recommend getting this one!  

I hope you all loved this review on the Naked 2 palette. I really would recommend this palette to everyone as it has some very unique shades . If your a fan of shimmer and glitter this palette is made for you! If you haven't got this already it should be your No.1 On your Christmas list!

I'd love to hear your opinions on this palette and any other palettes you have and love ! I may have to invest in the Naked 3 after falling inlove with this one so any opinions on that would be much appreciated ! Xxx

My 18th birthday

Hi everyone ! So I have had a lovely week as it was my 18th birthday on Friday . I had such a good time that I thought I'd have to write a blog about it and share it with you all! 

Can I first say , I do not feel 18 years old! In my birthday card from my boyfriend he wrote about how he's watched me grow up from a 13 year old teenager  to a young woman throughout our relationship... And to me that just shows how quick time flies by! My amazing boyfriend Luke , who I have been with for four years now, took me on a suprise night away at the Redworth Hall Hotel in Durham! I couldn't believe it when he told me he was taking me away as no one has ever been that sweet to me before and it was such a great gift! Luke drove down to the hotel the day before my birthday, it was a nice little road trip for me as I had no idea where I was going! It was so exciting when we turned up to the long driveway leading up to the hotel as there were beautiful trees and gardens around us. I couldn't believe how lucky I was when I saw the castle like building we were going to stay in! It was a traditional stunning building. 

 We were a little nervous as it was our first night staying away together but soon as we got into the hotel we were made to feel happy and relaxed by the staff! The room we stayed in was a deluxe spa room and it couldn't have been more gorgeous! There was even a bottle of wine and two glasses waiting for us on ice when we arrived! We had a lovely meal and breakfast buffet which made the stay extra nice too. Me and Luke have shared so many beautiful memories together over the years and I look forward to making many more! 

Thank you for making my 18th very special Luke ! 

On the day of my birthday I was a very lucky girl, I got so many beautiful presents of my mother who I love very much and few more presents of Luke! Some of those presents are beauty related and I am very excited to do a post on those ! 

 

My mum knows me so very well and actually made my birthday extra special 

by getting me a personalised birthday cake . Infact it was SO personalised to me that it was a Mac birthday cake !!! I could not believe it when I saw it, it was dreamy! I got to share this birthday cake with my loved ones when I went out for a meal with my family. 

My eldest sister , who lives in London still, came to see me for my 18th which made me so happy! I miss her very much and it always makes me happy when I know she's coming to see me , we always have such a great time together and stay up late at night talking about everything that's been going on in our lives ! We do love a good gossip and catch up! 

Thank you to all my family and friends who wished me happy birthday and my close ones who came to my birthday meals ! I had a great 18th and I love you all ! Xxx

Flawless foundation routine - highlighting and contouring

Hello everyone ! So I have decided to do a short ... well I say this is going to be short but I can talk for ages when it comes to makeup... But yes a flawless foundation routine guide . Many people have asked me how to achieve a look that covers imperfections but yet does not look caked on or over the top. The key to this is knowing how much product to use and how to apply it. I do briefly give some steps on highlighting and contouring which I love and I know so many people are interested in it. 

Firstly, you want to prime the skin ... I have not found a primer as of yet that is a  must have for me but I do think your foundation needs something to cling and stick too. If you have any primer recommendations i'd really love to hear from you! I used Maybellines Baby Skin to give me a smooth canvas to start on but you can go ahead and use any face moisturiser to do the job .  

You want to apply your foundation evenly all over the skin ; a foundation is mean't to even out your skintone . I used my expert face brush from real techniques to work my foundation into the skin using circular motions . The foundation I used was the new Ysl Fusion Ink one which I adore ! It provides a medium buildable coverage that feels so weightless on the skin- I may have to do a review on that! 

For those of you wanting a lighter application, go in with a damp beauty blender or a stippling brush to apply your foundation. 

The second picture demonstrates me highlighting my face ; I used Macs prolongwear concealer in Nc30 and Macs highlighter pen in ' light boost ' under the eyes , the bridge of the nose , the forehead and the chin. These are the high points of the face / areas that I want to highlight and bring forward ... I have a relatively small forehead so I highlight the centre of it to widen the forehead space. If you have a large forehead and want it to appear smaller you can skip that step. 

The concealer I used and the highlighter pen would be great for those of you like myself that have tan skin and yellow undertones as it will accentuate those undertones .

Thirdly, you can see me ready with my handy beauty blender ( miracle complexion sponge by real techniques) to blend all this highlighting work out. You want to run the sponge under your tap before using it so the sponge is nice and damp - make sure you squeeze the excess water out. This water will add moisture to the face whilst blending out the product underneath perfectly. Use the beauty blender in a pressing motion, do not swipe the product you should really press it into the skin. This pressing motion will soak up any extra product making it impossible to have cakey undereye concealer ! 

Your face should look all blended out with no harsh lines like mine in picture No. 4 ! 

The next four steps is the contouring part ! My favourite ! This step is essential to adding dimension to the face and is a great way of changing the face shape. 

Ideally, you want a product that is a couple of shades darker than your skintone. Many people do this with another foundation that's darker or even concealer , however I used a Matte Bronzer from Mac. The darker products are applied to the places of the face that we want to slim down and take backwards. 

In the first two pictures , I am sculpting out my cheekbones by applying the bronzer from the top of my ear downwards towards the mouth but not all the way . You want to start of light and build on this line as it is much easier to build rather than take product alway! Once the line is at your comfortable intensity , you want to start blending the line upwards into the cheeks to give it a more natural appearance . This step sinks your cheekbones in which dramatically slims down the face ! 

To make this more natural, you want to apply the bronzer on the temple area and below the jawline to sharpen the edges up ... Slimming down your face even more but most importantly adding natural colour back into the skin after all that highlighter ! If you want to make your forehead appear smaller , run the contour product through the hairline right round your forehead to hide and take this area backwards. 

I like to slim my nose down a little so I  apply bronzer to the sides of the nose, it is a great little non surgical trick to change the shape of the nose ! Make sure you really blend this out as two stripes down the nose really isn't the prettiest look aha. This will make your nose appear much slimmer and skinnier. 

Finally, you want to smooth everything out and make sure the highlighted areas and the contoured areas are all blended in together and everything is a nice seamless picture, do this using a stippling brush with no product on it.

 I also went in with Macs Mineralized Skinfinish in Medium dark to set my highlighted areas  . It is essential that you have a great setting powder to finish the look and seal everything in . The MSF that I used is perfect and I would highly recommend everyone to purchase this product... It does not settle into fine lines and it adds a very light extra coverage too which is nice.

I then went in and finished off my make up , I added a powder highlight ( Macs soft and gentle MSF ) to the highlighted areas which finishes off the look and adds a gorgeous glow to the skin! 

So those are my steps to achieving a flawless foundation look! It does seem like a lot of steps in writing but when you are actually doing it, it does not take that long! I really hope you all love this post , do let me know, and of course if you have any questions feel free to ask away! Lots of love xxx

Guide to finding the right foundation for you!

Hello again everyone ! I thought it would be great to do a guide on finding the right foundation for you and some reviews on my top three favourite foundations...

I have used a number of different foundations so far and I think it is essential that you find a foundation that works best for your skin. There are different formulas to suit your skin type;  you may have normal - oily skin , normal to dry skin or even a combination of the two. I find my skin to be dry- combination skin.

You want a foundation that will even out your skintone well and last all day long. Setting powders and setting sprays of course play a part in helping your foundation to last all day, but choosing the right foundation will give you a flawless base to work from and build on top of. 

1. Your foundation must match your skin tone as close as possible. You want it to match your neck as your face can often be a little lighter than the rest of your body. 

In order to find the right foundation it is essential you know your undertone:

 Your undertone never changes. You may have purchased a foundation that looks too pink on your skin or too yellow ... And this is because you've got the wrong undertone. 

 

How to find out what your undertone is : 

Cool tones: veins appear blue/ purple in natural light , silver jewellery and jewel tones work best for you, skin has a slight pink, red or blue appearance. 

Neutral tones: veins appear blue/green  in natural light , both silver and gold jewellery work well, skin doesn't appear either pink/ blue or yellow/gold/ peach

Warm tones: veins appear green or olive in natural light , gold jewellery and earth tones work best, skin has slight yellow/ gold or peach appearance 

 I would say my undertone is neutral warm - I have tan skin with a golden/ yellow undertone . All high end foundations have shades according to undertones to enable you to find the perfect match and some drugstore brands are starting to do this too! 

2. You need to choose the best formula foundation for your skintype : 

- Cream Foundation - a cream foundation is perfect for those with normal, dry and combination skin who are wanting to achieve a dewy finish. The heavier coverage is great to cover uneven pigmentation and any redness.

2. Liquid Foundation - liquid foundations are probably the most popular as they are suited for all skin types. You can achieve coverage from light right through to full coverage with many liquid formulas. Another reason why they are so popular is because you can find different liquid formulas to achieve different finishes, wether your wanting dewy skin, matte skin or even a soft satin finish. Liquids are very moisturising too.

3. Pressed powder foundation - pressed powders provide light to medium coverage and are best suited for oily skin types they are designed to absorb excess oil. They are great to even out the skin tone.

4. Mineral foundation - any skin type except oily types are great for mineral foundations. They provide light to medium coverage with a matte finish. Mineral foundations are known to be the best way to achieve a natural flawless look as you buff the formula into the skin. Males who wish to wear makeup should opt for a mineral foundation as it looks soo natural and beautiful on the skin! 

Everybody has an option to choose from, you may need to try a few of them out to decide what type is best for you depending on your skin type but there's nothing wrong with experimenting! 

As promised on Instagram, I now have some short reviews on my top three favourite foundations!! I do hope you found the foundation guide useful and do feel free to ask any questions that you may have ! 

No. 1 - Yves Saint Laurent 

So this foundation is their new Fusion Ink foundation. I cannot tell you how much I love this - it really is the best foundation I have tried so far. I am in love with the packaging - it is black and gold - So classy and it comes in a glass bottle!  YSL describe this foundation in such a way that it 'Feels like a feather. Wears like an ink' and I completly agree. I have been searching for a foundation that feels so weightless on the skin yet provides long lasting medium-full coverage . This foundation lasts for an amazing 24 hours, it dries to a soft-matte perfection finish which they say is suitable for all skin types. I have normal- dry skin and I can get away with the matte finish as it feels very soft on the skin, however , I wouldn't recommend this to someone who has extreme irritated dry skin. Those of you like myself or oily skintypes really should try this one out if you haven't already!  The foundation does provide  SPF 18 and is  available in 21 shades so there is a shade for everybody.

No.2 - Estée Lauder 

This is the Estée Lauder double wear foundation. This foundation provides extreme coverage - and I mean full coverage ! It dries to a matte finish and has a 15 - hour staying powder . The coverage does give you that flawless face that many people want and I find that you only need a small amount of product to cover your face. The foundation feels very lightweight and comfortable on the skin and provides SPF 10 - I did not experience any flashback in photography with this foundation which is another reason why I love it! The only thing I would recommend is that you use a primer or really moisterise your skin before applying this foundation as it can be quite drying on the skin.

No. 3 Mac

This foundation is Macs studio sculpt in Nw25 . It is a gorgeous gel based formula that is perfect for dry skin as it's highly moisturising ... someone who is oily can also use this if set with a good setting powder. It is a medium coverage foundation that can be built up to full coverage very easily . The consistency is quite thick and a little really does go a long way if you work this into the skin with a buffing brush! It is water resistant, long wearing and has a SPF 15 in it . I would not recommend this foundation for photography as it does flashback. I don't know wether it does on everybody but it does make my tan skin look very pale ! Nevertheless , the finish is amazing and I love wearing it on a casual day ;  the finish is a very soft satin look that gives off a healthy glowy appearance. 

Thank you for reading my foundation guide post and I hope you found it very useful! My top three foundations are all high end as I have not yet found a drugstore foundation that is as good as these just yet. If anyone does have any drugstore foundayion recommendations then I would love to hear from you! 

Lots of love xxx

Perfect fall lips- Mac / Ysl

Hi everyone ! So I wanted to kick start my first cosmetic post with something that everyone would love; as we are heading into fall I thought a post about the perfect fall lip colour would be best! 

I'm not the biggest fan of the cold weather and dark nights that come along with fall but I love doing a gorgeous smokey brown eye with bold purple berry coloured lips! This is the time of year us girls can really get away with such a dramatic look that is truelly flattering on all skintones- it's  stunning! It's a fab way to add a pop of colour to the usual dark colours we naturally associate winter with. It doesn't matter how fair you are to how dark you are, there will be a great fall lipstick out there for you! 

So as you can see from my picture above, my  favourite fall lipstick combination at the moment is  'Diva' from Mac and  Ysl's No. 2 lipstick from their rouge volupté shine collection.

Macs 'diva' lipstick is the swatch on the left side of the picture . It is the most beautiful purple berry colour I have ever came across and it is a matte lipstick. This lipstick retails at £15.50 which I think is reasonable price for a high end amazing quality lipstick. I would rather have a long wearing quality lipstick for a few pounds more than one that doesn't last at all! Not having to constantly re apply means you will not need to keep re-purchasing.  I have been wearing this lipstick constantly and I'm in love with it! What I love is that it is highly pigmented and lasts all day long through eating and drinking , literally ! I promise ! I do apply this over the top of a lip liner but I have also used it without one and it is just as good . You would expect the lipstick to be very drying on the lips as it is matte afterall, however, I find the formula to be very creamy and not drying at all! Every girl needs this in their lipstick collection! 

The Yves Saint Laurent lipstick is beautiful too, I don't use this lipstick on it's own on the lips as it has a glossy sheer finish, so I do use this over the top of diva if I'm wanting a glossy finish . It retails at £25 which is pretty pricey for a lipstick but all of the products from YSL come in such gorgeous gold packaging which I could not resist when shopping! Also I must say, the lipstick has such a beautiful smell ... Honestly - I would recommend you go try these out at your nearest beauty counter they have a wide selection of shades that I hope to purchase.

Do comment and let me know what your favourite fall lip colours are as I'm constantly looking for more shades and love hearing about great products ! Feel free to ask any makeup / beauty related questions too! 

 Thanks for reading, lots of love  xxx

Hello you beautiful people!

Hi everyone ! I'd like to start of by introducing myself... My name is Emily Webster and I am 19 years old. I was born and raised in East London but I now live in the north east of the country. ' Belle Vie' means beautiful life in French, and I was inspired to name my blog this because I feel all women and men want to feel beautiful on the inside and out. Makeup is not about being fake or changing the way you look completely, it is about enhancing the natural beauty you already have and it is something that many people gain great confidence through. Using the right products for your skin can really help you feel great about the way you look and feel, leading you to live a beautiful life - Belle Vie.  

I would love to share my passion with the world - make up! I am obsessed with make up and everything beauty related ; I believe blogging will be a great way for me to share and learn new things about my passion; from reading other blogs to watching youtubers and working as a freelance makeup artist I have learn't a great deal about the application of makeup and the purpose of products ! I look forward to sharing my tips and tricks that I have gathered over the past few years and also giving my honest reviews on many popular products that I have in my forever growing kit! 

I hope you all love my up coming posts and do feel free to comment and share your thoughts and recommendations as I am keen on discovering new things ! XXX