What makeup means to me?

Recently, MissChievous hosted a giveaway competition on YouTube to win $1000 worth of Sigma goodies, and for a budding guru this is a competition prize I just could not pass up!
One of the requirements of her giveaway was to post a video response detailing what makeup means to you?
So, I thought about my answer, I didn't want to make a huge video but just a quick response. Maybe I'll go into more detail in a vlog one day. I just think that even though this is a contest question, it's a great idea for a TAG anyway.

For me I use makeup for many reasons:

As Camouflage: As a long-term acne sufferer I use makeup in order to conceal my flaws and to help me feel better about my bad skin. I am extremely careful about what products I use on my skin, in order not to exacerbate my acne. I prefer Mineral powder and meticulously remove my makeup every evening.

For Self-Expression & exploring my creativity: I love art and design as well as photography, so I like to create new makeup looks as a way of expressing myself. I especially like creating nail art designs, and using different colours of eyeshadow than the normal neutral shades.

For Therapy: I find watching tutorials and gurus on YouTube very theraputic and when I'm having a bad day or feel stressed this is what I like to do to calm down. Also I feel that applying makeup carefully and taking your time to decide how your look will turn out is very calming.

For Entertainment: Finally, with the birth of my new channel I'm using makeup for entertainment. I have taken great inspiration from some fantastic gurus on YouTube, which has lead me to want to share my opinions, tutorials and knowledge with you all! I know my channel is very new, but I hope to produce more videos and slowly achieve my own style so that I can become an established guru one day!


I hope you enjoyed my post on what makeup means to me? If you're not already Subscribed to Julia's [MissChievous] channel, please check her out here! She has so many great videos and I love her personality, she's so bubbly! Sadly, the giveaway is closed now but I'd love to know what makeup means to all of you! Leave a comment below.

Natalie
xoxo

Coastal Scents

It's a lazy Sunday. I had a horrible night's sleep, and for some reason my knee caps ache. I thought I'd cheer myself up by placing my FIRST EVER order with Coastal Scents.

So, I went on the website was about to place an order but saw the shipping prices were so high for England. I emailed saying I wanted to buy the Combo Set Number 5 for review on my YouTube channel, and did they have any cheaper shipping options? I know, it's cheeky, but if you don't ask, you don't get!
I went away and later received an email back from Coastal Scents. They were thrilled I wanted to review their products, and as a thank you had sent me a Gift Certificate!
I had to re-read the email, I thought it was a joke. I used the code and it worked! I'm over the moon!

I've placed an order for combo set 5 which looks like this:

You get the Original 88 palette, Ultra Shimmer 88 palette, Warm palette, and Metal Mania palette.
Well my beauties, if I can't create endless looks with this purchase then I don't know what else I can!

So, a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Coastal Scents for giving me this opportunity. I can't wait for my package to arrive! I look forward to featuring these on my channel, keep watching!

xoxo

My Curious Sleek Haul

I recently took a trip to Superdrug to buy some of the Sleek i-Divine palettes which I've been coveting for a while now. Superdrug had a 3 for 2 offer on so I bought two palettes and one blusher.

I purchased i-Divine palettes in Original and Storm, and a blusher in Flamingo. I've yet to use them but I took some photos before their cross hatched surfaces were marred by my eager brushes.

Here is the blusher in Flamingo which is a very vivid pink. The colour pay-off is fantastic and I only need use it sparingly!


I will create some looks with these palettes and upload them to YouTube over the next few days, possibly when my E.L.F haul arrives as I've purchased a few new brushes. I will also review these products as I always think watching reviews is helpful before buying products.

Bisous
Ms Natya
xoxo

All images © ms_natya

Ju-on The Grudge makeup tutorial

So here is my first YouTube makeup tutorial. Sadly it's not Halloween any more but luckily I had posted this tutorial on YouTube before Halloween!

The look is based on a character from the movie Ju-On (The Grudge). The character in question is Kayako Saeki, the Japanese female lead role. I chose to recreate this look as it is so simple, anyone can put on some white face paint and eyeliner if they are in a hurry!

So, to begin with I primed my face with Laura Mercier Oil-Free foundation primer. I prefer this blend as I have oily skin and I need my makeup to stay in place as well as possible.
Then I used my trusty UDPP to prime my eye area. Most of you will know the power of Urban Decay's Primer Potion and I can also vouch for it. I don't wear eye makeup without using UDPP now!
For the face paint I used Snazaroo's Water Based Face & Body Makeup applied with a slightly dampened makeup sponge all over my face, neck and ears. Be careful not to get the sponge too damp as you want the makeup to be relatively opaque. However, you also want to retain some reality to the complexion. After application, I set the face paint with normal translucent powder.

For my eyes I used M.A.C's Technakhol liner in Graphblack as I find this liner to be the most long-wearing for my waterline. I lined the entire lid area and upper & lower water lines. Next I set the liner with a matte black eyeshadow. Mine was just a cheap eyeshadow from Claire's Accessories. The brush I used is The Bodyshop Eyeshadow Brush, made from synthetic fibres of course.
To create a bruised look to the eyes I used a fluffy brush to smudge out the edges of my liner and to subtly add more black, graduating outwards towards my eye sockets. You want to try and achieve a skull-like appearance.
Concentrate adding black eyeshadow under the eyes. A tip is to look down and apply colour to where your natural 'dark circles' would end.

Finally to finish the look add a long, black wig. This is Kayako's signature hairstyle. Don't forget to perfect your Saeki sound!

I hope you all had a very Happy Halloween, why not try this look for next year? (Since my blog posts are so tardy)

love ms natya xoxo