Playing with Photography & Styling - A Spring 2014 Look with Clarins Opalescence

Clarins has launched the Opalescence Collection for spring 2014 and it can't come soon enough. I'll take the liberty for speaking on behalf of women in the Northern Hemisphere when I say that this has been a long, hard winter.  Bring on fresh colour and warm sunshine!

I felt like getting creative and shooting some beautiful makeup on a lovely woman so I called on my friend Ashley.  She is such a natural beauty and I knew she was perfect for what I had in mind.  Romantic, vibrant, fresh, luminous, and glowing were all words going through my mind as I did her makeup. I went for a smokey eye, but kept it light by adding highlight and staying away from a dramatic liner.  Her lips are washed in a sheer pop of vibrant coral, the icing on this spring confection.  Feeling satisfied with Ashley's final look, I whipped out my Nikon D3100 and started shooting.  We had a lot of fun. and despite the fact that I have no photographic training whatsoever, I'm thrilled to share the results!

The Makeup:

This collection includes an Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Vibrant Light, Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base, Cream Blush, and Joli Rouge Brilliant lipstick.  The Cream Blush shade is 02 Candy and the lipstick is 20 Coral Tulip.

Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base in 02 Champagne warms up the skin and gives a luminous glow. It's got a light peachy tint to it and brightens up sallow or dull skin, while the light texture is moisturizing. The finish is transparent.

The eyeshadows in the Vibrant Light quartet complement each other nicely and have an iridescence to them that gives a gorgeous opalescent glow to the eye makeup.  Shades are a satin-shimmer pale pink, orchid purple, mid-tone grey, and sparkly white.

I used the pale pink in the inner corner and highlight under the brow bone, the purple across the lid and deepened up the crease and outer v using the grey.  A touch of the sparkly white on the inner corner and middle of the lid gave extra dimension.  I lined the bottom lid with a vibrant purple liner, smudging out with the purple shadow.  Soft black liner to the top lash line, and topped it all off with 2 coats of Clarins Be Long Mascara.

Who wouldn't love a cream blush named Candy?  This shade gives a glowing flush of colour that looks so natural. I applied it with MAC duo-fibre brush #130, my preference for cream blush. Any way you apply it though, the texture is light and merges perfectly with skin, leaving no line of demarcation.

The jewel of this whole look for me is this glorious lipstick.  It's sublime!  Sheer, glossy and vibrant with a scent and taste of candy.  Ashley and I both fell in love! It's packaged as a lipstick but gives the shine of a gloss and just enough colour payoff.  It's super-moisturizing too, more like a balm.

I hope you enjoy these photos.  I'm definitely bitten by the bug for styling and photographing my makeup creations.  A huge thanks to Ashley for being a wonderful model.

Stay warm and happy...now if spring would just hurry up!

Get The Look - Ancient Pietra from Vasanti Cosmetics

Being an active member of the online makeup community, I feel that it keeps me in touch with what's hot.  What women want.  Taupe eyeshadow is always in demand.

The eyeshadow duo I used to get this look, Ancient Pietra from Vasanti, is a glorious example of taupe at it's best.  Silvery, shimmery true taupe, not too cool or warm. And the buttery goodness of the blonde gold shade with it makes for a great combo.

I paired this eye look with a neutral brownish-nude to keep the focus on Avril's beautiful blue eyes.

Texture is superb, like all Vasanti duos.  The shades are super-pigmented, apply easily and blend like a dream.

Click here to visit Vasanti's blog, I Love My Colour, and get the lowdown on the how-to for this beautiful and versatile day-to-night look.

Get The Look - Ellora Caves Eyeshadow Duo from Vasanti

The third instalment in the series featuring Vasanti Cosmetics new eyeshadow duos, Ellora Caves is right up my alley...or cave - so to speak!

Chocolate brown and beige, so warm and flattering.  These shimmery shadows are soft and buttery.  They are richly pigmented and blend beautifully. I finished the look on Stephanie by adding a warm brick red using Chile lipstick.

Check out how to get the look yourself by clicking here to visit Vasanti's blog, I Love My Colour

Sexy Smoldering Smokey Eye with Vasanti Forbidden City Duo

Here's look number two from my Vasanti blog series.

There's nothing more sexy - or easier - than a simple smokey eye.  Mission accomplished with this new duo.  One side is a sparkling black shade while the other is a matte black.  With a few swipes of shadow, some liner and mascara, this is one of the easiest looks ever! The shadows are very pigmented and easy to blend. I paired it with a soft pink lip in Pretty Poland.

Follow the steps on the blog here to get details on how I did makeup.

"Get The Look" with Vasanti Cosmetics: VEGAS STRIP

Not too long ago I was contacted by one of the owners of Vasanti Cosmetics, a Canadian company that I already knew a little about, having tried a few of their products a while back. I was impressed enough to know I would be interested in what she was about to propose.

A series of looks based on their new eyeshadow duos, that I would create with instructions on how to get the look, that would get shared on their website. Cool, right? That's what I thought!

So within a few days I received a package of cosmetics from Vasanti, and everything about these goodies, from the sleek, simple, sturdy packaging, to the beautiful tones and textures made me giddy-happy.  You know the feeling girls; swatching and swooning.

I decided the first look I would do would be with the Vegas Strip duo.  The purple shade happens to be the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2014, Radiant Orchid. I loved working with this duo and the shades coordinated perfectly with Sweden lipstick and Kajal Extreme eyeliner in Purple Gem.  I'll be wearing this look again soon!

Purple is such a flattering colour for almost anyone, so give it a try!

Click here for the complete list of products and instructions to rock this look.