Super Gorgeous May

Super Gorgeous May So Far

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment
I really need to write down some sort of schedule for posting regularly, obviously posting daily is something I am not quite used to yet!
 
I did have a week where I sort of went AWOL from Instagram due to work commitments but I managed to catch up!
 
Speaking of which, here is a catch up of the days I have not yet shown you:
 

Day 4 – On my Wishlist

This Wishlist makes me want to cry because I am trying not to spend any money!  This list consists of the original Naked palette (which I do not own…yet), Benefit’s new cheek and lip tint LolliTint (which is a gorgeous candy orchid colour), Clinique Chubby Stick, Revlon ColourBurst Matte Balm, MAC Quad Eyeshadow and finally Sugarbomb.  I must have these!
 
Day 5 – Something I’m Proud of
 
 
The online news blog I started with Elena Cresci back in 2011 – The Siren was so fun to create and I really believe we made something unique compared to other university publications.  It makes me so happy that new generations of students are continuing this baby and winning some awards such as ‘Best Student Media’ at the Guardian Student Media Awards 2012 and ‘Best Student Media’ at the NUS Wales Awards 2014.  So proud!
 
Day 6 – Purple
 
 
I really don’t own that many purple items it seems… I used Buzz from the Naked 3 palette as it has pink/purple tones to it.
 
Day 7 – Golden Tones
 

 

But my Naked 2 Palette has lots of golden tones, yay!
 
Day 8 – What I’m Reading
 
 
I started this book last year (I know) but in my defence it is a very heavy read because it is SO descriptive but that also means you need to be alert when reading it in order to take in all that information at once.
 
Day 9 – Storage
 

 

As my makeup storage is quite poor and not very pretty, I decided to share my clothes and book storage.  Ikea is just wonderful.
 
Day 10 – Nails of the Day
 
 
Spring is here!  And to celebrate, I thought a nice dash of pretty pastels (which I’ve only just realised that they compliment my bedspread) would be just the ticket using 17’s Lasting Fix polishes.
 
Day 11 – Holy Grail Products
 
 
Most moisturisers are too heavy for me and cause breakouts.  I have been using Garnier’s Pure Active moisturiser for years and it is perfect for me.  Vaseline is a staple of mine, especially the Rosy Lips version.  Lush’s Helping Hands Cream is great for my hands but I also use it as an evening face moisturiser before bed.  Garnier’s Pure Active Spot Roll-On is my magic wand in banishing breakouts.  MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown is what I use to fill my brows in with as it’s the perfect colour and lasts all day, I apply this using the 266 brush. (I have Tanya Burr to thank for that!)
 
Day 12 – Matte Lips
 

 

I don’t actually own anything that gives me a proper matte lip, so I faked it using Max Factor’s Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint to cheat the look.
 
Day 13 – Celeb Inspired Look
 
 
I don’t have naturally thick eyebrows (*sob*) so what I was going for here was to practise my strong brow look a la Lilly Collins because hers are magnificent.  Again I used MAC eyeshadow in Charcoal Brown although I could invest in a slightly darker shade to achieve the effect better.
 
Day 14 – Drugstore Favourites
 

 

As I can’t afford luxury products by the bucket load, my daily makeup essentials are made up of cheaper alternatives which I think work just as well.  It seems that mousse foundations are a bit like Marmite but I love how Maybelline’s Dream Matte Mousse looks on my face (as I fear looking glowy or shiny will just make me look greasy). Again Vaseline Rosy Lips is a favourite and you can’t go wrong with it.  My Maybelline Eye Studio Lastinf Drama Gel Liner works just as well as the MAC or Bobbi Brown versions and at a fraction of the price too!  Plus it comes with a cute little liner brush.  I have only just recently started wearing bronzer and it has made such a difference to my face and I look healthy instead of washed out – at the moment I am using Rimmel’s Natural Bronzer.
 
Day 15 – Throwback Thursday
 
 
Me rocking my curls.  I miss those curls.
 
Day 16 – Current Favourite Eyeshadow
 
 
*Sigh* Need I say more!?
 
Day 17 – Trying for the First Time
 

 

After using up all my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer (as raved about by Zoella) I thought I would try the recommended (as by Tanya Burr) Collection’s Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Concealer.  I have to say it is not bad (if maybe a tad too light for me even in the darkest shade they do) and a little of this product goes a long way as long as I blend blend blend!
 
Day 18 – Recent Purchase

 

 
As I am trying not to spend money, my recent purchases are not that glamorous.  The penguin I purchased from a gift shop at Longleat Safari Park because I cannot resist buying penguin things.  Penguins are cool.  The next is Palmer’s Cocoa Butter which I absolutely love because it smells like chocolate and is amazing as a moisturiser and I feel like I get a lot out of it.
 
Well that’s about it on this very long catch up (sorry about that!).  But do check out #SuperGorgeousMay on Instagram to see what everyone is posting as part of the daily challenges 🙂

Super Gorgeous May – Day 2 and 3

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

Day 2 – Eyes

As I didn’t actually manage to blog about day 2’s challenge yesterday (let’s just say there was a red velvet baking incident) I have decided to combine it with today’s post.
Yesterday’s photo challenge was ‘Eyes’ so I thought I would show my every day eye look.  I’m not really one for using colour on my eyes because I have really heavy, bad a** dark circles.  Instead I prefer doing nude looks as I think they help brighten my eyes and make them pop better.
I absolutely love love love Urban Decay’s Naked 3 palette for creating nude eye looks.  The colours are really pigmented and I find that the shadow can last all day, which of course is really good!
I always start by using the colour Strange as a base by sweeping it all over my lid and up to my brow bone.  By doing this, it helps other colours to show better when applied on top.  I then use Burnout over my lid and really blending in it, the colour is a pale slightly shimmery pink which I think helps compliment my skin tone.  I then blend the colour Trick on the outer corner of my lid to give it a bit of extra oomph!  To finish, I use my Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner (such a mouthful!) and I like to create a thick line with a flick.  I top it off my applying two coats of my new favourite mascara from Maybelline – The Falsies on my lashes.  If you don’t already know, makeup guru Tanya Burr always raves about this mascara in her tutorials and I have to say, since I bought it I haven’t looked back!  I have quite naturally long lashes anyway and this really enhances then a step further.
Day 3 – Orange
As you have already read (and seen) I am not one to wear much colour and this includes clothes as well as eye makeup.  I don’t know why but I am always drawn to black, blue, greys and nudes in my wardrobe.  I did however remember that I had a wicked orange jumper bought for me as a gift from Gap.  It’s actually a really nice jumper and can be worn with lots of things.

 

For the photo challenge for today, I decided to team this with my denim skirt from Pull & Bear as I thought they looked quite cute together.  I did notice from the Super Gorgeous Matly hashtag on Instagram that a lot of people were simply focusing on makeup for the photo challenges, so I wanted to incorporate fashion in there as well.
Of course, I did my face as well!  This time I used my Naked 2 palette starting with the colour Foxy all over my lid and up to my brow bone to create a base.  Then I swept Chooper over my lid because it has a slight golden/metallic orangey colour to it.  I then blended a. It of Snakebite to to my outer corners to give it some depth.  As usual I finished it off with my trust Maybelline gel liner and The Falsies mascara.  In aid of the ornate theme for the day, I also used a bit of Benefit’s Cha-Cha Tint on my cheeks and lips to complete the look.
So far, I am quite enjoying Super Gorgeous May and it’s lovely to see all the different interpretations of the challenges every day and it’s given me some good ideas that I would like to try 🙂

Super Gorgeous May – Day 1

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

I have decided to start doing a photo a day challenge called #SuperGorgeousMay which I have seen a lot of people participate in last month including my friend Rachel and it looked like a lot of fun so I thought I would join in and have a go!

Instagram user @SuperGoreous has posted the following photo a day challenges on her account.  These are the challenges for this month:

 

I will attempt the different challenges throughout the month of May on my Instagram account (@ubersupersam) but I will also try to blog about my photo a day each day if I can!

So let’s get to it!  Today’s challenge was to capture something that had ‘pretty packaging’.  A lot of people have been taking snaps of something makeup related so I thought I would do the same (after all it’s called ‘Super Gorgeous May’ isn’t it?).
I really love creating nude looks on my eyes as I don’t think colour suits my skin tone very much as I have really dark circles.  Urban Decay’s Naked range is amazing (in my opinion), the shadows are really pigmented and the colours are so pretty.  Even though they are nude colours I really think they help make my eyes pop and I find that it last all day!  I do love the packaging on the Naked 3 palette the best – it kind of reminds me of melting chocolate or silk.  I have always been a fan of Benefit and I love their little kit boxes you can buy as they have small samples of lots of different products that compliment each other and work together.  This is especially great if you don’t want to spend lots of money on just one product that you won’t use very often and instead can have a little bit of everything and they are the perfect size to pop in your bag!  The other thing I love about these little kit boxes is that because the packaging is so pretty, after you have finished with the products you can re-use them as keepsake boxes.  I just love the cute vintage feel you get from the Benefit range, I always want to buy something from the counter whenever I walk past because everything looks so tempting!

 

As today’s challenge was simply to do with packaging I have tried not to go into too much detail about the actual product themselves (but maybe I can do some posts in the future on those).
People mentioned in today’s post:
You can check out Rachel’s Instagram account on @rsgrey to see what she did for Super Gorgeous April and her blog http://nothingrhymeswithrachel.blogspot.co.uk
#SuperGorgeousMay is brought to you by @SuperGorgeous as mentioned earlier.  If you want to give it a go, do check out the hashtag and get snapping!