Special Occasions Edit: Birthday Makeup and all the trimmings

Being spoiled on my birthday - lovely cards and pressies

As you may or may not know, I had my birthday last week.  I don't normally do too much to celebrate my birthday especially now I'm getting older, birthdays to me isn't that big a deal anymore.  However I still made an effort to do something special.  I especially made an effort to create a fresh birthday makeup look I thought I would share with you the birthday makeup platter.

It was a very hot and sunny day on my birthday so I opted for a light makeup combination but still wanted pay more effort on the eye makeup.  

For base, I kept it light and fresh.  Before I applied any makeup, I made sure I wear a day moisturiser which has got high SPF in.  I still have some blemishes and marks around my chin area so a good concealer or two are the keys to my makeup recently.

I have been really enjoying using my Diorskin Nude BB Cream (in shade 002).  It is extremely light in texture, very watery and provides a light coverage to my skin.  This BB cream gives my skin the glow that it needs, without the feeling of piling on loads of foundation on.  To provide a natural base finish, I used hourglass hidden corrective concealer  (in shade hidden sand) for my under the eye areas and round the nose.  It is a very creamy textured concealer which provides a light coverage and is buildable.  On blemishes which are still fairly fresh (yuck!), I like to dab on some Eucerin DermoPURIFYER Cover Stick (available in one shade only).  The reason why I love using this is because it contains salicylic acid, so whilst it acts as a concealer it also helps to heal the blemishes and calms it down.

To create a natural smokey eye look, first of all I applied Kiko's Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow (in shade pearly white) all over my eyelids which gives a slight shimmery finish and acts as an eye primer. Then I referred to my recent new purchase at the sales in Space NK - my Chantecaille The Coral Reefs Palette . The beauty of this palette is that it provides an eyebase/ highlight, eye shadow/ liners and blusher all in one palette.  I used the light brown colour on my crease then used the darker shade of brown to give my eyes the smokey effect that I was looking for.  The palette is very easy to blend although it is not as pigmented as MAC or Sleek eyeshadows as a comparison.  This palette gives a very natural look.  To make my eyes look even more awake, I used my little fingers to dab on some shimmery white eyeshadow in the inner corners of my eyes from my Guerlain Capri 4 shadows palette, which I use religiously daily.

Whilst keeping the eyemake fairly natural, there are three makeup products that I wouldn't leave it without, that's my Kiko's Precision Eye Pencil (in shade Dark Brown).  This eye pencil is very easy to draw on, it glides on my eyeliners like a dream.  After having used it for 3 months, it is still going strong and it didn't need frequent sharpening which makes it very long-lasting.  For my brows, I like to fill them in using Soap & Glory's Archery Brow Tint and Pencil (in shade Love in Blonde).

Finally for my eyes, I absolutely cannot go without applying coats after coats of mascara because they are basically too short.  Sometimes if I am in a hurry, I would reach for my Max Factor's Clump Defy mascara as it gives both the length and volume.  For this look, I used Chanel Inimitable Volume Length Curl Separation Mascara and Physician's Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara to give the volume that my lashes desperately need. 

Moving on to the cheeks area.  I have been practising contouring my face recently and I think that I have finally cracked it.  I'm absolutely loving Sleek Face Contour Kit (Light), the highlighting powder has been my staple beauty product for at least a good 6 months since I discovered it, I lightly brush it on top of my cheek bones and on both my brow bones, and around the cheek areas.  The light brown contouring powder has slowly crept into my favourite beauty product list, it is effectively in giving the contour that I need which I applied just underneath my cheekbones.  Sleek products are famous for its pigmentation so a light-hand is highly recommended.  The good thing about this contouring powder is that it doesn't leave an orange tint to my skin which is quite pale.

If I want my makeup to stay put, I often opt for a cream product so I chose YSL Creme de Blush which may look scary when you first dab it on your cheeks but it is very easy to blend and set to a powder texture.

For my lips, as I couldn't decide on the colour I wanted to wear so I opted for my Dior Addict Lip Glow.  It is only available in one shade as it works to react to the lips' moisture level to give its colour and the glowy finish that I wanted.

As I had a bit more time to put my makeup on, I used quite a few tools to assist me to achieve this look:

• bdellium #781 crease brush
• Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow brush
• bdellium #776 blending brush
• Real Techniques Setting brush
• Crown Angle Blush Brush
• Real Techniques Stippling brush
• Karl Lagerfeld for Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler 

I also wanted to thank my family (my sister @Forksandbrushes in particular for her generosity on giving me a Space NK voucher!) and friends for their specially hand-picked presents - I love them all!

Here's a few photos to share with you my presents!

Thank you for sharing with me my birthday!  I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and would attempt to re-create this look!