Pretty Honest

You may wonder, why on earth would I own two copies of Pretty Honest ? I could easily answer that two are always better than none and quite frankly, I'd proudly own a thousands more if I had the room and money. There is however a funny  embarrassing story behind the rushed acquisition of my second pink cover. A month ago, I was lucky enough to fly back to London for the week-end and go to the Stylist Live event. The first and quite frankly the main reason I was so desperate to go, was that Sali Hughes and Lisa Eldridge were to give a talk and, well, need I say more? I'm sure most of you will be familiar with Lisa Eldridge, a very insightful, talented a lovely woman and make-up artist indeed. But I must say the real urge for me was to meet Sali Hughes. I'm not much of a fan-girl type of girl, I can honestly (understand proudly) say I've never plastered my room with ridiculously huge posters of anyone, not even during those ugly early teen years and I've never felt the unbearable need to see some band, singer, actor or celebrity in the flesh before. You can then imagine how confused I was to feel my eyes water at the simple glimpse of Sali entering the room when the time of her talk came. Truth is, this was predictable. I've been a fan (God, do I hate that word) of the woman for years, watched her Youtube videos more times that I can count and forever devour every piece of her witty and painfully smart writing (check out her articles on The Pool and The Guardian websites, it's worth the read).  We all have our idol, I don't think there's anything wrong or shameful about it. I feel like I've learned everything I know beauty-wise from this woman, and I probably did. Truth be told, I've learned way more from Sali Hughes than a couple of beauty tricks. It's only fair then, that her book is one of my favourite and more so, that I own not one, but two copies. Back to the story of this mysterious second acquisition, I randomly discovered that after the talk, both Sali and Lisa would give a book-signing session. I've honestly considered taking my original copy of Pretty Honest with me on the trip, in case I could get her to sign it but then brushed that thought away knowing that would never happen and that it wasn't worth damaging my beloved and spotless book (nor my back, it would have been seriously heavy to carry all-day-long, not 'gonna lie), so I left it at home. Sure thing, I felt childish to spend some money on yet another copy (even if it doubtlessly was some well-spent money) just to get the lady to sign my book. How childish is that ? Was it childish ? I eventually realised I would never forgive myself if I were to walk away, so I swallowed up my pride and my anxiety to meet to woman, and bought the damn book. So, there I was, running to the counter as Sali's time there was almost up, grabbing the very last available copy (I wish I was making this up, but nope, it literally was the last, unpackaged, pre-used one. Argh.) to buy it and then stand awkwardly in front of the woman who indirectly taught me everything I know and love about beauty. I was itching to tell her that "No, I did not just buy your book for the first time, I promise I already own one and have read ten times over, but left it at home, clever girl that I am" but I guess my good senses didn't completely gave me up. Instead I just stared, mesmerized at how actually gorgeous she is in real life and could barely articulate the name of my lipstick when she asked what I was wearing. Clearly, I lost it and had no time to get my act together, but that's okay, as expected she was lovely, smiled sweetly at me and made my year with an autograph. Who knew ? After seeing her in the flesh, I can tell you the verdict is out, Sali Hughes is officially the most badass, awestruck-ing beautiful, smart and successful woman out there I've ever had the chance to lay my eyes on. She's also one hell of a writer and journalist, and it's fair to say I'd be thrilled to be one day half as talented as she is. 

I was going to write a thourough review of her book Pretty Honest, but I think it would ruin the magic of it. Instead, I probably bore you with this post that turned out to be more personal that I intended, but in the same way there's nothing wrong with looking up to people and admitting it, I guess it is acceptable to open up from time to time, you know, from a human being to another. The only review of Pretty Honest I can give you is that its pretty damn good (duh!), that it contains everything you could possibly need to know about beauty, that it will surely answer those questions you never dared nor considered asking and bring down a good deal of the overwhelming amount of beauty myths we've had to endured and believe in for too many decades. Finally, it is a book that celebrates womanhood and undeniably empowers women no matter their age in the the wittiest, cleverest and sure enough, the most honest way possible.  Every woman should own a copy - in fact even men could learn a thing or two. Get involved, get a copy.  I'm wholeheartedly convinced that in one way or another, Sali Hughes will change your life like she did mine. 

The Tuesday Face : New Moon

Base: Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet in 10, MAC Pro Longwear concealer in NC15, Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Eyes: Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in New Moon, MAC eyeshadow in Swiss Chocolate, Charlotte Tilbury mascara Lips: MAC Whirl lip pencil

I have a confession to make. You know how very (ridiculously even) fond of make-up I am and there are very few things I like to do more than play around with cosmetics and, well, paint my face. I could spend hours, hell, days applying a bit more concealer here, a touch of highlighter there and mess around with the natural curves  and the bone structure of my very own as well as other people's faces. But I was never that keen on eyeshadow-ing  . Don't get me wrong, I know my basics - your girl has learned the hard way how to blend, 'till your wrist begs you no more. I can do a trick or two, 'aint half bad at it - but I don't thoroughly enjoy it as much as, say, doing my base. Right, base make-up is my real gem'. So whenever I stumble across an eye product which can make me gain a few precious minutes of sleep and give my aching wrists a break, I'm all up for it. If you too can't be bothered to go all arts-y on your eyelids when the sun hasn't come out yet but feel like you need to put something on there to feel and hopefully appear that bit more awake, then cream shadows are your best mates. There are some pretty awesome ones out there, but today I'd like to talk about the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre - and more specifically, the beauty that is called New Moon. This shade was released as part of a limited edition two years ago and I can't begin to tell you how very upset and heartbroken I was not to get my hands on it on time. Then, some miraculous day, it came back out of nowhere, like a godsend. It was a no-brainer, I wasn't going to let it slip through my fingers again and went out to buy it (literally) as fast as I could. I wasn't able to find out whether it is now permanently a part of the line or not, but if you have a Chanel counter nearby I'd highly suggest you make the splurge asap.  Sure thing, the formula is incredibly lovely, it stands between a cream and a mousse and my favorite way of applying it is, conveniently enough, to use my fingers. You got it, no need to faff around with a number of brushes - that's goals. All I can say about that shade is that it is bloody beautiful. It does have some serious sparkles running through it, so if you're not much of a fan of that sort of sheen during the day, you may want to save it for the evening. New Moon truly is magnificent and will only take you about ten seconds to apply, another ten seconds to pop on a transition shade in the crease if you're feeling fancy, a coat or two of mascara and voilà, you're eyes will be ready to do all of the talking. 

The Tuesday Face : Khaki Everything

Base: Bourgeois CC Cream, Charlotte Tilbury concealer, Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder in Diffused Light, Hourglass blush in Mood Exposure, Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Eyes: Charlotte Tilbury cream shadow in Veruschka, Stila Kitten eyeshadow, MAC Buried Treasure eye pencil, Rimmel Lash Accelerator mascara, Suqqu brow pen Lips: Mac Whirl lipliner

I used to love khaki. It can be both elegant and edgy, its green undertones makes it a proper color that stands out nicely from your basic black yet it still belongs to the neutrals category - that reassuring, fail and fool-proof neutral category. I used to wear it a lot but it somehow gradually disappeared form my wardrobe when grey took over. If I used to love khaki clothes and accessories, I also collected it in my make-up draws -  because if you haven't tried it yet, khaki looks good on the eyes, too. As the winter months made their way back, so did my crave for smokier, grungier eye looks. As I was doing some serious damage at the magnificent beauty counters in Selfridges only two weeks ago, I found myself itching for a new eye base, something deeper than just a brown, softer than black, less daunting than green; something khaki. So today's star of the show is a gem from the dreamy Charlotte Tilbury make-up line, her "Eyes to mesmerise" cream shadow in Veruschka. It is a stunning khaki indeed, very flattering on brown and hazel eyes - but then, I'm pretty sure it would look good on anyone. I'm truly glad to have some khaki back into my life, so much that I am now forever drooling over some khaki boots, bags, sweaters - khaki everything. In fact I could almost go as far as to say that I feel whole again but that would be over-dramatic (but then, when am I not ?).  Let us keep the violin down for once, shall we ?

The Tuesday Face : Dressing Up

Base: Chanel Perfection Lumière Velvet, Mac Pro Longwear conealer in NC15, Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder in Diffused Light, Chanel blush, Nars Laguna Bronzer, Illamasqua Gleam in Aurora Eyes: Urban Decay Naked palette, Charlotte Tilbury mascara, Suqqu brow pen Lips: MAC Russian Red lipstick and Burgundy lip liner

A red lipstick is the little black dress of any make-up bag; always chic, a bit glamorous, definitely timeless - you can never go wrong with a scarlet lip. It is also the quickest way to dress up any outfit. I was lucky enough to head back to London for the week-end and go to the Stylist Live event. I wasn't sure what to expect nor what to wear, but when in doubt there's nothing like the good 'ol classics to avoid any faux-pas. I kept the base and eye make-up fairly simple yet glow-y and, as often, chose to focus the look on the lips. A red lip is incredibly personal, it's up to you and only you to find the shade that suits you the most. It can be tricky at first but once you've pintpointed the one, you'll be amazed at how much you can rely on it and crack it anytime you feel like dressing up. My personal favorite is MAC Russian Red, which is rather cool-toned. I darkened it up slightly using MAC Burgundy lip liner, mostly at the outer corners to mimic an "ombré" effect that gives the illusion of a fuller pout. Now, if you're going to an event where you intend to have a few drinks (I know I did) it's better to be safe than sorry and go for a matte formula, just so you don't have to check yourself out in your phone glass after every sip. Other than that, don't be frightened to wear a red lip, even if you decide to have a burger for dinner; there's nothing prettier than a woman reapplying her lipstick. Red lipstick is a powerful tool that should be worn with pride and is meant to be a showstopper - use it.