Rebecca Todd Make Up

I was asked recently, at a make up party, could I recommend a mascara that will not make your eyelashes clump together and this one is the perfect solution to the problem its got little rubber bristles that separate and coat the lashes perfectly. AND it is on special offer at the moment in Boots stores around the country with €3 off this little gem selling at just €8.99 

For dramatic eyelashes

 The falsies mascara is perfect for anyone looking for a dramatic look, if you are wearing alot of eyeshadow and want finish to it with lashings of thick mascara, this one will give you that full lash effect you want. I usually don’t go for waterproof as it is much harder to remove!

Dior S/S 2011

Dior S/S 2011

Christian Dior S/S 2011

An abundance of colour as seen above was on show by Dior on the Catwalks for Spring summer this year. Red lips were seen on many of the catwalks reflecting the 1950’s glamour making a comeback this year. One would have to be a little adventurous to wear the two together -bright colour on the eyes and red shades on the lips, but as always, there are ways to wear the look that are not so daring.

Our little firework Katy Perry shows us how to pull off this look with a burst of colour:

Colour splash

  but she also expertly models the 1050’s glamour look sporting red lipstick with a light base colour eyeshadow and a slick of black liquid eyeliner:

1950's red lips

A little tip when applying red lip liner is to firstly line the outer lip line with a brownish red liner and then continue to fill in the whole lip with liner. You can then apply a bright red lipstick over it or simply apply gloss over the lip liner.  Applying the liner all over the lip will help your lipstick to adhere to your lips better stopping it sliding off the lips. This is an important tip if you are going to be wearing red lippy all day or for a long period of time as it tends to end up on your chin and nose and everywhere BUT your lips as the evening progresses!

If you are more of a fresh faced beauty and like a natural look for the summer, fear not, as there were plenty of fresh faced, clear skinned make up looks to be seen by many of the designers.

Alexander McQueen

Stella McCartney

These nude looks look easy to pull off but they demand a flawless base and perfect foundation, finished off with a nude or clear gloss.

I Recommend MAC Prep and Prime for eyes, lips and face followed by a good concealer around the eyes, nose and chin area -MAC Studio Finish concealer gives great coverage.

Next apply a nice light foundation  like MAC mineralize liquid foundation, and finally set the make up with a powder, my favourite powder at the moment is MAC Mineralize Skin Finish, it sets the make up while leaving a slightly dewy finish.

I would usually finish off this look with some mascara to make your eyes stand out, and a touch of bronzer beneath the cheekbones and jawline to create depth. Without mascara and bronzer the look is a bit alien looking and flat.

Blake Lively is one celebrity that is often seen with ‘barely there’ make up as seen here:

Blake Lively

As always there’s something for everyone this summer. Just remember any make up trend can be tailored to suit your style and preferences.

Happy painting

€€€

After a couple of quiet days in work spent trawling the internet I am reminded how valuable it can be to spend a bit of time shopping around the net for your products.

It’s easy to make the mistake of buying from the first site you find but I found great savings purely from checking out ebay and the suggested sites at the bottom of the page.

For example after it was recommended to me by my cousin (thanks Sheena) I went looking for Too Faced Lash Injection mascara I found it ranging in price from £21 all the way down to €13.50 thats a whopper of a saving.

So I found this little gem on ebay.ie for a total of €13.50 incl p&P- I’ll let you know how I get on when it arrives…

only €13.50!

 Now put those savings towards your fab new summer designer sunglasses:)

YUM

Is it possible to be obsessed with lip balm? I have been putting this yummy lip balm on about 12 times a day lately.

MAC say it is ‘a protective emollient balm formulated with SPF 15, a sheer wash of colour and an all-natural sheen. Conditions lips, locks in moisture. Contains Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Avocado Extract, Wheat Germ Oil, vitamins A and E’ and it tastes and smells delicious too! I actually just opened mine in the car the other day and my other half actually turned around and said ‘what is that lovely smell?’, it like a little tub of delicious!

It lasts really well and doesn’t have that sticky effect that i hate in lipglosses and balms -you know when your hair blows in your face and gets stuck to your lip gloss? and then you brush it away only to streak lipgloss all accross your cheek? well this scenario is one of my pet hates! My ‘Petting Pink’ leaves winter lips soft, moist, unchapped and with a sheer pink colour what more can you ask for?

The balm comes in different shades and also comes with no colour at all! They are mid range in price at about €14 depending where you buy it.

Hi girls,

Just a note to let you all know the make up course will now be taking place on Thursday evening starting 9th December, the second day will be Thursday 16th Dec and the third and final class is taking place on Thursday 23rd.

All classes take place from 7pm to 9pm in studio 2 at Rockel House in Skerries.

There are only two places left on the course as numbers will be kept small in classes to ensure you can ask questions and get the personal attention you require.

Students should bring their own make up brushes and make up bags. There will be all the equipment on the course that you need should you not have your own brushes etc

In preparation for the course you can collect pictures of looks you would like to create and prepare any questions you may have as there will be time allocated to answer your questions.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0877503408 or email me at rebeccatoddmakeup@yahoo.com

Rebecca Todd make up is running a 3 week make up course from the 7th December to 21st December. It will run for three Tuesdays on the 7th, 14th and 21st of December.

The course will include lessons on how to apply your face make up to achieve a flawless finish that will last for hours. You will learn how to apply

 primer

foundation

concealer

powder

to achieve this flawless skin.

You will learn how to create a natural look for daytime suitable for afternoon occasions or just going to work.

model Aisling Finnegan

You will also learn about eye shapes and how to correct different eye shapes using eyeshadow. you will get a basic understanding of the colour wheel. And we will discuss the colours most suited to your eye colour and the best way to apply the colour for your eye shape.

You will learn how to create a glamorous evening look with smokey eyes perfect for the Christmas season.

This look will entail a lesson on application of

eyeshadow

eyeliner

eyebrow pencil

highlighters and shaders

lipstick

lip pencil

and lip gloss

There will be opportunities to cover any other questions you may have and other looks you want to create during the course.

The course will run from Studio 2 at Rockel House in the Hoar Rock, Skerries from 7 to 9pm for three weeks.

The course costs €180

included in the price is

Facial kit

Notes

All make up

refreshments

all materials needed

So if you needed a nail colour to go with the Violet christmas party make up this little set has more than one!

In case you didn’t know I’m not a fan of false nails, gel, acrilic or the like. Not that they don’t look fabulous- they do, and they last like, forever, but they destroy your nails and I have yet to see a set that don’t.

Actually I was just having this discussion in the kitchen with my sister , my Mum and her bessie (can you say that about mums?) earlier on today. Well anyway we all agree that after 4 weeks of staring at your lovely manicured gel nails, eventually they have to come off- which can be painful and then look at your destroyed, downtrodden, au natural, stumps! Soooo my point is that I decided for them-My Mum and Renee,  that the best thing to do is pay less more often and get a hot manicure or just a file and paint, it will last a week if you get a good one – In Vogue Beauty salon, Blackrock -not to mention any names aaaaaand here come some fab lickable colours to get us through December.

They have been launched by Nubar-they always come up with clever ways to make us spend money around Christas but even though we know what they’re up to we just can’t help ourselves! Take a look and tell me you don’t want them all???

Even more they are all free from formaldehyde, pthaltes, toluene, carcinogens and are suitable for vegans. I love a healthy alternative to anything so these sound too good to be true. They also contain ‘glass flecked ‘ shimmer so just imagine the shine.

The Venetian Glass Collection by Nubar is available as a set of 8 at the RRP of €70 or individually for the RRP of €10. The Nubar Nail range is available from beauty salons and day spas throughout Ireland -last minute Secret Santa present anyone???

Ps if you’re trying out the make up from my last post-Christmas Party Glam I would suggest the shade ‘Vino’ to go with it.

Well Ladies christmas party season is upon us and everyone is getting glammed up for the annual party where we’re all allowedd let our hair down and let our real personality shine through - but don’t over do it, your boss may be watching.

Any other MAC fanatics will know the new Venomous Villains collection that recently hit the shelves. Deep violets and burgundys and purples are abundant in the collection. I know alot of us shy away from colour on the eyes but when it’s applied in the right way it can be really striking. I also know that one of my rules is that if you are going heavy on the eyes you should deep the lips nude -but there are always exceptions!

I’m going to show you a look that is dark and sultry and perfect to pull off in the depths of winter.

For the eyes you will need a base colour a bright violet colour and a dark purple. The colours I used were Mac eyeshadows

Beautiful Iris

Shale

Sketch

Brule and

Phloof

Mascara Maybelline

MAC blacktrack gel eyeliner

On the lips you should team these purple smokey eyes with a deep burgundy lip colour like ‘Sinister’ from the new collection or ‘Up the Amp’ with Velvetella lip liner, if you want you can use two different shades of lip stick using a dark shade near the lip line and a brighter red in the fleshy part of your lips.

For the eyes begin by filling in the brows with an eyeshadow close to your natural hair colour.

Next apply shale or your deep purple colour in the socket line and all over the lid. Next apply Beautiful Iris or your bright violet colour just to the lid and inner corners of your eyes to brighten them and make them appear bigger. Next apply Brule eyeshadow -or your base mat cream colour to the brow bone up to the eyebrows. after this i would go over the socket line with a tapered blending brush using shale or sketch to really darken the socket line, keep blending the dark eyeshadow in tiny circular motions across and back the socket line until you get the desired shade. Don’t worry if the colour spreads up toward your brow bone, it’s a smokey look and isnt supposed to look perfect or have any even lines, the smokier the bettter! Finish the eyes with a tiny hint of a luminous white eyeshadow just under the eyebrows this will really highlight the angle of your eyebrow.

For the lips simply apply your deep red shade to the lips -using a lip brush for added definition if you have one. I apply the lip liner second so that they wear off together and you are not left with a lip line and no lipstick. Aply sheer gloss or gloss with a touch of red in it over the lipstick.

* A hint for this lip-look is to apply foundation and lots of powder to the lips before the lipstick, it will make it stick better, last longer and prevent it bleeding!

Finish the look with a hint of bronzer under the cheekbones use MAC refined Golden or Rimmel sunshimmer bronzer. And on the apple of the cheek bones apply a blusher with a reddish hue to it rather than pink.

Voila Violet Vixen at the party!

I’m not looking for attention or anything (I swear) but on my birthday last Monday 13th, I was given one very memorable present that definitely deserves a mention.

Tell you what, I’ll just post this picture and I won’t have to say much more.

This is my birthday cake, presented to me by my lovely friend Aine (thanks Flynn) and made by Nicola Grant of Impact cakes (no plugs here)

My MAC Birthday suprise

Check out more of Nicola’s wonderful creations at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1412480181#!/profile.php?id=100001319905834&ref=ts

you know you want to

Ben Affleck on the red carpet

Ladies what can I say, I was five feet from Ben Affleck sporting a fabulous charcoal suit, a rich tan and a serious expression on his face on Monday gone. Before I start I must tell you that I had quite an obsession with Mr Affleck since Armageddon graced our screens back in 1998, the type of obsession where you have posters on the walls in your bedroom and tend to watch his films (even the bad ones) at every chance you get so needless to say I was a little star-struck.

I was suprised at how friendly the superstar was, he stopped for hundreds of photos and patiently signed autographs as he made his way down the red carpet. His fatherly instincts showed as he focused on giving autographs to the younger members of the audience so that nobody went home dissappointed.

In tow was a stunning but coy Rebecca Hall wearing a black, lace up, corseted dress and subtle make up. Rebecca is his lovely British co star from his new film that he wrote, directed and starred in, ‘The Town’. 

Rebecca Hall

Ben Affleck being interviewed by Glenda Gilson on the red Carpet

As the audience took their seats in the grand Savoy auditorium Affleck and Hall ascended the stairs to introduce their film. They briefly said how happy they were to be in Ireland and how fitting it was as the film is set in Charlestown, Boston where there is a lot of Irish history. Then they left the auditorium and left us to enjoy the film.

The film was excellent, a follow up to ‘Gone Baby Gone’ it gets straight to the plot with a bank robbery for the opening scene. We are introduced to the main characters straight away. Claire (Hall), is a bank manager who finds herself in the midst of a raid, and the raider is Doug (Affleck). Doug is the leader and the brains of a gang of bank robbers and Claire soon finds herself kidnapped, briefly by the gang and so begins the love story between Doug and Claire.

Then for the best bit of the night, Affleck and Hall come back after the credits to do a Q & A with the audience. Being in the front row, and only five feet from Ben Affleck (did I mention that already? Sorry I’m still in disbelief) I had a chance to ask him about the film.

 Affleck said he wanted to cast someone who didn’t look like a ‘starlet’ placed in the film to be his leading lady. He wanted someone ‘you could fall in love with’ and someone who was realistic in the part. He said Hall was the only person he could think of who would be perfect for the part. She wore almost no make up throughout the film, a touch of concealer, mascara and blush for a very natural look.

Affleck grew up in Boston himself so he is familiar with the area the film is set in. He said he tried to make the film as realistic as possible and visited several inmates in several prisons and also cast some of them in the film, ‘to make the situation feel more real for the audience and for (him)’. In the film he makes a gag about gaining knowledge about witnesses of crimes by watching a lot of ‘CSI Miami’ and, CSI New York’ and even ‘Bones’ but he says the film was much more realistic than these TV programmes. Actually, Hall added ‘that was improv’ the line about CSI wasn’t scripted and they had a good giggle about it after. Affleck said ‘he it was one of the first times improv lines like that made the final cut.

 The pair seem very at ease together and Affleck seemed to be very fond of Hall and have a lot of respect for her as an actress despite saying that he expected her to be difficult to work with ‘being British’ but she was ‘marginally easier to work with’ than he had expected, erupting laughter from both Hall and the audience.

 Without giving anything away, he was asked why he changed the end of the film as it was different from the book and he said he wanted it to be believable but he didn’t feel he could keep to the realistic feel of the film if he kept to the tragic end to the book.

 The film definitely deserves a watch, with likable characters and a plot that you cant quite be sure how it will end throughout the film. Affleck gives a good performance with more depth to his character than he usually portrays and Hall is instantly likable as the leading lady. It’s a thriller that manages to mesh well with a love story and entails a mentionable car chase that rivals some of the best.