Prom Make-Up Look...

Just a few weeks ago it was my baby sister, Amelia's, first ever prom and she was so excited, especially because she knew that I'm such a beauty enthusiast and had promised to do her make-up for her.

Amelia spotted her dream prom dress on a Mango advert in December (Kate Moss was wearing it so obviously it looked AMAZING) and she decided she had to have it. Blood-red, floor-length, Grecian-style, plunging neckline, thigh-high slit, it was a big deal trying to get our mom to agree that she could have it as it was apparently 'a bit too grown up for a sixteen-year-old'. Dad's always on our side, so we showed him the dress when we were shopping in the Bullring in Birmingham and as he is usually in charge of giving us treats he said that she could have it as one of her Christmas presents, which was genius because only a huge meanie takes a Christmas present away from a child and even my mother isn't THAT MUCH of a monster *onlyjokingmomyouarebeautifulweloveyouverymuch*. Anyway, the dress was a total HIT at prom and my sister looked absolutely amazing and so did her friends.

My sister's always had lovely long dark hair and we decided that it would look best in a far-side parting, curled and swung around onto one shoulder. However, unfortunately, the hairdressers didn't quite follow our instructions (in spite of the pictures we supplied them with of Kourtney Kardashian) so my sister ended up with ever-so-slightly wavy hair with a side parting and a little bit taken from by her ear pinned back. In all honesty, her hair looked lush, shiny and healthy so we couldn't complain at all, regardless of the fact it wasn't what we'd asked for...

See, not even similar hair, but it looked nice nonetheless. Whilst my sister was getting her hair 'did' I was pulling her face in all kinds of random directions with make-up brushes and eyelash curlers and tweezers and so on. All of the prom-goers finished school at 3.35pm and had to be back at the school for prom by 7.00pm and in between that their double-decker bus which they had chosen over a limo was picking them up from a friend's house at just 6.00pm. Which, when you consider travel time, left my sister only about an hour and a half to actually be getting ready. Hence me having to do her make-up while her hair was getting 'did'.

So, what did I use to create this Prom Make-Up Look? Well, we decided that we wanted quite a dewy finish to her foundation to keep her look youthful, so I began with some of my favourite benefit MoonBeam all over her highlight points (cheekbones, below eyebrows, cupid's bow of lips and length of her nose). Since my sister NEVER wears foundation and has amazing skin without it, we decided we'd just go for a thin layer of Garnier's Miracle Skin Perfector applied with my benefit foundation brush. To matte up her forehead I dusted my benefit Hello Flawless powder foundation lightly over her skin and left it at that. Using my Royal and Langnickel blusher brush, I packed on a load of Nars blush in the shade Orgasm. I used quite a lot as make-up can look a bit sparse under the glare of prom-night-photo-flash, in some of the pictures you can't even tell she has any on, but in person she looked nice and rosy. I took my Hoola bronzer by benefit and layered it beneath her cheekbones, either side of her nose, the temple areas and beneath her jawbones in order to contour her face. I used some of benefit's BrowZings in order to create a bolder brow (we're all about the brows in our family!) and got started on her eye shadow. Patting on a bit of Urban Decay's Primer Potion, her eye was now ready for the smokier colours in Urban Decay's naked palette. I started with Virgin all across her top lid, up to her brow, into the inner corners and onto the lower lash line. Next, I used a blending brush to dust some of Gun Metal from about two thirds into her eye getting darker towards the outer corners, creating a kind of smoky cat-eye shape. To make this more intense, I used Creep on her outer third of her eyes, buffing it into the crease of her eye fading towards the middle. I also used a smudger brush to give a smoky line on her lower lash line. Finally (shadow-wise), I packed a splodge of Half Baked right on the center of each of her lids, to add dimension. Taking my Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl eye liner, giving her a tiny flick at the outer corner, lining her lower water line and buffing this out slightly with the smudger brush from before. We used Eyelure Individual Semi Permanent Lashes, for a more natural false lash look, and we piled on layer after layer of benefit's They're Real mascara after curling the lashes together. To finish, I used Topshop Lipstick in Blush across her whole lip.

Isn't she lovely??? Haha, I was so proud of this face I painted. Finally, we had to add the finishing touches of the nails as my sister is a TERRIBLE nail biter. We used some Elegant Touch false nails and painted them in a No7 varnish in a lovely semi-matte effect gold colour. She was really happy with the novelty of long nails.

So to conclude I think I definitely made my sister more beautiful than she has ever been before! Haha. No, I know she's beautiful as it is, but prom night was pretty huge for her as she looked so glam. Here is a collection of a few of my favourite pictures of her throughout the night...

 

 

 

And before we knew it, with all the crazy excitement, it was over! My sister had a fantastic night and I know it seems like I'm bragging (BECAUSE I AM) but I really do think she looked amazing. She's quite possibly the most beautiful person I know in real life. But enough of the gushing *oo-ermadam*.

How did you do your make-up for prom? What was your dress like? Do you have any hilarious prom-night memories you'd like to share? 

Love and snuggles

gabriellasofia

x

IMATS 2012... Lan Nguyen Beauty for Fashion and Editorial Part 1...

So you all know I went to IMATS (the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show) last weekend and had a fab time. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go on Sunday as I'd initially planned because of the snow and I was absolutely gutted :( However, I did make it to three out of four of the seminars which I had on my itinerary which I posted here and since there are so many standard 'IMATS Hauls' posts (which I love by the way...) I decided to do something a bit different and post a little about some of the tips and tricks I was able to pick up from industry royalty.

Without further ado, here is the first part of my seminar 'review' of the beautiful MUA Lan Nguyen (celebs she's done include the likes of The Sugababes and Ollie Murs amongst others...) on the theme of 'Beauty for Fashion and Editorial'.

There is so much to learn from such a beauty genius as Lan in just one hour, and when her team were running fifteen minutes late, I was worried that I might end up missing out. However, this is one lady who you can tell really loves her job as she made a big point of pushing the time limitations of the IMATS team afterwards, running about twenty-five minutes over. Plus, the seminar was rammed full of such fab info that no-one left the room feeling like the extra fifteen minute wait wasn't worth it!

So for a bit of background on Lan, she introduced her three models which were obviously in three different stages of the same look. The first had a virtually bare face with a high-rise messy wrap bun slicked back in order to draw the hair from the face making it easier for Lan to work. The second had a kind of Marie Antoinette crossed with geisha-inspired hair which was my favorite hair look and a relatively bare face bar an immaculate looking base. Also, her eye brows were kind of none existent which I'll get onto later. The third and final model had her entire face with a dramatic covering of metallic silver paint, and looking like something from a parallel-universe-film, her hair was arranged hanging from a bar horizontally placed across her head. 

Lan explained that she doesn't always have an exact vision of how the models are going to look, or how she will execute a brief which made the audience of make-up enthusiasts stir with excitement as we had no idea what variation on the look each of the models would end up with. 

As she prepped the first model's skin with POREfessional by benefit (apparently one of her favorites for giving a smooth-as-a-baby's-butt base for foundation application... she even said that her celeb client Ruby Wax is a big fan!) Lan began to give those of us who weren't completely aware of the amazing work that she's done somewhat of a star-studded overview of her career so far. As an MUA often working in high-def for fashion, film, television and more, Lan put her work with top brands such as L'Oreal, Tony and Guy, Vogue, Vanity Fair and more down to her 'editorial sensibilities'.

The work she did on this first model was most interesting to me as she used a couple of products which I didn't know existed. Firstly, she used tape in order to create lift around the model's eyes, making a more feline shape. Since the seminar I've see these types of tape used on America's Next Top Model, and they basically act as a 'temporary face-lift'. Next, Lan used plain cosmetic wax in order to conceal the eyebrows. She brushed them upwards with a mascara spoolie and applied the wax with her fingers (making it more pliable and easy to work with) and before I knew it, poof, the model's brows were gone! After dabbing on the setting formula to keep those invisible brows in place. Lan swears by using sponges in order to stipple on her foundation of choice, and she used MAC Full Coverage Concealer just to make those brows look even more neutral than before. Now the model's own brows were gone, Lan was able to map out the 'avant-garde 1940's-50's style straight brow' which she felt was right for the look with a bit of brown powder and a slanted brush. She made a big point of saying that these didn't NEED to be perfect at this stage, but need only give a general idea of how the face would be framed. 

After mixing a cooler and warmer tone of foundation* for the face, she dusted a very metallic white shade mineral make-up loose powder across the cheek bones in order to add to the porcelain effect of this look. It was at this point that Lan went back over the brows in order to reinforce the look that she was after.

Moving onto the lips, Lan used a lip brush in order to apply a mixture of MAC's Danger and Woo shades. She lined the lips before filling them in, and then surprisingly enough she began to pat a variety of neon-coloured loose eye pigments on top of the lipstick**. The effect of this was an almost velvety-matte finish which I'm definitely going to be trying out in A/W 2013, although probably not if I plan on kissing anybody as it might get messy...

In order to tidy the edges of the lips up a tiny bit, Lan applied some of the foundation mix I mentioned before, prior to dusting the cheekbones with the translucent white powder as before and applying a slather of The Body Shop's Radiance Highlighter which was again applied with the fingers.*** On the topic of contouring the face, Lan laughed and told us that she uses so many products in order to contour before a look is complete, and she wasn't joking! She mixes powders and creams in order to gain the best look. Using a mauve-ish colour, she used a flat-topped brush in order to pat the colour under the cheekbones before dusting to blend. Complimenting the darkness of this colour, a hot pink was blended slightly higher on the cheekbones although NOT on the apples of the cheeks as these were kept relatively neutral bar a sprinkling of gold which was then blended into a barely-there lush look across the entire face. The key to this is 'controlled contouring' as Lan says, and basically (as far as I can tell) is all about blending as much as possible and building as you go along. The end of this model's look was completed with a covering of white shadow under the eyes, really allowing them to pop and making fall-out removal once the eye shadow was began much easier to deal with.

And this is what Lan Nyugen refers to as a 'blank canvas'! Took her about twenty-five minutes to do, she must have used at least twenty-five products and this was her base!!! This is incredible to me, especially when considering that the majority of this would soon be covered in the final look with metallic paint. However, Lan feels that all these steps are vital in order to allow a good enough base to carry the heavier products and also to be aware of the shapes of the fact which you would like to prevail in the final look, and she's the boss! 

So this is the most 'wearable' version of the editorial look which Lan created and as you can see, even this is quite extreme! The eyebrows stayed as a simple straight line, there was no eye products applied whatsoever and the lip remained the boldest feature in the look, which I absolutely loved. Especially as this is a big trend for this S/S 2012, keeping a neutral eye but a bolder matte lip. It was really interesting to see how actual mainstream day-to-day catwalk beauty looks inspire the crazy beauty features we see in magazines! 

***

Tips and Elaborations...

*A tip which Lan thinks is totally necessary in achieving a balanced-looking base as the skin usually has a mix of tones. She mixes face and body, fluid and heavier creams and using different colours together for most models. If using tinted moisturizer one colour is fine as it naturally balances the skin-tone.

**Lan concentrated more on the middle of the lips with the loose pigments and there was virtually no fallout due to the finger-style application and the adhesive which naturally comes with lipstick! 

***Lan often uses her fingers and she insists that whilst brushes are undoubtedly useful, they are not absolutely necessary for creating great looks. She says that brushes are a 'luxury' and with the growing prices of make-up brushes these days, I must agree.

***

In my next post I will go into the looks of the second and third models, some more tips I picked up during the seminar and a bit of background info on how Lan Nyugen gained her success in the industry so far.

Hope you enjoyed this post and learnt a few bits and bobs if you're considering any kind of career in beauty!

Did you go to IMATS? What kind of beauty career do you want? Do you have a favorite make-up artist or tip I should know about?

Love
gabriellasofia
x

HauteHaul January Part 1 - Topshop Sales!

It's sickening how much money I've spent this January... In my defense January is my most hated month and I have this uncontrollable compulsion to buy pretty things... It's a condition. A terrible, terrible condition. The symptoms involve memory lapses and the appearance of new things in shiny bags being scattered around my bedroom. It could be worse :)

Don't forget to check out Part 2 which includes H&M, Lush and Dior goodies:

http://hautefuture.blogspot.com/2012/01/hautehaul-january-part-2-h-lush-and.html

And also my Boots drugstore essentials haul in Part 3:

http://hautefuture.blogspot.com/2012/01/hautehaul-january-part-3-boots.html

Please check out my other sites and let me know what you think in the comments box below:

Please follow me on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/hautefuture

Click 'Follow' on my blog which has tons of reviews, beauty-fashion-lifestyle features and more:

http://hautefuture.blogspot.com/

Subscribe to my Youtube channel where I post hauls, tutorials, outfits of the day and WAY more:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HauteFuture?feature=watch

Also check out my facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776

Finally, here is the link for the Joe Gilligan Trust:

http://www.joegilligantrust.com/

Please rate, like, follow, comment and subscribe and I promise there will be loads of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culture and gossip material going up on here each week :)

Thanks for watching, guys and I'll see you soon!

Love

gabriellasofia x

HauteFuture's First Giveaway Including Barry M, Juicy Couture and Models Own Goodies!

So this is my 'Thank-You-Followers-and-Subscribers-for-Being-Amazing' giveaway! Watch the video, then get entering :) The giveaway ends on the 14^th February 2012 which I figured was nice because then someone gets to win something on Valentine’s Day. I will be drawing the winners from a hat on the 14^th and to prove that it’s all been fair I will record and post a video of the draw! This giveaway is open world-wide so everyone should enter, and please tell your friends. Swatches of the products to come soon and more sample-sized surprises to be included... 

How to Enter...

1) All those entering MUST be a follower with GFC (Google Friend Connect) - You can do this by clicking 'Follow' in the top left hand corner of the screen, or by clicking 'Join This Site' down the right hand side of my page next to all of the mini pictures of my followers. Once you've done this, you must comment and state something like 'I'm following as _____' and say your GFC name. You must also give your email address so I can get in touch with you if you win. This will give you 1 ENTRY.

2) Follow @HauteFuture on Twitter. This will give you 1 ENTRY!

3) Click 'Like' on the HauteFuture Facebook Page. This will give you 1 ENTRY!

4) Subscribe to my YouTube channel. This will give you 3 ENTRIES.  

5) RT this: 
'Head to http://hautefuture.blogspot.com/2012/01/hautefutures-first-giveaway-including.html to #win #giveaway prizes from @BarryMCosmetics and @modelsown Thanks @HauteFuture x' 
This will give you 3 ENTRIES.

6) Tell your friends... If a friend of yours begins to follow with GFC because you've told them to, make sure they mention it in their comment down below and they will get 1 ENTRY and you will get an extra 5 ENTRIES! If you're a blogger, you may want to write a post about this giveaway, if not you may want to mention it in a Facebook status or show your friends my page or something like that :) 

Everyone wishing to be entered must state their various applications in their comment... For example, 'Hi, I follow with GFC as MaryBean. I also RT'd as MaryBean3, and I follow with that name too. I subscribed on Youtube with the name MayBe and I 'Liked' as Mary Berlap on Facebook. My email is marybean@gmail.com. Hope I win, thanks! x' This person would have won herself 9 ENTRIES into the giveaway. If her friend Jenny began following and said in the comments 'Hi I follow as Jenbo2012 and I was referred over by MaryBean. Email me if I win at jenbo2012@yahoo.com x' Then Mary would now have 14 ENTRIES and her friend Jenbo2012 would have 1 too! Simples :)

Once again, thank you so much guys for supporting me in my blogging and vlogging. It means an awful lot, and I hope that very soon I will be able to organize another giveaway when I get 300 followers! Good luck <3

Love

gabriellasofia

x

IMATS 2012... Here I Come!

Hey Guys!

Let me apologize in advance for the stock photos which will be featured in this post... I haven't actually been to IMATS before and it's not until February so I guess we'll have to deal with the anticipation until then and just borrow photographs from IMATS' official photo gallery for the purpose of posting. So... Photos courtesy of Make-Up Artist magazine.

So for those of you out there who aren't aware, IMATS stands for the International Makeup Artists Trade Show and it is quite literally the Place To Be if you are a beauty enthusiast. Each year around February time, IMATS comes to London and holds host to lectures, awards sessions and most importantly, tons of our favorite beauty brands! As I say, I've actually never been to IMATS before, but I became interested in it last year whilst I was watching the beautiful Macbarbie07's YouTube channel. She attended one of the shows in the USA, seemed to have a great time and picked up a ton of beauty bits. Naturally I knew I had to go, so this year I got in touch with the beauty editor at Make-Up Artist magazine, Melissa MacGillivray, and chanced to ask if I might possibly obtain a press pass and she said yes! Great success :)

The first ever IMATS was started in 1997 and was located in sunny Los Angeles. The founder of Make-Up Artist mag, Michael Key, is responsible for giving all beauty lovers world-wide this fantastic opportunity to geek out together and enjoy our first love, make-up. What a legend!

Anyways, I wanted to tell you a bit about IMATS as I'd love to meet some other bloggers and beauty enthusiasts at the event. So what do IMATS say about themselves? Here it is...

"The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show is the make-up world’s biggest gathering. Thousands of make-up artists, vendors and enthusiasts discuss, display and collect the best the industry has to offer. Make-up pros from fashion and film (including Oscar, BAFTA and Saturn award winners) provide education and demonstrations at IMATS, and new products often debut there. IMATS also features a make-up museum and an Afterglow party, where trade-show guests can socialize.

Before IMATS, there were no trade shows specifically designed for make-up artists, although cosmetic companies had expressed a desire for such an event. In response, Make-Up Artist magazine publisher Michael Key held the first IMATS in August 1997 in Los Angeles. It allowed artists to customize what they wanted to see and it offered a diverse mix of products, demonstrations and education from industry leaders.

Like Make-Up Artist magazine, IMATS continues to educate and connect make-up artists from around the world. The show is held six times annually—in London in January;  New York in April; Los Angeles in June; Vancouver, B.C. in July; Sydney in September and Toronto in November."

Sounds great right? So, how can you buy tickets? Well, the show in London will be held in Alexander Palace on the 3rd-5th of February. However, the 3rd is reserved for complete make-up geniuses (maybe one day that will be me!) so I'm attending on the Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th of February. General admission for both days costs £70 with a student price of £58... huge saving so make sure you have your student card to hand if you own one. After heading over to the IMATS website, if you decide that you only want to attend lectures on one of the two days, it will only cost you £45 or £40 for a student. 

Let me be honest and say that as I haven't been to IMATS before, I can't say whether it is worth this cost. HOWEVER, I can also honestly tell you that had I not obtained a press pass, I definitely would have purchased a ticket this year as I've wanted to go for a while.

 

   

Now the nasty details are over, let me briefly run you through some of the features which really sold IMATS to me... MAC's Director of Make-Up Artistry Terry Barber, their Senior Artist Neil Young AND one of my favorite YouTube beauty gurus pixiwoo will each be presenting a lecture!!! On top of that, there are lectures on everything from Red Carpet Oscars-style and Editorial looks, right the way through to Bridal and even a Goblin Make-Up Demo from Nick Dudman (Harry Potter films veteran make-up artist) and actor Warwick Davis (THAT'S GRIPHOOK TO MY FELLOW HP FANATICS!!!) As if that's not enough, IMATS are also giving stalls to the likes of MAC, Tweezerman, Dermalogica, Illamasqua, MAC PRO, Naked, NYX, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Paperself, Sleek and tons more, so the shopping opportunities should be immense.

To conclude :) You can expect a ton of future posts between now and the show from me as I'm super-duper excited for my first IMATS experience. I encourage anyone who is into make-up in any capacity to purchase a ticket if funds allow, and if you do, perhaps we can meet up and hang out together? I'll need someone there to ensure that I don't collapse from all of the excitement... any takers? :D

I must say a great big 'Thank you' to Melissa at Make-Up Artist for giving me this opportunity, I literally can't wait :)

Will you be attending IMATS? What are you most excited about? Have any of you been to an event like this before?

Love 

gabriellasofia

x

Selfridges Christmas Beauty Event...

I've been crazy busy so far with so many things to do in time for Christmas, not to mention my looming deadlines for January... don't remind me about them!

I was wandering through the Bullring the other day, and a handsome man in a rather sharp suit accosted me outside Selfridges, telling me all about this Christmas Beauty event which had been organised for two days later (the 1st December). I was told that tickets cost just £10, which was redeemable against purchase on the day of the event. In exchange for my £10, I would get a beauty goodie bag, a glass or two of champagne, a yummy mince pie and a handful of make-up application master classes from some of the major brands in Selfridges. I took a leaflet and walked on, dreaming about all of the beauty goodies I'm craving for Christmas and thought I wouldn't think of it again!

However, that day my dad expressed an interest in a Bullring shopping trip (this means he was desperately lacking in Christmas shopping) so before I knew it, I was stood outside Selfridges with my little sister in tow and a belly full of Jamie's Kitchen!

A couple of hours earlier I'd headed into Selfridges and purchased two tickets and signed myself up for an Estee Lauder foundation lesson, an eyeshadow masterclass at Bobbi Brown and a blush-match with Clinique. However, by the time I'd finished my dinner with my parents, I'd missed the final two so headed straight to Estee Lauder where the lovely Jay removed my 'face' and reapplied a more flawless version of it! Of course, he used the esteemed Double Wear Foundation and the Double Wear Stay-in-Place concealer amongst other great products and my

skin looked and felt so smooth whilst also feeling so lightweight!

There was a 'performance' by some creepy clown-looking version of Santa Claus (and we all know how I feel about clowns...) and some gospel-choir style band of about three women and two men who seemed to be shouting the lyrics at us. This is no exaggeration. I remember the rendition of Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You to be particularly cutting complete with screeching and the 'I've-got-attitude-so-I'm-going-to-wiggle-my-head-from-side-to-side-and-do-twinkle-fingers-up-and-down-by-the-side-of-my-face-as-I-can't-hold-a-note-and-it-makes-it-look-like-I've-done-it-deliberately' dance moves. Fantastic. The music was actually so loud, that Jay and I were having to shout into each others' ears which although he seemed very nice, I have to admit it is a bit too close for comfort with a strange man with a foundation brush for my liking... Nonetheless, he is a wizard with that brush and I felt so much more beautiful than I usually do, haha.

As I previously mentioned, my dad needed to get some Christmas shopping done, namely for me, so I figured that would be how I could get my £10 redeemed as there were numerous beauty goodies I was dying for for Christmas, from benefit, Urban Decay and Nails INC. Of course, I'm a complete idiot and didn't realize that Selfridges no longer have a benefit counter and seems never to have had Urban Decay or Nails INC. I was temporarily gutted, until I remembered that Selfridges DOES HAVE a MAC counter and also NARS. Plus, Debenhams have the three that I was looking for with a fantastic 10% off offer on the same day, so the disaster was generally averted! Thank goodness for that...

I had the best beauty day ever really! I'm not going to reveal the bits and bobs I chose from the various make-up counters as honestly I'm trying to forget so I'm surprised on Christmas morning... According to my dad, they've all been sent off to Santa Claus now and are ready in the sleigh. Eeeep!

And now for the bit which you all want to know about; the goodie bag. I was going to record a goodie bag haul for the event but the items are all so small that I figured a picture would be best. I got a Balenciaga Paris 10. Avenue George V mini fragrance, and also an Acqua di Parma one too. I got this really cute hot pink cosmetics bag from Juicy Couture with a delux sample size of Viva la Body Lotion by them too. I got a little tube of Dior's Creme Reparation Rides (also known as Wrinkle Correction Eye Cream), Alien by Thierry Mugler Body Lotion and also a sample of Fekkai's Shea Butter which is lush! The best bits in the goodie bag though were, by far, the little sample tube of NARS's Firming Foundation, Super Orgasm skin Illuminator highlighter and Clinique's exfoliating Clarifying Lotion 2. Honestly, the goodie bag wasn't amazing, but considering the whole event was essentially free once I'd redeemed each of my two £10 tickets on a couple of Christmas purchases courtesy of the Bank of Daddy I really can't complain. Furthermore, I got two of everything as my sister is nowhere near as much of a beauty fanatic as I am so she gave me her bag and the entire contents! Great success :)

So in all Selfridges Christmas Beauty Event was an evening well spent. I know that a few different department stores run this kind of event around Christmas time, and it seeks that House of Fraser were giving an even better goodie bag. However, I much prefer Selfridges at the moment as I find it to be a much friendlier environment, so I'm quite content with what I got. I would definitely recommend this kind of event to anyone who loves beauty. Get some girls together and head on a night out afterwards when your make-up has been done by some of the best brands in the industry... not many people will be looking as good as you one the likes of Estee Lauder's Jay has had anything to do with it.

Have you been to this kind of event before? What was in your goodie bag? Was anyone in Selfridges that night?

Let me know

Love

gabriellasofia

x

Haute Future Haute Haul... The Clothes Show Part 2: Models Own...

So here is Part 2 of the epic haul I managed to secure for myself at The Clothes Show on Sunday! As I say in the video, I've only ever used Models Own nail varnish before but I really wanted to try some other things in their range so I'm glad I was able to get ALL OF THIS for an absolute bargain £10... Let's see how much it's all worth eh?

All these products can be purchased at www.modelsownit.com;

Powder Eye Shadow - £5
Duo Eye Shadow - £5
Glitter Eye Pencil - £5
Kohl Eyeliner Pencil - £5
Lip Gloss - £5
Nail Polish - £5
Face Paint - £5
Nail Buffer - £5
Make Up Bag - Unavailable, but I guess it would be about £5!

So in total, the goodie bag I spent £10 on is worth about £75!!! Amazing!

Look out for my Clothes Show Haul Part 3, which includes some random miscellaneous freebies that I picked up and concludes my spending at the event.

Please take the time to check out my other sites... I have a Twitter, a Facebook AND a blog too and there will be a giveaway soon where you'll need to be following at least one of these to be able to be entered so don't forget to his follow, like and subscribe!

Please follow me on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/hautefuture

Subscribe to my Youtube channel where I post hauls, tutorials, outfits of the day and WAY more:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HauteFuture?feature=watch

Also check out my facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776

Please rate, like, follow, comment and subscribe and I promise there will be loads of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culture and gossip material going up on here each week :)

Thanks for watching, guys and I'll see you soon!

Love

gabriellasofia x

Haute Future Haute Haul... The Clothes Show Part 1: Barry M...

I know it's taken a while for me to get these up, but this is the first in a three part mini-haul-series... These are the bits and bobs that I got from the lovely people at Barry M cosmetics, and all for the amazing price of just £10!!! I could hardly believe it myself...

As I say in the video, none of the colours are named, which is ridiculous. Like, I don't know why they would do that? But whatever, they have. So, I can only list the instore prices of the products in general. Each of these items can be purchased at www.boots.com;

Barry M makeup bag - £4.99
Nail Paint - £2.99
Fabulous Glossy Tubes - £3.99
Glitter Liquid Liner Pen - £4.99
Dazzle Dust - £4.50
Lipgloss Wands - £4.49
Eye Liner Pencil - £2.99
Eye Liner Pen - £3.99
Shimmering Eye and Lip Crayon - £4.59
Metallic Liquid Eye Liner - £4.79

So I managed to work out that I got about £52 worth of Barry M products! That's if we remember that I got three Nail Paints and two Dazzle Dusts. That's a saving of £42!!! Amazing :)

I will be uploading Part 2 shortly, which will be my Models Own haul from The Clothes Show, so hit subscribe and keep an eye out for that! More info regarding my giveaway will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

Please take the time to check out my other sites... I have a Twitter, a Facebook AND a blog too and there will be a giveaway soon where you'll need to be following at least one of these to be able to be entered so don't forget to his follow, like and subscribe!

Please follow me on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/hautefuture

Subscribe to my Youtube channel where I post hauls, tutorials, outfits of the day and WAY more:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HauteFuture?feature=watch

Also check out my facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776

Please rate, like, follow, comment and subscribe and I promise there will be loads of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culture and gossip material going up on here each week :)

Thanks for watching, guys and I'll see you soon!

Love

gabriellasofia x

Pre-Party Preparation Routine... Hair, Make-Up, Nails...

I was about to get ready for my aunt's birthday party last weekend and I started to wonder what steps everyone else takes when they are getting ready for a big evening event, a date, a party, a premier (I wish!)... I figured I'd record my steps in between getting ready for the party so you guys can all see the transformation which I make when I'm getting ready and how I get there!

Please take the time to check out my other sites... I have a Twitter, a Facebook AND a blog too and there will be a giveaway soon where you'll need to be following at least one of these to be able to be entered so don't forget to his follow, like and subscribe!

Please follow me on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/hautefuture

Subscribe to my Youtube channel where I post hauls, tutorials, outfits of the day and WAY more:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HauteFuture?feature=watch

Also check out my facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776

Please rate, like, follow, comment and subscribe and I promise there will be loads of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culture and gossip material going up on here each week :)

Thanks for watching, guys and I'll see you soon!

Love

gabriellasofia x

HauteFuture Outfit of the Day 13th November 2011

Hi there!

So this is my first Outfit of the Day posts and I hope you like it! I was just headed out to work so my outfit isn't super-sexy or anything... Each and every item is at least two seasons old, so considering I don't even remember how much each of the items are and that they are no longer available in stores, I'm not going to go through everything I've got on in this description, but if you watch the video you can find out where the pieces are from :)

I hope you liked this outfit! I ended up getting into a row with two horrible women while I was wearing it, and another lady insisted that they'd started the row because, 'They're just jealous as you look much nicer than they do' so I'm thinking it was probably ok! Haha. Who knows?

Please excuse me for that massive ramble I did at the end. It really does make a difference when people subscribe to my channel, or follow me on Twitter or my Blogger account, or like my facebook page... Anyways, if you liked the look, please do check out these other pages...

Please follow me on Twitter at:

www.twitter.com/hautefuture

Keep track of my channel where I post a bunch of tutorials, hauls, tag videos and more at:

http://youtube.com/Hautefuture

Also check out my facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776

Please rate, like, follow, comment and subscribe and I promise there will be loads of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culture and gossip material going up on here each week :)

Thanks for watching, guys and I'll see you soon!

Love

gabriellasofia x

Beauty Tutorial: Halloween Sexy Vampire Look

This is the first of three Halloween Make-Up Tutorials that I'll be uploading today and tomorrow. This is the Vampire Look and I hope you like it. My top tips with Halloween Make-Up are that you can never use too much... and to only use cheap stuff. You don't want to be piling on £50 worth of eyeshadow when you can get well-pigmented pots from MUA at Superdrug for free!

Here is a list of the products I used, and where you can get them... all the products used were purchased with my own money and I'm not being paid by the companies at all;

InColor FabuLiner Liquid Eye Liner in Brown - $1.99 at Walgreens
MUA Eye Shadow in Pearl - £1 at Superdrug
Fluff Brush - £5.99 at Ecotools at www.boots.com
Mini Fluff Brush -- OLD
Barry M Dazzle Dust in BLACK 91 - £4.50 at www.boots.com
17 Black Eye Shadow in Darkness - £3.99 at www.boots.com
Topshop CRAYON in Black Jack - £5.00 at www.topshop.com
Grow Luscious by Revlon - £7.99 at www.boots.com
Red Lipstick -- OLD
MAC Frankly Scarlett Blush - £17.00 at MAC
EcoTools Bamboo Contour Brush - £9.99 at www.boots.com
MAC Nightmoth Lip Liner - £14.00 at MAC
Fake Blood - £2.50 at my local fancy dress shop

Anyway, I hope you liked it! If you have any tutorial requests then let me know :)

If you are interested, please follow me on Twitter at:
www.twitter.com/hautefuture

Keep track of my channel where I post lots of tutorials, hauls and more:
http://www.youtube.com/HauteFuture

Also check out my facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776

Please rate, comment and subscribe and I promise there will be loads of beauty, fashion, lifestyle, culture and gossip material going up on here each week :)

Thanks for watching, beauties.

Love
gabriellasofia x

I've been a Naughty Little Blogger...

Hi guys... I feel as if I'm walking to the headmaster's office to receive a stern telling off for making the boys cry in the playground or something (which did actually happen once... I kicked Patrick Shaw in the goolies because he wouldn't leave me alone... moving on!)

I am so sorry I haven't blogged over the past couple of days! I went caravaning (can that be used as a verb?) in Wales with my grandparents this weekend, and as it is based in the butt-crack of nowhere, there was *insert dramatic music* NO INTERNET!!! I know, it was a traumatic experience, yet here I stand before you today, I stood in the face of adversity and came out the other side in one piece... "Thank you, thank you!"

So I got back from Wales on Sunday night, but was sick with some sort of pre-migraine type symptoms. Luckily they never developed into an ACTUAL migraine but still, feeling sick and dizzy with a kind of bruised feeling in your head is never good, so I went to bed super early.

Yesterday was Monday which I spent the entirety of getting ready for Marie Claire's latest in the Inspire and Mentor series; How to Get into Beauty with Estee Lauder. I did film a couple of videos for you along the way, such as my much-awaited (by all 20 of my readers...) Fall Haul video which I'm hoping to post up later today, and also a How I Do My Eyebrows Tutorial, which was kind of unplanned so I'm hoping to upload that later on in October, unless someone is having an eyebrow disaster right now and desperately needs the video... let me know in the comments box below!

Today I'm working for my parents at their milkshake bar The Hippy Hippy Shake from 1 until 5, then I assume I'll come home to have some dinner, get editing and posting that Haul Video, then I think I'll write a review of last night... I really had a fantastic time with Marie Claire, this is the third of this type of event I've been to, and each one has been really interesting so I urge all my readers to look out for future events of this kind at www.marieclaire.co.uk.

Now, I'm going to go take a shower and get myself ready for work, once again I apologize for my recent absence but promise that all the material I promised you on the 1st of September will be going up very soon :)

What are you up to today? Let me know!

Love

gabriellasofia x

Review - Lip Tint Comparisons... Max Factor/Maybelline/Revlon

So following my initial disappointment in Max Factor's Lasting Lip Tint back in May (the review for which can be found at http://hautefuture.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-max-factors-lipfinity-lasting.html), I was determined not to let my desire to find the perfect felt-tip pen style lip stain go unfulfilled. Despite the fact that I was very disillusioned by this first go at the idea, I was still hopeful, and why shouldn't I be? It's a great concept... a non-transferable lip product with an applicator which allows for almost perfect precision... what more could any girl ask for? And so my mini-quest began. I tried the Max Factor one for a little while longer and my mind actually was ever-so-slightly altered as I realized that perhaps I'd been a little too hard on the product. Yet I still purchased the Revlon and Maybelline equivalents just to be sure
that I was using the best on the drug-store market... here's my story...

Max Factor's Lipfinity Lasting Lip Tint in Berry Burst £7.99 at www.boots.com

So when I tried the product the first time, as the blog linked above suggests, I was really unimpressed. The color wasn't very strong, it didn't last very long, the brush molted (for lack of a better word) felt-y spots

of pink material all over my lips, my lips were dry and the color actually bled quite a lot before drying permanently. But then I gave it a few more tries just to give Max Factor a chance and the Lip Tint actually grew on me. I liked the sweet but subtle taste, the color was actually quite alluring and provided I didn't lick my lips a lot or eat the color stayed put. I didn't think much of the pen tip after I'd tried the other products as the felt used was obviously not very good quality and it allowed the product to dry out really easily, meaning that nowhere near enough of the product could be applied. Basically it still left much to be desired... Scorecard time!

Staying Power - 6/10

Flavor - 8/10

Color - 6/10

Softness of lips - 2/10

Applicator - 6/10

Product dispersal - 5/10

Packaging - 8/10

Value for money - 3/10

TOTAL 44/80

Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain and Balm in Gothic £7.99 at www.boots.com

This product gave me a good feeling, particularly as part of the problem with the Max Factor version was the dryness in my lips afterwards... when I used Lasting Lip Tint I actually had to purchase a new tube of Carmex (£2.69 at www.boots.com) because my lips were so raw. My initial optimism for this product was not unfounded...

I love Just Bitten. The felt tip is really thick and soft, meaning that when you apply the product it glides on smoothly. The formula is nice and thin upon first touch which is exactly what I want as it allowed my lips to get an even coating before it set dry (but not too dry!) on my lips, plus, somehow, despite this fluid consistency, it didn't bleed past the lip-line I'd outlined with the pen before complete application. The color was

really vibrant and didn't need a second application, suggesting that you get more out of your money and the product will last longer in my make-up bag, RESULT!

It's almost unfair to judge the lip balm at the other end of the pen, as the other two tints don't have one, but you know what, shame on them! They really should have a balm, and I am eternally grateful to Revlon for attaching one. In fairness, it's not the best lip-balm I've ever used, and yet it does the job. Keeps your lips moist enough to allow the product to feel comfortable on your mouth. On the other hand, using the balm does mean that the product is no longer non-transferable, although perhaps that is just in my experience, as I saw a faintly colored lip-balm stain on my wine glass during dinner. Then again, this is a sacrifice I'm prepared to make as the look and feel of this product is worth putting up with that minor inconvenience! Only thing I noticed lacking was a scent or flavor... I'm not particularly fussed about that though!

Staying Power - 8/10 without the balm 7/10 with the balm (it still gets 7 as it was only really the balm that came off and not so much the actual color, which is totally acceptable in my book!)

Flavor - 5/10 (no flavor at all... inoffensive, so I don't mind.)

Color - 10/10

Softness of lips - 9/10

Applicator - 9/10

Product dispersal - 10/10

Packaging - 8/10

Value for money - 9/10

TOTAL -68 and a half/80

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstain in Shy Red costing £5.99 at www.boots.com

I was pretty impressed with this product as I found it better than Max Factor's Lip Tint even though it was £2 cheaper. Although it still didn't quite beat Revlon's Just Bitten...

Whilst the consistency of the formula was similar to Just Bitten, thin, easy to apply and non-transferable once dry, it actually didn't give as much color as I would have liked. Having said that, the flavor and scent of

the formula was really pleasant. Plus, the tip of the pen was really good at lining my lips as the point of it was particularly sharp so it was easy for me to sketch and extend my natural lip-line a little further out, making for a plumper lip-look.

One thing I absolutely did not like about this product (and I know I'm just being a product snob here...) is that the packaging looks super tacky. I don't even like the name. I'm sure I can get over it though, I mean the price is right and the product is an excellent base to any lipstick meaning that even when you're lippy fades, or rubs off, your lips still look a healthy rosy color. Epic success. Let's get down to business...

Staying Power - 8/10

Flavor - 10/10

Color - 7/10

Softness of lips - 7/10

Applicator - 7/10

Product dispersal - 7/10

Packaging - 2/10

Value for money - 8/10

TOTAL - 56/10

Conclusion...

So there is a clear winner! Revlon actually did the best this time. I practically have nothing to complain about their product apart from that a sweet flavor would be a welcome feature. In terms of good value for money, it's fantastic, because you get a long-lasting lip stain AND a smooth moisturizing lip balm for just £7.99. On another point, you really can't go too far wrong with the Maybelline option as whilst it isn't perfect, it is priced fairly and generally is a satisfactory product.

Anyway, let me know what your experienced have been with these products. Perhaps you know some other alternatives and can help me on my search for a perfect lip tint? Until I find such a product, I'm pretty content to work with Revlon's Just Bitten!

Thanks for reading, please rate, comment, like, follow and subscribe :) It would be a great help!

Love you all

gabriellasofia