New Blog!! I've Moved!!

Hi beauties,

I hope you're all having a great Sunday - I'm finding it hard to move from my warm bed!

So I wanted to let you all know that I've moved my blog... well actually it's a fresh start. I couldn't quite see where I was taking As Pretty As You Please, which is why it got quite neglected some months. I wanted to join up my make up artistry more with my blog, so have started www.samanthadavismakeupartist.blogspot.co.uk - I currently have 0 followers so would love it if you could stop by and say hello!! x

Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Kalahari

Hi beauties,

I hope you're all having a fab Sunday!

Today's blog post is on this little beauty - Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Kalahari (shop here). I got a voucher for Space NK for my birthday so went to have a look round last week... ahh too much I want in that shop!

I have a few Nars products, but none of their eyeshadows and this one really caught my eye. Both shimmery, warm-toned colours - I thought these would be perfect for this time of year. Very autumnal!

At £25, I think this is fairly reasonable price for a high-end product. After all, you are getting two shadows. The packaging is lovely as always and I like that you get a mini mirror inside the lid which is useful for touch ups on the go.

The left shade is a beautiful gold tone and the right shade more of a bronzy shade with a hint of purple. As I'm fair skinned I like to add a light lid colour to this combination so that it's not too dark/heavy.

I love this product and would definitely look at investing in more of these lovely duos.

Can you recommend any fave Nars eyeshadows?

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Charlotte Tilbury Make up Review - Bitch Perfect and Portobello Girl

Hi beauties,

I hope you're all well!

Now I'm sure you were all as excited as I was when the amazing Charlotte Tilbury launched her gorgeous make up range earlier this year. As a makeup artist she's a huge inspiration to me, and I knew that her products would reflect her years in the industry - I was in no way disappointed. 

Firstly, HOW GORGEOUS IS THE PACKAGING! Inspired by vintage glamour, it has such a luxurious look. I was kindly bought these two items for my birthday... here are my thoughts!

K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick in Bitch Perfect £23.00 available at Selfridges & Co 

This is the perfect pinky-nude (it's coming out more pinky on camera!). Fab for every day wear. The texture of the lipstick is extremely moisturising and has really great staying power, which I was pleasantly surprised about! It's lightly scented (reminds me of MAC lipsticks) - that delicious lovely vanilla smell. And the gold casing is just amazing. All I can say is that I need more.

Lip Lustre luxe colour-lasting lip lacquer in Portobello Girl £16.50 available at Selfridges & Co

A gorgeous vintage pink, this looks so pretty over the top of the Bitch Perfect lippy. It's got a sight shimmer to it which is nice, and like the lipstick it's a beautiful consistency which literally glides on the lips. The only thing I would say is that the tube is a little on the small, so I will be saving this for special occasions! 

Have you tried any products from the Charlotte Tilbury range?

Here's hoping I've been a good girl this year... Santa's got a rather large wish list coming his way :)

Green Goddess - Eye Make up Tutorial

Hi beauties,

Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend!

On Saturday I was very lucky to do the make up for a beautiful styled photoshoot and I wanted to share one of the looks with you all. The inspiration was secret garden, and with the model's gorgeous fair skin we went for a beautiful green eye goddess look.

As my kit is predominately for bridal work I did a quick sweep round my local Superdrug and came across some gorgeous products from the B. range. Here's how I created the look.

Base:

Simple Replenishing Rich Moisturiser 

Nars Sheerglow in Mont Blanc to give a nice glow to the skin

Benefit Boi ing Concealer in number 1 under the eyes - Amber had the most beautiful skin she didn't need much at all! 

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent swept across the forehead, bridge of the nose and chin

Highlight/Blush:

Highlighter on the bridge of the nose, cheek bones and cupid's bow using Beauty UK's Baked Blush in Halo. These are such pretty, affordable highlighters - I'll definitely be trying out some of the other shades in the range!

For blush I used a peachy shade (top right) from my Crownbrush Blush Palette

And a little Nars Laguna bronzer to add some warmth

Eyes/Lips:

Shadow/base - I used this gorgeous B. Vibrant Eye Shimmer in the shade Poseidon. The cream eyeshadow was so easy to blend (some times cream shadows can be hard work, and set too quickly, but this was just lovely)
On the centre I added some of the B. eyeshadow in Filigree
To add some intensity I used blackout from my Naked 2 palette in the outer corner and a light brown through the socket plus a little shimmery highlight in the inner corner
Lancome's Black Khol eyeliner in the waterline.
And my fave - Maybelline's The Falsies Mascara
Lippy - MAC's Prolongwear Lipglass in Show Me!

I had so much fun creating this look and can't wait to share the professional pictures when I have them! Let me know if you've got a favourite eye shadow combo for this time of year.

Benefit Cosmetics - Boi ing Concealer Review

Hi beauties,

Happy weekend! All I can say is phew - we made it! I've been waiting all day to snuggle in my duvet and write this post for you guys.

So I'm keeping to my promise and talking about something other than foundations today :o) On my quest for flawless skin, I wanted to explore concealers and on doing some research came across a fair few reviews for this little beauty! Benefit Boi ing Concealer is described as industrial-strength and I had high hopes that this would sort out my under eye bags and blemishes. A creamy, easy-to-blend formula, I most definitely wasn't disappointed. 

Available in five shades, number 1 was a pretty good match for my pale complexion. A great concealer for covering up any blemishes - I would liken it to Mac's Studio Finish. Although, I prefer to stick to a liquid concealer under my eyes (just my personal preference) but this did have great longevity on the skin, and I didn't find it to crease.

At £17.50, it's definitely on the more high end of concealers, but due to the pigmentation and consistency a little will go along way, so it offers great value for money. Find it here.

Has any one else tried any of Benefit's other concealers?

Lots of love,

Wedding Sparrow Blog - Photoshoot

Hi beauties,

I hope you're all well!

So in my last post I mentioned that hubby and I were going to be taking part in a very special photoshoot. Last Sunday (22nd September) was our first wedding anniversary - and still being wedding obsessed, I spotted an advert by the fine art blog the Wedding Sparrow asking for a real-life couple to be a part of wedding photoshoot in Dorset - at Thomas Hardy's former home to be exact!

As the shoot was due to take place on our anniversary weekend, something said to me that perhaps this is meant to be! Oh and of course the fact that I'd get to wear a designer dress swayed my decision to send off a pic of me and my hubby. Well, the lovely Sara at Wedding Sparrow got back a few days later and said they'd love to have us on board! I literally let out a little squeal whilst sat at my desk.

It was an early start as we had to be there fore 8am for hair and make up (and it was about a 2.5 hour drive from our home). The inspiration was botanical, with a soft up-do and quite a strong eye. Here's a cheeky snap of me on the way to our location in the car.

The photographer was the lovely Michelle Boyd who is Texas-based and had made a special trip over to the UK. She was so nice and made us both feel at ease straight away in front of the camera. I was also really lucky as I had some gorgeous flowers to hold for the most-part (love a good prop). I even got to take these beauties home!

Now we're excitedly waiting for the professional pics which we should hopefully see in a couple of weeks!

I decided that this year I was going to seek opportunities and grab them with both hands. It's amazing to have such great opportunities - you only live one life so go get them!

Life update - Instagram week

Hi beauties,

I hope you're all having a great week!

I thought I'd do another update post on what I've been up to - for those who follow me on Instagram, you might have already seen, but for those who haven't here's a little round up!

1. Wedding season has still been going on strong, and I had the pleasure of doing the make up for 3 last week. It's such a joy to be a part of someone's special day. I've been particularly loving taking my new red bag along with me. It was from New Look and was only £19.99. They have some amazing bags in at the moment, you should definitely check them out.

2. It was my husband's 26th birthday yesterday, and to celebrate I got these amazing minion cupcakes made. You're never too old for themed cake and he loved them!

3. We went to London for his birthday and spent the morning at the V&A museum - we both hadn't been before and really enjoyed it. The cafe is pretty great too... a day out wouldn't be complete without tea and cake! Loved the fashion exhibition - vintage Dior!

4. And lastly today I went to get a manicure as on Sunday my husband and I are taking part in a styled photoshoot for a wedding blog! Seriously excited to dress up as a bride again! Can't wait to share the pics with you all.

That's all for now folks!