The finest selection of makeup tutorials you need to watch A.S.A.P

I myself love a good makeup tutorial, not to recreate them (I rarely do that), but to learn new techniques that at some point will come in handy. They also really relax me, I don't know why I find makeup tutorials so relaxing, maybe because most of the makeup artists have such a calming voice and are just so graceful, like a swam in a lake - I really need to stop with these kinds of comparisons.

I'm one of those people who doesn't bother putting makeup on everyday, I have no problem on going out in public with a fresh makeup free face, but at the same time I also love getting glammed up, enhancing some parts of my face or just having fun with makeup. I personally think makeup is a great tool to give women (or men!) the power to transform into whoever they want to be, it can be a totally different person or just a more confident version of themselves.

I've been watching makeup tutorials for so long, I think it was the first genre of Youtube videos I've ever bumped into and I still watch them now. That's why I decided to make the finest selection of makeup tutorials you need to watch as soon as possible, because even if you never try any of these, you'll just enjoy watching them or at least learn some new tips you might use someday, you never know.

Here they are...

1. Wedding makeup: Amal Clooney by Charlotte Tilbury

2. Modern 'Baby Bardot' Makeup Tutorial by Lisa Eldridge

 

3. Bronze Evening Makeup by Monika Blunder

4. Red Carpet Makeup lool by Nic Chapman (Pixiwoo)

5. Alexa Chung Tutorial by Lisa Eldridge

6. Natural Everyday Makeup by Wayne Goss

7. Nigella Lawson Inspired Makeup by Sam Chapman (Pixiwoo)

8. The Dolce Vita look by Charlotte Tilbury

9. How to do Modern Smokey Eyes by Wendy Rowe (Burberry)

10. My Boyfriend does my makeup featuring Vivianna Does Makeup (a.k.a Anna) and Mark

(This is not really a makeup tutorial but it's dang cute, so I had to include it)

Do you watch makeup tutorials? If so, who is your favourite Youtuber/Makeup Artist? I would love to know.

I'm not a hair risk-taker (pros and cons of possible new hairstyles)

Today things are going to get hairy - that's one of the reasons I should never attempt comedy or anything similar.

I don't know about you but each time a new season is coming I feel the need to change my hair, it's usually little things, for example, I always get my hair trimmed before summer, sometimes I might go a little crazy and let the hairdresser cut more than the usual (someone call the police because WE HAVE A REBEL RIGHT HERE). Although I have to say I've never done anything really really crazy. As far as hair dying goes, the most ''groundbreaking'' thing I've ever done is having some Babylight highlights done, which simulate the natural highlights you sometimes get during the summer thanks for the sun (yeah, I really am a risk taker), I think it's a great thing to do during the Autumn and Winter, as our hair tends to be a little bit darker.

This year I really want to do something different to my hair, I'm 100% I say this every-single-year, but I REALLY want to do it this time. I don't want to do anything crazy like, I don't know, rainbow-ombré hair (which I think it's fantastic but I just don't think I could pull it off), but maybe a different haircut I've never tried before or a new (staying in the blonde/brunette tones) colour.

So these few days I've been doing some research - and by research I mean stalking every Pinterest and Instagram account about hair - and I've narrowed down the hairstyle options to five lovely possibilities. I don't know which one I'm going to choose because I like them all equally, but the real question here is... CAN I REALLY PULL OFF ANY OF THE HAIRSTYLES? My answer is probably (more like absolutely) not, but you know, you only live once so I might just try fun things with my hair.

Here are the pros and cons of my possible new hairstyles.

1. The Jane Birkin / Francoise Hardy 
Brief description: Boob length straight hair (hurray for the professional hair terms!), with no layers and a messy longer-than-usual fringe.
Pros: It's really classy, chic and timeless at the same time. I wouldn't need to dye my hair because out hair colour is really similar. They are both big beauty and fashion icons for me and this is one of my favourite hairstyles ever.
Cons: I have naturally curled hair so if one day my worst enemy, also know as humidity, did it's thing, I'd have a lovely curly fringe and not in a lovely way, only Beyoncé and Rihanna can look flawless with that. Another con is that a fringe requires retouches every month so it doesn't go on your eyes.

2. The old Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Brief description: Boob length hair, long layers, soft beachy waves and Californian highlights that go from a light brown or dark blonde (like my natural colour) to a lighter blonde.

Pros: Very youthful, feminine and effortless haircut.

Cons: To achieve those natural beachy waves (with by the way, my hair NEVER looks like that after I go to the beach) which magazines claim you can just achieve them with a little bit of hair spray, it will require serious flat iron or curling iron skills.

3. The new Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Brief description: Midi messy haircut with a side part. The hair colour is practically the same as her old hair but with much lighter blonde highlights

Pros: It's fresh, youthful, sexy, easy to manage and easy to dry.

Cons: Will be difficult to remain styles due to the humidity and curly hair which just can't stay straight, unless I really - first learn and then - apply some serious hair skills.

4. The Olivia don't-even-have-to-say-the-surname-because-everyone-knows-it's Palermo.

Brief description: Long polished bob, which can be styled straight or curly, with no layers. It looks like it has some really natural almond-brown highlights.

Pros: Easy to style, effortless, elegant and chic.

Cons: Very similar to my hair right now, just shorter.

5. The Lily Aldridge balayage

Brief description: Boob length (this is the third time I've used the word boob in this post, I don't know why I had to point that out) haircut with long layers and beachy waves. Her hair goes from a really dark brown to a really light brown, but not in an ombré way because if you look closely, some of the hair remain the same colour, so it looks really natural. I'm pretty sure they've used the balayage technique which if you don't know what it means, you have a really good explanation here.

Pros: Effortless, sexy and easy to style.

Cons: Can't think of any cons.

Let me know in the comments which is your favourite hairstyle of the ones above and who knows, maybe in a couple weeks I'll be rocking (at least attempting) a new hairstyle.

My top 3 beauty secrets

We all have our beauty secrets, some people will just keep them to themselves, but others, like myself, prefer to share them and, who better to share them with than with my lovely readers? All these secrets/tips were life-changing for me, so I hope you like them as much as I do.

1. Facial Massage for softer and firmer skin.

This year I discovered facial massaging thanks to the loveliest of make-up artists, Lisa Eldridge. For those who don't know who she is, she's an internationally recognized make-up artist, she has done the make-up for some of the most important magazine shoots/covers, celebrities and red carpet events. She also has a Youtube channel where she does beauty related videos.

In one of these videos she showed her facial massage routine, which she had been doing for a few years. In the video she explains that her mum has been doing facial massaging for a really long time and still has beautiful skin and as you'll se in the video, Lisa has really beautiful skin too.

From all the facial massaging tutorials I've seen and tried from Youtube, this is my favourite, I always go back to this one because it's really easy to follow and it' also very informative. I try to do it at least once a week. Since I started doing this I've seen a huge difference on my skin: it's firmer, softer and it has helped a lot with my acne scars. Plus, it's reeeeeeeeeally relaxing.

2. Bicarbonate Toothpaste for instant whiter teeth.

I've been doing this for a long time and trust me, it does work. One day I read on a blog about this homemade ''(two ingredient)toothpaste'' for instant whiter teeth, first I was quite sketchy but I'm so glad I tried it. The recipe just consists about bicarbonate and water, recently I've read you could also add lemon for better results but I haven't tried that. To be honest, I don't really follow any measurements of the ingredients, I just mix a little bit of the two ingredients until it forms a paste, if it's too watery just throw a little bit of the water. Once you have the paste formed just clean your teeth as you'd do with normal toothpaste and voilà, enjoy your shiny, sexy and pearly teeth. Then take a selfie, Christy Turlington style ;)

(Photography by Arthur Elgort)

3. Hot Water Towel to softly exfoliate the skin.

At night (I don't know why I only do it at night but I'm sure you can also do it in the morning), after you've cleansed your face, wet a small towel/muslim cloth/flannel in really hot water and then leave it on you face for a few seconds... YOU WILL BE SO RELAXED, I HAVE WARNED YOU. You can repeat this process as many times you fancy (and you'll fancy it a lot), doing this you will exfoliate the skin really softly and open the pores so when you apply your toner, moisturizer o serum, your skin will be much more receptive. After doing this you'll be so freaking calmed that you'll be even happier to go to sleep and have better glowing skin the morning after, just like Karlie.

(Photo by Vogue UK)

Tell me all about your beauty secrets in the comments section, I would love to know!

By the way, follow me at my new Instagram at @julia_coldwell, just for funsies.

My Current Makeup Routine (2015)

Hello lovely people!
Today I want to show you my current makeup routine with some pictures within the process. On a day to day basis I try to wear very minimal makeup and I make sure that whatever I put on my face is nice and blended. These products are my favorite right now because they are all affordable, easy to apply and with a natural finish.

1. Foundation and Concealer: I use the True Match Foundation by L'Oréal Paris in the Shade N2 Vanilla and I apply it with a makeup sponge by Better or with the Expert Face Brush by Real Techniques, then for concealer I use my Clarins Instant Concealer in the shade 01 and I use my ring finger to apply it as it helps to melt the product in the skin, but sometimes I also use the makeup sponge.

 2. Bronzer: I use the Bourjois Délice de Poudre Bronzing Powder in the shade 52 with a big fluffy brush by Better on the high points of my face (cheeks and temples).

3. Blusher: I use the MaxFactor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in the shade 14 Soft Pink, to apply it I use my fingers or a stippling brush by Better.

4. Mascara: I use the Clarins Be long Mascara, which by the way it's amazing, a review is coming up very soon.

5. Eyebrows: First I use the medium brown shade in the Brixton Brown (022) palette by Rimmel London and later I apply the Maybelline Brow Drama in Dark Brown.

6. Liner: Finally I use the Avon Glimmerstick eyeliner in the shade Blackest Black.

And that's the final look! Much love, Julia xx

Top 5 Autumn/Winter Beauty Products

Hello lovely people!
Today I'm going to talk about the beauty products I love using during the Autumn and Winter months. Obviously during these months the weather gets colder so our skin gets drier and specially our lips crack very easily, so we need products which gives us that extra boost or that extra hydration; the following products are the ones which help me achieve that.
Don't forget to tell me your favorite products in the comment section!

1. ''Eight Hour Cream'' by Elizabeth Arden
Price: 34€

In the Elizabeth Arden webpage they describe this product as ''a legendary, award-winning skin protectant that does more than soothe sun-burned skin, rehydrate chapped lips, and heal rough elbows and calluses [...] keeping legs, lips and eyelids shiny; eyebrows in place; and cuticles perfectly manicured''.
This product is simply amazing, it has a balmy texture and I mainly use it on my lips when they are quite dry because in matter of seconds it moisturizes and gives a beautiful shine to them, I also use it on my elbows as I get very dry elbows easily.

2. ''Creme de Corps'' by Kiehl's
Price: 33€

This is hands down the best body moisturizer I've ever tried. It smells lovely and has a very buttery texture but it's not sticky or oily at all, it gets rid of any dry patches on your skin and just leaves your skin looking gorgeous and hydrated. What I specially love about this cream is it's quick absorption and the fact that it doesn't contain parabens, glycols or silicones (this is always a plus).

3. ''Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion'' by Kiehl's
Price: 24€

A few years ago when my mum got into the Kiehl's addiction one of the first products I tried from the brand was this lotion, I loved it so much but when it finished I don't really remember why I didn't repurchase it. A few weeks ago I bought it again and now I remember why I used to love it so much, it's the perfect facial moisturizer for an oily skin: it's not oily or drying, it just leaves your skin looking balanced and glowing (NOT oily).

4. ''Rosehip Oil''
Price: From 5-20€ (Depends on the brand)

Rosehip Oil is an amazing natural oil which my dermatologist recommended me a few years ago that doesn't only help you with dry patches and dry skin, it also helps you with scars from acne or any other kind of scar. I use one from my local pharmacy so it's not from a well known brand, but I've been told that this one from Trilogy is great and it's more accessible to buy.

5. ''Thermale Spring Water'' by Avène
Price: 12€

This product is great for sensitive skin, it's a thermal water which does a similar function of a toner but I wouldn't define it as a toner. This product helps to calm, sooth and balance your skin, I use it before my moisturizer, I spray it in a cross shape, I let it sink into my skin and then I remove the excess with a tissue with a tapping motion.

The 2014 Christmas Guide (under 20€)

Hello everyone!
Christmas is just around the corner which means that in the following weeks we are all going to start buying presents for our loved ones, but that doesn't always mean spending hundreds of euros, no, I got you covered. That's why I created ''THE 2014 CHRISTMAS GUIDE (UNDER 20€)'', my pleasure. This will help you buy the perfect gifts for your friends and family without ending december with no money, as the maximum budget for each person doesn't exceed the 20€ mark (there are some exceptions). I hope you like all these gifts ideas for the women in your life, happy shopping and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

NEOM Organics gift sets kit, €25 / Clinique gift sets kit, €25 / Lancôme gift sets kit, €25 / Gift sets kit, €20 / Rituals gift sets kit, €20 / Lancôme gift sets kit, €25 / OPI beauty product, €25 / Origins hydrating mask, €15 / Benefit beauty product, €22 / Clarins beauty product, €21 / Origins bubble bath, €28 / Soap Glory gift sets kit, €12

Chen Chen Kai Williams orange home decor, €8,08 / Nuuna "This Is For You" Leather Notebook - Neon Orange - Small, €20 / Chevron home decor, €12 / Kikkerland home decor, €12 / Written in the Stars Notebook, €11 / A5 ESSENTIAL NOTEBOOK 3PK FOLLOW YOUR PATH, €10 / Suck office accessory, €16 / Office accessory, €9,71 / Rifle Paper Co. Safari Notebook Set, €8,10 / Weekly Planner 'To Do' List, €11 / 2015 Weekly Planner 7x9 Graphic Garden Flexi Engagement Calendar, €7,27 / Pier 1 Imports text sign, €4,85 / Ohh Deer office accessory, €6,28

Ivory bedding, €17 / Outside door mat, €29 / Recipes cookbook, €13 / The Mason Jar Cookie Company gift jar, €15 / Recipes cookbook, €9,15 / Kinto cat mug, €13 / Kate Spade heart mug, €15 / Home decor, €25 / Key wall hook, €14 / Brooklyn Candle Studio patchouli candle, €15 / Fireplace log basket, €32 / Bath House gift sets kit, €23

Julia x

My 2014 Summer Wish List (Part 1)

Hello lovely people!
We all know that even though we might have everything we think we need, IT'S NEVER ENOUGH. Am I right ladies and gentleman?  We all have a wish list in our head of the things we desire to have and this is my current one. My wish list is quite large but I divided it into the beauty things and the fashion things, I'll explain you a little bit of each thing. (WARNING: Your wish list might get a little longer after reading this post, you are welcome #sorrynotsorry) Enjoy!

the beauty things...

1. ''Coco Noir'' Perfume (Chanel): This perfume has a blend of grapefruit, Calabrian bergamot, rose, narcissus, rose geranium leaf, jasmine, tonka bean, sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli and white musk frankincense (I looked that up, I don't have such a refined nose to know that). This is a great night perfume and every time I see a Chanel counter I love spraying it but you know, it's Chanel=pricey so until I don't have the money or the reason to splurge on it, it will remain in my wish list. But trust me, when you see it, give it a sniff, you won't be disappointed.

2. Colour-Coded Eyeshadow Palette in Dolce Vita(Charlotte Tilbury): This palette is so gorgeous: first look at the colours, 4 beautiful neutral shades (I'm all about the neutrals) with a little bit of shimmer, second look at the packaging, it's such a luxury. This palette has been around for quite a long time so a lot of the beauty youtubers that I follow have it and do tutorials with them and they look SO GOOD. You can do from simple eye looks to very glam/night out looks with these all skin type flattering shades. Nothing else to say...I WANT IT.

3. Powder & Sculpt Brush (Charlotte Tilbury): This brush has a tapered end that allows you to contour (yep, I've been trying to get into that) your cheeks just under them, highlight on top or powder lightly under the eye zone or the T-Zone very precisely. It is a very soft brush and doesn't apply a lot of product at once, allowing you to build up the products and not having harsh lines.

4. Pro to Go Eye/Cheek Palette (Lorac): This palette just has everything you would need for a look: you have six neutral eyeshadows, two blushes and one bronzer in a little tiny packaging that you can carry wherever you want, it also has a mini brush, much appreciated.

5. Lipstick in shade Shy Girl (MAC): I love a good peachy neutral lip and the other day my friend was wearing this shade and the minute I saw her I asked: What lip color are you wearing? (Beauty psychopath right here, anyone else? Hope so...), it's such a flattering shade and you know how great MAC formulas are, need it.

6. Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz (Bobbi Brown): This has five bars of pearlized pigments that you can use on the lids and the cheeks and it create a soft pinky glow. This does the most beautiful effect, actually I'm inserting here a video by the gorgeous Tanya Burr as she uses it on cheeks and lids and as you are going to see, the effect is beautiful.

7. Naked Basics Palette (Urban Decay): (Yes, more neutrals) This compact palette has six  neutral shades and it's basically all you need for your everyday looks. And I' trying to find an excuse to splurge on it even I have similar shades but I don't find any... It just looks so convenient.

8. ''Sì'' Perfume (Giorgio Armani): From the first time I smelled this perfume I fell in love and as the Chanel one I always spray it on me when I find a Giorgio Armani counter and as the Chanel one, it's very expensive. It's a very sweet perfume at the beginning (well and later on too but not as much) but then it changes into a more of a fruity smell. I looked on the web to see what it has on it: cassis, vanilla, patchouli, freesia, may rose, ambroxan and woody notes.

9. Micro-Blur Skin Perfector (Kiehl's): This is basically a primer that reduces the appearance of your pores and smoothens your skin texture. I have large pores and I read so many good reviews on this product so I can't wait to use it, people also say that it helps your makeup to last longer. YES.

Much love,

Julia

My BEAUTY Summer Essentials (2014)

Hello lovely people!
It has been quite a while since I wrote a normal post, I really want to get in the habit of writing in this blog because when I did I really enjoyed doing it, so now I'm going to stop procrastinating and I'm going to go in the theme of this post: My BEAUTY Summer Essentials. First of all, happy summer to all of you, hope you are having a great time! Today as I just said I'm going to talk to you about my summer essentials within the beauty aspect, so lets get started. Enjoy!

1. A cream blush: It's great to apply quickly when you go to the beach because it looks very natural and you can reapply it when you want just using your fingers. You can also use it on your lips!

2. A waterproof mascara: Lasts all day and holds the curl more time than normal mascaras, plus you can go in the swimming pool and your eyelashes will still look fab when you go out from it and not like a panda because it doesn't smudge. Great great for summer and for girls whose mascara's tend to smudge.

3. A lip balm with SPF: It's very important to moisturize your lips because in summer we all want juicy soft lips so a lip balm does the job but in the summer, please, buy one with SPF because the lips can also get burned and I don't think that you want the flakey lips look...

4. Pastel nail varnishes: I don't know about you but on the summer I love to wear pastel colours on my nails because I feel like is the only season of the year that I can actually wear them without looking weird because on the other seasons I tend to wear darker colours. Right now I'm wearing a colour like the Dior one on the photo and it looks very summery and sophisticated.

5. Face SPF: My mum always has told me the importance of an SPF as she says it will prevent me from having wrinkles or skin problems and as I have freckles and quite sensitive skin I always have to put on SPF. I actually use this one from La Mer and it's very lovely because it's not greasy at all, I know it's quite pricey but worth it.

6. Body SPF: Oh yes, more prevention and protection for you: body SPF. Please don't forget to put it on when you go out because there isn't anything worse than getting burned (been there, not particularly proud), first because it's not pretty at all and second because its SO BAD for your skin and can cause you some nasty things and we don't want that don't we? For example this one from Hawaiian Tropic is the bomb.

7. Salt Spray: What's sexier than beachy waves in summer? Salt spray really helps me give the effect that I've been surfing in a California beach when in reality you just sprayed a little bit of this product and scrunched it until it looked good. This one from Lush is very lovely but I also love the one from Bumble and Bumble, you really have to try them!

8. Hair oil: Specially in the summer our hair tends to get quite dry and we have to treat it so it looks soft and silky all summer. Hair oils are gorgeous, they repair your hair and they give you shine and then it looks like a million bucks. This one from l'Oréal does the job very beautifully, it is in a range of different hair oils that you can choose depending on the finish you are looking for. The best part is that they aren't greasy at all.

9. Body moisturizer/butter: Summer is the season we show the most skin so we all want soft and moisturized skin and to achieve that we can use moisturizers or body butters (for a more deep moist...ah I can't believe I used this word). They allow you to get rid of dry patches and to cure your skin if you get burned when you have been laying a bit to much under the sun. I use the The Body Shop body butters as they are very moisturizing and they smell lovely, mango is my favorite smell but I couldn't find the photo :(

Question of the day: What are YOUR summer essentials? I would love to know! 

Much love,

Julia.

Californian Highlights versus Ombré Hair

Hello lovely readers! Maybe most of you when you read the title you where like ''Woah, I thought they were the same, I don't understand!'', don't feel like you are the only one because until today I also thought they were the same. I found it because now in the city I live loads of girls have started wearing ombre hair and because I liked how it looked in them I searched for information, (for the big addiction to weheartit and hipster style, I think), but they (and me before I discovered I wasn't right) call it Californian highlights and they say it bad because that is OMBRÉ HAIR, so I thought I would do a post explaining as better as I can so there isn't any confusing. Tell me in the comments which one you prefer, much love, bye!

Californian highlights: As the name says it, they are highlights and they are of lighter colours than your natural hair colour and it's for simulating those natural sun highlights, so they have to look like they were natural, not like the ombré hair that you can easily see that the colour pink or blue or light blond on your hair it's not a natural highlight!

Ombré hair: A gradual lighten of your hair colour from the roots to the ends, the most common now are the roots of your natural color and the ends of colors including pink, blue, purple, green ...But many celebrities like to wear dark brown roots and blonde even, or even vice versa, but not as common.

¡Hola lectores encantadores! Tal vez muchos de vosotros al leer el título han pensado ''Aivá (o la expresión que te salga),  pensaba que era los mismo, no lo entiendo!'', no os sentís como si fuerais los únicos porque hasta hoy yo también pensaba que eran lo mismo. Lo encontré porque ahora en la ciudad en que vivo un montón de chicas han empezado a llevar el pelo degradado también conocido como ombré y como me gustaba como les quedaba busqué información(por la adicción al estilo Hipster y a weheartit, creo), pero ellas (y yo antes de que descubriera que no tenía razón) lo llaman mechas californianas y lo dicen mal porqué eso son OMBRÉ o DEGRADADO, por lo que pensé que podría hacer un post explicando tan bien como pueda para que no haya ninguna confusión. Decidme en los comentarios cual os gusta más, mucho amor, bye!

Mechas (o reflejos) californianas: Como lo dice su nombre, son mechas o mas bien dicho reflejos y son de colores más claros que tu color natural del cabello y es para simular los reflejos naturales que hace el sol, por lo que se tiene que ver como si fuera natural, no como el pelo ombré que puedes ver fácilmente ver que ese color rosa o azul o rubio blanco no es tu color de pelo natural!

Pelo ombré o degradado: Es un aclarado gradual de tu color pelo de las raíces a las puntas, los más comunes ahora son las raíces de tu color natural y las puntas de colores como rosa, azul, lila, verde... Aunque muchas celebrities llevan raíces castaño oscuro y puntas rubias, o incluso al revés, pero no es tan común.

Californian Highlights

Ombré Hair

♥