Perfect Christmas Gift Ideas - Mac Tartan Tale Collection.

Fabulous Xmas gift ideas from Mac this year with the Tartan Tale collection, definitely one of my favourites & not just because of my Scottish heritage of course but all the fabulous colour selections available! My personal favourite is the plaid eye shadows, available in 6 different colours from peach, to golds & pinks as well as purples, green, silvers & blues! The range is pretty vast & includes reusable tartan cases filled with some of your favourite colours as well as some gorgeous lip & face palates, all decorated in fabulous tartan of course! Here's a selection of some of the gift sets, all available from www.maccosmetics.co.uk, sets from £23.50, but hurry as they're selling fast!

Christmas Party Smokey Eyes!

With the party season getting into full swing this weekend here a few tips on getting those sultry smokey eyes for the xmas night out on Saturday!

Firstly as with anything start with a good base, take a light neutral colour and with a large brush sweep across the lid. Then with a smaller defined brush take a dark colour of your choice which works best as a shimmer or frost finish & apply to your lower lid then with your larger brush blend outwards to soften (don't worry if it looks s little messy at this stage!).

Then take the dark colour again & shade in the outer corners of your eye in a shape such as a 'V' on it's side with the point facing outwards, this will add depth & make your eyes look darker & wider, make sure you blend well & take a cotton bud to soften this out which will also define as well.

Line the top lash with a matte dark shadow, use a small slanted brush for this, it will create a softer smokier finish & take it from the outer corner to the inner, for the bottom lash again use the shadow with the same brush & take it three quarters of the way across from the outer edge & with a cotton bud soften this out & even add a little more shadow to create a more dramatic look (use the dark colour used on the lids for an extra shimmer). To add even more impact, take an eye pencil & line the inner rim of the bottom & into the inner corner to meet the top lash line.

One thing to bare in mind is to try & apply more depth to the outer corners so the finshed result is not too heavy, cotton buds are your best friend while creating this look as they are perfect for blending in this area!

Take a highlighter & blend up to the brow bone, this is great for bringing everything together, also take a little of the highlighter into the inner corners to open the eye & tidy any edges by softening them out with the cotton bud.

Another tip is do your eye make-up first before the foundation, using dark colours can be messy!!

Finish off with lashings on mascara, or some false eyelashes... Also remember to tone down the lip colour when going for smokey eyes, it's either 'eyes' or 'lips' when choosing your make-up style!