Friday 10 December 2010

Review: Look Like A Star by Lauren Luke [Book]

 Advantages: Clear layout, easy to find shades used, photographs through-out step by steps.
Disadvantages: Very little challenges, didn't inspire me much

❀/

Lauren Luke used to run her own cosmetics store on Ebay, and started a YouTube channel to demonstate the make-up to customers. When she started to do celebrity inspired looks her channel became extremely popular all over the world.

Today she regularly appears on TV, has her own make-up line, still makes videos for her YouTube channel and has published this book.




I'm a huge fan of Luke's YouTube channel and she is great when she appears on This Morning to present the week's hottest celebrity make-up looks, so I was really excited to learn she has published a make-up guide.


Having now read it, I can fully recommend it to people who are new to or are starting to experiment with new looks. LOOK LIKE A STAR is written in a easy-to-follow format. The book in seperated into 5 clear sections, plus all of the make-up looks are broke down into easy to follow steps; each step also has a clear photograph to help readers follow the steps.


That said: I didn't actually learn anything new, and other readers who are comfortable using make-up won't either. Lauren does provide advice and tips; but I already knew it. And Lauren's own make-up looks [Sweet bride, Office chic, Vintage Princess, Rosebud Beauty] are interesting, but again, I've already done very similar looks many, many times.


I would buy another Lauren Luke book, just because of the format and the fact that Lauren's bubbly personality shine's through the writing. I'll keep my finger's crossed for more inventive and challenging looks next time :)


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The contents
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This Is Who I Am
[a brief biography]

#1: The Basics
Wake up your face
Flawless foundation
Tricks of the trade
Face framing
Jeepers Peepers
Luscious lips
Desert island must-haves
The professionals [ Guide to MU brushes]
Paint box [how to choose the right colours for you]

#2: Barely There
[5 looks]

#3: Vintage
[6 looks]

#4: Be Creative With Colour
[7 looks]

#5: Glamour
[7 looks]


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The celebrity looks
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[A friendly warning: The key word for the celeb looks is 'inspired'. If you're expecting a step-by-step guide to re-create the choosen celeb look, you'll be disapointed]


I imagine that most people will have bought this for the celebrity inspired looks. I personally found the look's that have been choosen a bit of a let down, to be completely honest. Don't get me wrong, the looks are pretty, but if I looked at a photo in a magazine I'd be able to recreate most of the looks without needing to flick through a book. I found the Scarlett Johansson and Chezza looks in particular too easy.

Even less confident make-up users wouldn't need a guide in a book to recreate some of the looks. And while I do understand that the looks aren't recreations, Lauren sometimes totally different colours, not shades, I mean using green instead of orange for example [Lily Allen].


Celebrity inspirations: Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Hayden Panattiere, Audrey Hepburn, Ashley Olsen, Scarlett Johansson, Beyonce, Twiggy, Leona Lewis, Katie Hudson, Emma Watson, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lady GaGa, Cheryl Cole/Tweedy/I.Am, Aishwary Arai, Penelope Cruz, Megan Fox, Katy Perry, Lily Allen, Katie Price.


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RRP
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£16.99
Summary: If you're new to make-up this is a great source of information and inspiration, but if you're confident using make-up, just watch her YouTube videos instead.

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