Right at the top of my list is a good skincare regime- cleanser, toner, and moisturiser. I’m a huge fan of Environ skincare due to the active ingredients in this range. I’m currently using low foam cleanser, botanical infused moisturising toner, AVST 4 (moisturiser) and vita peptide eye gel.
I have a combination skin type, so I also add in sebuwash two to three time a week which I find really helps control oil production. I love a good mask, my favourite is Environs’ Revival Mask, I can really see a difference in my skin when I use it.
*If you are unsure what to use, a good idea would be to visit a beautician and have a consultation or a facial where they will be able to analyse your skin and give you the correct product recommendation.
The Environ CIT roller is high on my list. The 0.1mm needles in the Cosmetic Roll-CIT tool allow you to stimulate regrowth at home without damaging your skin, ensuring a faster recovery time with minimal discomfort and redness. When applying topical skincare after derma-rolling, the microscopic channels act as pathways for the active ingredients to travel through. (Only suitable for Environ users on AVST 4 or above)
I love to have a good facial cloth that is super soft but removes your makeup for lazy days. Also, a great as a double cleanser to use after your cleansing routine.
A great self-tan to use for those unexpected times that you have a last min plan come up and you want to feel good is Lusso rapid tan mouse for face and body, it is a lovely natural colour and there is also an amazing bath bomb within the range that removes your tan for the next application.
I absolutely love body products, I’m hooked on Joe Malone’s poppy and barley hand and body wash; it feels luxurious and smells divine. Neom Perfect Night Sleep bath foam is lovely for a pamper night.
I love scented candles, there are so many I could mention but Keltic candles have a lovely range, my current favourite is called Angels embrace.
Last but no mean least is my all-time favourite fragrance. It is Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana; it has the most amazing citrus scent that’s last all day.
Is your teenager ready to experiment with make up or has an important event coming up and they are planning to wear makeup for the first time? I’ve put together some makeup tips for teenagers when they are just beginning to use makeup. I remember watching my mum apply her makeup when I was younger and couldn’t wait to start one day with real makeup.
Makeup is a great tool to help accentuate your best attributes and give you a natural boost. Once a teenager starts to dabble with make-up, there are a few tips that will help keep it youthful and fresh, without looking made up.
Pre makeup skin care is very important. You may not feel skin care and makeup can be related, but the two go hand-in-hand. Your teenager’s skin is still sensitive, and this will be the first time it is exposed to harsh makeup. They should cleanse using a good cleanser. Next step is to tone which closes the pores and settles the skin. Then lastly moisturiser, a good one that isn’t too heavy. Dermalogica has a great range called Clear Start designed for teenage skin and doesn’t cost a fortune. Educating your teen to stick to this regime morning and night is important to maintain skin health and ensure the pores don’t get clogged with make-up which can lead to inflammation, comedones and breakout activity.
When it comes to teen makeup, less is always more, this is one of the essential makeup tips for teenager. They do not necessarily have to use foundation, unless there are certain areas they need to hide. In that case, a concealer can also come in handy. Using the wrong foundation and your overall makeup will look too heavy. It can also cast an unnatural and fake look to the skin. The alternatives to using a foundation are a concealer to hide the exact spots and or a tinted moisturiser. However, if you want to use a foundation select a foundation that is lightweight and will not melt easily.
Makeup styles play a big role in the overall look and the shades used can make or break the effect. These makeup tips and tricks for teenagers will help when choosing colours. Foundations, concealers, and tinted moisturisers all come in a range of shades to match various skin tones. It is important to find one that is the closest skin tone match. Test this by applying a small amount around the jaw line. Trying it out on the back of the hand will not result in a true match. A good time to check the shades is in daytime, when you can nip outdoors away from artificial light and see how it looks on the skin.
Lipstick or a lip gloss? This decision really depends on the overall look, a gloss can help to add a more youthful and fresher look to teenage makeup. It will be light and more natural. A lipstick may sometimes look too heavy or made up. Also, it has more chance of creasing or drying out the lips. If the makeup is shimmery overall, it is best to tone it down using a light or nude lipstick. If the overall look is fresh and natural, a lip gloss will add that touch of glamour. You can also use a blush or lip tint instead of going all out with a lipstick or lip gloss.
There are various colours to wear on an eye lash. Blue and green eyes will look best with brown mascara. Dark eyes will look best with darker shade of mascara. To give your lashes a lift, use an eyelash curler at the root of the upper eye lashes. Follow it up with mascara in an upward motion.
Teenage makeup is all about keeping it fresh and light. Help your teen to pick up age-appropriate products and stress the importance of healthy eating and skin care basics. Also allow them to have fun and express their personality through the look they come up with.
If you don’t feel confident enough in their ability, book a lesson with a makeup artist, they will always trust them more as I’m sure they think us parents are old fashioned!!!!
I personally have a few scars, each with their own unique story to tell. I don’t always feel the need to cover them up, however if you feel insecure about scarring and would like to reduce their appearance, here are my top tips on how to do that.
As you know foundation and concealers can even out skin tone and cover up blemishes but using these products to cover a scar can be a challenge. Sometimes our attempts at covering them can make them seem more visible. The last thing you want to do is draw more attention to a scar by not covering it correctly. You don’t need to be a makeup artist to be able to hide a scar well. However, there are some techniques and products you should know about before getting started.
Before going any further, let’s go over the different types of scars and how they form so you know what you are dealing with. Scarring occurs after you have been injured and is a natural part of your body’s healing process. Your age, genetics, and gender can also affect the scar.
The most common types of scars are as follows:
Acne scars: These are some of the most typical scars we see on someone’s face. These scars can be deep-looking pits or small divots, depending on how bad the acne was. They are also associated with pigmentation issues.
Keloid scars: These scars happen when your body responds aggressively to the healing process. A keloid is often a raised scar with a flat surface, and the colour usually darkens over time.
Hypertrophic scars: These are also raised scars but are usually red. Like keloid scars, they occur when your body goes into overdrive during the healing process.
There are several treatment options to cover and conceal scars depending on which type you have.
Foundation can be great for covering more minor scars that don’t need as much coverage. Similar to concealer, the key is making sure your foundation is the perfect match for your skin tone. When choosing a foundation, it’s essential to get a formula that will provide all-day coverage. You’ll be reassured knowing that your scar will remain covered throughout the day.
To conceal acne scars, you will need a foundation that is medium to full coverage. A liquid foundation is ideal because it can fill in the texture and help smooth the scars’ appearance. A high coverage foundation can do a lot for your complexion. It hides redness and an uneven surface. However, before you apply your foundation, you should prime your skin. A primer will also help flatten out any uneven skin.
When covering scars, you should avoid foundations that are dewy, glowy, or radiant. A foundation with a high level of luminosity will emphasise your scars instead of concealing them. Go for a matte foundation because it will absorb the light and soften the appearance of your scar. They won’t attract any attention to the area.
Concealer is a great product to use to cover any scar. Its high pigmentation covers any discoloration and matches it to your natural skin tone. Finding the concealer that matches your skin tone is even more critical when covering scars. With all that extra pigment in the scar, you need to choose correctly. If you can’t find your exact shade, you may want to buy more than one and mix them to get the perfect match. Before applying concealer, make sure the area is clean. You can use a thin layer of powder over the scar to make sure there’s no excess oil.
Depending on what kind of scar you have, you may have to go over it with several layers. You want to make sure the layers are thin, so the area doesn’t look cakey. Use a small concealer brush for precise application. You can lightly dab the layers on, waiting in between for them to set. You can use this layering method any type of scar you have, it also works if you want to cover tattoos as well.
Colour correcting concealers are popular to offset the discoloration of your scars. You should pick a colour on the opposite side of the colour wheel to cancel it out. For example, a green concealer will cancel out redness, and an orange concealer will neutralise blue. If you have a concealer that isn’t high coverage and you put it over redness, it may end up looking pink. If you use a colour correcting concealer, you will still need to go over the area with a product with a natural skin-toned product. Otherwise, you will just have coloured spots on your skin.
When covering a raised scar, you should stay away from using light-coloured concealers. The concealer you use under your eyes, for example, is probably too light. You will end up drawing attention to the scar instead of concealing it. Try using a concealer that is the same colour as your skin.
Create a diversion.
If you can still see a scar and it really bothers you then create a diversion. If for example you have a scar on your forehead, apply a bold lip colour or if you have a scar on you chin then highlight the eyes. Accentuate the positives.
Comments Off on 5 Essential Makeup Products Every Girl Should Have.
When it comes to makeup it is such a personal choice, if I look back though the years, makeup has always brought me such joy. Who remembers the sets of fake makeup that we all used get for birthdays or Christmas that would occupy us for hours?
My number one essential makeup product is definitely lip colour: There is nothing more satisfying than applying your favourite colour, no matter the occasion. If you haven’t found it yet then you need to keep looking because it will be the one that you always reach for, it might not be the brightest or the even the most natural but if it makes you feel good then buy it and it will become your ‘go to’. My favourite is a bright pink, probably inspired by the original Tinkerbelle set I adored as a child which brings to mind the most typical candy floss pink you can think of. Something to think about when it comes to lipstick these days is that the longer wearing liquid matt formulas are always a good option, as wearing a face mask is still part of our everyday life for the foreseeable future and a gloss or cream lippie will stick to the mask. Make sure your lips are well exfoliated and moisturised before applying lip colour as this will also impact how long you will get out of them.
I love a really good mascara, the more drama on the lashes the better. I always lean towards the ones that say for volume instead of definition as then they mostly have fibres that will build on to each other, so you are able to achieve a subtle look or layer it up for when you want super full lashes. I do however tend to shy away from the waterproof ones, they can tend to be difficult to get off if you don’t have an oil-based makeup remover. I think they are best left for the times that you know that you need your mascara not to run, such as a wedding day (for all the tears).
Tinted moisturiser for me is a must in my make up bag. I find myself reaching for mine more and more these days rather than foundation. It has so many benefits, such as adding moisture, not clogging up your pores (non-comedogenic) many contain an SPF and some also have anti-aging properties. The only downside is that they are not normally very high coverage so I would suggest adding a good concealer with it to get that extra bit of coverage in the areas, for me personally is the under-eye area.
It’s all about the brows these days. There are many brow products to choose from. If you have full brows and don’t need filling in much, a tinted brow gel would sufficient. If you have thin brows and need to map them out and shade them in, then a brow pencil with a waxy texture would be good, the wax will hold any hairs you do have in place. If you just need to fill in a few hairs here and there, then a thin brow pencil would be great as you can just put a few strokes in to create the appearance of hairs. Your brows frame your face, so finding the right product will make such a difference.
A great bronzer and/or highlighter (even better if you can find a 2 in one, like the half and half powered ones are a great option). Using a bronzer will give the illusion of a sun kissed skin and create definition and dimension to your face. Use a highlighter to accentuate the high points of your face and bring attention to them. My favourite places to highlight are above the cheek bones, tip of the nose and bridge, also the cupids bow and underneath the brows to open up your eyes.
Now have fun playing with my top 5 makeup essentials. If all of this sounds too much or overwhelming for you, why not book in a make up one lesson with a makeup artist to take you through this and demonstrate it.
Comments Off on Lazy guide to the perfect at home manicure.
Well, I know we all didn’t enjoy lockdown after lockdown, but the one bonus was, we all had time to take on some personal care, all becoming our own beauticians. I for one miss that time of being able to pamper myself as it an be difficult to carve out some ‘me time’ when back at work. So for a quick manicure at home if you don’t have time to go to the nail bar or salon, here are my top tips for a perfect manicure in no time.
Cuticles are the one thing that can really become bothersome if you don’t take care of them, so I like to take the approach of rather than doing tending to them when they are very bad instead I add this in to my daily routine. So, I keep a cuticle oil next to my bed and apply that along with a good hand cream before going to sleep at night. This really give your hands the break from sanitiser we have all become accustomed to and allows the product to sit on the skin and do its job moisturising and softening the skin overnight. A great tip is to take the corner of your towel once you finished soaking in the bath to push the cuticles back, it’s the gentlest way and your cuticles will be nice and soft after having being in the warm water. Also, if any of them do tend to tear up a little, rather than pull the skin, clip it away otherwise it will just run up your finger and cause you a lot of unnecessary pain.
Now that your cuticles are all done, you can move on to using a good scrub, if you don’t have one in the house you can make a quick one with some oil and sugar, just a good exfoliation on the nails and hands to get rid of the rest of that dead skin. Rinse well with nice warm water.
Dry the hands off well and now can get to shaping your nails or clipping them if they need it. A good way of not causing then to tear is to file in one direction. Once you are happy with the desired shape you can get a block buff (not very rough one) and smooth over the nails and free edge to get rid of any excess oil. If you don’t have a sanding block, use any alcohol-based sanitser or non-acetone nail polish remover to clean the nails, instead of buffing them if you are not confident enough in this step.
Now your nails are ready for the most difficult part of the home manicure, that is to apply the polish. Makes sure not to touch anything after preparing them so go straight onto the polish stage once they are prepped and ready to go. A base coat is always a good first step as this will prevent the natural nail from discolouring and help your manicure to last longer. If you don’t have one can, use a light nail colour like something you would use for French polish, so long as there is not much colour in it as this will not affect the end result of your nails. Let the base coat dry completely before painting the colour. Two coats are always recommended but if you don’t have the patience or time to let it dry, then one coat, if the colour allows. Take a sharp wooden stick, even a tooth pick and roll cotton wool or dip into nail polish remover and clean up any mess you have made. Finish off with a lovely shiny top coat or nail strengthener if your nails are weaker. You can also top up every few days to help it to last and get the shine back. Another added bonus is you get out of having to do house work as you don’t want to chip your nails.
Lastly a great cuticle oil over all the nails to prevent smudging and be patient for it to dry. (Easier said than done) Once dry, a great hand cream and you will feel like you have just stepped out of a salon.
If you would like to streamline your makeup bag, then read along as I will tell you what I think are the best products to have in your handbag.
If you are anything like me and like to be prepared for every possible scenario that might crop up, can you imagine how much I would want to have in my makeup bag. So, I find myself wanting to have everything to do a full face of makeup just for that what if, or when you are running late for a function and need to do your makeup in the car, definitely not while driving though.
I would say my no 1 would be a great compact foundation, if it has a mirror that would be an added bonus. As I have mentioned before my favourite is Jane Iredale Pure Pressed refillable compact, it ticks all the boxes with a mirror also a magnet to refill your shade if it happened to change over the seasons or just when it is finished. And a definite must to go with it is the Jane Iredale ‘Handi’ brush to give you that flawless finish. With this pair you will be able to touch up your makeup, or do as light to full coverage to suit your foundation needs. Don’t forget a good concealer or eye brightener for under your eyes and spot concealing, apply this before your foundation.
When it comes to makeup that you have with you all the time, they need to be multi-functioning, so I love the 2 in 1 bronzer and blush or bronzer and highlighter combos. I would say for ease of use and making it less likely to create a mess, stick to carrying mainly powders rather than liquids where possible. Ans another great reason is that you are able to use a powder bronzer and highlighter on your eyes if you don’t have any portable eye shadows.
For eyes shadows a good pallet would be very compact and have 4-6 colours in, also to be able to do a day or night looks or change you day makeup to night. Neutral colours are also a good idea so as that you makeup doesn’t clash with your outfit. A big bonus is if it has brushes with it, so 2 most important are a nice fluffy blending brush and a compact dense brush for applying shadows.
Once you have your flawless foundation and eye shadow on you will want to add a nice liner and mascara to that. I would say a good liner would be a felt tip or pencil for ease of use on the go. A mascara with a big hard brittle brush is also going to get the job done quickly and with as little mess as possible. Also don’t forget to throw in a brow set with colour for a quick touch up of your brows or just to set them in place and add some colour or a little pencil with a spoolie attached.
When it comes to lipstick, I would say a have a few choices no more than 3 as you can always mix and match them. My favourite here would be a liquid lip colour as they stay the longest and can be applied as a lip stain or solid colour. Another thing you can use them for is blush or even eyeshadow if you would like a pop of colour on the eyes instead of the lips. A nude lip pencil is also very handy for a nude lip with or without lipstick, and can also be applied to the water line to create the illusion of bigger eyes.
One of my favourite lazy makeup looks is a bold lip and lots of mascara with flawless foundation.
Then lastly a good setting spray to use through out the day or when you have finished creating your look on the go.
Little bonuses in your makeup bag would be some ear buds, eye drops and a good lip balm. Then lastly the actual bag, its always great to have a clear bag or one with a clear side, so you can see what you are looking for when doing your makeup on your lap in the car as I mainly do. And ps remember again never drive and apply your makeup, only if you a passenger ?
