Removing icky stuff from brushes!

Mineral Foundation Tutorial

Getting the right finish using a mineral used to elude me until I started to use Boosters and Veils. I scoffed at these at first, thinking it was all just gumpf and nonsense. I preferred to use a normal pressed powder or silica powder.

I then received the new tinted mineral booster from e.l.f. One of the many parts of my work is to get all new items to familiarise myself with :)

I dutifully used it over a mineral foundation, grabbed my stuff and left the house. I was very impressed with the results. My skin did look smoother and there were no "blooms" or cling-ons - you know when you get product clinging on to dry bits you didn't even know you had... So I advise people who have issues with cling and dry bits to try a booster, there are three shades - shimmer (which is more of a pearl), tinted (suitable for more tanned, olive, asian and african-carribbean skin tones) and sheer which is suitable for caucasian skin tones. I use the shimmer as a highlight for day wear as it is very subtle and tinted around the nose and forehead where I need the smoothing as I have some open pores. For £3.50, I will buy these for friends and family with dry skin to use over foundation or alone to even out skin tone.

Spot the difference - colour correction

I've finally nailed colour corrective concealing. For the longest time I was fearful of using highly pigmented colour correctors, I used to use powder correctors.

I swallowed my fear and vowed to practice until I felt comfortable about blending concealers over colour corrective ones. It's tricky stuff and not something we were really taught at college, we were taught the theory but it wasn't until I left and tried it that I realised that it's actually really difficult to nail and I wish we had practised it more. So which dark circle has been colour corrected, right or left?

LeftRight

So I'll put you out of your misery, the one on the left is the one which looks better concealed under the eye. There is a much reduced shadow unlike the right hand side where I have not used any colour correction and just applied a fairly thick and creamy concealer by Alva Coleur* I didn't think this concealer would suit my skin tone as the foundations were a bit too light, however I am very pleased with the creamy consistency. When using this concealer, it is very creamy so use a finely milled powder to set it and do it quickly before it bleeds in to fine lines.

If you'd like a video tutorial about colour correction for dark circles, let me know by leaving a comment below... I am happy to make a video about it as if you suffer from very dark circles and want a good method of concealing, this might be for you.

*sent for review.

Quick Tips - Mascara

Some exciting swaps from Malaysia!

I recently swapped a few goodies with a new friend in Malaysia. I had no idea about the brands and products available so she kindly sent me a personal selection of lovely items. All of which are wonderful, but I thought I'd show you the two I got quite excited to try!

There are probably lots of dual ended lip products on the market but this one by SimplySiti is pretty good if you're on the go and just want to grab a reliable product! The lipstick is soft and pigmented and smells fresh (3.5g). The lip gloss is shiny and not too thick or sticky (5ml). In terms of size, the tube is about the length of a full size lip gloss and a bit thicker. I would say that the product sizes were roughly two thirds full sized products, still pretty generous though. The colour is called Cocoa Delight and is a perfect day combo. I would wear a light layer of the lipstick and gloss for day time and then amplify the lipstick with a few more layers and lots more gloss. It is a perfect handbag staple as is feels sturdy and easy to find! It is light feeling and moisturising, the colour is fairly neutral to my lips so it's a nice easy colour to wear every day.

The next exciting item is a Canmake eye brow liquid. This is essentially a liquid felt tipped pen. I was sceptical at first as applying it seemed to be too easy! But it works really well if your eye brows are really having a bad and desperately in need of threading day. There is no need to set with a powder as it dries very quickly. I use it as if I were drawing in individual hairs rather than like a pencil where you normally just draw an eyebrow shape. I don't think I'll be reaching for it every day but certainly something I'd use in between threadings!

Do you have any make up from Asia that you like and can recommend ?

Make up for glasses wearers

I wrote this blog entry for the e.l.f cosmetics website about make up and glasses. Hope you find it useful! If you leave a comment on the e.l.f cosmetics blog website (not here) you can also get a £1.50 off voucher towards your next purchase.

Click here for the entry! elfblog!

Feeling Feline Tutorial

A little bit of fun, too early for Halloween perhaps!?