Sunday 17 June 2012

Dermalogica 'Skin Prep Scrub' exfoliator review

Dermalogica 'Skin Prep Scrub' is a corn cob based exfoliator for oily, congested or mature skin. It's artificial colour and fragrance free and suitable for sensitive skin. It contains small grains which gently exfoliate your skin leaving your skin clean and smooth. 



I started using Dermalogica 'Skin Prep Scrub' exfoliator in class when I was studying Beauty Therapy. It was recommended to me for my oily congested skin. Since then my congested skin has improved dramatically! This exfoliator was excellent at clearing my blackheads and finally tackling my congested areas of skin. It left my skin feeling smooth and really helped keep it blemish free. It smells lovely too :3 

I would highly recommend this to anyone who suffers with very oily, congested or prone to blemish skin. It helped gently clear up my skin and left it soft with a lovely glow. I'll defiantly be buying this from now on! (:


A sample swatch of the skin prep scrub, notice the small exfoliating grains?

New Mac 'Electric Bright' collection

Mac have decided to bring some brightness to the summer with their new 'Electric Bright' Collection, yay!(: This new online exclusive mini collection consists of vibrant pro longwear products.




This collection contains three pro longwear eyeshadows, two pro longwear lipcremes, and one pro longwear lipglass. Small enough collection, but enough to get us through the summer!


 Electric Bright Pro longwear eyeshadows: $20

'Tease with ease', 'Styledriven and 'Plush'

"A unique longwearing eyeshadow with a silky, creamy texture formulated for maximum colour impact. Easily blendable and buildable, lids are visibly smooth no matter how intense the application. Lasts 8 hours."


Pro longwear Lipcreme: $17

'Love Forever!' and 'Good To Go'

"Lightweight texture, creamy finish and comfortable longwear combine in this has-it-all pro-class lip colour. Slick in use, applies without need of top coat and still lasts up to 12 hours. Won't feather or transfer, and the colour stays true. Helps lips stay soft and hydrated."


Pro longwear Lipglass: $19.50

'Whoops!' and 'Full Speed Ahead'

"A longwearing Lipglass that goes on smooth and lasts for up to six hours! Envelops lips with shine and colour and pro-longs the hours between re-application"



So that's the collection, as small as it is its still amazing! I personally love the look of the  eyeshadow in 'Plush' and the Lipcreme in 'Good To Go"! 
What do you think?(:



Saturday 16 June 2012

Deep-set eyes


“The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides”. – Audrey Hepburn



A lot of people complain about having deep-set eyes and ask me what they can do about it. Honestly I love deep set eyes, I think they can look so cute and despite what people think there are a lot of makeup looks you can play around with. So I thought i'd write a little on how people can enhance and embrace their lovely deep-set eyes (:

        


Eye shadow for deep-set eyes:
The eyelid crease in deep-set eyes is set back so the area from the base of lashes to brow bone seems hidden. To enhance the eyelid light and shimmery eye shadows should be used on the eyelid and brow bone and more dark intense shades should be shaded over the crease on to the brow bone. Highlight the inner corner of the eye and the browbone. If lining the lash line always line both upper and lower lash lines on deep-set eyes and never
just upper.                         
To line eyes, start thin, then thicken line on outer two-thirds of eye, top and bottom. Smudge liner gently to avoid a hard line. Eyelash curlers can be extremely beneficial to this eye shape as it opens the eye up creating a wider looking effect.


Celebrities with deep-set eyes  
    
            
   Keira Knightly                                             Megan Fox

Deep set eyes can also be fun with smoky eyes and thick eyeliner. Because not much of the eyelid is exposed its easy to create an effortless dark look without over using eyeliner or any other product. Teamed with a natural lip colour and blush this dark look can be worn into the day with deep-set eyes, a look very hard for other eye shapes to achieve.
You can also wear a different coloured eyeliner or bright eye shadow all over your eyelid without it looking over done, it will just expose a cute little amount of the bright colour. The cute thing with deep-set eyes is that you only see the entire eyelid of eye shadow until you look down or close your eyes, not everything has too be seen at once.


Basic step by step eye shadow application for deep-set eyes:
     ·Apply concealer on dark circles around eyes and prime eyelids with eye shadow primer.
·Apply a neutral or white base colour all over eyelids from last line to brow bone.
·Apply the lightest colour on the inner one third of the eyelid and around the tear duct to open up the eye.
 ·Apply the second lightest colour (this can be a nice area to apply a very bright colour) starting on the center of the eyelid to the end of the eyelid. Blend this with the first on the inner part of the eyelid. This is the main colour of the look.
·You can apply another darker shade on the outer “V” of the eyelid to add more dimension, blend this with the main colour.
· Now use a dark colour starting on the crease or just above the crease to give the illusion of a higher crease and more eyelid. Blend this colour upwards and out.
·Apply a highlighting colour on the brow bone to open up the eye and blend lightly with the colour on the crease to smooth harsh lines.


Eyeliner:
Eyeliner defines and emphasizes the eye area. It is available in pencil, liquid or powder form.

· Eye pencil: Made of wax and oil, and contains pigments which give it different colour. This is most commonly used on the upper and lower water line and under the lower lash line. This can also be used over the upper lash line and smudged lightly for an effortless, easy eyeliner look instead of liquid eyeliner.
· Liquid and gel eyeliner: A gum solution, in which the pigment is suspended. this is most commonly used on the upper lash line and can be used to create some very creative looks. This creates the darkest and boldest looks among eyeliners.
· Powder eyeliner: A powder base with the addition of mineral oil.


Tip: For a fast and easy eyeliner look dampen an eyeliner brush or small lip brush and dip in black, or desired colour, eye shadow. Then apply as you would a liquid or cream eyeliner over the lash line. This will create a more natural look which is easy to correct. 

Eyeliner shape for deep-set eyes:
·  Apply eyeliner over the upper lash line, starting thin and getting gradually thicker and the eyelid becomes more exposed. Do not go too thick! You can wing out a thin line of eyeliner out and upwards.
· Apply cream or pencil eyeliner on the outer third under the lower lash line.
·      Apply white eyeliner on the water line to open up eyes.



Step by step applying eyeliner :
· Hold the brush as if it were a pencil. stretch the eyelid at the far corner towards the temples
· Close your eye and draw the line in one slow, steady stroke, by following the curve of your lashes.
· Open your eye and go over the line if you need to fill it in or make it thicker.
· Aim for the perfect line in no more than 2 strokes.
· If you want to extend the line past the corner of your eye, add this on with your eye open.

    

So thats what I have to say about deep set eyes, enjoy! (:


N˚7 'Beautiful Skin BB cream' review

I've been dying to try out a BB cream as they've recently become so popular in the world of beauty.
Firstly the BB cream ,or 'blemish balm', was first formulated in Germany in the 1950's to protect skin after laser procedure or surgery and give light coverage. After being introduced into Asia in the 1980's it has become a hugh product within the continent. Western companies started to take an interest in BB creams as many asian celebrities began to endorse the product. 
A BB cream basically acts as a foundation, concealer, sunscreen and moisturiser. 


                                                                                                    


N˚7 recently released their own BB cream with one for every skin type and two shades, fair and medium. This BB cream costs about £12.95 or €17.50.




I decided to try N˚7's 'Beautiful Skin BB cream" because it's the palest BB cream i've come across yet. I purchased this BB cream in shade "fair" for Normal/Oily skin. Initially I found the shade too dark for me, but once I blended it into my skin I felt the colour adapted to my skin tone better. The BB cream gave a gorgeous dewy look and evened out my skin tone brilliantly. I was skeptical about the coverage of this product but I was amazed by its concealing effects! It successfully covered the redness in my cheeks, blackheads in my t-zone and gave slight coverage to my acne cysts. This BB cream provided long lasting results and felt beautifully light on my face all day. I would defiantly recommend this BB cream to those with pale skin and anyone looking to try out a BB cream. I will be defiantly buying this product in the future, especially whenever I get my hands on a N˚7 voucher!(:


From left to right: Mac studio fix fluid in NW15, N˚7 BB cream in 'fair' and Mac studio fix fluid in NW20.


The results! I'm also wearing Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer in 'fair' on my acne cysts and coastal scents translucent powder (:

                                                                                                                                                                       



The beginning!

I thought I'd start off this blog by formally introducing myself. My name is Siobhan or preferably Bawnie. I'm eighteen, Irish and a qualified beauty and body therapist. I'm an absolute makeup and beauty fanatic and I aspire to be a makeup artist.
The reason I made this blog was sheer boredom. I don't see myself as a talented writer, I just started this blog for the fun of it! I feel the need to constantly be productive and creative, so this blog will be good outlet for that! (:
This blog will mainly consist of beauty and makeup related topics, unless something is so profoundly amazing that I feel the need to write about it!
Thanks for reading, byee! (:


- Bawnie