My favourite products-disposable mascara wands.

Product type: Mascara wands-disposable

Brand: MAC and PRICELINE (Australia)

I used to love the mascara wands from MAC. The pro lash ones, the zoom lash wands weren’t as good for separating the lashes.

However, the Mac wands were very hard to get in stock. Now I get the Priceline brand ones. They are more reliably stocked, and very similar to the pro lash wands from MAC.

What they do that is so good:

The brush head bristles of both wands (MAC and Priceline) are spaced wide enough so that getting to the base of the eyelash and coating each eyelash completely, is easy to achieve. And you can throw them away! (a necessity if you are pro, and using mascara on different people all the time.

How to use: Use as a regular mascara wand. Don’t pump, as this dries the mascara out, and don’t ‘double dip’ as that completely defeats the purpose of the ‘disposable’ wand, (which is to keep the mascara germ free!)

Why I think they are important:

Now as a make up artist, I use them all the time. Here’s one reason why. At one counter I worked at, we ran out of the disposable wands, and were told by the manager to just use the mascara straight from the tube (so the tester mascara…) I ended up with such bad conjunctivitis I couldn’t go to work for three days, and managed to get it two more times in the few weeks after that…it’s quite hard to get rid of. So in my opinion, and experience, when getting your make up done always make sure they use a disposable mascara wand…

Now as a make up artist, my second reason for buying wands is because it then allows you to get use to the brush, you work out the best way to manipulate the eye lashes and mascara for optimum results. The other day I was trying the new Stilla masacra, and the lady selling it to me said ‘and look at this brush, if you ask me, the mascara’s effectiveness all comes down to the brush’ and although I don’t completely agree, I do think it shows how much a good mascara wand/brush can add to the final outcome of your masacra’s effectiveness.

My favourite products-NARS Laguna Bronzer. Including tips on how to apply bronzer.

Product: Laguna Bronzer

Brand: NARS

http://www.narscosmetics.com/

Product Type: Bronzer

http://www.narscosmetics.com/Bronzing-Powder-C40_makeup_7.aspx

What it does:

Gives that ‘sunkissed glow’, that everyone wants. It’s got a very yellow pigment, so none of this orange business that everyone assumes will happen if they go near a bronzer. Another thing that contributes to the glow is it has a slight shimmer through it, which makes the bronzer give off a more flawless finish. The shimmer also helps the bronzer look less ‘muddy’-another thing many people expect to happen to them if they go near a bronzer. It is fantastic on all skin, that wants to warm up their colour.

The queen of good tan: Gisele Bundchen.

First is a natural look-Little or no make up. She's not that tan in real life!

And the Gisele we're used to...with an amazing, flawless tan.

How to Use Laguna, or any bronzer:

Many people will suggest you contour with bronzer, and yes, particularly if you’re having your photo taken, this is a great idea. However, if you want a really quick ‘I’ve been in Thailand this past month and it didn’t rain once’ look, then it is fine to quickly brush your face and chest all over with the bronzer.

I do recommend you practice first, and have a quick mental checklist before you leave the house to avoid the white patch under your nose, the line down the side of your ear and jaw, or the white neck-brown face syndrome. If you do want to do a 'quick all over' this is my trick.

(It is hard to explain, and maybe I should do a YouTube clip, but I have to warm up to that idea. I’m not over photogenic...and I dont particularly like the sounds of my own voice, although some may argue..!)

Anyway, here is what I do:

*Once I have made sure there are no oily spots on my face, or flakey bits of skin, I get my MAC Kabuki style brush, brush over the bronzer twice (so back and forth to basically cover the brush)

*Then I go to under my cheek bones, apply the bronzer from ear to just under the apple of the cheek, with less product being applied near the apple of cheek, go over the eyes, then along under the jaw line, and over my neck. I only do one layer each time, but I am fair in my colouring, so if you want a stronger look, try it twice!

*I then get a clean brush and brush over each of the places I just applied the bronzer. Only lightly, and just to blend in any strong lines that may have occurred. You can use the same brush as before, but it might not be as effective at removing any strong lines. It sounds like a lot of work, but once you nail it, the whole process (start to finish) takes about 10 seconds.

*The next step is to load your brush up again with the bronzer (the same way as before, two strokes over the palette) and then starting from the temple, brush over the forehead to the other temple. Do the same thing , but opposite direction until your forehead is covered and try not to go over the bronzer in any areas.

*Then continue down the nose, under the eyes, over the eye lids, then under the nose and on the chin(very lightly), then the rest of the face, including all the ones that were first bronzed. Do your neck, especially, as it is the lightest part of your upper body (that is generally exposed)

*Finally get that clean brush again, and go over your whole face to blend in any lines, or white patches. Now you have very quickly slightly contoured and perfectly bronzed your face, with hopefully no caking or white lines!! If caking has occurred, it generally means you’ve put too much on, or your skin wasn’t dry enough to begin with. You can try and blend it away with a clean brush. Using the same (dirty) brush can make the muddy look worse.

Why I love it:

It’s the most natural healthy glow you will get in powder form!

It doesn’t look orange, it doesn’t go muddy (providing it’s applied correctly) and it very easy to use. The bigger size compact also means a bigger mirror, which helps when you’re on the run!!

My favourite products-NARS Orgasm

Product Orgasm Blush.

Brand: NARS. http://www.narscosmetics.com/

Product Type: Blush powder

What it does:

Gives the ultimate ‘sunkissed, peachy pinky, blushing bride, sweet little girl, peaches and cream, pregnant glow, I don’t wear make up but have the perfect cheeks’ cheeks you will ever be able to artificially get.

http://www.narscosmetics.com/Blush-C39_makeup_7.aspx

How to use:

The NARS website says you can use it on naked skin, which I guess you can, but I much prefer this over a light foundation. And everyone has their own way of applying blush, but I love it on the apples of the cheeks, then slightly going up the cheek bone, with less product the higher it gets.

Why I love it:

It is just the ultimate colour, again for my skin colouring, but it does generally suit most people. However if you want a similar “sunkissed, peaches and cream etc” look for Asian skin, try MAC ‘Margin’ sheer tone shimmer blush, or ‘Ambering Rose’ also by MAC for darker skin. For some older skin, ‘Orgasm’ is a little too shiney in the powder blush form. The NARS ‘Multiples’ are often softer and not so shimmery. ‘Portofino’ is a versatile Multiple, it blends well, and isn’t too shimmery. In most cases, the shinier the blush is, the more wrinkles can be seen, but generally this is more the case with eye shadows. I will demonstrate this in a later posting!!

The Multiple.

My favourite products-Strobe Creme

Product : Strobe Crème, by MAC Cosmetics

Product Type: Primer

Brand: MAC Cosmetics (http://www.maccosmetics.com.au/)

Short description:

Fantastic moisturising primer, with a pearlescent pigment through it. Is great for normal or dry skin. Gives a natural dewy finish and is great at hiding red cheeks. Put on as primer, or mix through a foundation or concealer to give a more natural coverage and finish. Not ideal for oily skin, however ‘Strobe liquid’ is available to those with oily skin. It is just the pearlescent pigment in liquid form, so it doesn’t have the moisturising component, which creates more of a shiny layer on the skin if it’s not absorbed properly.

More in depth:

What is does: Moisturises and gives an amazing glow to the skin.

It is fantastic for dryer skin, older skin and to mix through some foundations and concealers if you want a slightly dewy look. For my skin, which is slightly on the dryer side, it keeps the make up lasting longer, because basically, the skin eats up this before it the foundation. I don’t recommend this product for oily skin, and if you use more than a small dollop (a small drop less than a cm in diameter) you may end up looking like a disco ball! It is full of natural botanicals and antioxidants and has some pearlescent pigments through it, which helps balance how the light reflects off your face.

See here for more information.

http://www.maccosmetics.com.au/product/178/364/Strobe-Cream/index.tmpl

If you have oily skin, MAC also do a stobe liquid, that will achieve a very similar finish on the skin, with out the add moisturizing component.

Pictures of the finish on the skin. I lost the address' where i found these pictures, but I will try to track them down if someone would like!

How to use:

After cleaning your skin, and moisturizing if desired (and if you have dry skin) wait for five minutes then apply the Strobe crème where you want. I would avoid my eye lids, but every where else is generally fine, and if you tend to shine up through the day/night, you can avoid the shiny places, particularly if its on the for head, upper lip, chin and nose. Once applied, you can wait for a little bit, then apply your foundation. You can also apply it straight away so the foundation picks up some of the pigments in it, or just use the strobe crème with nothing else for a ‘skin pick me up’. One foundation is applied, I usually wait a minimum or 30 mins to one hour to see the final effect. The strobe crème tends to make everything settle in to the skin slower than a regular foundation.

Why I think it’s important:

I love this product. I would say it’s one of my favourites, probably due to the fact that I have dry skin. But it also compliments my skin colouring, as I get very red cheeks, and this both calms them down and the pigments reflect the light in such a way that you cant see the redness!! It always helps me achieve my desired look, which is always a natural skin finish, even if I have a lot of foundation on, it doesn’t look as heavy probably because of the dewy finish.

Right so, i didnt think i'd go ahead with it. But i have fantastic friends, family and boyfriend who encouraged me.

Thanks peeps, hopefully it turns out well!!

xx

Just going to test out the whole picture thing again...sorry!!

Oh they're so cute...

First blog entry…

My favourite make up.

Unknown artist/photographer.

It’s a little daunting doing this, but I figure it could be both interesting, and hopefully informative.

My idea is to test products, and report back on them. My belief is that it takes more than a day or a week to test each product. This is essentially the job of a beauty editor, however I am hoping to test on skin other than mine. And no, I’m not endorsing animal testing. In fact, I do hope that with each product I write about, that I can give you a little information about the company as well, because some of these companies are incredibly socially responsible and it should be noted so, especially when they aren’t a major market contributor.

So if there is a product you want my opinion on, I am happy to investigate. My background is predominately in make up, and therefore these are the products I will focus on. However some hair products and skin products will find their way into this page also.

Sometimes there will be other contributors, and sometimes I might just feel like writing about a style or inspiration or even a story I heard-but I will approach all entries with the excitement and intrigue that make up inspires in me.

Some one once said to me ‘you’re on this world to do something, so just bloody do it’ …so that’s just what I’m trying to do!

First go at doing this...ah

This is a test....