Glow Up Doll

I love a dewy, glowing complexion. I'm rarely seen with matte skin unless I've either a) Overdosed on powder, which doesn't happen often funnily enough or b) done my make up in the dark, which only happens when I have to get up at stupid o'clock and can't bear to turn the light on. I think that having a matte complexion is very ageing, it can make the skin look dry and in some cases dull too.. who reeeeaaaaaally wants that?? No offence to my powder pals, you can still powder up as normal but you can also use a highlighter alongside to add that little bit of glimmer glamour. Lets be honest, perfect dewy skin is rarely seen on anyone past the age of 12, so here's a few 'fake up' products to take your skin from glum to glow..

 Mac do a Mineralize Powder in 'Gold Deposit' which looks radiant, its not too sparkly and it will set your make up like any other normal powder. You can use this everyday as it's mineral, so it's really natural. I use it either on bare skin or on top of my foundation.  Alternatively, use it along with your normal powder for a double dose.
Nars do what they call a 'Multiple'. It's a cream to powder formula which is easily blendable. Apply it to your fingertip first and dab across your cheekbones, brow bone and down the bridge of your nose to catch the light. It comes in loads of different and provocative shades, the best selling is called 'Orgasm', which may leave you a bit red faced when you ask for it at your nearest store.
YSL have a really nice light reflecting foundation called Radiance Smoothing, which gives a medium coverage and a healthy glow to the skin. This is a great all round product if you only have time to apply one product to your face!
 L'oreal have also just launched the Lumi Magique range which consists of a highlighting concealer, a primer and a foundation. These three products can be used alone, or together to really brighten the skin.
 If the above products seem a bit too glizty and risky for you then why not introduce a Bourjois blusher into your normal routine, there's about a million shades to choose from and 99% of them are infused with a light and natural shimmer. They come in a really cute little round pot with a built in mirror and brush to apply the colour to your cheeks, very handy on route from A to B.

Radiant skin is a must have for the spring/summer months so if these products are new to you then you have a little time to practise and perfect before the warmer weather kicks in. Remember though that less is more, we want sheen not gleam. It's not great when your best friend can check her reflection in your forehead!

Burn Baby Burn

Most make-up loving ladies know about Elizabeth Arden 8hr Cream Skin Protectant but may not have tried it - yet. It's in a bland white tube, it's a weird rusty colour and smells pretty funky too. Put it this way,  it's not one of the things would get the girls running out of their toilet cubicles on a Saturday night. The things that make them move so fast they don't even check if their dress is stuffed in their knickers first when they catch a whiff of  something they want to 'borrow'. Unlike the brand new - and now empty - perfume your bf bought you for Valentines. It's not exactly pretty, thats what i'm getting at. Having never tried this before and being put off by the smell I wasn't aware that it's literally a MIRACLE! I had a rather large burn on my arm.. OK, it was the size of a 10p but it hurt and I felt rather sorry for myself over it. It was red for two days then it scabbed over and looked grim. I would show it to my bf every two mins, looking for some sort of reasurrance that it wouldn't spread up my arm and cause me to have it amputated. OK, ok! I will stop being a drama queen now, because the most important part of this brief story (did you notice i'd cut it short friends/family/bf?) is this: 8hr Cream is rock solid proof that you shouldn't judge a product on its appearance. It's not covered in diamonds, it's not in fancy gold coated packaging and you won't have to sell your little brother to be able to afford it. After rummaging through my make up bag for help, I came across an old sample and willing to try anything, I started applying this product on my burn. I did it three times that day. I woke up the next morning and it had healed! The scab had gone and what was left was just a little neat pink mark. I couldn't actually believe it.. I was saved!! Not only can you use it on minor burns, spots and scars its really good for chapped lips and moisturises dry elbows, hands and feet. It's constantly topping lists of what celebrities cannot live without and its always in the magazines as one of the best beauty products EVER. If you are like me and have previously overlooked this product because it wouldn't match your bathroom then you need to apologise to yourself. You owe it to your skin to be prepared. Who knows when you may get a little too excited with your straightners in your hand or decide to curl your ear with your tongs?

Brow Raising Business

I have a thing for eyebrows. It's one of the first things I look at on a person. Mine aren't amazingly great and you may not like them but I must admit, I do keep them well groomed. I also have a little eyebrow motto: groom or doom. If someone has very nice eyebrows which are ship shape and looking good, I can converse and interact happily with this person without wanting to whip my tweezers out of my bag and attack the offending monobrow. If your brows are the latter, I'm sorry to say I may not be taking much notice of what you are saying because I'm more concerned about the animal creature thing that has set up residence on your forehead.

I couldn't live without Benefit Cosmetics Brow-Zings. I literally do not feel human without my eyebrows intact. Eyebrows frame the face and give structure, so make sure the edges are soft by using a powder and a brush to apply. This will help them look more natural, leave the Spock look alone! I've tried many pencils which are good, Rimmel and No7 to name a few, but they don't give that feathery look I like. Your brows don't have to be perfectly symmetrical either, remember that eyebrows are sisters not twins! 
  
Last year RapidLash was one of the best selling beauty products, claiming to stimulate hair growth and give you long luscious natural lashes. I used this and it actually works! After a few weeks my lashes seemed fuller and thicker and when I applied my mascara I could tell they were longer too. This year will see the launch of RapidBrow which I can't wait to try!! It's clinically proven to restore sparse brows in 6 weeks.. May this be the end of my fling with Brow-Zing??

Starting Somewhere

I decided to jump on the blog wagon after working as a MUA (Make Up Artist) on a LFW (London Fashion Week) event for Bourjois. I was chatting to a certain client and she told me how successful her blog was and that she was going to steal some of my tips that I had been giving her throughout her make over for her own blog. I thought that was quite amusing and flattering at first but then it got me thinking - Cue the light bulb effect - If she thinks my tips are good enough to steal why shouldn't I just make my own blog? After all, I do have 7years experience and I'm a walking talking Beauty Bible. So I poked her in the eye* with my blending brush for being a thief and told her she can take my tips but she will never take my blogging freedom.

*I didn't actually poke her in the eye I just think it adds theatricals