Oh So Beautiful Face of the Day

My friend Busola was going to a christmas dinner and she wanted a look that would turn heads *wink*. Busola has amazing skin so making her up was a breeze.

Eyes

Ambering lights - MAC

Raizin blush - MAC

Black - Sleek Eyeshadow Palette

Skin

Mary Kay Foundation

Sleek Contour kit

Mineralise Skin finish - MAC

Banana Powder - Ben Nye

Studio Finish Concealer - MAC

Exibit A blush - NARS

Lips

Ruby Woo - MAC

                                                                                Before

                                                                                 After

 xx

Snip, Snipity Snip

The topic of Trimming hair is taboo to so many women! The idea of cutting off hair they have worked so hard to grow just does not go down well. My dear dear ladies, the truth is, if you do not trim your hair when it needs it, you will lose the hair through breakage. Every time you wash it, every time you comb it, every time you whip you hair, every time you dutty whine, every time you turn your head to check out a hottie, your hair will break. Give your hair a little trim ladies, you'll be happier for it....trust me, I am a hair doctor. (No not really LOL) 

Trimming is important to remove split ends or small knots that cannot be unravelled.

There are 3 main ways to trim hair depending on the length of your hair, the extent of damage in your hair and how much hair you are willing to take off.

The first method is the Search and Destroy method.

This method is for people who want to lose as little length as possible. Simply take very small sections of hair, seek out any damaged/split strands and carefully snip approximately a centimeter away from the end of the strand. You can do this as often as you need to.

The one small disadvantage to the method is that you might end up with slightly uneven hair but at least what you have left is all healthy hair and you save a lot of length.                                    (that is me actually searching and destroying)

Method number two is Dusting. This is for people who regularly get knots and split ends. The method is to cut off less than half a centimetre of hair regularly (about every 6 to 8 weeks). It ensures that the problem does not get enough time to travel further down the hair shaft. However, if you are forced to dust more regularly, you are probably doing something wrong with your hair care regimen. Change things up. Do some research to solve the problem.

                                                          (that is me pretending to dust)

The final method is the regular trim. This is great to remove old unhealthy ends and is a good base level to start off managing you hair better. After a regular trim, you can then move on to the dusting or search and destroy methods. A regular trim takes off as much hair length as is necessary to fix the problem. Taking hair in small sections, cut off about an inch or more at a time until all the unhealthy parts of the hair have been removed.

NOONE should have to do this regularly.

 

(That is me pretending to do a regular trim and praying to Jesus I do not cut off my hair by accident)

 

Something  to note, Always use sharp scissors.

 

This next tip is for your general hair care.

If you go to salons regularly, do not be afraid to tell your hair dresser what to do! I have sat in fear, saying prayers to God on one hand and convincing myself on the other that my hairdresser knows what she is doing as I had my hair butchered or endured bad relaxers, or somebody combing through my whole hair with a fine tooth comb, or slathering pomade in my hair, or walking out of a salon with stark dry hair, and all manner of abuse. 

If you think your hairdresser is doing something wrong, Speak up! half the time they have no idea what they are doing. It is your hair. 

 

xx

Cleanliness is Right Next to Godliness: Part 2

As a makeup artist, dirty brushes are the bane of my existence. I have had many fantasies of midnight elves who scurry in and take care of my dirty brush problem while I sleep soundly but alas, this has yet to happen. I remain hopeful though.
In the meantime, here is the method I use and it works really well.

First you need dirty brushes

\

Then you need some good old washing up liquid

and some extra virgin olive oil

Pour one part olive oil and two parts washing up liquid in a bowl

Swish your brush around in the mixture until the bristles are completely covered

And the mixture starts to get a little foamy, then swish the brush around on your palm for good measure.

Rinse the brush off with some warm water 

Voila! Clean brushes

Let the wet brushes lay out to dry on some clean paper towels overnight.

Repeat the process if the brushes are not entirely clean.

Some things to note

Try not to get water past the neck of your brushes as water looses the glue that holds the bristles together and if that happens, your brushes will start to shed.

I have had absolutely no problems with breakouts using this method so be confident that it is safe.

The brushes shown are by a company called Real Techniques. I got mine from Boots

xx

Cleanliness is Right Next to Godliness

I had a little look in a friend's makeup bag recently and I was truly horrified by what I found.
The outside was not bad at all. In fact it was a rather nice bag, sleek with gold hardware. Then I open the zipper and looked inside... Dear God I looked inside.
First, the entire interior had gone from black to a sort of moist brown. Each product was covered in well.... other products and to top it off, you could just tell that she had had some of those products for more than a few years.

If this is starting to sound like you then consider this your little slap on the wrist.
It is important to keep your makeup clean and germ free to avoid transferring germs to your face.
A little wipe down with the trusty rubbing alcohol and a kitchen towel is a really good way to keep makeup germ free.
With powders, spray a little bit of the alcohol on the surface of the products and keep them open until completely dry.

Finally for arguably the most ignored part of makeup care, ladies ....and gentlemen who wear makeup, here is a little chart I created to save you from breakouts and quite frankly, blindness. It tells you how long on average to keep different types of products.
Print it out, Pin it up and Follow it!

You can thank me later.
xx

Oh So Beautiful Face of the Day

This beauty wanted a look to wear to a wedding ceremony. Her specific requests were that she wanted something that was subtle and would stay on all day. 

She was really happy with the look we came up with and I thought it was quite beautiful too if I may say so myself.

The secret to long lasting makeup is a primer. I used M.A.C's prep and prime on her face and Urban Decay's primer potion to prime her eyelids.

To help lipsticks stay on for as long as possible, apply a lip liner on the lips before the lipstick goes on.

Before

After

8 hours later without a touch up

16 hours later, after a 3 course meal, many many drinks and a crazy dance session. Still no touch up!

Email me for bookings!
xx

Where does it come from? Essaouira

I went on a lovely holiday to Morocco with my sister and a couple of friends in January. From the minute we bought our tickets, I knew the one thing I had to do was see where Argan oil comes from. Argan Oil is only produced in Morocco you see. As it is all the craze in the cosmetic world at the moment, I was tres excited to see how it is made.

We took a two hour drive from Marrakech to the sea side town of Essaouira during which I got to see the beautiful Moroccan country side while my wonderful counterparts slept and snored quite a bit. (Girls, if you have a problem with this statement of fact, show yourselves and leave a comment below LOL)

About 20 minutes from Essaouira, we arrived at one of the biggest Argan Oil producers in the area. A small women's cooperative. 

We were greeted with loud cheerful singing from the Berber women as we entered this little "factory" and then assigned a guide who walked us through the still very traditional production process of Argan Oil production.

Raw argan nut on the left, roasted nut on the right

Baskets of Argan in the background

The nuts are roasted and then cracked open

Cracking the pods open

The roasted nuts are then ground and the oil extracted

 From the top left, plain Argan oil,  top right, Argan oil mixed with honey, bottom left, Argan oil mixed with spices, bottom right, Argan oil blended with almond oil popularly used in cooking in Morocco

We got to taste the just produced Argan oil which was amazing but I was more excited about buying some of the famed "Moroccan Elixir" to try out when I got back home to London. There is a long list of cosmetic benefits the oil is supposed to have. 

• Moisturises the skin 

• Slows the appearance of wrinkles 

• Improves skin elasticity 

• Regenerates and rejuvenates aging skin 

• Restores the life and shine to hair 

• Promotes scalp health to restore hair growth and vitality

• Prevents split ends 

• Relieves skin damaged by sun and smoking 

• Prevents stretch marks 

• Moistens dry itchy scalp 

• Aids dry brittle nails

So far I have only used it in my hair and I have found it excellent for my hair. It was also amazing to see those women make it and I would recommend the stop for anyone who happens to be travelling through Essaouira. If you do make the stop, buy me some Argan oil please!

xx

Vampire Invasion

Hide yo wives, hide yo kids, its a vampire invasion!!

I consider myself quite open minded as relating to things of beauty. There is not a lot  I simply will not try... Hair growth concoctions involving Cayenne pepper, Beer Shampoo, Aspirin facial masks, Mud masks, Raw eggs and Avocados.. none of which went into a salad. Name it, chances are that I've tried it.

Ladies and gentlemen, today I stumbled across something that challenged the beauty adventurer in me to its very core. Something that made me question how far I could go. Something rather weird and quite wonderful. Dear readers, I present to you, The Vampire facial!

The Vampire facial also known as  the Vampire facelift is quite popular in the US and increasingly so on this side of the pond. It is a non invasive cosmetic procedure that involves taking blood from the arm and injecting it into the face.

A person's blood is drawn and the platelets separated from red blood cells. It is then turned into something called Platelet rich plasma (PRP) and then injected back into the face.

The 'vampire facelift', trademarked by cosmetic surgeon, Charles Runel, is said to help reduce wrinkles, and increase facial volume to achieve a youthful appearance. The effects last for 15 months.
This cosmetic procedure  will set you back about £400 in the UK.


What do you guys think? Is this going too far? or is this a small price to pay in this eternal quest for youth?


Here are pictures of reality TV star Kim Kardashian shortly after her Vampire facelift.
xx

images courtesy of bitten and bound

Kiss Kiss

We have done a lot of hair talk in the last couple of weeks so I though I'd do a makeup post today. This is not just any makeup post. This here post will arm you with enough knowledge to achieve beautiful kissable lips *boooom chii ka wa waaa*

Here are my August lippy favourites.



Lip balm - EOS. (Evolution of smooth). These babies are packed with Anti oxidants, Vitamin E, Shea butter and Jojoba Oils. Like that isn't enough, the products are mostly 100% natural and organic (some flavours around 95% natural/ organic).
They leave your lips feeling soft, smooth and moisturised (goodbye chapped lips) . Most importantly though, these lip balms are packaged in this unusual egg shaped gorgeousness that make you just want to keep reaching for them.

They come in a myriad of flavours. And they all smell Ah-Mazing.




 

Lipstick - M.A.C's Ruby Woo
The world famous Ruby Woo is a gorgeous matte Red lip colour with blue undertones. I have but two things to say about this lipstick.

1. It Looks great on every skin tone
2. Go and get yourself one now!
Thanks.
.......and to think I once was too scared to wear lipsticks.. sigh, such time wasted.


Lipgloss - I am generally not a fan of lip glosses but I do realise they are a necessary evil. I am not quite sure this next product even qualifies as a lipgloss but oh well.
I recently tried NYX's soft Matte lip cream and I have to say I was well impressed. The product goes on creamy and smooth and dries to a matte finish. They are highly pigmented with a great colour pay off . They also come in about 13 colours, each named after a city like Stockholm, San Paolo and London.

Toothbrush - No that wasn't a mistake. Your good ol' toothbrush might just be the simple answer to your "soft lips prayer". Tooth brushes are excellent for exfoliating your lips. Simply rub on your lips with your toothbrush after brushing to remove dead skin.

Right. There you have it people, my August lip favourites.
Pucker up.
Xx