MAC Quick tip on creating the autumn lip

I always find the best way to spend my Saturday afternoons while Justin plays rugby is to swan around Dundrum. It always includes a pop into MAC. Today I was on the hunt for a black lipstick. Black might sound quite dramatic to most of you but lippy is my fave part of any makeup look!!

I met a wonderful girl today in MAC Lisa who sat me down and gave me a quick lesson on how to achieve this season's lip look.

As always with me what starts with a look turns into a purchase!! Today was even a little OTT for me spending €51 on three lip items but ive promised myself to use them loads haha!!

So onto what I learned....
I explained to Lisa I wanted my black lip for a smokey vamped up night time look, she loved this idea so got to work with me immediately sitting me at one of their beautiful mirrors.

Lisa told me that as a MUA you look past products as only being used for their description so she suggested I purchase an eye pencil in ebony which will act as my lip liner. This eye pencil has a smoother texture than others so the application was smooth. This retails at €17.50

We then chose Cyber, a colour I has seen online... its the closest MAC has to black at the min with a purple tint. This retails at €19

As a person so into their lipsticks you'd think I'd take care of my lips, but there's not much conditioning in them.

Lisa began by applying the lip conditioner onto my lips. There's shea butter and almond oil in it so it feels fantastic! It's €14.50 but I feel it's a good investment now that I've promised to use it ;)

Lisa then lined my lips with the ebony eye pencil.  She said you always start from the outside in and lightly apply the pencil onto your cupids bow. Also always keep your pencils sharp to ensure a good line.

Applying a lipstick as dark as cyber can be tricky... Get yourselves a lip brush ladies another key to a perfect lip. There was a fab MAC brush but I held myself back. Lisa suggested out of all four products we used its the one I could invest in at a later date.

What really made my time with Lisa excellent was her customer service. I went in wearing MAC's Russian Red and she complimented me on this. As most of my followers will know, I've invested a lot of time in learning how to do my own make up so I was beaming when Lisa, who also happens to be a trainer in MAC, said she really liked my make up and it was applied really well!!

I just had to share this great news and new purchases with you all! I do love finding bargains when it comes to make up but there was no colour in comparison to Cyber on any high street brand. Us ladies deserve to treat ourselves!!

Stay beautiful,

Emma x

Doll-Face Makeup Artistry- A lesson with Alison

New lesson.... New learning!

Earlier this week I met with the lovely Alison Kelly of Doll-Face Makeup Artistry for a one to one make up lesson. Firstly I would like to thank Alison for making me feel so welcome during my time with her.

I had asked Alison to help me create a pretty day time look which I could wear to work and also to help me improve on some of the skills I'm trying to build on at the moment.

*A full product list will be at the bottom of this post along with my before and after pics*

We began with cleansing my face and applying moisturiser. I feel a good skin care routine can be vital to how your makeup will sit on your face but I also believe it to be a very individual decision as to what to use. I am currently working off the Clinique range for blemish skin and I'm still undecided if it is having any effect on my skin compared to other (cheaper) brands I have used before. Maybe when I finish all the products I'll see the results but as it stands I'm undecided!

Back to make up!!

Alison is always keen to have the customer as comfortable as possible and with that in mind she doesn't like to touch the clients face with her own fingers, I don't think I had paid much attention to this on previous make up lessons but I thought it was good of her to mention this to me.

Alison applied my primer with a latex sponge and spread it all over my face paying close attention not to use too much which would leave marks when my foundation was applied.

For the foundation, Alison mixed two popular colours of the one brand to match my skin tone exactly. As posted in my Beauty Bootcamp blog, doing this can save you a fortune ladies! We all have our no tan paler days, our going out tanned to the hilt nights and then the in between days... this could mean three different tones of foundation needed and why not eliminate one to save us a few euro... If you have a darker and lighter foundation, blend them together when you need the "in between" tanning colours, be your own beauty guru and add a little more of this one or that one to get the right tone- Nobody really likes the white face tanned body look or possible worse the dark face pale body look!

Applying powder can be a tricky business depending what effect you're looking for; I would always suggest in order to set your foundation, use a fat powder brush which has no other product on it and sweep the brush around your face to apply your powder. As this was a day look, Alison set the foundation using a translucent powder.

Contouring is still tricky business to me... I have spent a lot of time lately trying to contour my own face and although its getting better I don't think I'm yet ready to venture out in my day time look. Alison explained to me while contouring my face, daytime looks are pretty much the same as night time looks, as in, you should take all the same steps to creating a beautiful day time look just using less dramatic colours than a night time look. It involves using two brushes; one to apply your bronzing powder and the other to blend it out. You do not want a dark brown line down your face or on your temple. If you are unsure of how much to apply, start light and blend and as you get used to the act of contouring, you can add more product. 

Blush came next... As I was heading to work I wanted to look fresh and awake so we chose quite a neutral colour with a hint of coral just to lighten the cheeks. I would like to point out that if you are to contour and highlight your face, blush can be quite important. It will add colour to the cheeks and define them on top of the angles you have either enhanced or hidden with the other make up.

Eyes;
I am a great lover of both the naked palettes and having invested in both, its really time I start to use them correctly. Alison used four colours on my eyes in this application, three from the Naked palette; naked, buck and virgin and a touch of snakebite from Naked 2. We kept the colours again natural and I had asked for browns and creams as I feel they suit my skin and blue eyes. Using a good blending brush makes eye shaldow application much easier Alison explained. She has invested over time in some high end brushes such as MAC brushes but she also told me about a brand I am yet to try called Royal brushes. I am in need of a few new brushes and she said these are great value and she uses them a lot so I think I'll deffo have to try them. For the beginner, Alison explained working on the lid first can help you, you can blend up from there. Add your darker colour to the crease of your eye and from a previous lesson I learned you can actually keep your eye open while doing this just make sure your brush is soft enough so you dont hurt yourself. Also be sure to use some of the darker colour along the bottom lash line. So many people forget to do this and it can really enhance your eye look. Applying the colour frames your eye and can make a look appear more dramatic. Even for our day time look, Alison applied the brown colour to my lash line before the eyeliner.

Eyeliner;
Putting eyeliner in the water line of  your eye is not always essential. As a regular contact lens wearer, I have no problem in my fingers being close to my eye so the same applies to a eye pencil. Alison explained to me that some clients can wear liner in their waterline no problem but they need to apply it themselves so although she offered me the chance to do it myself, I was fine with her doing it. Again I felt this was really nice and would put anyone nervous about that part at ease.

Mascara;
Alison posted a really handy tip on her Doll-Face Makeup Artistry Page on Tuesday. If you have run out of your fave mascara, don't throw out your wand from the mascara; keep it, clean it, and use it again in another mascara if you like how it makes your lashes look. This is deffo a tip I shall be using as we all know the shelf life of an opened mascara is so short, I would recommend to everyone out there, there is no need to invest in overly expensive mascara unless you plan to wear it and top it up every single day.

Lips;
For a natural day time look, we chose a nude lipstick from my guilty pleasure MAC. Again ladies these days more and more brands are bringing out copies or dupes of other brands colours so keep an eye on a colour you'd like to try and shop around! For daytime make up I suggest, nudes, browns, lighter pink shades or a faint orange colour. Even a gloss during your day look can enhance the fresh faced look we were trying to achieve.

As a review to Alison as a make up artist, I think she is fantastic!! She is so caring and friendly, you can chat away while you know you are being taken care of. She loves what she does, she has invested time and energy into her art and she really deserves to be packed with people coming to her to get beautified. As a fellow MAC lover, she's a girl after my own heart and I was so jealous at the amount of brushes she has!

I just wanna thank Alison for allowing me to blog about her and if you get a chance please like her facebook page;
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doll-Face-Makeup-Artistry/1416282878586926?fref=ts



Product List from Doll-Face :)

Primer- No7 Beautifully Matte
Foundation- Smashbox Foundation 2.1 and 1.1 (mixed)
Powder- Cinema Secrets Translucent Powder
Contour- Isadora bronzer
Blush- Vanity Blush Palette
Eye shadow- Urban Decay Naked 1 and 2 Palettes
Eyeliner- Avon Supershock
Mascara- Rimmel Scandaleyes
Lipstick- MAC Cremecup
Brushes; Royal, Real Techniques and Crown

Before      After

Alison's Toys

Freash Faced 

Stay beautiful,

Emma x

Bare Minerals- A first time using powder foundation

Happy Monday Ladies!

So a few months ago after a visit to Maisy, I discovered powder foundation. I had heard of people using it before but never ventured to use it myself and I always worried it wouldn't give me enough coverage.

I needed a good coverage powder for two of my foundations- Urban Decay Naked and MAC Face and Body Foundation. I had found that when putting them on, they just never looked as good as I thought they could and normal powder just wasn't working with them.

Maisy had used a Glo Minerals Powder Foundation during my two faced make up lesson which I did go on to buying but I decided to pay Debenhams a visit one day to see if Bare Minerals could also do the trick.

The girl at the counter was so helpful, unfortunately I cannot remember her name now but I may be popping back in soon so I shall find out for you but basically I went in with just my Urban Decay foundation on, I explained to her what I was looking for coverage wise and she got to work.

I used to think that sitting on a high stool in the middle of a department store would feel quite weird but I'm so used to it now I feel like a little celeb :)

Bare Minerals powder foundation sat perfectly on top of my Naked foundation. It's all in the application you see ;)

A brilliant purchase I made that day was the starter kit priced at €56. You may think this is steep but I cant recommend it more for being great value. The kit comes complete with a foundation (colour matched to your skin) a small primer, a darker powder for contouring and a setting powder. The kit also contains three brushes; a full face foundation brush, a concealer brush and a contour brush. The foundation alone is €26 but if you want to invest in the powder look I really would suggest the kit.

So onto the application....
To apply the Bare Minerals is quite simple;

• Tap some product into the lid of the foundation
• Taking your face brush, swirl it around the lid allowing product to sit on the brush
• Tap the brush off the side of the lid to get rid of the excess
• Buff the foundation onto the face in circular motions

Another great point about the kit is it comes with instructions so you never forget! An actual DVD based on the starter kit and how to use all the products contained in your kit, its a great idea and more companies should make kits like these.

To use the contour darker powder, the girl in Debenhams showed me a handy trick for remembering;

• Tap some product into the lid of the contour powder
• Taking your contour brush, swirl it around the lid allowing product to sit on the brush
• Tap the brush off the side of the lid to get rid of the excess
• Sweep the contour powder along the jaw bone, hollow of the cheek and up onto the forehead using the shape of a number three
• You don't need a huge amount of product on your brush, just keep it light and make sure to blend blend blend.

Another little treat in your starter kit is the primer. This is so smooth and if you want to use your original foundation, it sits perfectly on your skin. As with all primers, you do not need too much on your face, its a small bottle so you want it to last you a little bit. 

As regards the foundation itself, it comes in two finishes, original and matte. I found for myself I didn't need need the matte finish. My skin can be quite dry in parts so I didn't think it was a good idea to get a product which helps with drying out the skin. The original finish for me is perfect. I have worn it as a daytime look a lot lately and I'm hoping to perfect my buffing soon so I can see if I can get a full coverage from it.

Bare Minerals are sold in Debenhams Waterford and I have to say the girl who served me was so helpful. She has offered me a makeup application for free from purchasing the starter kit so once I get some free time i'll pop in with my receipt and she said she'll show me their blush and lip range.

It's something different from always wearing a liquid foundation so try it if you can. Foundation alone is €26 so it wont break the bank and it will last you ages.

Stay Beautiful,

Emma x

Product list from the "Two Faced" Application Blog

Product List

Smashbox Primer
Urban Decay Naked Foundation 3.5
Glo Minerals foundation powder in Medium Dark
Blank Canvas Cosmetics Powder Palette- used for contouring and highlighting
Mac Mineralise Blush
Urban Decay Naked 2 eye shadow palette
Mac Gel Liner
Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara
Mac Red Lip Liner
Mac Lipstick in Russian Red
*Also used were penneys lashes

Brushes

My favourite brand at the minute for brushes are Real Techniques. You can purchase these in boots or online at Could10beauty.com

The Core Collection- this has four brushes for the face
The eye collection- four brushes to use on creating your smokey eye
Expert Face Brush- My ultimate love on applying foundation
Powder Brush- Amazinf fat brush for blending or applying powder
Blush Brush-Soft and large great also for blending


Stay beautiful,

Emma x

A sneek peek and lesson plan with my comp host.. Maisy in La Beaute

So tonight is probably the blog most of you have been waiting for and I have certainly kept this one back a little while getting the hang of blogging :)

In August I went back to visit Maisy in La Beaute Waterford for a one to one lesson. I had been back to her a few times since my initial lesson to have myself beautified for a night out. I really like how good Maisy is at working with your face and really choosing products that suit the look you are trying to create. I had been to France and purchased some new make up that I really wanted to learn how to use properly so I contact Maisy about a one on one lesson where she would create a look on half my face and then I would try to replicate what she did on the other side.... Sounds hard and it was but with some great guidance from Maisy we did it! Pics at the bottom as always ;)

We had decided the best way to save money for me was to use only the products I had with me on the day but of course I could help but want some new stuff after being there with her... I'll also post some pics of them on the bottom of this blog also.

The easiest way for me to explain how I created the look is to give you a step by step face guide. I will add a product list on a separate blog straight after this as I have to try and dig out all we used on the day... Enjoy :)

Face:

Primer: Prime your face first. You don't need to use a whole lot of this product just make sure it's nice and even all over your face. 

Foundation:  I was using a lighter liquid foundation so with my first application, I made circular motions with my brush and once I felt all my face had been covered using that technique, I added a little more foundation using a dabbing motion on my face to ensure good coverage. By dabbing a little extra on you also ensure you don't get lines on your face from the swirling motion.

Powder: Take a good amount of powder onto a large powder brush and dab the powder onto the face. This helps to set your foundation and not leave clumps of product on your face. 

Contour: Taking a good amount of contouring powder again onto a contour brush, sweep along the hollow of the cheek then work up the temple and onto the forehead to meet at the hair line. Also contour the jaw line and along the inside of the nose including your nostril.

*Do not be afraid at this stage when you see brown lines... the key is the next step*

Blending: The holy grail of good make up, Taking a clean fat brush, blend all the contour onto the face. You blend where you have contoured- not over the whole face.

Highlighting: Using a smaller powder brush, spread the powder highlighter all under the eye coming out to the socket, highlight the center of the forehead, along the bridge of the nose and under the contour line in the hollow of the cheek.

Blending: Once again it is key to use a clean brush, blend in all the excess highlighter making sure to blend where the contour meets the highlighters.

Blush: Only apply blush to the apple of the cheeks. A blush brush is used for this, if you feel your blush is too severe, take a blending brush from earlier and blend away some of the colour.

Brows: When defining or shaping your brows with colour, be very careful not to over do it. Using any brow kit apply the gel first and then the powder colour. Do take your time and just a little product at a time and move along your brow slowly. You do not need to have what look like two marker lines on your face. A good brow can really shape your eyes.

Eyes:
We went for a smokey look using the Naked 2 palette- To create a smokey eye, choose four colour; Base colour for the crease, darker edge colour which will also be added to the crease, a lid colour and the darkest colour for the outside of the eye.

Shadow:  Start with the crease- apply the base crease colour with a shadow brush. Blend Blend Blend... using this blending to move the crease colour a little higher towards the arch of your brow.
*a shadow bush applies colour but you need blending brushes separately*
Next apply the darker colour into a V shape at the side of the ye, blend this from the V into the crease but not higher than that and not to take over the crease base colour. Shadows should flow gradually into each other. Next to apply the lid colour, take a different brush and apply the brighter lid colour all over until it meets the V colour and the crease. Blend this lid colour in using a clean brush but do keep it defined. The last colour to use is to be applied to the outter corner which again is put on the eye using a V shape and blended very well so that the colour appears to run into each other easily.

Eye liner: Apply a line of gel eye liner with the outside edge becoming thicker. To make a cat eye, apply the liner on the bottom tear line including the lash line and bring the line out and up to meet the shadow. Fill back in the gel liner to meet the top line of the eye creating a triangle. The apply some liner into the crease and blend using the crease blending brush to really darken and define the crease.

Lashes: Apply false lashes in which ever way is easiest for you. Some people use a tweezers, I personally tend to look half down and balance the lashes onto my own. Before you begin to apply lashes be sure to measure them to your lash line. Cut them is necessary and then bend them a few times to ensure they are not stiff. This makes them much easier to apply. Apply mascara to both the top and bottom lashes. Squeeze your own lashes and the false lashes together with either your fingers or an eye lash curler so they look like one.

Lips: An easier way to apply both liner and lipstick can be with a small lip brush. This can help you keep a steady hand of you're worried about smudging. 

Voila ladies that is the complete step by step guide to creating the look you are about to see.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me :)

Stay beautiful,

Emma x

Here are a few extra pics of looks created by Maisy at La Beaute ...

Get entering xx

Inglot Dundrum- The three teds day out :)

Sorry for the late blog ladies, had an unreal busy day yesterday so was home too late from work to post this and I really wanted to do it justice.

On Saturday last I went to have a full makeup application in Inglot in Dundrum with two of my besties Sinead and Elaine. The girls had not only not been to Inglot before but they had never been to Dundrum before so we had an epic day. Our plan was simple... to get such a nice look we looked nothing like ourselves :) What I mean by this is, a full nighttime dramatic look was what each of us wanted.

One tip to all you makeup lovers is, until you know exactly what you're wearing or at least what colours you are wearing, don't plan too far ahead with your makeup look. I had added the Inglot Ireland facebook page a few weeks ago and followed lots of the looks they had created on people, a lot of them were beautiful but there was one in particular I loved, a silver and black smokey eye. Unfortunately I couldn't see what colour the clients eyes were so I wasn't sure if it would suit me. I played it safe with my outfit on the night choosing a little black number so I was hoping silver would be OK on me.

My MUA in Inglot was Breifne and she was beautiful. Tall, blonde with immaculate makeup I was so excited! Because I have had my makeup done a number of times, I have learned what I like and what I feel suits me when creating certain looks. I think when you are learning about your makeup it's very much trial and error, only after trying a certain look will you see if it suits your face shape, your skin and your personality.

I explained to Breifne what I feel creates a great night look on me;
Bold shapes brows (I like them defined and stand out)
Lots of highlighting and contouring (when this is done right, your face looks amazing, showing off all your best bits)
Bright lipstick (I think this is a statement for me at this stage, I was never one for lipstick but now I cannot go out without it and the bolder the better)
Smokey eye (this is a classic when you want a smoldering night look but for me it's about being brave with colours- as we learned in beauty bootcamp there are certain colours which blue eyed people can use to highlight their eye colour but there are so many shades you can look different all the time)

As we were applying the look, Breifne was happy to use the silver eye shadow and silver glitter but she suggest to mix the silver glitter with a more bronzed glitter to highlight the blue in my eyes. I have absolutely learned to trust the MUA (make up artists) I have worked with so far as I have not been steered wrong yet. I told her to play away and make it bright.

I found during the application, Breifne was very careful to ensure none of the pigment landed on my face and got mixed up on my foundation. The pigment in the Inglot eye shadows is amazing so it is very dainty work to make sure you don't let it sit on your face. A good trick to use when using powder shadows is to do your eyes first... Let yourself get as messy as you need to but once you apply your foundation, concealer and powder over your face you'll look spectacular :)

In total, I was worked on for almost over an hour, I was really impressed by this as on a Saturday afternoon I was a little afraid I would be rushed but all three of us were delighted with our end result looks. Both Sinead and Elaine had a lovely experience with their two MUA's who unfortunately I did not get their names but they created similar looks on my friends and we each walked away delighted.

The Inglot products, we each found stayed on our face all night. As with any girly night out there was a lot of dancing and we each still looked pretty presentable at the end of the night. Our eye makeup was flawless, as with anything our lipstick needed to be reapplied but the wonderful thing about Inglot is you pay €30 to get your application done, you are given an hour or just under that with a talented MUA who will cater to all your needs in relation to what you like, your skin type and your outfit. You can then redeem the €30 against products in the store which I was over the moon about!! I got a lipstick, a glitter pot and an eyeshaow which in total came to €34! Another offer we did avail of was to get our lashes put on in Inglot, they are more expensive than other places such as penneys as it adds on €15 to your bill (that's €10 for the lashes themselves and €5 application) I do feel however when you are treating yourself, it's a good thing to get done then and there. We had in fact bought lashes in penneys (which at €1.50 I swear by) but you run a big risk of ruining your eye makeup which could be devastating. 

All in all I feel what I learned most from Inglot is;

• Doing your eyes first when using pigment is a good step if you are not used to using powder eye shadow.
• Applying lip liner all over your lips can held your lipstick stay longer.
• Contouring should not be heavy and blending is key to not have dark lines left on your face.
• Blend foundation down onto your neck when using tan to make sure you are all the same colour.

I hope some of you get the opportunity to visit Inglot in Dundrum as myself and the girls really loved how we looked.

Stay beautiful,

Emma x

 

P.s Please excuse my brows.... currently growing them out to get a HD treatment :) 

Amazing Maisy at La Beaute Waterford... Our First Visit!

At the end of March, I was now in full swing of looking for new people to link in with to get some make up lessons. I had been bombarding my best friends Sinead and Elaine so when I contact Maisy at La Beaute she said she'd be delighted to take the three of us for a two hour lesson. I was ecstatic :)

Maisy is a make up genuis! This my friends is a fact which I shall prove in the before and after shot at the end of the blog... Trust me no girl wants their "before" pic out for the world to see but I think its only right to show just how beautiful she can make you and also with the right makeup application you can literally change how a person is viewed by the world.

Our setting was girly perfect, with three of us attending the lesson we each paid €40 and we added on an extra hours class time and snacks (this was a special treat for us 3 as we were Maisy's first triple lesson) We had pink cups, pink table cloths, jellies, fizzy drinks, crisps and it just made the atmosphere so special. We were all really nervous as we had never met Maisy before but ever the professional she was very welcoming and we were soon laughing and relaxed :)

Maisy had asked me what we would like so we decided we would each receive a makeup application and she would explain her method as she went along also noting what products she would suggest for each of our skin tones and conditions. I jumped up to be first and soon discovered I just loved having my makeup done... I attempted to listen to all her instructions but I found I was much more interested in the shopping list I was now making in my head!! Sinead and Elaine were great, taking in all what Maisy was doing so we decided to take note of what we were getting done and then swap afterwards.

I had asked Maisy for a dramatic smokey eye... I like daytime makeup but for me the skills that I need to learn are deffo when it comes to night looks, bold eye shadows, false lashes and contouring. Maisy was extremely descriptive and patient as we watched her apply a smokey eye to each of us, she showed up blending techniques and also easier ways to start with when applying makeup with the option to then come back once we had mastered that. 

In another week or two I shall blog again about the one to one lesson I had with Maisy, this was fascinating and I shall include a step by step guide to perfecting the look we created. When I say we, I was literally two faced for a while :)

We all ended up buying different products from our time with Maisy but for me, this was the first time I had discovered Catrice products (sold in Penneys in Waterford) I purchased the concealer palette. I really liked this and from what I remember its priced around €6, it gives you three shades of concealer and then a pink and a green colour... it even gives you a description on the back as to what the colours are used for. I found the pink colour concealer excellent for covering dark circles. I also bought the glamour doll mascara, excellent for length and volume of any lashes. 

Tonight's blog is an introduction to one of my biggest makeup inspiration to date Miss Maisy. She has thought me so much and anytime I am in Waterford for a weekend or for a night out she's the one lady I go to to change how I look even just for one night. She is both friendly and great craic, a true professional who has serious talent.

La Beaute has it's own Facebook page so check it out and give it a go yourselves :)

As you can see from our pics we loved our time there and the one on one lesson will show you how with the right guidance, you can truly be your own artist.

Stay Beautiful,

Emma x