New Eyebrows! Mini tutorial

Here is a picture from March and as you can see my eyebrows have never even been a bit related let alone sisters! I finally got sick of looking at these monstrosities and attacked them with the tweezers. This could have gone totally wrong but luckily it did not and now I have brows I am proud of and have received  many compliments about them.

As you can see I got rid of most of the bulkiness at the front of the eyebrow, keeping the inside to arch the same width and then thinning out from the arch to the end of eyebrow.

I first lightly draw the shape I want my brows to be using Inglot Brow gel 571 using a slanted eyebrow brush.

I then fill in the whole brow with the gel.

Using a matte brown from my 120 palette I fill in the brows keeping to the shape I created.

Finished brows! These are my day brows would you like a post on my night brows?

Products used:

Matte brown from 120 palette nearly gone so have invested in a brown from NYX which should be here next week.

Inglot brow gel 571

Slanted eyebrow brush from LA Makeup

Gel and powder can clog up brush so giving the brush a little clean everyday is recommended

Christmas Wishlist 2012

1. American Apparel disco pants
2. HTC V
3. The Prettiest Things Gold Spike Ring
4. Paco Rabanne Lady Million Gift Set
5. Zara Studded Rose Slipper
6. Toshiba Camileo X400 HD Camcorder
7. Sleek Makeup Blush By 3 in Sugar/
8. Real Techniques Core Collection

October Favourites

Its November, which only means one thing October Favourites!

Hope you all enjoy the video sorry about the missing piece in the middle. 

Pictures of all products :

This was a favourite before but sure it can be one again!

F20 HD FlatTop Kabuki Buffer Brush

Inglot AMC Blush in 52

Oh god I am even shorter then a 12 year old!

If your a "Little Women" like me here is the link to the jumper

http://www.newlook.com/shop/teens/knitwear/teens-burgundy-cable-knit-jumper_250663161

Take Care Of Your Brushes And They Will Take Care Of You!

 Say hello to my foundation brush, yes its one of many but this is not just an ordinary foundation brush its special. Now I can not think of the exact date I bought it but it was around the 15/16 age mark. Yes that makes this brush nearly 7 years old. What makes it even more special is I purchased it in the Euro 2 shop(i.e Pound Shop) and it cost just 2 euro!

 So your probably wondering how I kept it so new like? Well I did not keep it hidden away and only took it out last week to use no this brush has been well used! This was my only foundation brush up until last August so for about five and half years this brush has been used nearly everyday! 

 The reason its still in good shape is because I took care of it! There has been barely any if any hair loss, I can not remember the last time it shed! Its still holding the same shape as it was when I bought it, there is just a bit of wear and tear on the handle but that is to be expected.

 Taking care of your brushes is simple, you wash them properly and you let them dry properly! Giving them a deep cleanse once a week ( for personal brushes) will expand their shelf life significantly. Also giving them ample time to dry naturally will also help them keep their shape. Always washing them pointing downwards will leave the glue undisturbed and help it keep its hairs. Also by washing them your stopping the build up of bacteria which not only helps your face but your brush also!

Now I am not saying run to your nearest pound shop and pick up a foundation brush, I have no clue what the quality is like now or even weather they still do this brush. I am literally using this guy as an example how taking care of brushes can expand their shelf life significantly!

If you would like to see how to clean your brushes I did a blog post here

Master Pro Lash Comb

As you know I won a $250 voucher for Royal and Langnickel brushes before Christmas. I posted a picture of them here. I got around 50 brushes and I still have not used all of them. I have used quite a few and I have to say I am really impressed with their quality! I mostly picked brushes from their SILK range as I had heard these were best for pro artists and really luxurious, the reviews were not wrong!

I did however pick up this lash comb from their Master Pro range. Wayne Goss or as known gossmakeupartist on YouTube had done a video using a metal comb like this. He claimed it would give beautiful separated lashes that were not clumpy or weighed down and held a great curl. I was instantly curious so when my brushes arrived this was the first one I used.

Boy, he was not wrong! In my opinion my lashes are more fanned out, there's no sign of clumping or spider lashes and each lash is coated nicely. I used Maybelline Falsies mascara in both pictures.

Mascara applied normally with mascara brush

Mascara applied with Master Pro Lash Comb

Mascara applied with Master Pro Lash Comb

Now I will say if your all a bit squirmy with things touching your eyes or you apply your mascara in a hurry this technique is not for you! This comb is metal and you are coating your lashes from the root up so you feel metal on your skin. Your also working close to your eye so doing this technique quickly can seriously lead to some major accidents!

But if you have the patience and really want beautiful lashes I would suggest investing in one of these comb. They are available on the Royal and Langnickel website for £5.99. Or if your heading to the Irish Beauty Show in March there will be a Royal and Langnickel stand there.

Royal and Langnickel Brushes and Giveaway!

Short post today but finally my Royal and Langnickel brushes arrived. Just before Christmas I won one of their makeup contests with my peacock inspired makeup which was photographed by Alex Hutchinson .

 I won a $250 voucher to spend on any of their brush line. I instantly knew I wanted their Silk Pro line because it is made from highest quality natural and synthetic hairs. I will do posts on them when I start to use them but first impressions are I am absolutely in LOVE!!

In other news this week I reached a 1000 views on my blog and gained a few more subbies which I am delighted with. I really want to gain a few more so I am hosting a giveaway in celebration of my 1000 views. This giveaway will be open to old and new subbies and will be international.I will post all t&cs tomorrow. But the prize will be a makeup goodie bag and the first prize in the bag is this Royal and Langnickel Basics Eye Set! Sorry for the bad picture but I do not want to remove the plastic but the set includes Silk Pro C521-s brow/ lash groomer, C422-s flat eyeliner, C450 smudger, C411-s eye shader, C490 eyebrow

Hygiene In The World of Makeup!

When I was in college hygiene was drilled into me and know I'm completely obsessed with it. In my opinion every makeup artist should be! Since starting in this business I have heard some horror stories and seen some also, it was not so long ago a fellow makeup artist commented on Facebook how she had seen another MUA cleaning their brushes with Hand Sanitizer! This sparked outrage between us all and really highlighted to me how some artists have forgotten their basics of their qualifications.

As MUA we take most people's prime possession into our hands, their face. We are committed to provide them with our best service possible in the most hygienic way. If it ever came out that you had caused an ailment to your customer because of unhygienic practices your name would be ruined in the business. So why do some MUA continue to put their career at risk. My only answer can be laziness!

So any MUA's who have lost their hygienic skills or any of my fellow normal readers who want to know what to expect from MUA's continue reading.

1. Hand Sanitizer: Before you start any makeover hands should be sanitised in front of a customer. I personally sanitise up part of my arm as my arm my accidentally rub off a customer. These can be bought in all pharmacy's, supermarkets and even pound shops now and retail for a small bottle around €3. So there's no excuse not too have one. Oh do not use this to clean your brushes it's called Hand Sanitizer for a reason!

2. For products like lipsticks eyeliners concealers etc do not double dip! Scoop the product out on place on the back on a sanitised hand or on a mixing palette. Never place your brush in the product! You can get these in all art and craft stores or from Royal and Langnickel.

3. Mascara wands!!! If you do not use them you have no right to call yourself a makeup artist! From working on counters I have seen so many girls come over and try a mascara with the mascaras own wand I have even seen fellow colleges let them do it! Once they their finished I've thrown the mascara in the bin. There's no way I would put any customer at the risk of an eye infection! Use mascara wands never double dip and if your client happens to use the wand on them selves throw out the mascara, it's cheaper to buy one then all the lost revenue you will have! You can buy these from any pro shop but the cheapest place to buy is eBay. Click here for mascara wands!

4. Clean brushes! After every job I have be it a shoot or a client I come home and deep cleanse my brushes using baby shampoo and baby oil. Check out my blog post here! I have a multitude of brushes and have never had a job where I've used all of them and need more but if I did I always have a bottle of surgical spirits in my kit and can easily disinfect any of my brushes right there and then. Baby shampoo,oil and surgical spirits are widely available and will cost you less then €10.

5.Eyelashes! Never ever use the same eyelashes again, on shoots I have witnessed MUA's removing eyelashes from models and placing them back in their box and back in their kit. My only hope is the threw them out when they got home. This is the same as mascara , putting a clients eye at risk of any ailment is a serious no no, so once eyelashes are used let the model/client keep them or throw them away and buy more. I have already done a blog post on cheap lashes here!

6. Sprays to clean your powder products. I know some makeup artist mix their own spray but if you do not how to do this buy Beauty So Clean Spray. It will disinfect all your powder shadows and blushes etc and stop any nasty bacteria building up.

So fellow MUA's remember your training and how you promised to provide customers with your best service! Hygiene should be at the top at that service.

Cleaning Brushes 101

The dreaded brush clean, we all have to do it but its one of those things we just keep pushing to the side.We make excuses of it takes to long, we do not know how to clean them and they do not dry for when you need them the next day.Not cleaning our brushes can have major effects on our skin, you may have a religious skin care regime and a healthy diet but yet you get them dreaded spots, did you ever consider its you brushes??Not only does color build up but dead skin cells, oil and bacteria build up on them too.

If your a daily brush user I would definatly suggest cleaning them once a week, depending on how many you use depends on how long it takes. Here I have just a small portion of my brushes(18) and it took me max about 15 to clean so really its not time consuming. Drying time depends on the brush and where the brush is left to dry. Smaller brushes take only about an hour where big brushes take about up to 12 hours. So your brushes can be drying while you sleep and be ready for you in the morning. The best place to dry them is in the warmest place of your house i.e the kitchen or sitting room, I would not suggest the bathroom as it never gets really warm and can be damp. So how do you clean them, well its simple you just need two inexpensive items:

Most people would only need the to use the baby shampoo, but if you use gel eyeliner or really pigmented lipsticks you would know their a nightmare to clean with just shampoo! So lets begin:

1. Squirt a pea size amount of shampoo in your hand, run the the brush under the hot water and rub into the the shampoo until it becomes lathered, now rinse your hand NOT THE BRUSH under the water. This will save you from wasting the shampoo. rub the brush in the palm of your hand again until it lathers up and rinse your hand again repeat this another two times and then rinse the brush. Depending on how dirty the brush is depends on how often you need to reapeat this step.



2. For hard to remove makeup i.e gel liner( especially bomb proof inglot gel liner), pigmented lipstick and really dirty brushes, baby oil is the only way to bypass spending ages on trying to get them clean. After completing step one, pour some baby oil in a bowl and dip the brush in the oil the makeup should just dispearse from the brush. Reapeat step one again.





3.Once all the brushes are cleaned make sure to squeeze them of excess water and place them on some kitchen towel and leave them to dry, as I said above dry them in a warm place and also out of reach of children!! Also if you use short handled kabuki brushes place them upside down or else they wont dry the water will just remain in the handle.(Yes their my lovely pjs in the pictured this was just before bed!)




So thats it its not to hard or time consuming and could even be done through the breaks of X Factor on a sunday night.

As a MUA I can not do this in between clients so I disinfect my brushes with surgical spirits I buy a big bottle in boots and put it in a small spray bottle that I carry around in my kit. Before I move on to another client I would spray some tissue with the surgical spirits and rub my brush into the tissue until no more color comes off the brush.This gives you disinfected brushes and your not putting your client at harm. This is also a good tip if  you are prone to spots or cold sores, you should disinfect you foundation brush, concealer and lip brush after every use if you do not have time to wash them this will help with healing and prevent further spreading.






I hope this post will encourage you to clean your brushes as not only does it help your skin but helps with the longevity of your brush.
Brushes shown in this post are a mixture of LA Makeup, Inglot, No.7 and Crown

Brushes a must have or complete waste of money!!!

Many a times I have asked by friends do I really need to use brushes, my answer is always yes!!! But do you need a gazillion no not at all! My friends would see my ever growing brush belt when I am applying their makeup of a Saturday night and every week the same question is 'What do you use them all for?'. Truth is I only would use max about 9 on one face at a time , the reason I have so many is their duplicated I have about 2 of every brush some I have about 6 of some brushes.

So your question now is 'Do I buy a brush set?' again my answer is no! If the only persons makeup your applying is your own then you defiantly do not need a 42 piece brush, you will never use all the brushes and some of them you might not even know what to use them for! Though they do look all shiny and new and us girls been like magpies can't resist do we really need to burn that big hole of €295 in our pocket or our boyfriends this Christmas. So how many do you need, well my answer will be 5, just 5 no more no less!

1: Foundation brush, the type of brush you use is totally up to you- types available are kabuki, flat head, stippling.
2: Angled blusher brush, this can be used to apply powder contour and blush
3:Blending eye brush, this is a must have you will never achieve the perfect smokey eye without one!
4: Angled eye brush, this can be used to apply the perfect cat eye flick with gel eyeliner or if your an eyebrow girl then this will be your saviour for creating that structured brow
5: Flat eye brush, perfect for packing on the color before you use your blending brush in the socket line!

In my opinion these are all the brushes you will need to create that flawless look and save you them much needed pennies! It also means that you can get your boyfriend to spend the rest of the money he would spend on the brush set on some fab makeup for your collection. Around this time of year many makeup counters are doing some fab small brush set and most of them come under the €50 mark. Though some of them do not carry all the brushes listed in my 5 must haves so here's my list of brushes that you can buy individually:

Foundation brush: Mac 187, Mac 130,Mac 188, Mac 190,Inglot 27TG, Inglot 21T,Crown C406, Crown C404, Crown SS003, Crown SS009

Angled blusher brush: Mac 168, Inglot 3P,Crown C104, Crown BK04, Crown B04, Crown SS013

Blending eye brush: Mac 217, Mac 224, Inglot 4SS, Inglot 6SS, Crown BK30, Crown BK38, Crown C200,Crown C429, No.7 Eye contour brush( buy for free with No.7 Boots Voucher)

Angled eye brush:Mac 208, Mac 263, Inglot 31T, Inglot 17TL, Crown B08, Crown BK45, Crown C207

Flat eye brush: Mac 249, Mac 239, Mac 242, Inglot 28PO, Inglot 29PO, Inglot 16PP, Crown BK39, Crown C202, Crown C417

Mac available in Brown Thomas Grafton Street and BT2 Dundrum
Inglot available in Jervis Shopping Center, Dundrum Town Center, Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown Shopping Center and Cresent Shopping Centre Limerick.
Crown available at http://www.crownbrush.co.uk/