Hi girls,
Christmas came and went even quicker. How many of you said “New year, new me” i didn’t this year, why? Because I came to the realisation I rarely stick to the new year resolutions so instead I was going to stick with what I was doing but give it my all. More effort, more smiles, more travel, more challenges etc!
Anyway I will get stuck into what this blog is about. So as many of you will already know I studied beauty many years ago, I worked in salons for years in the South of Ireland, here in the North & over in Sydney (Australia) too before branching out on my own approximately three years ago. The best move I ever made. I work for myself and mainly focus on make up, eyelash extensions, hd brows, waxing and spray tans even though I qualified in everything else I stuck to my favourites as they are what I have most passion for.
Please note everything I say here is my opinion and my personal tips that have or haven’t worked for me, I am talking about my experiences not speaking for everyone or anyone else. I am not sponsored or paid by anyone to say or write anything.
Let’s talk foundations, my ultimate favourite is make up forever hd foundation (stick not the liquid) I love it but it has one downside for the price it does not last. So therefore it’s an occasion or night time make up for me. I do think it’s worth buying but not for everyday. It’s dewy, it has coverage and so many colours to choose from. Estee launder is your best bet when it comes to lasting all night and full coverage so I often mix a small bit of this into any other foundation I’m using solely because it does what it says on the bottle, it lasts and it’s full coverage. Years ago I wore it on its own never ever now though, it’s also not the best for photos it can give flash back (white face, brown neck) kind of look. No we do not want this so your best bet is to mix a small bit in with any other foundation you wear and make it last. Huda beauty foundation is a hit, it’s not my number one but it’s gorgeous on some skins and they have every shade for everyone. Illamasqua skin foundation is probably the one most suited to all skin types I find and is a big favourite with my clients along side urban decays ”all nighter” foundation. I mix every foundation I use, day or night it’s habit now but also because it works believe me. I still use Mac studio fix from time to time again like the rest it gets mixed. Drug store foundations If I’m honest I don’t use much, not for any particular reason it’s just the one part of my make up routine I don’t mind spending money on. I have tried Note and Maybeline and both were good but i do tend to stick with the others. Inglot have an amazing new concealer which has replaced my Nars because I feel it’s better, it is cheaper and it comes In a larger tube, it’s a winner overall.
I learned a new trick over Christmas from Jess who I follow on Instagram, mix a small bit of Vita Liberata body blur in with my foundation for an extra dewy glow and it works. I only found out today Vita Liberata have a “body blur” for your face so I ordered it from cloud 10 today and I will review this on Snapchat and Instagram stories for you after I use it a few times.
Lets talk tan, my favourite spray tan is definitely black magic spray tan, the way it goes on, the way it lasts, the smell, the colour, the way it dries and the way it wears off my skin. It is for me personally one of the best spray tans there is. Now every tan needs looking after if you gym/sweat alo, swim, steam room, saunas, general exercising daily, shower twice a day etc no tan is going to look perfect for 4-5 days! If you don’t shave. wax, exfoliate and remove all previous tan your tan is not going to look good. If you don’t moisturise all year round and not just before a holiday or a wedding your skin is not going to take a fake tan well. Your skin both face and body will only look as good as the natural condition it is in. Tan when developed & showerd also needs moisturised daily. Do not blame the tan for your unmoisturised dry patches eg.. elbows, ankles, neck etc! Think about it. Tan on the face will cause breakouts on many of us as it dors clog your pores but the amazing new black magic visage facial tan that I’ve been trying out the last few months doesn’t and will be available on my website next week.
My favourite tan to apply myself at home, Bperfect mango or dark watermelon moouse. Quick drying, gorgeous colour, a bottle lasts me ages and I never have a problem removing it once I look after it. Also apply it with their double sided mitt which is machine washable and gives me the perfect application.
Before i apply tan I make sure there isn’t a trace of previous tan on my body. Removers, the black magic exfoliating mitt & a hot bath. Tan is NOT a good look over previous wearing off tan please do not do it. There are ways of removing it, taking me to my next topic, tan removers.
I’ve used them all, do they work? They worked for me. One i had to apply twice onto stubborn areas elbows and ankles but they all worked. The quickest most effective for me was the black magic remover but all three did what they said on the bottle. So why do people think they don’t work? High expectations? Read the bottles none of them say they will remove every bit of tan you have on your body in less than 10 minutes, they state that they help which I feel each of them do. I still had to use my black magic exfoliating mitt to scrub my body and I still had to have my hot bath but it definitely melted down a layer and made it alot easier for me to remove the rest. I had no severe scrubbing to I was raw red and sore. I also left each of them on slightly longer than their instructions had said and I didn’t get burnt or redness in any areas. If you have extremely sensitive skin be careful.
This is a longer blog post than I had expected so I won’t go on too much longer I promise. Make up products I have to mention as a favourite in 2018 was certainly Luna by Lisa, her lipsticks, glosses, face palette and hair products are all a huge hit for me and that is why I have chosen this brand for my website along side Bperfect, Lmd, black magic and plush brushes. I wanted to keep my website quite personal I don’t want to sell products I don’t like or use. I won’t go down that route, before my website you will have seen me use and talk about all of the above long before I started to sell them. Plush brushes are of a fantastic standard with everything you need. The foundation brush is heaven for the face and washes perfectly with no fall out. The 10 piece eye set is everything you would need and is so reasonably priced. I do love supporting other Irish brands it makes me feel closer to home.
I will do another make up blog soon and I will be doing a make up tutorial on Instagram this Sunday so i will show you how I mix foundations etc then.
Thank you so much for reading and I promise to have my blogs more regular in 2019. Feel free to send me ideas or topics you would like me to cover.
Thanks for your support,
Love H💋llie xx
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