Killer Skin.

Love Your Skin.
I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert in this field but I have made my mistakes and found things that do actually work....here's my ten cents worth.

Impeccable, dewy make up is just not possible if your skin isn't up to par. Confidence plummets and make up doesn't look as good as it should. Hormones, stress, diet, genetics and life in general can deal you pimples, wrinkles, redness or all of the above.

My skin is the wonderful 'combination' skin, with spots, dry patches and dark under eye circles on a bad day.

Trial and error is the only way I have found products that work for my skin and if all else fails it is often better to go and see a dermatologist and see what can be done.

A few fab products that I use daily:

• Cleanse: Kiehls Ultra Facial Cleanser (foaming but gentle)
• Eyes: MD Formulations Antioxidant Eye Cream - general eye cream but great for dark circles. Beautiful, creamy and best of all doesn't sting and irritate.
• Moisturiser (all round): Dermalogica Smoothing Cream (as a day or night cream),
• Exfoliate: Biologique Recherche Lotion P50V - this is AMAZING stuff, use as an exfoliating toner (no need for scrubs. Seriously) for those strange bumps, blackheads, congestion and welcome smoothness. Google for a supplier and order online
• Toner: Pure witch hazel from the chemist is fabulous, I alternate this with the above
• Night Cream: Gatineau Jeunesse Night Cream - Beautiful, silky, non-spot creating night cream
• Skin Oil: Cocoa Butter Skin Oil - Still trialling this one but great results so far for all over body, absorbs quickly and smells divine. Gives you a subtle, dewy sheen.

I have a cupboard full of other things but these are the top go-tos....

Facials 

A fab facial can relax and do wonders, but I think they are particularly amazing for specific concerns such as acne, redness, wrinkles, pigmentation...

Skin prep for a big event like your wedding is another story and I highly recommend a series of microdermabrasion facials or Omnilux light therapy (yet to try but hear its great). $$$ but worth it to feel amazing and watch your makeup glide on.

For a sneaky microdermabrasion-style facial at home try Dermalogica Exfoliating Cream - as a mask.

Skin And Your Diet

One e-book I'm keen to read is Crazy Sexy Juices by Kris Carr, promising the world, but might actually deliver.

'Green Juice' is something I'm yet to try, but I can only imagine that a daily blended dose of greens and fruit would deliver fab skin and a massive vitamin hit. Stay tuned.

We all know chips and fizzy drink are not going to deliver glowing skin, but we're only human. I try to balance the odd indulgence with lots of water, a multivitamin and lots of veggies.

Source: brebeauty.com,  rosesarewild.tumblr.com, movenourishbelieve.lornajane.com.au via Emma on Pinterest

Workplace Beauty.

I have always been a lover of cosmetics. Concealers, serums, illuminators, exfoliators and everything in between. I don't want to reinvent the wheel, but share what I have found and hopefully share the love...

One lovely gem I have recently discovered through Mama Mia, is a book by the gorgeous Zoe Foster called Amazing Face. It has all sorts of beauty stuff you didn't know you needed to know...and more.

Now....

The Work Face. 
You want coverage that is light but covers the imperfections, an eyeshadow that hints at glamour but doesn't scream 'made up', defining mascara and a hint of colour on your cheeks for a healthy glow. That about it?

I am blonde with fair skin, so my makeup choices will reflect this but the baseline is the same for what you need, just adapt for your skin type/colour.

Coverage - Tinted moisturiser (+ concealer for imperfections) is my daily routine and I love Clinique City Block or Olay Total Effects Tinted Moisturiser with 15+ is creamy and beautiful.
*For night time or more coverage Chanels Aqua Ultralight Vitalumiere makeup glides on. 
Concealer - Spots: Estee Lauder Smoothing Cream Concealer is the bees knees, just add a bit of loose powder over the spot. Under eyes: Cheap and cheerful Garnier roll on anti dark circles cream doesn't drag skin and hydrates.

Eyeshadow - The perfect duo with a cream and a grey/dark brown colour will take you anywhere and you can just add eyeliner to take you into the night.

The below image shows a basic eyeshadow application with a creamy/peach shadow over the whole eye socket and a browny/grey on the outer half of the socket and a little swept up at the outer edge.

They have added a dark liner along the lash but this is up to you.

Stila make 'rechargeable' compacts so you can pick and choose your perfect combo. Good old Revlon eye combos are also great.

Brushes  - If you only buy one brush, buy yourself a good quality eyeshadow brush (MAC or Bobbi Brown are top of the brush brigade). Preferably small and flat so you can apply over the whole eye socket and use to smooth shadow/liner along the lash line.

Mascara - Thanks to Zoe Foster mentioned above, I now proudly use Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara, which delivers beautiful eyelashes with no clumps (better believe it). Clear mascara is also fabulous for taming brows.

Blush - Nars Orgasm and Sin are two favourites, which are a little $$ but last and last. Bloom and Benefit make lovely cream blushes too (these make my cheeks break out so see how you go).

Lipgloss/lipstick - MAC and Burts Bees make lovely glosses (not too sticky) and David Jones and Natio lipsticks are creamy + staying power.

As you will see from the links above, if it can be bought on Strawberrynet, I'm there. 

Take it to the Streets
Winged eyeliner is the style of the moment and I talked about it here. The simplest way to take your daytime makeup to night is to add liquid or pencil eyeliner in dark brown/black with more lashings of mascara.

I have not quite mastered the art as yet (have the eye makeup remover pads handy) but hopefully will transform my look very soon.

An easy way to cheat is to use a stubby eyeshadow brush and just moisten your favourite eyeshadow colour and apply like liner along your top lashes.

Help!
For more help than I can offer on a plethora of beauty topics, head to Primped, which has all the latest styles and how-tos.

What are your work essentials for makeup?


Source: Valj via stock xchng, Gabriela Pinto via Flickr, matchstick via stock xchng

Wing It. Eyeliner Style.

I am branching out from jewellery, art and interiors today...my makeup is long overdue for a bit of a revamp and this is just the ticket.

Winged eyeliner is the trend at the moment and as the party season approaches well worth attempting with a steady hand and some eye makeup remover handy...

Check out this great little video tutorial over at Everything Fabulous.


You can also check out my go to beauty items and what you need for the Perfect Workface and Killer Skin!


Image: Thriftreveal