Saturday 28 January 2012

How to... Match your lipstick to your skintone

After my previous blog on matching your eyeshadow to your eye colour, I figured that a lot of girls may not know which shades of lipstick will suit them either. I have fairly pale skin, but my undertone is slightly olive thanks to my Gibraltarian Dad. Thankfully when I was an Avon Rep, I got loads of testers and found my ideal shades through trial and error.

That's one way of doing it, but I've got an easier way; just follow my advice.

According to Bobbi Brown, your most flattering lip shade is only one or two shades darker than your natural lip colour. It's a fail-safe option for daytime if you think other colours will look too dark or bright.

Reds look great on everyone, you just need to know which shade to choose. For pink undertones, cherry red is a winner. If you're olive-toned, bright pillar-box red will contrast well.

Fair Skin.
When you have very light skin, darker colours look harsh and childish on your face. You suit light hues like nudes, pinks and apricot/peach. If you have brown hair, you may find that slightly darker shades will also suit you, as well as some shades of brown or coral. Cool reds will downplay any ruddiness in your skin.


Medium Skin.
If your skin is pretty tanned or you have a mixed race background, you can opt for darker colours than our fair-skinned friends. Mauve, burgundies, berry colours, darker browns and roses really work for you. If you're feeling adventurous, try a purple.


Dark Skin.
This skin colour is really versatile and it enables you to wear the darkest and brightest colours on the spectrum. Deep plums, reds and browns work really well, but if you really want to wow everyone, you could go for brights and even neons.



One last tip?
Warm lip shades compliment warm skin tones, and vice versa.

Friday 6 January 2012

Barry M Foil Effect Nail Polish Review

These little beauties were a Christmas present (see 'It's a Beautiful Christmas' for more), and I tried and tested both around New Years.


They are pretty thick, so ensure that when you paint on the colour you don't have too much on the brush. The colours are excellent, and they certainly do look like foil. The shine on them is brilliant, which is just as well, since you can't apply a top coat to it, as it ruins the foil effect. The only thing to worry about is that, as with most metallics, it creates tiny darker lines on the nail. To keep it neat, you need to keep the brush straight when you apply it and not brush in different directions.

Here's what they look like on:

And here are some nail art ideas:

Want some? You can get it at any good drug store, or from the Barry M website.
Colours come in Lilac Foil, Silver Foil and Gold Foil.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Killer Cheek Bones and a Thinner Nose

.. No, really. This is no joke, I really can help you with this. All it takes is a little bit of makeup and some know-how, and viola! You have a slightly more chiseled face.

First, it's your cheeks. As a child I am sure all of us has wanted to delve in our mums' makeup bags for some bright blusher to smother over ourselves. Maybe we even got some lipstick and decided that would work. Oh, how wrong we were. Since we certainly don't want to look like that any more, here is my step by step guide on how to define those cheek bones.

1. Start by applying your usual layer of foundation/ moisturiser with tint and concealer
2. Using a large makeup brush, sweep bronzer or blush directly below your cheek bones, starting from your apples and sweeping backwards. This creates the look of a shadow underneath them, with makes them look stronger. You may need to suck in your cheeks to help you.
3. If you need to, smile and use blush/bronzer to help define the apples of your cheeks more.
4. Apply highlighting cream or powder directly to your cheek bone and blend. Be careful you don't use too much, though.

Here are some examples to guide you:


How to get get a thinner nose:
You may notice that celebrities often look like they have tiny noses, and I will tell you a secret. They cheat! And so can you, only you don't have to spend thousands getting plastic surgery to do it. All it takes is a very similar trick to the one above.
1. Use a bronzer to low light either side of the nose, but be careful not to overdo it!
2. Use highlighter on the top of your nose, this will define it
3. Blend so it looks natural, and check out the result

Good Luck and let me know how you get on!

Tuesday 3 January 2012

How to... match your eyes to your eyeshadow

I always find that finding the perfect colour for my eyes is the most annoying thing in the world. I don't have your easy as pie brown eyes, or blue eyes that go with nearly anything. I have hazel eyes that are constantly switching from brown to green and back again. They have no pretty flecks of gold to match in, so they are a nuisance.

Therefore, I have decided that every girl needs someone to tell them which shade suits them the most, and I will be that person for you. I have trailed through every site possible trying to pin down the colours that suit your eyes shades. So if I have missed yours, please let me know and hopefully I can fill you in.

Grey


Grey eyes are pretty much the hardest colour to use eyeshadow on, as many colours can dull them further. To make them pop, use light and medium browns, deep greys and cool tones. A pale pink also looks good on a lighter grey eye.

Blue

Blue eyes work best with browns with purple bases, pinks (in rose for a subtle look, or fuchsia if you fancy eye-popping colour). Slate grey and deep blue enhance your eyes, but if you want to startle people, go for a highly contrasting tangerine or a coppery shade for night-time. If your eyes are light blue, you can even get away with turquoise.

Green

I recommend a plummy purple shade to make your green eyes stand out, or reds if you are feeling adventurous. Browns in coffee shades, khaki or forest green and apricot/pink shades also work well. For a night look, you could try a gold shadow.

Hazel

As the second most difficult eye to find colours for, you need to be careful when choosing your shades. If your eyes are more brown than green, it is better to go for pinks and golds. If they are more green, it is safe to go with bronzes and warm tones. Browns, greens and purples go well with this eye colour.

Brown

Brown is by far the easiest eye colour to work with. Nearly all colours will go with your eyes. However, if you want them to stand out, use greens and purples. Beige and champagne look great for a day look, and bronzes and browns are good for the night. If you really want a punch though, use tangerine or lime green.



A few tips for everyone:
 Black works for everyone, as do creamy shades that will be perfect for daytime looks or bases.
 Dark colours will minimise eyes, whilst light ones will bring them out, so use the light ones at the edges.
 The lighter in skin tone you are, the less intense your eye colour should be. If your skin tone is really dark, you can get away with brights and fluorescents!
 Complementary colours always make your eyes stand out. That's oranges for blue, reds or purples for green, and greens or purples for brown.

Good Luck :)

Sunday 1 January 2012

We Love Barry M

Ever since I remember, I have loved glittery, bright things. So when makeup came along, I was entranced by the hues that I could wear, and all the glittery things on offer to me. Something magical happened a few years back: I found Barry M Cosmetics. I was hooked. I couldn't get enough of the lustrous shades of dazzle dust, or the many bright nail paints that could adorn my fingers. Here are some of my absolute favourite products:

Dazzle Dusts - Silver Iridescent, Aqua Gold, Pearly Mauve
Nail Paint - Ice cream Collection
These pastel shades were introduced fairly recently and they're prefect for a spring nail. My favourite has to be the lilac shade in the middle (Berry Ice Cream).


Best Shade: Hologram Hexograms
This probably won't look great on its own, but if you pair it with a bright or a nude colour and splash some hexograms over the top, you'll create something quite wonderful, like below.


Liquid Eyeliner - In all shades, but particularly electric blue and mermaid green.
These eyeliners are great because they dry pretty quickly and are easy to apply. Liquid eyeliner isn't really something you use in a hurry, though, so I suggest you leave plenty of time and get in a lot of practice.


Barry M also make glitter and metallic liquid eyeliner, which look equally as brilliant.

I hope you will love them as much as I have.