My favourite Matte liquid lipstick is...

What can I say about the Gerard Cosmetics Hydra-Matte liquid lipstick...it's impeccable. The quality is in the formula, the consistency is very creamy and the coverage is brilliant. The best advantage  is that you only need one coat so your lipstick will last you for longer. Once it dries it doesn't feel like you have anything on your lips as it's super smooth. It's very long lasting and your lips stay hydrated if you apply a lip balm prior to applying your lipstick. One more thing, it smells amazing compared to other brands I've tried!

My favourite two shades from their range have to be Serenity (pinky nude) and Ruby Slippers (dark rouge)
. I just love the final coverage these two shades give.

As it's Gerard Cosmetics 4 year anniversary, they have great deals on their lips range right now. Don't miss out on huge savings:

Gerard Cosmetics | Shop Our Anniversary Beauty Sets!

BROWS...BROWS AND BROWS!!

What's the first thing you notice when you look at someone. I have a tendency to always look at their brows! I don't know how many others do the same but if someone's got a mono-brow I really want to grab a pair of tweezers and start plucking their eyebrows. Well I wish I could do that but I would probably get punched in the face for doing so. A few years ago everyone was into very thin eyebrows but now it's all changed, girl's nowadays are growing their eyebrows thicker. The shape of the brows and the thickness can drastically change the appearance of someone's eyes. Therefore, you have to ensure you get your eyebrows done correctly, or else you're doomed!!

Now let me give you the correct technique on how to shape your brows by answering some common question women have on how to shape eyebrows:

How do you determine where your eyebrow should start from? Well the beginning of the brow should be aligned with the centre of the nostril and the inner corner of your eye. You could use a ruler or any type of card to measure with.

How do I create an Arch? The arch should fall over the back third of the eye. Use a white pencil to draw where the arch should be, look straight ahead and place a card at the edge of your nose and tilt it towards the iris.

Where does the eyebrow end? The outer corner edge of your eyes and the edge of your nose.

Which direction should I brush the hairs? If you have a brow bush you could use this to brush the hairs in an upwards direction or you could also use an old toothbrush. If you have any hairs that are too long you can trim these by using eyebrow scissors.

How light or dark should my eyebrows be? The colour should be a shade lighter than your hair colour if you have dark hair. If you have light hair then the shade needs to be a shade darker.

If you're eyebrows are misshaped or lack in certain areas, then they may need to be corrected for an inconsistent appearance. If you need to enhance you're eyebrows then you should use an eyebrow pencil and if you wish just to add colour, then use any eyebrow powder. You can use a brow gel to hold the hairs in place.

I recently purchased the Browgal starter set which includes 2 eyebrow pencils (1 warm and 1 ash tone) and highlightter and a clear eyebrow gel to set and seal. I don't usually use brow pencils but I absolutely loved the final finish after using this set. As you can see in the image, my eyebrows don't harsh like they would look after using other brow pencils. The price for this set is $75. Get yours now:

The best way to get started on your brow routine. Shop The BrowGal starter set today!

How to clean your dirty brushes

Oh I used to hate cleaning my make-up brushes, I would clean them using a towel and a brush cleaner. The strong smell of the brush cleaner gave me headaches and it wasn't ideal to use around a baby and young children. Even after cleaning them and leaving them to dry, they would still smell of the brush cleaner.

I recently discovered the 'Palmat' from Practk which is a sister company of Sigma. I used it with their SigMagic Brushampoo and OMG the results were phemonemal. My brushes look brand new and they don't have the strong chemical smell anymore, in fact, they smell amazing.

The 'Palmat' comes in 3 different colours, blue, green and purple. The packaging was brilliant and so funky that I didn't want to take the product out! The instructions are very easy to follow as the steps are shown in images. You can use it in your sink as the suction cups hold it in place or you can wear it on your palm. It has adjustable tabs for a customised fit.

It has 3 different textures which allows a deep cleaning of the bristles of even the densest brushes. This is definitely needed to clean and remove all the bacteria build up using brushes regularly.  Now I wash my brushes twice a week, which I highly recommend to do if you don't want breakouts.

The 'Palmat' has made my life so much easier as a make-up artist when you have to clean your brushes after each use. The only downfall is that you have to let your brushes dry overnight to use them again. I don't mind that though as long as my brushes are squeaky clean, I'm happy!

Get your Practk Palmat here: bit.ly/2IEIfSA

"Life is short, your lashes shouldn't be"

My new 'go to' website for false eyelashes

When you're looking for the perfect false eyelashes it can be a tough task to do. There are so many different companies that sell false eyelashes from different brands, you need to buy good quality eyelashes that don't look too fake.

I've come across this brilliant website where you can shop affordable brands as well as high quality branded false eyelashes. 

Buy the latest lashes at FalseEyelashes.co.uk

FalseEyelashes.co.uk stock over 1,500 styles from over 30 brands such as Unicorn, Koko lashes, House of lashes, Lilly lashes and also the high street brands such as Ardell and Eylure. The best thing about it is that they offer FREE 1st class shipping on all orders!! Saves you from going out, you can order your favourite eyelashes from the click of a button.

The lashes that I'm wearing in these images are from Unicorn and the style is called Rebel smoke. The price is £9.95 and if you hurry up onto the site right now, you can grab yourself a bargain as there's  currently 20% off this brand, the offer ends at midnight! (16/03/2018)

Shop amazing deals at FalseEyelashes.co.uk

Highlight & Contouring

When you see pictures of highlight and contouring mapping, it's usually specific to one face shape but everyone's face shape is different so there are different ways to enhance the features depending on how you want to appear. The way to determine where to highlight and where to contour is basically simple. The areas of your face you want to appear smaller and more defined you need to contour and the areas you want to pop more and create an illusion of something there, you need to highlight.

First thing I did was applied Illamasqua's Hydra Veil onto my skin, this is a must have product if you have dry skin, you can use it as a moisturiser or a primer. I applied a small amount of the Illamasqua Skin Base foundation in shade 09 onto my face and the Skin Base Lift concealer in the shade Medium 1 under my eyes.

I used the LA Girl Cosmetics Pro HD Conceal in the shade 'Creamy Beige' as a highlighter. As this is an American brand you can't purchase this from any UK stores but it's available from the following website: http://beautybcosmetics.com/la-girl-usa-cosmetics-pro-concealer-correct-highlight-contour-longwear.html and they're so cheap, only £5. I applied the product onto my hand first as if you squeeze the product directly onto your skin, then you may get more on than you require. I drew a line starting from the corner of my inner eye area, going towards the corner of my mouth and then towards the end corner of my eye area, basically like a triangle shape. To give your eye a lift, take the highlight shade slightly higher from the under-eye area. To make them appear more open and wide apart, highlight around the tear duct area.

Then I applied the highlighter on the bridge of my nose and on the centre of my forehead. If you have a small forehead then highlight more on your forehead to make it appear long, if you have a large forehead then highlight less on the centre and do more contouring around your hairline. If there's any other features you want to pop out, highlight those areas, hence I applied a small amount on my chin, my cupids bow and the corner of my mouth. I used the Morphe brush M436 to stipple the concealer onto my skin. This method is best when you're applying one product over another for a soft finish. For the smaller areas, I used the Sigma F65 brush to push in the concealer onto my skin.

To get those chiselled cheekbones, I used the shade in 'Beautiful Bronze' from LA Girl Cosmetics Pro HD Conceal. I started from where the top of my ear is and drew a diagonal line and faded it into the corner of my mouth. An easy way to find the exact position of where to apply is to squeeze your cheeks in (the famous fish face).

Then I applied a small amount on the temples to create a '3D' effect and along the hairline. As I mentioned earlier, depending on the size of your forehead, you can bring this line more onto your forehead, if you have a large forehead.

To create a defined jaw line, I drew a line beginning from where my ear lobe is and followed it to near the chin area. If you have a double chin then contour just under the chin area. If you have a large chin then you need to contour that area and vice versa.

To create an illusion of a straight nose, draw two lines on the side of your nose and connect it at the tip. I added an extra line to add a visual break so that the nose appears smaller than it is. If you have a small nose do not add the extra line. If you have a wide nose then shade more on the sides of your nose for it to appear more slim. If you have a crooked nose then you just ignore the side it bends towards and just draw two straight lines to create the illusion of the nose being straight.

To pout the lips, I drew a small line just under the lip area so that they appear more fuller and on the cupids bow. You can add highlight after applying lipstick to make them look even more bigger.

After blending, you need to set those areas with powder. I used 3 different setting products. The Light shade from MAC Studio Careblend was used to set the highlighted zones, the Betty-Lou Manizer from The Balm for the contoured zones and the MAC Loose Powder in the shade NC20 for the in between zones where I didn't apply any of the concealers.

Then I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit as my final step. I used the shade 'Banana' over the highlighted areas, and the shade 'Fawn' over the contoured areas. For an everyday look, you can skip the cream products and go straight to using the highlight and contour kit. The blushers I applied are from MAC in the shade 'Fleur Power' using the MAC 163 brush and Benefits Rockateur blusher on the apple of my cheeks.

Finally I applied the 'Mary-Lou Manizer' as a shimmer in the areas which I wanted to glow. Ensure that you don't use a cream highlighter/shimmer product over powder as it will make it look muddy. Also if you have oily skin then skip the shimmer. You can view the video tutorial on my YouTube channel, here is the direct link for the tutorial: http://youtu.be/tSeWF_wG_XA

Additional products I used:

EYES: 

Smashbox FAQ's Eye Shadow Palette: 'Cream' shade for brow bone

Urban Decay, Naked 2 Palette: 'Tease' for socket, 'Busted' for outer 'V' and 'YDK' for centre of lid

MUA Trio Eye-shadow, Innocence: 'Highlighter' shade for inner corner of eye.

LA Girl Fine Line, fine tip liquid eyeliner

Illamasqua eye pencil, SOPHIE: for inside the water line and outer corner of eye area

Tarte Cosmetics: Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara

i-Envy by Kiss lashes: KPE11

EYEBROWS: 

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Pomade: 'Chocolate' shade

LIPS:

Illamasqua lip crayon: 'Fantasy'

Illamasqua, lipstick: 'Obey'

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below! 

Smokey Eyes - Eid look

Hi all, happy Ramadan! I was requested to do a Smokey eye make-up look and I thought it would be the perfect time to do a make-up tutorial on it now, just in time for Eid! 

There are so many variations of the Smokey eyes look, you can go for the classic black Smokey eyes, keep it natural and add black to the ends, add colours and with different nuance of the colours. It's entirely up to you, go crazy with colours if you like!! 

In the tutorial I uploaded on my YouTube channel, I did my face first and then the eyes, but I used a make-up shield to prevent fallouts under the eye area. If you're doing this look for the first time on yourself, I would recommend you do the eyes first, as it can get very messy. 

Start off by applying primer or any concealer on the eye area. Some people have a problem with eye-shadows creasing and that happens if you don't use a base on your eyelid. You can use a nude eye-shadow if you don't have an eye primer. Using a base on the eye-lid helps you with blending, lasts longer and prevents it from creasing or smudging through the day. Once the eye area has been prepared, it's time to add highlight just under the brows. I used a cream shade from the Smashbox FAQ's eye-shadow palette as a highlighter on the brow bone. I've had this palette which I got from QVC a while back now and I think it was a limited edition, it has 5 lovely shades, a cream, orange/peach, brown and grey, I can't remember what the other one was as I dropped it and broke the mirror inside (ooooops bad luck) and the one of the shades popped out too! I used the MAC 239 brush to dab it onto the brow bone.  

To contour the eye, I applied the "Tease" shade from the Urban Decay: Naked 2 palette into the socket of the eye, I used the Sigma E25 Blending brush to blend it in from the outer corner area and took it into the front in circular motions. To make the black appear better in pictures, it's best to apply a gel liner as a base on the eyelid, therefore I applied Illamasqua's Precision Gel Liner in Infinity. I used the Sigma E35 Tapered Blending brush to apply the gel on the outer corner and faded it into the front of the eye, but not all the way. 

Using the shade #65 from Inglot, I applied it over the base. I applied this with the Sephora 10 brush again from the outer corner and faded it into the front. If you did the make-up on your face first, then make sure you tap the brush so that any excess powder falls off before you apply the shadow on your lid. It's your choice how high you want to take the black shade, personally on myself I don't like it too high up but if you prefer to, you can blend it upwards so it fades into your crease by gently going up in a circular motion.

If you want to add shimmer then apply an iridescent shade of your choice at the front or on the middle of your eyelid. I used the shade "Pistol" from the Urban Decay, Naked 2 palette and I applied this using the Sephora 28 shadow brush, you can use any flat shade brush to apply this. Then I blended the black into this as I didn't want the grey to show as much.

I applied the shade orange/peach from the Smashbox FAQs eye-shadow palette in between the crease and the brow bone as a transition colour to create that ombre effect. I applied this using the Sigma E45 small tapered brush.

Using the Sigma E10 small eye liner brush I applied Illamasqua Precision Gel liner in the water line and then at the top. Then I used the Sigma E20 Short Shader brush for smudging to minimise the harshness and make it look more smokey. 

Then I curled my lashes and applied the Tarte Cosmetics: Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara on the bottom lashes first as it instantly opens up your eyes, then I applied it at the top. I complete the whole look by applying false lashes from SalonSystem: natural lash, I used #120. 

Please check out my Smokey-Eyes make-up tutorial: 

http://youtu.be/ARYTFF9bbaU

Thank you

Tarte Cosmetics: Best Face Forward beauty kit review

I ordered this new beauty set from QVC by Tarte Cosmetics which is an American brand. Now I just have a thing for American make-up products but I've never tried any of their products before and wanted to know what all the hype was about. So I was watching QVC last week and when I watched the launch of the products I thought OK so I need to really try this brand out, plus it was a great deal not to be missed only for £38.40 plus P & P. Although the price has gone up I feel it's still a great value. You can purchase this set on here:http://www.qvcuk.com/tarte-6-Piece-Best-Face-Forward-Make-Up-Collection-&-Bag.product.208035.html. Let me tell you my first impression on using the kit. 

When I opened the box I was like wow I loved the colour combination and design of the products and the make-up bag looked so cute. Apparently it's only designed for QVC so it's limited edition people!! You can use the make-up bag to put your everyday make-up products in or take it on a holiday. I really needed one like this for my holiday I just came back from India last month.

Anyway's let's get on with the products. You'll get one Amazonian clay eye-shadow quad which contains 4 beautiful warm/neutral colours: 2 matte (Ivory Little Thing and Love Runs Deep) and 2 shimmery shades (Heart of Gold and on Copper the World). The colours are very well pigmented and are designed to mattify and control oil for more of a long-wear because of the natural ingredients they use from the Amazon rainforest. This is also limited edition so you can only get it if you buy the whole set. 

You will love the 4 in 1 mascara called: Lights, Camera, Lashes which curls, lengthens, adds volume and conditions your natural lashes as it's infused with plant botanicals and waxes which will protect your lashes unlike other mascaras which can damage your lashes. If you just apply one coat on both lashes I think it will do the trick as I applied the mascara on one eye first, then dipped it back into the product to apply on my other eye, but it clumped as there was enough product left previously.

Now my favourite product from the kit would be the coloured clay CC primer. They have 5 different shades: fair, light, medium, tan and deep. You can match the shades available to your skin tone, but it doesn't have to match exactly same as you can apply foundation over it. My shade is medium. At first, when I applied the primer onto my face I thought it was slightly dark for me and made me look like I had a tan, but once I blended it on, it was a perfect tone for me and I didn't even have to wear foundation over. The texture was similar to the Benefit Porefessional primer and I love using that product as a base. The design of the actual product is like a hourglass wheel, it has one tone of purple then the colour of your skin, then goes onto a green shade and finally another skin shade. There are many benefits for you using this primer. The specially designed stick helps to blur imperfections, helps with discolouration and eliminates redness. It doesn't feel like you're wearing anything, it really let's your skin breathe. Your skin will look and feel more smooth after applying this product. It's also great for sensitive skin or older skin as it consists of natural oils and natural preservatives which are friendly for your skin.

I've never been fond of blushers that are combined together with a bronzer and highlighter so the Coloured Clay Bronzer Blush in Pink Bronze would be my least favourite product. Overall it does give you a sun-kissed look if that's what you prefer.  I just have a certain way of applying a bronzer, blusher and highlighter separately. 

I love the Double Ended Complexion Brush, one side is like a kabuki flat brush which you can use to buff the foundation onto your skin with, and the other end is tapered so you can use it to apply the blusher or use it for contouring. The bristles are super soft, outstanding quality and feel great on the skin. 

Last but not least is the Lip Surgence lip crème in Vintage and the shade they provided is Honeysuckle Pink. Upon applying this product it feels and tastes absolutely great and looks flattering. It doesn't make your lips feel dry or chapped, it's very creamy and doesn't feel like you have anything on. It's infused with vitamins C & E, plus peppermint and jojoba oil. For those of you who have come across jojoba oil will know the marvellous benefits to the skin after using it. Jojoba oil is a liquid wax which is extracted from the seed of the jojoba plant. It's greatly used to boost hydration whether used on the lips, on your skin or for other parts of your body. 

Please check out the quick make-up demo I did on my YouTube channel on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R7bxjeeJxQ&feature=youtu.be. I created the whole look using this kit and the only additional products I used was the Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow pomade in chocolate shade and the Benefit Erase Paste in medium to hide my dark circles.