Winter skin ft. Double Wear

Image taken from Google Search

Price: $50 AUD inc tax (purchase from Myer, David Jones or Online)
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Packaging: 4/5 (Glass packaging always feel more luxe)

15-hour staying power. Flawless all day. This worry-free, long-wearing makeup stays fresh and looks natural through heat, humidity, nonstop activity. Won't change color, smudge or come off on clothes. Feels lightweight and comfortable. Now the flawless look you see in the morning is the look you keep all day

Current go to Makeup Brushes

Taken using my Samsung Galaxy S5

1. MAC #138 Tapered Face Brush (RRP AU $105.00) - I love how this brush is pointed, I like to use it for light powdering, bronzer and sometimes blush

2. Shu Uemura Natural Brush #18 (RRP AU $105.00) - Bought this in Hong Kong last year, pretty sure the price wasn't this high when converted. I love to use it for under eye concealer, liquid foundation, highlighting and contouring

3. Inglot Makeup Brush 27P (RRP AU $32.00) - Under eye concealer, spot concealing, nose highlighting and contouring. Some people want to know what I use to apply cream blush, this is the brush I like to use for it.

4. Gorgeous Cosmetics Brush B111 Shadow Blender (RRP AU $38.00) - My all time favourite eye shadow brush for blending. I also use it for spot concealing, nose highlighting and contouring with creams and also loose dust.

5. Double sided angle brush & mascara spoolie (RRP AU $4.00) - I bought this at a random brush stand at IMATS years ago (can't remember if it was Coastal Scents or Crown Brush). I love it for liquid or gel eyeliner and it's the only type of brush I use for brows. 

Product Review: MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation

 

Price: $54 AUD inc tax / $32 USD + tax
Overall Rating: 4/5
Packaging: 5/5 (I love that it's not in a glass jar like most other MAC foundations)

"A tenacious waterproof formula that can be used as a foundation or concealer, wearing for an unprecedented 24 hours. Neither rain nor tears can budge this oil-free watertight product that actually repels moisture from the surface of the face. The formula blends seamlessly on the skin with medium to full weightless coverage and a natural satin finish"

Product Review: MAC Pro Longwear Concealer

Price: $32 AUD inc tax / $20 USD + tax
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Packaging: 3.5/5 (wish they opted for plastic rather than glass but I LOVE the pump)

"A lightweight fluid concealer that provides medium to full coverage with a comfortable, natural matte finish. Colour-true formula lasts up to 15 hours.  Helps conceal and correct the look of under-eye circles, and discolorations. Comes in a clear glass vial with a matte black pump"

Travel Beauty Essentials

Keeping in the theme of Travel blog posts for this month this post will focus on which beauty essentials I think you need while traveling. I don't know about you guys but I hate packing, especially when it comes to makeup. I don't wear much these days, my everyday to weekend routine consists of concealer, (swapping between) tinted moisturizer and full coverage foundation (for night), bronzer (matte finish, always), false lashes (only for going out) and my eos lip balm (or lipstick for a night out). But when I travel, it's a completely different story, I must always be prepared so I tend to pack more than I actually need. As a frequent traveler, I have finally made a shortlist of my must have travel essentials whether you are only going on a short trip, month long or whatever.

Taken on my Samsung Galaxy S5

1.  Primer - make sure it's a moisturizer and has UV sun protection in one. They say less is more, most primers can do it all, but most importantly it should hold your makeup into place for hours. Sometimes you don't have time to go back to your hotel room to freshen up or you might find yourself going from the beach straight to the club. My current picks are Hourglass veil primer, MAC P&P face primer UV50+ (only sold in Asia) & Embryolisse Lait Cream (moisturizer & primer in one). 

Tropical Traveling

As I plan my trip to Bali later this month, here's some of my fave items I like to take with me when I travel to a tropical paradise anywhere in the world;

•  iPad & headphones - lying in a hammock or the beach all day listening to music sounds like my perfect break!
• Clear Sephora Makeup Bag (great for airport security to place all your liquids under 100ml) 
• Shu Uemura High performance cleansing oil - Gently removes makeup (including waterproof) while leaving your face so soft
• Arbonne 5 brush travel kit
• MAC Mineralise Skinfinish - great alternative to foundation, can double up as an everyday bronzer too
• Passport - well unless your road tripping, then don't forget this!
• Marc by Marc Jacobs sunnies
• Panasonic Lumix Digital Waterproof Camera
• Roll on Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume, this is great for travel coz you don't have to lug around a whole bottle
• Bumble and bumble surf spray - for sexy beach style tressles
• Travel size Arbonne FC5 Ultra-Hydrating Hand Crème
• MAC sized to go Fix +

(Image taken on my Samsung Galaxy S5)

March Makeup Picks

Another month passing by, can you believe how quickly the year is going? For those who follow me on Instagram, you'll see me post every now and then my makeup picks for a particular type of finish. Check out my current faves for a full coverage matte finish and full coverage dewy finish. What are your favourite products for matte and dewy makeup looks?

• Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer - This satin-finish, oil-free mineral primer creates a porcelain-smooth complexion, that will give your foundation longevity like no other whilst minimising shine and protecting against sun damage.
• NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation - A revolutionary foundation that defies expectation by combining sixteen hours of full-coverage wear with a weightless feel and radiant finish. 
• Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer - Perfect for concealing the most extreme flaws, such as scars, severe skin damage, beauty spots, depigmentation or birthmarks. It can even hide tattoos. Waterproof and long-lasting, it holds even under extreme conditions thanks to its perfectly stable formula. It evens the skin tone and camouflages imperfections for a long period of time.

• Arbonne Face Primer - This luxurious makeup primer glides on to visually diminish the appearance of fine lines and pores, creating a smooth surface.
• NARS Sheer Glow Foundation - A master of the runway, this hydrating foundation brightens and evens skin tone, whilst providing all day coverage with a natural, radiant finish
• MAC Pro Longwear Concealer - A lightweight fluid concealer that provides medium to full coverage with a comfortable, natural matte finish. Colour-true formula lasts up to 15 hours. Helps conceal and correct the look of under-eye circles, and discolorations

Images taken using my Samsung Galaxy S5

We don't just shine, we illuminate the whole show

Currently on rotation in my kitty:

- Arbonne Sheer Glow Highlighter

- Benefit Cosmetics High Beam (suitable on all skin tones)

- Benefit Cosmetics Sun Beam (suitable for warmer skin tones)

- Benefit Cosmetics Lust Duster (mix this with a cream or liquid and it looks amazing)

- Benefit Cosmetics Sugarbomb (great for a peachy finish)
- Benefit Cosmetics Bronzer & Highlighter Duo (suitable on all skin tones)
- MAC Mineralise Skinfinish (matte and sheen duo, discontinued)
- MAC Mineralise eyeshadow (yes I use it to highlight instead of using them on eyes)
- NARS The Multiple (suitable for lighter skin tones)
- Smashbox Softlights highliter (suitable for warmer skin tones)

Taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5

Contouring with Anastasia Beverly Hills

I'm a massive fan of Anastasia Beverly Hills however I have only ever tried their brow products so when my girl came to me asking how to contour using the ABH contour kit, I was more than willing to help her out. As an artist who prefers to use creams and liquid to contour, picking up a powder palette definitely brought me back to the days I learned contouring for the first time. Refreshing as it was, I understand why it's confusing for non-MUA's to look at the whole concept of contouring and highlighting and be easily confused. Here's the step by step breakdown I did on Steph but you can apply the same to your own makeup routine...

1. Base - Before contouring and highlighting I like to make sure the face is prepped, primed and based with your preferred foundation. As always, don't do it too thick as the cream contouring and highlighting will add another layer(s). Steph did her own base and used MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC42. You can choose to spot conceal any blemishes or dis-colouration on your face, although I find that after contouring and highlighting you don't need to conceal as it is covered during the process. 

Summertime fine

Looks like Melbourne is heating up again, YES! A lot of people have asked me in the past how I keep the dewy look even in the heat and humidity of summer. To be honest it ain't easy, so I've compiled my ultimate guide on products I like to use and how to apply them to achieve a sexy dewy glow, not a sweaty mess. I've chosen MAC Face & Body because it's buildable, looks like skin and feels super light for summer, I'd love to know what your ultimate dewy go-to product would be. Here's my guide...

Photo taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5

How to wear it;

1. Lather on some MAC studio moisture cream 

Throwback Thursday - HOW TO: Clean your makeup brushes

If you knew me back in the day, my makeup obsession started out on Tumblr. Lucky for me I use to be pretty pro-active with my posts and I still have my archive so here's a Throwback post that will always come back. As a makeup artist, some of the most common questions I get are related to brush care, so I'm gonna knock it off in today's post by answering one of my Instagram followers questions from last week;

What brush cleaner do you recommend? The interwebz says everything from proper brush cleanser to baby shampoo and even DIY mixtures of olive oil and other natural stuff...help!

Photo taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5

Fix my face

As a bridal makeup artist, it's important that my makeup application lasts up to 18 hours on my brides. But the challenges of weather and humidity can make it tough, which is why I rely heavily on the products I use. I could go on for hours on the various products, but today I'm focusing on finishing (setting) sprays.

As mentioned in my previous post, MAC Fix + is my holy grail in summer to keep faces fresh in the heat but believe it or not I don't use it as a fixing spray. Some may claim it holds their makeup but for me it's essentially a spritz used to revive your face by keeping it fresh throughout a long day (that yummy scent though, lol). We all have those long days going from work to a night out with no time to re-do our faces, so I highly recommend using face spritzers to avoid looking like a hot mess, especially in summer.

Some of my favourite setting sprays I currently use or have used in the past are;

- Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray

- Makeup Forever Mist and Fix (currently in my kit)

- Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

Photo taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5

Summer vs Winter

Melbourne has been on that bi-polar heat stroke as of late, if it ain't super hot then it's raining and muggy. As a result, my skin can't get use to the same products on the daily however I have managed to stick with a few staples I use over the summer months and winter months that have become my faves over the last year. You'll notice that my choice of winter products are much heavier and creamier, this is because my skin tends to dry out and I need that extra moisture to keep that dewy look I prefer. My summer product staple has to be my all time fave MAC Fix + spray or fancy water as some call it ;)

SUMMER

- MAC Fix +

- MAC Prep & Prime 50+ skin primer (Aussie sun, you know what I mean)

- MAC Pro Longwear concealer

- MAC Prep & Prime concealer/highlighter

- Laura Mercier tinted moisturiser (day time)

- Sephora 10 hr foundation (for nights out)

- MAC mineralise skinfinish powder (used as an all over powder or simply a light contour and bronzer)

- NARS Orgasm blush (for a summer flush, red cheek)

WINTER

 - Arbonne makeup primer

- NARS concealer cream stick (spot concealing)

- MAC cream concealer (I like to use as my highlighter)

- MAC Studio Sculpt foundation (gel type, really dewy/creamy)

- MAC creme blush 

- MAC RiRi colleciton blush/bronzer combo

- NARS blush in Dolce Vita

Photos taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5