makeup tip - fresh faced for the holidays

The last thing i feel like doing when I'm on holidays is putting on makeup.  Normally its too hot and when you are away from work, can you really be bothered!
The best thing to do if you want to look fresh and summery is to get a tinted moisturiser making sure that it has an spf of 15 or more.  Now I have tried these before and there are many brands you can buy, but I found for my skin, it would always look oily after a few hours. It is best to try products on yourself as it may be fine for your skin type.   What I use instead is my fake tan which comes in a cream and i just apply it to my face and after about an hour I have some colour.  I also apply some mascara to brighten up my eyes and add a bit of lip balm for the finishing touch.
Happy Holidays!!!

I'm so sick of eating

Don't you love it when this time of year rolls around and you give yourself permission to eat as much fattening food as possible because every else is going to be. You try your hardest to limit what you have then someone sticks chocolate balls or any of those other festive treats in front of you and you just don't have the will power to say no. Yes your New Years resolution is to lose weight so until then let's eat some more. I put my jeans on today and I might ad that they feel a little firmer than a week ago, but when you have a Christmas present of $33 worth of your absolute favourite mixed lollies that your beautiful husband buys for you every year, what are you to do. What if I eat them while running on the treadmill or allow myself just two a day till their gone. Who am I kidding, I'm going to take one look at them in that bowl when I get home and say - stuff dinner, I'll just eat those so I can finish them before New Years which I will confess I have done the past two nights already and there is still heaps left. Oh well!

Makeup tips - which colours will bring out my eyes

If you have brown eyes - golds, browns anything earthy and even blues look great.
For green eyes - purple shades as well as corals, golds and violet.
For blue eyes - browns, taupes and greys as well as soft peaches and copper tones.
For hazel eyes - browns, purples and violets ( this will bring the green colour out more) greys also work well with corals. This colour eye can wear a lot of different shadows.
This is just a suggestion of colours but I'm not someone who likes to stick to the rules, try anything and everything and if it looks good, wear it, but one rule I do agree with is not matching your eyeshadow with your clothing colour.

Makeup tips - makeup brushes, your essential tools

Every girl should have at least a few good makeup brushes in their makeup bag. This is definately the best way to apply your eyeshadow, blush and lippy. They don't have to cost you a fortune, you can even get get decent ones from Target or even an art supply store. My suggestion is to have a blush brush, about three eyeshadow brushes - to get the best look on your eyes, use a different brush for each colour you put on, this will stop it looking muddy, an eyeliner brush which I get from an art store and a lip brush. If you have these in your bag you will be able to apply your makeup with a lot more ease.

Makeup tip - eyeliner

Eyeliner has always been one of the hardest things to apply to your eyes. Make sure you have a steady hand when putting it on or you can end up with all sorts of mess to clean up. The purpose of eyeliner is meant to make your lashes look thicker but as we all know it also makes your eyes look amazing. If applying pencil, work it back and forward into your lash line so you don't get gaps, I also think its a good idea to smudge it with some eyeshadow so the line doesn't look untidy. Liquid liner is a lot harder to master. You can get liquid liners with their own applicators but I prefer to use a fine flexible brush. Start with a thin line at the inside corner of your eye and do an even line to the end of your eye. Make sure it is thin to begin with as it is easier to make it thicker afterwards. Depending on your eye shape you can also wing it at the outside corner for a more dramatic look. To do this, carry the line past the end of your eye in a slight upward motion working your way back down the line to make it thicker, don't make it too thick to start with, it's always easier to add on then take away. Get practicing 😊

Makeup tips for lipstick

Do you love having those full bold 1950's pinup lips? Well it's all the rage at the moment so when applying lipstick, make sure it's luscious and even. A few tips - use a pencil, now I'm not a fan of lip pencils so if you are going to use one make sure you get the same colour as your lippy, there is nothing worse than seeing a dark line around your lips. Once you outline your lips , remembering that most lips are uneven so make them fuller where you need then apply your lipstick to fill in. It is really important to get a lip brush. Trying to get that straight line around your lips with just your lipstick is nearly impossible, so a lip brush is an important part of your makeup kit. If you've made a smudge or gone out the line because your hand decided to have a spasm, get yourself a makeup wedge and dip it in your foundation and carefully go over that mistake, the corner of the wedge is a great tool for getting straighter lines. Sometimes you can do your lippy and you know that it's crooked but can't for the life of you work out where. Walk away from the mirror for a few minutes then go back and look at it and normally you will see it straight away. Hope this helps.

A Firefighters wife

There was always a mixed bag of feelings when my husband decided to become a firefighter.  First there was the holy crap I'm going to be married to a fireman and then there was the holy crap he's going to be fighting fires and putting himself in danger.  That definately started to out rule the excitement.  Once he was in the job, my fears disappeared as it seemed like it was more fun for him than dangerous.  He went to a lot of quiet stations to start off with, not too much action in the last three and a half years, until he went to a very busy station.  He absolutely loves it there.  He has been to many fires (which surprisingly I have stayed quite calm about), a few fatalities which have been quite sad and I applaud them even more for having to deal with those circumstances, but it's nights like tonight when I'm at the shops trying to ring him to find out if he wants me to pick something up for dinner, and he doesn't answer.  After a few more unanswered calls I give up and come home to find he isn't even there.  It has now been 5 hours since knock off and those fears start up again, is he fighting a fire, has he been injured. 
Oh well, I'd better get used to it.

That arty thing I do

When I first started doing my paper art, I got the original idea from my sister. I bought a book from the UK which had some ideas on how to start creating with paper and off I went on a discovery to see what I could come up with. My favourite piece so far was one I did for a friend who wanted to give a picture to her sister for her 25th anniversary which also coincided with the titanic 25 years. So after sifting through heaps of paper and googling what they wore in that era, I ended up with a piece that I loved. Let me know what you think.

What is the best way to apply foundation

Everyone has their own way to apply their foundation. Most people will do what works for them and there's nothing wrong with that. I remember when the foundation brush came out and it was the in thing to use, but to be honest I never liked them. I found that by the time I spread the foundation on with this, I would then grab a sponge to go over it to get rid of any lines that I'd made from the bristles. Why dirty two things! I find that if I'm applying liquid ( which i prefer) to my own face, I will use my fingers then smooth around the jaw and ears with a sponge. If using a grease based foundation like a stick, then I again use a sponge. To get a better coverage you can use more of a blotting method which will get more off the sponge and with a mineral type foundation either a big fluffy brush or again a sponge will also do the trick.

Christmas time is near

As you become a parent you realize that Christmas is all about the kids. Yeah sure it's great to get a gift from your loved ones, but there's nothing more exciting than buying gifts for the kids, knowing when to stop and then watching them get excited opening them on Christmas Day. This Christmas is more exciting than others for my husband and I which I will reveal in a later blog - so excited!
Anyway I hope everyone is as excited about the silly season as I am having their Christmas parties and preparing for their big day.

Why I love being a makeup artist

There is nothing nicer than making someone feel good about themselves. As a makeup artist this is something I get to do everyday. Whether its a natural sun kissed look or a high fashion style, you can be sure that the transformation can be rewarding for my clients as well as myself. I love the people that want to step out of their comfort zone and try something different mostly because they can't achieve it themselves and they were never taught how. This is why I love to share what I know, because everyone deserves to look beautiful such as the lovely Vikki who came and saw me today.
Cheers.

Makeup Tips - wide eyes

Have you got those wide set eyes that seem like they are trying to escape off your face every time you look in the mirror?  Wide set eyes can make a persons face look quite interesting if you know how to make them work for you.
When applying your eyeshadow, cover the entire lid with a neutral colour (this will help make blending easier), then grab one or two shades darker and start from the inside corner of your eye and blend with a big brush to the outer corner always keeping the inside darker.  You can always go darker again but practice makes perfect and be sure that you blend it properly so you don't have harsh lines where your colours meet.  You can wear eyeliner but make sure it finishes at the end of your eye.  If you wing it out further this will only make your eyes appear even wider so keep it compact.  You can get really inventive with your colours by using lots of shimmers and for an even bolder look, try wetting your brush and then dip it in to the shadow (be cautious as this can be quite strong looking, always blot it on the back of your hand first to make sure of the intensity).

That arty thing I don't finish

I like to be creative, I've been drawing since I can remember and trying my hand at any type of art I can think of, some great and some not so. I've made things and sold them, I've taken sewing classes and failed miserably at it, I love special effects makeup but its who you know in this industry not so much what you know. My biggest problem is finishing what I start. I drew a picture on a huge canvas about 4 years ago and to this day am still not finished. I looked at it about 6 months ago and said right, I'm going to complete that and still here it sits leaning against the wall. I think in the new year as we all make our New Years resolutions, I will be a finisher. It beats saying I'm going to lose weight on the 1st January, as if that ever happens haha.

makeup tips - small eyes

As makeup artists we get taught how to put eyeshadow on different types of eye shapes so we can enhance them, but I'm sure for those of you who aren't  makeup artists, you would also like to know how to make your own eyes the star of your face.
Today we look at small close set eyes.  When applying your eyeshadow keep a neutral or soft shade along the crease then get a darker shade to apply on the outer corner.  This will give the effect of opening your eyes up and making them appear further apart.
If you put darker shades all over the lid, it will actually close them up and make them appear much smaller.  If you are going to apply eyeliner, make sure the line is very fine close to your nose and a little thicker to the outer edge.  Put loads of mascara on the outer corner of your lashes.
Hope this helps.