Light and Simple Make Up

I'm not the kind of girl who goes out without make up. There was a time when I used to, but not anymore. In the morning, when I go out for a walk you might spot me bare faced, other than that, it will rarely happen. At least concealer, mascara and lipstick will be marking their presence.

Sometimes when I'm going out and running late, or in the days when I want something light and nice but quick, this is what I do:  

1. Chanel - Vitalumiere Aqua applied with fingers 
2. Benefit - Stay Don't Stray (primer for concealers and eye shadows) again with fingers, on the lids and under the eyes 
3. Benefit - Fake Up concealer, wherever necessary - I'm always amazed by how practical and easy it is to apply and blend this concealer
4. MAC - Eye Brows in Fling and Spiked
5. By Terry - Eyebrow Mascara
6. Clinique - Neutral Territory 2 palette. This is my favourite eye shadow palette ever. Unfortunately it's limited edition and Clinique is not selling them anymore, but you can find similar shades in quads, duos or individual eye shadows from Clinique. The shades I used for this look were: 

• Light shade of 'Diamonds and Pears' duo - all over the lids with MAC 239 brush (*a similar colour is MAC's Shroom)
• Brown shade of 'Polar Blue' quad - in the crease with MAC 217, and under the eyes, close to the lower lashes with Zoeva 230 brush (*a similar colour is MAC's Satin Taupe)
• Dark brown shade of 'Morning Java' quad - in the outer crease with Zoeva 231 brush, also very close to the upper lashes with MAC 266 brush (*a colour that would work well here is MAC's Embark)

    7.   Mac - Stubborn Brown powerpoint eye pencil on the upper water line

    8.   Rimmel - Scandaleyes in nude on the lower water line

    9.   Eyeko - Lash Curler

  10.  Maybelline - Volum' Express The Colossal mascara

  11.  Clinique - Cheek Pop in Plum Pop applied with Wayne Goss 02 brush

  12.  Lancome - Poudre Majeur Excellence Libre on the T zone

  13.  Hourglass - Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light on my neck

  14.  MAC - Hot Gossip lipstick

Allure Magazine

I love magazines. Vogue, Marie Claire, Elle, InStyle, Love, Stylist. They are all great, but as they are fashion magazines, I always end up a bit frustrated for the lack of articles about beauty.

Last year I found out about Allure magazine. It's an American publication about beauty, health and fashion. From what I know this is the only magazine mostly about beauty there is. It's been published since 1991, but for some mysterious reason there's not a British Allure, and it's sold in only a few places in London (Selfridges, Conde Nast Worldwide News - a showroom near Regent Street - and at some branches of WHSmith). Of course you can always subscribe to it.

The magazine is full of articles about make up, skin and hair care, health, some fashion, and product reviews. I love their Insiders' Guide, Beauty 101, and Beauty by Numbers. Their Essays are always very interesting as well.

I also like their website Allure.com They have a fantastic Beauty Product Finder, lots of interesting articles like this one about contour and highlight, and nice little videos, like this series called Beauty Basics, where they show how to do smoky eyes, apply bronzer, false lashes etc, in a relaxed and fun way.

Skin Care - Sunscreens

An interesting fact about England is that even though the sun doesn't shine as often or as brightly as in other places, it is still extremely damaging to the skin. I wasn't aware of this and it took me a while to realise that after only a few months living here I already had some discolouration on my face.

I've been taking this matter very seriously now and using sunscreens with SPF 50 every day when I go out, even if it's cloudy. If there's daylight, there must be sunscreen.

Choosing the right sunscreen was not easy, as I wanted a product that would protect me from the sun, but that at the same time wouldn't react with my foundation or mess up my make up.

Some sunscreens are good but smell strongly of chemicals, many of them are too greasy, and others leave a white cast on the skin that interferes with the colour of the foundation you are wearing.

Before I found my holy grail sunscreens, I tried a couple that didn't work for me.

Shiseido Urban Environment UV Protection Cream SPF 40
It leaves an accentuated white cast on my face, and smells strongly like sunscreen.

La Roche-Posay Anthelios AC Matte extreme fluid SPF 30
It reacts with my foundation, making it difficult to be worn under make up. It also leaves a white cast on my face.

My absolute favourite sunscreens:

MAC Prep and Prime SPF 50
This product is sold as a primer and it is a fantastic one. It has SPF 50, doesn't smell like a sunscreen, and it's perfect if you have very oily, oily or combination skin as it's light and doesn't clog pores. What I like the most about this product is that it mattifies the skin as no other sunscreen I have tried before. It makes my skin look better even before I put on make up.

Cane + Austin Ultra Sheer Weightless Sunscreen SPF 50
Outstanding sunscreen.The consistency is very runny, it's fragrance-free, oil-free, transparent on the skin, and can be used as a primer. One of the things I like about it is that because it's so sheer it can be reapplied over the make up. Just put some product on your hands and pat delicately on your face.  
It also has antioxidants. No parabens, no alcohol.

Dark eyes, red lips

According to the make up rules you should choose either dark eyes or red lips. The focus should be on only one feature of your face, for balance. The problem is that sometimes we feel greedy and we want everything. For those occasions when we are feeling bold and want to break some rules, I found that keeping the skin looking natural and fresh, and using matte (or lightly shimmery) eyeshadow and lipstick, make this look more wearable. So if you think this kind of make up suits you, let's have some fun!

For this specific look I used:

MAC Paint Pot in Blackground on my lids as a base, on top of it MAC Carbon eyeshadow, and then Wedge to soften the edges. Under the eyes close to the lashes Wedge again with a Zoeva 230 pencil brush. Paint pots dry very quickly, so the best way to use them is to finish one eye and then start the other. I used MAC 239 to apply it and then 217 to blend it and to apply/blend the eyeshadows.

MAC Strobe Cream as a primer

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation, applied with Zoeva 103 Defined Buffer brush

MAC Pro Longwear concealer on my brow bones as a highlighter...

... and under my eyes applied with fingers and blended with Real Techniques Deluxe Crease brush

To fill in my brows, I used Mac Eyebrows in Lingering, then Spike, and finished with By Terry Brow Mascara (a cheap option for this is Maybelline Brow Drama)

MAC Eye Pencil in Smolder on the upper waterline and between the lashes

Eye lash curler - always before the mascara

Maybelline the Colossal Volum' Express Waterproof Mascara in black

To prepare and moisturise my lips I applied Nuxe Reve de Miel with my fingers

The lipstick I chose was MAC Russian Red, a classic, and in my opinion one of the most flattering red lipsticks there are. I applied it with a small flat brush, but it can be any brush that works for you

After the lipstick I lined my lips with MAC Lip Pencil in Redd

On the cheeks MAC Cremeblend Blush in Posey applied with Real Techniques Stippling Brush, and a bit of Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul

On my t-zone I applied the amazing Lancome Poudre Majeur Excellence - 01 Translucide, that mattifies the skin but leaves it looking natural and beautiful

Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude on my lower waterline to brighten up the eyes

And finally a tiny little bit of Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder highlighter into the inner corner of my eyes, top of my cheek bones and cupid's bow

Lip care - lip balms

I have very dry lips. They were always a bit sensitive, but since I moved to London they became much drier. The list of products I have tried along the years is quite big, from pure coconut oil and cocoa butter to all kinds of moisturising lipsticks and lip balms. Some work, some are just a waste of time and money.

Coconut oil is very good, but it's also so light that has to be reapplied all the time. The same with natural lip balms made with vegetable oils. Once I tried one made of olive oil, beeswax, and shea butter. It was very nice, had a beautiful scent of vanilla, but as with the coconut oil, it didn't last more than half an hour on my lips.

I have found good products here in England. Some of the best are more expensive, but there are very good ones that will do the job without emptying your wallet.

If you want to indulge yourself, here are some of the products that are usually more expensive:

Nuxe - Reve de Miel 
It's different from all the lip balms I've ever tried. It has a citrus scent and a very strange, thick consistency. It's a good night treatment, and the best to use under matte lipsticks; just remember to take off the excess with a paper tissue before applying the lipstick.

Rodial - Glam Balm 
Very soothing lip balm, it smells like roses and it's very hydrating. Good to use during the day, but has to be reapplied often. Not so good for night time.

Balance Me - Rose Otto Intensive Lip Salve 
I was impressed by this product the first time I tried it. My lips were instantly soft, silky and moisturised. It smells strongly like flowers/herbs, which was fine at first but started bothering me after two or three days. Good option if you don't mind its scent.

But if you prefer to spend your money in other things, there are good and cheap options out there:

Nivea - Hydro Care Lip Balm
It's one of the best for the price. Moisturises, it's not sticky, lasts on the lips and it has SPF 15, that is always a bonus. I've tried Blistex, Carmex and Vaseline, and I still think Hydro Care is more effective.

Palmer's - Cocoa Butter
I always cary one of these in my bag. As good as Nivea's Hydro Care, this one is creamy and rich, and would be my choice for no lipstick days. Very moisturising, smells like chocolate, and also has SPF 15.

Affordable option for a night time treatment:

Bepanthen
I've been using it for years and never found anything better. It doesn't smell good, doesn't taste good, doesn't come in a fancy packaging, but it's absolutely amazing. I use it every single night, last thing before I go to bed, and it works wonders.

Brushes or fingers?

Mary Greenwell is a renowned make up artist who has made up a huge number of famous women, among them Cindy Crawford, Princess Diana, Keira Knightley and Cate Blanchett. She trained two of the most important make up artists today, Lisa Eldridge and Charlotte Tilbury.

She works mostly with her fingers and the results are always amazing. In a video I watched once she said she doesn't mind other people using brushes, but she doesn't like to work with brushes and sponges because she finds them dirty and a waste of product and time.

Every time I go to a make up counter looking for foundation I ask the make up artists there what's the best way to apply it. Sometimes they say fingers, sometimes they say brushes. Once I went to an YSL counter interested in the Forever Youth Liberator Foundation and as always asked about the best way to put it on. The make up artist said I should definitely use a brush, never fingers - that could transfer bacteria to my face.

Most make up artists I know of use brushes, Bobbi Brown, Pat McGrath, Rae Morris and even Lisa Eldridge, who has assisted Mary Greenwell. It's a very personal choice, and what works for one person might not work for another. Of course brushes can be dirty as well as fingers if you don't clean them properly.

I understand using less brushes can be more practical and save time and money, as good brushes might be very expensive, but personally, I prefer brushes. I think they are more precise and deliver better results than fingers. If I'm in a hurry, I will use my fingers to apply foundation, concealer, cream blusher and cream eye shadow, leaving only finishing powder to be applied with a brush, but if I can I will take my time and pamper myself with a lot of beautiful and fluffy brushes.

My Favourite Products for Eyebrows

It was just a few weeks ago that I started having fun with my eyebrows. Before that the focus would be my eyes, lips or base, and the eyebrows would always be the last part of my make up routine. If I had time.

This changed when I was reading a makeup book and I noticed that the pictures I liked the most were the ones where the models had beautiful, defined eyebrows. Everything in the face looks tidier when the eyebrows are done right. Not too dark, not too defined, but right.

There are many ways to make up your brows and each person has their favourite products. I have tried clear mascara, eye shadow, Benefit's Browzings, MAC's eye brow pencil, and finally, the best makeup for eyebrows I tried so far - By Terry's eyebrow mascara. Absolutely perfect for my eyebrows. It gives me exactly what I was looking for: defined, natural looking brows with a minimum effort. In my case, as my brows have a good shape but the hair is too light, I use only the mascara, but if you have sparse hair in your brows, the use of a pencil might also be necessary. Another way to use only the mascara would be to put a bit more pressure on the wand when you are applying the product. This is what the make up artist did to my eyebrows when I was testing the product. It gave me very beautiful, bold eyebrows. Too much for me, but works for someone who likes them Cara Delevingne's style.

If I'm in a hurry, I use clear mascara only, to tidy up the hair and keep everything in place. Better than nothing.

I learned how to fill in eyebrows with eyeshadow, and it's a good way to do it, but I always end up choosing one of the other products. The trick here is to start from the highest point of the brows, where you'll deposit more product.
The colours I like the most for eyebrows are MAC Omega and Concrete, applied with an angled brush and then using a lash brush to finish.

Some of the best eyebrow pencils, in my opinion: MAC's Fling and Lingering. I like to use both colours, a bit of Fling and then Lingering where necessary. Excellent for beginners.

Benefit's Browzings is another great product. Apply the coloured wax first with the angled brush and set it with the powder using what they call the blending brush.

And finally my current favourite product: By Terry eyebrow mascara. I use the colour nº4 - Dark Brown. The most import advice about this product is to always clean the excess of product from the wand before you apply it. I put it on with a very light hand, use a lash brush or a clean wand to remove any clump whilst it's still wet, and then forget about it once it's dry.