_allmelsmakeup

Friday, 26 February 2016

top 4 blending brushes for the eye...

I think its safe to say blending brushes are the most important part of creating a flawless eye look, am I right? There are so so so many out there, I myself have rounded up quite a few but have narrowed it down to my top 4 for creating that eye look we all desire, hope you like it! X

1: Mac 217
I honestly think this is the best all round blending brush out there. If I had 4 of these I could hands down create a flawless eye look as its just so versatile! I use it most of the time for applying darker colour in the crease below my transition shade. As you can tell from the images it has a large surface area but it's quite thin so you can directly blend colour without creating a mess. It can also be used for smudging the lower lash line, applying a lid colour for a subtle look, anything and everything this is my favourite eye brush!

2: Zoeva 227

A lot of us would not be up for paying £21 for the MAC 217 so an awesome dupe is this Zoeva 227 soft definer priced at £7.99. It is so so similar in shape and performs similarly to the 217. The reason I've chose this also is because I use it for a different reason, which is blending my transition shade, its just that tad bit thinner so can get in that upper crease without hitting the brow. If the transition shade isn't blended then it can ruin the whole eye look, which is always a faf :(. If you don't want to purchase the 217 this is a great alternative and neither of them shed which is a bonus!

3: Morphe m420
I bloody love this brush. Morphe is one of my favourite makeup brands in general because they're cheap and chirpy but of great quality. I love this brush inparticular for an overall blend. Harh line which isnt moving, grab the 420. Messy outer corner, grab the 420 and bobs your uncle!

4: Morphe 518
And were nearing the end so last but not least the Morphe 518. A tapered, medium density, long bristled eye shader brush. I love this brush for blending out the inner corner of the crease, because its tapered and thin at the end its small enough to get into the inner corner without smudging the whole eye. But because the bristles are long I can use a light hand and windshield wiper motions to create the blended look. This isn't a need for everyone but it's great if you're really into smokey eyes!

So there you have it guys! My top 4 blending brushes for the eye, most are cheap and cheerful which is always a bonus. If you were to get 1 brush overall on a budget definitely go for the Zoeva it is gods gift to the 217! I love them all equally and I hope you do if you purchase one yourself :). Thanks for reading X

FAKE TANNING 101

Hello! So today's post is going to be all about fake tanning. I myself prefer to be tanned, I think my makeup looks better when I do so and I'm just more confident with a golden glow. I do like my fair skin from time to time but for the most part I am a tan loveeeer at heart;).

Shave;
I like to shave my body the day before I apply my tanner, if I'm going to be getting my legs out that is. This is too ensure I have a smooth surface for my tan to cling on too. My tip is to not shave on the day of applying tan or you will end up with that famous 'dotty' look. This is where the tan sinks into the open pores. Shaving the day before makes sure your pores have closed up completely and you're ready to apply the tanner!

Exfoliate;
Oh my f'in god I cant stress enough how important this step is to achieving a non-streak, non-patchy tan. Its so easy but so many just miss it out the routine:(. I proceed with this step the day I'm going to tan, nip into the shower a couple hours before I want to apply the tan & scrub off any existing tan from my last application. Then jump out and rub my skin dry ensuring my skin is as smooth as a baby bottom! Doing this a couple hours before also ensures your pores close up from the heat in the shower so again you're not left with the 'dotty' look. Just go into Boots & grab yourself some £1.99 exfoliating gloves and you're good to go!

Application;

So because I tan so often I'm not one for spending a lot of money on tanning products, but I do like to make sure I'm using a tanner with a green tone in it. The green tone in tanning products are there to counteract the orange outcome so we don't look like oompa loompas, yes we've all had that stage before! So the tan I personally use which is cheap and works the best for me is the St Moriz in 'Dark'. This is the cheap dupe for St Tropez and to be honest its a bloody gooden! I first off apply moisturiser to my elbows, wrists, knuckles and knees to ensure that the tan doesn't go darker in those areas as the skin is drier there. I then do 2 pumps on each part of my body (arms, legs, chest, tummy) applying it in circular motions with a cheap mitt all over my body. My trick is when it comes to my hands and neck, to grab a small make-up buffing brush and blend out the tan on those hard to blend areas, this just helps with you having no patchiness or streaks in the final result! :)

Develop;
So now its time for the waiting game, on the tanning bottle it suggests to wait around 4-6 hours for the tan to develop to its darkest colour, but I apply mine before I go to bed and wash it off in the morning. This ensures I have a really dark colour so when I do come to wash the Guide colour off in the shower I'm not left with my pale self again.

Wash Off;
This part is so important in making sure that the guide colour is washed off the skin leaving you with a beautiful dark bronzed look. If this step isn't complete, good luck too streaky lines when you get a drink spilt down you halfway through the night haha! If you didn't know, the guide colour is the top layer of the tan that is there to show you the darkest colour your tan could be. It also helps to wash the green tone off the tan off to leave you with a more neutral coloured tan, so you don't look like Shrek;).

Moisturise;
As we know all of the above process is a ballache to be doing more than once a week, or maybe I'm just lazy, who knows. So the way I keep my tan from cracking on my skin and flaking off is straight and simple, MOISTURISE. Moisturising is so damn important to keeping your tan on for a good 1 week, after that it will be time to scrub off and repeat the above steps. I myself have hereditary Eczema so its important for me to moisturise in particularly, but for anyone out there struggling to keep their tan on, just moisturise day and night and you'll be good to go!

Q & A

How do I prevent the dotty look when I apply tanner?
Always shave the day before, this process will close up your pores by the time you go to apply the tan, open pores is what gives you the infamous 'dotty look'. Shave 1 day before and Bobs your Uncle.
What tan is good and cheap?
I haven't tested a lot of tans in all honesty but the one I use which is the St Moriz is £4.99 and has worked great for me for years, has a great colour pay off and lasting power.
How do I stop my dry patches from looking so dark?!
Apply vaseline!! Creating that barrier will prevent your tan from developing so much on the drier areas, use a buffing make-up brush to blend into all the hard to blend edges as well.

So there you have it, my step by step guide on Fake Tanning 101, every step is so simple but so effective so I hope this has given you a greater outlook on the golden glow and I hope this advice helped, thanks for reading X

Mini Haul Of First Impressions

So I went into Boots a few days ago with the mindset of repurchasing my daily facial wash, yeah well lets just say that mindset went down the drain, why am I not surprised. So anyway from purchasing these products I thought I'd use it to my advantage and do a couple first impressions, enjoy the read X

1: Natural Collection Blushes (£1.99)
I'd heard a couple of people talk about these blushes in the beauty industry so I thought hey they're only £1.99 each I may as well try a few. First off they have reasonable pigmentation but for the price you cant complain, although they are quite buttery so I was quite impressed in that sense! Applied to the cheeks they can be quite hard to blend, but as long as you apply a little at a time they actually do look quite pretty and for the price I wouldn't mind repurchasing!

Shades Left to Right ( Blushed Cheeks, Peach Melba, Dusky Pink)

Left to Right ( Dusky Pink, Blushed Cheeks, Peach Melba )

2: Maybelline Brow Satin Eyebrow Duo (£7.99)
I was on the borderline of buying this as I'd heard mixed reviews prior, but I went with it anyway because I'm always on the lookout for a cheaper alternative to the ABH Brow Wiz which is £15.50. I'm iffy about this, I'm not keen on the shape of the pencil, I cant get a precise outline for my eyebrows with it, but it is creamy and is good for creating fake 'hairlike' strokes. The sponge tip on the other hand is just rubbish in all honesty, it rubs off within around 2 hours and I'd rather just use the pencil side to fill my eyebrows in. For the price it will be good for a quick day when you want something simple but definitely not for a night out or those sharp brows haha!

Shade 'Medium Brunette'

As you can tell the sponge filler has no pigmentation at all, on the left :(

3: Garnier Micellar Water (£3.49)
I've tried this product in the past but it has been so long since I've used it I forgot what it was like and it seems to always be on offer in Boots so I was like why not its £3.49, although it was on offer. So on first impressions I... LOVE it!! It takes my eye makeup off with just a couple swipes and no tugs or pulls, no more painful eyes after using wipes yay :). I also use this just before my Ponds cleanser all over my face to make sure I wipe away the excess dirt that gets all clogged up in my pores, gross right? All in all it has not made me breakout which is a bonus & its cheap!

4: Collection Sheer Loose Powder (£2.99)

I bought this on the whim whilst I was repurchasing my oldie but goodie Collection Concealer, it caught the corner of my eye so I just popped it straight in my basket. In all honesty I'm quite glad I did because I do quite like this product, I bought it especially for the 'baking' technique to set my under eyes and below my contour. Its not finely milled like the Laura Mercier setting powder but for £2.99 you cant expect it to be perfect, however it does sit on the skin well bar the messiness of the packaging. Its got a nice yellow undertone too it which brightens the under eye too a certain extent and on a natural make-up day I would definitely pick it out to use.

5: Loreal Brow Artist Plumper

I bought this because of Emily Canham's repetitive use of it on her recent Beauty Videos on You-tube, also did not miss her pretty face on the Max Factor stand besides Loreal ;). I will say I prefer this so much too the Maybelline Brow Drama, the fact it has hair like fibres in the bristles of the brush, it creates a beautiful effect on my non-existent eyebrows! It keeps my brows in place for the most part of the day, and the fact it comes in a few shades is also great, would highly recommend to you brow fanatics like me.