How To: Groom & Fill In Eyebrows

I've been asked a few times in the past 'where do you get your eyebrows done?' and questions similar. To be honest I've always done them myself, mainly because I don't like forking out for someone to do something I can do myself. Also, I've seen other people who have had their eyebrows 'professionally' done and they've ended up four inches apart and one hair thick... Obviously there have been times when things have gone horribly wrong with over plucking, or over drawing etc. but I've learnt from my mistakes and found that with some practice, shaping and grooming eyebrows isn't that difficult.

Firstly I'd advise to map out where you want your eyebrow to be. It's best to use the handle of a thin makeup brush to work this out, or a pencil. Your eyebrows should begin above the widest point of the tip of your nose, this should prevent your eyebrows being too close together or far apart.You should then turn the brush so that it is still touching the widest point of the tip of the nose but also touching the outer side of the pupil of your eye when looking straight ahead, this is where the arch goes. The eyebrow should end at where the brush shows when moved to the edge of the eye (shown in the picture below).

I then find it useful to draw on where you want your eyebrow to be, with a sharp dark pencil to clearly define the hairs you need to keep and the ones you want to remove. If you want to grow your eyebrows back or thicken them up then draw over the areas you want, to make sure you don't remove them.

After I have clearly defined what I want to do with my eyebrow I pluck and thread the hairs outside of the lines. When plucking my eyebrows I use tweezerman slanted tweezers as they are sharp and relatively thin so they allow you to be precise with the hairs you're removing. I thread my eyebrows afterwards as it's better at removing the thin, fuzzy hairs you don't see and the tweezers don't pull out as this gives a much cleaner finish. I find using a bright coloured thread makes the job much easier as it makes it easier to see what you're doing. I just taught myself how to do this from watching youtube videos. After plucking and threading I then comb the eyebrows upwards and trim the hairs which look out of place.

After grooming the eyebrows into shape I comb them so they are all going the same way (up and out towards the edges of my face.) I then move on to filling them in, personally I use a brown eyeshadow and a slanted brush from the body shop, as I feel this looks more natural and less harsh than pencils. However, people with very sparse or over plucked eyebrows might want to use a pencil underneath to define the eyebrow better. I then finish the eyebrows off by applying a clear brow gel (a clear mascara would probably work the same.)

A couple of extra tips...

1. Never shape your eyebrows by plucking from the top, it will make you end up with no arch.
2. When drawing on your eyebrows make the inner halves of your eyebrows a bit lighter, with less product. This makes the eyebrows look more natural and more flattering to the face.
3. If in doubt about making your eyebrows thinner don't do it! It can take a long time to grow back brows and sometimes over plucking can leave permanent bald patches.

If you have any questions, or eyebrow-related tips let me know in the comments below!
Thanks,
  Cameron :)

Review: L'Oréal Paris Skin Perfection Range

A couple of weeks ago, whilst browsing around Superdrug I noticed a new skincare range by L'Oréal Paris, called 'Skin Perfection'. The range included a cleansing milk, toner, two facial washes, exfoliator, micellar solution, cleansing oil and two types of facial wipes. All of the packaging was similar, and looked very nice on the shelf. All products were reasonably priced between £3.99 and £7.99.  I decided to get the blue facial wash, toner and cleansing milk.

The L'Oréal Cleansing & Perfecting Milk retails at £3.99, the cleanser claims to remove the impurities on your face and even waterproof makeup, and in turn giving you a better skin texture which feels more hydrated and smooth. You get 200ml of product in the bottle, which is alcohol free, hypo-allergenic, suitable for people with sensitive skin and use on both the face and eyes. The product is meant to be used morning and night with a cotton pad (However, I use a face wash in the mornings as I've got combination skin and I find that using a cream cleanser twice a day makes my skin too oily.) The cleansing milk has a thin creamy consistency with a really nice fresh scent. The cleanser does take off waterproof makeup to some extent but I found that I had to double, and sometimes triple cleanse to make sure my face was fully clean, and even then there was a chance I'd wake up with panda eyes... This product doesn't perform well on mascara, I found that I had to put in a lot of elbow grease to take mascara off and it left my eyes feeling rather sore. The packaging also says that the cleanser will leave your skin smooth and hydrated, however I don't feel it was any more hydrating or smoothing than any other cream cleanser. Overall, a slight disappointment (I used it for a few days and got fed up with having to triple-cleanse, so I returned to my much loved Vitamin E Hot Cloth Cleanser.)

The L'Oréal Purifying Gel Wash retails at £4.49, it is designed for normal-combination skin types (there is a pink face wash, for people with sensitive and dry skin.) The packaging claims that the face wash removes impurities and unblocks pores to reveal clean and fresh skin. The Gel Wash comes in a 150ml tube, with a soap free formula that creates a light lather when rubbed into the face. It is meant to be used morning and night, by massaging it into a damp face and rinsed well with water. I have been using this face wash for a couple of weeks in the mornings and I LOVE IT! I find that it has a lovely fresh scent, cleans my face well leaving it feeling fresh, with no tightness. I have also noticed that after a couple of weeks the pores on my forehead have diminished and blackheads are less frequent, YAY! I think I'd definitely buy this face wash again, as I find it difficult to find a cleanser which helps control an oily T-Zone without drying out other areas of my face.

Finally, The L'Oréal Velvety-Soft Toner retails at £3.99, the packaging describes it as a toner with a texture which soothes skin, removing makeup and impurities to reveal better skin texture. You get 200ml of product in the bottle, which is hypo-allergenic and suitable for sensitive skin. You are meant to use the toner after cleansing both morning and night. Firstly, I really like the consistency of this toner, its a bit thicker than a normal liquid toner (which I always accidentally pour far too much out...) and it is more like a very thin gel. The toner is also very effective at removing any makeup or dirt that your cleanser has missed, and the toner doesn't dry out your skin or make it feel tight like many other toners do. The only problem I have with this product is the packaging... then you pour some of the toner out onto a cotton pad I find that it usually drips down the bottle a little bit, it's not really a problem, just a bit annoying. Overall though, I'd say this is a good toner.

If you have any questions, or you have tried out these products, or any others in the range, let me know how you've got on with them in the comments below!
Thanks,
  Cameron :)

Review: MAC Face And Body Foundation

MAC Face and Body Foundation is described on the MAC Cosmetics UK website as being a low to medium coverage foundation which creates a natural satin finish, with a water resistant and long-wearing formula. The foundation can be purchased in two sized bottles, 50ml and 120ml, and in a wide variety of cool (C) and warm (N) shades. The 50ml bottle retails at £21.50 and the 120ml bottle is £27.

I bought a 120ml bottle of C2 from the UK MAC website, which offered free delivery if you spent over £30, so I made sure I did (Would be rude not to!) I made the order on Friday and received the box on Tuesday. I ordered online as I realised that you could only get 50ml bottles in the department stores near me, and I'd much rather spend an extra £5.50 and get more than double the amount of product, who wouldn't?!

So, I opened the box and saw that the foundation comes in a squeezy plastic bottle, with a small plastic spout to dispense the product and a screw cap. I personally prefer this type of packaging, as I find that with glass pump bottles you can never get the last bit of foundation out, which is very frustrating as it could probably cover your face twice, if you could actually get it out! And obviously glass is much easier to break. However, some people may be put off by the packaging as it is not particularly aesthetically pleasing...

Anyway, I screwed off the lid and poured some on the back of my hand, and immediately noticed that it is very runny in consistency, almost like water. I don't particularly mind the thickness of the liquid as I think the plastic spout is good at dispensing the right amount of product, however, I wouldn't be surprised if there is an accident at some point when it ends up all over the carpet... Also, I noticed it had a rather odd smell like rubber/plastic, but this disappears as it is applied, so it's not really an issue. So, I rubbed it in gently with my fingers and saw that it has a very light coverage, as advertised. I continued to buff it in with a Crownbrush c439 and it felt like the consistency completely changed, from a thin liquid to a creamy, thick liquid.

When applying Face and Body to my face I stippled it all over my face to ensure that there was an even distribution of product and then went back in with the crownbrush c439 to buff it all in. On my face I noticed that the coverage it not enough to cover up blemishes, scars etc on its own, however it does even out skin tone well and it looks like you're not wearing any make-up! The colour I got (C2) is probably too dark for me, but when it's blended in it matches my skin completely, due to the sheer formulation of the foundation. The foundation gives a satin finish, which would look great on a person with dry skin, as I'm Oily/Combination wearing this foundation without powder is a big no-no for me as I'd be far too shiny very quickly! For the purpose of this post, I've only applied the foundation to half of my face so you can see the difference it makes.

I would say this foundation is perfect for people who want sheer looking foundation and don't need much coverage. The foundation performs very well in flash photography, so it would work very well for bridal makeup and photo shoots. The foundation wears very well and I find by the end of the day my skin still looks as good as when I first apply it. The only negatives I would have about this foundation is that Oily or Combination skin types would definitely have to use a powder to reduce shine, also, it contains no SPF so you'd have to add that in elsewhere in your skincare regime.

Overall I'd say this is a great foundation for anyone looking for a natural, 'like skin but better' look when trying to find a foundation, and the fact you get 120ml means it should last for a long time. Also, the foundation is buildable, I've tried it with two layers and it gives a better coverage without looking cakey or unnatural. A definite re-purchase from me!

Here's a picture of me wearing the foundation, concealed with Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 10, set with Kryolan Anti-Shine Powder and contoured with Sleek Contour Kit in Medium.

If you have any questions, or you yourself have tried out this product, let me know how you've got on with it in the comments below!
Thanks,
  Cameron :)