HD Brows

Brows are becoming more of a trend now than they have ever been. Sadly however, this trend has created 'The Scouse Brow', a trend which simply encompasses Liverpool's tendency to make everything bigger. In most ways this is a plus, and in fact is one of the things I love most about this city, however I cannot bear this current trend!

Luckily though, not everybody is a fan of this current trend. Naturally, I am quite fair, and so therefore my brows are too. They are also quite sparse and it had been years since I had had them professionally shaped. It is also incredibly difficult to find somebody during this trend, who you can trust to give you a nice shape and not a 'scouse brow'.

I had heard about HD brows through the grapevine a couple of years ago. Only certain salons offer it and the technicians have to specifically trained. It is a 7 step programme which includes tinting, waxing, threading, trimming  and plucking. The video above shows the founder of HD Brows explaining the treatment and effects.

I get mine done by Liz at Skin Deep Salon in Huyton. She is lovely, and my brows have really started to get a nice shape to them. As my brows were particularly bad (they used to grow in every direction possible plus have a very strange gap in them), she said that it might take a couple of treatments before they started to follow the shape that she was creating. I've had them done 3 times now and I go back every 2-3 months to have them reshaped. I pay £25 but I know that some places are cheaper and some more expensive. I think it is important to find somebody that you trust to do them as well.

Here is a before and after picture of my brows the very first time I had them done.

Since this picture, they are more defined and the shape is a lot more noticeable now. I am really pleased with them and would recommend the service to anyone. If you are looking for somebody in your area, the HD Brows website allows you to type in your post code and find somebody in your area that offers the treatment. It can seem quite expensive but when you consider the time and money that it saves in brow pencil I think it is a worthy investment, plus it completely changes the way your face looks. I cannot recommend it enough!

Crest Whitening Strips

We are such an image conscious society nowadays that you cannot find a beauty salon in the Liverpool area that does not offer botox, fillers, chemical peels and teeth whitening to name but a few. I have myself had my teeth whitened at a beauty salon, which not only didn't work, but according to my dentist, was also very dangerous. In fact, the same salon left my mum with a condition called 'Burning Mouth Syndrome' because they didn't protect her gums during the treatment. However, I simply cannot afford to pay £350 to get my teeth whitened professionally, and if I'm being honest, It's not a treatment that I am in desperate need of. However, I have been recommended the Crest Whitening Strips by a few people now so I thought I would give them a go.

They're fairly cheap; I paid £21 for 28 packs of upper and lower strips. You place the clear, sticky strips onto your teeth and leave it on for 5 minutes. I've done my first packet today and it was really easy. It felt slightly weird to have these plastic strips over my teeth but then they were only on for 5 minutes. I haven't experienced any sensitivity, although some reviews that I have read said that I would so I will let you know if I do once I have been using them for a significant amount of time. I know there are plenty of other alternatives to getting your teeth professionally whitened such as the kits that you can buy from beauty salons, however due to my first bad experience, I think these whitening strips are the best option for me! I'll give it a couple of weeks and then I will let you know if I think that they're making an improvement to the colour of my teeth!

What to do once you have found the perfect foundation!

Now that you have found the perfect foundation, you have to know how to get the best out of it. You can do this in a number of ways, but mainly you have to focus on skincare and application technique. There is only so much that a foundation can do. If your skin isn't prepped underneath then no matter how good the foundation is, or how much it matches your skin, you won't get it completely flawless.

A dry skin must be well moisturised before applying foundation. If it isn't, it's going to drink up the foundation which will cause it to disappear from your skin, or if your skin is really dry and flaky, then the foundation will flake off with it. I usually spend about 5-10 minutes prepping the skin, which usually entails me massaging the moisturiser into the skin until it is completely soaked in and the blood is flowing to the surface, giving a glowing and healthy effect. Once this is done then applying the foundation is easy. Usually, I will only use a primer on a dry skin if it is moisturising primer. I love the Laura Mercier one for dry skin, as it has 3 different kinds, moisturising, regular and oil free. You use less foundation as well because it blends so much more evenly with this primer underneath. Failing that, I will use a moisturiser in place of a primer. I love MAC strobe cream, which I tend to use alone underneath foundation on a dry skin.

For a normal/combination skin, I tend to use something like MAC Studio Moisture Fix as it is a nice thin moisturiser and therefore you can apply make up directly over it. It also has a time release system so will keep your skin moisturised throughout the day. I might also use some MAC fix plus to help keep the skin refreshed and moisturised. I will tend to use a thin layer of primer, such as MAC Prep + Prime Skin or Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. If your skin is more on the oily side then maybe use an oil control moisturiser in place of a normal one, or alternatively a more oil controlling primer such as MAC Face Protect Primer or Laura Mercier Oil Free foundation primer.

If your skin is really oily then use an oil control moisturiser such as MAC Oil Control Lotion, and then an oil control primer, such as the ones mentioned above. Not only will this help your foundation to go on more evenly and flawlessly but it will also help to keep it on and keep it looking beautifully flawless all day!

How to find the Perfect Foundation!

The question that I get asked most often is, "What foundation is right for my skin?". This is a question that can't be answered quickly and easily and in most cases requires you to try the foundation for more than just 5 minutes when buying it. Trying the foundation initially however is VERY important but there are also many other things that you must take into account when buying a foundation. So many people are uneducated in these things and it is for that reason that many people find buying a foundation so difficult.

Here are some of the most important things that you should consider when you are buying a foundation.

• What type of skin you have;

This is one of the most important things to consider when you're buying a foundation. You have to buy a foundation that will sit well on top of YOUR skin. If you have dry skin, you are going to want something that is going to add moisture, luminosity and radiance to the skin. A foundation is meant to enhance the skin and make it look its best. It is for this reason that you should either never use, or only use sparingly, a powder on top of a dry skin. Powder will dry up any moisture on the skin (hence why it mattes a dewy foundation when it is applied on top), and it will only make the skin look flaky and dull. There are powders that work well on a dry skin such as MAC Mineralize skinfinish which does not have a matte finish and is baked with water to prevent it from drying out the skin.

The same kind of things can be said for an oily skin. If you have an oily skin then you are going to want to use a foundation that is going to dry up the oils on your skin, and stop it from looking greasy and shiny. This is the job of a matte foundation, most of which contain Silica, which helps too absorb and disperse oils across the skin. It is a general rule of thumb that most matte foundations tend to have more coverage to them because people with an oily skin will tend to suffer more with spots as the oil blocks sebaceous glands on the face. However this is not always the case, and MAC have brought out Matchmaster, a matte foundation that has a sheer to medium buildable coverage. You will also need a setting powder if you have a very oily skin as this will help to eliminate oils immediately and throughout the day. It is also another rule of thumb that people with an oily skin should not moisturise. However I am not of this school of thought and will be following this post with one about skincare, and how to make the most out of your perfect foundation once you have found it.

If you have a normal skin then you are lucky enough to wear pretty much any foundation that you want, providing that you use the correct skincare, and that the foundation reacts to your skin well. Some foundations can dry out a normal skin, some can make it oily and it is for this reason that you need to be aware of the types of skincare that you are using. The same can be said for combination skin; skincare is very important.

• What you want your skin to look like;

This is an umbrella question really and encompasses the following things; the finish, coverage and colour of your foundation. The finish is whether you want your foundation to be matte, or have a sheen or a dewy glow to it. Generally people with an oily skin will go for a matte, and people with a drier skin will go for a dewy/satinfinish. It is important that you know what you want because the artist will not be able to tailor their service (and your foundation) to your needs. Sometimes the finish doesn't solely rely on the foundation but also on what is added later such as powder and blusher. I have oily skin but I do like a dewy glow to my skin. Therefore I use a matte foundation, it combats my oils and therefore the foundation lasts longer on my skin as the oils aren't pushing it off. I then add shimmery powder blushers and highlighters to achieve a sheen.

The coverage of your foundation is generally one of the things that is the most misunderstood. Coverage involves how much of your skin that you want to cover. Some people have freckles, pimples or other skin imperfections that they wish to cover and so therefore, something with a full coverage is what you would want to go for. Other people chose not to cover up their freckles and so therefore something with a sheer to medium coverage might be more desirable. Other people have amazing skin and so therefore only want the colour or tone evening out. Again, something with a sheer to medium coverage will take care of the colour whilst letting their natural skin show through.

The colour is the final thing and is usually one of the things that is decided through trying various foundations. Once you have got the texture of the foundation right then the colour is the last thing that you worry about. Some people prefer to lighten their skin, some people stay the same colour, and some people go darker. The colour of your foundation not only depends on the colour of your face, but also the colour of your body. Everything needs to look even at the end of the day.

What is the most important aspect of finding a new foundation however is trying it. Try it in the store, as for a sample, take it away and try it at home for a couple of days. Try it with different skin care and see which gives you the best results. Finding the right foundation is the holy grail of make up for most people and so it is so important to know what you are looking for, so as not to be disappointed. Once you understand your skin and you have a good skin care routine then finding the right foundation should be easy!