Illamasqua Cream Foundation

I love the idea of using a cream foundation. Something that melts like butter into the skin, giving a beautiful healthy sheen on the skin whilst looking like there is barely any product. Unfortunately for me, my oily skin has prevented this. I have tried MAC full coverage, which I have to be honest, I really love, but it's not matte and I do have problems with the oil after a few hours. 

I went into Illamasqua in Liverpool the other day, mainly for a browse and a chat with my friends Paddy and Rachel. Pretty soon, as is the way when 3 make up artists get together, the talk turned to products and which ones they loved from the brand. Rachel had mentioned the cream foundation to me previously but I'm used to working with liquid and dismissed the idea. I instead opted for Rich Liquid because, as you all know, I love a bit of coverage! Paddy however insisted that I try the cream and I loved the feel that it had to it - I barely felt like I was wearing anything! So I put my make up artist discount to good use and got both. I am yet to try the rich liquid, reason being, I am IN LOVE with the cream foundation. It literally takes 2 minutes to apply. I apply it in the same way that I would apply studio tech from MAC (I'm not a massive fan of tech either because the smell makes me feel nauseous and it gives me horrible blackheads for some reason). I spritz my face with MAC fix +, which I feel lubricates the skin and helps the foundation to slide on rather than drag across the skin. Then I buff it all over with a real techniques buffing brush. I did it this morning without actually looking - the colour is so perfect for me. Paddy needs a pat on the back for that one because the colour system is more than confusing! 

The finish is quite matte and it really did last all day without a primer. I have yet to try it with a primer but I'm sure it will only make me love it more. It has great coverage but manages to looks sheer and gives my skin a radiance without being oily. Today was my third day wearing it and my forehead went slightly oily but other than that, I got 12 hour wear on what was a long working day. Also I should mention that I used a translucent powder and a powder puff to set it in place. If you are a fan of GossMakeupArtist on youtube, you will see that this is his method, and it works a treat!

I'm going to use it with a primer and try it on a few different skintypes and then report back but so far...it's a big thumbs up from me :-) 

Making it as a Make Up Artist!

We have seen in recent years a great rise in the number of make up wearers. Wearing make up, and a lot of it has become very popular. This is of course thanks to celebs such as Katie Price, Jessie J, as well as the Kardashians, to name but a few. This then led to the rise in youtube tutorials and such like, with people wanting to recreate these looks for themselves. Youtube is where my make up journey started. I have always been interested in make up, and from a young age I always had a make up box that I would play around with and investigate new ways to apply make up. Usually it was stuff that I had robbed from my mum's make up bag. I started watching tutorials on youtube and it was when I watched the very first pixiwoo tutorial that I realised how much I loved make up. It was a Marilyn Monroe tutorial and Sam was about 8 months pregnant on it. From then on, I became obsessed with make up and after completing Sam and Nic's course I saw make up as a career rather than just a passion. This was 4 years ago now and ever since then I have been honing my skills and learning new things every day. I want to take these skills further to eventually be at the top of my game. It may take me 20 years but is something that I am prepared to dedicate my life to. If there is one thing that you can say about me, it's that I love my job! 

Now there are so many people who call themselves 'Make Up Artists' and they make it a lot harder for people who really want to succeed in the industry. I am by no means where I want to be, but over the past 4 years I have worked hard to practice, broaden my artistic skills as well as my people skills, my knowledge about new techniques and products as well as trend awareness. I read books, fashion magazines, watch youtube tutorials and most of all, get stuck in and don't let my fear of something stop me from trying it. I have to work for free a lot of the time to broaden my portfolio but I know that it will all be worth it in the end and I know that this is the career that I want to be in for a long time, and nothing comes without hard work and persistence. We can all be a little bit lazy sometimes and the temptation can be to go where the money is, or to give up because we can't be bothered. Things don't happen overnight so all I can stay is stick with it! 

Another great tip is to decide what kind of make up you want to do and get as much experience as you can, whether it be fashion, film and TV or just a make up artist who provides occasion make up for girls in Liverpool. But whatever it is, don't be put off by the people who are charging less than you and who get all the work. Because if you work hard, it will pay off! I didn't think 4 years ago that I would be where I am today, and I still have a VERY long way to go! Make connections, work hard, smile and most of all BE A NICE PERSON!!!

Products that I'm loving at the moment!

Like all make up artists, I go through phases of loving and hating various products. There are some that I write off and then come back to years later with new knowledge and love, and then there are things that I forget about or get bored of and then pull them out of the drawer 4 years down the line and remember how much I loved them! This post includes some of those things but also includes some new products too!

1) Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre

Embryolisse is a french skincare brand that makes the most amazing products for a variety of skin types. This is one of its most popular moisturisers and is suitable for all skin types. I was quite dubious when trying this at first but on giving it a go, I can honestly say that it is one of the best moisturisers I have ever used. On drier skins it completely hydrates it and gives it a beautiful radiance. For more oily skins, it helps to keep the skin feeling smooth and supple without being excessively oily. It is beautifully thin, so that it can be used before make up and is a perfect primer for drier skins. I must say though, I used this morning and night whilst on holiday as my skin was slightly drier. I would usually only use it of a night as it is very moisturising and I find that using this twice daily on my oily skin would be too much. I still use my clean and clear moisturiser of a morning and perhaps dot this where I feel any dryness. 

This amazing product was once only available from french pharmacies but you can now get the range from lovemakeup.co.uk. Mine was a gift from a client after a trip to Paris so I have no idea how much it costs. I'm guessing it would be cheaper in Paris so if you are going over, make sure to buy some there!

2) Bioderma Crealine H2O

Another French pharmacy brand, this is an amazing gentle make up remover and cleaner. It feels like water on the skin and completely cuts through all make up, including waterproof. I can honestly say I would be completely lost without this product now. It leaves my skin feeling clean, cool and soothed and doesn't hurt my eyes when removing make up as some removers can do. 

There are some other options in this range that incorporate formulas for an oily skin, but I have found that this one has been perfect on my skin. This one was again a present from a friend and has proved a little more difficult to find than embryolisse. I now get mine from amazon. I will aim to try the oily skin formula and let you know how I get on. I pay £25 for 2 500ml bottles, which I don't think is too expensive considering the quality of the product. Again, this is probably cheaper in France!

3) Illamasqua Obsidian

This is a black eyeshadow that came out with the human fundamentalism collection and is the most pigmented black eyeshadow that I have ever used. I use it with a base, something like MAC blacktrack or smolder pencil and it sits beautifully on top. It is much blacker than MAC Carbon, whose formula seems to have changed in recent years unfortunately, which means it is less pigmented than it used to be. The only bad thing I would say about this is that, being a bit of a neat freak over my kit, it doesn't fit nicely into one of my palettes, which are all MAC. I do intended on investing in some more illamasqua shadows and keeping them all in a Z palette. It blends beautifully, without looking grey and I just love it. I have a feeling that this is one of those products that I will buy again and again. 

4) Illamasqua Skin Base in Au

This is a gorgeous sparkly gold version of illamasqua's most popular foundation. I use it as a bronzer on paler clients and as a beautiful highlighter for darker skins. I got it as a replacement to my chanel bronze universel, when it went MIA last year. Although the products are very different, Au is beautiful as a bronzer and probably has just as many uses as bronze universel. (And is a fraction of the price too, especially for make up artists who use their pro discount!) Whether this will be a product I will purchase again, I have yet to decide, but I have enjoyed using it a lot lately! The only thing I am slightly dubious about is the amount of glitter that this has in it and the fact that this might not go down too well with some people. It looks amazing on the body that's for sure, and carefully applied on the face can look amazing too. I definitely wouldn't use it as a foundation for all over the skin. So many products have shed-loads of glitter in them these days, that I don't really see a problem but it may put some people off. Maybe a try before you buy? 

I think that's all for now! I have been using some amazing brushes lately too, but I will write a separate blog about them as I think that this post would be a much longer and rather boring one if I started rambling on about them too!

The Scouse Brow!

Working as a make up artist in Liverpool, I get to explore a million and one different make up looks, all of which excite me and some of which challenge me. This is one of the things that I love about working in Liverpool, the girls (and some boys) are all very fashion forward, daring and usually willing to try new things. They stay ahead of the trends and aren't afraid to try them out. 

One of the biggest trends of recent years is of course, the 'Scouse Brow'. This style of brow means that you draw the eyebrow in very harshly, usually a lot darker than your natural brow and also a lot thicker. I have also seen a great many that are actually thickest at the very front of the brow, with this part actually being elongated to the point that the two brows almost meet in the middle. I SIMPLY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS TREND. Now being a Liverpool girl myself, I understand that we can sometimes take a trend too far, and I'm not averse to giving the brows a little bit of help, in fact, I'm all for it. But I just don't understand how these girls walk out of the door and believe that their brows look nice. More often than not, they completely take over the face, and take away from the rest of the make up, no matter how beautifully this may be applied. The first thing you see is a set of eyebrows. What saddens me the most is when a girl spends her hard earned cash to have her make up professionally applied and then ruins the whole look by drawing in her eyebrows far too harshly! 

Of course, this is just my opinion and if you think that it looks good, and brings you confidence, then go for it. But as Coco Chanel once said, "always take off the last accessory that you put on", and in this case, I would urge it to be your 'Scouse Brow'.

#TOP TIP! When filling in your brow, softly strengthen the brow from underneath first in a colour that matches your brow perfect and then fill in from the arch. Often, you find that when you strengthen your arch, the brow looks finished and little more needs to be done to it!