Monday 25 June 2012

How To Get Great Shaped Eyebrows

You may have fantastic skin but if your eyebrows aren't properly groomed you're missing a huge beauty trick that would accentuate your looks a lot.

It isn't complicated, neither will it take lots of time, if you have great eyebrows that's the framing of your face done and it will make all the difference! Here's how to get great eyebrows with ease:

Step 1. Prepare To Tweeze.

  • Smooth your eyebrows from your inner eye to outer using an eyebrow brush or clean finger. 
  • Get a make up pencil such as an eyebrow pencil, eye liner or lip liner (the color doesn't matter you'll be wiping it off soon).
  • Hold it against the side of your nose making sure it goes above your eyebrow. See where the pencil sits against the beginning of your eyebrow and draw a line
  • Repeat on the other eyebrow
  • Hold the pencil diagonally from the side of your nostril to the outer corner of the eye
  • Draw a line where the pencil sits on the end of your eyebrow
  • Repeat of the other side
  • Hold the pencil diagonally against your nostril so it lines up with the iris of your eye
  • Draw a line where the pencil sits on your eyebrow
  • Repeat on the other side
You may look a bit silly but you now have an eyebrow shape guide to help you tweeze with confidence!

Step 2. Tweezing.
  • Firstly, make sure you have the best tool to hand. I highly recommend Tweezerman tweezers, they're precise, easy to grip and they come in fun colors as you can see at the top of the page.
  • If you have any hairs over the line you have drawn closest to your nose remove them on both eyebrows. This line shows where your eyebrows should start.
  • Next look at the line you drew from your nostril to the end of your eyebrow, if there are any over the line tweeze those on both eyebrows. this is where your eyebrows should end.
  • Next is your arch line, this is where the highest part of your eyebrow should be.
  • Tweeze the hairs out row by row at the bottom of your eyebrow to tidy them.
  • When you get to where the arch is go a little higher until you see your brow bone.
You should now have very groomed eyebrows! But, if you want to make them perfect, there's a couple more steps you can take.

Shaping the brow by cutting.

  • Use an eyebrow brush to brush the hairs upwards
  • Any hairs that are longer than others should be carefully trimmed. It's best to use dedicated eyebrow scissors than regular ones.
  • Now brush the hairs downwards
  • Trim any that are longer than others
  • Brush back into shape
You should now have a beautifully framed face that has an overall lifted look about it and your eyes should look brighter. Not bad for such a simple beauty trick huh?!

As you now have the perfect eyebrow shape just maintain by tweezing any new hairs that appear outside, it's so easy!

Monday 18 June 2012

Facial Skin Irritation? How To Soothe In An Instant!

L'Occitane Ultra Comforting Serum is a beauty bag must have if you suffer from sensitive or irritated skin. It's a gorgeous light serum that sinks instantly into the skin to soothe and stop discomfort.

As soon as this serum is applied it starts working. I often suffer from redness around my cheeks which can be itchy and really sore from time to time, as soon as I feel an outbreak I apply the Comforting Serum and it stops the itching immediately. It also reduces the redness.

I apply this only when I need it, but to prevent redness and irritation you can use this daily if you prefer. It's a great product to keep in your handbag for a quick fix should a breakout occur. It's awful having irritated skin, this is a soothing saviour!

This serum is fragrance free and is made from Shea and Organic Cotton. It's very light to apply and glides on the skin in an instant, as soon as it is absorbed (which only takes a couple of seconds) you will feel instant relief that will last all day.

If you use this as part of your beauty routine to prevent redness you can apply it to bare skin then apply your usual moisturizer on top. It's a pump dispenser and I find that 2 pumps is plenty to cover the entire face if needed. A little goes a long way with this serum.

If you do suffer with facial irritation and/or redness like me then give the L'Occitane Comforting Serum a whirl. It IS a quick fix product, but it's a quick fix product that actually works. Try it, you'll see for yourself after the first use on irritated skin, after a couple of seconds any irritation will be gone! Fast relief with minimal effort!

Thursday 14 June 2012

Clinique All About Eyes Rich

I have used many different eye creams over the years but I can honestly say that All About Eyes Rich is the best I've tried. Naturally my eye area tends to get quite dry and depending on what time of the month it is, I often have very bad dark circles that come and go. Fine lines are minimal but I put that down to using this cream.

There's something incredibly soothing about this cream, it's quite thick but it glides on with a silky texture that means that a little goes a long way, one pot lasts me around 4 months.

With daily use my eye area is no longer dry and the dark circles are greatly reduced, though not completely gone. To disguise them I use the excellent Garnier Dark Circle Roller. I'm certain that without All About Eyes Rich fine lines would be much more prominent than they are and I'm sure there would be lots more of them. I definitely saw a great improvement when I switched to this cream and I do believe that it has prevented signs of aging.

Something else that All About Eye Rich has successfully treated are dark patches across my eye sockets beneath my eyes. I'm not sure if they were age spots or sun damage but this cream removed them shortly after I began to use it. I had tried countless other eye creams to correct that problem but nothing worked until I started using this.

If you want an eye cream that will work for you to correct puffiness, dark circles, fine lines and possible dark patches, try this. If you don't need corrections but want to minimise or prevent, Clinique All About Eyes regular may be more suitable for you.

Tuesday 12 June 2012

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil

If you're anything like me, you'll want to look your best but with minimum effort. Sometimes you just don't have time to apply all the lotions and potions that keep your skin looking great and inevitably it suffers. L'Occitane Almond Oil is the perfect product for busy lives because if you use this when showering you don't need to apply moisturizer directly after.

Depending on what shower products you usually use, you may find that you get a drying sensation on your skin. It may be a great cleansing product that you're using but is it mositurizing? If you find that you always need to use a moisturizer after showering the answer is probably no.

With L'Occitane Almond Oil, you can moisturize after using it if you want to, but you don't have to, it's incredibly moisturizing by itself. It also happens to be a great cleansing product too.

When you use this in the shower it will start off as an oil but as you lather it on your skin it turns into a rich creamy lotion. You don't need to use much and it's perfect for shaving your legs with! The oil has a very light and delicate almond smell which lasts way after you've dried off.

Whether you have all the time in the world to spend on your skin or if you're a busy bee who needs results fast, L'Occitane Almond Oil is a great addition to your daily beauty routine. It's luxurious skin care that will give great results but won't break the bank.

Monday 11 June 2012

Garnier Dark Circle Eye Roller

This is a fantastic under eye concealer that really does its job, it's lightweight but with great coverage and so very easy to apply. You really don't need to do much blending with this thanks to the excellent roller ball application, just go back and forth from the inner to outer eye area once or twice and you're done. Instant coverage!

I've been using this product since it launched and it's by far the best under eye concealer I have ever used. It gives a wide awake feeling on application and it lasts well throughout the day.

This may sound made up but it's absolutely true - I'm still using the first roller that I bought and that was over a year ago! I use it at least 5 times a week and yet it is still providing me with excellent coverage with no signs of letting up.That's a great beauty buy when you look at the price!

What I love most about this concealer is that it's never drying. You know how some concealers give great coverage but make the skin really dry and show up any fine lines? This one doesn't do that, it's really hydrating and never goes powdery. I totally recommend this eye roller, it's easy to use, gives great coverage and instantly brightens they eyes. It's also great if you have a breakout because you just dot it on and you're done, so easy! I've used this on various parts of my face when needed and it works a treat.


Friday 8 June 2012

How To Exfoliate Your Face In A Flash!

Exfoliating your face is important to get rid of dead skin cells. Just like with body brushing you need to remove the outer layers in order to be able to properly moisturize the new layers underneath, the ones that look bright and healthy.

There's lots of good exfoliators around but what makes these face wipes stand out is that you don't need water and you can use them anywhere you don't have to be over a sink. I don't know about you, but I've never been a fan of having water on my face. It's a personal thing, I just don't like how it feels. With these Simple Exfoliating Wipes you have two sides, one to exfoliate and one to cleanse and they really work well!

The cleansing side is great for taking your make up off, the exfoliating side isn't harsh but it certainly does the job. I take far more time and care over exfoliating now that I don't have to stand in the bathroom mirror doing it. Where I used to spend seconds, with these wipes I now spend minutes and my skin looks the better for it too.

I'm always looking for good products that do the job but potentially cut corners, this is one of those beauty products that does just that. You don't even need a mirror! Now there's no excuse to cut this very important step out of your beauty routine, just wipe and you're done, no water, no messy grainy cream around the hairline, just great results with minimum effort.

Thursday 7 June 2012

Body Brushing

Body brushing is a must for neglected or Winter skin. There's no point applying moisturizers to dead skin because it needs to be removed in order to moisturize the new healthier layers underneath. Any moisturizers used on dead skin are just going to waste.

Body brushing is a great way to get rid of dead skin, it's also great for getting your circulation going. You need to use long sweeping strokes of the brush going from your feet upwards and your hands inwards towards your heart. This will really get the blood flowing as well as removing any layers of skin that are no longer healthy.

You'll see a difference the first time you body brush, after a week of doing it daily, your skin will be glowing with health.

Always use on dry skin and never brush too hard. This body brush is designed to do the hard work for you, just use gentle strokes and the first few times depending on how dry your skin is, you might see white powder in the air, that's all the dead skin cells being removed. Pretty yucky when you think that's been on your body!

After brushing use a moisturizer (coconut oil is amazing and inexpensive!) and your skin will drink it in. Body brushing is an essential part of any beauty routine if you want to have the best body skin possible.