Eyebrow Routine!

Hey beauts! I was recently contacted by a lovely girl who asked if I would do a tutorial on my eyebrows. I was really touched that anyone would actually want to know how I do them to be honest, as I have never thought of mine being anything special! Although I am happy with the way they are, I think we all want what we don't have and I am forever lusting over gorgeous, natural, full brows! I have definitely had some brow disasters through the years (I wish I had photo's to show you all!) and when I was in my early teens, the trend was to have super skinny mini eyebrows, so of course I took to the tweezers and went pluck crazy, leaving me with brows the thickness of a pen line which I regret so much, as looking back at childhood photo's I had very full (although some what bushy and a bit messy) brows. Thankfully, after a little while, and some embarrassing looks later, they did grow back, though I never got my full brows back. On a positive note though, I do feel like the brows I now have suit my face shape and they are super easy to do and maintain so I guess you win some, you lose some! 

Anyway, on to what I do. I am pretty lucky in that my brows do tend to pretty much maintain their shape on their own, although I do give them some help. Firstly, plucking. I don't tend to pluck too often, as I can be a little heavy handed, so about once a week is fine for me (to be honest as my brow hair is so used to being removed it grows back pretty sparsely anyway) and I just pluck the underneath following the shape of my brow bone. To keep the tops in shape, I take a pair of small scissors, nail scissors are good but I find cuticle trimmers to be the best as they have a curved edge which means you arn't left with a really blunt cut across the hairs. I just used these to neaten up the front and trim down any that are too long. 

When filling in my brows, I start off combing them through with an eyebrow comb, mine is from No.7 and came from a set I got at Christmas, but you can pick these up super cheap else where. 

I then use my HD Brows Palette in the colour 'Bombshell'. I got this in my Glossybox last year and have been using it everyday since (I have recently got a back up but even after 12+ months of using it everyday, I still have some left!). Now I believe the Bombshell palette is actually meant for blondes, but even though I am a brunette, I find a mix of the 'Ash Blonde' and 'Medium Blonde' to be absolutely perfect for my colouring. They do look pretty light in the pan, but actually work really nicely to give a natural filled in look, and I find going any darker too harsh for me. For me, I much prefer using a powder to a pencil. I think in my brows it looks a lot more natural, and with the inner shape being quite squared off, a pencil is just too much. 

(Quick Tip: The Gosh Eyebrow Set is a great, inexpensive dupe for the HD Brows palette!)

I use a Royal & Langnickel Silk Pro C490 brush to fill them in. This is basically a small angled brush which some people may find this brush too small but I find it great for creating little lines in the brows to mimic real hairs rather than filling them in very bluntly. I also find it is the perfect size for creating the arch in my brow and pulling it down without leaving it looking fake. When filling in the front of my brows, I tend to turn the brush on its side and apply in the opposite direction to the hair growth, I just find this leaves it look natural and not filled in. After applying the powder, I give it another brush through with the brow comb again, just to get rid of any harshness. 

I will some times then set my brows (usually only if I am going on a night out or have a very long day ahead) with a brow gel, I like the one by Mac but Elf has a great cheaper alternative which I think works just as well! And that's it really! My brows are definitely not perfect but I hope at least someone finds this helpful!

I know it is difficult to do tutorials like this in a blog post, but I hope it makes sense! If you have any more questions feel free to pop them below! Do you have a favourite brow product? Do you fill in your brows or just leave them natural?

Bronze Smokey Eye

The classic bronze smokey eye is my 'go to' night makeup look. I have fairly small eyes so I try and stay away from lots of black as it can make them look even smaller, so I try and use a mixture of golds and browns to compliment my blue eyes and really make the colour pop. So, here's how I do it! Prepare for a lot of photo's!

To start, I use Elf's cream eyeshadow in 'Bronze' as a base all over my eye lid, this will give the colours applied on top a real pop.

I then apply a skin tones colour from a No.7 palette all over the eye lid up to the brow bone.

I take a shimmering nude, champagne colour and place it on the inner third of my eye. 

I then apply 'Woodwinked' by Mac from the mid to outer eye lid, from lash line and up into the crease and blend it out with a fluffy brush to get rid of any harsh lines. I also take 'Woodwinked' mixed with a bit of 'Cork' under the eye using a small pointed brush.

I take a white pencil from Elf and put it under my brow bone to highlight, smudging it out with a Frontcover pointer brush. I also highlight the tear duct and inner corners of my eye using this liner. This will make my small eyes appear bigger.

I then use a matte dark brown colour from my Blush Cosmetics 88 palette and apply it to the outer corner of my eye to deepen the colour and add to the smokey effect.

Using a small angled brush and a black eyeshadow, I line two thirds of my upper lash line, blending the product up as I reach the outer corner. 

I then take my Mac 239 and blend to make sure all the shadows blend into one another.

 Using a brown eyeliner, I fill in the outer corner of my water line, going down into the lash line and making sure it blends into one another and up into the flick.

I then add some mascara. I'm using Maybelline The Falsies Volum' Express Waterproof, as this doesn't smudge and will last all night.

 I warm up my cheek bones and temples using Bourjois Chocolate Powder Bronzer and Real Techniques Blush Brush.

 On the lips I use No.7 Lip Liner In 'Nude' and L'oreal Rouge Caresse Lipstick in 'Lovely Rose'. As the eyes are quite bold, I want to keep the lips fairly nude.

 And here's the finished look! I hope you like it! It's perfect for summer nights or even day time, as using brown instead of black makes it a lot less harsh!

 Let me know what you think of this type of tutorial! 

What do you think of the bronze smokey eye? Do you wear it often or go for more of a black smokey eye?

x

The 'Barely There'

During the summer (not that we are having much one in the UK!) in the day time I like to keep my makeup very simple and focus on a very natural look, as I find that as it starts to get a bit hotter, I like to let my skin breath and prefer to not have a full face of makeup melting in the heat, especially when at the beach.

Although I wish I was, I am not the type of person that is confident enough to not wear any makeup at all, so over the years I have come up with a 'barely there' look, using enough makeup to conceal any skin concerns, but still keeping it very natural.

Here's the look I go for



Ignore the wonky side of my face, I took this photo with my iphone and I am not the steadiest of people, giving me a blurred side to my face ha!

I concentrate on making my skin look healthy and cover any blemishes or redness using;

Foundation- Clinique Super Balanced Makeup 'Beige Chiffon'

Concealer- Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection 'Medium' & MAC Studio Finish NC20

Powder- Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder 'Transparent'

Applied using;

Real Techniques Stippling Brush

ELF Powder Brush

I then fill in any sparse areas of my eyebrows, which I find really helps to frame my face using;

HD Brows Palette 'BombShell' using 'Medium Blonde & Ash Blonde' (I find these colours mixed are a perfect colour for my brows, even being a brunette!)

Applied Using;

Royal and Langnickel Eyebrow Brush C490

I then curl my eye lashes, and add the slightest coat of mascara just to darken my lashes;

Eyelash Curlers- Primark

Mascara- Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof 'Black'

I then usually put on a lipbalm, in this case, Creme Brule Vaseline, and I am good to go!

Do you have a 'barely there' go to look for summer? Or do you prefer to wear lots of colour?

x



Look Of the Day

Today I am off on the train to visit my friend for her birthday tomorrow! Here is the makeup look I am wearing, a nude, long lasting look, focusing on nude eyes and glossy lips that has become my go to when travelling. 

Lip liner- No.7 Perfect Lips Pencil 'Nude'

Lipstick- Mac 'Angel'

Lipgloss- No.7 Lip Gloss 'Marshmallow'

Would you be interested in seeing a tutorial or post on the look I wear for my friends birthday drinks tomorrow night?

x