The Makeup Fix YOUTUBE Channel

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The Makeup Fix YOU TUBE Channel

 Natural Makeup Using Graftobian HD Colour Palette

A Day to Evening Makeup

Airbrush Tattoo Cover

Enjoy!

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Dealz 'Makeup Gallery' range: Lipstick

Dealz may actually be the best shop to ever come to my town. Screw Euro 2, Dealz is the place to be. Whether its sweets, mugs, decor for your home, or a connection for your phone, they probably have it, at the very modest price of €1.49. So imagine my excitement when my friend told me they had released their very own makeup range! I scurried off asap to my local (luckily only about 2 mins from my home) to have a gander. Sure enough there was a full range of lipsticks, glosses and foundations to name but a few. I decided to only pick up two things as I wasn't sure what to expect from such an unbelievably affordable range. Two lippies to add to my expanding collection....

I've been fairly obsessed with dark colours lately. I figured if their darkest colours where pigmented, I might be on to something good here. I choose a dark plum called 'Black Cherry' and a deep red, aptly named 'Deep Red'! Straight away I had an issue with the packaging. I find with a lot of cheaper lippie brands (NYC, Wet n Wild) that the lipstick bullet is always protruding out, meaning when you're closing the lid it's very easy to dent your lipstick. But at €1.49, I can handle it!

Firstly, they passed the 'sniff' test. Yes, I firstly smell every lipstick before I try as I can't stand that cheap waxy smell. These have no scent at all. Wonderful! The colours are just as rich as shown in the picture. I was surprised and impressed with the pigment. They also glide on nicely. They claim to be a 'moisture lipstick' and I'm inclined to agree.

The flash is slightly washing out the colours here. When I applied them to my lips I used a lip pencil underneath first (as I always do). And I'm pleased to report that even after a few hours the product hadn't budged. After eating and drinking, it faded to a degree but didn't leave that ugly line around my lips like a lot of dark colours tend to do. I'm incredibly impressed with these and cannot wait to pick up more! (My local shop has very little in at the moment so obviously I'm not the only fan!) I did however pick up two of their nail varnishs today after hearing wonderful things so expect another review soon! Two thumbs up Dealz :)

Till next time, 

Toodles,

Quick Pick: Nivea Lip Butter

So winter is well and truly here! Of course we all wrap up on these cold days to keep the chill at bay, but we don't always think of the havoc this weather can play with our skin and lips. Rule 1: Always, always keep a lip balm in your bag!
I still have my old faithful Vaseline in there, but when this wasn't quite doing the job I thought I'd try something new. The advertisement for these new lip butters caught my eye, so I went off to pick one up!

Priced at about €2.50 they thankfully won't by any means break the bank. You also get over 16g of product so this will last you right into the new year! There are various scents, but I settled on Vanilla and Macadamia. The smell is very strong from the moment you open the tin, but is absolutely gorgeous! A little goes a long way, and even though my lips are quite sore and dry at the moment, they felt ten times better straight away after applying. They also felt very moisturised for a long time after, and I didn't have to reapply until I ate. I'm hugely impressed and will be definitely picking up the other scents in this line :) What's your staple lip balm??

Till next time,

Toodles,

Beauty photography for Makeup Artists

Despite my unwillingness to call myself a professional photographer, my background is in photography. I started out as photographer, make up artist and stylist in the early 90's working with various signed bands in the UK. From that my subsequent training and love of make up evolved.

Over the years I have learnt a few tricks when it comes to beauty photography and while I will admit that if you really are looking for a killer shot your best bet is to employ a professional beauty photographer. However, there is a little set up that you can use to make your own shots look better and in turn help you photograph your own make-ups in an inexpensive way.

I'll keep this as simple as possible...

THE BACKGROUND

If you have a light coloured wall in your house this is a great and simple choice, it needs to be a matte light coloured wall (i.e. white or cream for example).

IKEA ISDANS

Roller blind, white

€ 10.00

The quick fix:

If you don't want a permanent solution or if you don't have a light coloured wall you can opt for a cheap bed sheet or even a shower curtain which you can hang or tac to the wall when you want to use it. Whatever you do, make sure you iron that thing before you hang it up!

A more permanent solution:

If you have a little make up room set up at home and want a permanent backdrop solution I recommend roller blinds (like these from Ikea 

http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/30291069/). They are a great solution and one I use myself.

A white one and a dark coloured one is more than enough and they can be secured to the wall easily. Just roll down the colour you want and you're good to go.

Now make sure you model stands a couple of feet from the wall, if possible, as this will eliminate your subject casting a shadow on the background.

IKEA TERTIAL

Work lamp, silver-colour

€ 9.50

LIGHTING

Let's face us, most make up artists don't want to and can't afford to pay crazy money for professional lighting and this is understandable. What I suggest is an adjustable lamp (one that you can easily direct the light where you want it because the arm and head are adjustable), just like this one from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/ie/en/catalog/products/40370283/

Now get yourself a white light bulb from your hardware store and you are almost good to go.

REFLECTORS

You need to even out your lighting as much as possible, so that you can get rid of shadows as much as possible.

Firstly you need a reflector to place about chest height under your models chin. This will bounce light under the chin so that you don't get a dark shadow under there.

You will also need reflectors either side of the face. In a word, your model will be 'boxed' in to a degree. This will help stop outside light sources coming onto the face and will ensure that you get a fairly even coverage of light.

For your reflectors just get yourself large white art board from the art shops. They are inexpensive and are hard card so will be sturdy.

Picture Source: http://cotswoldmounts.co.uk/

DIFFUSERS

If you find the lighting is too strong for your subject, i.e. making the face look too white, bleaching out the colours in the make up too much etc. you basically need to tone it down.

The inexpensive choice is some organza material. Just buy a meter of it from a material shop. The light needs to be able to get through the material which is why organza is a great choice. You can double up the material to diffuse (or soften) the light even more if you need to.

You need to put the material onto a small frame. The easiest option is a picture mount, which you can buy from an art shop really cheaply. Just wrap the material around it and attach it with tape (like gaffa tape for example) or by using a staple gun if you have one. You can make up a couple of them, one with one layer of fabric and another with 2 layers of fabric for even softer light.

Where do you place your diffuser? You place it in between your light and your subject, close enough to the light source. You can have someone else hold the diffuser in place for you.

A diagram of your set up!

And finally, if you don't have a fancy expensive camera and want to use your camera phone, chances are you can! Don't forget to switch off the flash!

BEST PHONE CAMERAS

• iPhone 6 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S5
• HTC Desire Eye

Happy shooting!

Ben Nye/Kryolan Translucent Powders

There are certain kit staples that almost everyone will have. In my kit, a translucent powder is one. They cover many skin tones, and you can build the product without changing the colour or tone of the foundation. As I'm obsessed with trying new things all the time, I ventured over to sunaura.ie for a nosey. This is a wonderful site to pick up professional grade products at very reasonable prices. I settled on these two :)

On the left we have Ben Nye Neutral Set Powder, and on the right Kryolan Translucent Powder. Both brand names are probably more synonymous with stage and film makeup rather than the names we're used to hearing everyday. I was going to give the pros and cons of each product, but to be honest they aren't a million miles away from each other, except for the packaging.

The value for money with this Ben Nye powder is phenomenal. There's 49g of product here (over 3 times as big as my Illamasqua one, and a third of the price). My only issue with this is the packaging. It can get a bit messy, but luckily I had an old empty powder jar to pop some in. Problem solved!

(Edit: I've heard from Danielle over at Sunaura that Ben Nye have brought in some new dome shaped packaging for certain powders, so hopefully this expands to the whole range!) 

Again this product is fantastic value, though I did pick this up in a smaller size. The Kryolan powders can be bought with slightly different undertones. I purchased TL3, which has a slightly pink undertone, though I didn't notice this too much on application.

I think I'm on to a winner with both of these. They do exactly what they promise on the tin, and both give a lovely matte finish to the skin. If I had to I'd probably give Kryolan a slight edge for keeping shine at bay that little bit extra.

Do you use translucent powder? Or prefer something with a little extra colour?

Till next time,

Toodles,

Mineral Makeup doesn't have to mean boring makeup!

I have a little bit of a love-hate relationship with Mineral Makeup if I'm honest. I've tried just about every mineral make up on the planet and the majority of it I have hated. Too shiny, doesn't last, doesn't give good coverage, colours are boring etc. 

With that said, I love the idea of mineral makeup, not as a makeup to use in my makeup artistry kit (these products rarely work in photographic makeup so for bridal and commercial work it's a no-no) but more as a personal makeup. 

I have been determined to find some ranges that work and to top it off, look great! And these are the 3 ranges I love the most...

Mineral Foundation SPF15

The Classy One

www.lilylolo.co.uk

I'm starting off with Lily Lolo as I use this in my own make up routine. It's one of the few ranges that actually suits my bipolar skin and it never looks shiny/greasy. Their colour range is great when it comes to pale skin tones and in particular the Mineral Foundation in 'Porcelain' and 'China Doll' are perfect shades for really pale skin tones. Something I have always found difficult to find in a mineral makeup range.

Natural Lipstick

Natural Lip Gloss in 'English Rose'

Lily Lola products are free of any parabens, synthetic perfumes or dyes and BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection – i.e. The global campaign to end all animal experiments) approved. Whether your skin is dry, oily or anywhere in-between, Lily Lolo makeup will give you a light, flawless and seamless finish without clogging or irritating.

Their lipstick shades, along with their lip gloss shades are so pretty and wearable! Lip gloss shades in 'English Rose' (a sheer dusky pink), 'Peach Keen' (sheer peach with shimmer highlights) and 'Whisper' (sheer pale dusky pink) are among my faves. Just beautiful! Oh and Lipstick in 'Rose Gold' (Natural, sheer golden beige) ... wow! 

And of course, like so many companies now, they have a beautiful Neutral Eye Palette called 'Laid Bare' with 8 gorgeous wearable shades.  The shades are as follows: 

Laid Bare Eye Palette

Stark Naked – Matte, nude pinky beige

Au Naturel – Shimmer, pink nude

Skinny Dip – Shimmer, golden beige

Shy Away – Shimmer, smoky taupe

Lady Godiva – Shimmer, rich gold

Birthday Suit – Matte, grey brown

Exhibitionist – Matte, olive brown

Exposed – Demi-matte, charcoal

A great little palette to suit just about everyone.

In a nutshell, the whole range is gorgeous and the packaging, well, I just love it. Black and white, you can't go wrong. It's sophisticated and modern and the products are beautiful! Lily Lolo you are doing it right!

The Earthy One

http://www.physiciansformula.com/

I'm a bit of a fan of Physician's Formula and their Organic wear® range is just gorgeous. The packaging itself is enough to win me over, in particular their mascaras! Sooooo pretty!

The range itself is 100% Natural Origin Make up. They use no harsh chemicals, synthetic preservatives or parabens.

Again, a neutral and soft colour palette suitable for most skin tones and oh so pretty. 

I love that their Organic Wear Loose Powder Foundation comes with a little kabuki brush and mirror. You really can't get handier than that!

Curl and Care Mascara

Fake Out Mascara

Lash Boosting Mascara

The Funky One

http://www.concreteminerals.com/

If you are keen to introduce some mineral products into your make up range but want something a little funkier, a little more colourful, then you need Concrete Minerals in your life!

Pro Matte Shadows

Concrete Minerals is a range I just recently came across. They launched in 2009 with the belief that everyone on earth should have the opportunity to use gorgeous products that meet their needs in terms of quality without wreaking havoc on their skin! From their bestselling Mineral Eyeshadows, to their ultra-pigmented Pro Matte Eyeshadows and cult-favorite sets like the Zombie Girl collection, they're on a mission to make people fall in love with mineral make up! And yes, it's working!

Seriously sexy, richly-pigmented mineral make up that's not only healthy, but reminds us why being a girl is bad ass! Concrete Minerals are 100% Vegan and Cruelty-Free, 100% Gluten-Free, fragrance-free, contain no scary preservatives like parabens and no cheap fillers like talc and bismuth oxychloride.

So here are some of my fave colours and products within the collection:

LIP TINTS which combine a unique and nourishing formula enriched with vitamin e with the cooling sensation of peppermint and a gorgeous tint of color. 'Glamourpuss' is a beautiful Mauve-violet shade, 'Vamp' is a sexy Cherry-red and 'Tease' is a gorgeous Hot-pink with violet undertones.

Glamourpuss

Vamp

Tease

Definitely also check out their mineral shadows, they are beautiful, shiny and the colour range is so much fun!

I really love this range and think it really is taking Mineral Makeup to a new level. Check them out and give them a try!