Product Tip Off- Barry M Nail Paint 'Mushroom'

I love this new shade of Nail Paint by Barry M in Mushroom. Alot of the beauty bloggers have been saying the greige craze is over but I love this shade and I would say it still falls in the same category it's sophisticated and looks great on short nails. It's a steal at 2.95 GBP but might need a bit of help with a good base and top coat.

Here I go talking about priming again but...I am using the Nails Inc 2 pack Kensington Cavier Top and Base Coat that you can pick up in Boots right now for 7.00 GBP. It's a 2 pack of conditioning base coat and super shiney top coat that really gives you a professional looking finish and fast drying (45 seconds they say!) it's a bit of a splurge item but not the splurge price tag to match!

Too time poor to be preened???

One question I am always asked is if I can only buy one product what should it be? Unfortunatly there is no easy answer as make up is individual as the person wearing it so there is not a 'one size fits all' product. If you are struggling for time in the morning (who doesn't?) I suggest spending some time to really assess your face and think about your features what you might need to conceal and what you think you can get away with.

Sit down with a mirror and look at your face shape, hairline, features, skin type and lip/eye colour. For me I don't go anywhere without my blush and a slick of mascara but my skin and lip colour is quite vibrant on their own so can often skip the stage of applying a heavy foundation and prefer a lip balm to spending time on liner and lip gloss. A good bronzer can be used as a bronze, contour and eyeshadow all depending on how it's applied. Highlighters can be great for using on lids, cheeks and eyes to give you a fresh faced look (try the classic Benefit HighBeam). If it's your skin you need a bit of help with invest in a really good foundation or even mix some of your foundation with a luminating face cream (my favourite is MAC Strobe Cream which is also a great alternative to primer if you don't want to splurge try Olay's Complete Care Multi-Radiance moisturiser).

We all need a bit of pampering and some salon treatments can be really beneficial in your time saving efforts. Eyelash and eyebrow tinting are a great way of saving your precious time on applying mascara and filling in the all important brows. Regular facials can help the skin look more radiant and keep up your water intake. Keep lips buffed by giving them a rub with a towel or your toothbrush a apply a lip conditioner. Finally try and give your nails a buff and polish atleast once a week.

Good luck ladies time is precious but for me it's time well spent!

Prep those peepers!

As a make up artist I find that preparation takes up atleast 50% of my time when doing any makeover. I have spoken about priming in previous posts but this time I'd like to focus on getting your peepers ready! The way I see it is what is the point of spending your cash on lovely eyeshadow and liners for them to slip off an oily lid or end up rubbed off after a couple of hours. There's a few options for priming the lids for your eye make up the easiest and least expensive is to conceal and powder using your existing concealer or foundation. Use a brush to apply the concealer and ensure you push if right into the lash line. Buff away any creases that may form in the concealer just using your finger then apply a loose powder with a brush to help set the concealer ready for your eyeshadow and also helps when it comes to blending.

There are also specialised eye priming products out there with which I have had mixed success. Urban decay's eyeshadow primer potion is raved about and often sold out at their counters but I find the consistency not much better than that of a good stick concealer although the 'sin' version gives a nice finish it's benefits as a primer to me aren't overwhelming. My favourite priming product I have tried so far is the MAC painterly paint pot which is almost like a very thick concealer come cream eyeshadow. It erases any veins, lines or discolouration on your eye and gives a lovely blank canvas for your eye make up. I still tend to use a sweep of base eyeshadow over the paint point for ease of blending but it really gives a lovely finish to your eye shadow and makes it last all day.