Now that we are well into UK summer time(ish...sort of...), it is time to talk SPF! The choice each year in beauty stores and pharmacies is enough to make your head spin, but there are some good guides out there whatever your needs or budget, recommending products from high street to luxury. (Check out my favourites from Caroline Hirons here and here and Lisa Eldridge here and here)
It is high time to dig up the remains of last years sunscreen from the depth of your bathroom cupboard and give it a boot. Yes, they do degrade, they are not much use to you anymore, so stock up with fresh ones. This year I decided to go mostly high street and splash the cash on retinol, acids and skin boosters. Here's what I got:
Holiday SPF
La Roche-Posay Anthelios AC SPF 30 Fluid (Anti-shine)
I am a big fan of French pharmacy brands, they will always be staples of skin care routine one way or another they are high performing products at a very affordable price, so what's not to love. It's hard to beat LRP when it comes to sunscreen. This lightweight, non-greasy fluid is very comfortable to wear and it provides protection from both UVA and UVB rays. I am not particularly oily, but SPF makes me really shiny all over so this anti-shine formula will do for me and my boyfriend too who has an aversion to anything greasy on his face.
La Roche-Posay Anthelios XL SPF50+ Invisible Nutrive Oil
I don't like heavy sun creams, so this lightweight body oil is perfect, easy to use, non-greasy. It helps to protect against sun-induced pigment spots and provides protection from UVA/UVB rays.
Nivea Sun Protect SPF 30
Up until recently, I haven't given much thought to wear sunscreen on my lips, this year I thought I give it a try. I went for a classic Nivea stick with SPF 30. This is a very decent lip moisturiser and it is enriched with antioxidants like Vitamin E and Sun Flower extract that is a bonus. It is creamy on the lips and doesn't feel heavy at all. I will definitely keep this as part of my routine in the future.
City SPF
It's hard to find a place for your SPF when you're out and about on a normal day: What formulation should I go for? Should I use sunscreen as the moisturiser? Primer? Should I get it from make-up? How and when to re-apply? I burn quite easily even if I just take a short shopping trip to Brighton centre, so it took time to experiment what to use because I don't like layering too many products. Now if I'm just out for a shorter period of time I get my SPF from my make-up. Bobbi Brown's BB Cream with antioxidants and an SPF 35 has worked for me for the last two years. It has decent coverage and stays on well. Re-applying sunscreen is always hard and not sure how many people can be bothered when not on holiday, but it's very important. Since Bioderma recently came out with their Hydrabio Eau de Soin SPF 30 spray, it is so much easier. This handy 50ml spray bottle is a perfect city companion. Just a quick spritz or two over your make-up a bit before you're going out, job done. La Roche-Posay is coming out with a similar spray in SPF 50 soon, I cannot wait to try it! If you don't want to resort to a spray try the Peter Thomas Roth powders with SPF 45 and touch up your makeup with that. It is perfect when you're in and out of the office during the day.
Aftersun
This Liz Earle Aftersun Gel was a gift and thought I add it to this post. Now let me stress first and foremost, wearing SPF and preventing sun damage is the most important thing we all should do. Ideally you wouldn't need the healing powers of aloe. If you do, that is not great news for your skin. However if by accident you get a little burn or just want to give a quick hydration fix to your skin after sun exposure, this lightweight cooling gel with aloe, cucumber and vitamin E is just a lovely addition to your routine. I used it on my body only so far, and followed it with a rich body moisturiser.
Louise Young is an industry veteran and is famous for her own brush line and compact make-up range. I haven't tried them before, so here was the chance. Having been served by Louise Young herself was an added bonus. Picked random ones I liked, and I got the brush belt free.
LY24B – made of natural hair, fine liner brush, very small, so excellent for small eyes and detailed liner work (£9.00)
LY17 – made of natural hair, quite stiff-bristled, so it's great for packing on colour on the eyes or even use it as a lip brush (£10.00)
LY45 – made of natural hair, great for eye shadow application and minimal blending (£17.00)
LY46 – made of natural hair, ideal for eye shadow application and minimal blending (£19.00)
LY51A - synthetic, perfect for powdering, highlighting, or buffing in cream products(£19.00)
LY04A - synthetic, super soft, perfect for powder blush application (£17.00)
My favourite from the line-up is the LY04 and LY24A but all seem to be high quality make. I love the colour of the handles too it makes the brushes look very sophisticated. I already decided that my next buy will be the foundation brushes.
Available to order here
Trying to avoid total bankruptcy I didn't even go near the Hakuhodo stand...okay, I did for a bit...just to run my fingers through their blusher brush that I have my eyes on for ages...but then I quickly tore myself away from their delicious looking stand because I kept hearing 'Buy me! Buy me!' repeatedly in my head. I had to resist.
Onto the next stop: Love Make-up and Ben Nye, phew, I feel saver here.
These practically packaged micro milled loose powders have been legendary in the media make-up world for long (maybe less used on the fashion scene) behind the scenes until Kim Kardashian's make-up artist brought them into the maintsream and became widely used by the general public too. These powders are incredibly lightweight, silky and are perfect for mattifying. They work best on normal to combination to slightly oily skin. If you want to add a bit of warmth to light complexions use the Banana Luxury Powder – it works well as a highlighter and contour on the right skin tones and counteracts redness too. I had to stock up on these, they are very handy products to have, not to talk about the price point! A massive amount of 3oz./85grams is only £15.95 at PAM and the shelf life is 30 month. The Luxury Powers are available in 8 other shades, on certain websites due to the high demand, there are restrictions: max 2 x1.5 oz or 1x3 oz per order! Please note that these products contain talc and parabens, so avoid, if you're not okay with those. Available to buy here and here
As a make-up artist, I can't have enough bags and pouches to keep my kit tidy. There are so many brands offering great options, MFUE, PAM, Zuca, Stilazzi,Monda Studio, Zoeve, Paris Berlin, Screenface, My Kit Co, Boots. It is very much of a personal choice, you don't have to go crazy on the price. I was in the mood to try the MUFE ones and bought some IMATS ones for fun, but it really doesn't matter until your kit is clean and tidy. MUFE Danys Pouch available here the pencil mesh bag here
I have a lip balm obsession for years now. Why I haven't tried the Dr. Paw Paw balms yet? I can't explain. Dr Paw Paw is a multi-purpose light, non-sticky, soothing balm that comes in three coloured tubes: yellow for the original balm, red and peach for the tinted ones. Paw Paw stands for Carica Papaya, a fruit jam-packed with nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins C and B that help repairing, moisturising and soothing the skin. It also contains aloe vera leaf juice, another source of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that protect form damage, hydrate and sooth the skin. I went for the red tinted one, it can be used ony lips and cheeks. This is a perfet holiday multi-tasking product, available here
I've loved the Make-up Artist Magazine for a long time. I remember back at collage looking forward to get my hands on the new editions in the library and poring over the work of both fashion and film make-up artists. Editor-in-Chief Michael Key, who is also the executive producer of IMATS has done a lot in terms of celebrating the work of make-up artists and making sure the public and the industry acknowledges this awesome group of professionals who usually are just quietly working away behind the scenes. The magazine is full of valuable industry info (fashion, beauty, film theatre), very educational and is a must have for make-up geeks who are interested in all aspects of make-up artistry. There was a great deal offered at the Make-Up Artist Magazine stand: buy three and get four free with gold pro-card, so I managed to get my hand on a few back issues I wanted. The Andrew Gallimore cover was a must!
You can subscribe here
Still recuperating from all the queueing at IMATS London, I decided my first post will be about my purchases from the weekend. I had a great time, it was unbelievably busy and crowded, the whole event had a great vibe and met a good few nice people! On Saturday my boyfriend came with me and despite not having to do anything with the business, he could find interesting tidbits, special effect demos, a make-up competition to keep him preoccupied while I was having a bit of a me time with my credit card. But what does getting one step closer to bankruptcy mean when you can have a lipstick pen with the IMATS logo on it? It's a must have, no?
Joke aside the IMATS is a great opportunity to get some seriously good deals (especially if you own a pro card – white, red, blue, gold), sign up to pro schemes, meet new people as well as old friends in the industry and have the chance to see great make-up artists in action. It was Alex Box's turn this year and the make-up team of The Revenant lead by Duncan Jarman.
Enough with the chit-chat, here is what I bought:
I spent the most time at the Make Up For Ever stand. It was one of the most crowded ones, it took a while to actually talk to the staff there, but it was worth a wait. I worked with the previous HD range before, so I was curious how the more recent one perform. I wasn't disappointed.
I got four shades of The Ultra HD foundation to try: three yellow undertones – light (Y215), medium (Y315), dark (Y535) and a pink undertone (R240) to mix with. These shades are perfect to play with until you decide which one to get for your kit. If you had the previous HD formulation, MUFE has a good guide about the new corresponding shades. If you're buying for personal use, I would definitely recommend trying it on your skin first to get the best possible shade. ULTRA HD was created for the latest high-definition technologies of film, it is invisible on 4K camera and photographs beautifully, so apart from professional use, it is great for personal use if natural look is your style. It comes in an incredibly wide range of colours, ladies of colour are not excluded here! The texture is silky, easy to work with, it looks like skin with a satin finish. It has medium buildable coverage, you can apply it with a buffing brush or a Beautyblender, depending on what effect you want to achieve (using a brush always gives you more coverage). This foundation is virtually undetectable, it stayed on my combination, slightly oily skin really well, I just had to powder once or twice, which I don't mind at all. I would probably avoid using this foundation if you are particularly oily all over.
MUFE Ultra HD 4K Invisible Cover Foundation is retailing at £29.00 here
Same goes for the concealer. A tiny bit goes a long way, and it has excellent coverage that stays on well unless you are oily around the eyes. The two colours I bought are great to play with and mix them for light to medium tones (Y23 and Y41). I find it a little confusing that MFUE says there are correcting and concealing shades. Does this mean that I should buy two to achieve the right effect? The best thing to do again is to is try it on your skin, see what colour works best for you. It is fragrance free, so it can work on sensitive skin too.
MUFE Ultra HD 4K Invisible Cover Concealer is retailing at £20.00 here
Powder foundations are not my thing and are not that I use too often, but wanted to give this one a go. The Pro Finish powder foundation comes in sleek compact with a sponge and mirror, easy to travel with. I applied the product dry with sponge, later a brush and tried the wet sponge technique too. Personally I liked the finish with the latter because it didn't give that powdery look I don't like. I'd say this works best on normal to combination to slightly oily skin after doing your concealing. I definitely wouldn't put too much on especially if you have a lot to cover, go for something else (the Mat Velvet foundation is ideal for that) if that's the case.
MUFE Pro Finish retailing at £27.00 here
MUFE's old HD primer in mauve used to be my all time favourite brightening primers and I was really disappointed to see it go. When they came out with the Step 1 Primers in 10 shades last year, I was curious to try how these new ones work. The range offers a lot from mattifying, to smoothing through hydrating to correcting and brightening. Mauve again became a firm favourite of mine for both personal and professional use (apart from Caramel for darker skin tones). The texture is smooth, easy to work with and brightens up dull skin beautifully.
MUFE Radiant Primer is retailing at £24.00 here
The MUFE Camouflage palettes are staples of any make-up artists kit, you can buy the pro colours separately in a pot too, as I did now. This colour (#20 Orange) is really useful when you want to neutralise blue or dark areas of the skin – like under eye darkness, tattoos, thread veins. The texture is creamy, it has high coverage and personally would use a brush strategically placing it just where needed.
This 7 grams of product retails at £15.00 here and it lasts for absolute ages. Well worth it.
The Aqua pencil was a gift. This is a smudge proof formula, so it stays on well, highly recommended for you with oily eyelids. The texture is soft and easy to work with, mine is shade 10L, a lovely gold colour which I use quite often on myself, so this one went straight into my personal make-up bag. These pencils have shiny finish, so they are not for the ones going for a natural look, but if you're a bit of a magpie like me than go for it!
MUFE Aqua pencils are retailing at £13.00 here
