Your Questions Answered - Tips and Tricks

Hello Again!!

Just a quick post to share with you my thread on netmums. I started this thread to get to know what sort of topics to cover for the blog and truthfully I've had so much fun answering everyones questions and knowing im giving you all a little boost of make up confidence that Ive just keep it going!! so check it out, no doubt someone somewhere has asked that burning question that you would love to know the answer too and remember you can always contact me on facebook or via email and I will always help if I can.

http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/woman-504/hair-beauty-530/918253-make-up-artist-ask-me-anything.html

lots of love!!!

xxx

How To Tackle & Cover Large Pores

Hello Ladies,

Well today I thought I would discuss with you large pores how to help cure them and also how to help cover them!!

Large pores tend to be found on the cheeks and sides of the nose. there are a number of factors that cause large pores, genetics are one and age is another - as we age our skin loses the elasticity to keep it firm. Dirt and oil is another factor through insufficient cleansing and sleeping in make up and finally dehydration is in my opinion the biggest cause. Dehydrated skins crave water and over produce oil and enlarges the pores as they try to cling onto any moisture they have. 

How Can I Tackle Large Pores? 

To help cure large pores I would firstly increase the levels of water you drink, you should notice a massive improvement almost immediately with the size of your pores. I would next look at your skincare. Make sure you cleanse your skin fully every evening. Thats every evening without fail, no matter how tired you are!

I personally double cleanse, first with a balm or oil cleanser and secondly with a creamy soothing cleanser. Follow with a hydrating toner, then moisturiser. A toner will prepare the skin and will allow your moisturiser to penetrate deeper. Your moisturiser should not contain shear butter or other pore clogging ingredients.

Regular exfoliation is also advised. I currently use Clarins Gentle Exfoliating Toner on a daily basis, applying before I spritz with a hydrating toner. This will ensure your pores are clean of dead skin cells and fresh and prepared for your hydrating toner and moisturiser. I would also use an AHA exfoliator at least once a week to give your skin a real workout (Liquid Gold is my choice).

How To Cover Large Pores?

Sooooo onto the fun part. How do you cover those pesky large pores?? The concept is thin smooth layers for better coverage.

Primer

I firstly apply a good smoothing oil free primer. Benefit Cosmetics The Porefessional is pretty much, in my opinion the best at smoothing large pores, but as its silicone based it doesn’t work with all foundation. If you use a water based foundation (if the first ingredient is water or aqua, its water based!) then I would suggest you use Laura Merciers Oil Free Primer- slightly more expensive and not as visibly smoothing as The Porefessional, but gives a fab finished and smooth look under foundation.

Foundation

I would apply your primer with a flat foundation brush or fingers, pressing into the skin and leave to settle for a minute or two. Then apply your foundation lightly and blend into the skin using a buffing foundation brush – Sigma F80 or Real Techniques Buffing Brushes are fab. This will give you a more diffused airbrushed finish. Then reapply another light cover of foundation to any problem areas such as the pores and stipple into the skin using the same brush. I usually find that lightly patting the area with my ring finger also gives the same effect. Leave the foundation to settle for a minute or two.

Powder

Next you are going to need a matte loose translucent finishing powder. Matte skin hides pores a million times better than dewy. And finishing powder sets your foundation, so it will prevent it from slipping into those pores, creating those little sunken pockets of foundation. Instead of brushing the powder on with a large brush I find a tight packed kabuki brush works better or a small powder puff. You need to take the powder and press it into the skin rather than brush. The pressing motion fills the pores and doesn’t unsettle or move your foundation.

Blush

Skip highlighter on cheekbones and sparkly shimmer blushes as this will highlight your pores like a little beacon. Stick to matte blush and apply only on the cheekbone and not the apples of your cheeks. This will lift your face and will draw the attention away from the pores to the smoother skin at the temples. Illamasqua blushes are my absolute favorite (my personal favorite being the shade naked rose)

Have a go and let me know how it all works!!!

xxxx

The Organic Pharmacy Carrot Butter Balm Cleanser and Herbal Toner Review

I am writing this long overdue review of some items that I received form the wonderful Organic Pharmacy. They were the Carrot Butter Balm Cleanser and the Herbal Toner.

Some of you may know that I have battled with my dehydrated acne prone skin for many years and have tried every acne solution going, but its only been recently that I’ve tried a different approach by switching my skincare to more a gentle line for sensitive skins. Gone are the harsh foaming washes and oil free moisturisers and in come the balms and hydrating mists and creamy moisturizers.

In my quest to find the perfect combination I tried The Organic Pharmacy Carrot Butter Cleanser and Herbal Toner which I am going to review for you below.

Carrot Butter Cleanser

The thing I love about the Carrot Butter Balm is that its 100% organic and is made up minus any toxic and harsh chemicals. The gentle balm and the rich nourishing ingredients seemed like the perfect combination for my acne prone skin. The item arrived in a gorgeous white box and alongside the product Organic Pharmacy provides you with a muslin cloth and a little scoop so that you don’t need to use your fingers in the pot – which is amazing as you wont then be transferring any bacteria from your hands into the product. This is something I wish other balm makers would take note of!

So the official spiel says “Carrot Butter Cleanser is a balm cleanser that melts on contact with the skin. It is infused with antioxidant Carrot and Calendula as well as decongesting Rosemary and soothing Lavender for a really deep but gentle cleanse. It removes eye make up as well as dirt and pollution” which I think its pretty spot on!

The balm is actually quite solid in the pot, more solid than other balms I have come across, but it turns into an oil when warmed up in the hands and massaged into the face. This is great as it really means you can really massage it into the skin, but I found the oil left a residue even after removing with a hot wet cloth. I didn’t want to agitate my skin by scrubbing, but even with good firm swipes the residue was still there. I can imagine if you have drier skin then the slight residue would be soothing and calming and would leave you with beautiful smooth skin, but as an oily to combination girl I wasn’t too happy with it.

Another thing I wasn’t to overly keen on was the smell. I’m not sure what I was expecting but the smell is not overly pleasant. Kind of reminds me of liquorice! I guess with a name like carrot butter I was expecting a smooth rich carrot cake smell, well in my dreams!!

One thing I loved is that the website for the Organic Pharmacy lists the full ingredients which I wish more brands did and as you can see they are 100% natural. Fabulous!

All the ingredients used in this product

Rosemary (Rosamarium Officinale) , Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii), St Johns Wort (Hypericum Perforatum), Sunflower (Helianthus Annus) Oil, Vitamin E (Tocopherol) , Coconut Oil (Cocos Nucifera) , Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), Beeswax (Cera Alba), Carrot (Daucus Carrota) , Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis), Jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis) Oil, Lavender (Lavandula Officinalis), Marigold (Calendula Officinalis) Extract, Sesame Seed Oil (Sesamum Indicum),

Overall it does remove make up and it does soften the skin and isn’t too harsh and even though it’s a small pot it does last ages. I have been using for a month now morning and night and Im halfway through the pot and for £34.96 for 75ml I think that’s pretty reasonably priced.

I think it would be great for dry/ combination skins and it doesn’t feel harsh or stripping on the skin. The only major thing I’ve noticed is that I’ve had slightly more breakouts and I think that’s down to the slight residue the balms leaving behind. I’m going to continue using it and see if the breakouts improve, although I won’t be purchasing as I don’t think its right for my skin personally.

You can buy the carrot butter balm from here http://www.theorganicpharmacy.com/health-beauty/carrot-butter-cleanser/39

Herbal Toner

The Herbal Toner I found was absolutely lovely! I usually use two types of toner on the face on the morning – one being exfoliating (Clarins gentle toner FYI) and then I spritz this after to rehydrate my skin and prepare it for moisturiser. I then used just this on the evening. By spritzing this toner after cleansing I find it soothing and cooling and I find my skin absorbs the moisturiser better. As we are now coming into winter I’m getting excited as I know by continuing to use this toner I won’t suffer from the dreaded dry skin caused by central heating/freezing winds in that never ending cycle.

The Organic Pharmacy website says “For normal or combination skin. Witch Hazel and Aloe are infused with 18 organic herbs acting synergistically to minimize pores and keep the skin in perfect condition. Fresh scent of Sicilian Lemons lift and tone the skin” and again this is very accurate.

The toner has a very light citrusy smell and I have noticed that my pores are smaller so this is definitely helping. I have also been spritzing this on my back as I suffer with slight acne there too and it has seriously helped with the skintone on my back. My back looks more even and certainly less red!

Again the list of ingredients is exciting to learn and it’s nice to know your spritzing something natural and soothing instead of laden with chemicals, here they are for all you that are interested:

Aloe (Aloe Barbadensis), Rye Alcohol, Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) , Rose (Rosa Damascena) , St Johns Wort (Hypericum Perforatum), Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate) , Witch Hazel (Hammamelis Virginia) , Lemon Balm, Benzoin, Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis), Chickweed (Stellaria Media), Elderflower (Sambucus Nigra), Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus Globus), Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare), Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica), Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis), Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense), Lavender (Lavandula Officinalis), Lemon (Citrus Limonum), Marigold (Calendula Officinalis) Extract, Marshmallow (Althea Officinalis),

The toner retails at £28.96 for 100ml and although slightly higher priced than most toners this is definitely something I will be purchasing when it runs out. I’ve found that 2 spritz’ is enough for my face (1 spritz on my neck, 1 spritz on my chest and 2 spritz on my back) and I’ve only used a quarter of the bottle so far in a month which is great!

Overall this is a fab toner which I think all skin types would benefit from and I definitely cant sing its praises high enough and I’m not surprised its one of Organic Pharmacy’s best sellers!

The herbal toner can be bought from http://www.theorganicpharmacy.com/health-beauty/herbal-toner/44

* products were provided to me to review from Debenhams Beauty Club.