How To Shape Your Eyebrows | Make Up Tips, Tricks and Techniques

You know these people can that don't pay much attention to what their glasses look like can be surprised when you remind them that they are the first thing people notice about them? The same goes for you eyebrows. They seem to be in the background and are often overlooked, but they are a critical feature. They provide essential architecture to your face and should be strong, defined and clean. But also natural. You never want to turn your brows into something they're not. Your best look will probably mean working with the brow shape you were born with. Sometimes subtle tweaks like simply cleaning up below the brow can make all the difference; other times you'll need to do some serious preening.. no one looks cute with a unibrow. 

Finding your arch can be difficult. I strongly recommend going to a beauty specialist and then maintain them afterwards. This is much easier than doing it from scratch yourself. I don't like getting my brows waxed. I prefer getting plucked or threaded. 

If you are going to take on this task yourself, follow these steps for narrowing in on your arches. You can also invest in a brow kit that provide stencils.

1. Take a pencil and hold it vertically against your nose. Where it hits your eyebrow is where your brow should start - anything else is a unibrow and you can feel free to pluck away.

2. Starting from the same position as step one, tilt the pencil directly across the center of your eye on a diagonal. The spot where it hits your brow is your arch. Mark it with a pencil or eyeliner. 

3. Now tilt the pencil so the tip aligns with the outer edge of your eye. Where it hits on the end is the end of your brow. mark this with a pencil.

picture from www.healthtap.com

PLUCKING:

1. Using your tweezers, pluck any hairs that are clearly well outside of the confines of your brow. Remember to keep a light hand (you want those guys to look full and natural) and pluck from underneath the hair and in the direction it grows. 

2. If you eyebrows hairs are long, you can take a brow brush and comb the, straight up. Trim the brows that go beyond the brow line with cuticle scissors. Don't cut too much!

Make no mistake, eyebrow upkeep can be tricky. It's easy to loose perspective when those tweezers are in your hand and you face is pressed up against your mirror. You can go way too far in seconds. The same can also happen when you're trying to even them out. Over plucking can lead to permanent damage. Sometimes your eyebrows can not grow back at all. Before you get pluck happy, pledge to only tug out one hair at a time - and to constantly take two steps back from the mirror to assess your work.

If you colour your hair regularly, you can ask your hairdresser to match your brow colour with your base colour. 

Tools | Make Up Tips, Tricks and Techniques

Having the right make up won't get you anywhere if you don't have the right tools for the job. Make sure you have what you need.

The Tools 

Although you might change up your make up all the time, tools are something you can stick to because you know them and how they work best.

Sponges

I usually apply my foundation with a brush or my fingers but I really love to use the beauty blender sponge. It's so handy for blending foundation, especially in the inner eyes and around the nose. If the sponge is damp, the foundation becomes sheer. Perfect for if you don't want heavy coverage. 

Tweezers

Make sure you have some high quality tweezers. Cheap tweezers will only lead to frustration. You'll need to pair with a flat, angled edge for minor brow touch ups.

Cotton Buds

Using a cotton bud is the quickest way to perfect eyeliner or clean up any make up that's fallen to your cheeks. 

Eyelash Curler

Curling your lashes opens up your eyes and it's a subtle and pretty effect to have your lashes flare out from your lids. If you wear glasses and have straight lashes, you should definitely use one of these to avoid having that annoying feeling of the lashes touching the lenses.

Brushes

Good brushes (i.e. brushes that you can keep forever if you take good care of them) can be expensive. So I recommend building your collection little by little until you have everything you need. These brushes are going to be used on your skin, so make sure they feel soft and not scratchy. Although some brushes must be firm, depending on their use. You don't need to be buying the most expensive brushes out there to achieve the desired effect. For some, yes, it's worth the money - if you're going to splurge do it on a soft powder brush. Honestly, all price ranges offer brushes that get the job done. The more expensive ones just feel better and last longer. Brushes are either synthetic or natural and you'll want a combination of the two in your collection. Synthetic brushes are said to be best for cream blushes and eye shadows whilst natural brushes are best for powders. Professionals break those rules all the time, so can you. 

   There are over thirty different make up brush shapes out there on the market (and then variations within, depending on the brand) but you don't even need to know about all of them unless you're considering a profession in make up. You can get through by owning a handfull.. here's a guide:

FOUNDATION	A synthetic brush. Can also be used for applying a cream blush.
CONCEALER	A narrow synthetic brush with a slightly tapered edge.
POWDER	A big, soft, natural brush.
CONTOURING	A soft brush, with a flat, angled edge. Also used for bronzing.
BLUSH	A soft medium-full blush. Natural fibre is best.
EYE SHADOW	A tapered flat brush that is good for blending.
FAN BRUSH	A light brush that’s great for highlighter – it’s also good for brushing away fall out.
EYELINER	A narrow, angled blush for applying gel liner or shadow as liner.
EYELASH/BROW COMB	The side with a small, plastic comb is used for removing mascara clumps from lashes. The bristle side is for grooming eyebrows. You can also use a spoolie brush.
EYEBROW	A firm, angle brush used for filling in brows with powder. Go for something with coarse bristles.

Eight Most Worn Things

Hello guys. Today I'm doing the infamous 'eight most worn things tag' from youtube and blogs. It's been around for ages, and it's something I've been wanting to do. So, you show you eight most worn of the eight categories. 

First is lipstick. I change up my lipstick everyday but looking at them all I'd say my Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 26 which is a nude colour. It's just easy to wear. Look how worn it it though.. whoops. For lipgloss.. I don't really wear lipgloss. So instead I'm showing you my little green tin from superdrug. It's a balm with a Vaseline consistency. 

These are my most worn earrings. They're rather big pearl hearts with the diamante studs and the gold around them. They were from Primark and they're just easy to match with so many outfits and hair do's. 

Next is my most worn shirt. I couldn't get a good picture of this so I'll just describe it to you. It's a sheer black shirt from Topshop. Just three quarter length sleeves, a v-neck and pearl buttons. It's simple really but it goes with so much. 

This is my most worn nail varnish - Collection 200's Electric Dreams. It's bright, vibrant and fun. It's easy to apply, fast drying, hard to chip and cheap too!

How could I not include these bad boys? These are my Jeffery Campbell Litas.. my most worn shoes. I love them. They're so comfortable, and they are to die for. LOVE LOVE LOVE. 

This is my most used hair product.. my VO5's Plump It Up backcombing spray. It really adds volume. I have long fine hair so it ends up so heavy, flattening at my roots and dropping any texture. This is an amazing spray without blowing your wages on something that does the same.. 

This is my most worn perfume. It's nearly all gone now.. which makes me sad. But it means I can replace it as well. It's the Davidoff Cool Water. 

This is my final item. My most worn handbag. It's another Primark save.. a small satchel with side pockets, a small front pocket and a large inside compartment I love it. 

Lipstick/Lip Gloss | Make Up Tips, Tricks and Techniques

It's no secret what a bold-coloured lipstick and do for you, but it doesn't come without a price. A dramatic lip colour is arguably the most high maintenance look a girl can wear on her face, which means it should be reserved for special occasions. Fortunately even just a subtle pop of colour can elevate your look. When you're picking out a lipstick, you can choose between matte or satin, each gives a different effect.  

Eyebrow Pencils | Make Up Tips, Tricks and Techniques

This adds instant polish, fills in any spare patches and only takes a few seconds. There are special brow shadows out there, but they're really just eye shadows marked as brow shadows. For a softer look use a powder. For a more defined look, a pencil.

Application Tips:

- Unless you're going for a dramatic effect, don't go any darker than your own brow colour, since the goal here isn't to change the shade but simply correct imperfections. 

- Use an eyebrow specific brush or a pencil and work out to the tip with small strokes. Always follow the direction of hair growth. Stand about a foot away from a mirror so you can see well.

Eye Shadow | Make Up Tips, Tricks and Techniques

I don't wear a lot of eye shadow, but it looks great on a lot of women and can add complexity and depth to the eye. It's also a nice way to add a pop of colour on your face. It comes in both powder and cream forms. I prefer a powder over a cream because cream shadows tend to crease with ti,e. For day choose a matte shade, for night have fun a try a metallic or shimmery shade.

Application Tips:

- Use an eye shadow brush to apply an even layer across the lid.

- For extra drama, go one shade darker in the creams, make sure you blend it well. When you use more than one colour you never want to see a distinct line.

Mascara | Make Up Tips, Tricks and Techniques

There's no single product, besides maybe, red lipstick, that delivers a bigger ''looking finished'' effect. You generally have to choose between regular and water proof masacara but you should only use waterproof mascara on special occasions because they tend to dry out your skin around you eyes, speeding up the aging process. Different formulas provide different effects - some will give your lashes a more defined look while others leave them softer. 

Application Tips:

- Choose a formula that's nonclumping and natural looking and the use the wand in both combing and wiggling motions, horizontally and vertically.

- Don't pump the wand in and out of the tubes. It doesn't load the wand up with more product, instead drying the mascara out. 

- I spend about 30 seconds doing my mascara everyday. 

- If you have very light lashes, mascara should definitely by one of your everyday essentials. If black feels too dramatic, try dark brown.