Fresh Face for Winter!

Summer has well and truly passed, but don’t let this harsh winter air ruin your healthy glow! Today I will be talking about my absolute favourite products to give your skin an extra boost, preventing your skin from becoming dull and lifeless.

Highlighter is your best friend. I use highlighter every time of the year; it is definitely a step I cannot skip in my everyday makeup routine! It immediately creates healthy, glowing, dewy skin-especially important in the winter months.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light is stunning for those looking for a subtler highlight. This powder has a dusty rose undertone and creates a perfect glow-it doesn’t have any shimmer.

Mac Softand Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish was one of the first highlighters I ever purchased-and it is still one of my favourites to this day! This powder is a light pink toned champagne with some gold veining. This product is not as finely refined as the previous highlighter mentioned, however it is not a problem when I am wanting to create a more dramatic, noticeable highlight. This powder virtually goes with any makeup look, as it is both cool and warm toned.

This is probably one of my most dramatic highlighters, NARS Albatross. This powder is an intense gold highlight-absolutely stunning for nighttime. The powder is very finely milled-no harsh glitters transfer onto your face. This highlighter does an amazing job at accentuating the cheekbones and looks absolutely stunning paired with a deep red lip. 

Moving onto blushes, Benefit’s Sugarbomb boxed blush is perfect for adding a healthy glow to the face. Once all four colours are blended together, it is a gorgeous, natural pink colour with a slight shimmer. This blush has an amazing lasting power-I find I can wear it all day without it fading once I go to take my makeup off.

Mac’s Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul is a stunning winter shade-taking your skin back to summer when it was tanned and glowing! This blush is a bronzed, rose-gold like shade and has a noticeable shimmer. This is the perfect blush to swipe on and looks as if you have contoured and highlighted all in one step! This blush compliments medium to darker skintones the best, as it is a deeper shade.

I would love to hear if any of you have tried out these shades and let me know what you think!

(Brisbane mobile hair and makeup artist experienced in weddings, bridal, fromals, tv, photoshoots, theatre-Melissa Coleman (Mobile Spray Tan artist too.)

Makeup Setting tips

Today I will be sharing my tips to ensure that your makeup stays flawless all day or night. These tips will prevent your foundation from oxidizing and turning darker and orange, sinking into fine lines and melting away.

1. Prime. This is probably THE most important step in an entire makeup look and I rarely go a day without this crucial step-it makes an enormous difference! Not only does priming the skin allow your foundation to apply flawlessly, it fills in and minimises large pores and also ensures that your makeup does not budge all day (in conjunction with a couple of other tips I will be discussing!).

If you’re looking for a primer to primarily fill in large pores and smooth fine lines, Benefit’s the Porefessional PRO balm is definitely one of my favourites. It leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and is oil-free and light weight.

https://www.benefitcosmetics.com/product/view/the-porefessional

2. Setting powder. Too Faced Primed and Poreless powder is definitely my current favourite! This product works amazing for oily skin, controlling the oil for up to 5 hours without any touchups. Even on my normal/dry skin this is not irritating and does not cling to dry patches. This powder leaves the skin looking flawless as it fills in pores and fine lines. This product can also be used under your foundation to prime-it’s a great multi-use product!

https://www.toofaced.com/p/face-primers/primed-poreless-priming-powder-and-finishing-veil/

Mac MineralizedSkinfinish Natural is a great alternative if you are looking for a compact power-its much less messy than Too Faced. I would say that this powder leaves the skin with a very natural finish (as the title suggests!), it does not look powdery and has slight coverage if you are looking for an extra boost after your foundation.

3. Setting spray. This step isn’t entirely essential for everyday, however it makes an enormous difference and is especially important for those with oily skin.

Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray is the best that I have ever tried. It doesn’t feel drying and helps to lock your foundation, eyeliner and shadow into place for the whole day, ensuring that it doesn’t fade or melt.

4. Touching up. Throughout the day if you find that you are looking slightly oily, especially in your T-Zone blotting paper is your best friend! I used to spend anywhere from $10-$15 on blotting sheets however cutting up tiny squares of tissue paper works just as well and is a fraction of the price!

Bringing a pressed translucent powder on the go is also a good idea, as it won’t look cakey and is easy to apply!

(Brisbane mobile hair and makeup artist experienced in weddings, bridal, formals, tv, photoshoots, theatre -  Melissa Coleman  (Mobile Spray Tan artist too.)
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Autumn Nailpolish Must haves!!!!

I am a HUGE nail polish girl!!! –That’s understatement. Over the years I’ve built quite an obsession with nail polish and though its still quite warm mere in sunny Brisbane these are my ultimate Autumn/Winter shades!

Starting from the darkest shade, this is OPI’s Light My Sapphire. This is definitely one of those shades to wear if you’re in the mood for a black but not black nail -polish! I would describe this shade as very dark gunmetal with purple and blue undertones and a frosty finish. The formula of this particular shade is amazing-extremely pigmented and you can easily get away with two coats.

This shade is probably one of my favorites, Butter London’s LA Moss. I am a huge fan of good burgundy shades…and this one definitely hits the jackpot!! This is a very sophisticated shade; it is a vampy, blood red colour. I will say that it does take about three coats until this shade is the desired colour-the first coat comes out almost like a streaky red, however intensifies with the second and third coat. The finish of this colour is extremely glossy and creamy, it almost looks like gel nailpolish!

Revlon’s Colorstay Gel Envy nailpolish in Queen of Hearts is a relatively new shade to my collection but it is definitely creeping up to one of my favorites! This particular shade is a classic red with some pink undertones, a cult must-have for autumn. The formula of this nailpolish blew me away! It is as close to a salon gel manicure as an at home nail polish can be. The formula is longwearing and chip resistant for at least a week, extremely pigmented, easy to apply and has a high gloss finish.

Saving the best until last, Essie’s Lady Like. This colour is perfect for autumn if you still want to wear pinks, however this shade is more of a dusty rose/mauve with grey undertones. It has a very creamy finish and is extremely opaque.

(Brisbane mobile hair and makeup artist experienced in weddings, bridal, formals, tv, photoshoots, theatre -  Melissa Coleman)

Brows, Brows, Brows!!! (Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade)

Okay so eyebrows are definitely one of my favourite steps when creating a makeup look and they are definitely one of the first things that grab my eye! All my ladies out there with sparse brows (like me!!) don’t you dare neglect them! Brows do wonders in framing and sculpting the face and can soften or intensify a makeup look.

My biggest, most important tip when it comes to brows: do not over pluck! Yes, you heard me…don’t do it!!! Over-tweezing brows can lead to follicle damage underneath the brow hairs and consequently these hairs may never grow back.

I have a cheap little DIY trick that I use which truly has worked miracles on my brows (and also eyelashes)- coconut oil. Coconut oil has been all the rage recently and there are plenty of reasons why: it is natural, moisturising, thickening and stimulates hair growth through conditioning the follicles. It is easiest to heat the oil in the microwave for a few seconds, then dip a q-tip into the oil and apply on your brows and lashes every night so that it can work its magic!

Now onto my Holy Grail brow product, which I cannot get enough of…Anastasia Beverly HillsDipbrow Pomade- it’s a mouthful! This brow product is truly amazing and in my opinion, the best on the market. I purchased it on Beauty Bay for only $16.20 (AUD)! There is a wide range of shades, suiting practically every eyebrow colour.  This is the shade "Blonde" (which I find quite universal)  with the amazing brush #12, which is synthetic.  Perfect for applying the pomade.

 I have found that most brow products out there often have red/orange undertones, however these colours are very ashy which I believe looks more natural. This pomade is almost the consistency of gel eyeliner; hence it is best applied with a synthetic brush to ensure a precise and easy application. This product is extremely long lasting, rain and sweat proof-one of the biggest assets of this product. I also love that I don’t need to set this product with a gel, unlike when using powders to ensure that the eyebrows stay in place. It definitely takes practice when using this product-a light hand is essential, however it looks incredibly natural.

Here is a before and after on an eyebrow, to give you an idea of how natural but defining this is (even with untamed brows!):

before:

after:  

Enjoy!

(Brisbane mobile hair and makeup artist experienced in weddings, bridal, formals, tv, photoshoots, theatre - Melissa Coleman)