4 Shades of Autumn - My go to lipstick shades for autumn

I love autumn for fashion and beauty because I prefer the colours and textures that I can play around with during this season. My favourite way to add a bit of autumn/winter to my look without buying a whole new wardrobe is with lipstick. Here are four of my favourite shades that I have been wearing a lot recently:

Shard by Illamasqua
Vesuvio by Nars
Rebel by Mac
Crimson by Bobbi Brown

The following pictures feature me wearing the lipsticks named respectively.

I really enjoy wearing these colours because they easily make a statement without a lot of effort. The pop of colour also brightens your complexion up and makes your skin look better. You'll notice that Shard by Illamasqua is very matte compared to the others but I like it because I find the blue undertone flatters a rich skin tone. Vesuvio by Nars is a great clean red which is a must for autumn. Rebel by Mac is a great has a very blue undertone and tends to stain the lips so don't go for this if you don't want your lips to be tinted even after you've removed your make up! Lastly, Crimson by Bobbi Brown is a gorgeous bordeaux red that is great for evening glamour.

In the pictures I created the rest of the look using the following products:

Nars Sheer Glow foundation
Mac Select Moisturecover concealer
Illamasqua brow powder in Gaze
Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner in Infinity
Kiko Ultra Tech Mascara
Bobbi Brown bronzer in Bali Brown

Which colour is your favourite? What lipsticks feature in your favourites list?

Just love

Rina xoxo

Big love for Big Hair

My last shoot of 2013 was with photographer Emily Bailey. She arranging a shoot to advertise a range of extensions for beauty company, Stylelux. The brief was 14 models, great hair, fresh make up and a 'fun' vibe. So with me on board for make up and Tony Waterhouse doing hair, this was bound to be a brilliant collaboration.

I wanted the make up to look really natural but fun and fresh at the same time so I prepared the skin first with an illuminating moisturiser before applying the base. I added colour to the whole look with a pink flush on the cheeks and a translucent pink gloss on the lips. I finished the look off with a flick of black liner on the upper lid to open up the eyes and keep the models looking bright-eyed and flirty.

My backstage posts on Instagram saw me getting asked loads of questions about what make up I used to get the models looking so natural but flawless so here are all the products I used for all the models on the shoot:

The Body Shop Vitamin E Illumiating Moisturiser
Bobbi Brown Stick Foundation
Bobbi Brown Brightening Nudes Finishing Powder
The Body Shop Blush in Macaroon
Bobbi Brown Black Gel Liner
L'Oreal False Lash Flutter Mascara
Bobbi Brown Lipgloss in Pink Lily

Hope you like the look!

Just love

Rina xoxo

  

Photography - Emily Bailey

Hair - Tony Waterhouse @ Rebel Pin Up

Models - Alana Elliot at Face Model Management and Pippa Perkins

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Okay so I have to admit, I was really looking forward to using this foundation. So many good reviews about it, on the favourites lists of many other make up artists and beauty bloggers so I was expecting something good.

NARS describes this as a buildable sheer to medium coverage foundation with a glowing, natural, radiant finish. It's also supposed to leave the skin more hydrated, luminous, softer and smoother and if used everyday it claims to improve the skin's brightness and texture. It's recommended for those that have a normal to dry skin type.

Given all this, I expected the foundation to look really radiant and glowy especially on my normal to oily skin type. However I couldn't help but feel that the foundation felt and looked a little bit flat and cakey. I applied it with my fingers as recommended and really warmed it into the skin. The coverage was very good but if you like sheer coverage I'd steer clear. This version of 'sheer' is completely different to my understanding of sheer which is that of a tinted moisturiser or my favourite sheer foundation, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation.

I bought it in the colour Tahoe which was the closest match to my skin. So the closest equivalent to Bobbi Brown's Golden or MAC's NC44. I liked the tone of the foundation but it was just a smidge too light. However, the next shade was far too dark so I compensated by using a bronzer to warm my complexion up and to avoid me looking like my face was a completely different colour to my neck and chest.

On another occasion though I applied it with an Illamasqua Highlighter brush and buffed it on over Illamsqua's Hydra Veil Primer and it went on so much better. Still I felt it was a little bit matte looking but as I was going to a party I didn't mind looking more made up. It's great as an under eye concealer though. Used with a full bristled synthetic concealer brush, this formula builds up really well under the eyes and there was minimal creasing as the night went on.

So I guess my conclusion is that for me this foundation should really be called something else. The words 'sheer' and 'glow' don't come to mind when I have it on. However I never write off a foundation as I believe there's always a use for any foundation. If not now then maybe later. I'd say it's good for people that want a bit of coverage and want to make more of an effort to get that flawless look. It doesn't have an SPF in it either which I like. It means that for photography it prevents you from looking 'white' in pics so a good option for wedding days. I must admit, it photographs incredibly well.

In the picture of me I'm wearing it with a Bobbi Brown Bronzer in Golden Light and Laura Mercier Highlighter 01. So out of 10, I give it a 7.

Let me know if you've used NARS Sheer Glow Foundation and what you thought of it.

Just Love

Rina xoxo

Skincare shoot for Stylelux

In July I got involved in a project that was commissioned by a Danish health and beauty company called Stylelux. My friend and photographer, Emily Bailey called me in to do make up for an editorial style beauty shoot for one of their face masks. Which was black!

So with close up beauty photography in mind, we needed a great model with excellent skin. Emily I have have worked together on shoots lots of times before and what I love about collaborating with her is the fact that we both gel our ideas effortlessly and come out with some wonderful images. It truly is a collaboration when I work with Emily so there was no doubt that it was the right choice when we invited friend, model and muse Pippa Perkins to be the face of our shoot.

Before we cracked on with the face mask I wanted to get a few beauty shots in given my love of natural looking make up. Pippa's look is perfect for beauty photography and I really wanted to create a soft, sensual beauty look with natural looking contours and highlights.

I created this look by keeping the skin looking fresh and dewy with MAC Face & Body foundation. This is one of my favourite formulas for natural, beauty photography as it photographs really well and doesn't look like the model is wearing make up at all. When a model already has great skin, I don't see the need to put on heavy coverage foundation. I like to let the model's features speak for themselves. And as Pippa already has great skin, I didn't cover it up too much.

I simply used a touch of Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Uber Beige to contour her fantastic cheekbones but sticking to a cream formula, it kept the texture of the skin nice and supple rather than powdery and matte. And then for highlighting which was my main focus for this look, I used MAC Strobe Cream on the top of her cheekbones, down the bridge of her nose and on her cupid's bow and I punched the highlighter out even more by going over this with an almost white coloured, shimmer eyeshadow by The Body Shop in Moonstone.
I finished off the look with Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colour in shade WT901 on the eyes and Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lipgloss in Star on the lips.

The final images are stunning. I loved the lighting that Emily used as they make Pippa look really dreamy, soft and romantic. These are definitely some of my favourite beauty images to date.

I then had to switch the look up for a more editorial look. The face mask was a black gel texture so with Emily's monochromatic theme in mind I started by completely blanking out Pippa's face. I wanted full coverage so I built up over what base Pippa already had on using Illamasqua Rich Liquid foundation in white covering the lips as well. I slicked her hair back into a tight, clean ponytail and for a it of variation on some of the images I used Kryolan cream pigment in an orange tone on the eyes. These are some of my favourite edits from the shoot.

 



Just love

Rina xoxo

All photography by Emily Bailey click here for her facebook page.
Model - Pippa Perkins
Images commissioned for Stylelux.co.uk

My Favourite Foundation Brushes

'Your make up is only as good as your brushes' or so the saying goes. But when it comes to foundation it's definitely important to use the right tools. The right brush not only makes sure that your make up looks good but it can also save you time and prevent you from overusing or wasting your foundation.

I have used many foundation brushes and as a make up artist I'm obsessed with adding to my collection but as of late I have settled on a couple of new favourites.

I've noticed that recently foundation brushes have moved away from the flat paddle brushes that used to be the trusted applicator for all mediums of foundation. These are still great and I love my Bobbi Brown foundation brush below, I have 3 in my kit. These brushes are great for application. Unlike sponges, flat paddle foundation brushes were synthetic and so didn't soak up liquid foundations, saving us from wasting our favourite foundation formulas.

Then there was the stippling brush. The MAC small duo fibre brush was a favourite for a lot of beauty junkies including myself. I did buy this brush for the purpose of applying foundation but I found that with liquid formulas, the tips on the brush sometimes just moved the formula round in circles on my skin. I didn't ever feel like it blended the product very well and often went over my face with another brush or my hands. It is, however, great for applying loose powder products and for blending powder blush.

Brushes are always improving though and a lot of companies are able to produce good quality brushes with synthetic fibres. Synthetic brushes have always been a must for liquid and cream products and for a while it seemed that synthetic brushes were always flat so not great for getting around the contours of the face. But now I've noticed that synthetic brushes are being produced for the use of all products which means we now have access to a variety of shapes and sizes of brushes for applying foundation.

Currently my favourite brushes are the Illamasqua Highlighter Brush and the Bobbi Brown Full Coverage Brush.

The Illamasqua Highlighter Brush although designed for it's namesake is also perfect for blending liquid foundation onto the skin. Small in size and shaped into a dome, this brush gets product around areas like the nose and mouth evenly. It's also my absolute favourite for applying cream blush as I feel like it practically blends the product for me. No harsh lines or blotches of extreme colour when I use this for cream blush.

The Bobbi Brown Full Coverage Brush is an absolute dream for applying and blending liquid foundation. When I first used this brush for foundation I thought 'where have you been all my life!' Of course it's made from synthetic fibres but it feels like velvet. It's great not only for applying foundation but it blends make up onto the skin flawlessly and with minimum effort. For those of you who aren't so great at blending, this brush does all the hard work for you! You just pick up a small amount of product and buff it onto the skin. You'll even find that you will probably use less product as the brush clings on to hardly any of the foundation meaning that what goes onto the brush, goes onto the face. Minimum product is wasted and so your foundation goes further. And best of all it's quick. It blends as you go along so you don't have to keep going over and over your face until the product blends away.

So there you have it, my current favourite foundation brushes. And I say current as make up companies are always bringing out new and wonderful brushes so no doubt I'll have a new list of favourites eventually. I hope so anyway :)

Have you used any of these brushes? Let me know what you think of them and what your favourite foundation brushes are.

Just love

Rina xoxo