BEAUTY TREND: MINIMAL MAKE-UP & STRONG BROWS

Finally, we can give our faces abit of rest as it appears the beauty trend of the moment is to embrace the au natural applying the least amount of make up possible - or if your not completely comfortable with that, make up that at least compliments and enhances our natural beauty, rather than masking it. 

Strong eyebrows have been included in this look to create a dramatic appearance, without having to apply a full face of make-up which is suitable as more hot weather approaches ruining our made up faces anyway. So put down the blusher and gloss and FL@NT THAT FRESH FACE.

Isabel Lucas                                                    Beyonce

Meagan Fox                                        Natalie Portman

Online Find: Whoop Ash!

Reminds us of a line from There’s Something About Mary!

Anyway, we digress. We’re not threatening to get violent, Whoop Ash is actually a new line of organic, 99.9% natural body butters from Sheree Fletcher (Will Smith’s ex-wife). Helping you ‘whoop that ash’ the product promises to soften and moisturise dry, ashy skin and instantly revitalise and rejuvenate you.

With ingredients like white honey, shea butter and grape oil and with prices starting from $9.95 (£6), we’re glad they ship internationally and will be stocking up!

www.whoopash.com

BEAUTY TREND: PEACH LIPS

The beauty trend has turned a complete 180, from dressing lips in strictly darker tones to swapping for more brighter shades, most particularly peach. Spring is here and so the colour change seems appropriate - either apply a thinner, matte coat or push for a vibrant, glossier orange. If the weather ain't too pretty this month, brighten your day with your lip colour - Fl@unt those PEACH POUTS!

Jessica Lowndes                                                January Jones       

                  Kirsten Dunst                                Shingai Shoniwa (The Noisettes)

Online Beauty Tips!

InStyle magazine and Selfridges have collaborated to produce Best Advice We've Ever Heard, an online little black book brimming with beauty advice.

The tried and tested tips can be viewed on their Facebook page now and a free 40-page supplement will be inside the September issue of InStyle.

BEAUTY TREND: BROWN EYESHADOW

Continuing to embrace the current make-up trend of dark shadows and contours, the brown eyeshadow has become a firm celebrity style favourite guaranteed to enhance the strong beauty these stars carry within their faces, creating dramatic effect and a warrior-esque appearance - ADORN THE BROWN.

                          Keira Knightley                                             Jessica Alba

                       Jennifer Lopez                                                 Mary-Kate Olsen

Model Beauty Tip

Vogue.co.uk asked up and coming models from agency Premier Model Management how they stay beautiful during the hectic fashion show season.

Leomie Anderson kept her advice short and sweet.

What's in your beauty kit during Fashion Week?

I use a facial scrub from Bioré and a non-scented facial cream to keep my skin in tip-top condition. As a black model I always bring my own hairspray to shoots as brands such as Elnette are not suitable for black hair no matter what the hairdresser tries to tell you! I recommend Lusters Pink Holding Spray as it is affordable at around £2.79 and doesn’t damage my hair.

What's the most useful tip you've learnt on the job?

Be confident and unique. Don’t try and imitate others!

Like we said, pithy and to the point!

How to Fake Perfect Skin - Part 3

In our final instalment on faking perfect skin, we look at achieving greater coverage or a holiday glow. Have you ever tried mineral powder? It's light, gives a pretty glow and has ingredients like jojoba seed oil that are good for your skin.

Jourdan Dunn at Anna Sui

MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (£18.50) is described as a 'luxurious domed face powder with minerals, slowly baked to provide a dimensional yet natural matte finish and give perfect low coverage.' Colours in the range include 'dark’ and ‘deep dark’ which can be used on a variety of brown skin tones.

MAC mineral powder lasts a long time and feels as natural as your own skin. Wear with lipstick (£13.50) the same colour as your lip for a nude look. We particularly like their colours ‘mocha’ and ‘kinda sexy’ for a natural looking matte pink with peachy and brown tones.

To create contour and shape to your face, use a blush one shade darker than your skin tone. Remember you want a natural look so avoid pink shades as tempting as it may be! In keeping with our healthy skin mission, try NARS Cream Blush (£20.50) which contains vitamin E. Apply with finger tips or a foundation brush under the cheekbones to give the illusion of a slimmer face.

If you use a powder blush, be sure to use a brush with natural bristles. Shu Uemura do a good one which is designed for contouring and highlighting the cheek area. For an extra healthy Caribbean holiday glow, use Bobbi Brown Bronzer (£24) in ‘Barbados Tan’ (they have a versatile range of warm natural colours) for a summer glow in the winter and amazing skin in the summer!

Define brows with Benefit Brows-a-go-go (£26.50) shaping kit. Eyeshadow for your brows is the most natural way to define brows. Makeup artists and celebrities hardly use brow pencil these days! Curl lashes with the award winning Shu Uemura lash curler (£20) and finish with a small amount of mascara to define the eyes. Benefit BADgal lash (£16.50) in black is amazing!

Now you’re a natural beauty!

We hope you found this useful. If you have any questions regarding beauty products, skin care advice or makeup methods, please contact Kemi – our professionally trained make up artist.

BEAUTY TREND: GREY NAILS

From neon bold to clear French manicure, the new nail trend has reached a mediated level adopting various shades of GORGEOUS GREY. Fl@unt the trend, applying the colour on sexy claws or classy French tips - go grey! 

                        

Megan Fox

Rihanna

Jessica Alba

Jennifer Lopez

How to Fake Perfect Skin - Part 2

The next step in faking perfect skin is to ensure you moisturise generously at night. Use Vitamin E cream as it is gentle and great for all skin types. You can use this as a day or night cream, just make sure you use more at night! Massage the face and neck gently and let the cream settle into the skin.



Joan Smalls at Alexander Wang

 Two weeks in, you have been looking after your skin and it's beginning to feel fabulous.


For a low key, daytime look, try a tinted moisturiser. Use Mac Oil Control Lotion (£20) or The Body Shop Mattifying Cream (£9) - matte means absolutely no shiny skin - essential if you have oily/combination skin. For normal to dry skin, we like Bobbi Brown's luxuriously light Hydrating Face Cream (£34).

Did you know you can make your own tinted moisturiser? We use Mac Cover Up concealer (£13.50) with a small amount of mattifying cream (50p coin size).When buying concealer, remember that Mac's NW colours are for black skins with yellow/orange undertones.

Apply your homemade moisturiser with a foundation applicator brush for a natural glow. Shu Uemura have a wide range of luxurious, excellent quality brushes in funky and plain colours that can last for up to a decade! Find them in Space NK.

MAC to launch Wonder Woman Collection

MAC is going to tap into our childhood fantasies and hope we still want to be Wonder Woman by releasing a collection based on the comic book heroine. We were huge Wonder Woman fans when we were kids – the invisible plane, the lasso of truth, the cuffs that repelled bullets. What’s not to love?

MAC Wonder Woman Collection

MAC say: 'Banish any thought of being a Plain Jane. For Spring 2011, take a trip to Paradise Island with a legendary line up of super-sized Mineralize Skinfinish, bold Eye Shadow quads, Pigment, Lipsticks and oversized Lipglass, jumbo-big Powder Blush and Penultimate Eye Liner inspired by the larger-than-life Bold Babe.'

Could it be any more kitsch?!

Rumour has it they will be bringing a pop up shop to various MAC counters across the world with possible visits to Bluewater in Kent and London’s Selfridges. No specific details on their website as yet, but they held a similar event in New York last week and attendees said international trips were promised.

Counter at New York pop up shop

MAC pop up shop in New York

Call the relevant MAC Counter for more information and to book an appointment.

Selfridges - 020 7318 3276. Due February 17 – March 2.
Bluewater - 0870 192 5044. Due March 3 – 5.

How to Fake Perfect Skin

We all want it, but few of us are born with it. That natural, glowing, fresh-as-a-daisy, pefect skin. The models in the Alexander Wang, Anna Sui and Burberry Prorsum shows seemed to have it. How can we?

Jeneil Williams at Burberry Prorsum

Over the next 3 weeks, we’ll give you a step by step guide to achieving this look at home. It’s so easy you could probably do it in your sleep. And you’ll look fabulous with very little effort.


Week 1: Keep a consistent skin regime

We know what some of you are thinking. Too much hard work? Well beauty takes time! Spend an extra 10-15 minutes pampering your skin at night & your skin will thank you throughout the day.

For those of us not blessed with perfect, youthful skin, having a consistent skin regime is imperative. It doesn’t have to be too involved, particularly if you are doing more than the 9 to 5 and you have crying babies (this includes boyfriends/husbands).

Three easy steps: cleanse, tone, exfoliate.

First use a cleanser all over your face and neck to remove impurities and excess oil. This can also be used to remove makeup (follow cleanser step twice if you have heavy makeup). Aveda's Green Science Cleanser (£20.50) is good for most skin types.

Soak a flannel in warm water, ring out any excess water and cover the face for 1-2 minutes wiping away any remaining cleanser. Use toner for a deep clean that seeps right into the pores. Dermalogica and The Body Shop do nice ones.

If you do nothing else make sure you exfoliate. The good news is, if you do this efficiently you only have to do it once a week. This can be done using a handheld small facial brush from The Body Shop (£3.99).

Team this scrub action with a facial wash that contains microbeads for deep exfoliation giving you baby soft skin. Clinique (£17) do a lovely, gentle wash that gives excellent results if you have oily or combination skin as it eliminates black heads and annoying little spots on your T-Zone (forehead, nose and chin).

Rotate in a circular motion softly on the t-zone. If you have normal/dry skin gently concentrate all over the face to remove dead skin cells and dry flaky skin. Rinse with warm water. Your skin should feel wonderful now!

Problem Skin? Meet Your New Best Friends

We are not exaggerating when we say this – these products from Aveda can transform your skin! One of our staffers will explain. 

Unfortunately, I'm one of those poeple who’ve never had good skin. As a teenager I had the usual spots and as a result, some rather unattractive scarring. I had tried all sorts of over the counter and even prescribed treatments. Nothing worked. Well, my concealer from Mac did! 

Fast forward a few years and I stumble across the Fresh Lifestyle Salon & Spa in Blackheath, London that uses Aveda products. I’ve never really been a facial type of gal as I honestly couldn’t see any difference afterwards so thought of it as an indulgent treat rather than a monthly necessity.

I looked through their treatments and saw the Outer Peace™ Blemish Relief Facial (£60 for 60mins) - A deep cleansing customised facial for blemished skin that treats both the symptoms and causes to ensure that skin stays clear.

It sounded good so I went for it. My therapist, the lovely Michaela, put in work! I had masques, massages, extractions, steam treatments – the works. It was so good I fell asleep. And snored! (Only once but oh the shame!)

Afterwards my skin felt tingly clean and smoother than it has ever been. She recommended various products via a personalised facial prescription but if I bought them all it would have cost over £200 (eye creams, firming lotions etc) and we’re in a recession! She said if I wanted to see results I should get Enbrightenment™ Correcting Serum and apply it daily. I did and after 6 weeks the scarring was much less prominent. At £38.50 for a 30 ml tube, it isn’t cheap but boy is it worth it! 

Correcting Serum

Spurred on, I looked at my facial prescription and bought two more products, Outer Peace^TM Blemish Relief Pads (50 pads for £20.50) to exfoliate and unplug pores and Outer Peace^TM Foaming Cleanser (125 ml for £16.50) for a deep clean. I use them religiously and go for facials every 3 months to have the kind of clean I can’t do at home.My skin has never looked better, even my Mother said so, and that has never happened!

Blemish Relief Pads

Foaming Cleanser

My skin tone is much more even, my pores smaller, my skin brighter, I could go on! Of course the scarring isn’t completely gone but it is much less noticeable and lets just say, I’ve not bought a new concealer in over 6 months!

Arlenis Sosa in Glamour Magazine

Dominican model Arlenis Sosa has a 8 page spread in February’s Glamour UK magazine. The feature is called ‘Gimme 5 minutes to party beautiful. No time? No worries! Model of the moment Arlenis Sosa shows us how to get gorgeous, fast.’

Arlenis Sosa

The article shows us how to work sparkly glitter, smoky shimmer and stained lips and ends with some of her beauty tips.

Part of her spread in Glamour magazine

It’s not often (at all!) that a black girl is used for a makeup/beauty shoot so well done Glamour!

Sleek MakeUP presents - Stiletto Collection

Cosmetics brand Sleek MakeUp has unveiled the new Stiletto Collection. The limited edition range includes Blush-Scandalous priced at £4.29 to give a red flush to the cheeks; Pout Polish-Scandal, a tinted lip balm also priced at £4.29 and NAILED, a nail polish in Geisha's Seal red, priced £3.89.

The limited edition collection hits Superdrug stores nationwide between January 26th and February 16th  2011.

Become Beautiful at Tesco

There really is nowhere Tesco won’t go! The supermarket behemoth (and that term may actually be an understatement) are planning to open beauty salons inside Tesco Extra stores this month. Not the first place you’d think of when you need a quick wax!

They have trialled beauty services like threading and nail treatments already and the feedback has been positive. Apparently their aim is to improve the whole beauty product range within Tesco Extra stores.

We have tried their BNatural organic range in the past and were pleasantly surprised. We expected it to be rubbish but the cleanser and soap were very good, even on sensitive skins. We’re partial to a bit of threading so if we can get that done after we’ve picked up the weekly shop, we think it’s a great idea!

Tesco's BNatural range

Touche Eclat for Brown Girls

Every fashion mag we read sings the praises of Yves Saint Laurent’s Touche Eclat. It is considered a cult beauty product, with 3 sold every minute in the UK! Famed for its ability to banish dark circles and act as an instant highlighter, it is touted as one of the cosmetic world's true miracle products.

Jourdan Dunn by Terry Richardson

So imagine our glee when we came across Jourdan Dunn advertising their brown shade!

The US version of the YSL website has a fabulous shade finder which lets you know which Touche Eclat is right for you.  They don't ship internationally but you can buy all shades from Selfridges if you're in the UK.

BEAUTY TREND: DARK LIPS

Finally, darkness is embraced through make-up as we have become so used to the bias tones of lighter, brighter colours to dress our skin. Showcased through various editorial shoots currently and fashion shows throughout the world, whether it be berry, purple, black, or cocoa - DARK IS IN.

Leighton Meester

Megan Fox

Kelly Rowland

Taylor Momsen

Reb’l Fleur – Rihanna’s New Fragrance

Yep – she’s the latest celebrity to release her own fragrance. According to her website, the perfume is ‘daring, sexy and truly memorable and is as much in tune with Barbados-born Rihanna’s roots as it is with the glamour of her present life in New York City.’ Sounds interesting!

The name seems like a modification of her grammatically wobbly French rebelle fleur neck tattoo. It is being released by Parlux Inc., the same company behind scents by Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and Queen Latifah so it’s sure to have a massive PR budget and will no doubt be everywhere and on everyone! It’s out in the US already – no word on when it’s due to be released in the UK.

Reb'l Fleur bottle

According to Mintel, the celebrity perfume market is estimated to be worth £255m in the UK alone! That explains why every celebrity worth their OK appearance fee has a fragrance. We all know about J Lo, Sean John, Beyonce but did you know Dora the Explorer, Miss Piggy and Cliff Richard had theirs too! Why not? With a pie that big, everyone wants a piece!

Chic Cheap Treat: Gunmetal Grey

A trend we particularly liked from the Autumn/Winter 2010 fashion shows was metallic eyes and nails. One reason we like it is that it doesn’t cost much to spruce yourself up with a new eye shadow or nail varnish!

This picture is from backstage at the L’Wren Scott fashion show.

To achieve this look add a pop of pale gold shadow - we like Bobbi Brown cream eye shadow in Goldstone to the inner corners of your eyes then go for broke with a full-blown silver lid - try Mac eye shadow in Forgery.

£16

£11

 Nail wise we love Illamasqua’s polish in DWS

£13

and Gothic Lolita from Rococo

£11.50