The importance of Skin prep.

When ever Im on a shoot and have to do the models makeup, or I'm doing my own shoot and doing the makeup too, I always think about the prepping of the models skin. This creates a really fresh and plump canvas for the makeup application. I always cleanse, tone and moisturise before makeup application, and I try to encourage the model to come in completely makeup and product free. Some models come in to the studio and they have already done half of their skin and primed. The problem with this is that, too much time has past. The primer and under products would have set into the the models skin and dried. So I always start from fresh as soon as the models come in, this helps meld the makeup with the face products and creates a really youthful dewy base. I do this even if Im doing a matte look, as It just looks a lot cleaner and the products don't budge up in certain areas. 

I always check my models skin to see what their skin type is, and I keep in mind the weather and season, as in the winter months it can be colder so can dry out your skin more. With this I tend to use a heavier moisturiser, this helps really nourish the skin and hydrate it. 

I usually buy my face products from big name stores, but lately have been looking into Tk Maxx as they have a huge discounted range of skin care and sometimes have really expensive products discounted to anything up to 75% which is amazing value. I usually tend to get organic skin care from here though, as I like to research non organic products first to see if they are any good. Organic products are safer and cheaper to take risks with as they are all natural products.

My winter skin and Origins review.

As its winter, I was looking through some magazines and sights to see if I could find anything on winter skin remedies or routines and products, to improve my skin condition. I have naturally very sensitive skin and so the cold weather really wreaks havoc! It gets tight and uncomfortable. I usually go for a thicker moisturiser, and usually stick to natural products. 

I turned to natural products after having so many problems with my skin. I was breaking out all the time and a skin condition that I used to suffer with as a teenager, had come back. I knew from this that there was something wrong. I changed my diet and tried to eat better, but this only slightly improved, so I decided to go all natural with my skin care.

I had bought an Origins eye cream with Ginseng, a couple of moths before and this had dramatically helped my tired eyes and was all organic. So I decided to try one of there face creams. I bought the Ginseng face cream, the one for dry skin and managed to grab a couple of samples while I was at it. 

I have tried this moisturiser for a couple of months now, so feel I've used it enough to give a good review. I actually found that it completely transformed my skin within a couple of days. It feels like its been resurfaced! It feels in much better condition and my dry patches have completely cleared up. It also didn't leave my skin feeling too oily in my T-zone and smelled delicious. I'll be purchasing again for sure.

Berry stained lips.

I came across this look on pinterest, and fell in love. This look is so romantic and clean that it really reminded me of that beautiful cherry bitten lip with winter look! Ive had a look on a few trend forecasting sights and this look is everywhere! The simplicity and freshness of this makeup trend is so different to what we have ben seeing. 

I really want to see what I can incorporate into my final looks for my models, and see if this fits with my hair Idea. Because my hair will look quite mechanical I will have to see if this soft romantic look will go as its very soft and romantic. 

WGSN. Inspiration.

WGSN Inspiration.

Its important to stay in the know. When it comes to fashion, art and beauty. There are many sites available for this information. WGSN was introduced to me by my lecturer Lou. I was able to get access because Im a student which was great as the subscriptions can go up to 300 ponds per year, which is way over my student budget. This sight had trend forecasts as far away as A/W 17/18, so you can literally see what is going to be trending in 2 years time. This was great for my article, which I have to write for uni. I was able to have a look at inspo boards and see what I wanted to write about. 

I love trend forecasting, I think its a great way to be inspired and to see whats coming up in the fashion industry. They also have wonderful colours and textured mood boards which you can akso use for inspiration. 

I really wanted to see what was coming up for hair and beauty and found so many beautiful mood

boards for upcoming seasons. 

I was struck by the technical trends for hair. Zig zag partings, graphic partings, Low side partings and so many more. Also something I loved was the combing of different styles and the complicated braiding that seemed to be everywhere. This drew me in and i decided to focus on this for my final article. 

Makeup seems to have a lot on power brows and cosmic highlighters, packed with iridescent undertones. and natural stained lips with cheek stains. what seems to be coming up a lot is no fuss makeup trends. With previous makeup trends being all about packing it on, we seem to have stripped it back! Which is perfect for my Uni project as I have to choose a subject to write about and one of those was natural makeup. 

I want to create a natural makeup but use these trends in a subtle way. I think a clean makeup look with a a hint of iridescent colour with a light peachy stained lip and cheeks will be an interesting look and combo!

Braids.

Braids are definitely getting more experimental. They are the hair styles to go for when you want something a little different, they take a little extra time, but the result is worth it. Ive been really practising my braiding as this is going to be incorporated into my final design. I love these styles and they have definitely inspired my final design, but I want to take it a step further and add some wire into the hair and create some different shapes as well as add some space buns. I also want to use 2 models and have them have the same hair and makeup but have slightly different hair plait shapes with the wire. 

Beauty Safari

Today we went on a beauty safari. We went around the beauty departments in West Quay Southampton. This was ideal for me as I do this on a regular basis anyway, So I got well involved! I love beauty shopping, you get to talk to the beauticians and find out about the latest looks and beauty trends, and usually this ends in free testers, which is always a bonus. I was really interested in the growing number of serums and face oil releases. These are everywhere and the best ones usually include some combination of exotic ingredients. 

I did find a rose oil from Aerin which felt really lovely on the skin and smelt amazing. I love the simple chic packaging, with the glass bottle and pink and gold label, it was very clean and pretty looking. I also found the applicator very handy as you only use what you need so don't need to waste any. 

I also found the new black rose new face oil from Sisley which at the hefty price of £136.00 is way too much than I could afford, but i did manage to snag a cheeky tester. It was beautiful and did leave my skin feeling baby soft, but I would never spend that much on face oil, especially as there are so many great cheaper alternatives out there. I will definitely focus on cost effectiveness next time! 

I also looked at the 'Pot rouge' trend coming back. Pot rouge is a little pot of pink to reddish colours that you can use on your lips and cheeks and sometimes even your eyes. These have always been a staple in women's makeup bags but sort of fell out of fashion for a while, but now are making a comeback.

I love the versatility and ease of this product, so I have purchased some. The other great thing is the range in price. I managed to pick up to lovely shades from H&M and also got a Makeup Forever one from Tk Maxx which was reduced from about 20 pounds to 4.99, which was a bargain. I have used these and I have to say Im really impressed with the quality and also what you can do with them. I love using them for subtle looks, for a pick me up, they add a little bit of colour creating a natural flushed glow.

Colour Pots

I found these images on Pinterest and they were my first point of inspiration. I loved the simplicity of the makeup and the slight hints of colour in the lips and cheeks. I love the idea of paint pots as they are so versatile and great at creating natural makeup looks. When I began thinking of my ideas, I wanted to do the whole editorial on paint pots and there versatility. I wanted to work with the natural beauty topic and do simple clean naturally beautiful looks. I have now decided against this as I don't think its a big enough topic to fill some pages. So I have now decided to do a natural makeup, still using these images as inspiration, but I want to pair it with a very constructed hair style. The makeup will still feature colour pots, but I want to create the look and article focusing on both the hair being constructed with the bare face makeup. 

For the hair I want it to be quite complicated and textured. I really love the look of space buns and braids, so I want to combine both styles. 

Images: http://rescu.com.au/how-to-fix-over-plucked-eyebrows/

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/332422016227389277/