LIBBY'S NATURAL PROM MAKEUP.

I recently had the pleasure of working with Libby to create a prom makeup look; she wanted something natural as she doesn't really wear much makeup. We had a trial a couple of weeks before, and unfortunately on the day a few things had to change as Libby wasn't feeling too well. She had chosen a fitted, navy lace gown for her prom and she looked absolutely stunning! I thought I'd write a post about the application and the products that I used - be warned, there are quite a few Benefit products! 

I started by getting Libby to remove any traces of makeup with a makeup wipe - she doesn't usually wear a lot so there wasn't much there to remove. I then went in with Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Freedom Makeup Moisture Cream to tone and moisturise the skin. I also spritzed a little of the Freedom Makeup Priming Water across the skin and allowed that to sink in. I used Benefit's It's Potent! Eye Cream as a treatment underneath the eye whilst I started applying the eye makeup. 

I primed the eyelids using Benefit's Lemon Aid - I usually use Benefit's Air Patrol but silly me had forgotten to pack it in my kit! I decided to use the Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes Palette - we had used it at the trial and Libby really liked it - it's honestly one of my go to palettes for any natural, feminine look. I used the pink shade all over the lid, the lighter brown over half of the lid and the darker, matte brown through the crease and on the outer corner of the eye. I then lined the upper lashline with Benefit's They're Real Push Up Liner - again this is an absolute go to for me. It's so easy to use and is completely waterproof. We had discussed winged liner beforehand, but as Libby was heading to prom and there were bound to be tears we decided against it - as much as it's a highly waterproof gel formula, I didn't want any chances of it smudging. We then used Benefit Roller Lash (I told you, lots of Benefit products) on her lashes - this is brilliant at curling the eyelashes without an eyelash curler as it has small hooks in the mascara wand that really help to create a brilliant curl. I used the Benefit Browvo Conditioning Primer to prime the eyebrows and the Freedom Makeup Brow Pomade to fill. I then applied a little bit of Benefit's Gimme Brow to finish the brows and give them some texutre. I patted a small amount of Illamasqua's Loose Pigment in Furore in the centre of the eyelid and as a browbone highlight - this brow highlight really pulled together the entire eye look.

I went back to face, wiping away any fallout, and priming with Benefit's Porefessional - this smoothed Libbys already flawless skin to create the perfect base for foundation. The foundation I used was the Rimmel Match Perfection - again, as Libby was feeling unwell I decided not to use a heavy base. I used Benefit's Boiing in Shade 1 as a concealer underneath the eyes and on any blemishes. I then used the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel to bronze and contour slightly - this is a cream product so it's lovely and natural to use. I then used Benefit's Rockateur as a blusher which I love as it has that beautiful rose gold colouring and is extremely subtle, and The Balm's Mary Lou Manizer to highlight the face on the tops of the cheekbones, and cupids bow.  

I used Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream to prep the lips for any colour - lined and slightly filled the lips with Revlon Colour Stay Lipliner in Natural, and filled in the lips with MAC Velvet Teddy. Finishing off with gloss and I used the L'Oreal Infallible Mega Gloss in Protest Queen.

I loved working on Libby's face - she's such a natural makeup she didn't need that much makeup but I still wanted to make her feel beautiful for her prom night.

CLEANING YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES.

Probably the most tedious part of any make up artist/enthusiasts job is cleaning their make up brushes, but it's also one of the most important. Not only have these brushes been in products of varying colours and textures, they've also been on somebody else's face, taking in dead skin cells and remains of any other products they've been using.

I've tried multiple methods of brush cleaning; using regular shampoo, baby shampoo, a solid antibacterial soap, liquid soap and I've tried various specific brush cleansers, but I've never really found anything I fell in love with  (I refuse to try the Olive Oil technique I've seen everywhere, I don't really agree with putting something you use for cooking on your face). At first, I fell in love with the Dr Bronner Magic Soap but although it was incredible and smelt amazing, it was too thin a consistency and I'd end up using too much all at once, and then I discovered the Beauty Blender Solid Cleanser, (available on Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, and Net-A-Porter to name a few) almost like a solid brush cleaner in a pot, designed to wet and swirl your brushes around inside in order to fully deep clean them. This cleanser retails for £14 so is pretty pricey for the 28g of product that you get. I've recently found a dupe for this product; the Freedom Makeup Pro Studio Brush Bath which retails for £7, and is probably almost double the size. This is available on the Freedom Makeup website, or in Superdrug, which is where I purchased it.

When I first saw the Real Techniques Deep Cleansing Gel, I had high hopes, being a huge fan of their other products. I was also intrigued because it claimed to be a deep cleansing gel, as opposed to the spot cleaners that many brands release. The Deep Cleansing Gel is designed to be used in a similar way that we would use shampoo on our own hair. I like to squeeze a small amount of gel into the palm of my hand and swirl a damp brush around in the product, lathering up the bristles. I then like to use a running tap (brush head facing downward in order to avoid any water build up in the brush ferrule as it can loosen the brush hair) to cleanse away any of the product, repeating these steps until the brush is clean. At first I tried the cleanser with my smaller, eye, lip and concealer brushes; the gel texture was able to cleanse the brushes with ease, removing a significant amount of product almost straight away. However I found this was not the case for larger, more denser brushes; it only seemed to be removing around half of the product, much of which was remaining deep in the root of the brush hair and meant that I had to use twice the amount of product. Besides this, I love the smell and the feel of the fully cleansed brushes once they are dry so I decided to continue to use this for smaller brushes, and leave my larger brushes to a solid cleanser as I feel that is a much more effective way of cleaning them. I can imagine this works brilliantly with the new Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette, which I'm very eager to try! For only £6.99 this is a really good product for deep cleansing your make up brushes. It's available pretty much everywhere that stocks Real Techniques brushes; I've seen it in Boots, Superdrug and ASDA which is where I got mine!

Both of these brush cleansers are brilliant for the price tag and for their easy availability in drugstores across the UK. They also both keep your brushes feeling softer for longer which is incredible for me as I have quite a few make up brushes that I don't use all of the time. 

Have you tried any of these, or found any products you love for cleaning your make up brushes?