How To Wear Your Foundation Like a Pro? - For Beginners

                   A lot of women already know how to create perfect base for their makeup but there are a lot of girls I have talked to, who, do not know. They just apply their foundation on washed face, cover it with powder and put blush on but, that is not how it is done. No matter how perfect your eye makeup is, no matter how beautiful your lipstick is, if your foundation is not  applied properly, you face will look plain.

      So if you are not sure how to conceal/contour, prepare or color correct your face, you should read this post! Here is an easy and step by step guide for getting the perfect base for your makeup.

1-  Prep your face

        Yes! There are steps your take before applying foundation. They are really simple.

•    Cleanse your face with a cleanser that suits your skin.
•    Apply moisturizer that suits your skin type. I recommend lightweight moisturizers. Neutrogena, Origins, Clinique, Estee Lauder and Loreal have some very good moisturizers.
•  Wait 5-10 mins after applying moisturizer just to make sure it is absorbed in your skin. Now, it's time to prime your face. What primer does is that it protects your pores, help your makeup stay long and gives a nice and clean canvas for your makeup. Again, use a primer that goes with your skin type. My skin is more on the oily side so I use NYX Tea Tree oil primer. I would recommend you primers by Mac, Urban Decay, Smash box, Revlon , Loreal and NYX.
•  Wait for another 3-5 mins before moving on to the next step.

2- Color-Correct

  

     Some people apply correctors before the foundation and some apply after the foundation. I prefer applying them before foundation. First, let me explain what color correcting is; not everyone has a perfect equal-toned skin. A lot of us have dark circles under the eyes, redness around nose and dark spots and when we apply the foundation on, the dark spots look grey and red spots still show through. Long story short, foundation doesn't cover all the spots so that's why we color-correct before applying foundation. Now, if you have one-toned skin, you can skip that step else, let me show you how to color-correct. 

     Every color has an opposite color and we use that opposite color to hide a spot or blemish. There is a color correcting wheel that will help you understand the opposite colors of all the colors.

            As you can see that orange is the opposite of blue, violet is opposite of yellow and green is the opposite  of red. Now you must be wondering who has red or purple or blue colored spots on their face? Well not as vibrant as the colors look is this color wheel but if you look closely, dark circles have bluish/purplish tone and pimples and the area around the nose have reddish tone so we apply opposite colors on these areas before foundation so that when the foundation is on, your face looks one-toned.

     

        So, on blue tones, we apply orange/peach corrector, on purple tones, we apply yellow corrector, on yellowish tones, we apply purple corrector and on red tones, we apply green corrector. Here is another picture to help you understand.

      When you apply these multi-color correctors, make sure that the quantity is right. The amount of the product you apply should depend on the intensity of the spot you're trying to cover. Don't apply too much but don't blend either like you blend your foundation.
   
        NYX cosmetics, Morphe brushes and LA Girl sell some pretty kick-ass color correctors.

3- Foundation

               Now's the time to apply the foundation. I apply it with my beauty blender, If you want, you can use foundation brush but I prefer beauty blender. Pour some foundation on your hand, dip damp beauty blender and start applying on your face in a dabbing motion, starting from the center of your face. Remember you must dab the beauty blender and not rub it. Rubbing will mix up the multi-colors correctors. Keep dabbing and blending until the foundation is even on the skin and then apply on your neck.  My favorite foundations are NYX matte finish, Maybline Fit me, Estee Lauder double wear, Mac pro foundation, Essence camouflage foundation and Makeup Forever foundation,

4- Conceal and Contour

         Concealing and contouring enhances your features and add dimensions  to your face. Without it, your face looks plain and sometimes bigger. Contouring can also make your face look slim. Makeup without concealing and contouring is incomplete.

     Remember you always do contouring according to the shape of your face. Just because you saw an artist contouring her face in a particular way, doesn't mean you have to copy it. For example, if your forehead is small, you don't need much contouring on your forehead. If it is big and square, you should contour the sides more so it looks round. Just use your best judgment.

                 

 
    Apply concealer under the eyes, under your brows, on the bridge on your nose, on your cheeks right below the contour, on forehead and on chin and blend it with a beauty blender but don't rub too hard. Make sure that the product stays at the area, you want to conceal. Now contour under your cheekbones, sides of your nose, forehead and chin and then blend it.

5- Bake

    After contouring and concealing, it's time to set the concealed area with powder so that it doesn't crease. Check this video.

 

6- Blush and highlight

          Now apply Blush on your cheekbones. With a fan brush, apply a nice highlighter above your cheekbones, under eyebrows, above eyebrows, on cupid bone and on tip of your nose. Spray makeup setting mist and... you're good to go :)

Thanks for reading x

My 10 Favorite Lip Colors for Winters '16

    Hello Everyone,  I really wanted to share my top 10 favorite lipcolors this winter. A combination of bold and nudes. I am going to keep this post short so here are my 10 favorites. I love them all equally!

1. Too Faced Melted chocolate in Chocolate Honey

            Perfect Nude!

     2.  Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick - Lolita II

    3. Maybline Loaded Bolds - Coffee Addiction 

    4. NYX Suede Cream - Cherry Skies

  

     5. Colour Pop Matte Lipstick- Tootsi

                 Looks SEXY with smokey eyes!

                     

    6.  NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream - Translvania 

          

  

   7. Nars Lipstick - Audery 

    8.  Mac - Moacha

   9. Kylie Cosmetics Liquid Lipstick - Kristen and Ginger

And last but not the least,

   10. Mac - Black Knight

                 Because Black....

How to prevent color treated hair from damaging?

      I have been coloring my hair regularly since 2013. Back then, I didn't know how important it is to take of your hair and I didn't have much knowledge of  products/treatments in order to avoid damage. My hair were really soft and silky naturally so I never felt the need to do something extra. After a few months of coloring, my hair started to get damaged and I went through all kinds of hair problems; damage, dryness, breakage and thinning. Once I started doing my research and kept discussing it with my doctor, I got to know a lot of things and started taking care of my hair and believe me, it made a HUGE difference! Now my hair is getting healthier. I would love to share some tips with you guys which, I believe are very helpful!

    Before I start, I would like to remind you that there are 2 kinds of colored hair, bleached and non-bleached. If your hair is non-bleached, they can look just as healthy, soft and shiny as virgin hair and even better if you nourish them properly but when it comes to bleached hair, they are going to get damaged at some point depending how intense the bleaching was . No matter how hard you try to repair the damage, they still might not be as soft and shiny as non-bleached hair. What bleach does is that it kills the hair's natural pigment and leaves your hair dry and damaged but it doesn't mean that you can't make them look beautiful. They just need some extra care. So here are some tips to rehab your hair!

Pre-Coloring measures 

    1. Go easy on your hair

          If you are coloring your hair for the first time, don't do any kind of intense experiment. If your hair are dark, don't go for blonde tones because your hairdresser is going to use very strong bleach to strip the natural dark color off and give you what you asked for but later on, your hair will be uncontrollably damaged.  What you can do instead is, go for a medium-light brownish tone for your dark brown/black hair and then wait for 2-3 months and color them again, this time go for even lighter color. Meanwhile, keep nourishing your hair, this way; you will achieve the color you want eventually, with minimal damage.

  2. Select products carefully

          Do your research before coloring.  If you are going to a salon, make sure it is a good one.  You can ask the previous customers about their experience with the salon. Don't risk your hairs' health just to save some money. If you are going to do it at home, make sure your dye is ammonia free. Use good quality products and buy them from a good store.

  3. Don't dye damaged hair

          If your hair is already dry and damaged, do not color them. Nourish them until they are healthy again and then, you can go for it. It's always best to start nourishing your hair 15-30 days before you color them.  It is better to wait than to destroy your hair. 

How do I rehab my color ravaged hair?

Repairing is going to take its time but once you start taking care of your hair, they'll start  to get better. Here are some tips on how to rehab damaged hair.

1- Moisturizing 

     Our bleached hair is very thirsty because coloring and bleaching kills the hair's natural pigment and they must be moisturized on daily basis in order to prevent dryness and damage.  Here are some products that you might want to try. I use the third one.

1.  Herbal Essences Honey I am Strong mask
2. Pantene Professional Level Damage Repair Ampoules
3. Loreal ABSOLUTE REPAIR cellular

2- Oiling 

    You must oil massage your hair once every week. Olive, coconut, almond and Moroccan oils are very good for your hair.

3- Shampooing & Conditioning 

     It's a myth that conditioning hair regularly is not good for your hair.  You must condition your hair after EVERY hair wash. Conditioning leaves your hair soft and silky so they tangle less. Here are the conditioners that I recommend. 

P.S buy products that have Argan oil in the ingredients

1.  Redken Extreme conditioner and Shampoo  is the best without a shadow of doubt! It is for extremely damaged, bleached hair.
2. Aveda Dry remedy moisturizing shampoo and conditioner
3. Kérastase Chroma Sensitive Cleansing Balm It not only cleanse your hair but also hydrates them
4.  Tresemmé Split Remedy Split End Sealing Serum: Treats split ends
5.  John Frieda Clear Shine Luminous Glaze: gives shine that lasts for a week

4- Increase your protein consumption 

     Our hair are made up of pure proteins thus, consuming more proteins inevitably makes our hair stronger, healthier and shiner. Here's what you can do to make sure you are taking enough proteins. 

• Consume more meat & soy
• Start eating eggs
• Consume more dairy products

5- DIY Hair Masks

   You can easily make these organic masks at home and trust me they work like magic!

1. Egg mask (provides proteins to your hair)
2. Coconut and olive oil hair mask
3. Avocado and egg yolk mask
4. Banana and honey mask
5. Papaya mask

6- Salon/Clinical Treatments

   Going to salon for hair treatment is like having facial for your hair. Colored hair need something extra to stay healthy. Here are some treatments that I would recommend.

1. Goldwell Vivecap treatment
2. NANOMAX HAIR TREATMENT

      3. Keratin treatment

      4. Protein treatment

      5. Glossing

7- Multivitamins

   There are multivitamins in the market that are specifically for your hair. If you take them regularly, you can get rid of all kinds of hair problem unless your hair problem occurred as a side effect of something or  is genetic. You can use Ovation Vitamins and Extracts for healthy hair and scalp, Prefectil hair plus, Xtendlife Omega 3 DHA Fish Oil tablets and BIOTIN natural supplements for hair.

8- Avoid Heat

    We all know that heat is really bad for hair and specially colored treated hair because they are more vulnerable. Avoid straightening or curling as much as you can. Avoid blow drying, let your hair air-dry after shampooing. 

So, that was all for now. Hope it was helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to email, mahafatima.hsm@gmail.com  :) 

Best 'No-Makeup' Makeup Tutorial featuring Cara Delevingne

Hello Everyone,

   I recently watched this video on YouTube, an artist doing Cara Delevingne's makeup before a Burrberry fashion shoot. I loved it so much and oh my God....Cara Delevingne is so beautiful, it's like she is from the heaven! She has a very natural beauty and very soft and perfect skin but I still think that makeup can work on  a Pakistani face because it's all about the technique. All you have to do is  change the foundation/shadows/blush colors, according to you your skin tone and your skin type.

     Before you start, you can prime and color correct your face first, if you have any pimples, blemishes or dark circles. Use the colors, that goes with your skin tone and skin type. Remember that right colors, less amount and more blending is the key. Enjoy the video :)

P.S If you your skin is tan and you have brown or dark eyes, you can apply a darker color than the one showed in the video. You can apply your lipstick in rose madder, crimson, vermillion color. Long story short, use 2 shades darker than your skin tone  and pick neutral shades that are in between red and brown.

Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass : Review

     Urban Decay is one of the most popular makeup brand without a shadow of doubt. I personally love their products. They recently colloaborated with Disney and launched a very eye catching eye shadow palettle and 5 lipsticks inspired by fantacy/adventure film, Alice Through The Looking Glass. 

   

     The packaging is so so gorgeous and tempting. When you look at it, you can't wait to get your hands on it. That is how I felt when I saw it for the first time. 

  Isn't it beautiful? If I  have to give an award to a palettle for best packaging, Alice Through The Looking Glass is definetly the winner but when I buy an eye shadow palettle or any other product, I care more about the colors and quality rather than the packaging and also, wether it's worth the price or not. so lets check out the colors and let me share my experiance.

Eye Shadows 

   As you can see, it is  kind of a very funky palette along with some neutral colors. I really liked some of the colors like Looking Glass, Lilly, Time, Dream On, Salazen Grum, Kingdom and Royal Flush. I don't usually wear funky colors unless it's a costume party. One thing that I didn't like about these eye shadows is that they were not as pigmented as the Naked palettes. The eye shadow wasn't blending on my lids so well. Am I going to buy this again? Probalaly not. There are other palettles in the market which are more pigmented and have better colors like than this one for example Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palettle. Now that's my most favorite palettle!

   

     It's not that I don't like this palette but  why should I buy something this expensive when there are colors that I may never ever use? If I ever have to use greens or blues, I can always buy seprate eye shadows. 

   Well, It all depends on your choice. If you wear these funky colors, go ahead! There are also some very good neutral colors in it but when it comes to me, funky eye shadows is just not my style. I wear more nudes, browns, peaches and pinks so I will stick to my Naked, Chocolate bar and Lorac Pro palettes.

P.S some of the eye shadows are super sheer

Lipsticks

    Let's cut to the chase, I don't wear blues and purples on my lips but I still liked the purple one. Not bad. Blue one is very sheer. Red one is really good. It's like strawberry red. I didn't really liked Alice (nude one) it makes my face look pale and it's more of an orangee nude. Miranna (the dark one is really good. So long story short I really liked Iracebeth(red one) and Miranna and then Mad Hatter (puple one.though not something you could wear so often)

    That's all I wanted to share. If you have used Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass shadows and lipsticks, please share your experiance with me :)

How to Master 'No-Makeup' makeup (Natural Makeup)?

  

             

      Hello everyone. Lately, the kind of makeup I have been doing is this 'No-makeup' makeup. It's also my most favorite kind of makeup for the most obvious reason : It looks NATURAL. I am the kind of person who doesn't feel comfortable putting on too much makeup so I like to put on very light makeup in a way that enhances my features and make me look fresh and pretty. A good no-makeup makeup makes it hard to tell if you are even wearing any makeup.

   Most of you already know how to do natural make-up so I am not getting in too much details but, I am just going to share few tips that will really help you next time you want a simple look.

   Remember, that the goal is too look good naturally. So here are some helpful tips;

1-   Skin Care

        Skin comes first! If you want to look good naturally, you MUST take good care of your skin. If you have acne or allergy, get it treated first thing! Use good skin products.  Drink plenty of water. Use anti-dark circles creams if you have them. Long story short, pamper your skin! You can't beautify yourself with a bad skin.

2-  Eye-brows

        Make sure your eye brows are neatly done. Trust me, good eyebrows makes you look 10 times prettier.

3- Self-assessment 

        After taking care of your skin and eye brows, the third most important thing is to know what kind  of colors would look good on you? Features you want to enhance. Do not blindly copy the makeup or the look of a celebrity just because they pulled it off. You are 'you'. You are unique. Choose the colors and products that looks best on you. For example, If your complexion is fair, you should go for more pinkish or peach tones. If you copy kim kardashian's natural makeup look,  it won't look so natural on you and won't go so well with your skin color because she is tan and she chose colors that went good with her complexion. 

4- Foundation

     When you are ready to put on makeup, make sure to hide your imperfections(scars, dark spots, blemishes, pimples) first. I don't wear foundation when I want a natural look. Instead of foundation, you can use a BB cream which is way more lighter than a foundation and gives very light and natural coverage. It also contains moisturizer, primer, toner, SPF and some color to make you look brighter. BB creams comes in for all skin types. For some suggestions and some more info about the BB creams, please check this link. http://beautyandslefcare.blogspot.com/2016/06/difference-between-bb-creams-cc-creams.html

        

If you have imperfections and BB cream didn't hide them well, you can just apply little amount of BB cream on your face and neck and then apply some foundation of the similar color on your imperfections and blend it well.

   The best way to apply foundation or BB cream is to apply it with a wet beauty blender.

5- Contouring and Highlighing

     You can skip contouring if you want. It all depends on your face. Some women have a naturally contoured face which doesn't need contorting or highlighting but if you need some contouring, do it very light. Remember that no-makeup makeup should look like you are not wearing any makeup.

7- Eyes

         I put on very little concealer on my eyes. The amount of concealer you should put on depends on the darkness of your dark circles. It's up to you whether to wear eye shadow or not. If you like your eyes without eye shadow, skip it. If you think a little shade or color would look good, go on. You don't have to cover your whole eye lid with an eye shadow. Since you have already applied concealer, it will act as a base color. Now if your color is fair, go for a little brownish-peach  eye shadow and apply it on your crease. Then with a fluffy blending brush, blend it inwards. Use little amount of color and blend well. If your skin color is tan, use a shade of brown that is 1 or 2 tone darker than your own skin color. For eyebrows, I use brown eye shadow and I apply it with a smudge brush. Eye liner is also optional. If you choose to put on liner, make sure it's thin. I prefer using pencil on my upper waterline instead of a liner because my eyes are like really big. Use a good mascara. You can also apply some eye shadow that you used on your crease, on your lower lash line. 

8- Blush

    I love applying blush. It brings out this very beautiful glow on your face. If you have fair complexion, go for natural and light pinkish tones and if you are tan go for medium peachy tones. Don't apply too much and avoid vibrant colors. 

9-Lips

   Before going out, apply different colors on your lips and see what looks best on you. Pinks, peaches and light reds look really good on a fair skin whereas neutral lip colors look good on a darker skin.

My Favorite Makeup Palettes for 'No-makeup'

  Here are the top 10 makeup palettes that I am totally in love with specially when it comes to natural makeup.

10- Too Faced Peach Palette

9-  The Blam Nude'tude Eye Shadow Palette

8-  Tarte In Bloom Palette 

7- Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

6-   Marc Jacobs Style Eye Con No. 7 in The Dreamer

5- Lorac Unzipped Eye-shadow Palette

4-  Smashbox Masterclass Palette

3- Too Faced No Makeup Makeup palette

2-  Tarte Showstopper Clay Palette

1- Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette 

Thanks for reading. Lots of love <3

P.S  Try avoiding lenses, false lashes or anything too dramatic

Difference Between BB Creams, CC Creams, Tinted Moisturizer and Foundations. Which One is Best for Me?

Difference between BB and CC Creams:  

       BB stands for beauty balm. BB cream was invented to provide "all in one". It's one of the hottest beauty trends these days. So basically, BB cream is one cream that serves the purposes of 6 different products/creams : moisturizer, primer, sunscreen, foundation, concealer and skin treatment. 

       It saves you from the hazard of applying moisturizer followed by primer, sunscreen and foundation. That's why we love it: it looks natural, protects skin and saves time! It gives you a very light and natural coverage.

                 On the other hand CC stands for color correcting. CC creams are made to cover dark spots, scars or uneven skin tone and even swelling.  They also come with some skin-care benefits like sun screen and moisturizer but the focus is on 'even skin tone'.

Top 5 BB Creams :

1- Dior's original Diorsnow BB cream 
2- Rimmel
3-  Shu Uemura
4-  No7
5- La Roche Posay


Top 5 CC Creams:

1-  Chanel
2-  Ole Henriksen
3- Yves Saint Laurent
4- Olay
5- Darphin


Tinted Moisturizer :
                 It can also be called 'colored moisturizer'. It is just a moisturizer with some color or foundation. If you are not comfortable wearing heavy foundations, it is perfect for you. It not only moisturizes your skin but also gives you bright but natural looking complexion. However it does not provide you a sold coverage like a foundation. It does not hides blemishes, dark spots or imperfections.

Which One is Best for Me?

     Good news is that no matter what your skin type or your color is, they all comes in for all skin types! Depending on skin and your foundation goals, you have to decide whether you want  a BB,CC cream, foundation or a tinted moisturizer. Here are some suggestions for you. 

     If, your skin even-toned, you don't have any imperfections or blemishes or scars and you want a light and natural look, go for a BB cream or a tinted moisturizers. I always prefer BB cream over tinted moisturizer. It  not only gives a very natural glow, but also protect your skin and moisturize it at the same time without making you feel like you are wearing a heavy foundation on your face.  

If, your skin isn't evenly toned or you have dark spots, go for a CC cream. It will make your complexion look even  with all the benefits of BB cream. A little heavier than BB cream but lighter than a foundation.

  lastly, if you want perfect  and pro coverage, go for a foundation!

P.S  Try using a primer before putting on your foundation. I'll try to write more on selecting best foundation for your skin type  and color.

 Meanwhile, If you have any questions,  you can email me at mahafatima.hsm@gmail.com or drop a comment. Hope it helped :)