All in a (not so) glamorous days work

It feels like so long since the last time I posted a blog. Working at Benefit Cosmetics has taken up a lot of my time, however I did get the chance to take part in a photo shoot for my friend Jen. She was asked to take photographs of different scarves from the House of Hogarth collection so we went to the beach (in the middle of November) to try and find the perfect shots. 

As I was prancing about the beach, freezing cold with no shoes or trousers on (cheers, Jen) I realised that modelling is not as glamorous as everyone thinks! However, it is good fun and if you're lucky enough your friend will buy you fish and chips afterwards as a thank you. :)

Prices of the scarves from the Escape collection that I am modelling start at £13.00

Have a look at the website here.

A little highlighter can change your whole look...so can mixing a few products to create a flawless finish!

If you feel like you need to refresh your make up to take you into autumn but cant afford to purchase new products you can mix your current cosmetics together to freshen up your look.

Mixing products can add to the effect they have on your face and can also save time when applying your make up. For example, mix your concealer and highlighter and apply it under your eyes to hide dark circles and brighten up your eye are. This will conceal tired looking eyes and brighten up your look. You will only need a small amount of highlighter, too much and it will draw attention to the area you are trying to conceal, rather than simply brighten it.

Why not try mixing a cheek tint with a highlighter to brighten your look and change the tone of the tint? As you can see in the photos it changes the finish of the tint giving it a shimmery glow.

Another way to double up products is by mixing a primer and highlighter to brighten your whole face, as well as priming the skin by using a priming balm to smooth imperfections and create a barrier to protect skin from cosmetics and help to keep your foundation on all day. You can also mix a primer with your moisturiser in the same way, benefit's porefessional is a translucent, silky priming balm which works with your moisturiser to help your skin maintain that moisture throughout the day. Therefore you can save time by mixing the two together!



Another handy tip is to mix together your toner and moisturiser, apply it to your face and leave it for about five minutes, like a mask. Then you can either tissue the excess off with cotton wool or you can massage it in. you can also do this with your facial wash and exfoliator once a week for double the cleanse!

Let me know how you get on with mixing different products!! Xx

3 steps to perfect skin!

Hi everyone,

I have been working at Benefit for a week now, it has been great fun and I am really enjoying it. I have been learning all about Benefit's prep, prime and perfect formula which helps to keep skin hydrated, feel smooth and look flawless. We all know how important it is to look after our skin, yet I have still come across a few people in the last week that have a very relaxed skin care regime.

There are three simple steps to perfect skin: cleanse, tone, moisturise. A lot of women tend to use face wipes to remove make up and their skin is lucky if a moisturiser gets a look in. Taking care of your skin is not difficult or time consuming. There are a lot of lotions and potions out there which can be pretty daunting if you aren't sure which ones are best for you. My mam told me from a young age how important it is to moisturise morning and night, so I have always had a good skin care routine; I always use a good facial cleanser and moisturiser, however I know I need to try and remember to use my toner!

There have been a few girls at the Benefit counter who had beautiful skin and they all said one thing: they drink a lot of water. Something so simple yet I know that I certainly don't drink enough! I manage to maintain healthy looking skin; it is fairly normal, I don't suffer from break outs or blemishes, so it is frustrating to know that if I did something so simple as drink a bit more water my skin would have more of a healthy glow.

So, if you want perfect skin and maintain that healthy glow you just need to follow these steps:

Remove make up
You might think this one is a no brainer, but a lot of people sleep in their make up (I don't know how anyone could do this, I couldn't settle and get to sleep if my skin wasn't clean!) Even if this is the only step you follow, it is better than nothing! There is some debate about the use of facial wipes, but again, it is better than nothing. As long as you use them gently, especially around the eye area and don't pull too much, then using them is fine.

Another good way to remove make up is using cotton wool and an oil free make up remover. Benefit's Remove It make up remover (£16.50) is oil free and gentle enough for contact lense wearers as it wont irritate the sensitive eye area.

Cleanse
It is important to use a good cleanser to ensure your skin is clean from dirt and oil and the pollutants from day to day. For your cleanser to do its job properly it is best to choose the right one for your skin type. If you have dry skin then choose a creamy based cleanser, sensitive and dehydrated skins will benefit from an alcohol free cleanser as this won't irritate the skin. Benefit's Foamingly Clean facial wash (£16.50) is beneficial for all skin types as it gently removes impurities and foams when applied to the skin with water. A little goes a really long way and it is quick to use, saving time and effort. Therefore we have no excuses ladies!

Tone
Toners are essential in your daily skin care routine as they help to reduce the look of fine lines and pores, soothing the skin, which helps to hydrate the skin and improves the effects of your moisturiser. Using a toner helps to remove any excess dirt and impurities making your skin feel refreshed. Benefit's Moisture Prep Toning Lotion (£23.50) contains vitamin E, botanical extracts and aloe leaf which clarifies and soothes the skin. This is simple to use and, again, a little goes a long way, you merely have to apply a little to a piece cotton wool and smooth it over your face and neck after cleansing.

Moisturise
Moisturising is a massively important part of a skin care regime. Like with your choice of cleanser, using the right moisturiser for your skin type is vital. If you have normal to combination skin you won't want to use a moisturiser that is too heavy duty, Benefit's Triple Performing facial emulsion (£19.50) is light enough for a day cream and is oil free, making it perfect for normal to oily skin. It also has SPF 15 to help protect from harmful rays. If you suffer from dry or dehydrated skin, Benefit's Total Moisture Facial Cream (£26.50) is what you need. It has mango butter which provides the moisture dry skin needs. Both face creams contain Benefit's Tri Radiance Complex which locks in the skin's natural moisture providing you with immediate and long term hydration.

If you follow these easy steps, and remember to drink enough water, you can get perfectly healthy skin! By using a good exfoliator twice a week to ensure all those pesky dead skin cells are washed away, you can maintain that healthy glow!

Now all I need to remember is my toner and bottle of water...

xx

My new job at Benefit!!

Hi everyone,

I have been offered a job at Benefit Cosmetics as Account Manager! This is perfect timing as I have just finished my make up and eye treatments course at college, where I was awarded a distinction, so I am a very happy bunny right now!!

Although I am sad to be leaving my team at Mango, who I will miss an awful lot, I am excited to get started at Benefit. I can't wait to learn all about the company and will hopefully work as part of the Benefit team for a very long time!!



Website: http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/

Find Benefit on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/BenefitCosmeticsUK 

and Twitter: @BenefitBeauty

Make up update

Hi everyone,

Well I have had a very busy few weeks! I have my assessment at college this week and I am very excited to get started with my portfolio! I have been really enjoying my college course and have been practicing my make up skills on any one who will let me (mainly my mam!)

I have a lot of exciting things coming up, just hoping everything falls into place like I want it to!

Here are some of the make up styles I have been practicing:

The lighting for these wasn't exactly perfect, but I think it's ok for my first few attempts! I was going for a natural day look with Rachael, but I think with her being young I bit more colour would have been a good look for her:

 Here I was going for a soft evening look, my mam tends to wear a lot of colour, but I have showed her how to use more neutral colours during the day so she can use her shimmery tones she likes in the evening:

 Here it looks like a few more darker shades could have brought out the eyes a little more:

 This is me after I tinted and shaped my eyebrows, I opted for a natural look with my make up to show the tones of my eyebrows and showcase my new brow shape:

I will keep you posted with my new beauty projects! I am hoping to incorporate this into my beauty business (FYI LJ's Beauty Studio have a special offer on our Cheeks, Lips and Brows brushes, 10% off our 12 piece set, thats £9!! Ok, plug done...go look :) www.ljbeautystudio.co.uk) 

xx

First day back at school...!

Hi everyone,

I haven't had much of a chance to blog lately, been very busy with sourcing products for the business and I have also enrolled on a Beauty Therapy course at college! It is a short course, only 6 weeks, and it was my first day today. With it only being 6 weeks it is going to be fairly intense, we already have a lot of assignments to complete to get our heads around all of the theory! I haven't completed an assignment since before I graduated from University last summer!!

I really enjoyed my first day, we were put into pairs so that we could practice the treatments on each other. We mainly focused on skin types, face shapes and highlighting and shading. Next week we are going to start eye treatments such as eyelash tinting and eyebrow shaping, which I am looking forward to!

I especially enjoyed the facial cleansing we had to do today before we started to apply make up, which has made me think about applying to do other parts of the short course, like facials and massaging.

I will keep you updated on all the goings on as and when I can!

xx

Business Update

Hi everyone,

Well I have been in business over a week now! Sales have been slow so I am trying to think of new ways to advertise, and new products too, to get more people interested. It is fairly difficult since Facebook has decided to play up this morning...so hopefully other forms of networking will help to do the job too.

I am looking into a new line of skincare products, it's early days but I am quite excited about it! I am still in the research/sourcing stage right now, but a few customers have already shown an interest!

I really miss blogging, so hopefully I will have a bit of spare time in the next week or so to get back into it!

I'll keep ya'll posted on all the goings on xx