FRIDAY FAVE! LA ROCHE-POSAY TOLERIANE SOFTENING FOAMING GEL

I love a gel facial wash and this one from LA ROCHE-POSAY is my new favourite!
I have been using it for around six months now, I love the feel of it on my skin it actually feels soft as you apply it to your skin.
I take a large pea sized amount into the palm of my hand lather it up with warm water and apply to my face in gentle circular movements rinsing off well.  It removes all traces of makeup leaving skin feeling refreshed and gently cleansed.
This is great for anyone who has sensitive skin as it is hypoallergenic, suitable for normal/combination intolerant and sensitive skin and is ph 5.5.




Interesting facts!

*Toleriane is the first skincare range to be given the Seal of Approval by Allegy UK

*9/10 Dermatologists would recommend La Roche-Posay for sensitive skin


RRP £12.50 150ml

www.laroche-posay.co.uk
www.boots.com

FRIDAY FAVE! CHANEL Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour

CHANEL Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour is my all time favourite brand of nail polish not only does it last incredibly well with high shine the packaging, colours and shade names please me immensely too!  Just knowing that you are wearing Chanel on your nails makes you feel good!

There is a great range of vibrant colours.  My favourite shades are 'Ballerina' for a natural look, 'Rouge Noir' a classic colour that needs no futher explanation and my favourite go to shade 'Arancio vibrante'! The range also includes a base coat, top coat, a gel top coat plus a nail polish remover at £15.00.







RRP. £22.00 13ml www.chanel.com

Friday Fave! Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Bronzer

Finally Charlotte Tilbury launches the Airbrush Bronzer... oh this has been so long overdue for me I have been waiting for this product since the beauty range launched!  I have moaned to my mum, my friends, my clients and even messaged Charlotte herself on Instagram some years ago now asking for a bronzing powder.
I am overjoyed that finally it is here and I have it! Don't get me wrong, Filmstar Bronze & Glow is great in fact the bronzer is the best shade of bronzer around as far as I am concerned but I am constantly left with half used highlighters, and with no bronzer refills for this item it works out expensive and wasteful... I must have about eight in my drawer now all half used! At last I can just buy and apply the new bronzing powder and the best bit...it is REFILLABLE (refills launch in the summer)!!



At 16g it is a fairly large compact of bronzing powder suitable for face and body to give a matte natural sun-kissed glow.  The packaging itself is as always beautiful, it is literally a joy to behold!
The colour is great, I absolutely love it... definitely my new favourite bronzer!



Available in four shades for all skin tones fair, medium, tan and deep.  I purchased medium as this will be perfect for most of my clients (fair to medium skin tones), but for now it is firmly in my makeup bag and there it may remain!

Fast facts!

Smoothing and pore-blurring as it is Hyaluronic infused.

Fine-as-air finely milled pigments to blur the appearance of pores and smooth.

Silky mica treated with amino acids to impart a silky smooth, long-lasting feel on the skin.

Micro-fine perfecting powders deliver an invisibly thin, silky filter on the skin to add depth of colour and coverage.


RRP £39.00 www.charlottetilbury.com

Tuesday Tip: Twenty Lipstick fixes!

Twenty Lipstick Fixes! 



*Choose matte lipsticks or long-wearing formulas for less re-touching.

*Opt for nude shades, similar shades to your own lip colour to make the lips appear fuller.

*Choose a shade or two darker than your lip tone if you want to make your lips appear smaller.

*Use a lip brush for precision when using reds or darker shades.

*Choose a blusher in the same colour family as your chosen lipstick.

*Use two shades of lipstick, apply the lighter shade to the centre of the lips to give the illusion of a fuller pout.

*Apply lip gloss to the centre of the lips and press lips together to avoid the gloss migrating.

*Do apply lip liner to define your lip shape, choose a shade darker or similar to your lip tone.

*Use a lip pencil to fill in the entire lips in short feathery strokes before applying lipstick this is a great base to lock in your lipstick for longer.

*Always sharpen your lip liner prior to use to achieve the best line.

*When wearing red or a bold colour it is good to apply a little concealer with a brush to the outside edge of your lips afterwards to keep the lip line clean and sharp.

*Layer lip colour by applying two or three coats of lipstick, blot with a tissue between each coat for longer lasting colour.

*Bright lipstick shades will draw attention to your teeth so make sure you are happy with that.

*Blot lip colour with a tissue to remove excess colour, you can also dust a little powder on a brush over a veil of tissue held over the lips to set colour in place.  

*Use a finger to keep patting lip colour into the lips this will create a much softer version of the colour.

*Use a highlighter on your cupid's bow to define lips and make lips look fuller.

*Apply a good lip balm prior to lip colour.  Allow long enough for it to sink in the lips and hydrate them, blot before applying lip colour.

*Apply a little concealer or foundation onto the edges of the lips before applying liner and colour, this makes it easier to draw your lip line to its fullest.


*To clean lip brushes and long-wear formulas of lipstick use an oil based eye makeup remover.

*Lastly to avoid the faux par of lipstick on your teeth place your index finger into your mouth, purse your lips around it and pull your finger out. If there is any lipstick on the inside of your lips this will now have transferred onto your fingers.




www.nikimakeup.co.uk


www.nikimakuep.com

March Update!

On the 24th February my husband and I headed off to sunny Barbados to celebrate our recent 40th birthday's.  We had such an amazing time, our first visit to the Caribbean and hopefully not our last. We retuned to England on the 8th March to an increasingly worrying COVID-19 situation in the UK.
It is a very difficult and worrying time for all of us at the moment.  I have lost all of my work for the next few months at least.  I also had to cancel my Mothers Day Makeup workshop due to the situation which was very disappointing for me.  I am however keeping busy with work that I often think about doing that I never have time to do, like 'Supplier Saturday' blog posts which will be starting on Saturday April 4th.  I have wanted to do this Q&A style blog post with other wedding suppliers for some years now but I never had the time to prioritise it.  This week I have written up five of these posts already with more to come!

Beautiful Barbados!  Happier times...







The Caribbean Sunsets were stunning to watch every day with a sundowner or two!



Getting in touch with nature, switching off and relaxing was wonderful although most of the good has now been undone on my return home!



Our hotel was near to a racetrack, early in the morning they bathe the horses in the sea after training. We got up at 6am to walk to the beach to see this, it was definitely worth it!



Rihanna's home where she grew up! A visit had to be done thanks to ours taxi driver.



The view from Cherry Tree Hill after a visit to St Nicholas Abbey.
https://www.stnicholasabbey.com



We stayed at https://sugarbaybarbados.com and highly recommend.

I retuned to England a week before the social distancing began.  I managed to meet a few lovely Brides for their trials before having to sadly stop doing trials altogether.









Testing out the face mask before clients! It is hard as Beauticians, Makeup Artists, Hairstylists and Manicurists as it is impossible to adhere to a two metres distance apart rule. Sufficed to say I had one VIP client, a Bride and then I downed tools... after sanitising my entire kit obsessively!




Kit essentials!
1. MAC Brush cleanser.
2. Isopropyl Alcohol
3. Hand Sanitiser




A new Kit essential item to sanitise my tools, note the gloves! For my last job I wore a mask and gloves as a precaution as I have asthma.  It was interesting having to work in this way and I wonder if this could become more the norm' now in the future.



Bridal Makeup for Rachel www.nikimakeup.co.uk
Wedding Hair www.hairbyjaydean.com



Saturday 21st March was my last wedding for a while, it went ahead despite the odds and with a lot of changes but Bride Rachel was stress free and enjoyed her day.



My vanity station in my home studio is redundant for a while so it has now become another work space as my husband, also working from home has taken over my office desk!



For the foreseeable future I will be working in isolation at home...



For all enquiries please contact nikimakeup@aol.com
www.nikimakeup.com
www.nikimakeup.co.uk