Beauty

My Favourite Things – June

You know the drill! Here’s what was spinning my beauty foodie wheels in June!

VO5 Give me texture rervi

VO5 Give Me Texture – My hair is quite fine, super soft and when it’s freshly washed it’s so silky, flat and unmanageable my hair slides straight out of pony tail. It’s a hard life. My hair dresser used a texturizing powder on me recently that I wish I’d bought, so in between hairdressers appointments I thought I’d try this cheap version. It works a bit like dry shampoo, but instead of spraying the product onto the roots you sprinkle the powder on and rub it in with your fingertips. The result is volumised hair that has loads of ‘oomph’, texture, life and, in my case, hair that will behave itself in a pony tail/messy bun/whatever-style-takes-my-fancy. I find the roots of my hair feel quite ‘gritty’, almost dirty, when I sprinkle the product on, but that’s good: That’s what gives it texture and grip. All in all, the product does what it says it will, it smells great and it’s $7 from the supermarket. Score. Incidentally I also bought the VO5 Smoothly Does It, Tame and Shine spray. Sadly, that gets my thumbs down as it doesn’t tame my fly-aways like it said it would. (more…)

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Five Minute Face – When going out au naturel isn’t an option

5 min makeupOne of the design faults of my personality type is that I seriously under estimate how long things are going to take. I am frequently running late and I totally stress myself out and it’s entirely self inflicted! Aggh.  Here’s a classic example:  At 10.00am on Sunday morning I organised to meet my Mum for coffee at 11.00am. “Tonnes of time” I thought. Then, nek minnit (Kiwi speak for next minute, FYI), it’s 10.40am, I am still in my PJs, I haven’t washed my face let alone whacked a face on.  Believe it or not, I’m not adverse to going out in public with no makeup on: I do it often. But, on this particular day, I looked haggard, tired and my eyelids were unusually puffy. Heading to our local cafe au naturel , frankly, wasn’t an option. So, first I invested approximately four minutes in face washing/prepping (skipping this isn’t negotiable) then I pulled out my five minute makeup face.  Here’s what I did.

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My Favourite Things – May

You know the drill – right? Here’s the beauty foodie finds that have been floating my boat this month.  Another eclectic round up… Did you expect anything less?

Elf Shine Eraser Blotting Sheets

Elf Shine Eraser Blotting SheetsElf oil blotting sheetsI get a super shiny face during the day and really detest having to re-powder my face to take the shine away. Then I discovered Elf’s blotting sheets! These are little pieces of oil absorbent paper which you press onto the shiny parts of your face to soak up excess oil and remove shine. Check out my dedicated product review photo, mid demonstration.  Despite having read bad reviews on this particular product, I thought for NZ$3 I’d live on the edge and give them a whirl. I’m glad I did: I reckon they are fab! Check out my demo photos. Bonus marks for not smudging my makeup either. These are a must have in my handbag: Top marks. Price: $3 from Kmart. (PS I’ve heard that Starbucks napkins make fabulous blotting sheets… Anyone tried these?! I’m nervous mentioning that… I’ve got visions of Starbucks experiencing a surge in popularity next week, followed by a sudden and unexplained mass exodus of their serviettes… (more…)

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Eyeshadow Placement – Where do I apply it?

eyeshadow placementWhen my makeup obsession first started* I was baffled by ‘makeup speak’, particularly all the terms relating to eye makeup application. I felt like screaming “Slow down! Speak English!” Yet, I’ve realised, looking back over some of my older posts, I’ve fallen into the same trap, talking about the “inner corner” and the “upper waterline” left, right and centre. Opps… Sorry. I should know better!

So, here’s a post for those of you who aspire to wear eyeshadow but might not know where to start. I know there’s a few of you out there as one of the makeup questions I’m most frequently asked is “Eyeshadow – Where do I apply it?” This is such a great question and one I’m going to answer right now! Alternatively, you might have eyeshaow basics down pat – but you are keen to take things to the next level. In this blog post we’ll walk through the different parts of the eye from a makeup perspective and answer the question ‘Where does it all go?’ Makeup tutorials are what I watch before I used to give any look a go. You learn techniques and you can get inspiration from the various looks that people will create. So if you’re new to wearing eyeshadow, watching tutorials may be a good step to take. My hope is that this helps makes eyeshadow application less intimidating and heck, you might be able to follow eye makeup tutorials without feeling like an amateur (like I used to). (more…)

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Seven Deadly Sins of Makeup – Beauty Tag

I’m still reasonably new to this blogging malarchy – it’s not even The Beauty Foodie’s first birthday yet! Today I was kinda chuffed to get my first ever tag by not one, but two fellow bloggers: The lovely Christel from Makeupper and from Sarah at Lily Mint Blog. Two great blogs to check out!

The Seven Deadly Sins of Makeup

1. Greed: What is your most expensive beauty item?

MAC makeupI’m honestly not copying Christel, it’s just we are into the same stuff. Mine is also my MAC eyeshadow collection. There’s around 18 of ’em and I’m feeling ill at the thought that most of these cost NZ$38 each. I’m not a makeup artist, I don’t do this for a crust, albeit I take the occasional client through word of mouth. This is just a super expensive hobby that gets a little out of hand sometimes. Thank goodness Hubby doesn’t read this blog. Gulp, I hope Mum doesn’t… I’m feeling ill. The good news is: There’s no MAC eyeshadows on my wish list at the moment, but if there was, I’d be buying these out of the USA via the Mac website and using You Shop to get ’em to NZ. I’ve smartened up! Why are they so good? They are colour pay-off is intense, they wear well and MAC’s range of eyeshadow colours is unrivaled by any other cosmetic brand – except, perhaps, Inglot (see the answer to number 3!). (more…)

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Art Deco Makeup – Hit or Miss?

Art Deco makeup review nz

Have you heard of German cosmetics brand Art Deco? I’m not surprised if you haven’t, this has to be one of the most underrated makeup brands outside of Europe! So please, let me enlighten you: Art Deco is the cosmetics market leader in Germany and a best seller in Europe. Having lived in Germany and other parts of Europe, Art Deco is a brand I loved and used a lot of ‘back in the day’.  So, as you can imagine, I was jumping for joy when Farmers announced they’d be stocking Art Deco at some stores in NZ last year. Their range is comprehensive, there’s a mineral makeup collection, foundations, eyeliners, blush… Look, you name it, they’ve got it. My favourites are the colourful array of sixty-something eyeshadows which you can purchase individually, or make up your own little cosmetics palette: Blinkin’ genius.

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Day-to-day Makeup Tips – How to up your game

38e0e049e731d5d7b1d8ced8d5c260ffI spent some time on the weekend with a friend who wears makeup most days: Foundation, concealer, mascara, a touch of lippy. What she was keen for was to learn how to learn how to take her makeup to the ‘next level’: My friend was keen to mix up her makeup look a little: But she just didn’t know how. This is something I hear a lot: “I want to do something different with my makeup but I have no idea where to start”, or something along those lines! So, armed with my makeup kit, and a kick-butt antipasti platter and some quality vino, we set ourselves up at the kitchen table and got playing.  Here’s a quick roundup of the top makeup tricks that my buddy reckoned will make a big difference in her makeup regime. I hope there’s something in here that’s a game changer for you. (more…)

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