Most people begin the day with a simple three step process that includes a wash, tone and moisturise, but I start the day with four steps. I use a pre-cleanser, Sebutrol, which is an oil based treatment that deep-cleans the skin by unclogging pores and removing impurities left behind by normal cleansers. It contains mineral and tea tree oils and a little bit of salicylic acid for the spots. Its part of the B-ACTIVE Environ range for problem skin. I swear by it, it really makes all the difference; it is especially great for controlling acne or problem skins.
What I do is I massage the oil onto my face for about four or five minutes, that’s ideal but certain days I don’t have a lot of time so it’s less, on the rough days or after wearing a lot of make-up, I’d try for six minutes. On the days that I exfoliate I’d break out the granules, mix it in with a little pre-cleanse, and do a little wash-rinse. By granules I mean any good exfoliator, you could even use coarse salt or sugar. Sugar is a very popular choice; you can even find it in most store bought exfoliators. The most important tip for exfoliating is to exfoliate on dry skin only, as most granules will dissolve in water and your treatment will be less effective.
When it comes to cleansers there are so many, and I’ve used a lot of different ones, Environ makes a nice one, Sebuwash, It’s a low foam wash that you’d use to rinse off the pre-cleanser or to just wash your face. After I moisturise I break out the make-up, I usually go for a very natural look, but we all know how complicated natural can be. I don’t really wear a lot of eye-make-up, so I start with foundation. But if you do, it’s recommended to put eye make-up on first, so that if any powder does flake or fall you could just dust it off and apply your foundations and concealers over it. For even application I would recommend using a wet sponge, it makes all the difference to the application process. The foundation I use is MAC Studio Fix Fluid, I have a lot of MAC products, but it’s not ‘cause I think they are super amazing, it has more to do with the fact that those MAC girls know how to sell one minute I was shopping for a new foundation, and the next I’m on the MAC chair purchasing the whole range. They just sucked me in after 30 min I was hooked, I looked great and then I started calling my friends and making plans to go out ‘cause you just can’t waist good make up!
When applying your foundation it’s really important to not over do it, don’t apply heavy foundation to cover spots or circles, because that’s what concealers are for.
I use the MAC NW20 shades for both my foundation and my SELECT Cover-UP concealer.Finding the correct shade of conclearer and foundation can be tough, I remember having to go through four different people just to be sure on what colour would suit me best everyday, not just something that looks great in the store for ten minutes.
When using MAC products it is important to know that their products are divided into two tones, the NW for pink undertones and NC for yellow, so it turns out that I have pink undertones, so I would use the NW range. The sales assistant I spoke with had advised me to go with the NW15 range, but it was really pale and I felt that it looked great with that look for that day, but what about when I get home, would I want to commit to Frosted Eskimo Chic as my daily look? And what about when I do a little self-tan? Frosted Eskimo looks great, but is it a look for everyday? With that in mind I decided to get a second opinion, I spoke to another person in sales who had commented that the NW15 shade is so light that in the seven years he’d been working at MAC he’s only ever sold one concealer in that shade. The next girl advised me to go with the NC20, because she thought the yellow tones of the concealer would balance out the pink tones in my current foundation. The last sales assistant advised me to use the NW20 and basically called the previous girl a ‘nutso’. The MAC staff did not seem clued up about skin tones and highlights I decided to go for the NW20, I realised that since my face could work with either of them, it didn’t really matter.
When I apply my concealer it’s over my foundation, not under, MAC is the exception as most brands recommend concealing first over problem areas followed by a light foundation. In my experience what’s really under rated is application, regardless of the brand; most make-up can look good if it’s applied correctly.
Heidi tells us more about her personal beauty regime in Style Files On Beauty. Read more of Heidi’s articles on our fashion & Lifestyle blog.
And lastly a little mascara and a little liquid liner are really important too. Mascaras need to be replaced really often, I’d say every month, or at least every three so I wouldn’t worry about a high end one. And to all those girls who are hanging on to their funky dried up, lets-run-it-under-the-tap-to-make-it-juicy-again mascaras throw it out! You deserve a new one. The eye-liner I use is the one from Bloom, it was a let-down, I was in a rush, so I just grabbed one in jet black. It’s a bit on the flakey side, so it “cracks”. On the upside because it flakes I don’t struggle from racoon eyes. For the lips I use a pout plumper in a Princess shade, but all these glossies dry out your lips so use a little Vaseline before you put it on.
So that’s my style file on beauty. Get in touch and let me know how you do your make-up.
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