Going For Gold

Sparkly, metallic, shimmery or matte... I am in love with gold tones for makeup.Blame it on the abundance of gorgeous autumn leaves behind my house...but I can't get enough of this look. So I thought I share my pro beauty tips on how to achieve this look:

From a sweep of golden shimmer to flashes of bold gold applied to the inner corners the eyes for an enhancing effect, this trend is the epitome of romantic and translates beautifully for an ethereal bride! A good quality shimmer can also be mixed in with your lotion, to enhance collarbones or shoulders. It's best to be applied with a good quality dome shaped makeup brush.

In the evening cheekbones, cupids-bow & bridge of the nose can be highlighted the same way sweeping the smallest amount along those areas with a dome shaped or contouring brush. It's important to keep glitter as an accent and to avoid too much all over use, to keep it elegant and timeless. Golden shimmer suits all complexions, although I recommend warmer deep gold and coppers for dark skin tones and light soft honey golds for fair skin, rose gold can also work wonders on fair skin too. It's good to test a little swatch of colour on your cheek to see which hue works best with your skin tone. Please refer to the inspiration images for ideas of how to have a play with the new gold makeup products. I love soft washes all over the lid, as well as more graphic statements.

A full lash line compliments the eye and the softness of this style perfectly, using several coats of a voloumizing and lengthening mascara, carefully brushed out to achieve a natural looking fullness and separation. For your wedding day I recommend using a water resistant formula. The eyes will best be finished of with a very soft and natural brow, only filled in with a light powder, were necessary. A good helper to hold them in place is stroke of clear brow-gel. The lips can be left nude or soft pink for a soft look or add a deep red lip for more drama and evening looks.

I love how this looks is catchy and captivating, yet subtle enough to work for brides too. It perfectly translates from day to evening, which makes it super wearable too.

Products to achieve this Look: Jane Iredale "24- Karat Gold Dust" in "Gold" a luxurious multi purpose shimmer with 24 karat gold content.

Jane Iredale "Double Dazzle" Dual-ended soft crayon pencil ideal for use as an eye liner or highlighter. Two tones, deep gold and coppery red gold, to achieve brighten, lighten, and lifted look.

Jane Iredale "Dome" Makeup Brush (amazing quality ultra soft professional makeup brush)

All Jane Iredale products are suitable for a sensitve skin are cruelty free and have skincare benefits! As a professional makeup artist, I like to mix and match different brands. Over the years I had the chance to work with all sorts of different brands and I carefully select those that deliver the best results and are consistent in their quality. My professional makeup kit includes for example Chanel, Nars, Hourglass, Chantecaille, Make Up Forever, Laura Mercier, Stila, Shu Uemura, Mac... I only work with the most sought after international luxury and professional brands.

All images via Pinterest source unknown

Luxury Line Your Eyes!

Luxury line? Yep, Eyeliner has just gone one step up! It is already a constant on all high fashion catwalks as much as in most of our staple makeup bag, to sum it up: Eyeliner is amazing!!!

My favourite product form are Gel Liners. They are easy peasy to apply and they last and last and .... yes. You got it. Last. They can mimic a defined line like a liquid liner or the smudge soft edges of a pencil, they can even be used in the inner rim.

Eyeliner suits any eye shape and colour and transform any look.

In my professional kit I use them A LOT. So I was super excited to hear that Jane Iredale just released a very luxurious version: The Jelly Jar Gel Eyeliner. As usual the ingredients go far beyond makeup, they contain skincare! As they combine new technologies they pair natural coconut oil with silicones. If you aren't a beauty geek, never mind, you will love this regardless even if you can't be impressed with new ingredient combinations and high tech formulas, in the end what you will notice is a smooth easy application and lasting result. I was instantly in love with the pretty little glass jar with the golden lid. It is water resistant which makes it great for humid weather and weddings, or for the movie theater, when you watch one of those films...you know?

PRO TIP: If you always struggle to get a smooth line with your eyeliner, try using an angled brush! It will do the work for you as you just stamp along your lashline! No more excuses :)

Be my Valentine...Loving Mauve Glow

Elisabeth Olsen via fantasticality

After a full on weekend with 2 weddings, 2 day of One Fine Day Wedding Fair and only 2 hours of sleep, there were 2 little helpers getting me through it with a glow and big smile: Jane Iredale Pommisst (mentioned here already, I know I know, it's just tooooo goood!) and a little cream blusher called "In Touch" in "Chemistry", a mauve that works great on my lips and as radiant contour cheek colour! Small enough to fit in any clutch or bag, carry it with you it will need to be reapplied, as it's sheer colour will disappear over time. It only takes seconds and can be used with fingertips or a foundation brush. I love the mauve look of Elizabeth Olsen in the above picture, which could be easily achieved with this colour product. I wore the look the whole weekend and thought it's perfect for Valentine's! Don't you think? P.S: It smells of Chocolate and is all natural! YUM.

I though I share this as a mini post, as Valentines day is coming up and this is just the perfect duo to get the glow on. There is an ever growing demand for natural products in my makeup kit, as clients request it and I love these as they have a luxurious feel and advanced skincare ingredients. Pommisst is now a staple in my pro kit!

Thanks to Jane Iredale Australia, for sending me these products to try.

Hint Of Tint Jane Iredale Dreamtint Review

With the hottest Spring on record here in Australia and sunny days all year around, I am always wearing a tinted moisturizer or foundation with SPF. Jane Iredale's natural cosmetics have fascinated me for a while so I was super excited to try her new Dream Tint formulas. She just launched a few new shades promoted as cc creams! First the whole BB hype now CC? I think it's not just the next hyped beauty trend, as professional makeup artist I have used colour correcting primers for years. And a CC cream is essentially just that: A primer or tinted moisturizer that balances skin tones redness or patchy skin. As I don't have any redness or concerns with my skin I choose the Warm Bronze shade just warm my skin up a little. It was actually much later than I expected just exactly matching my medium skin tone without warming it, which was a surprise. It goes on very matte, and has a slightly waxy texture. It feels different to the average silicon heavy smooth tinted moisturizers. The texture is very sheer and light, it can be used alone or under makeup as a primer. Although it has a more velvet finish it still makes the skin look radiant as opposed to powdery matte. It surprised me again, I found this formula is very long wearing and during a hot & humid day doesn't move at all. The packaging says it's even water resistant! For me it's the perfect summer product! A fuss free all in one product that is long wearing and doesn't make me look shiny either. It actually went straight into my little daily cosmetic bag, where I got to mention another plus, the small sleek bottle! My staples for this spring are the Dream Tint, the Forever Pink Lip and Cheek Stain, which goes on the lips as a moisturizing sheer balm and then transforms into a bright summery pink shade, very long-wearing and smudge resistant.

On my desk I have sitting a bottle of Hydrating Water Spritz, I love the Antioxidant Balance Hydration Spray, which is perfect for my combination skin. Although I don't totally love the smell, (a little too zesty for my liking) the feel on the skin is lovely and the aromatherapy qualities recharge me instantly. And in the evening I pop on my new favourite red lipstick. Makeup with skincare benefits, is the best! Have you tried Jane Iredale products before?

Latest work: Supernatural Spring Look

I was lucky to work with the wonderful Luisa Brimble, who is an uber-talented photographer and just overall amazing person and the fabulous blogger Natalie form Eat Read Love on a fashion editorial shoot for a designer boutique in Cronulla, called ROAR. If you are ever in the area, check it out! The shop is located in a former church building, and is just really worth visiting.

Are you liking the look? Here is how I achieved it:

The model sure was a natural beauty, so I kept her makeup very spring/summery and bare. I wanted to create an undone look, like a cool girl would achieve herself. Just emphasizing her features without the use of colour. Base: Starting with a hydrating toner by Tata Harper and massaging Jessica's dry skin with nourishing moisturizer Vinosource Riche by Caudalie Paris/ Her gorgeous skin only needed a dab of foundation through the center, I chose Chanel Vitalumiere in 20, which gives a beautiful radiant sheen and Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal for highlights on the cheekbone & upper lip. I brightened her under eye area with By Terry Touch expert in Nr.3, then contoured her cheekbones with Benefit Hula Bronzer to sculpt the cheeks. Eyes: I used a nude eyeliner to open Jessica's pretty eyes, dabbing clear gloss into the inner corners of her eye and just sweeping underneath her lower lashes with a soft liner brush and some warm brown eyeshadow.On the upper lid I soflty blended a wash of peach pink eyeshadow by Nars. The brows were filled in with a Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Blonde and then brushed up with an Ardell Brow Gel. After curling her lashes, I only used one coat of mascara to keep it more understated.

Lips: A tinted balm on the lip and ready was this super simple and natural look.

Hair: The hair was tonged in different directions, to create a random natural wave with texture and movement.

And now I am really in mood for Sydney Spring!