Brow Beating

There are more to brows than meets the eye (!?) ya know! One of the most important features on our visage, they can frame your face, define your eyes, balance your features -  be the bane of your life when you don't know how to control them and  can create the impression that you sat on your bike minus the saddle when you over do them! - Scouse Brow anyone?

Knowing how to work the eyebrows to achieve your perfect look has been mastered by icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Liz Taylor.  Not knowing has helped create the not so perfect look on the stars such as the lovely, but once slightly under plucked,  Susan Boyle above.

Brow Beating - Getting Them Right

First things first if you aren't confident about shaping your own brows then don't! Well not at first anyway - go to a professional who will be able to talk you through what shape suits you and why. Get them plucked or threaded, but try to avoid waxing around the eye area if possible.  The most important rule when getting your eyes done by a pro is to look at their brows - if you don't like what you see, then don't let her loose on your brows! It is very difficult to reverse the damage done by over zealous uneven plucking.  Once you have a good shape you can maintain the shape yourself by plucking away any stray hairs as the grow.

Tools of the Trade:

• Good quality Tweezers
• Nail Scissors
• Flat Angled Brush
• Brow Shaper/Brush
• Brow Powder
• Brow Pencil
• Brow Wax

Defining your Brow

Defining and shading your brow when making up your face is an important step - if  you tend to skip this step, don't-  give it a go - you will be surprised by the difference it makes.

Follow these steps using the tools above to achieve your perfect brow look at home:

1.  Dip the flat angled brush into the darker shade of brow powder - tap off any excess.  Use the brush in upward strokes to sketch your desired brow shape ( if you aren't too confident in your free hand skills the NYX Eyebrow Kit comes with stencils, powders & brushes to help you along)    
2. Once you have sketched or stenciled your desired shape, you will be left with unwanted stray hairs, carefully pluck these hairs. Always pluck a hair in the direction of which it grows and as close to the root as possible and never pluck hairs from above the eyebrow, only below. 
3. Now grab your brow brush and brush all the eyebrow hairs upward - this will reveal any more stray hairs which you may have missed.  
4. Using a small nail scissors, trim any hair which appears long or straggly ( I usually trim so the hairs are level with the brow bone, when brushed upwards) 
5. Get your brow pencil and using light feathery strokes fill in any gaps apparent in your brows - go easy and never draw in a straight line, always upwards as per the natural growth pattern of your eyebrow.  
6. Again with your flat angled brush take some eyebrow powder (about half shade darker, than your hair colour) and go over the pencil with light feathery strokes.  If you prefer you can just choose to use pencil or powder only. 
7. Wipe the powder off your brush and choose a lighter colour powder to lightly fill in under the brow and arch, as brows are not only defined by darkening the brow itself, but by also highlighting under the brow using a pale colour to define. You can also achieve this with products such as NYX Eyebrow Push Up Bra - but most kits contain more than one powder shade so you can contour the brows. 
8. Once you are happy with the shape and colour definition of your brows, use a bit of eyebrow wax to set the look and keep the shape. 

Choosing the right Brow Powder shade

While you can get away with using a dark eyeshadow to fill in brows, it is advisable to use a specific brow powder formulated for use over hair and not just skin. The pigment will be different and there will be no shimmer etc.

Black Hair - Very Dark Brown - avoid black as it is too harsh
Brunette - Any Shade of Dark Brown
Redhead - Chestnut / Aurburn
Blonde - Taupe / Soft Brown


Beautyemporium.ie has an extensive range of brow products to suit all colourings. Prices range between €3.76 - €23.15.  We are offering a further 15% off all brow products using the code WOWBROW . Offer ends Sunday 15th January 2012 @ midnight.

Shop All BeautyEmporium.ie Brow Products Here......



And if you still don't believe in how important eyebrows are ..............

Catherine Zeta Jones -  Missing Something?

How to Apply Foundation

OK well its taken us a while to get around to posting on our blog - but we hope from now on to be able to pop up regular posts. So we decided to start off with a few tips on foundations and how to make the most of it.

When it comes to foundation the golden rule is that your face should NEVER look like it has foundation on it! Easier said than done - but with a bit of practice and our tips you should be able to achieve this flawless look!



Nobody has perfect, normal skin - fact! We might have had once upon a time when we were about 8 or 9, before puberty reared its ugly head and turned our skin into to a warzone. Therefore we all wear foundation at some stage or another - even if you don't think you need foundation, you should consider using it as it helps your eyeshadow, blusher, bronzer etc. go on more evenly. There are many different types of foundation out there - have a read of our foundation guide to help you figure out what one is best for you.

Rules of Applying Foundation

1. Blend, blend, blend! This is a golden rule of applying any make-up not only foundation but also eyeshadow, blusher etc.
2. Apply your make-up in natural daylight - if this isn't possible at least check it in broad daylight to make sure you haven't missed a bit - you'd be surprised!
3. Go lightly - you don't want to create a mask of colour on your face - you want to create the illusion of smoother looking skin.

How to Apply Foundation?

There are many different ways to apply your foundation - with a sponge, a foundation brush, your fingers - and there are different opinions as to which is the best method. To be honest - go with whichever method you feel gets the best results for you. I personally chop and change if I'm in a rush I slap it on with my fingers - but I don't recommend this as the results are never great, I prefer a foundation brush and if I'm doing heavy duty make-up on someone else I use a sponge.

I am going to talk you through applying foundation with a brush as I think you get the best results with this method.

Why use a brush?

• They work with all kinds of foundations - liquid, cake, creams
• Once looked after well will last you years
• Provide even coverage to whole face
• You will use less product

Applying the foundation:

1. Moirturise and prime your skin
2. Pour some foundation onto the back of your hand (if liquid) or sweep your brush across your product (if creme/block) - don't forget a little goes a long way!
3. Starting at your forehead dab the product on the skin and work in downward sweeping motions avoiding the hairline.
4. Go over the forehead again adding more product if you feel necessary and work in X like (criss cross) motions across the skin.
   
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the nose, cheek and chin area - again avoiding the hairline and don't go beyond the jawline.
   
6. When applying foundation into the corners of your nose and eyes turn the brush on its side and work the product into this areas.
   
7. Once you are happy that you have achieved the desired coverage, use your brush to blend the foundation into the hairline and below the jawline.
   
8. I use circular and flicking motions with the brush to blend these lines seamlessly - don't forget if it is blended in correctly you won't be able to see any lines of where your foundation starts and ends!
   
9. When applying foundation never apply in an upward direction as it will go against the hair growth on your face (we all have hair on our face not matter how fine!) and make the foundation more obvious.
   
10. Once you are happy you have blended in all traces of foundation, get a damp (not wet) sponge and using flicking motions go over the face and hair/jaw line to create a smooth airbrushed look.
    
11. If you have chosen the correct shade foundation for your skin tone you shouldn't really need to apply foundation to your neck - if you think it needs something you can always blend a matte bronzer / powder down onto your neck when applying.
    

Beautyemporium.ie stocks a range of Sleek, Bourjois, Lily Lolo and MAC foundations prices ranging from €3.90 - €27.20.


Feel free to leave a comment or your own tips for applying foundation :)


Be beautiful x