7 Days until Christmas…. 14 days until 2017…. This year has flown by.

We will soon be in January, those New Year resolutions running through our heads, sticking to our diets, signing up to a gym, looking after ourselves better... missing the festive celebrations and before we know it those January Blues have kicked in…

LADIES… don’t let the blues make you feel down in the dumps; join myself and Benefit Cosmetics and celebrate YOU

At Benefit, they don’t believe in focusing on your flaws but on what makes you FABULOUS! They have your New Year beauty dilemmas covered with the help of 4 Number 1 UK best sellers… I know what’s on my Santa’s list...

Flash Your Lashes



With the UK’s Number 1 Mascara – They’re Real. Lengthens, curls, volumizes, lifts and separates. £19.50

Zap Those Pores



With the UK’s Number 1 Primer – Pore Professional. Quickly minimize the appearance of pores & fine lines for smoother-than-smooth skin! £24.50

Bronze & Pow



With the UK’s Number 1 & celebrity favourite Bronzing Powder – Hoola. A healthy, natural-looking "tan" year-round. It's pure matte colour...no sparkle or shine! £23.50

Brow Go Wow



With the UK’s Number 1 Brow Product. – Gimmie Brow. A tinted eyebrow gel contains tiny microfibers that adhere to skin & hairs, creating natural-looking fullness and definition. £18.50

www.benefitcosmetics.com

Let Benefit Cosmetics know you’re beating the blues and hashtag your pictures with; #BEYOUROWNHERO

The wedding day is the most notable day of our lives. While it is the most photographed event of your significant other and yourself, you also enjoy being close to your family and friends. Everyone has their eyes on you, you are the focal point of the event, what more could you want? Perfection? YES! Since this is a onetime white affair in the whole life, why not indulge ourselves into what exactly we desire?

Although some people opt for backyard weddings, in my perception, the wedding day should be unique, exclusive and thus, should be celebrated with the same enthusiasm.

Thanks to the expert wedding planners these days, it is easy to get a beautiful hall decorated with thematic embellishments, giveaways, flowers and what. The question is, are you focusing on yourself enough?

While the groom can appear flawless as soon as he gears up in a suit with the matching tie, is a white gown enough for you? No. An absolutely mesmerizing makeup is a must. With a vast range of makeup products available, you can go for any look you desire. FYI, smokey eye makeup is in!

With that said, let's look at some amazing smoky makeup tips that will complement your wedding dress, your auspicious occasion as well as your overall persona.

Soft Look: Daytime Wedding

This gorgeous soft look is gaining a lot of attention. If you are planning to have a daytime wedding ceremony with a sun shining brightly at you, this look is your go to!
The soft makeup allows you to work on your jewelry and your hair without becoming too flashy. If you are not a makeup lover, this look is perfect for you.

The Elusive Cat Eyes

Cat eyes are everyone's favorite but will you wear this look at your wedding? Why not! By witnessing the picture, this gorgeous look is making the girl appear posh. By throwing in some black eye shadow, gel or winged eyeliner and fake lashes, you can bring the attention towards your eyes. While saying your vows, imagine how happy your groom will be when he looks deep into your eyes. Convinced enough?

The Black Beauty

Check out the breathtaking eye makeup this bride has opted for. This makeup is flawless, unique and bold. While there is no noticeable jewelry, the concentration diverts straight to the eyes.

To achieve this makeup goal, ask your beautician to darken your eyes in a smoky grey fashion while leaving your lips and cheeks nude. The hairstyle can either be simple curls, a gorgeous bun or a bit of both.

It is your big day, choose what pleases your eyes.

Glow like a Star

It is but natural to glow on your wedding day due to the excitement and rush of emotions to the peak. What good is the makeup which doesn’t do justice to the natural glow?
Observe the beautiful illuminating makeup that brings out the glow from within in this bride. The NYX eye shades do justice to her skin tone while the MAC gel eyeliner and the amazing mascara are the cherries on top.

If your skin tone is on the darker side, pick this makeup look and drop some jaws while you are walking towards the aisle!

Bold and Beautiful

If you are a bold career oriented woman, this wedding day look is made for you! I'm sure you don’t get to wear too much makeup to work, hence choose a unique ravishing look for your special day.
The dark smoky eyes and luscious red lips are the perfect models like the combo you must go for.

The bride wears a glowing embellished tiara which complements the whole ice princess fashionable look.

Reds are in!



If you are not an eye makeup fan and want something basic, why leave the lips plain too? Get your hands on the best lipstick range from Maybelline with various shades and textures. I'd suggest the Maybelline Super Stay 24 Hour Color range for luscious looking lips without worrying about smudging, creasing or reapplication.

Go for the red lips, gain all the attention and pose away for those lovely pictures.

Glam it up!

Glam up your wedding look by standing out from the crowd. If you have worn makeup all your life through your high school, prom, gtg's with your girlfriends and everywhere else, let your 'wedding day look' be diverse. Spice it up by stepping away from the norm by choosing a mélange of black and white dress and a feathery shrug. Get yourself some diamonds for the neck and ears, make a partial messy bun with hair accessories and you will be good to go! This all may seem crazy, but imagine the beautiful pictures you will have by your side forever!

Now that we have shown you the top trending smoky makeup looks for your wedding day, why not show you how the smoky makeup is done?

• Blending is the key.
• Apply in smooth strokes. Curl the lashes and Voila!
• White smoky eyes need practice. Application and blending, both matter.
• Cat eyes require precision, patience and the right choice of color combos.

Although you have to run through of all the trendy makeup styles and also learnt how to create unique smoky eyes, have you thought of the factors that can probably ruin your makeup look on the stage? Take a look below.

Tips and Tricks to Save your Day!

All brides make a few mistakes which can ultimately result in a disaster. From hair falling apart crisis to the eyeliner being smudged, all these factors can be eliminated if you lay your eyes on the below-mentioned tips for your oh-so-special day.

• Water Proof is the best
Choose a Mascara which is waterproof and won't create a black tear in case you decide to cry while hearing the vows!

• Contouring
Remember to contour your eyes, your cheeks, the nose and the jaw line. Defining a sleek shape will give you the beauty edge when being photographed.

• No Surprises!
Use the makeup brands you are comfortable with. New brands might not suit your skin and may result in red spots, red eyes or pimples.

• Zit is normal!
All brides fear zits. In case yours just popped out, don’t give it more germs to thrive on by poking it once in a while. Let it be, ice it up and let your makeup artist do her magic.

• Natural lighting is the key
Go for a makeover near the window so that you can use the natural light. This will help you see fine lines, ease in the blending techniques and will help you not become too flashy. The natural light will also allow the pictures to come out perfect, glossy and illuminating.

• Save the Dress
Remember to apply your foundation and other products first and then follow up the wearing of the gown. In case you do the vice versa, the white dress can get stained with makeup.

• Picture Perfect
Go for the bright colored lip colors these days. While your dress is also white, the nude shades can appear washed out in the photos. While everyone will see a pretty you, the pictures on Facebook will suggest otherwise!

Lord & Berry has been selling make-up since 1992 and I am only just trying it, they do say ‘better late than never’.

What an enjoyable few hours spent this evening at the Bare Mineral counter at House of Fraser Nottingham.

I braced the wintery weather and was warmly welcomed by the two hosts with a glass of bubbly and strawberries dipped in chocolate and a raffle ticket.

Guests were given an overview of some of the best Bare Mineral products and offers in the range which would make great gifts for Christmas for family and friends.

We were also able to see a demo of the products being applied to two of regular people, one young and one more mature. The looks were nice and natural and showing how just adding a little more colour, eyeliner and heavier mascara can transform the face from a day look to evening look using one simple pallet.

After the demo we were given the opportunity to test and purchase any product we wanted and with every purchase we received a raffle ticket to win one of the lovely gifts on offer. I purchased the mineral powder and stoke of light eyebrightner for darker skin tones which was nice and light but had good coverage. Just how I like it!

 Tha raffel was finally drawn and i won two prizes one of which was possibly the best on the table. The prizes were - travel makeup brushes, a gold bag with mineral powder, lip gloss, eye shadow, eye shadow brush, eyeliner and a makeup brush.

Before the evening ended we were all presented with a Bare mineral goody bag which contained even more fabulous gifts to sample from other brands within House of Fraser such a perfumes, eyeliner, body wash mineral foundation to name a few.

To say this was a worthwhile and enjoyable experience is putting it lightly and I have lots of lovely products and gifts to try out over the next few months.

If you have never used Bare Mineral products I suggest you give them a try.

A big thank you goes out to the ladies who hosted the event and I look forward to attending another event again soon and telling everyone all about it.

More information about their products here: Bare Minerals

Written by Fashions Finest Director Deborah St. Louis 

Summer was all about glowing skin but with the changing season, the trend is all about natural looking skin with a matte finish. You can achieve this “no make- up look” with a skin nourishing foundation moisturising the skin while still looking fresh faced and natural.

Maybelline’s Fit ME dewy smooth, matches’ skins natural tone while it hydrates skin for a smooth skin texture and a luminous and seamless finish.

Up your natural “no make-up look” with bold lips. Master the bold lip by making sure that your lips are hydrated and flake free. Be sure to balance out the rest of your makeup by concealing redness, keeping skin fresh, and using a subtle colour on your cheeks and an eye-opening mascara.

Top of my list is;

• Clinique Pop lip colour + primer in Berry Pop , Cola pop and Passion Pop
• Maybelline’s Colour sensational creamy mattes in Divine Wine, Burgundy blush, and Siren in scarlet

A natural look with beautiful rich lipstick shades, defined and lightly glowing cheekbones with wide eyed and sensational lashes for autumn.

Combine your look with a sultry warm and woody scent and finished it off with the new Essie collection and you are ready to rock n roll!!

So we are not all top notch make-up artist and if you like me, you are always buying new make -up products and before you realise it, your make-up bag is over flowing. So let's make things easier, here are your 8 basic essential to always carry in your make-up bag.

Many women often buy products that;
• where sold to them by an over enthusiastic make-up counter assistant, they buy it and then do not use it
• because they were drawn in by the advertisement on television, because the model looked so good wearing it
We then end up not using any of these products because we do not know how to use correctly
It is time ladies, to go back to the basic, because everything else in our lives are already complicated the last thing we need is to complicate our make- up routine
Carrying these basic essentials with you can make things so much easier and will give you a flawless look for day and night.

1.Concealer

Concealer is used to hide your dark under eye circles and the spots on your face

2. Foundation

Even out your skin complexion by applying your foundation all over the face, this will balance out your complexion and give you a clear canvas to apply the rest of your make-up

3. Neutral eye shadow

Neutral shades like beige, is easy to use and suits every skin tone and are great for an everyday look

4. Eye liner

A black or brown eye liner is essential or you can also use dark eye shadow along your lash line to enhance your eyes

Mascara

Defines your eyes by applying it over your lashes to enhance the length of your lashes

Blush

As foundation evens out your skin tone, blush ads colour, apply it to your cheeks. Blush comes in a variety of shades so choose the right shade for your skin tone.

Remember;
• Select a colour that will accent your facial features and will not make you look like a red check clown
• Bright red colours may not look that good if you have a very pale skin. Pale skin try a soft pink colour.
• So depending on your skin tone you will need a lighter or darker colour
When applying it, make a fish face then apply blush to the centre blending it along the cheekbone

Lipstick

We do not all like popping colours so try a nude colour to enhance your natural lip colour

Lipstick like blush adds colour to your face.

Translucent powder

Apply to skin to set make-up and for a matte effect, dust lightly using a fluffy powder brush

Declutter your make up bag and let's get back to basic !!