Lay The Right Foundation For Flawless, All Day Beauty

While I am an absolute fan of the ‘barely there’ no makeup look that has been popular for a long while now, there are some situations where it just doesn’t cut it! Like, when you need to take over the world, or get married, or win an Oscar, or globe trot from boardroom to boardroom. Or just get through a long, hot, rainy, cool, sweaty, busy day. You don’t really want makeup migration in all directions all over your face. You don’t need a little meltdown at the wedding. What you do need, is a handy long-lasting foundation, there for you through thick and thin, something with a bit of backbone!

Beauty Tech is our friend!

Some long-lasting foundations had a bad reputation in the past, for being cakey and drying out the skin. Well, technology in beauty and makeup is definitely our friend and the formulations are silky, smooth and lightweight, they don’t dry out the skin and yet last and last when you need them most!

So, whatever is on your skincare ‘be gone with you’ list – be it dark circles, scars, blemishes, pigmentation, redness, visible pores or any other gremlins, it’s worth finding yourself one of the foundation friends that does not abandon you after a paltry couple of hours!

Prime spot

One of the best ways to ensure your makeup stays put while you get around, is to use a primer under your makeup. Primers don’t have an immediate visible effect, but they do work hard for their money – minimising the appearance of pores and keeping the foundation on top firmly in place. Laura Mercier has a winner with its Foundation Primer. A colourless, lightweight creamy gel that creates an invisible layer that acts as a buffer to outside elements. It keeps your makeup looking fresh and colour-true all day. As an added bonus it contains Vitamins A, C, and E, which are antioxidants and protect the skin from harmful, aging effects of the environment. If you are in a warm weather climate, you can keep it in the fridge before applying for a refreshing blast that reduces puffiness.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

Keep going!

Once you have done your preparation, it’s time to choose your hard worker! A product that stops me from doing a Cinderella and leaving at midnight is Guerlain Tenue De Perfection Timeproof Foundation Ultimate Lasting Perfection SPF 20 / PA++. It is a delight when it comes to colour and texture, with a velvety soft finish. It blends into my skin for a perfect-looking complexion, and then it lasts, and lasts, and last! After-party anyone? 

Guerlain Tenue De Perfection Timeproof Foundation Ultimate Lasting Perfection SPF 20 / PA++

Another favourite long-wearing foundation is Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10. Like Estée herself, this foundation is hard working and innovative. A worry-free 15 hours of staying power that stays fresh and natural-looking for all the activity we can dream of getting up to! It also comes in a wide range of colours so you can match your skin tone perfectly! 

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10

Magic mist!

So, you’ve primed your face, used a long-lasting foundation and done the rest of your makeup and you can’t help a little ‘wow’ as you look in the mirror! You need your makeup to stay EXACTLY like this all day! There is one more trick, used by catwalk makeup artists everywhere – it’s fixing spray! These are fine mists, often with nourishing and cooling properties that set your makeup ‘just so’. Yes! A magic mist that keeps your game face on all day! A brilliant fixing spray is Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief. It helps set makeup, replenish thirsty skin, and restore moisture equilibrium. Its gentle texture provides an immediate feeling of freshness and well-being, leaving the skin soft and supple. Just spritz and be merry! 

Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray Thirsty Skin Relief

So, it’s easy to keep super girl’s makeup exactly where she wants it – all day, and right into the club! Hear hear!

Tis' the season to be jolly!

Sha la la la la, la la la la!

Have you completed your Christmas shopping yet? Or worse still, are you like me, who had barely started?! I know. It's nerve wrecking when you think about how many people you ought to shop for and how much you haven't accomplish. Very, very daunting thought.

But well, we have to get started somehow and for the lovely women in your life, what better way then getting them looking and smelling good? And trust me, no woman, absolutely no woman doesn't love a good beauty product as gift. We have some for your pickings... But try not to keep them to yourself and be the good friend, daughter/son, sister/brother wife/husband that you are!

Guerlain Meteorites Poudre D'or Exceptional Pressed Powder, US$126 (Limited Edition)

Guerlain Meteorites Poudre D'or Exceptional Pressed Powder (Refillable) is a stunning mix of beige/gold illuminating powder accented with lavender, pink and white bees, all in a stunning collector compact decorated with real black Swarovski crystals. A surprising new powder design featuring imperial bees.

L'Occitane Immortelle Skincare Travel Set, US$28 

 

 L'Occitane Immortelle Skincare Travel Set includes:

• Immortelle Biologique Brightening Cleansing Foam 50ml
L'Occitane Immortelle Brightening Cleansing Foam is a gentle face cleanser that's enriched with Immortelle floral water and citrus fruit peel to lighten and brighten the complexion. It lathers away impurities, make-up, and accumulation of daily or nightly residue. For all skin types.
• Immortelle Biologique Essential Water Face 30ml
L'Occitane Immortelle Essential Water Face is a toner with anti-aging benefits: Formulated with Immortelle floral water, this toner removes traces of make-up and impurities and continues the anti-aging process. Alcohol free and enriched with moisturizing agents, toning Green Tea extract and firming Centella Asiatica, the face is pleasantly refreshed, toned and the skin is firmed. Apply after Foaming Milk, or on its own for instant freshness.
• Immortelle Biologique Precious Cream 3ml
Precious Cream is a smooth, light, fondant-textured skincare treatment for daily use and is suitable for normal to dry skins. Immortelle essential oil, concentrated into micros-capsules for 24-hour release, is combined with nourishing phytoceramides, restructuring vitamin A and vitamin E with anti-free radical action.
• Tote Bag, size around 35cm x 29cm

Jill Stuart Fairy Garden Collection, US$89 (Limited Edition)

 

Christmas night, with snowflakes falling like glittering flower petals. Christmas fairies invite you to their secret garden and enjoy the happy moments! Jill Stuart Fairy Garden Collection (Limited Edition) includes:

• Jewel Crystal Eyes #104 Fragile Opal
Delicately overlapping pearls, glittering like an aurora, give you gentle, delicate eyes. Glittering with a light, cute sparkle, like fairies.
• Loose Powder N #101 Twinkle Dust
A fine purple, like the delicate dust left when a fairy takes off. The softness of fairy wings. Loose powder that brings you pure skin, glowing with translucence.
• Jelly Lip Gloss #103 Crystal Kiss
Like a delicate, fragile kiss, gone in a fleeting instant. Jelly Lip Gloss that brings delicate color and sparkle to your lips.
• Jill by Jill Stuart Fragrance Sachet x 2
A fragrance sachet from which the sweet and refreshing fragrance of Jill by Jill Stuart gently emanates.
• Fairy Garden Pouch, size around 13.5cm x 14.5cm x 13.5cm

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skincare Travel Set, US$38

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skincare Travel Set includes:

• Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant 30ml
• Eight Hour Cream Intensive Daily Moisturizer for Face SPF 15 30ml
• Eight Hour Cream Sun Defense for Face SPF 50 High Protection 30ml
• Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick SPF 15 0.13oz / 3.7g
• White Cosmetic Bag, size around 20cm x 14.5cm

Clinique Happy Perfume Spray, US$53 (50ml)

Clinique Happy Perfume Spray is chic, modern, multi-layered floral with sparkling, lingering fragrance of Ruby Red Grapefruit, Boysenberry Bush Flower and Hawaiian Wedding Flower. Wear it and be happy!

Crash course: Fake lashes

Back in college, we swore to our friends that we'd never fake it. Now that we've been around the block a few times, we realise that we're willing to make an exception to this rule - if just for one night. Here's how to make fakes look as natural as possible:

1. Choose clusters of individual lashes, not a full band. Find ones that are the same length as your natural lashes or trim them with eyebrow scissors, snipping a tiny bit off each lash (at an angle) so they're slightly different lengths. Reserve the longest clusters for the outer corners of the eyes.

We recommend KOJI Dolly Wink Fake Eyelash in No. 5 Real Nude, US$18. It's designed for extend eyelash length. The intertwined spread of each lash makes your lash look thicker with volume. The end of the lash is longer and denser which makes it spread like a wing of an angel. Your look will become more defined.

2. Before attaching the fakes, curl your own lashes and line your eyes with a dark brown or black pencil. This will help conceal the lash roots.

We recommend KOJI Eyelash Curler, US$9. It fits all eye shapes to give straight lashes the perfect curl.

And Imju Dejavu Lasting-Fine Eyeliner in Real Black, US$16. It's the ultimate 24-hour eyeliner which provides super holding power. It is soft and gentle to skin with revolutionary silicon fixing ingredient makes it last long! It resists oil, sweat and tears for a long-wearing, rub-proof finish.

The soft lead of lasting-fine allows you to draw smooth eyelines, the deep black formula gives eyes a stunning impact with bold high definition, yet easily removed with regular cleanser. Twist-up ensures fine, precise lines at all times without sharpening.

3. Put a drop of lash glue on a hard surface, like the outside of the case the lashes came in and let it dry for a minute until it's tacky. Hold the lash tip with tweezers and dip the root in the glue.

4. Starting at the outer corners, wedge the glued end between your natural lashes and hold it in place for a few seconds. A couple of clusters at the outer corners of the upper lashes are usually enough but you can also use them to fill in sparse areas. For the most natural effect, don't glue on more than five clusters to each eye and steer clear of the inner corners.

5. Once lashes are set, apply shadow and a few coats of mascara to blend the fakes with your natural ones. To remove, wet lashes with water or an oil-based makeup remover - that should be enough to soften the glue.

We recommend Guerlain Le 2 de Guerlain Two Brush Mascara 360 Lash in 10 Noir, US$41. The first brush transforms the eyelashes with a single stroke, fills them out, lengthens, curves and separates them.

The second, miniature brush is designed for the inner and outer corners and tilted 7 degrees, to reach and grab the smaller eyelashes and make them up easily without smudges or mistakes.

And DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, US$30. Try this amazing cleanser and you'll see why it's so popular. Dirt, excess oil, makeup - even waterproof mascara - and other pore-cloggers dissolve easily, leaving your face a grime-free zone that is soft to the touch. Its unique water-soluble formula rinses completely, so you'll never see a greasy residue. Olive oil and vitamin E help ensure you won't see dryness either.