Dejunk your make-up bag!

With spring well upon us, it is a great time to freshen up your look and give your make-up bag a good old spring clean. As well as cluttering up your bag and just not working as well, old make-up can harbour lots of bacteria. Most cosmetics now come with a 'best before' date, Debenhams did a survey asking women about their cosmetic bags and found that "it was out of date by an average of four years". Have a good look through and be ruthless (I know it can be hard - try going through a suitcase of make-up!) There is nothing like having a good clear out, it makes you feel good and you might discover some make-up gems you forgot you had! Follow this link to an article from The Telegraph for product life guidelines.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/fashionnews/7306570/Women-putting-looks-and-health-at-risk-by-using-old-cosmetics.html

While you're at it why not go through your skincare as well, it is easy to get stuck in a routine but your skin's needs can change with the seasons as well as other factors.

Spring Brights

The sun seems to be teasing us with spring this week, hopefully we can soon say goodbye to the winter and welcome the new season in. To help it along we can get in the mood with some new make-up taking inspiration from the spring/summer shows.

This season the runways were awash with bright lip colours. Vivid pinks were seen at Marc by Marc Jacobs and Topshop Unique, at Paul Smith they were multicoloured including blue and green, Dior went for a classic red while the girls at Prada sported a bright orange. So lots of fun to be had with colour this spring/summer!

Before you hot foot it down to the make-up counter, here's a thought. On average, a women will ingest between 4-7lb of lipstick in her lifetime. Not such a good thought. Make it better by trying a lipstick from a natural or organic range, with nicer ingredients these lipsticks are kinder on our lips, and if we must ingest them are definitely a better choice! If the thought of a natural lipstick conjures up boring browns and earthy tones, think again. Companies are now investing more time and technology into these brands giving us better quality and choice.

Elysambre's Garnet Red lipstick is certainly not a boring tone, this bright red matt is perfect for making a colour statement this season. Another bright to be seen in is Plant Love's Eve Pinky, this hot pink would not look out of place on the runway. If you're drawn to the orange side of the spectrum try Jane Iredale's Nicole or C.J. for a gorgeous spring pout.

This month I'm loving ......

This month I'm loving Korres Cherry Lip Gloss.

These gorgeous glosses come in 13 shades from nude to a lovely bright coral, perfect for the new spring/summer season. They smell divine and add a lovely shine without being too sticky. You'll also be pleased to know that they are free from parabens and mineral oil but do contain cherry oil which helps to hydrate lips and added vitamins E and C to help protect them.

Korres is a greek company with homeopathic roots, using natural ingredients in their products and avoiding synthentic ones where possible.

Blooming Blushers

Apparently spring blooms have been delayed by a month due to the cold weather but don't let the grey skies get you down. Why not inject some colour of your own and brighten your day and your complexion with a new blusher. A little dab of rouge is like an instant pick me up, giving any skintone a healthy glow. Every make-up bag should have one!

If you're a 5 minute make-up kind of girl then cream blushers are perfect, you can apply straight onto a moisturised skin, no foundation required. They are also great for drier skins so brilliant for this time of year. To make them last the day set with a little loose powder, also try layering powder blush over the top for a punchier colour. I love Bobbi Brown's Rouge Pot, Calypso Coral is a staple in my kit and brings life to every cheek it touches! Cabo Coral is the most recent addition to the range and will give a slightly warmer flush.


For those of you who prefer powder blusher, remember to use setting powder first so that your colour goes on without streaks and blends well.

Whatever your chosen texture, apply high on your apples, blending up and along your cheekbones to lift the face, adding instant youth and vitality!

Fantastic Lashes

With the festive season upon us, it's time to get glammed up and into the party spirit. False eyelashes are a great way to add instant glamour to any make-up. They can be as bold and dramatic as you like or if you prefer a more subtle look, just a few individual lashes on the outside corners of your eyes can make them shine.

Individual lashes are brilliant for adding depth and length while still keeping the look quite natural. Concentrate them on the outer half of your eyes for an instant lift or apply across the whole lash line for a fuller effect. Gently hold the lashes with your tweezers, dip them in the glue and then lay them on top of your own lashes. The key is to get the lashes as close to your lash line as possible without actually touching the skin.

Strip lashes can give you more of a dramatic look, when deciding which ones to use, think about what kind of effect you are trying to create. If you want more of a feline eye then choose lashes that have more length on the outside edges to wing them up and out. For more of a wide eyed doll look then go for lashes that have more length in the middle. Eylure and Shu Uemura have a great selection to choose from.

Here are some tips for easy application -

• Before you start squeeze a small amount of glue onto the back of your hand.
• Apply some eyeliner along the lashline - just in case you don't get the strip as close as you would like, you won't have any skin showing!
  
• Check the length of the strip against your lashline and trim if needed.
• Bend the the strip around a pencil to make it more pliable, then using tweezers, dip it into the glue making sure you have it all the way along the strip, especially at the ends, by now the glue should be tacky which makes it much easier to control.
• Place lash as close to your lash line as possible, check the position and gently hold in place until glue dries.

If you find strip lashes a bit too much or that the ends always come unstuck, try cutting one lash in half so you get two mini ones, you'll find these much easier to manage, stick to the outer edges for a sexy flick up. If you want to go for all out glamour, try customising your own by doubling sets up for a look that will get you noticed!

If you love the idea of lashes but are worried about applying them yourself, get someone else to do it! Shu Uemura have opened eight pop up lash bars across the UK to help get you party ready, so no excuses!!