Tips & Treats!

Brenda Anvari - Shoestringbeauty

I love all these makeup tips and tricks that you see all over Instagram and TikTok to name just two sources. 

The variety of makeup artists are huge and so are their tips! From regular makeup artists to celebrities the range is vast and of course we all have our own favourites! 
I’ve collected just a few tips that I really like that can fit into everyday life and one in particular for fun! 

I tried this trick recently, a bit of fun really and to see if it worked! 
If your under eyes are particularly dark, with that blueish tint, which so often occurs with deep set eyes and a more olive skin tone. Just a concealer doesn’t seem to cover such darkness, but have you tried the cream blusher trick? 
After I applied my sunscreen and primer, I used an Elf Blusher Stick (you can even use a red lipstick!) liberally all under my eyes! I look like I had been in a fight! I looked hilarious. Then I applied my concealer first, then followed with my foundation as usual! What a miracle! It really does work and get rid of any darkness! Try it. 

If you have dry skin under your eyes or have little fine lines, it’s so difficult to get your foundation and concealer to look right. What can you do? 
After searching high and low I finally found the Wrinkle Bounce Multi Balm, from the most unlikely of places Temu! Before I found this I tried the Elf primer stick, and it was very good, lovely and cooling. But I really wanted the real thing!
Well this is it! And it works so well, applied before your concealer, it just glides so smoothly, and boy does it plump. So you have that lovely plumped, smooth, glowing look under your eyes. I now use it everyday.

I’ve been using a Collection Concealer it’s called Lasting Perfection Hydrating Serum Concealer recently, recommended by a lovely assistant in Superdrug. She said it was as good as all the expensive ones and it does give a dewy finish with a medium coverage, pretty good! I’ve got it in Cashew 6, the other one I used before that which I did love was, by Revolution called Conceal & Define in C3. This one is a much “dryer” (for want of a better word!) concealer, no dewyness, but still very smooth with lots of coverage. I loved this one! Also while I’m on the subject of concealers! I often use an Elf Putty Color-Correcting Eye Brightener under the eye. I tend to Pat it on top of the concealer when I’ve finished my makeup, if I’m feeling dull and blah! All there putty products are great too. 

A model makeup trick I recently tried (this opens your eye wide and stays on forever!) involved using liquid eyeliner! Have you ever used it? I haven’t, being a child of the 70’s, by that time liquid eyeliner went out with false eyelashes and beehive hairdo’s!

In my day it was more of the plucked to oblivion eyebrows and more turquoise eyeshadow underneath the eyes than on the lid! A sort of Biba/hippie vibe!

So I tried this liquid eyeliner, Oh God, what a laugh! I pride myself that I’ve got a steady hand being that I paint a lot (brendaanvariart.com) but I was utterly useless! 

The instructions of the model on Instagram, was to place a fine line right next to your lashes from the middle eye to the outer corners, I did that sort of ok but it got a bit messy around the middle!
Wait until it dries, did I wait long enough? Probably not! Then run a pencil or a powder along the line. Get a small brush, start from the outside in and gently fluff it up. Well that but was quite a success, but I did seem to get dark smudges everywhere until I managed to do a bit of a repair job!

But the eyeliner and shadow did last all day, and it did open up my eyes, so result! I used Poundland Liquid Pro Eyeliner, not bad at all. I think tomorrow I’ll try it with a crayon on top, they’ll be less chance of the colour travelling everywhere. Not one to give up or be beaten I’ll try this again. What do they say practice makes perfect! 🤣B

If you’re in a hurry and you need to add some shape, colour and depth to your eyebrows, and applying an eyebrow product (there are so many out there and it can be so confusing!) stresses you out! nothing works quite so quickly with no fuss as adding some brown eyeshadow on a q-tip! It’s so quick to just easily place it along your brow by patting it on,  if you’re concerned will it stay? Comb through some clear eye brow gel to fix it. It’ll last all day, and look really natural and effective! 

Saying that, If you want something a little more concrete and you rather enjoy doing your eyebrows! there are so many options that are fairly quick and easy. I often reach for Maybelline Build a Brow which had a very fine pointed brush which is easy to apply, giving hair like strokes and a little spool to comb up and through your brow, which helps to fix it and evens everything out. Primark also has a very impressive look-a- like, it just doesn’t have the little spool at the end. 

The whole point of a foundation is the coverage right?  You see so many people on social platforms applying their foundation in downwards swipes. What wrong with that? Well, you’ll tend to have an uneven, blotchy look, with a lot of your foundation at the bottom of your face! 

The best way is to tap it on and mould it into the skin, you can then build up the coverage where you want it, generally in the centre of your face, blending out to as little as possible on the outer corners of your face, after all you don’t need it there do you! 
Pick a fairly firmish foundation brush, I have a great one from Primark at the moment, it leaves a great finish on the skin. 

While it’s important to get the best foundation for you (crikey, there are so many out there aren’t there?)

You can almost get away with any foundation as long as you get the application right! 

I can’t believe I’m still using a tinted moisturiser at this time of year, I used to think I needed a thick foundation to cover my veins and pigmentation, but after a certain age I really do find the lighter the better, it’s a much more youthful look! 
this is another favourite too, by W7 Photoshoot Foundation, perfect texture, perfect, light coverage. 

Double layering your blush! Is one of the best ways to make your blush last. Apply your blush before any type of base, pat on your cream blush then apply your foundation and concealer. Then go in again with the exact same blusher in the exact same place, and it’ll last you all day!

What blusher am I using at the moment? Well, I’ve discovered a super new one by Collection - Raspberry Ripple, it’s the prettiest blush I’ve ever seen. So soft and creamy but dries as a powder! Perfect, I got it in Superdrug. They have a peachy one too, so that’s next on my list! Since I wrote this I’ve got Toffee Swirl, equally pretty but more of a light bronzer! 

Do you have hollows under the eyes?
Take a medium fluffy brush, tap a little loose powder on it and very lightly, and very gently mould it on the hollows.?under the eye is normally the biggest problem. Under the eyes are the usual place and also down below the sides of the nose, the Marionette lines. Just that little bit of powder blotting can make all the difference so that the light no longer reflects the gaping hollows. 

I don’t often use a powder, but when I do I find the Primark one, PS Baking Powder is very finely milled, light and a great colour. There absolutely no point for me to spend lots of money on a powder when I don’t use it very often!

There’s nothing quite like using your mascara as an eye defining eye liner! 

Load your mascara wand up, go into the absolute roots of your lashes, wiggle your brush to get right in there and coat the roots (that’s where you get the line) hold the brush there for 3-5 seconds, with a little bit of pressure (that will really help to curl your lashes up and fix it with the mascara) and just sweep the wand up to the tips. It gives the most quick, easy, natural line and definition to the eyes, no need for a pencil! I’m in love with this Big Lash by Revolution at the moment, it lifts and curls like a dream! Not forgetting my other total favourite - Telescopic by L’Oréal, this one has a narrow, totally manageable brush too!