Multipurpose Makeup for busy Ladies

The latest addition to my pro kit has been this handy little Nude&Noir palette.
It has a highlight, contour/bronze & lip&cheek colour, but really, they are all multipurpose colours!
Cream colours are my personal favourite, as a busy Mum, I always seem to end up doing my own makeup in a matter of minutes using my fingers (rather than brushes)...
Cream makeup works so well for this.
If you don't have much time that is what I recommend:
Get yourself some multipurpose colour pots that you can use as blush, eye and lip colour and simply blend with fingers. No cleaning brushes, nice and compact to throw into your bag these products are just perfect! Using the same colour for lips&cheeks gives a very nice look.
Another bonus of creams is that they are dewier due to their texture, so they add a bit of glow, which helps when you feel/look a little tired.
Of course, if you have time you can use them really well with brushes too and you can layer powder products over the top for longevity if you have an occasion coming up.
Check out the palettes by Nude&Noir which are super compact and luxurious, while being highly pigmented, all vegan and toxin-free. They have a lovely ingredient list and are very well formulated. My fave is the “Bijou” Palette.
I am also a real fan of Ere Perez New Carrot Colour Pots. They are super creamy and VERY high in pigment. I have been wearing them lately to test out and happy to announce that the quality really impressed me, so they are part of my pro-kit now as well. Again these beauties are vegan & toxin-free.
Do you love cream colours? Do you have a favourite natural multi-use product?


 

Sparkling Vegan Makeup Brushes

It feels like Christmas over here! Why? Well, I just received some brand spanking new, shiny, vegan & cruelty-free makeup brushes! 

There are many pro-quality brushes out there these days that no animal had to suffer for!

Besides the ethical issues, vegan brushes are also more durable and won't hold and accumulate bacteria! That's right: Your animal hair brushes have a tendency to spread germs pretty easily!

Of course, all makeup brushes need proper cleaning and sanitizing. And I will always clean all my brushes very thoroughly. Yet, it's good to know that vegan brushes are naturally "cleaner".

For all cream & liquid products, synthetic brushes have been the choice of pro artists for decades. Finally, we have now sophisticated man-made fibres which grab and apply powders fantastically well! 

I just got this set of eye brushes by Nanshy. If you are looking for new pro-quality brushes and makeup artist equipment, check them out! You can find them in Australia via The V-Spot.

All their brushes come in black as well. But I am quite a sucker for all things white!

New Vegan Arnica Concealer By Ere Perez

The other day I received a beautiful package with the latest Natural Concealers by Ere Perez.
I had a chance to play with them and really like the colour selection.

The timing was great too, as I just got a pimple (the first one in over one year! I have been blessed with great skin during pregnancy and so far during breastfeeding) This little Arnica Concealer was hiding my spot very well and it healed very quickly.

Coverage:
These little pots are packed with pigment and cover blemishes with ease. I was impressed.
Full scores for coverage!

Texture:
The texture is creamy but quite dry, perfect if you need your concealer to stay put or for combination/oily skin. I mixed some with my moisturiser for other areas of redness, around my nose etc and it worked well and gave me a very nice finish.

Ingredients:
These concealers are vegan and full of great, natural ingredients, like Arnica that actually help to reduce inflamation and redness. Again, another plus when using this to cover Acne, pimples and similar skin conditions. No nasties in here either.

Use:
Best to be used with a synthetic concealer brush.
When used for the under eye area, hydrate and prep skin well beforehand with a good eye cream. Then gently pat the concealer into the skin. Same goes for dry areas.
I also find this works well mixed with a little moisturizer for a medium all over coverage to even out the skin tone.

The packaging:
Little Glass Jars look and feel luxe while being easy to recycle.

The Verdict:
I really like it. I think every concealer has a strength.
They are either perfect under eye or blemish concealers. And while this one is a multi tasker I feel it's strength lies in covering blemishes, uneven skintone, pigmentation etc.
This one is a full coverage concealer. And it's amazing for all the above.
I personally prefer lightweight, liquidy and lightreflecting concealers for the under eye area, but keep in mind that you can achieve great results with this if you hydrate well with eye cream and prefer a full coverage.

Jane Irdeale's All New Gloss & Spring Collection

The look above can be achieved with Jane Iredale "Rose" Lip Pencil and "Pink Lady" PureGloss on the lips and new PurePressed Eyeshadow Kit "Naturally Glam" and "Clearly Pink" blush!
Editorial for Hello May Magazine photographed by Steve Baccon

One more month of Winter left, it's time to get ready for Spring! Whooop!
I just received the brand new stunning Jane Iredale Spring collection with newly formulated vegan Lip Gloss and beautiful new shades.

As always, everything is very wearable, beautifully soft and neutral colours, classic red lips "Gwen" and three beautiful glosses. To be honest, I was worried when I heard they changed their gloss, as it's a real favourite product of mine and I thought it was perfect. Well, turns out there was room for minimal improvement and I still love the new PureGloss. Even a tiny bit more.
They have more of a lemony scent but nothing overwhelming or artificial and the texture feels even lighter and less sticky. Other than that they are just as great as usual: Hydrating, super-glossy and very well lasting for a gloss! It comes in three colours which are all great.

I already loved using the new colours and can't wait to play some more with them.
Jane Iredale, you are just sooooo good in making cruelty-free, toxin-free makeup that is professional quality! Thank you!

Most Jane Iredale Products are vegan, even the lip gloss and lipsticks!
(With very few exceptions The Crayons and Lip Plumpers sadly do contain beeswax/lanolin, some products contain Royal Jelly or Carmine. They have a great website though, which clearly states vegan or non-vegan products, so there is no confusion! Again: All products are certified cruelty-free though)

Also: did you ever check out all the One Minute Makeup Looks, I created for them last year?
It was just a great and fun experience, yet bad timing. I just found out I was pregnant and the morning/all day sickness was in full swing. Yet it was still a secret, so I flew over to Noosa, all green in the face filming all these videos. Super long days on my feet and I was feeling soooo squeezy guys. It's funny when I think about it now. I am still wondering if people thought I was a bit weird on set...
Anyhow, there is your fun fact and check out some of the videos for quick makeup inspiration!

Goddess On The Go - The balm every artist should own

Every makeup artist needs a multipurpose miracle balm in their kit! It's the secret to subtle highlights, perfectly prepped lips and it quickly fixes any dry or flakey skin! Unfortunately most conventional ones are petrochemical based (Lucas Paw Paw/ Eight Hour Cream etc) and most natural ones aren't vegan! This one ticks ALL the boxes! Thank you Edible Beauty you have done it again: another masterpiece that deserves cult status!