Tears, Laughter and Alcohol Proof Makeup!

So the day that all my friends have been anticipating for a whole year finally arrived on Saturday, the wedding of the most gorgeous couple you'll ever meet. It was a gorgeous day, and even though it was forecast rain, the weather held off! It was obviously a very emotional day for the bride and groom, and for all involved and during the first dance I started sobbing uncontrollably for no apparent reason (it may have been down to the few glasses of wine during the meal), but I just couldn't stop. After that I thought, good god, what a mess I look, I expected mascara to be running and streaky foundation. I was pleasantly surprised however, to discover nothing had budged!!

At 9:30am, just finished makeup

1:30pm at the church

Taken roughly 10 minutes after I'd been uncontrollably sobbing! No budging at all!

What I Was Wearing
Foundation: Revlon Colour Stay in Ivory mixed with Chanel Pro Lumiere in 10
Eyes: Illamasqua Succumb all over the lid; Makeup Atelier Nacre Corail on the outer corner; Makeup Atelier Bronze through the crease; Gosh white eyeliner on the water line; Une brown pencil eyeliner on lower and upper lash line
Mascara: Maybelline The Colossal waterproof and BM Beauty Lash Curling mascara
Brows: MAC Omega eyeshadow
Lips: MAC Creme Cup
Cheeks: MAC Harmony and La Femme Misty Plum
Finish: Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

Dress: Matthew Williamson £40
Pashmina: The Tie Rack £4.99 in the sale
Shoes: Nude from Barrats
Jewellery: Thomas Sabo bracelet and necklace,
Nail Varnish: Baby Pink Barry M and Pure Turquoise Barry M

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on twitter @FaiBassett or like my Facebook page Fai Bassett

Fai x

Valentine's Day Goodies!

As the day that terrifies men, excites women and depresses us singletons fast approaches I thought it only necessary to at least mention it. As soon as the Christmas season is over, card shops inflate the heart balloons and everyone goes blind from all the pink and red. As much as I hate the Valentine’s season I have been having a good old nose around at everything the shops have to offer and have stumbled a few bits and pieces that I might just go out and buy for myself.

As always, Lush has created some beauties for V’day, and my top pick from their collection has to be the P.S I Love You gift box! It’s packaged in a gorgeous little box adorned with roses and swallows and tied up with a piece of string. Inside is a mixture of the well loved products such as “Raining Men” shower gel and my all time favourite product from Lush – “Soft Coeur” which is a honey and chocolate massage bar. Another little goody inside is the “Silky Underwear” dusting powder, a light powder that you can use all over your body that smells of jasmine! I’ve never heard of this product before but it sounds intriguing! Not quite talc and maybe a little more sensual!? And last but not the “Sweetheart” soap to finish of the quad! I think this is such a great little gift set, even if you’re single to buy yourself and relax. I think this is such a great deal at £16.95 that if you feel you need that little extra indulgence you won’t feel guilty about your bank balance. You can find out more about the P.S I Love You gift box on the Lush website.

Another great little indulgence that won’t make your bank manager call you up is the Whittard of Chelsea Strawberry White Hot Chocolate! It definitely hits up the pink quota for the season and will also last you much longer! It’s £5.50 for 375g. Especially on these horribly cold nights we’ve been having. Settling down in your fluffy dressing gown with a mug of this on a cold evening, with a mug of strawberry white hot chocolate, who needs a man to cuddle up to? You can find the Strawberry White Hot Chocolate here, and there are more Valentines gifts there too, and selected items are 20% off with the voucher code “LOVE14”

I guess we shouldn’t leave out those who are loved up, although I do like to forget you couples exist around this time (I’m joking of course, I’m just clearly bitter about it all) Marks and Spencer have got some brilliant Valentine’s cards on offer. In the day of emails and texts they’ve really considered that not many people like to send cards, and when they do the recipient often just discards them. So Marks and Spencer have got some great little designs that have got keepsakes that you can detach! My favourite being this little one (link) with removable pegs that you can keep to remind you of one another. It brings tears to your eyes and warmth to your heart doesn’t it?

Whatever you end up doing this 14^th of February I hope it’s a very happy and healthy one!

Love to you all!

Don’t forget that you can subscribe to my blog by clicking Join This Site, you can follow me on Twitter too, @FaiBassett and like my FaceBook page Fai Bassett - Makeup Artist

Thanks for reading lovelies!

Fai x

*Disclaimer I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned, nor have I been asked to mention them.  All opinions are 100% my own!

REVIEW | Premae Skin Care Harmony Face Balm

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Premae, a new luxury skin care company dedicated to producing allergen-free skin care. They offered to send me a product that claimed to be allergen-free, water free and kind to acnegenic skin. As I hadn’t heard of the company before I decided to do a bit of research into the company first before agreeing to try their product.

           

            The product I have been trying out is the Harmony Face Balm for Combination Skin Types. The product comes in a 50ml tin and is, as the name suggests, a hard balm, similar to the consistency of Vaseline. The balm contains all natural ingredients (the full list can be found on their website here).

            I received the Harmony Face Balm 2 weeks ago and have been using it every day, both morning and night. I have found the best way to apply this is to take a small amount and apply straight to your face, a little in each area (the cheeks, forehead, nose and chin) and then to massage in with your fingertips. Although the product has a waxy texture, as soon as it comes into contact with your skin it melts instantly into a liquid, making it easy to distribute evenly over your skin. In the morning I do use a smaller amount as it does take a little while to sink into your skin, and if you’re trying to get ready in a hurry it isn’t best to put your makeup on until this product has completely settled into your skin. The product says it is for combination skin, obviously, I can’t comment on whether or not this product would actually be suitable as I have been using this on me, and my skin is incredibly dry. The only thing I can say is that I would be a little bit cautious on using this product if you did have slightly more oily t-zone as the product can leave my skin feeling quite greasy for a while if I use too much.

Click on photo to enlarge to read full list of ingredients

            I definitely think this product gives great benefit to your skin, as it is incredibly nourishing and moisturising. I have been suffering from a cold and where I would usually get an incredibly dry nose from using tissues, I have been applying the balm to just my nose a few times a day and it has definitely helped the dryness that usually occurs! I have also been using a little bit on my lips and it leaves them feeling really great too. The balm is completely unscented which is great for people with sensitive skin.

            The Harmony Face Balm doesn’t come cheap at £18 for 50ml, however as you only need to use a small amount, it will definitely last a long time. I’ve been using it every day for two weeks and you can hardly notice that any has gone from the tin. It’s also great as you can see how much product you’re using and can regulate how much you need each day.

           

            I would be really interested in trying some of the products purely designed for dry skin, as I’m not sure how this product would sit on someone with combination skin.

            Premae Skin Care is BUAV approved and all their ingredients are natural and ethically sourced and can be purchased from their website. You can follow them on twitter @premae_skincare.

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget that you can subscribe to my blog my clicking “Join This Site” or you can follow me on twitter @FaiBassett for regular updates!

Fai x

*disclaimer: The products mentioned in this blog were sent to me for consideration to review. I am in no way affiliated with Premae Skincare and I am not being paid to review their product. All opinions are 100% my own

January Favourites and OOTN 28/01/2012

I'm going to try and do Monthly Favourites, it may not be every month as a lot of things don't tend to change, but when I find an amazing product I will be sure to update! So as January finally draws to a close I  hope you enjoy my top picks for January. 

Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation shade 115 – Being so pale I’m almost translucent, it is an absolute nightmare to find a foundation colour that actually matches my skin, and Illamasqua has such a great range of colours. I initially bought the Light Liquid Foundation for my kit, I have 6 colours in total, but I tried this out and was instantly impressed with how good the colour was for me. I’m not a great fan of the consistency of this product, as its quite dry and doesn’t have an amazing coverage, so what I’ve been doing is using predominately the Illamasqua foundation and adding a small amount of Revlon Colour Stay in Ivory which I find adds a bit more to the coverage, and it stops the Illamasqua L.L.F looking too dry on my skin. I will hopefully be investing in the Illamasqua Skin Base foundation; however the closest Illamasqua counter is in Cardiff, which just isn’t convenient, so I’m dubious to buy it online without testing it out first! If anyone has tried it and think they may be my colouring let me know how you’ve found it!

Liz Earle – Cleanse and Polish – This doesn’t need any explanation; you can find my review here which will tell you why I love it so much!

Lush – Snow Fairy – I bought this at the very end of December when Lush had their half price sale of all their Christmas lines. I had heard so much about it on YouTube as everyone seems to be addicted to it, so I thought I would pop in and see what all the fuss was about. It smells so good! I would liken it to the smell of the Lush Bubblegum Lip Scrub. Such a sweet smell, which may not be to everyone’s taste, I also couldn’t resist the name. Let’s face it, anything to do with fairies I’m all over it (If you hadn’t realised already my name means Fairy). Not only does it smell amazing, it lathers up so nicely, the bubbles are so soft and creamy and it makes your skin so smooth! Unfortunately they are only brought out every Christmas, so I bought two bottles, and I’m trying to use it sparingly.

Aussie – Luscious Long Shampoo and Conditioner – I’m going to confess something terrible right about now, I haven’t had my hair cut in nearly a year! I know, terrible, shoot me down, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. I had it all cut off really short (well, short for me, it was shoulder length) back in 2010 and since then my hair has been growing so slowly, that now I have it at the length I want I’m just too scared to go and get it cut again. I will eventually because the ends are so dead. But I’ve been using Aussie’s Luscious Long range and it’s been so good for my hair. It smells amazing like all of Aussie’s products, but it also makes my hair so soft, and it feels thicker too. I can swoosh it around and it feels like I’ve just stepped out of the hair dressers, it may not look like it, but it certainly feels like it. I don’t know all the ins and outs of the products, but I think it’s definitely benefited my hair

On Saturday night it was one of my friend Dannie's Hen Night and the theme was the Letter D (for obvious reasons) and I went as a disco ball! Here are some pictures from the night!

Foundation - Revlon Colour Stay - Ivory & Chanel Pro Lumiere in 10 (discontinued)
Blush - La Femme Golden Rose
Contour - MAC Studio Tech foundation in NC50
Mascara - BM Beauty Lash Curling 
Jewels and Mirrors from The Range

Top - From a boutique in Tavistock - £25
Disco Pants - River Island sale 3 years ago £10
Shoes - New Look, customised by me
Fake Tan (I KNOW! Hold the applause) - Beyond Bronze by Fake Bake - Instant in shimmer Light

REVIEW | BM Beauty Lash Curling Mascara

Following up from my BM Beauty review from December, which you can find here, I thought I should talk about my favourite product that I was lucky enough to try out.

         

            I’ve always had issues with my eyelashes. They’re very straight and very blonde. Long enough to be noticed, but without mascara it looks like I have none. And I have never found a mascara that can hold a curl in my lashes for a whole day, without them looking crispy and hard. I’m not a massive fan of waterproof mascara, because I don’t like to sit and scrub at my eye for hours on end to make sure I’ve got every last bit off.

            So when I saw BM Beauty’s Lash Curling mascara I thought I would give it a go, and I have been amazed with the results. The formula isn’t too wet that you have to keep your eyes open in fear of panda eyes, and it’s also not so dry that you have to spend half an hour dragging the brush through your lashes to get a good amount of product to coat your lashes. The Lash Curling mascara coats your lashes easily with just one application and dries quickly without your lashes going hard. And you can build up the product easily to get a more dramatic look.

No Mascara 

One Coat

  

Two Coats

Three Coats on top lashes - One coat on bottom lashes

            I’ve also found that with this mascara it curls my lashes on its own without having to use curlers before hand, which is great because when doing my own makeup I do like to skip steps if I can get away with it (probably not the best confession to make, but I’m sure you won’t tell anyone) so this mascara really has become an essential part of my daily make up routine. I will definitely be re-purchasing when this tube runs out!

            The mascara wand is a bristle brush which is great, as I find plastic mascara wands scratchy and often achieve a more sparse look, whereas BM Beauty’s mascara not only curls my lashes, it also makes them look thick as well. All of BM Beauty products are free from animal testing, and the mascara is infused with minerals and nourishing oils and waxes. It retails at £12 for 8ml and can be purchased from the BM Beauty website here. 

            For anyone with already super curly lashes, they also have a Lash Thickening mascara :)

            Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog by clicking “Join This Site” on the right hand side of the page. And you can also follow me on twitter @FaiBassett

Fai x

*disclaimer* I am in no way affiliated with BM Beauty, I was given this product as a thanks for helping out on the BM Beauty stand at the Clothes Show, I am not being paid by the company to review their products, and all opinions are my own. 

Why I Chose Make Up

So many people ask this question, and I can understand why. The make up industry is one that not many people can get their head’s around. People know about it, but not always do they understand it. Over the past few years make up artist’s have had a new platform to show case their talent, and more and more people have become interested in the industry by finding make up tutorials on YouTube, and reading the blogs of make up artists as it’s become to the forefront of social media.

I have always been interested in makeup, mainly because I love colour and experimenting, but also because I suffer with bad skin, and I’m also incredibly pale. Finding ways around and having to create my own foundation cocktails by mixing different colours because I have never found a single foundation that suits my skin got me more interested in the other side of make up. It wasn’t just about creating looks with amazing colours; it became more about wanting to know how to make other people feel better about themselves.

A lot of people have the opinion of “you shouldn’t wear makeup because it’s fake”, but I completely disagree. Wearing make up can change a person, yes, but it only enhances a person in the sense that it gives them the confidence to step outside their front door without having to feel embarrassed or self conscious about the way they look. There is nothing in make up that seeps into the brain that changes personality, trust me. I’ve been there, and I very rarely step outside without a full face of make up. And wanting to do so doesn’t mean that I’m conceited, wearing make up makes me feel confident enough to walk with my head held high, and I wanted to be able to make other people feel that way too.

Of course, you can create alter egos for yourself with the way you create your makeup, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t the real you. Everyone has so many sides to them, that so what if one day you want to wear no make up at all, and the next day you want to wear black eyeliner and red lips? You shouldn’t be made to feel bad about wanting to either, no matter what other people say about “being natural” you can be natural and wear make up. If you don’t feel confident enough, or you just want to even out your skin tone that little bit, it doesn’t mean this isn't the real you!

And this is the reason I chose make up artistry as a career. Of course I still love creating amazing looks and trying new things, but the feeling of creating a look that gives someone more confidence to go and do something they wouldn’t usually do is so much greater than anything else, because I know what it feels like.

Very short entry today, but I think people are so often judged by their appearances, whether it’s because they’re not wearing make up, or because they wear “too much”. And it needs to stop. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make yourself look that bit more flawless. And let’s face it, anyone that says they prefer a person without make up on is probably lying…because they clearly haven’t seen me when I wake up ;)

Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog by clicking “Join This Site” and follow me on twitter @FaiBassett

Fai x

Common Misconceptions About Acne Prone Skin

Dry Skin Doesn’t Break Out

I have extraordinarily dry skin, but I also suffer from acne. Even where I break out, which tends to be in the same place every time, I don’t suffer from oily skin. My skin is very evenly dry; I don’t suffer from an oily T-Zone. Another thing people think is that not cleansing your skin properly and removing makeup, which of course can cause problems, but be aware not to just jump to this conclusion for people who suffer from acne and just assume they’re dirty. It is certainly not the case in most situations. The actual reason that people suffer from acne is because of a hormone imbalance. And I’m talking about real acne, not just the occasional spot here and there. This is why women a lot of women are prescribed the contraceptive pill, as high testosterone levels can cause acne. It can also be caused by infection, so antibiotics can also be prescribed to clear up the skin. So if any readers are suffering from sever acne, please don’t automatically assume that it’s because of your skin, a lot of the time its your body causing it, so go and talk to your doctor and see if you can get referred to a dermatologist :)

Dry Skin Needs Water

Obviously, this is not the case for me as I have sensitive skin and react badly to water. However water is useful for dehydrated skin, not dry skin. Dry skin lacks in oil, and therefore using face oil, such as DHC cleansing oil, is brilliant as it feeds the skin enough oil but also cleanses the skin from impurities at the same time. (DHC Cleansing Oil review is on its way) Of course, this also goes along with the oily skin causes break outs, but in fact using oil on my skin calms my skin down. Of course I can’t speak for everyone as everybody’s skin will react differently. I am just speaking from my own experience :)

Acne Is Only In Your Teens!

This one is the one that gets to me the most. Of course in some people’s situations, yes, they only experience acne in their teens; however my skin has got worse as I’ve got older. When I was about 13/14 I didn’t suffer at all, but when I got to the age of 16 I started to get break outs, and it got worse from then. Obviously now I am more aware of skin types, and I am able to feed my skin what it needs so I can keep it under control to a certain extent, however it doesn’t stop it for good. I know people who are still suffering from acne break outs who are certainly over the hormonal hell that is puberty! I think that a lot of people get confused with acne and getting the occasional spot. The spot treatments that you can get in pharmacies such as tea tree oil based treatments will work on the occasional blemish, but acne is an infection under the skin, that needs to be treated from the inside, out.

Of course, as I said before I can only speak from my own experiences, however I think it is important for people to be aware of these misconceptions as so often if you read up about skin care it can be so vague, and especially for makeup artists out there, you will always come across people who have such different skin needs, and often times you can’t just refer to the books.

I hope this has been interesting to read. I thought I would write about it as I’ve always shouted at the t.v, and got annoyed at books I’ve read when they say something so generic. Obviously I don’t blame them in anyway because of course they can’t always delve into all details. I just think it’s important as I feel that some people who suffer from acne might automatically assume that they have oily skin, just because that what is always said about break out prone skin, and it may not be the case. You have to know your own skin and its needs and not just assume that other people know best :)

Thanks for reading lovelies. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog by clicking “Join This Site” so you can be alerted of any new posts, and also follow me on twitter @FaiBassett

Fai x