Newbies' guide to formal make-up

I'm unsure when is it 'prom-season' in other countries, but formal here in Australia would be coming up in a few months, so therefore... you need to start considering your make-up for prom!

Why? Because it's not something you could pick out just a few days before the big night. You need trials to see what works and what doesn't and not to mention that your skin conditions might change unexpectedly. Who knows?

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PREPPING AND PRIMING

#1 Know your skin

To look flawless on the night, you'll need to be prepping and priming your skin first! You SHOULD be taking care of your skin already, and if NOT, start taking care of your skin NOW! I recommend at least two-three months before the big night because to improve your complexion means less to stress about! You can read about my suitable skincare products for your skin here.

#2 Moisturize your lips

Start moisturizing your lips at least 2 weeks before your big night. Whether your lips are dry or not, prevention is the key. Any lip balm would do, but if your lip is disastrous... I recommend Blistex Lip Conditioner which you can purchase at your local pharmacy.

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FACE PRODUCTS

Now.. onto the cosmetics and please note that the products recommended below may OR may not work for you.

# Primers helps whatever you slap onto your face stays on for longer and the application easier, I recommend primer for all skin types/conditions. Budget-friendly primers can be found by Face Of Australia and Australis.

# Correctors are essential if you have really dark shadows [usually around your eyes] and/or acne and/or red acne scars. Green concealers are used for correcting redness which most of the time includes acne and acne scars. Pink concealers are used to correct purple tinges on the face which includes bruises and/or dark purple under-eye circles. Maybelline has some Cover Sticks which are very affordable.

# Foundation is a hard one and is a MUST. You can read about basic foundation guidelines here, but I DO recommend Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation ($17-$37) as they have two lines targeted for both dry skin and oily skin and stick to your skin like no tomorrow [but smells disastrous]. It is a tad pricey, but you cannot go wrong with it. The only thing you can go wrong with when choosing a foundation is the shade.

# Concealer is definitely also a must if your imperfections are STILL shining through even after correcting. I'm unaware of any cream concealers from lower-end brands which are reliable, but in general, you should opt for stick concealers and/or cream concealers for heavy coverage.

# Powder-ing is necessary and the product should be with you at ALL times (even during the formal event). Whether you have oily skin or not, it's still recommended as it makes your make-up last longer and prevents shine in your photos which will last forever. I recommend transluscent because it doesn't cake your skin and some translucent powder such as Australis Ready. Set. Go Finishing ($12.95) powder even tops it off with a flawless photogenic finish! However, it CAN be a tad messy to bring along so you can always opt for Revlon's PhotoReady Translucent ($34.95) powder which is quite pricey but neat.

# Blushers are used to add colour to the face. However, you can just use any eyeshadows of your shade and finish preference as a blusher, if you already have.

# Bronzers and highlighters, I don't think are essential. It's something you can skip because contouring and highligting the face is only used to perfect it to an oval shape and fake facial planes. You ARE trying to look like you.. not somebody else. However, like blushers, you can also replace bronzers it with any warm-toned brown eyeshadows [with a blue base, rather than pink] and highlight using a shade lighter foundation OR a lighter-than-your-skintone eyeshadow.

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EYE PRODUCTS

# Eyeshadows you plan to use needs to be pigmented, have a long lasting power or can be combined with an eyeshadow primer. I don't use eyeshadows so I wouldn't know what to recommend. You're better off with searching around at BeautyHeaven, and make sure you know how to use the eyeshadows of course!

# Eyeshadow bases/primers are also something I never used. However, I do know that Face of Australia ($7.95) and Australis ($12.95) has eye primers/bases in their range, but if you simply can't afford an extra $7~13, try some concealer as a base for your eyeshadows to stick!

# Eyeliner is a MUST, whether you have big or small eyes. The great thing about eyeliners are the forms they come in: pencils; liquid; gel; and cake. If you're looking for clean and precised lines, you're better off with liquid and gel, BUT they DO take alot of practise to master. Pencils are great for smokey looks because you can multi-use them as an eyeshadow also when they are smudged (perfect for smokey looks)! I haven't came across lotsa great eyeliners, but I DO NOT recommend pencil eyeliners from Australis and Nude By Nature. Ones I love are from an Asian brand called Le'lan Vital.. I love their PerfectWear Eyeliner and ExtremeWear Gel eyeliner. P.S. Make sure your eye products are waterproof!

# Mascaras needs to be waterproof and they are rated by personal preferences. Everyones' lashes are different and different mascaras impact differently... I personally LOVE Rimmel Glam'Eyes for allowing me to adjust volume and length in my lashes!

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LIP PRODUCTS

If you could only pick up two items from the following, I would pick a lip-liner of my preferred shade and top it off with a lip gloss since lip-liners are very long-wearing [but can be drying too].

# Lip liners are okay. Unless you're planning to wear a red or dark colour lipstick or a colour which is contrasting to your skin, then you can possibly skip the lip liners. However, that'll call for applying lipstick frequently during the event as taking away long-lasting power. I don't use lip liners also, so I'm not sure!

# Lipsticks are recommended but you can skip it! They come in different textures and a variety of different finishes. It's a personal preference, but for those who loves creamy textures.. I recommend Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipsticks [for their fantastic formula] and Maybelline's ColourSensational Lipsticks [for their fabulous shade collections].

 

# Lipglosses, like lipsticks are up to you. In fact, all these lip products are up to you but it's recommended as it'll complete your look! I recommend Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipglosses ($11.95), you can read my review here >

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BRUSHES

# Brushes are also a matter of personal preferences, but speaking of quality.. I definitely can tell you which brands to stay away from! One brand I dislike is BYS! The bristles of their brushes are very pokey and the brush itself is so cheap! I have tried their Blusher brush and Foundation brush which didn't favour me. However, their eyeshadow brush is OK. 

Comparing BYS to GLOSS brushes, GLOSS brushes wins by far as their brushes are more dense and great quality for the price! I love their Foundation and Powder brushes, however I'd stay away from their synthetic Angular brush as it's rubbish. 

Ecotools also have great organic brushes which are great quality also! 

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REVISION

Just a recap of what's definitely a must:

• Foundation
• Concealer
• Powder
• Blusher
• Eyeliner
• Mascara
• Eyeshadows (if you know how to use it!)

That's all! I hope you lovelies enjoy this post and of course, apply this for any other formal occasions and just not for proms!  

Yours deerest,

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Quick tips for formal: Contacts or not?

Hi girlies! Rambles for ya today!

So some girlies' formal are coming up! And I already did posts on makeup and fashion-wise :$

These posts are expressed in my own opinion, esp the fashion-related LOL Cause I'm no where near having a sense of fashion, okay? :)

So... many of you will probably consider to put your hands on a pair of contacts for formal!

Ummm okay, where shall I start?

I'm not talking about clear contacts today, I'm just gonna give you a few perspectives about circle lenses and/or coloured contacts.

Most of you will probably think "I should wear blue contacts for formal since it'll make my eye colour so much more good looking" OR "I should invest on a pair of hazel contacts, how hot is that? Hazel eyes! Cmon!"

In my very honest opinion, I don't recommend circle lenses for formal, just because not ALL of them are comfortable for over 6 hours, and you don't want any eye irritations during formal or whatever! :{

However, if you have a pair of circle lenses which is comfortable all day, you must also consider if they look good in flash photography! Would it blend in with your natural eye color? Or would it make you look creepily weird.

For example:

Sourced from here

See how the blue doesn't completely blend with the eye colour and you can see the pupil?

Do consider if you like this effect in your photos or not!

That's just something for you to consider! I'm not against it, but I'm just saying! Don't bash me heheh x

For people who want extra hazel eyes! If you already have brown eyes, don't worry about it! Flash photography will make your eyes stand out more!

OR why don't you use eyes' cosmetics to help you enhance your eye color instead? :)

However, if you do plan to wear contacts, remember to bring your contact case with refilled solution! Just incase they get uncomfortable or so...

Yours deerest,

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Make-up quick tips for formal/prom

Hello!! As I promised.. although a few days late! A post about make-up tips for formal/prom! :D

So first up!

Tell me, do you dress to impress? Or do you want to be the trend-setter?

DRESS-TO-IMPRESS?

Alright, let's talk to all 'dress-to-impress'ers!

By saying 'dress to impress', I mean your main focus is too looking outrageously gorgeous girly to impress all male audience! You want them to gossip after formal and say 'She was freaking beautiful'.

The downside for this is that, you gotta wear minimal make-up! And this may make you look naturally STUNNING to them, at the formal place, but however, won't be too photogenic. For example!

Eye make-up!

If you wear JUST an everyday look (minimal makeup = thin eyeliner, MLBB lipstick, false lashes, light coverage foundation), you'll look naturally beautiful.

However, in photos, your eyes will not stand out as much as other girls who'll be wearing smokey eyes.

TREND-SETTERS?

Trend-setters are to set the trends, hence the name! You can impress the girls (who understands) with a chic, punk or any Lady-Gaga style!

From red lipsticks to bold eyeliner!

The good thing about this is being awesomely unique in your own way!

A downswing to this is... the boys. They don't seem to understand any make-up trends or whatsoever. LMAO. As soon as they see you with eyeshadow, they immediately accuse you of being cake-faced #fml

Sucks that guys don't understand the beauty of make-up.

I guess it's the same how we don't understand their world of WOW of COD.

Here are tips by category!

FOUNDATION

• Remember to match the foundation shade to your skin! You need this to be PERFECT!
• Stay as natural as you possibly can - because guys *discuss* after formal about 'which girl has the cakiest face?' LOL... Hope I wasn't on the list :/
• Dewy or matte finish, preferbly matte (IMO). Remember to blot blot blot blot if you have oily skin!
• Remember to make sure it is SPF free for a matte-finish!
• Take a picture WITH flash on before you leave the house and see if your skin is shine-free or not! Or recheck anything you need to fix up!
• Bring your pressed powder, just in case you need to retouch! Better safe than sorry!

EYES

• Eyeshadow primer? Base? Keep your eyeshadows lasting longer!
• Blue dress = blue eyeshadow? If you're a trend setter, go for it! Whatever floats your boat!
• I know girls like to make their eyes pop with shimmer in the inner corner, but please do avoid too much shimmer. You want attention on your eyes, not your tearducts!
• Bring false lashes glue, just in case! It's small and handy!

NOSE

• To make your nose appear 'taller', streak a highlighter onto your nose bridge & blend blend blend!
• If you are doing your own makeup, remember to conceal redness around your nose!

LIPS

• Moisturize your lips well!
• A long-lasting lipcolour would help wonders!
• Remember to bring your lipstick/gloss to touch up!
• Conceal around your lips, to make it look more defined!
• Remember that RED LIPS = MINIMAL EYEMAKEUP or NUDE LIPS = DRAMATIC EYES!

GENERAL

• Recharge your camera and phone the night before!
• Hollywood tape if you need!
• Remember to bring touch ups products if necessary!
• For girls who are wearing tight/fitting dresses, if you don't want to show your panty-lines... Grab a pair of old stockings, cut the legs off to thigh-length and wear them instead!
• Make sure you moisturise your whole entire body! Your legs and arms, you don't want them to look all frosty and drying! :(
• Don't forget to spray perfume, maybe 1-2 hours before you head to formal avenue, so it's not too heavy, nor too light.
• If you're going to have an afterparty or walk in the city, it's advised that you want to bring a pair of flats, instead of those killer high heels! Yeah?
• Manisure & Pedicure!
• Remember to redo your brows AND moustache (whatever you call that) a few days before formal!
• If you are doing your own makeup, it's advised that you do try on your makeup for a day. Just to see how many hours you need to retouch OR if there's anything that's possibly not right with your makeup :$
• You could book professional makeup artists. For your info, I love makeup artists from photo studios! Although your makeup looks heavier at the shopping mall, at the formal venue, you will look perfectly fine because other girls will have their makeup done too. So it becomes normal. And the bonus is.. you will look more photogenic! Yay!

I think there's more to it... But I really forgot.

I'm really sleepy right now, just trying to finish this off.

Excuse me if I did any spelling mistakes or wasn't being so clear on a particular point.

Leave me a comment if you need :)

I will post more tips when I figure what I've missed out.

ASAP!

Goodnight!