The Winter Lip Edit

I for one love a good lip shade!

I experiment with different colours, textures and brands.

Although a lot of you either have tons of lip products or very little, I'm going to make it more simple for you to narrow down a master the perfect lip colours this winter.

I still want to incorporate every shade or options, as I'm sure you have your favourites, but its the toning of these lip colours that I want to show you more in-depth about…

We all have a go to nude, pink and statement lip colour, I'm sure!

Keep it that way, the more options the better. Some go with outfit better than other, some compliment you skin tones more than others…

Before I dive in about what shades you need to own this winter, we firstly need hydrated, plumped and smooth lips which gives the perfect base for any lip!

Start off with an easy lip exfoliant once a week…

The body shop have an easy Lip Scrub stick which you just rub onto the lips in circular motions, rinse off and end up with smooth lips.

OR create you home-made lip scrub. Mix up sugar, Vaseline and a drop of water into a little bowl, paste onto your lips or a toothbrush and exfoliate with circular motions again and wash off leaving your lips silky smooth.

Now if you don't own a Lip Liner, now is the time to get yourself one!!

It used to be a thing for older ladies to prevent our lip products from bleeding into lines around your mouth, but 2017 its all about enhancing our lip line and lining our cupids bow leaving out lips looks beautifully volumised.

All you need it a neutral lip liner which matches the shade of your lips, or 1 shade darker. This lip liner colour will set you up (until we sharpen it till there is nothing left) for life!

No matter what shade of lip colour we go for, a neutral lip liner is completely fine for every day.

My favourite lip liners are Charlotte Tilbury, MAC Cosmetics, Kiko or NYX, so plenty of choice to shop around and find your perfect shade.

Heres what you've been waiting for,

The Winter Lip Edit for 2017-18 are…

Nude Collection

Under the Nude title the toning we want for a neutral lip shade is deep, peachy nude such of a grey undertone to make this one cool

The perfect go-to colour would be Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in 'Very Victoria'

Pink Collection 

We all love a good pink shade to brighten up our complexions, it can really add a pop to our looks, so this season its all about the cool undertones again, but with this shade we want a violet/purple hint thoughout this lip.

An easy one to pull off is NARS Audacious Lipstick in Anita

Red Collection 

We all secretly love a good red lip! Lucky enough for winter were going slightly easier on you and swaying over to the berry side.

Keep this warm and and think blackberry or pomegranate for this colour to keep it berry and not too burgundy.

Heres 2 options - Yves Saint Laurent Liquid Matte Lip Stain in Violet Conviction

or Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy in Insolent Plum

Theres you 3 shades for the Winter Lip Edit that you need to know!

Do you have these shades in you makeup kits?

Love Sophie x

REVIEW: Smashbox Photo Angle Pure Pigment Gel Liner

You all need to know about this eyeliner…
Its up for grabs to WIN in my current Christmas Makeup Competition including a 1-1 Lash and Liner Makeup Lesson and a Half Price Makeup Application, all for one lucky winner - revealed on Christmas Eve!!

Which I felt it was the perfect time to give this eyeliner a full review from my experience of using this on myself and clients.
I honestly think this is the perfect eyeliner for beginners and advanced makeup enthusiast to use.
Mainly because the applicator is just what a beginner needs for starting out in applying liner, especially those hard to master 'cat flicks'.
As for you more advanced makeup lovers, you will find this liner the best 'smudge-proof' liner you have ever used! Literally permanent, goodbye flakey, worn off liner.

Smashbox describes this liner;
'Nothing makes pictures pop in our L.A. photo studio like some serious color. Packed with the intensity of a gel and the creativity of a magic marker, instantly draw on a colorful cat eye, graphic editorial look and so much more—no brush required. Bonus: this liner lasts for 36 hours!'

To cover every 'angle' of this gel liner I want to start off explaining the applicator of this liner…
The tip is actually angled on a slant to help pull and glide the liner across you eye shape.
It is a plastic/rubber tip, no brush hairs are used.
This makes it easier than those annoying moving fine brushes, or thick felt tips which dry up, that we sure have tried and tested.
Its the perfect gel liner brush, without the fibre!

Next comes the actually product…
To use this liner you twist the bottom until you have enough product to work with, which i find helps to not over apply and create lines thicker than you plan.
The formula of the product it exactly a 'gel' like texture, its not inky or runny, it glides on smoothly over the eyelids so that you can drag and move the placement of the product.

Heres a great image i found online comparing the finish to other liners…

The pigment of the product is also amazing! The name of the liner proves that the colour pigment pay off is a main point. Especially for brown shades, its a struggle to find a statement colour which actually stands out as a brown without it being to pale or sheer.
This shade of liner is called 'cocoa', it comes out as the perfect chocolate deep brown shade.
I especially love how this is brown and not black as we should all own a brown liner in our makeup bags, its a perfect every day shade which unlike black, will help prevent our eyes appearing smaller if applied all around - a lot of people think that black can make their eyes look bigger and stand out more but it does the opposite, so give 'cocoa' a shot and see how fresh your eyes become, even with the definition or a statement liner look.

So if you would like to win this eyeliner, a 1-1 'lash & liner' makeup lesson AND a half price makeup application (for any occasion) then please go ahead and enter the Christmas Makeup Competition with Makeup by Sophie Downing

All you have to do is 
Like - www.facebook.com/makeupbysophiedowning
SHARE the Facebook post (pinned at the top of my page)
Follow my Instagram - @makeupbysophiedowning
Submit your email to - http://bit.ly/2mvIYOY

Good Luck!
Competition closes on 20th
Winner revealed on 24th December (Christmas Eve!)

Love Sophie xx

Powder Beauty Box - October 2017

Another month, another beaut box…
I just get excited every month. So whilst I play, trial and test my latest Novemeber Powder Box, its time to review my October Box with you all, and there sure was some future re-purchases that I will be making.

For October, Powder Beauty wanted to treat their subscribers to treating their skin, ready for the winter months.
They pretty much put together a routine that everybody can incorporate this month using these products all in one - From the facial wash, face mask, serum skincare steps to the foundation sponge, blush, nail colour and an on-the-go fragrance. Sorted!

It's All About The Eyes

Our eye area is the most delicate place on our faces, which means products can't be harsh or over applied.
I feel like the eyes are an important topic to speak about - we worry about wrinkles and ageing around our eyes but are also the first place we want to let our makeup do the talking.
So I am going to fill you in on my top tips, products and routine that we can all learn about our eye area.

When you have a special event to go to, we always want our eyes looking glam, from a smokey eye to a statement shimmer.
Of course do it but make sure the products you are using products purposely created for the eye area!
I want to make a point that applying makeup with your fingers is a great way to be delicate on the eyes as sometimes the motion of harsh brush hairs on the eyes can also cause irritation and dryness - so if your buying makeup brushes please invest in good brands.
My favourites are MAC, Zoeva, Body Shop and Real Techniques, these are pretty much all I own and work great for all eye products. (Cheap brushes will not only irritate but also just move the product off the eyes when blending, trust me!)

Many people including makeup artists like to use different products in any areas on the face, which is a great way to multi-use or achieve colours that are hard to find.
But when products are not made for the eyes, this can cause irritation or reactions to a range of people, and is also very important that you are removing all eye makeup in a gentle and caring way (NO Rubbing!)

This then leads on to the care we should be taking around our delicate eyes, our skin is so thin around this area, your eyes can only take a certain amount of product.
My daily routine on the eye area is… (I tend to use products on my eyes in the evening)
Every night I remove my makeup with Camomile Cleansing oil which is a soothing ingredient and gentle on the skin (with The Body Shop being all natural)
I then wash off with warm water and apply Vitamin E Eye Cream (this eye cream includes the purest ingredients at a brilliant £13 price tag)
- Vitamin E is a hydrating ingredient which gives the eyes moisture (your eye area may actually be the most dehydrated area of the face and you wouldn't even know)
The eye cream also contains Wheatgerm Oil which helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and dark circles.

A major fact you need to know;
When your eyes are dehydrated this actually is helping the eyes develop lines and wrinkles as hydrated skin will prevent!

So if your forgetting an eye cream and not using any product gently around the eyes then now is a great time to start.
I also treat my eyes to an eye mask once a week, to add a huge dose of hydration at 1 time (usually left on for half an hour) and also brightens up the eye area as its very common for our eyes to look dark and tired, so an eye mask is a quick 'pick me up'
The eye mask I am using at the moment it 'Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Masks' - these are around £25 for a pack of 8 and come in the perfect under eye shape. These hydrate, soothe, firm and de-puff the eye area for an instant treatment.

I have used the Sheisedo Beneficance Eye Masks which are actually my favourite - i could literally see a difference straight after the usage but these came at an expensive £60 for 12 masks so i thought id try a different brand as i did love the Skyn eye cream.

Top Tip -
When applying eye creams, masks or gels gently tap the whole eye area in a figure 8 over and under the eyes, to help keep a good blood circulation going around then smoothing over with our fingers.

So I hope you have learnt the importance of caring for your eye area and not to negect our precious skin around our eyes.
If you have any enquires about the Body Shop products, please drop me a message and find out the current discount I can order it for.

Love Sophie x