Why I don't stick to ONE Beauty brand

A question that comes up a lot, either when enquiring any makeup services with me, or just my general opinion on beauty brands is; What beauty brand do you use/love the most?

Now this is possibly the hardest question for me and maybe any other makeup artist in this case.
To narrow down one brand that has amazing products for every area of you makeup needs is pretty damn hard.
Let me tell you, there is always at least 1 product which is not 100% amazing, BUT thats doesn't mean they don't have a ton of amazing products in their overall brand.
Which does make this question a very varied answer.
In other cases, you may be brand loyal and there is nothing wrong with that, if you want to support and recommend one brand then that is great, but for a makeup artist it is good to have a varied kit which I can then pull out the best products from every brand and use them on a more regular basis.

So the answer your all wanting to know is, what brands are up in my top 3??
Im going to give you this and tell you exactly what area I love from these brands…

Charlotte Tilbury
I have a great obsession for buying her eye shadow palettes, they are one key collection that I want to own them all in my kit
She also does great Lip products and Base makeup.

Bobbi Brown 
The natural, bridal brand that hits many nails in the head for my clients needs
Her Blushes, Sparkle eye shadow singles and concealers!

Nars
FACE products, all day, everyday.
Every foundation they have is just a perfect blend of textures and finishes!
Also their Climax Mascara is up there, and thats saying something with my fussy mascara finds.

Theres no issue at all having a good mixture of brands, its down to your experience on using when you know something works just right, and it may take a lot of trial and error but thats life anyway right?

So when you come along for a makeup service with me, now assured you will be getting the BEST product choices from my years of experience within makeup, and its nice to have a varied collection of pretty looking product in your makeup bags.

Love Sophie xx

REVIEW: Foreo Luna Electric Cleansing Brush

An exciting edition to my daily Skincare Routine is the fab 'Foreo Luna 2' Facial Brush
Basically a massaging facial brush that is to be used whist cleansing your skin.

The online Description for Foreo Luna…
An ultra-gentle yet seriously effective way to enhance your everyday skin care ritual, the LUNA mini 2 Facial Cleansing Brush features three cleansing ‘zones’ with thin, thick and broad touch points to target delicate, normal and congested areas. With twice the power of the original, this accelerates your cells’ metabolism to help eliminate accumulated toxins and leave skin enviable clean, clear and luminous. 100% waterproof and completely hygienic, you can also expect up to 300 uses per single charge – it’s a skin care game changer!
Cleansing Brush generates 8000 T-Sonic pulsations per minute to maximise the efficacy of your cleansing routine, with minimal time and next-to-no effort. One minute is all it takes to leave your face feeling peachy-soft, clean and glowing as the sonic wizardry promotes micro-circulation to ‘feed’ your skin cells and encourage elimination of accumulated toxins. Perfect for those prone to breakouts, this unclogs pores and follicles to quickly counteract congestion, while simultaneously loosening the dead cells that contribute to dullness and pimples.

I love being able to add this extra treatment to my skincare routine to give my face a deeper cleanse every day and really remove the makeup that hides deep into your pores.
Theres nothing better than clean, fresh skin before you go to bed. Helping to keep your skin more smooth and cleansed and be able to gain higher benefits with your cleanser so that it is actually absorbing those great ingredients into your skin.

I have been using Foreo Luna for around 8 months now, since buying my first 'travel sized' one on my flight to Greece last summer which I couldn't believe the difference on how much cleaner my skin felt just from the first application 
Due to the travel edition only being battery independent that it would only last 100 uses, so for my late Birthday Present I asked for the official Luna 2 edition which is chargeable and will last me forever basically!
Also just to state that I have only charged this cleansing brush ONCE since Ive had it!!

Not only can I review the amazing clean feeling this little tool gave my skin, its an advantage to know that I am daily massaging my skin to keep its elasticity plump and active which will be effective in the future.
By regularly massaging your skin it helps the blood circulation deep within the skin to work at a good process and help eliminate those toxins that store around the surface.

Through this deep cleansing it is really good for all skin types, from dry skin that needs to absorb more moisture from their skincare products to the oily skin types that are prone to breakouts prevent the skin getting congested from remaining dirt that can get left on the skin without using a facial cleanser.
Just from the massaging it also keeps skin cells renewed so that all dead skin is getting gently removed daily.

So if your looking to upgrade your skincare routine then I would highly recommend the Luna Facial Cleansing Brush.

Sophie xx
www.makeupbysophiedowning.co.uk

The Importance Of Updating Your Seasonal Makeup Bag

It's that time again… Were stepping into SPRING!
And I'm excited to put away the coats, bring out the sandals and enhance the glowing skin.

As always, I have created the latest Spring Makeup Bag Revamp to download for you to adapt your Spring look into your current makeup routines.
Its more simple than you think.
Just switching colours, products and adding any newbies to your everyday look is not only fun but beneficial to you skin; and im going to tell you why…

We have 4 seasons every year - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. We roughly know when they are, clocks tend to change and usually gets you in the mood for the upcoming season, wether its looking forward to cosying up by the fire or getting ready for your holiday breaks.

The season change is not just the change in the weather and the flowers that blossom or disappear, it has effect on our hormones, health and skin.
Its a topic that gets ignored as we all just get on with our everyday issues but are our issues raised from the season changes?
Such as a breakout, dry cracked lips, freckles looking more visible and so much more.

This really does play a huge part in the environment and the way our skin reacts to change, which is why it's really important to work with the season change - from adding in a new skincare product or adapting colours to a change in our skin tones.

Skincare is one of the changes we cant control, but listening and visually changing our routines with what our skin is trying to tell you is the best thing you could do.
Your daily routine SHOULD contain Cleanser, Toner, Moisturiser and Eye Cream these are the essentials for everyday/night of our growing up life.
By adapting our skin to the changes will help your skin in the long run.

Making these changes to your essentials would just be a matter of adding more moisture, radiance and hydration during some months and other would be to consider environmental factors, SPF, and oil control into others.
Everyone is different but certain seasons are known for certain trends;
Summer - Warmer tan,
Spring - Radiance glow,
Autumn - Cooler Tones,
Winter - Hydration

Then with the Makeup side to the seasonal change, this is more down to the matter of upcoming catwalk trends and local trends that many people like to incorporate into their makeup look, from a smokey eye, to a bold lip but still bringing this down to what suits our personal features for it to work on each individual - this comes down to makeup knowledge that may come down to lessons teaching you what are the right colours/tones for you - many people do not know this and can take a makeup artists recommendations to understand the background of their unique beauty.

Not only is it a must that we should use and change products every season but it is also FUN to do!
We can treat ourselves to a couple of new products every few month making it feel like a 'reward' or 'self-love' buy throughout the seasons also making you appreciate the new buys rather than an annoying mascara running out and having to spend money on a new one ASAP.

It is also interesting and fun to change our daily makeup looks and experiment with new colours and products launches that happen every season, making our daily applications more interesting AND learning new skills when it comes to applying products in new ways.
A lot of us get stuck in a rut when it comes to our daily makeup look, many people admit that they have applied the same products and applications for over 5-10 years straight, more the fact that you dont dare to try something new and step out of that comfort zone for what reason?

So its time to make your seasonal beauty looks more interesting and enjoy the beauty process that we all go through in life
To ageing gracefully, feeling and looking your ultimate best!!

Click to download my FREE Makeup Bag Revamp Guides.
Released every new season, with exclusive 1-1 Makeup Lessons helping you personally change products and apply ways which work best for you.

For enquiries on Makeup Lessons or booking to change your seasonal looks and techniques
Please contact me; makeupbysophiedowning@yahoo.co.uk