Avant-Art Hair #1

Contouring with a BLUSHER?

Ok to be fair, it's not really a blusher as such. Ok well it is considering it's a MAC Powder Blush but it's not really an apply-on-your-apples kinda blush for me. I bought it in shade Harmony (Matte) because it has absolutely NO sparkly bits, and personally I think sparkles are better for blushers (the apply-on-your-apples kind), highlighters and bronzers. It doesn't dry my skin out despite being a powder, and powders usually have that effect on me.

So this is what it looks like (that's the H&M angled face brush, I think it cost something silly like £2.99 and I bought it in the Kingston store)

And this is my super speedy not so great application for you;

Bear in mind this is after a looong day at work so my foundation/blusher is pretty much non-existant. The way i achieved this was using this kind of motion

Don't forget to pop back later to see what else I have to babble on about, and you know if you let me know you're reading it'll make my day :D

Sophie x

just a quickie. .

if you feel like following, feel free :) spent the morning revising for an upcoming chemistry exam (never choose a science if you're not gonna do medicine) but will have more random ramblings on lovely (and not so lovely) things up soon :)

Sophie x

another lipstick, only this time not so good

So you know how every once in a while Max Factor treats us to one of those make up bags full of minatures when you spend 15 pounds or something? Well I found the most amazing purple shade. Now I know what you're thinking, purple? That sounds kinda gross. . but it's gorgeous. It's a kind of pinkish purple, in shade Midnight Plum (it's actually in their darker skinned range), but look at the size of it

It's not going to last long, but instead of paying the £12 or whatever it is for the full size I thought I'd try another brand. Not a good move. I went for the Maybelline Color Sensational in Midnight Plum. Oh my goodness, they're even called the same name! That is seriously weird. But anyways, they're not the same colour, oh no.

Here it is in all its glory

Ok it doesn't look so bad here, but it tastes DISGUSTING. Kind of like play dough I think, maybe parma violets thrown in there to try and fool you into thinking it's not too bad. Ugh. And to make matters worse, as gorgeous and sophisticated as the packaging is, look what Boots did to it with its stupid security labels!

As you can see it has that kind of pearlescent hint to it, which some people may love, but for me, it really doesn't look right and it makes my lips look so much smaller, which I know dark lipsticks are meant to do but Midnight Plum - the Max Factor one! - doesn't at all. What are your experiences with the Color Sensational range? Have you discovered any nicer shades?

Sophie x

first post -- and superdrug MUA?

So I love lipstick. Any brand, any shade, I'll want to try it at some point. So one day this week I was watching a random The Hills episode, the one where it's Lauren's birthday, and she was wearing the most beautiful lipstick, one which of course I can't find a photo of, but if we're thinking colours it was a kind of a NARS Fire Down Below or a MAC Dubonnet and considering pay day isn't for another few weeks I had to get mine from some place else, enter the Superdrug MUA.

It's that new brand in Superdrug where everything is £1. Yes, £1. But of course that means quality isn't going to be so great, but I thought I'd try it anyway. I tried every single shade, tested it on my hand (and to be fair they're still there, so guess they've got staying power if it can last 2 hours worth of Tae Kwon Do and 2 showers). But then I got to shade 1. Almost almost identical to the shade that Ms. Conrad wore.

And it's a really beautiful creamy colour, the same kind of consistency of MAC's Amplified Creme lipsticks. I found it quite easy to apply, but it requires a lot of concentration to get it just right so it's not really an apply and go lipstick (as you can see by my messy edges)

HOWEVER, and it's a big however, I was a bit disappointed in the eyeshadows. I've needed a neutral (cheap!) eyeshadow for some time now, and no matter how many I try it always seems to remind me that if I want a good job doing, I'll have to pay a bit more. And this eyeshadow is no exception, again part of the MUA range, in shade 17.

So it doesn't look too bad, does it? Yet if you look at it in real life, its got BUBBLES on it. Since when did eyeshadows bubble?! Or maybe they do I don't know but it's never happened to me before! I had a photo of a swatch but you really can't see it so there wasn't much point uploading. To cut a long story short, it's very drying and touching it with my finger makes my skin crawl!

So does anyone know of a good eyeshadow in a skin tone kinda shade?

Until next time,
Sophie x

Friday Fashion Spotlight: The Cocktail Ring

Making a style statement with a big colorful and dramatic cocktail ring is the latest trend in fashion forward accessories. These fabulous baubles are showing up on many hands and not only worn for cocktail party’s but simply as just a ring on a casual day. The cocktail ring was premiered in the speakeasies of the prohibition era; the fashionable and daring females of the 1920s would wear rings with giant fake jewels to showcase their gorgeous gowns and their illegal cocktails. In the 50’s and 60’s a new name was given to the cocktail ring – dinner ring which lady’s would put on when they were attending a special dinner party or out for dinner at an expensive restaurant. And for the longest time the cocktail ring was only worn with a gown used as an accessory for those occasional events, it also disappeared out of fashion and very rarely seen. Today the ring is a fantastic statement of style and a popular trend, it can literally make wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt smashing with a small detail like a cocktail ring.

Salon K Birthday Party

Thank you to everyone who came to the salon birthday party! We appreciate all of your support and business over the last year, we wouldn't be here without you! Here are a few snippets of our party:

*flowers by the lovely Natalie Newman 801.870.7367

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Footwear for the Service Providers

When it comes to shoes, comfort is of utmost importance particularly when your job is in the service providing industry, waiting, retail, hairdressing etc. And like all young people I would wear the latest shoe trends to work where I would be standing for 10 to sometimes 14 hours a day behind my chair coloring people’s hair. I quickly realised that if I was to survive in the hair business with no health issue i.e. varicose veins, lower back pain, leg pains and maintain good posture I needed to change my footwear. So 25 year’s out of my 30 year career I have always worn comfortable shoes, either sneakers, flats, or my beloved Birkenstocks which up until a few days ago were my favourite. A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to an Israeli shoe brand called Naot by my very chic & wonderful friend Wendy who always wears the best of everything, she was wearing these fabulous bronzy sneakers which I loved, she insisted that they were the most comfortable pair of shoes ever. She was right! Naot shoe-sneaker is an unbelievably comfortable stylish shoe, and as a hairdresser who’s constantly searching for style with comfort benefits in my footwear I am thrilled I found them.

Seems that the shoe industry is finally starting to offer more options for comfort foot wear that are stylish and clever using high tech materials that have thinner support insoles, some shoe companies have even created pressure point insoles. So today there is no need to compromise style for comfort with shoes any longer, there are so many fantastic choices out there and as for anyone who stands on their feet for their job I highly recommend going shoe shopping and get those feet into a great pair of comfort shoes, believe me it will feel heavenly with a little funky style.

Sapphire Yoga

We would like to welcome Sapphire Yoga to our sidebar! If you're like us you are getting your body ready for swimsuit season and yoga is the perfect way to do it! Not only does it strengthen and tone your body but it relaxes and rejuvenates you. Kelsey Hannon is a certified yoga instructor and health enthusiast. She was educated through the yoga alliance in a 200 hour Ashtanga Vinyasa training and has taught for 3 years in a variety of settings and styles (prenatal yoga, primary series, advanced, beginner, restorative and kid's yoga). She just recently returned from Morocco where she taught yoga and expanded her education. She's starting her own practice/yoga studio and we highly recommend you try her out. She is great at customizing yoga to you and your skills (or lack thereof!) and she can even come and teach you in your home.

For all you soon to be brides out there Kelsey is offering Bridal Yoga to help relieve all the wedding planning stresses while helping you to Look Good Naked (LGN)! Visit her blog to find out more.