Lashings

I'm not talking about the burger joint in Sydney, but the luscious lashes you all could have. Kim Kardashian's Lashes! I've tried a few mascaras in my time and am bedazzled at some of the findings. As much as I love my quality and branded makeup, it turned out it were the budget pharmacy line mascaras that were the best!


Raina's top 5 mascaras:
1. Maybelline Volum Express Mascara
2. Maybelline Great Lash Mascara
3. Rimmel The Max Volume Flash Mascara
4. Australis Lash Me Mousse Mascara
5. The Body Shop Volumising Mascara


Quick tip for extra lushyness: Put on a layer of mascara before your eye shadow application. The excess eye shaddow will drop on your lashes and add some extra thickness before your final mascara application. Hot!

I think I found heaven...

The new Mecca Maxima store in Melbourne Central is heaven for the costmetics obsessed. The "beauty playground" concept is brilliant. Almost every cosmetic brand that you can think of in Australia is available at your fingertips. You can even take the products to a mirror at a beauty station and have a play!

Don't like being bothered by staff? No worries, the basket you carry has a sign that you can switch around to "Just Browsing". Otherwise, the "I need help" sign will attract the attention of their fabulous expert staff. My recent experience at "Australia's Sephora equivalent' was amazing, they didn't put pressure on me to buy anything and I didn't, but did I walk out of there with a long wish list!

Go check it out - I love love loved it!!

xx

Bubbly Champagne..

The perfect all rounder eye shadow - a beautiful champagne colour by Napoleon Perdis, "Sparkling Bubbly".

Use it along with a darker bronze or chocolate in the outer edges of your eye lids for a deeper effect, or use it on its own during the day to notch it up a little from the 'au natural', it will look like you have a little sneaky, sexy something on your eyelids.

xx

Be Naughty this Winter!

Beauty has taken a stylish and trashy turn! It’s all about sexed up hair, a glossy pout and sultry eye makeup.

Black eyeliner is the key to achieve this drop dead sexy look. Recently the couture catwalks have been overflowing with sexy-eyed seductresses. Makeup artists have been giving models dark and exotic looks. Some of them drew heavy lines on the top lids, some lined inner rims for an intense effect, while others flicked the eyeliner at the outer edge for a feminine feel.

How can I achieve this look?
First start off with a good concealer over your eyelids. Try and choose one with peach or yellow undertones to cancel out any blueness if any veins are visible. However, I would wait to put the concealer under the eyes until after the eye colour is applied. While your eyes are deep and exotic, make sure you keep your skin velvety and flawless with a good foundation that is appropriate for your skin type.

Start your eye shadows with applying a neutral shade over our lids and up to your brows as this will highlight your eyes. Then go for a medium shade, like MAC’s satin taupe, and apply on the eyelid just up to the crease. Finally, make sure you have a good dark gray-black eye shadow. MAC has a good range, as does Estee Lauder and Revlon. Apply this on the lids on top of the lashes and make a sideways “V” or an inverted “7”.

Use a small brush where the bristles are a little spread out to blend the edges of the darkest eye shadow. If you don’t have a brush you can always use a cotton bud to blend it all in. It’s just as effective.

Then draw a thin line above your lashes using a black eye pencil (preferably a waterproof one, no one wants to see a panda at the end of the night). For straighter results, try to softly sketch it on to your eye lids rather than drawing a harsh line. For more sultriness use a cotton bud to lightly smudge the line into your eye shadow and create more depth.

For sexy and charming look, use a black liquid eyeliner, however make sure you have steady hands! Draw a nice defined line at the base of your eyelashes, thinnest from the inner eye and becoming thicker in the middle and outer eye. If you are daring, make a little flick at the outer corner – this will also lift your eyes.

For a more exotic look, line the inner rim of your eye with a black eye-pencil (again, make sure this is water proof) and fill between each lash giving you the look of luscious thick lashes. But be careful with this – if you have big eyes, it will look great as it will make your eyes look a little smaller, but sexy. If you have small eyes, only line the inner rim from the outer corner of your eyes and stop half way, don’t take it all the way to the inner corner. You could even use a lighter colour like a chocolate or a light brown.

Your final step to your eye makeup is your mascara. Using a wiggle motion, apply on the top lashes. And wiggle it slightly on the bottom lashes holding the wand vertically. (Tip: For thicker and heavier lashes, apply a coat of mascara prior to doing anything. Excess eye shadow will fall on your lashes, and when you apply the final coat, it will help with the thickness!)
Now you can apply your concealer under your eyes, this will cover up on any makeup that you may have smudged while applying.

Don’t forget some pink blush for a rosy glow and a nice natural lip gloss – dark lips and dark eyes will look way too dramatic!

Much Love,
Raina
xx

Do you have any questions or any further tips?
Email me on rainasmakeup@yahoo.com.au

Threading Vs. Waxing

Eyebrows

Some of you won’t believe me when I say that the shape of your eyebrows can give your face a whole different look. Having it groomed correctly is one of the most vital steps in making you look great.

What is Threading?

Threading is an ancient art of hair removal, which is used in many countries, particularly in India and Egypt and is mainly used around the facial region. A 100% cotton thread is twisted and rolled along the surface of the skin entwining the hairs in the thread, which are then lifted out from the follicle. Although it sounds painful, it is really quite gentle, quick and not as painful as waxing. Since this technique removes hair in lines, it looks neat, clean and gives a fantastic shape.

So why thread and not simply just wax?

Threading is probably the most effective way of removing hair from your face, particularly when shaping eyebrows. Unlike waxing, threading doesn’t cause breakouts, redness or pigmentation. Not only that, you are also escaping the tendency of getting ingrown hairs! This is great for those who have sensitive skin!

Threading is also very hygienic as a new thread is used every time. If you have your facial hair threading consistently, the hair follicle will weaken and become less dense, so eventually there is no hair growth. Beauty Therapist Ravina Lodhia says “Threading just pulls the hair from the follicles, whereas waxing can peel or burn the top layer of your facial skin, and overtime it can result in the skin loosening and developing wrinkles”.

Threading vs. Waxing

Threading:

· You can thread every week with clear and sharp lines

· Threading doesn’t scar or pinch the skin

· No ingrown hairs

· Threading is done in all parts of the face

Waxing:
· Hair has to grow for 4-6 weeks before it is long enough to get waxed
· Can break hairs
· Regularly peels and traumatizes the top layers of the facial skin
· Prone to breakouts and severe redness

Both men and women can get threading done so why not give it a go? You’ve got nothing to lose and it’s fabulous!

Much love,

Raina

xx

Do you have any comments, questions or any tips you can share? Email me at: rainasmakeup@yahoo.com.au