POP Tip: Super Quick Face Brightening

Ever looked into the mirror at 2pm and felt a wave of shock and horror ripple through you? I know I have. My concealer has usually evaporated into thin air and my nose has started to resemble Rudolph’s. However, here’s a nifty 60 second trick to instantly brighten and revitalise your make up and face.

 

There are five area’s on your face that concealer will help to make look a whole lot better.

1. The inner corner of your eyes.

2. Outer corner of your eyes.

3. Around your nose, on either side of your nostrils.

4. Under your mouth in the slight hollow.

5. Either side of your mouth where your laugh lines are.

Just dab a little concealer, preferably a brightening one, on each of these areas, blend it in and poof! Instantly refreshed looking!

POP Tip: Humidity Ruining Your Face?

Frizzy hair, blotchy cheeks, lipstick running down past your chin. Sounds all too familiar don’t it? Summer is hatin’ on our faces and don’t we know it.  Luckily there are some winner products out there to help keep you looking as fresh as a new illuminator.

Invest in a primer. Any primer. I hate to be repetitive peeps but prime! Prime! Prime!  Primer will not only help to smooth out any fine lines, enlarged pores, and even in some cases, even out redness and skin tone, but will also prevent your make-up from slippin’ and slidin’ around and your face from eating all your make-up. If this isn’t some kind of miracle product, I don’t know what is. One that I love is the Laura Mercier Primer however another cheapie that I found which will essentially do the same thing for a fraction of the cost is the Australis Primer.

Tinted moisturiser or a water-based foundation such as Model Co’s Fluidsplash 3 in 1 Foundation will be your new best friend. In hot and humid weather the last thing you want to do is be slapping on thick and creamy foundations. A light base is all you want and if you do need a bit more coverage, pop on a bit of concealer then set it all with a light dusting of powder.  Less is more folks, less is more.

Model Co Beauty Fix Airbrush Face. Need I say more? This wonder product is literally like hair spray for your face. But not quite as sticky or smelly or strong or well, you get it. Beauty Fix sprays onto the face in a fine mist, which will set and leave your skin with a luminous finish. Viola! Face. Set. Match!

Last but not least, if you are enthusiastically embracing the bright lip or orange lip trend be sure to prep and prime you lips beforehand to avoid clown like lips. Using an invisible lip liner, line around the outside of your lips before filling in the lips with the same or similar shade liner as the lipstick you’ll be wearing. Lightly dot on the lippie until desired coverage. For extra staying power, dust over with a little translucent powder for a matte finish.

Now go rock it!

 

 

POP Tip: Scrub it off!

Summer is just around the corner which means long days at the beach, sipping cocktails by the pool and awesome music festivals which all involve showing a LOT of skin. If your skin is still in denial that summer is approaching and you need to whip it into summer-goddess mode, then keep reading! These few tips will make you look like that chick <—– (ha, I wish.)

Get ready to scrub. I never buy body scrubs or polishes cos you can make them yourself at home for a fraction of the cost with twice the added nutrients! Double win! A quick and easy one I made up and like to use which also helps get rid of fake tan is an oil based one.

Heat half a cup of olive or almond oil with 2 tablespoons of honey in the microwave for about 30 to 40 seconds. Add in roughly half a cup of salt (table, sea or Epsom it doesn’t matter) and about half a cup of sugar. Mix in until it’s all combined to form a paste. Add more or less sugar/salt depending on how runny it is, it’s up to you how you’d like it really.

Time to scrub it in! Rub in a circular motion working from your feet up. Focus on dry areas like your elbows, knees and heels. For extra smooth hands scrub it in vigorously after you’re done.

Rinse off and pat dry. Whilst skin is still damp use an light but ultra moisturising moisturiser all over. I love the L’occitane Organic Olive Tree Body Lotion.

This scrub is super easy to make and even better at removing dead skin. The olive oil or almond oil will help slough off the dead skin and any fake tan you may have on while the honey will work in conjunction with the oil to keep skin hydrated and fresh and prevent drying. Honey is also a natural antioxidant and has anti-microbial properties that help to protect the skin from the damage of the sun’s rays, supports the skin’s ability to rejuvenate and refresh depleted skin to leave it feeling silky soft and supple.

I like to mix both sugar and salt so there’s a combination of both fine and course exfoliators and both sugar and salt are anti-oxidents as well as anti-bacterial.

How many body scrubs do you buy pack this much punch for $0?

Try this out next time you feel like a good scrub and let me know how it goes!

Ps, remember to enter yourself into my POP Comp to win a “Benefit Valley of the Stars” kit!

POP Tip: Fake Awake

Want to look like Sleeping Beauty circa when-she-just-woke-up? Then listen up! If your week has been anything like mine, you’ll probably have averaged about 5 hours of sleep and begrudgingly become frenemies with your dark circles which are now the colour of the black sea.

Your complexion is the number one factor in creating a just-had-8-hours sleep face. Make sure you either use a tinted moisturiser or a light foundation with lots of illuminating properties in it. The subtle shimmer will make you glow and glide over a multitude of fine lines amassed from squinting at your laptop at 4am.

Next up is to cover up those dark circles, man! Again, choose a brightening concealer and pat it lightly under your eyes, around the sides of your nose and on your chin in that hollow bit. By doing so, the brightening concealer will help to open up the whole face and give you a bit of a much-needed lift.

Mascara is next up on the hit list. Curl your lashes like there’s no tomorrow, then drop the black and reach for a navy or blue mascara. Blue brightens up the whites of your eyes making them seem whiter and brighter whilst (hopefully) camouflaging the redness. Then line the bottom of your eyes with either a navy or charcoal grey eyeliner 3/4 way in. The point is to open up and brighten up the eyes so no black cos it’ll only make you appear even more squinty and draw attention to the dark circles (which by now are hopefully gone). Pop a flesh toned eyeliner on your waterline. Instant awakeness!

Last but not least, dust either an illuminator or coral blush onto your cheeks. This’ll add some colour to your face and make you ‘pop’. Dab a little illuminator into the inner “V” of your eyes, brow bone and cupid’s bow. Trust me.

Oh and if you’ve used an illuminator and not blush, have some fun and add a dash of bright pink or orange lippie! Hey, it’s distracting and who’ll be staring at your half closed eyes when your lips are so awesomely distracting?!

Hello Faux Clean Hair!

Don’t have time to wash your hair? I’ll bet your hair is looking a little on the limp side of things. To fool everyone into thinking you have freshly washed and sexy voluminous hair, all it takes is a few minutes.

Shake your head up-side down, spray with a little hairspray and then blast it with the hairdryer on high for a few seconds.

Flip your hair back up and section the top parts of your hair and spray the roots with Batiste dry shampoo (it’ll make your hair smell nice).

Work it in then grab your GHD and pop in a few random curls all over the place.

Lastly, secure two sections of hair from both sides of the face at the crown by overlapping two bobby pins so they create an “X”.

This half up curled hair look is great if you’re in a rush, need a little oomph & volume or need to keep your hair out of your eyes without taking the focus off your face.

Try it and let me know how it goes!