Multi use items: Cream blush

This weeks multi use item post will be short and sweet. A cream blush, like Miracle Touch Creamy Blush from Max Factor, can be used for many things, the most basic being as a touch of colour on your cheeks. But did you know that makeup artists also use it as matte lip colour and creamy eye shadow on the catwalks? Try blending two shades together, on lips as well as eyelids, use your fingers and just tone it for different fun, but discrete effects! Make sure that it dries on your lids before you open your eyes fully.
Note: Creamy products should always be used before powder products and should be set with a transparent powder. If you use a powder first, the cream product won't go on evenly or stay on your skin and will most likely crumble.

Top 5: Photo tips

The past couple of days, I've been working on the launch of my latest spring collection for my fashion brand, frk.C. One of the biggest parts of the brand is the photo shoot, so I wanted to take this opportunity to write down my five top tips for looking great on a photo!

Step 1 - Makeup
A professional camera with flash will take away around 75% of all makeup you wear. It will also enhance all imperfections, bruises, blemishes, dark circles etc. so makeup is important! Put some extra blush on your cheeks, use eye shadow to deepen the impact of your eyes (use skin tones and earthy colours if you don't want to look too made up) and use a highlighter on all parts that is touched by the light, forehead, cheekbones, eyebrow bones, collar bones etc.

Step 2 - Clothes
A photograph doesn't move. A garment that might look good outside of the camera, might not look as good in front of it. Be prepared that garments do lose a bit of shape on a photo, the flat image won't be able to give you all the nuances a human eye can. Put a belt in your dress or your hands on your waist, twist and turn your body to make sure you don't come out looking like a potato sack. Try exaggerating proportions with a flowing skirt and tight top.

Step 3 - Posture
Do you know the classic model pose where they push their shoulders so far forward that they almost look like pretty hunchbacks? That only works if you have the same bone structure as they do. Try to push your shoulders back, lengthen your neck and stand proud! Exaggerate your posing, move around and try different things. Keep one thing in mind, everything that's closer to the camera will look bigger, while everything further away will look smaller. Even the skinniest girl can look pregnant on a photo if she stands straight in front of the camera with her back arched in a natural arch. Try to twist your body a little sideways instead. If you're worried about your hips and thigh area, push your hips a little backwards. That way you will look smaller on camera. Practice different poses in front of the mirror, then you'll be more comfortable in front of the camera and know better what poses fit your body. But most importantly, relax. Have a glass of wine and a good laugh now and then, it will help relax your muscles.
Someone once said that he puts all models in high heels before a photo shoot, even if they're just taking a photo from the waist up. High heels change your posture and the way you stand, your whole look. Try it!

Step 4 - Preparations
There are some easy things you can do if you know that you're going to take a picture. Avoid having a heavy dinner the night before, exfoliate your face and body, use plenty of moisturizer and drink a lot of water.

Step 5 - Thought
Your thoughts will show up in the photos, so will the absence of thought. Invent a story! Who are you and why are you standing there in front of the camera? Who are you taking the picture for? Is it for a lover, your family or goofing for your friends? Don't act it. Be it. It will show and make it much easier and so much more fun!

Skin care: Exfoliator

Exfoliating, or peeling, is a part of the skin care process that is often forgotten. Exfoliating cleans the pores, massages the skin, improves circulation, gets rid of dry skin cells and makes the skin look smoother, younger and more lustrous - plus it makes your makeup more even!
There are two types of exfoliating, chemical and mechanical.
A chemical peel, like the name suggests, have ingredients that in themselves are exfoliating. A natural chemical peel is citrus acid, found in for example lemons. Most chemical peeling products have synthetic active ingredients. Some brands, like Clinique, build their whole skin care series around chemical peels. Chemical peel is most commonly used in the face, avoiding the eye and lip areas.
A mechanical peel consists of grains that you rub onto the skin, usually in a cream or lotion. The grains can be either natural (walnuts, apricot cores, seeds, sugars), or synthetic. For use in the face, I prefer the synthetic ones, then I can be sure that the grains are round and even and won't damage my skin, the natural ingredients can sometimes be uneven. Mechanical peels can be used all over your body, the difference between face and body products is usually the size of the grains.
It's often said that a chemical peel is best when you have dry or sensitive skin, while the mechanical peel works in other cases. This is however very individual and a matter of taste.
Exfoliate face and body one or two times a week. More often can strain your skin. Always rinse well with water and use a moisturizer after.
Try making your own body scrub! Mix brown raw sugar with olive oil. Add some lemon, honey, rosemary or other exciting ingredients for a fragrant special effect (read more about natural ingredients you might have in your kitchen here). Put in an air tight jar and keep in the fridge, it should last for a while. Peeling gets even more effective on warm skin, like after a bath, when the pores are open and ready to be cleansed. Enjoy!

I got the question: How do I make my nailpolish last?

How long a nail polish will last depends on four things: the quality of the nail polish, the quality of your nails, what it has to endure on the nails and how you apply it. This is how I make mine last:

- Remove all old polish, soap and creams with a nail polish remover. Use one that's oil free and never use pure acetone, it will damage your nails.

- Smoothen your nails with a nail buff, a softer, foamy kind of file that you use on top of your nails. Smooth nails prevent chipping.

- Paint one layer of clear, strengthening nail polish on the clean nail. Don't use the cheapest brand, this is where you really need quality. Try OPI or Essie. Let it dry for 15 minutes. It's important that one layer is completely dry before you do the next one.

- Paint one layer of the colour you like. Wait 15 minutes and paint a second layer. That should be enough to get good covering. Let it dry for another 15 minutes.

- Finish with one layer of clear top coat. Some brands, like OPI, have a matte top coat that is really cool to experiment with. Let the nails dry. Once they are dry enough to touch, it will still be a couple of hours before the polish is really set, be careful not to dig around in your purse or do the dishes before it's completely set, you don't want the surface to get uneven.

- Touch up with clear top coat every couple of days and you will keep your nails good looking for a longer time!

Make sure to use a nail polish remover once the polish starts to chip, that way your nails won't be ruined.

How to: Do natural looking makeup

To get that nude, natural looking makeup, that still enhances your features and hides your problem areas isn't easy. Here's what I do:

- I make sure to have a clean, well moistured face to begin with.

-I wear Smasbox Camera Ready BB Cream with SPF 35 in Ivory to get a more even skin tone. In the summer I like to blend it with Illuminating Moisture Cream from The Body Shop, for a shearer, more lustrous effect.

- I use some Disappearing Act 4-in-1 Concealer from Pürminerals in Light wherever I might need it and my beloved Touche Éclat in 01 under my eyes.

- For a pop of colour and freshness I apply Breezy Cheeks Blush from Une Natural Beauty with my fingers just to the apples of my cheeks. I usually go for either a pink or a more apricot colour. Une is a brand that tries to use as much natural and organic ingredients as possible, so it feels twice as good to use! The cream blush is made from 100% natural ingredients.

- I am very light and fair skinned, but of you are darker or just want to enhance your eyes a bit, use some lengthening mascara in a brown or black/brown colour to your top lashes. Try Max Factor Lash Extension Effect, it's brush will give you long and natural lashes.

- Use some clear or light gloss or just some lip balm to keep your lips from looking dry.
For a fashion statement, try keeping your face "nude" and wear a bold red or pink lip, that's pretty much my everyday look. Read how to make that lipstick stick here.

Multi use items: Eye cream

This week's multi use item is something I recently started multi using, eye cream. An eye cream is used to care for the sensitive area around our eyes. The skin around the eyes is too thin and fine to take in a regular moisturiser, it can make fine lines, puffy bags and even small white dots appear, especially under the eye, where the skin is the most delicate. Perhaps you knew that already, but did you also know that the skin around your eyes is almost identical with the skin on your lips? An eye cream is ideal as a lip moisturizer! If you have dry and flaky lips, try to dab a little of your eye cream on your lips, morning and night, and see the difference! You won't get that oily or sticky feeling, you won't get the need for thicker or fatter products and if your eye cream is anti aging, you'll get that effect on the fine lines around your mouth. If you, like me, are addicted to lipstick, try some eye cream before you put your colour on and it will come on (and off) more evenly and even work as a natural primer.

Top 5: Cold remedies

The days when you wake up with a soar, itchy throat, an aching body and a head that feels like a balloon filled with cotton, there's not much more to do than wait for it to get over. These are my top 5 cold remedies to make that wait shorter and a bit easier:

Step 1 - Rest
Your body needs a chance to tackle the virus, it can't do that if you keep running around as usual. Forget about work for a little while, you'll get back in the game a lot quicker if you give your body some rest.

Step 2 - Fluids
With a cold, it's more important than ever to drink. My favorite thing since I was a little kid is simple ice water, I always keep a tall glass with me. When my throat is getting the worst blow, I always keep a pot of tea on, that I drink with a lot of honey. My newest favorite is actually chamomile tea with honey. A super cure is to let fresh ginger simmer in hot water with lemon and honey.

Step 3 - Books
I've always been a bookworm, and when I'm sick I've always loved the opportunity to just stay in bed with a good book. The best book for me is Michel Ende's The Neverending Story. I read it the first time when I was 10 and home from school with the flu, plowed through it in one day and it's still one of my all-time favorites. It's also a good time to break out Jane Austen or a well read copy of Wuthering Heights.

Step 4 - Vitamin C
We all know how important vitamin C is for our immune system and thankfully there are such tasty ways to get what you need! Besides freshly pressed orange juice, I love spoiling myself with tons of fruit, preferably tropical fruits. I always buy lots of different kinds and keep beside my place of rest, be it the bed or the couch. Easy to grab, delicious to eat and so many vitamins!

Step 5 - TV
With streaming being a big opportunity, I love spending the time I'm not reading watching historical romantic dramas from BBC. Right now I'm watching Lark Rise To Candleford and just started watching the mini series Middlemarch (from a novel by George Eliot, whose real name actually was Mary Anne Evans). It's a perfect time to dream about a time a couple of 100 years ago, filled with beautiful dresses, magnificent art, great balls and romantic love stories. If I feel really sorry for myself, all three seasons of The House Of Elliot, that tells the story of two sisters in the 20's who start their own design and sewing studio, is the cure.

When I do these things, my cold period doesn't just get over more quickly, I almost wish it would last longer.
How do you do to get over a cold?

Friday night treats: Yummy facials

After a long week's work, I love winding down by just pampering myself. One of my favorite things is making delicious facial masks from the things I've got in the fridge.
If you learn some of the characteristics of fruits and vegetables, you can usually put together a fully working mask yourself in no time. Some are exfoliating, like citrus and strawberry. To sooth, use honey, strong chamomile tea or oatmeal. Does your face need refreshing after a week in front of the computer, try some cucumber. For dry skin, use olive oil or avocado. Once you've decided what you want to do and looked through your fridge, choose a base (oatmeal, banana, avocado, something that will soak up the other ingredients) and put in a blender. You should use less of the other ingredients, be careful with liquids and the exfoliating ones so you don't use too much, then blend everything together until you've got a smooth batter that isn't runny. Smear it on your face, avoid the area around your eyes and lips. Leave on for 10-20 minutes, then rinse off.
I like to lie down on the couch (with a towel under my head should the mask drip), with cucumber slices over my eyes (it does get rid of bags and dark circles) and listen to classical music while the mask does it's magic. It's also a fun thing to do together with friends, why not buy all sorts of fruits and vegetables so everyone can make their own mask? You can use the rest for tasty snacks.
What do you do to relax at the end of the week?

Skin care: Getting a daily routine

A lot can and will happen to our skin over the years, this everyday skin care routine will help your skin to perform it's very best. In this post I'll go over step by step how to work your daily routine and the skin care staples you need. The routine stays the same all your grown up life, only the products change.

- First of all you need a facial cleanser. Your face doesn't have the same texture or pH as the skin on your body, so you should get a cleanser that is for facial use. Clean your face as the product description says, some are used like soap with water and some don't need water. Dry your face with a clean towel.

- Then you use a toner. A toner is a liquid that removes the last traces of the cleanser, minimizes the pores and prepares the skin to accept a moisturizer.

- Use an eye cream on the delicate area around your eyes. Dab a small amount with your fingertips until it's soaked in, avoid the eyelids, it will get there anyway. Try putting some on your lips, I tell you why here!

- The final step is moisture. Use a day cream in the morning and a night cream before going to bed. The day cream will give you the protection you need from stress, dust and fumes. Some even have SPF. The night cream on the other hand cares for your skin and gives it the nourishment it needs to heal and regenerate while you sleep. Massage the cream into your face, starting at the centre and working up and out. Use enough to get an even coverage, but not more that your skin soaks up.

Use these steps twice a day and it will soon be as natural as brushing your teeth. Skin care series for men often don't include toners and different creams for day and night. Men's skin often don't need as much pampering as women's, if you feel like you need or want more, ask in your store for what they've got to offer. If you wear makeup, always take it off before going to bed, your skin will thank you!

I love: Touche Éclat

One item I wouldn't want to live without is my YSL Touche Éclat in 01. It's the best dark circle concealer ever made, the light reflecting effect lifts all signs of late nights and stress and the light tint gives you an even skin tone, concealing all shallow veins and discoloration. Just dab it lightly under your eyes and voila! you're ready to go! The effect is so natural, even makeup shy guys can use it to hide all traces of fatigue! Try putting some just outside the contour at the center of your mouth for a puckering effect. Chose a matching colour or one shade lighter.

I got the question: How do I pick the colour for my foundation?

Foundation is the product most people struggle with finding the right colour of. When you try to find a colour, don't just try it on your hand in the store, you won't get it right 98% if the times. The colour of your hand, or even the back of your wrist isn't the same as your face.
What you do want to do is to try it on your cheakbone, right where it meets your neck, it is after all there it needs to match, one of the worst foundation fails is to get a line where the foundation ends. Don't try just one shade, try two, three or even four, to make sure you get the right one. Then go outside, the store lights will give you a totally different experience. Wear your foundation smears for a couple of hours in different lights, does it look different in daylight than it does at your desk? What you want to look for is a shade that blends with the colour of your neck, make sure it doesn't get darker, you usually have more colour your face than on your neck. If you're not sure, go one shade lighter rather than darker. If you feel pale, you can always get some colour with a touch of blush or bronzing powder. You can also ask the store for a free sample to take home, that way you can be totally sure before you spend any money.
Our complexion either has a warm or a cold tone, so does foundation. If you've got a pink skin tone and use a warm foundation colour, you will look orange, the other way around you will look sickly. L'Orèal True Match Foundation presents all the colours in both warm (W) and cold (C) tones, with matching concealers and powders. I'm a natural pale, redish blonde and wear C1.
Remember that you often need a darker tint during the summer and lighter tint during winter. A foundation should be thrown out 24 months after it's opened.

How to: Make that lipstick stick

I'm totally addicted to lipstick, I love the feel of it, the look of it, the feeling of power that comes with wearing it and, in case of my favorite red, Dior's classic no. 999, the smell of it. I wear lipstick for all occasions. So how to make it stay in place and keep it's colour?
First of all, quality does matter. You don't have to buy Chanel all the time, but check out the brands in the store, try them on your hand, smell them, ask the sales pearson to try it. Invest in one or two colours, perhaps one for a party and one for the office, or one for the summer (I love corals and oranges in the summer) and one for winter (go bold as the weather goes gray, with bright red or berry shades).
Next thing to do, is to find a matching pencil, or lip liner. You should find one as close in colour to your lipstick as possible, or a tad lighter. I prefer a softer, creamier pencil, a lot of them also have nourishing ingredients.

How to do it:

-Start with a clean, dry and well moistured lip.

-Apply liner all over your lips. Start with the contours then fill in the rest. This will help you get a nice and even shape of your mouth before applying the lipstick and will protect the colour from fading. When the lipstick starts to wear off, the liner will remain.

-Apply lipstick on top, cover it all up.

-Bite off on a clean tissue, two or three times until the colour is dried and doesn't smear.

-Apply a second layer of lipstick.

-Bite off on a clean tissue again, just once.

-Pucker up and be on your way!*

*Stay away from salads with dressing and other oily food, oil will dissolve your lipstick no matter what you do. Kiss proof lipstick does not exist, but put a little bit of translucent powder between the lipstick layers and you'll be safe for many kisses.

Multi use items: Conditioner

This week's multi use item is one in (almost) any woman's shower, a simple conditioner. You use it to get those luscious locks detangled or to keep that straight hair thick and shiny, but you can also use it as... shaving cream! Put a tiny amount on your legs when you shave and it will help the blades glide smoothly and gives your skin care and moisture in the meantime. You'll also be able to see what you do while you shave, your razor won't get filled up with foam that makes the shave uneven, and if that isn't enough, you'll get one bottle less to take up room in the shower!