Beach babe hair without the beach with Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray!

I love this sea salt spray. Surf Spray by Bumble and Bumble gives you beach babe tousled hair in an instant! It adds texture, volume and grit to flat or fine hair with a matte finish.

Great for fine or flat hair and for those wanting to add a bit of texture and grit without weighing hair down. Spray and scrunch into dry hair for a light wave. For extra definition spray onto damp hair and twist small sections of the hair and pin up. Once dry run fingers through hair and style.

Remember to run fingers through the hair rather than brushing to create a messy tousled wave!

Stila Long Wear Lip Colour

Stila long wear lip colour is a great long lasting easy to use lipstick! It has a retracting pencil design which makes it easy to apply and touch up. Best of all you never need a sharpener and its thin bullet allows for precise application!

They have a creamy, smooth texture and are highly pigmented. It has a really nice finish which is neither super glossy or matt. Stila long wear lip colours come in an great range of colours too and have a nice scent too!

Kevyn Aucoin – The Eye Pencil Primatif Basic Black. Great for a smokey eye…

If you want to create an dark smokey eye then it’s a good idea to create a base by smudging a black pencil to add intensity and definition. This base will also ensure that the eye shadow lasts longer too.

My favourite pencil to use for smokey eyes is Kevyn Aucoin The Eye Pencil Primatif Basic Black. It glides smoothly, smudges easily and never tugs or pulls on the eyelid. The pencil is highly pigmented and comes with a smudger tip on the other side.

Apply the liner over the eyelid and in both the upper and lower lashline and waterline. Work the liner into the lashes with the smudger and blend the liner over eye lid with a brush. Apply eye shadow over the eyelid and blend into the contour. Reapply liner into the lashline and waterline. To finish, curl lashes and add mascara!

Love to exfoliate? Then you will love ExfoliKate…..

ExfoliKate by Kate Somerville is an Intensive Exfoliating Treatment. The thing that makes ExfoliKate unique and so effective is that it combines both physical and chemical exfoliators.

ExfoliKate contains papaya, pumpkin and pineapple enzymes that help dissolve dead skin cells in addition to fine microbeads designed to polish the skin. It also contains lactic and salicylic acid which help skin to resurface and rejuvenate. With just one use I saw results. The next morning my skin looked radiant, pores were visibly smaller and dry fine lines were minimised.

Exfoliate is pretty strong in comparison to most other exfoliators on the market so best for those who exfoliate their skin regularly. I recommend using this once a week and no more. If you have sensitive skin conduct a patch test or try the gentle version.

If you have blemishes ensure you don’t break the erupted skin as this will spread the bacteria and cause further blemishes. Pat it gently over affected areas instead of scrubbing.

I also recommend using this a extremely quick effective mask in the shower by patting a thin layer onto the skin and rinsing with warm water after 60 seconds! If used in the shower the steam will help to active the enzymes. Due to the emzymes and acids ExfoliKate will tingle and warm up the skin so don’t freak out!

Always hydrate the skin with a hydrating serum and moisturiser after exfoliating. Remember to wear sunscreen the following day as your skin will be more sensitive to pigmentation and sun damage after exfoliation.

Real Techniques Makeup Brushes

I’ve heard great things about Real Techniques brushes so I thought I’d try them out! They just arrived in the mail today so I’ll use them for a little bit and let you know my thoughts…

I love how reasonably priced Real Techniques brushes are and they are even cheaper online at iHerb.com. Enter in VJD994 at checkout to get $10 off your first order of $40 or more. I will be back soon and let you know what I think of each brush!

Eve Lom Giveaway!!

Thank you to all of you who have for visited my blog and for all the comments and support. To say a big thank you I’m giving away some luxurious Eve Lom products. This Eve Lom giveaway includes a full size Moisture Mask and a Travel Refill Set consisting of a travel sized Cleanser, TLC Cream, Moisturiser + SPF 15, Rescue Mask, Hand Cream + SPF 10 along with a full size muslin cloth.

To enter please head over to The Cheeky Blush facebook page and like both the page and this post. This is an international giveaway and the winner will be chosen at random. This giveaway ends 31st August 2013.

The lucky winner will be announced and contacted via Facebook. Good luck and thanks again for stopping by!

Love The Cheeky Blush

In The Light Eye Shadow Palette by Stila

Eye shadow palettes are such great fun. You always end up trying a colour that you would of never of bought on its own and creating new looks. Palettes always contain complementary colours so it makes doing your eye makeup for a night out easy as you never have to fumble around in your drawers looking for individual eye shadows!

Stila In The Light Eye Shadow Palette is one of favourite palettes. You get a collection of ten very wearable shades in a range of light to dark shades with both shimmery and matte textures. You have shades suitable for highlights and darker matt colours perfect for shading in the crease and/or liner. It also comes with an easy to smudge brown waterproof crayon liner.

Stila eye shadows are great quality and can be used both wet or dry. The shadows are ground very finely and apply easily on the eyelid. Remember to use a good eye shadow primer such as Nars Pro Prime if you want your eye shadow to stay on all day and not crease!

With this one palette you can create a range of looks from natural to glamorous in a number of different combinations. It also comes complete with a lookbook to help get you started with ideas! Another great thing about Stila palletes is that they are always great value.

Makeup Brushes Required! Fingers will only get you so far….

You may be able to apply eyeshadow with your fingertips on your eyelid but you won’t be able to blend the eye shadow properly without a brush! Often the difference between average and great eye makeup is the blending.

Blending brushes are fantastic for creating soft edges, diffusing colour, blending into the crease or socket and blending different colours of eye shadow together. Without blending eye shadow can often look harsh and blockish.

My two favourite blending brushes are the MAC 217 and Nars 13. The Nars 13 has super soft, dense bristles and is the perfect dome shape for blending into the crease and feathering out shadow. A great tip is after you finish blending the shadow in the socket, clean the brush by wiping off excess eye shadow on a tissue and blend downwards from the brow bone to the socket. This will diffuse any stray eye shadow above the crease area and soften off any harsh edges!

The Mac 217 blending brush is just as great with cream shadows as it is with powder shadows. It has a rounded edge and a flatter side which is also handy for applying shadow. Another great thing about this brush is that you can see the amount of product you pick up on the brush because of its white bristles! It has like all great blending brushes the perfect balance between softness of bristles, density and firmness.

With makeup brushes it can be overwhelming with the choice available. My advice is to spend a bit extra and invest in a few excellent brushes rather than being tempted to buy value sets online filled with average brushes you won’t end up using!

Eyebrows: The Frame of your Face

Eyebrows frame the face and altering them slightly can make a big difference in enhancing your appearance. Extending your brows can make eyes appear larger, flatter brows widen narrow faces and a strong arch can give lift to hooded eyes. Not to mention that a bold lip looks great when paired with a strong brow!

There are many eyebrow products available today from powders to wax to pencils. I find pencils the easiest to work with. Here are two of my favorites…

The Kevyn Aucoin Precision Brow Pencil comes in one shade that suits most. Its slim, retractable pencil design makes it perfect for enhancing the brow by drawing thin strokes to mimic the look of fine hairs. This is a great pencil for beginners and for those looking to make minor adjustments to their brows.

The Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil combines pencil, powder and wax in a retractable pencil best for those who want to create a stronger heavier brow. Its triangular shape allows you a choice of thickness when applying the product and you can use the tip to draw individual hairs. The waxy texture adds slight volume and helps to hold the hairs in place. This pencil comes in three shades – Blonde, Soft Brunette and Dark Brunette.

Start by brushing the brows upwards using the brush at the end of each pencil. It is important to brush the pencil through the brow after each stroke to push the colour through the hair onto the skin rather than sitting on the top of the hair. Brush over brow with a cotton bud to take off excess colour and soften any edges. Always remember to take a step back every so often and check as a little change makes a huge difference from a far!

Nars Laguna Illuminator = Dewy Bronzed Glow

The Nars Laguna Illuminator is perfect for those who love a dewy finish to their makeup! This light reflective luminous liquid bronzer will leave your skin with a radiant bronzed glow. Powder bronzers can often make our skin look dry and sit in our fine lines, using a liquid will avoid the matte finish of powder.

You can mix it into your foundation or moisturiser for an all over subtle glow or apply it directly onto particular areas of the face that you want bronzed. Perfect to add a little to darken your foundation in Summer when your foundation is a little paler from the cooler months!

I find this product works best when applied with a foundation brush that still has a little leftover foundation on it. Less is more with illuminators as too much will make your face appear shiny rather than luminous. Remember to blend this product in well to ensure a flawless finish!