Category: Beauty

Make Up Maestro

.Reading time 5 minutes.

 

Let me introduce you to someone I have had the pleasure of working with for the last 10 years.  Her name is Carlie Christie. She is a professional Make up Artist in Melbourne and has worked with some of Australia’s best know faces and and their manes.  I asked Carlie if she would share some of her tips for making us look as fresh and flawless as the celeb’s she works with.

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Carlie Christie – showing the results of her tips and tricks
These are some of her top tips and insider secrets.  She’s also posting some awesome How To’s  on her @carliechristie instagram.

Skin
There are so many things you can do for your skin but looking after it is the best thing you can do
Drink loads of water
Sunscreen everyday
Find the right foundation for you, it may be CC creme, full coverage foundation, dewy finish, mineral powder. It does not have to always be powdered.
ILLUMINATE!!! adding a little illuminator to the top of your check bones, temples, chin and even the tip of your nose can add a dewy and fresh finish to your skin. Try to stay away from ones that are too silver and cool, you want them to warm up your skin and give it a glow.

Eyes
Don’t over complicate it, sometimes you just need an eyelash curler and some Mascara. It can do wonders.
Try to keep it fresh and warm.  Cool colours such a grey, greens, blues etc can be quite unflattering.
I’m not a huge fan of Lash extensions as I have probably seen more damaging jobs than I have good results. Getting your lashes tinted and even permed can be amazing and a lot more gentle to your eyelashes in the long run.
A little highlighter in the inner corner of the eye can really brighten up your eyes.

Lips
Keep them moisturised, exfoliate with a dry tooth brush
Get a long wearing lip liner, it helps to keep your lippy on longer and stop the edges from bleeding.
Play around with colour. I love a bold lip. It makes whatever you are wearing or how you are feeling look better!

Eyebrows
Thicker brows are still very much in.
I find them incredibly flattering and really frame the face. As you age your eyebrows will thin out so filling them in can take years off.
BrowZig by Benefit is my fail proof eye brow recommendation. You can’t get it wrong, fill in your whole Brow, fatten up the thickness and be transformed with power brows. Once you go there you can’t go back!
When choosing a brow pencil, or brow kit make sure it is an “ash” colour based. You don’t want a warm or red based brow as brows are naturally more cool in colour.

Neck and chest
Make sure you blend your foundation from your face down your neck and to your clothing neckline and décolletage if exposed.  This area is prone to damage due to sun exposure so always apply suncream here and like eyebrows, it is an area that can take years off with some make up help.

Arms and Legs
One of my fave products is Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs in the Cream formulation- great colour, easy to apply and water resistant so it won’t rub off on your clothes.
Also get your self a tanning mit (J.Bronze is my fave) will save your hands turning orange
Bondi Sands in Dark (foam) it my fave self tanner. I am very pale, so one layer of that is perfect for me.

Get in touch with Carlie if you have a special occasion coming up or book her for a personalised make up class ( she’s happy to work with groups.)  Meanwhile follow her on Instagram and watch her in action

Contact

Carlie – 0422035511 carlie.christie@gmail.com

 

 

Bag of tricks

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Bag- Mecca, Blusher – Mac’s Fleur Power Satin Blush, Eye Shadow Mac’s Burgundy times Nine Palette, Lipstick – Mac’s Satin finish in Faux, Instant Volume Powder – Schwarzkopf , Dry Shampoo – Klorane 

 

We all need a little help in the morning. Especially on those mornings when we haven’t slept well, don’t have time to wash our hair or generally feel a little lack lustre.  This is my bag of tricks.. products I rely on to help me emerge into society every day.

I’m not sure how I got by before discovering dry shampoo.  It feels like there are two very distinct periods in my life; before dry shampoo and after dry shampoo.  Before dry shampoo I had to wash my hair most days so that it wasn’t a complete greasy mess.  As I’ve mentioned before I have 2 children so find that time to blow-dry and make my self presentable is limited.  A few sprays from this magic can and I’m grease free.  I like the Klorane brand.  It works well in my ash blonde hair and is available at most supermarkets; so easily accessible.

A more recent, but equally profound discovery, is ‘instant volume powder’  While Dry Shampoo does as you’d expect, making your hair appear more clean than it is, ‘instant volume powder’ provides more of a post salon/ freshly styled look.  A few sprinkles in the roots and you can add volume; sprinkle it along a length of hair and you can control where your hair sits.  From what my Hair stylist friends tell me some are better than others so get some advice on what might work for you.

When I was a new Mum and people came by to meet little Milla they would often comment on how well I looked.  I maintain to this day that it was very much thanks to blusher and eye shadow.  It certainly wasn’t a result of a well slept night.  A gentle lashing of blusher and an application of eye shadow that compliments your eye colour, can transform you from zombie to human in a matter of seconds.  I love Mac products.  They have such a variety of colours and finishes that compliment every complexion. I have blue eyes so choose a Burgundy eye shadow palette and soft pink blusher for my fair skin. Professional Make up Artists favour Mac so I figure if they work for the harsh lights of film and TV they’ll be brilliant for the real light of day.

Please share some of your ‘tricks’ in the comments below.