Beauty | My Skincare Routine...

Hello Hello, welcome to my little post on MY personal Skincare Routine. Now I'm not claiming that I am any sort of beauty guru that should be listened to or that I actually follow this religiously otherwise I'm sure my skin would be a lot more glowy, healthy and all things that it currently is not...Add to this the calcified damage from my teenage skin problem years (yes I'm talking un-photogenic acne scarring) and you have my dull little complexion and current skin condition ~ thank you winter.

So... onto the routine, Firstly depending on whether or not I've made an effort with makeup that day I will start by removing my eye makeup. My absolute favourite product for this is Dual Effect Eye Make-up Remover from Simple. I've tried plenty different products but due to my sensitive skin I have struggled with a few products being uncomfortable or irritating and the rest just didn't do the job properly... 

Next a double cleanse. Personally I don't have a favourite/ go to cleanser, although I am currently using a foaming face wash from The Skin System. Super low cost, not too sure about effectiveness just yet as it too early to say, but I am happy with the fact it is a foam cleanser (perfect for combination skin). I also have a travel sized Glow Mud Cleanser from Pixi which was part of a Christmas gift. I'm using it sparingly atm because of its small size, but also considering a re-buy as not only does it cleanse it also acts an exfoliator and contains glycolic acid.

Once all that cleansing is out the way, and its just my bare wee face left, it is time to start on the exfoliating process and cleaning right into those pores...

Currently I am absolutely loving The Body Shops Vitamin C Glow Boosting Microdermabrasion. I pair this up with my ProX Olay Cleansing system for a deep clean. I cannot tell you just how fresh my skin feels after this, its just fab!!

And now for my absolute favourite part of the routine...

FACE MASK!

Yes, I Shona Marie Mac am a secret hoarder of Face Masks... I absolutely adore them, and no I will never have enough in my collection, and yes it is a slightly unhealthy addiction but I do not care! If you are someone close to me and ever stuck for an idea on a present I can tell you now, face mask is always the answer ~ you're welcome.

Sooo many face masks, soo many unique purposes. And for that reason I wont single out just one as a favourite of mine so here are a few...

Mask of Magnaminty from Lush, thee perfect pick me up for sluggish skin, you can actually feel the peppermint in this mask tingly away if you walk anywhere while this beauty works its magic. Its a setting mask and the clean up after the removal of this mask is quite something. 

Cup O'Coffee also Lush, yes if I owned more than these two Lush masks I'm sure I could fill a page of my love for them. Short and Sweet this mask is a rich coffee smelling, non setting mask, which has amazing exfoliating skills. If I'm ever struggling with dry patches on my skin I reach for this Pot of Goodness asap...

The Body Shop's Seaweed Oil-Balancing Clay Mask, there are many reasons I love this mask. One being the clay, this is a godsend for us oily/ combo skin gals I'm telling you!! If you have a spot brewing this mask will dry it right up and speed up the treatment process...

And to finish up my skin care I will use a toner all over my face and neck preferably Seaweed Oil-Balancing Toner from The Body Shop. Then about 3 times a week I will then cover the same area with my Liquid Gold with Glycolic Acid by Alphah and lastly along the same area once again using upward strokes (avoiding the ageing process in any silly little way I can) I apply Ultimate Sleep Cream by Formula Absolute, this is part of the M&S Beauty range and so far I am reaping the benefits!

So that it is for my skincare routine....

On a good day that is! 

Let me know if you have any recommendations of products that I should test or need to hear about.

Until next time,

Shona's Snippets | How To Guide on... Eyebrow Shaping

Hey my lovelies, so I've just finished up a bit of my college homework on eyebrow shaping and thought I would do my first little "How To Guide", I hope you find this useful...

Firstly there are a couple factors that need to be taken into account before deciding on the shape of the Eyebrows. 

These are:

·         The Face Shape – Do you have a Round, Oval, Oblong, Square, Heart Shaped or Diamond Shaped Face? 

·         The Natural Brow Shape – Depending on the shape of the original brow there is only so much you can shape and pluck. Usually it is best to leave the top of the brow shape as is unless there are any stray hairs that are just way off target!

·         Size of the Forehead – The size of the forehead should be taken into account as if you have a bigger forehead as I do it is best have thicker brows. Thinner brows would only emphasis the size of the forehead which no one really wants.

Measuring the Brow

Okay so now its time to measure out the brow and work out the areas needing plucked! 

To determine the length of eyebrows that will best suit your facial features there are three main areas needing measured:

1. Where the eyebrows should start
2. Where the eyebrows should end
3. Where the highest arch in the eyebrow should be

Example of Measurement Points

The Start of the Eyebrow

To measure where the eyebrow should begin use an orange stick or anything with a straight edge (a Pencil, a thin eye makeup brush...) and measure vertically up from the side of your nose in line with the tear duct, any hairs outwith this area should be removed. 

The End of the Eyebrow

To measure where the eyebrow should end you then line the orange stick from the edge of the nose to the outside corner of the eye, any hair outwith this mark should removed. 

The Highest Arch

To determine where highest arch in the eyebrow should be look straight ahead, then take the orange stick from the edge of the nose up passing through the pupil of the eye. This is where the highest arch in your Brow should be, for most people it is their natural arch.

Things to Take into Consideration

There are a couple things to note which may change the normal measured length of the eyebrows. 

If you have an oblong face you should try to extend the eyebrow out past the measured end point of the eyebrow.

If you have closely set eyes you should take the start of the eyebrow out a small bit further making the space between the brows larger, this gives the impression the eyes are further apart.

Time to Start Plucking and Shaping

Okay so now you have the brow all measured out its time to pluck away! Personally I would advise you to pluck eyebrows just after a shower. If not use a warm compress on the area such as a couple of cotton pads dampened in hot water. This opens up pores allowing hair to be removed easier by the root and minimises discomfort.

Remember to work between Eyebrows so not to get carried away on one Brow and then be unable to match the shape on the other. You know the saying eyebrows are Sisters not Twins? Well remember they are not distant relatives either! No one wants to walk about with a dodgy set of unmatched eyebrows, they are so important to the overall look of your face its unreal!

Tweeze as close to the root as you can and pull quickly in the direction of hair growth. This allows for the whole hair to be pulled out and an all round cleaner, tidier appearance to the brow.

Once all the tweezing is over if you have an eyebrow brush at your disposal you can brush the brow up and any hairs that are longer and deviate from the brow shape can be trimmed. Unless you're feeling super confident I would avoid this step and stay safe as to not over trim the brow!

Finishing up

Now that you should have achieved that perfect Brow, you can, if you happen to have a soothing gel that has no other chemicals other than Aloe Vera, apply this to the Brow area to sooth redness and discomfort. And also close the pores.

Please remember you have just plucked your brows! This means No Makeup to the area for a good few hours, No heat treatments such as sunbeds! The pores have been opened and the area can become infected if you're not careful.

I hope this has helped anyone out who was a little unsure as to the best way to shape Eyebrows, even if you are already skilled in the art of Brow shaping there is always something new to be learned and I hope you managed to find a teeny snippet of valuable info...

Stay Beautiful,

Shona Marie xo