Once You go Shellac, You never go Back!!! maybe...

I am always looking for the easy way out, anything to skip the long, tedious process of staying groomed. Sooo Shellac seemed like it was something right up my alley. Brilliant, no chip nail colour that lasts fourteen days or more? Lovely!

Brief explanation: shellac is basically the application of gel nailpolish to the nail, dried and bonded to your nail by a blue uv light. The entire process from cleaning your cuticles to staring in amazement at the high gloss, completely dry finish is about 30 minutes. I kid you not!

Someone seems to have really thought this through- the range of colours is pretty decent, and they seem to have covered the bases - they range from very dark to very light and some even offer pearlescent finishes. It can be done with french tips or gem stones but the designs that can be done are more on the subtle side. If you are into pure colour this is definitely the best idea for you. 

The cost will vary depending on where you are but if you are in Kingston Jamaica, then head on over to The Face Place at 3 Carvalho Drive (off Hope Road near where Colour World used to be, on the road where the comestic surgery building is). You will only pay $2500JMD for the process. The environment is clean, spacious, chic, comfortable and the ladies who serve are cordial and quick.

Check it out:

Do you see how shiny it is ? and do you see how thin it is?? U cant even see it!  sooo happy!

Watch this space for an update at 7 days then 14 days :)

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The Elusive Red Lip

I am not a lipstick kinda gal. All the lipsticks I own have been gifts or part of some kit I had purchased - all except two - one I thought matched the colour of my top lip, and the other a bright red.

I purchased those two because I thought they would have looked lovely on my skin tone. I have long since given up on a pinky/berry coloured lipstick for every day wear- maybe one day Ill take up that hunt again. However now I am obsessed with getting the perfect red lip. And even now, that has completely eluded me.

I have the true black woman's dilemma - very pigmented lips, with two different tones for upper and bottom lips. I can never tell what is going to look good on me because one shade looks completely different on each lip. On top of this now, I have really pout-y lips so lipstick rubs off in the space of a millisecond.

Some time this year - probably April thereabout, I was going through a friend's makeup bag and swatching everything in there like crazy. She had a particular lip colour in there and curious as always i swatched it on the side of my hand (where the back turns into your palm because for some reason i figure if it looks good there it will look good on my two-toned lips - stellar reasoning right?). Five hours later it was still there and even though I rubbed it like crazy it WOULD NOT even budge.

Now I know these ads say that the color wont smudge and lasts for hours and hours but let's be honest. How much of that is actually true? So i drove - yes drove - didn't call her- to my friends house and demanded that she tell me what product it was and where she had copped it.

Twas the Loreal Infallible Lip Colour and it looks like this:

I am now searching for a store that has samples that will let me try these (on the side of my hand of course) so I can know which shade is the right one for me. I'm gonna go out on the limb with the red colour first and if i like it then I will definitely go after a more neutral shade that I can wear to work to help me look more polished. Or maybe I should do it the other way around....hmmm. Well if i buy the neutral first and it's not my shade ill be discouraged and not the buy red..ill let y'all know how it turns out. In the meantime I'm dreaming up outfits to sport my red lips with. I'm thinking cobalt shoes, dark grey skinnies, a cream silk shirt and a black  or charcoal faux leather jacket with either delicate gold jewellery or chunky dark jewellery with probably a greige envelope clutch and nude nails with tons of mascara, wavy hair in a ponytail with a centre part of course.  Lol, see how easy it is to plan an outfit around one single detail?

The idea is to get classic simple pieces and mesh them together with one style theme in mind. But more on that later. I promise to do a post on that this week. In the meantime, it's off to find the perfect red lip colour for my skin tone (both of them lol)

Till next time, bonjour!

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Makeup Tips and Tricks

Alrighty ladies, as promised here are some makeup tips and tricks to help simplify life for you. Im a lil too tired to sort em properly so Ive just categorized them broadly. If you have any questions regarding further details or if you want a demo let me know and Ill sort it out for ya


Face

• Problem: you've applied too much foundation. Solution: First things first, the best way to apply your foundation is with a brush and not a wedge or sponge applicator ( much unlike we were taught by our mothers and grandmothers). This ensures even application because it works with the texture of ur skin bending and moving and applying less or more when needed. If you only have a sponge applicator though you can: apply the foundation to the back of ur hand and tap the sponge on it lightly then apply lightly to your face. ( If you pour the foundation stright onto the sponge you will have used up too much product and you'll look oily or cakey) When you're done take a step back from the mirror and observe where looks too thick. Take a clean sponge, sprinkle a few drops of water on it and pat over the area that looks too thick. Then use the dry side to even out the foundation there in brisk firm strokes.
• Problem: when you apply your foundation you shine like a disco ball. Solution: read the bottle/compact that your foundation comes in- if it says for dry skin and you have oily skin ditch it immediately- and vice versa. If that's not the problem then it could be that youre applying too much foundation. Use concealer to even out ur skin first and to get rid of discolouration then use the foundation- you should have a better effect. If this doesnt satisfy you, then buy a translucent powder (theyre prob the cheapest face product out there) and get a brush ( again a cheap one will do just fine for this purpose) and apply it to the oily areas of ur face using a circular buffing motion. If you just pat it on you will not get rid of the shine. For touchups- try blotting sheets- KoY CosMetics has a pack of 50 for $250.00 JMD

Eyes

• Problem: your eyeliner is always smudging! Solution: there are several ways to combat this problem. The reason why your eyelines migrates from where you put it though is important. Pencil eyeliners contain wax ( or paraffin) and when wax gets near heat it melts ( think of a candle). So as warm blooded creatures, we human beings produce heat that melts products we put on our skin. SO, what can you do about it? If you're in a hurry, this wont slow you down. Use a small angled brush ( the kind that comes in those brow kits) or any small stiff brush- dip it in an eyeshadow ( yes u saw right- eyeshadow) of a similar colour and apply on top of your eyeliner. this helps to set it and keep it from migrating. Or, if you cant bother with all that you could buy a waterproof eyeliner like that of the one KoY CosMetics sells for $250.00 JMD. ( waterproof products can be removed with makeup removers or baby wipes). Another alternative is to try gel eyeliners; or liquid eyeliners ( though these are not recommended for the lower lashlines)
• Problem: your eyeshadow is a different colour on you than in the palette. Solution: This has to do with pigmentation - both on your skin and that of the eyeshadow. The best way to deal with this is to use a base. You can create your own or you can buy one. You create your own base by applying concealer (preferrably cream concealer) in a light application over the entire eyelid. Or, you can use other cream eyeshadows you have . For example, if you have a dark brown cream eyeshadow and you put a powdered gold eyshadow over it you get a more bronzy-gold effect. I personally like this because it offers more creativity and gives different dimensions to an eyeshadow. :)

Lips

• Problem: your lips are cracking and peeling...bad Solution: you need some lip therapy. Most people will tell you to exfoliate but thats a bad idea at this stage - you need moisture first and foremost. The easiest and quickest way to get moisture is oil- not get not cream. Grab the nearest bottle of pure oil you can find. mineral oil, avocado oil, jojoba oil, baby oil, castor oil ( if you can stand the smell) and just dab some on your finger tips and massage ( yes im serious) into your lips. Let it dry a little and repeat the process for about 5- 10 mins. When you're done doing that then u can exfoliate by taking a wash cloth and some more of that oil ( or vaseline for this purpose) and softly scrubbing the skin on the lips in circular motions. Resist the temptation to help along the process by peeling skin off- cuz its gross :( and u shud always let your skin peel naturally. exfoliating just removes what has already separated itself from the skin. when youre done that u can apply more oil and massage if you want. But, as a further preventative measure or in extreme cases - buy vitamin e capsules - Lees pharmacy sells 12 for $100 odd. break one and apply to your lips at night.
• Problem: your lip colour is not looking like what is in the tube. Solution : this again has to do with pigmentation. Put a colour on different backgrounds and it will look differently. To solve this there is a two step no fail system. First, you have to balance your natural lip colour against the lipcolour you want to apply. You can do this by applying concealer lightly to both lips or you can use a lip colour that is neutral- toned ( i.e from beige to medium brown or nudes) as a base. For best results Ive always chosen a lip colour thats close to the colour of my concealer- mainly because its still moisturizing and it serves the purpose i need it for. Secondly, dont just swipe on the lip colour- its not gonna last long and you're not gonna get the colour pay off you want. Use a lip brush or the pad of your very clean finger and pat it onto your lips. Remember though the brighter the colour, the more likely it is to bleed so wear lipliner that matches the lipcolour youre wearing. ( yes, puh-lease avoid the black/brown lip liner thing- nobody's lip is actually that colour - so plz have mercy on yourself)

And thats all for now ladies! Im going to a makeup workshop the end of this month so Ill have acquired three more techniques for eyeshadow application...but Ill make sure to put that in a video.

In the meantime ( in between time haha!) remember to let you shine through, and to keep your makeup KoY!

koycosmetics@gmail.com

'A woman's makeup is succesful when you see the woman, not the makeup'

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