Benefits of an eyebrow tint & wax

As a newly qualified beauty therapist I love my job working in a salon and doing a few treatments on the side. I have been noticing that a lot of women booked in for a eyebrow wax, for many of them it is the first time having their eyebrows done and i always love seeing the amazing difference it makes!

 I had my eyebrows tinted and waxed for the first time when i was around 14/15 years old. I still remember my first experience.. I flinched at every wax strip being ripped off even though the pain wasn't bad. I always had really fair blonde eyebrows that no one could ever see, so when i first looked at myself after the tint and wax it was a bit of a shock to see my eyebrows! However, since that first time i have always kept up having my eyebrows tinted and waxed. After qualifying as a beautician i now quite often tint them myself but i still like to treat myself to getting my eyebrows done by someone else (still the same beautician i had my first time!) as i look on it as a treat. I usually need my eyebrows done every 6 weeks thats when i really notice them losing a bit of shape and the hairs are too much to handle, though sometimes i get them done sooner. Where as if you have quite dark eyebrows every 4 weeks is usually best.

Eyebrows are such a strong feature of the face now more than ever! Thick, groomed,arched, full looking eyebrows are what women hope to achieve and tint & wax are now a girl's best friend!

Thinking about tinting?
A lot of clients seem to be a little scared of the thought of tinting their eyebrows when there naturally very fair, but i honestly love a bit of tint it makes such a big difference to defining the face. There is so many different shades you can have so no need to worry! from grey/ light brown/ dark brown and black.

Here is all the products and tools i use when tinting and tidying up my eyebrows in between having them waxed. I find tint on my specific eyebrows only lasts fully around 3/4 weeks so sometimes needs topping up before waxing. I don't use all these three tint colours together but sometimes depending on what colour i'm after i will mix two to get the ideal colour.. usually i use dark brown mixed with a tiny bit of black and then mix with 5/6 drops of developer. Tint should only be left on the eyebrows for around 2 minutes, the longer it is left on the darker it will develop. 

TIP: I personally think tweezerman tweezers are well worth the price and are great for getting even the teeniest of hairs!

I won't go into detail about shaping eyebrows because it really does depend on everyone's natural shape but the guideline to stick to really is simple..

• if you take a ruler and line it up from the side of your nose up to your eyebrows that is where your eyebrows should start.. any hairs past this, usually need to be waxed/plucked.
• if you then look where the end of your pupil is,and line it up to your eyebrow, that is where your arch should be created.
• Lastly, with the ruler lining up your nostril with the end of your eyebrow is where your eyebrow should naturally come too, i very rarely pluck many off the actual length of an eyebrow instead i will just thin it out slightly.

A few tips for keeping an eyebrow shape maintained at home without the risk of over-plucking!

Heres a before and after pic of eyebrows before and after tint and wax. Wax is so much better than tweezers because you can get a precise shape and gets rid of all unwanted hairs even the light fluffy hair that is impossible to get rid of with tweezers. Here the tint hasn't made a dramatic change is has just filled in the eyebrow shape better.

I really do believe everyone should have there eyebrows professionally done even just a one off just to get the initial shape to them then it is easier to maintain with tweezers. 

Here is quite a transformation eyebrow t&w. This client had very sparse looking eyebrows and the ends were very fair as you can see. After a medium/dark brown tint applied it suddenly makes the eyebrows appear fuller and more shaped even before the wax! Tint is especially great for the likes of blondes who have died there hair brown, tinting eyebrows really helps make the hair colour look more natural.

Eyebrow t&w's are one of my favourite treatments to do, it changes from week to week what i enjoy doing but i really do love seeing the big change it can make to someone having their eyebrows done. 

TIP: Have a good look around before booking in a salon, always make sure you read reviews online, have a friend's opinion and make sure you have viewed the inside of the salon before your treatment to feel relaxed and comfortable. 

Sarah Artistry makeup and brushes review

Last November me and my sister Kerri, drove to London for a "mac masterclass"after we had found an offer on groupon. It was a small room of people around 10 of us and we were all given our own set of brushes to use for the class which i liked. It was run by a lady called Sarah, who talked in detail about all the different mac products that were trending and what foundations from mac would suit our individual skin types and colours etc. Whilst Sarah talked a lot about mac she also was showing us a few of her own products and brushes as we went along, as it came to the end of the class we all had the chance to buy any of her products that we were interested in.. kerri and me went a little over board! 
I thought i would do a blog post on the items i bought to show some up close pictures and to review them in a little detail for anyone that might be looking to try out a new brand!

Kerri and i after our makeovers! (very serious poses going on) 

I was really excited to try out my new buys from Sarah Artistry, because the products i chose were all things I hadn't yet added to my makeup collection. For example i had been searching for a detailed contour palette without being too expensive and a good camouflage kit for a while which i found at Sarah Artistry! 

                             (excuse the mess of of the palette, i have been using it ALOT)

Professional camouflage palette £30 (on offer)

I think i paid around £30 for this which at the time i thought was slightly pricey for me, but it was exactly what i was looking for, i hate the colour correctors that are very chalky and have hardly any pigment so when i saw this beauty from Sarah Artistry i couldn't resist. It is a very creamy consistency and is best applied with a flat concealer brush and to apply i like to dab dots around my face with the different colours in certain areas and then blend it all together with my foundation and foundation brush. 

GREEN: Is the colour i use the most without doubt. I am naturally fair and full of freckles, which for me usually results in quite red blotchy cheeks. I apply the green to my cheeks and the sides of my nose.

(All red areas)

LILAC: I only really use the lilac colour for under my eyes to brighten them and i find this really works. I usually have quite a dull tone under my eyes even after foundation, where as when i use this i notice the difference when applying foundation. I find i don't need to use as much concealer under my eyes when i've used this because it does the job nicely!

PINK:  I find is best on sallow areas to even out the skin tone, i use this around my mouth area and around my eyebrows i don't know if this is completely correct but it works best for me!

YELLOW: i think the yellow shade is best for concealing dark patches/ bruising etc. I sometimes put a touch of this under my eyes to even out the skin tone and again just apply this to the areas each day i think need a bit of covering up.

I do use this palette most mornings, I find it just really gives a base for my foundation. I always like a full coverage with my face so to me this just really adds to it. I notice the difference if i don't apply it usually half way through the day when my foundation is rubbing off, my red cheeks show through a lot more than if i had my green dabs on! I now think this was well worth the price.

"Black Caviar" Eyeliner £10

I remember us all trying this eyeliner out at the masterclass and i think everyone in the room ended up buying one! I'm not usually a fan of pencil style eyeliner except on my tight line but couldn't resist this as it was only £10 at the time because it was a new product of Sarah's. it is a very smooth feel and smudge free. It took a solid 10 minutes scrubbing at my hand to get the swatch off! but with eye makeup remover comes off fine on the eyes. It is a very soft consistency which means you have to end up sharpening it quite often but is worth it for the glide it gives. 

Contour powders- Around £30

I really love this contour palette, it is the perfect shades for my skin tone and are all very pigmented. It is quite a natural look when i use these, the colours are all very sunkissed bronze, which i think will be perfect in the summer. I like that you receive a little card with details about the different shades and where best to use them. I have used these powders a lot in the last 3 months yet there is no sign of the bottom of the palette which is great!

(oops excuse the unwashed brushes)

Professional brush set & belt £150.00 (on offer)

this was my most WOW buy of the day. The fact the brushes even came with a professional belt was what won it for me haha! The set comes with around 16 brushes i think it was, but Sarah was lovely and gave me a couple of free extra brushes for buying so much which i really appreciated. I use most of these brushes daily (as you can tell from the pic). They don't have names or numbers on each brush so i can't really talk in detail about them individually but i do love the contour fluffy big brush ( fourth in from the right) it is perfect for getting in at the cheek bones and is bigger than the usual contour brushes so is good for quickness! I do find a couple of the bigger brushes do have quite a bit of fallout BUT the brushes are thick and full that it doesn't seem to be making a difference to the quality of the brushes. The set comes with many different eyeshadow brushes, which was what excited me the most because before Sarah Artistry i only ever used a couple of go to eyeshadow brushes where as now having all these i swap about daily.The set truly comes with a wide variety of brushes perfect for everyone!

Overall, I am very pleased with the products i purchased back in November because since then a lot of these have been part of my every day go to products and have all been completely worth the money spent! i think it's now time for me to go and wash my brushes..