Makeup Hack #1 : The Perfect Brows

I am sure I'm not alone in my constant love-hate relationship with my brows. From first discovery and serious over plucking when I was 14, to heavily colouring them in with an obviously unnatural reddish-toned pencil. Neither were good looks or times that I wish to revisit as I finally have my brow situation under control. I am excited to share my basic tips to hopefully save anyone else from their own eyebrow nightmare.

1. Leave it to the Professionals

My first tip is to book an appointment at your nearest salon. My eyebrows have been drastically saved by having a professional handle the situation. I now have monthly HD Brow appointments; a half hour session that involves a mixture of tinting, waxing and threading.  

Although, at £25 a session, I understand that this may be a little too pricy for everyone to think a worthwhile investment. I would suggest at least getting it done once as you will have the basic shape that suits your face, which you can then maintain yourself.

If you do not want to commit to a full on HD Brows appointment then I would recommend regular threading sessions. This will keep your eyebrows neat and tidy and will create a situation that is ten times better than self-plucking. 

(Brows after HD session)

I have loved handing the responsibility over to a professional and out of my own hands. I look forward to my monthly sessions and, whichever option you choose, I promise that letting the professionals do what they do best will be the best brow decision you can make.

2. Filling ‘em In

When I first entered the baffling world of eyebrow makeup, I picked up the first pencil I spotted that claimed to be the fit for dark brows. I then scribbled over the top of my natural hairs and thought that the job was done. Wrong. 

For starters, like most ‘brown’ claiming pencils, this was an odd red shade that was an entirely unnatural fit for my hair colour. The pencil itself was too thick and meant that it was plainly obvious that my eyebrows had been coloured in. 

(Brows filled in with Anastasia Brow Wiz)

It’s important to find the right shade for you and to figure out whether you prefer a pencil, shadow or gel. I now use the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Brunette; the perfect matte brown shade. The pencil is retractable and thin so that you can easily recreate the appearance of fine hairs. If I want a more dramatic finish then I also add the DipBrow Pomade in dark brown, a gel which creates natural finish and is entirely waterproof. With this duo, I can rely on my eyebrows to look flawless all day. 

I hope this handful of tips helps you in your quest for the perfect brows. I would love to hear all your thoughts in the comments below! 

Devon

xoxo

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Cult Beauty Haul

I recently stumbled across the Cult Beauty website during a moment of weakness and an urge for new additions to my makeup collection. Whilst I promised myself a one purchase maximum followed by a quick beeline to the checkout, those sneaky sidebars caught my attention one too many times. My intention to buy one desperately required eyebrow pencil turned into a mini shopping spree and I am excited to share my impulse buys with you all. You can also hear about the guilty purchases I made on the high street in my recent Drugstore Haul.

This Cult Beauty shopping splurge featured two particular brands; the stunning Stila Cosmetics and the queen of all things brows, Anastasia Beverly Hills.

My initial reason for souring the Cult Beauty site was to source out the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. Since a pair of a good brows is increasingly becoming THE most important makeup ritual for any beauty addict in 2015; I felt obliged to finally purchase the product that has every beauty blogger recreating the coveted power brows of Cara Delevingne for themselves.

I hope that I am not alone in my love hate relationship and never ending battle to perfect my eyebrows. Although the situation has definitely improved since I decided to invest in monthly HD sessions, when left to my own devices things quickly go downhill. 

This double ended gadget has a spooly on one end for perfectly brushing out those unruly hairs and a retractable pencil on the other. I have the shade dark brown which matches my natural hair colour perfectly and the pencil itself is impeccably thin allowing for you to easily recreate the appearance of fine hairs.

After adding the Brow Wiz to my basket, I couldn’t resist clicking on the equally infamous DipBrow Pomade that was calling out to me in the sidebar. 

I also picked this up in the shade dark brown and this gel-like product works amazingly well with an angled brush to create waterproof, long-lasting and natural looking brows. I am confident that this dynamic duo will help my eyebrow nightmares become a thing of the past. 

(Left to right: Brow Wiz, DipBrow)

On a recent attempt to recreate a feline flick, I sadly discovered that all of my liquid liners had dried up. Is it just me, or does anyone else find themselves questioning whether their makeup conspires against them to all run out at the same time? 

I decided that whilst online to add the Stila Waterproof Liquid Liner in the shade 'intense black' to my basket. I had been desperately waiting to purchase this for a while as liner displaces so easily on my small, oily eyelids and I am eager to see whether this lives up to its ‘stay all day’ claim.

Before I could proceed to the checkout, the side bar caught my attention one last time and, as a self-confessed eyeshadow addict, I was powerless to resist clicking on the mini Stila In The Light icon. It took embarrassingly little convincing on my part to add this palette of ten dreamy nude shades to my basket. 

This gorgeous rose gold palette is filled with a selection of six shimmer and four nude shades as well as a handy smudge proof eyeliner in the shade 'chocolate'. The palette also has a large mirror inside and an inspirational quote that will put a smile on your face whilst you deliberate which stunning shades to adorn your eyes with that day. 

From an initial swatch of the shadows they look creamy, highly pigmented and my imagination is already running wild with the array of looks I can create. It looks like the perfect palette to transition you from day to night with light, warm-toned nudes as well as a couple darker cooler shades for a more dramatic finish. 

After this final addition, I made a swift exit to the checkout before any other gorgeous products could test my limited restraint and deplete my entire bank account. Although, I loved my first experience shopping on Cult Beauty and I will definitely be heading back there soon!

I hope you all enjoyed this mini high-end haul and I would love to hear what you think in the comments below or you can get in touch on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. I read and appreciate all of your messages!

Devon 

xoxo

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