Feb Pulse Beauty

Welcome to Pulse Beauty HQ

We are very excited about our new monthly beauty section where we will be sharing tips, tricks, advice,product launches and reviews and much more. My name is Gail Spooner and I am a professional make-up artist and a freelance beauty writer. I have been very fortunate to have worked with some fabulous people on interesting projects,both in London and whilst living overseas; this included working for MAC Cosmetics in London for nine years and working on the last British Airways Ad Campaign.

I have been playing with make-up forever! My fascination began at an early age at my Mother’s dressing table, where I discovered a treasure trove of beauty heaven. Lipsticks and eye shadows became more appealing than Meccano and dolls! I still have pangs of guilt for snapping my Mother’s most prized lippys clean in half whilst experimenting...I am delighted to have been invited by Kerry Lewis, the Editor, to get involved with MK Pulse and its readers. Stay tuned and enjoy

SPRING/SUMMER 2015 Beauty Trends

Recurring themes seen on the catwalks were:

• Bigger brows
• Return of the red lip (see below)
• Sultry smokey eyes
• Loaded lashes
• Graphic eye liner

Red On Trend - How to Achieve

My well turned-out octogenarian neighbour is an inspiration! She will not leave her house without a moderate application of Max Factor's Lipfinity in the boldest of reds! She wears no other makeup and simply says, “I am ready to greet the world once my lips are on dear!” She is on trend with the return of the red lip and has a twinkle in her mischievous eye! Don’t panic if pillar box red is a step too far! Reds come in a multitude of hues from the deepest berry to the palest pink.

Pick a shade to complement your skin and hair colour but also consider your skin’s undertones. A simple way to work out what yours are is by checking the colour of your veins on the underside of your wrists. If your eins appear blue/purple then you are in the cool spectrum and if they appear green, then you fall into the warm spectrum. If you are unable to determine the colour then you may be neutral.

Application Tricks

1. Use a lip pencil for extra staying power and to define your lip shape. Apply to entire lip area using a shade similar to your lipstick.
2. Apply lipstick with a brush for a professional finish and then blot with a tissue.
3. Using a small fluffy brush, apply a light dusting of translucent loose powder onto your lips to set then apply a second layer of lipstick.

For their staying power and moisturising properties, try:

Clarins Rouge Eclat £19.50

Yves Saint Laurent Le Rouge Pur Couture £25-26

 

 

Beauty Resolutions 2015 - Are you sticking to your Beauty Resolutions?

So we are just about a quarter of the way through the year already! Some may have fallen by the wayside whilst others may have been over ambitious at the off! We have whittled our list down to six that we think are worth sticking to.

1. SPF protect you skin -  Many moisturisers and foundations have built in SPFs. Remember – even on the dullest days, we are exposed to UV light, which accelerates the skin’s ageing process.
2. Water–keep your skin hydrated by drinking enough water. Hydrated skin cells slow down the ageing process.
3. Cleanse, tone & moisturise – this need only take a few minutes twice daily and you will soon notice the benefits to your complexion.
4. Hands & Feet – do not underestimate the work that they do on a daily basis! Book in for regular manis & pedis.
5. Facial–either professional or DIY with a good quality face mask. Either way, 30 minutes of relaxing ‘you’ time whilst improving your skin is a worthwhile investment –be sure to switch off your laptops/phones!  
6. Clean Brushes – without exception, clean your makeup brushes weekly to remove the build up of products and and lurking bacteria.