SPF; How does it factor in?

Well hello!

I'm back and, to be quite frank, shattered! I just attended my first ever "hot yoga" class and I can feel a habit forming already. The basic idea is that you go through yoga poses in a heated room to maximise the effects and relax muscles. This worked, and I'm definitely the better for it.

However! I was far too blissed out to even consider what would happen when I left the room. As you can imagine, spending over an hour stretching your body in a heated room produces sweat. A lot of it. Despite that fact it's actually a really nice experience. I didn't think that once I stepped out into the cold Irish evening that my soaking t-shirt would go ice cold. As I hopped into my car I made contact with a sodden, chilly piece of clothing. I nearly leapt through the windscreen. That will definitely be put down with notes for the next time.

All this experience with heat and the fact that it's July (combined with a fantastic point that Susan made in her post about your big day) got me thinking about SPF. As I'm a wrecked little bunny I'm going to go through some quick facts about SPF, how it works in make up products, and how to avoid the dreaded flashback! Read on, my lovelies.

• SPF cannot be layered to increase the protection factor. Layering an SPF 15 over an SPF 15 won't give you an SPF 30. Layering an SPF 15 and and SPF 30 won't give you 45, it'll remain at thirty. The highest factor you apply will be the highest protection your skin will have. 
• The little rascal in make up and skincare products that causes flashback is "Titanium dioxide". This is a physical sunscreen that protects the skin by bouncing light back, so it reduces the amount of sunlight that actually has the chance to burn the skin. When photographed this ingredient does the same thing to a camera flash. This reflected light is caught on camera and makes your skin appear much paler. 
• If you know you're going to be photographed it's best to avoid SPF altogether. If your primer or moisturiser contains an SPF you should be fine, as long as it doesn't exceed SPF 15/20. Try not to layer products that contain any sun factor as you'll only build up layers of TD and I don't think I need to tell you what that does! Definitely avoid any foundation products that contain this as they're right on top of the skin and in prime position to bounce back that flash.
• If you're not sure whether or not your base products will give you hassle, check the ingredients. If the aforementioned bad boy is high up on the list then I suggest you run a mile! 
• Lastly, make sure you do wear an SPF every single day. I know I probably sound like some ridiculous medical professional or an Irish Mammy gone rogue but it really is important. Sun damage is one of the leading causes of premature ageing. That alone has me operating on vampire status and trying to avoid direct contact with sunlight as much as possible! You'd think that would be easy in Ireland, but funnily enough... 

That, m'loves, is about all of the essentials I can think of. I know this was short and sweet but when summer rolls around I inevitably get asked by one or two people about the effects of sun protection in make up, so I thought I'd jot this down for any other confused souls out there. It's really simple once you know what to look out for, it's just getting that info that helps. 

As always, any questions or queries are more than welcome! Give us a shout on any of our social media and either myself, Susan or Aisling will get back in touch. 

I'm off to curl up in a ball and probably pass out peacefully. 

Until next time!

J x

The BIG Day!

Aloha,

Jamie will be back with you on Wednesday so today you have me (Susan) instead! Wedding season is well and truly in full swing and if your getting married well than lucky you....I'm gonna be giving you my best tips on the vital last minute things that will get you ready for the big day.

Preparation is key. You want to be looking your best on your big day so ideally you will have had been on a strict skincare routine in the run up to the wedding. Cleanser, toner, serum, moisturiser, eye cream and SPF are the essentials. A week before your wedding scrub your skin to remove any dead cells that could hamper your makeup....from then on out you need to be on your best behaviour to prevent break outs....no picking....plenty of water and most of all try control your diet! Much easier said than done when its a very stressful time. If you are unsure of what skincare to be using, I would recommend visiting a spa and having a facial or alternatively go to a beauty counter that is geared towards skin and speak to an experienced consultant. Do your research online (more on that later).

Last minute prep on the big day before your makeup artist arrives is very fuss free. Use a lip scrub (Lush is my fave) and apply a balm afterwards to hydrate lips as we want that pout perfect especially if your going for a stronger colour like reds. You probably searched high and low for your makeup artist and without a doubt he/she is the bees knees but there is a few things that are essential to your wedding makeup that you definitely want to make sure are included. Primer is key to making sure your makeup lasts all day and prevents oil so you don't look shiny in your photographs. Avoid SPF at all costs as it can flash back in photography and give you the white face and tanned body look...not good. Eye primer is also essential to the longevity of your makeup, it will prevent shadows from creasing and will make colours appear much brighter. Ask your MUA to set your makeup with a setting spray rather than a powder and that way if all else fails you know you have something to fall back on (trust Urban Decay on this one) and your skin won't look overly dry or cake-y.

Not neglecting your body, make sure to scrub your skin once/twice a week to make sure it is in super condition if you decide to wear false tan. Add a moisturiser afterwards as this will prevent the tan from sticking to dry patches. 

Weddings can be super expensive but they can also be a learning curve when it comes to skincare and makeup. If you know your getting married in a year or twos time why not ask family and friends for your birthday, Christmas, anniversary etc to receive vouchers instead of gifts. And then when you have had your makeup trial you have the money there to buy all the bits'n'bobs you've seen a professional use and you can learn a few tips along the way on how to use them. 

So I think I have waffled enough so I'm gonna leave it there for now but I will come back to this topic at a later stage to tell you my top secret, tried and true best skincare products to get your skin in perfect nick for your big day! 

Love,

S

Wingin' it: Top tips for applying winged liquid/gel eyeliner.

'Ello!

Monday has rolled around again and I'm back. After a couple of weeks of skin related posts I'm bringing you more make up this time around. Today I'll be going through how I apply gel or liquid liner. I'll be including some tips and tricks along the way, as well as products I would recommend! Let's get down to business...

The first thing to think about is what product you prefer to use. I prefer a gel as I find it's easier to create a smooth line with this type of product. The formula is a little bit thicker and doesn't smudge as easily as a liquid. However, if liquid is your thing then by all means go hell for leather with that!

If you're using a gel like me then nine times out of ten it'll come in a small pot. You can use either an angled or pointed liner brush to apply this. I prefer to use an angled brush (I used Inglot's 31T brush for this particular look) as the flat edge creates a smooth line for you. I also used Inglot's #77 gel liner. It's matte black and waterproof, so it's a must have for keeping your liner looking fresh all day. Once you nail down what you want to use, it's time to start the application.

• Start by following your lower water line and applying a line of product. The water line is the ledge of skin just above your lower lashes. By following the curve that this creates you'll find the most complimentary angle for your eye shape. Everyone's eyes are relatively close in shape so this will help create an even angle for both wings. 
• Create a line towards the eyelid, aiming for your top lashes. You want to create a lifted triangle from your lash line to the end of your liner. This will be the body of your wing. By starting this line just away from the end of the first one you applied, you keep the thin and pointed tip on your wing. 

• Next I take my liner right into my inner corner and lift it up along my lid. I use less product here and keep it nice and thin at the beginning. You can always build this up later if you want it thicker. 
• Next is the part where I take my line across the top lash line! By doing this last I already have the width of my liner determined by the wing and the inner corner. I find that this stops the liner from becoming thicker than I intended. As before, you can always build on top of this later if you prefer. 

• The last thing I do is fill in the space left between the top of my line and my lashes. I take my time here and make sure I have enough liner pushed down into my lashes so that no skin is showing between my lashes and my liner. You can use this step to add any thickness to your liner or tweak the shape. You'll see the overall shape once it's filled in completely, so I'd say wait until this step before you add on to it. 

Another little goodie worth mentioning is Duraline by Inglot. It's a mixing medium that you add to any gel liner to make it more liquid. This product is absolutely genius! Manys the time this has saved a dried liner in my kit and extended the life of it by miles. You literally only need the tiniest bit though, so do be careful. You can also use this to clean up and sharpen your eye liner once you're finished. Take it on a flat concealer brush and run it against the wing of your liner for a clean, crisp finish.

Of course there are many different liner products and brushes that you can use to achieve a gorgeous finish. Have a little shop around and a little play with some bits and pieces. By finding a product that works well you'll have half the job done before you even start.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Any feedback would also be really appreciated, let me know what you'd like to see! We have some fab posts planned for the coming weeks so I'm really excited for them to go live. 

Until next time,

J x 

Looking after the skin you're in.

Good morning!

I'm having a balanced breakfast of coffee and Netflix, how you doin'?! I know I'm a day early but tomorrow (June 1st) I'll be doing the VHI Mini Marathon for charity with the lovely ladies I work with so I decided to check in with you guys while I have a free day on my hands.

While we were preparing and making lists of essentials (a hoody just in case, a change of clothes for after, wine, etc...) of course the topic of SPF came up. Being outside in the elements for 10K poses a certain level of risk. Naturally we have all bases covered by now with weatherproof clothing and SPF Factor 50 all in the one bag (I won't mention the dreaded Irish climate), but it's nice to be careful.

All of this got me thinking about taking care of your skin in general. I'll be doing an in depth post on my actual skin care routine and the products that I love soon enough. For now I've compiled a list of tips and tricks that I find make a huge difference to my skin and how it looks. Some might be obvious, but maybe one or two might be new to you and you can hopefully incorporate them from here on out. Read on and see!

Review your skin care routine every 6 months;
Just like the whole winter vs. summer wardrobe routine, your skin care should go through a little editing process every 6 months or so. Whether it just be adding something moisturising in the winter or changing your SPF level in summer, your skin will need to little bit of TLC once the temperature gauge takes a large swing in either direction. The changes don't have to be massive and you certainly don't have to spend a whole lot of money, but doing a little de-cluttering and freshening up will do your skin the world of good.

Don't forget your body;
I'm a demon for doing this. I'll go weeks without so much as a lick of lotion on my knees or elbows and I'll be howling! Wearing skinnies for prolonged periods of time when you should have slapped E45 onto your legs is punishment in itself. Take it from me, I use the exfoliating side of a sponge once a week from the neck down and use a generic body lotion to keep my skin in check. I find this helps prevent blemishes down onto the neck and chest as well. Bonus! Obviously if you have drier skin on your body or a skin condition, please be careful with the scrubbing part.

Diet;
You all know what's coming. I starts with W- and ends in -ater. There's that, and also making sure that you get decent vitamins and good food into you. You'll have more energy and appear more vibrant all around, as well as giving your skin a little boost. At the start of this year I made a major change in my diet and started a fitness routine. My skin has thanked me for it, which is a nice side effect! If that's not your cup of tea, try to include a multivitamin with breakfast as an added boost!

Sleep with your hair away from your face;
Sebum secretes onto the skin and also onto the hair. Therefore sebum is just hitching a ride along your hair shafts in between washes. If you're sleeping with your hair in your face, the oil is more likely to transfer onto your skin. I'm sure you've guessed it, but introducing excess sebum back to your skin after cleaning it isn't beneficial. Get yourself a nice lil' girlo bun on the top of your head before you settle down for fourty winks and you be grand!

Change your bedding frequently; 
This ties into the previous tip. During the night your skin will produce oil and shed dead skin cells. I know it sounds gross but it's harmless and a natural procedure for the skin to go through! However, the longer you sleep on the same bedding the more build up that will be there. I personally flip my pillows each night so that I'm sleeping on each surface as few times as possible. This will help prevent a build up on one surface. I know we're all fabulously clean and hygienic anyway, but it doesn't hurt to get into a routine.

Don't be digging in your pores;
I'm going to sound like someone's mam but leave your face alone! I'm so guilty of this, I know there's nothing more satisfying than getting rid of a nasty white head but you'll do damage. Squeezing too hard can drive the blockage deeper into the skin and damage the pore even further. It will take longer for your blemishes to heal, and there's a chance you'll leave permanent marks. If I can try, you can try!

I know a fair few of these are generic enough but you'd be surprised the differences that can be made! As I mentioned I'll be putting together a proper skin care routine post, including reviews of some products I've been quite liking. Until then I'll be incorporating the above as much as possible!

Here's hoping we're all glowing and gorgeous for this summer,
Until next time,
J x

"Setting" the record straight; Hydrating sprays vs. Setting sprays.

Good evening, ladies and gents. I'm outside of my usual Monday time frame I know, but that can't be helped. I'm here tonight instead, and I'm going to address a misconception that I come across quite frequently. This is something I used to take as gospel as well, but I'm now the wiser. The presumed notion I'll be referring to is as follows;

"MAC Fix+ is a setting spray."

On closer inspection Fix+ isn't a setting spray (although it does leave a nice finish once all of the make up has been applied.) It won't, however, increase the wear time of your make up. It's far from "setting" that this beauty was reared. 

Given that various beauty houses and even skincare brands have their own version of spray on products (be they toners, moisturising mists or other inventions) I think it's important to address the difference between the two key groups and let you guys know what they can be used for, and how to get the best out of your product. I'll start with the hydrating lads, shall I?

Hydrating sprays.

Main use; To add moisture back to dry, dehydrated skins. 

Key Ingredients; Glycerin. Rosewater, Aloe Vera extract is also listed quite frequently.

These sprays are generally marketed more as skincare, and they work really well at this step. Fix+ contains glycerin which is a humectant. Any humectant ingredient binds water to the skin by absorbing moisture in the environment. Layering these under serums and moisturisers will help to hydrate the skin. Products like Moisture Surge Face Spray by Clinique and Jurlique's Calming Mist are both hydrating and soothing sprays that contain this fantastic little ingredient. 

For the drier skin types out there, feel free to spritz a light layer over your make up to bring back a healthy sheen to the skin! These won't lock your war paint into place so for my oily skinned clan, stick to using these in your skin routine.

Setting sprays. 

Main use; To set the make up and keep it in place all day. Some can be used to prime the skin also.

Key Ingredients; Silicon ingredients, many contain alcohol.

In the style of Ronseal, these do exactly what they say on the tin. These products are designed to set the make up in place by leaving a lightweight, oil-controlling film across the skin so that the end result doesn't look heavy or cakey. These are usually offered as an alternative to setting powders, or to take away the look of heavy powder application. 

I've looked at the ingredients of a few choice options and they mostly contain silicon elements. If you remember the post about skin primers you'll know that these ingredients are beneficial for oily skins. This makes them fantastic primers as well, especially if you don't want too many heavy duty products on your skin. The down side is that they often contain alcohol so that the liquid can evaporate from the skin's surface. This will stop it mingling with any naturally occurring sebum but if you're in any way dry or sensitive I'd turn your head at this point. 

If you're interested in taking them for a test drive then definitely check out Urban Decay's De-Slick, Cinema Secrets Super Sealer or Model in a Bottle's Original Setting Spray. 

I know there's not a whole world of difference when it boils down to it but picking up the wrong one could wreak havoc on your beauty regimen. I'm by no means a skincare or product development aficionado, but my college days left me with some valuable info. Get into the habit of checking out what's in your beauty bits and pieces and you'll thank me, promise!

If you want to see some more product break downs like this one, definitely let me know! Give me another reason to spend hours reading about make up. Like, please? 

*insert the usual tired speech about various social media links at the top of the blog right here* I know I'm dragging the arse out of it now, I'm sorry. Not sorry enough to stop but I do feel a small twinge of guilt. Definite character progression, no? 

I hope this was in some way helpful.

Until next time, 

J x 

Foundation Fact File.

Guess who has coffee and a full post's worth of make up chatter to get through? Yeah. Me. You guessed it. 

This week we're having a chinwag about foundation. Years of doing make up, and a few extra years of doing my own make up, have taught me that your foundation can make or break your look. It's also the major point of stipulation when it comes to a lot of make overs. Owing to the great passion that people have for their war paint I decided to do up a little guideline for those of you who are a bit lost when it comes to buying a foundation. 

I'll go through some common make up jargon (i.e the words that'll no doubt be hurled at you at some point when you're in store having a wander) and break them down so that the next time you need to invest the process won't be so daunting. 

Undertone; The undertone of a foundation is grouped as either warm, neutral or cool. "Warm" foundations have more yellow pigment in them, and "cool" toned products have more pink pigment. "Neutral", naturally enough, is somewhere in the middle. 

The undertone is usually the first hurdle that knocks people down. Some bases have more prominent pigments than others. As a rule of thumb, if the foundation looks grey or washed out you should try something warmer. If your foundation is coming across too yellow, or even orange, try something with a more neutral or cool tone. 

Formula; The formula is basically the way the product looks in the packaging, i.e liquid, powder, cream, etc. Different formulas have different benefits and strong points. For example a powder foundation is ideal for an oily skin type as it will absorb excess oil while you wear it. A richer liquid or cream product will be best for a drier skin as it will add a healthy sheen to the skin. 

Do a little research into the products you like the look of, as not all formulas stick to straight forward rules. There are some liquid foundations that work amazingly on oily skin and some powders that work nicely on dry skin. It all depends on the finish, which we'll cover next. 

Finish; When we talk about the "finish" of a foundation we mean how it looks on the skin. Matte, dewy and satin are all finishes. The finish isn't always determined by the formula, so as I said definitely do a little inside snooping to find out about some attractive products. 

A matte finish has no shine to it and gives a soft, powdered look to the skin. A lot of oily skin types like to go for this finish as many matte formulas will absorb excess oil and reduce unwanted shine. On the flip side we have drier skinned folk who like to add some faux glow. They might opt for a dewy finish which leaves the skin looking fresh with a sheen to it. Have a play with some foundations, ask some questions and see what takes your fancy!

Coverage; Oh, the Irish ladies are big into their coverage! Whether they like a light and sheer base or they want full on foundation, the Irish cailíns know their stuff! This is the one area that the Irish public has definitely educated themselves on, and brilliantly so. 

The coverage of a foundation determines how opaque the product is. Full coverage will completely obliterate your natural skin tone and replace it with your base colour. Medium coverage will show some texture and natural colour. Light coverage will show your skin and let it shine through while evening out the skin tone. 

One thing to consider here is whether or not you actually need a lot of coverage. One or two hormonal spots on your chin won't warrant a blanket of base across the gorgeous clear skin along your cheeks. Consider pairing your foundation with a concealer. Examine how your skin changes and behaves and let that help you in picking your foundation. 

So, armed with this knowledge, I hope that you guys and dolls have a little bit more confidence when it comes to picking out your new holy grail product. Buying a foundation can be one of the most influential purchases of your entire make up wardrobe, so I'm aiming to make it a little easier.There's a lot more that goes into creating the perfect foundation but with these four points under your belt you'll be fresh faced and fancy free in no time!

Don't forget to also follow us on twitter and Instagram, both of those are linked at the top of the home page. If you want us to see any of your posts tag us and hashtag "#ThreesCompanyBeauty"

I hope this was helpful guys!

Until next time,

J x