Marvellous Maybelline-Gel Eyeliner Review

So I've been hearing a lot about this gel liner.I've heard rumours it's the same as or maybe even better than Bobbi Browns. I like the Bobbi Brown and love Inglot Gel liners, but as Bobbis' is around the £17 mark and Inglot sadly no longer trades in NI,ultimate sad face, I just had to get my manicured mitts on the Maybelline liner which has a rather reasonable price of £7.99.The Buy one get one half price offer in Superdrug lured me into purchasing the black and the brown.

So whats it like? Well packaging wise good.The glass jar is nice. No cheap plastic here. Nobody likes to admit it but looks are important. It also comes with a rather dinky brush, but more on that later.

Outer packaging

Brown

Black

Now how does it apply? Swatched, both the brown and the black are nicely pigmented. The black actually is black unlike other cheaper gel liners which can look a little navy or grey once applied. The brown has a slight shimmer through it which is nice but I think if its labelled as just brown then thats what it should be. Brown. Am I being fussy?

I used the brush that came with it to apply the liner. I do not like the brush for lining eyes,however I love the brush for lipstick application. the rounded end is perfect for defining the peaks of your lips. Instead, it might have beeb better to have included a pointed or angled brush. Yes that brush can give a think or thin line but its hard to use, a pointed or angled brush gives you more control and can be used to create more elaborate detailed lined eyes. You know for when you're in the mood for swirls and stars ;)

The liner itself is very creamy and glided on effortlessly. If you've very oily lids, I'd recommend using a good primer first as this may slip and slide around your eye. Compared to Bobbi Brown and Inglot gel liners,the Maybelline version is very similar, however it didn't last as long as my Inglot one. The black had smudged a little around 8 hrs after application. I found the next day when I wore the liner again,that adding a little bit of black shadow over the top of the line alleviated this. The colour stayed true throughout the day and didn't fade. I also tried it on my waterline. The liner didn't irritate my eye but it did smudge a little towards my tear duct but then I always get a little bit of smudging in there anyways.

Needless to say I was quite impressed with this little pot of joy.

All in all I think Maybelline have produced a pretty good product thats great value and perfect for everyday wear. But for heavy duty liner that is black as black can be and will not come off until I want it to, I'll stick to my trusty Inglot gel liner.

Have you got caught in the hype? Let me know in the comments box below.

Inflight Beauty-Top 10 Moisture Boosters

Ok so my other job besides painting faces, is that of a globetrotting glamourpuss. Well, at least thats what I like to think whilst sunning myself downroute in Barbados. 

Us hosties are well known for our love of makeup. The stereotypical flight attendant is caked in foundation. However underneath all that slap we have wonderfully moisturised skin.

Long haul flights can be anywhere from 6 hours to 14. Thats a long time to spend in dry recycled air. Sadly unlike the passengers we keep safe, we don't have the luxury of being able to watch the inflight movies with a face mask on or spend ages in the toilets applying lotions and potions. So crew need a product thats going moisturise, hydrate and keep on moisturising and hydrating our skin throughout the flight.

Here are my top 10 products that I swear by to keep my skin hydrated whilst flying.

1 Hydraluron-This is a gel containing hyaluronic acid. It claims to increase your skins below surface hydration levels and with continued use increase your skins ability to retain moisture over time. I use this before my normal moisturiser. Hydraluron hydrates and prepares the skin to absorb your moisturiser and maximise the moisturising goodness. 

2 Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair I don't know of any crew that don't use this. It's a preventative serum, so essentially you won't see the major benefits of it until your old and grey. Well you might be grey but you certainly will not be looking old if you've been using your ANR. It hydrates and plumps up my skin, makes any blemishes heal quickly without leaving marks, conditions, is great for sunburn on the face and helping skin to repair itself. If I had to pick one product it would be this. Buy the 100ml bottle when you're passing through duty free, you won't regret it.

3 Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster Another product with hyaluronic acid You can use this on its own, added to or before moisturiser. I usually use it before my Intensive Moisture Balance when my skin is really dry in the Winter.

4 Dermalogica Intensive Moisture Balance- This might be a bit much for someone with oily skin but for me who has dry skin, I love it. It doesn't feel too heavy so is perfect for a day cream, provides a lot of moisture and sits well under makeup.

5 Clinique Moisture Surge Intense. Again this wouldn't be great for acne prone oily skin, but for for dry skin its a lifesaver.  Its quite thick, but for night flights I prefer a heavier cream.

6 Origins Drink up Mask.Not pictured When my skin is really dehydrated, I like to apply some sort of mask. This is applied after landing when I'm tucked up in my hotel room with a Cheesecake Factory takeout watching Here comes Honey Boo Boo on TLC. TV so bad, its good. Instantly rehydrates my skin and takes away any tightness or dryness. This leaves my skin looking plumped up and glowy again.

7 MAC Mineralize Charged Water Eye Cream Takes away fine lines caused by dehydration,brightens the eye area, anti ageing and sits nicely underneath and on top of makeup. What more does an eyecream need to do?

8 MAC Fix+ If your hostie makeup begins to crack ie take on that dreaded dry cakey appearance, a quick spritz of Fix+ will get rid of that and add a boost of botanticals and moisture. Also fabulous if you put in in the fridge and use as cooling spray on the beach. 

9 Carmex. Not Pictured Besides my eyes, my lips are one of the first places to show any dryness. Carmex solves the problem and its easy to put on my lips underneath and on top of my red pout.

10 Water. We barely have enough time to drink it ourselves, but for you and us, its the best way to keep hydrated whilst flying. Leave the alcohol for when you arrive at your destination, not only will it dehydrate you even more, but the altitude will make that vodka and coke go to your head a hell of a lot quicker than if you were on the ground,and thats not a good thing.

I have a dry skin type, therefore not all of these products will be suitable for oilier skin. The aircraft environment has been compared to the dry air of the Sahara, so even if your skin is oily it will still need some form of hydration whilst in the air. Any excuse for a pamper session eh?


Hit me up with any products you think I should try.

Hostie Heather x

Lipstick: Summer Selection

New lipstick. Theres nothing better than the thrill of twisting up the bullet of a newly purchased lippy and seeing that brand new untouched goodness! Ok well I can think of one thrill that is better but it requires a significant other.

I've always had a penchant for lipsticks, which more than likely comes from my mum. It was her vast collection of pink lipsticks that had had me hooked on makeup from around age 2. I could sit and play for hours applying lipstick to myself, even discovering that it could double as blush,shadow and even as a snack. My 2 year old self thought that if something smelt good it must taste good.I quickly learnt thats not always the case.

I am a sucker for bright lipsticks. I love bright statement lips and wear bold colours on an almost daily basis.My mum has always worn bright lip colours, so I was never 'afraid' of a bright lip. Grooming regulations at work insist on a red lip, so I've got very used to wearing red lipstick. Sometimes feeling very rebellious on days off wearing coral.

Pinks, Reds and Corals mostly feature on my lips during the Summer months. Here are a few of my favourites.

Pinks. I have a lot of pink lipsticks. Blame my mother. Some say they are variations of the same shade, but I insist they're all different. 

MAC Candy Yum Yum-Matte Barbie Pink

Rimmel Apocalips Stellar-Hybrid Gloss
Lipstick bright salmon pink

OCC Lip Tar Anime-Almost neon liquid lipstick
This is even brighter in real life!

Reds-Although fluro pinks are my favourite I love a good glamourous red.I have faaaar to many red lipsticks! As its part of my uniform, I love vintage reds, and nearly always sport a 50s inspired look for work. 

Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural N45-
Satin Tomato Red

Inglot Freedom System 09-Slightly glossy
blue toned red

MAC Mac Red-My most worn red lipstick!
Matte true red.

Corals-My fair skin means I have to be careful with corals. They can look a bit odd with my colouring so I usually only wear coral when i'm a little more golden.

Rimmel Kate Moss 110-more orange toned than
shown here.Semi matte dark coral

Inglot Freedom System 95
Satin pinky toned coral

During Autumn and Winter months, I adore wine,deep plum and berry shades. But thats another post for another day.

Still on my search for a true neon pink and neon orange. Usually i use pigments to create my own neon colour. But a solid bullet form would be so much nicer.

Do you like to wear bright shades or play it safe with nudes? The brighter the better for me!

Perfect Pins with Sally Hansen

Well the sun has finally decided to shine over NI. The last few days have been very warm. So warm in fact that I've been wearing pretty little dresses and shorts. Now my skin is very light, not quite alabaster or porcelain, more of an ivory shade. Factor 50 is my friend whilst on work trips to the Caribbean and now this week in my back garden. I love being in the sun,just not baking in it. I envy those bronze goddesses with their beautiful golden glow, so fake tan has been a must have accessory with my chosen outfits this week. 

Airbrush Legs Lotion 'Tan'
Watch my Baby B Browne review here

Sally Hansen Airbrush legs has been my go to 'instant' tanning product for many years. Not only does it give your skin a realistic tan without having to wait for it to develop, it also covers any marks or blemishes you may have and makes your legs or wherever else you put it,look flawless. Then you just simply wash it all off with soap and water. 

 Sally Hansen has recently brought out a lotion version of their famous Airbrush Legs. I was eager to try it as anyone who has ever used the spray can version will know that the spray gets everywhere.yes you may be perfectly tanned but so is your bathroom by the end of it.

I tried the "tan" shade and well it was wonderful. I used a tanning mitt to apply it to ensure a smooth streak free finish. The lotion glided on to the skin making it easy to apply. I wasn't a fan of the shimmer in the spray can version so I was happy to see that the lotion was matte. Perfect pins were mine! Of course I applied the lotion to the rest of my body.I mean who actually only applies airbrush legs to their legs? You're seriously missing out if you haven't tried it everywhere else!

Left leg with Airbrush Legs lotion applied.
Photo makes the tan look a little lighter
than it is in real life.

Just like the original, the lotion is long wearing.Any encounters with water splashes or my 6 week olds baby sick (lovely) didn't affect the coverage or cause any mottling or weird streaky bits. Unlike Rimmel Sunshimmer which practically drips off you if you get caught in the rain. Removal was simple with a bit of a extra soap in the shower.

I prefer the Airbrush legs lotion over the spray version and will most definitely be repurchasing it. It is a thicker consistency than sunshimmer and definitely applies better. You could mix it with a bit if moisturiser for a lighter more even coverage. At around £13 a tube, its a little pricey but for me so worth it. I'll also be using this for bronzing up models in studio shoots as its transfer resistant and now that its matte will photograph better than the shimmery spray. 

This is going to be a permanent resident in my crew case. You never know when your quick trip to New York suddenly becomes a 4 night Barbados! I dont want to be too pale and interesting on the beach ;)

You can buy Airbrush Legs from most chemists and supermarkets.

Bubbly Brush Cleaning

  Anyone who knows me, knows how ridiculously anal I am about the cleanliness of my makeup brushes and tools. My kit brushes are deep cleaned after every use,spritzed with sanitising spray at every opportunity and my personal brushes are quickly cleaned with a spray of MAC brush cleanser after every use and then every two weeks deep cleaned with baby shampoo.

  So it should come as no surprise that I am positively turned (Belfast term for practically vomiting at the sight of.) when I see brushes that are so dirty with foundation the bristles don't even move anymore, or, when I give a makeup lesson to someone who uses the same foundation brush they've had since they were 15. One that has never actually been cleaned, even when they first got it. Boke! (Belfast term for actually vomiting at the sight of.) Good brushes are expensive and if you look after them well, will last you a long time. Plus goodness only knows what bacteria lies between those icky stuck together bristles!

  Seeing Mr Koren Zander- affectionately known as EnKoreMakeup on Youtube, develop a brush soap that not only cleans your brushes effectively,but will condition them and, if you use the scented ones, leave your beloved brushes smelling sweeter than roses, really excited me. I know I know, its only soap.I need to get out more.

  The soaps are solid with a loofah attached to the bottom and come in their own wee plastic pot.Usage directions and ingredients are on the label attached to the pot. They contain a lot of oils with natural antibacterial and conditioning properties.

  First impressions were good. There seemed to be a good lot of product and they both smelt lovely. In particular the ultra conditioning one. Although 'unscented', it had a little hint of tea tree and eucalyptus which I find to be a nice refreshing clean scent.

   I used the Pomegranante one first.I wet the soap and then swirled the dirty brush around the top a few times. It lathered just enough to coat the brush. This one wasn't dirty enough to need to use the loofah side so to test that out I used my Louise Young LY34 which is a pain in the bum to clean. The loofah definitely helped to dislodge some of the foundation stuck in the middle bristles. The soap itself did a pretty good job of removing makeup from the brushes. It rinsed out well and left no residue. Even gel liner which normally needs an oil cleaner to remove from the bristles, came off quite easily.

   For the Ultra conditioning soap I used bigger fluffier brushes to test the 'Ultra' conditioning. This one lathered the same and 'loofered' the same as the Pomegranate Pro. I left the brushes to dry overnight and then checked their softness in the morning.They were clean and soft, Although I didn't feel much of a difference in softness of the brushes thad had been cleaned with the Pro Ultra soap.

 I'm pretty impressed. The soap effectively removed makeup from the brushes and left them clean and soft. However I wouldn't recommend it for makeup artists that do any sort of work other than beauty makeup, like SFX or bodypainting etc. It definitely isn't strong enough to remove that kind of product. I'd happily repurchase the Ultra Soap, it seems a little more antibacterial. I'd still spritz my pro brushes with Beauty So Clean sanitiser or isopropyl alcohol though to be sure they are well sanitised.

  The pomegranate scent didn't last, which i'm quite glad about as it got on my nerves after a while. I wouldn't use scented cleaners on my kit brushes anyways, for the same reason as the scent may annoy people. I loved that wee pot they came in. So handy for taking with me on trips, as it's a solid, it's one less thing to go in that darn liquids bag!

Overall I like the soaps, I just dont love them enough to constantly repurchase. As I said I'll probably get the Ultra one again in the future but baby shampoo and isopropyl alcohol is doing the trick for me now :)

  I purchased the Pro Ultra conditioning Brush Soap £9.50 and the Pomegranate Pro brush soap £8.50 from www.beautychamber.co.uk 

Let me know what you think if you've tried any of Korens' soaps. 

Welcome to HeatherAllenMakeup.com

Hello and Welcome to HeatherAllenMakeup.com!

A blog full of fabulousness!(Is that even a word?!)  

I am a Makeup Artist specialising in occasion makeup and also an International Traveller Extrordinaire! OK well the second bit isn't strictly true, I'm long haul cabin crew for a rather glamorous airline but it still counts.

This is my space to blog about all things makeup and beauty, and to tell you a little bit about my travels as an air hostess ,best beauty finds and cosmetic encounters around the world.

I hope you'll enjoy my rambles!

Heather xx

PS You'll also find information on the Makeup Services I provide, in the side bar. Feel free to contact me with any questions or enquiries you may have :)

heatherallenmakeup@hotmail.co.uk