Give your face a break from foundation

I find that foundation can be quite drying at times, especially if you have dry skin. That's why I like to give my skin a break & not wear foundation over the weekends. The only problem is that I like to go shopping over the weekends & still want my skin to look smooth, clear & even.
So what I do (and this is what you ladies can do too) is wear foundation ONLY on my nose & around my nostrils, just under my eyes & eyelids, between my top lip & nose & on my chin. See the image below. I know it looks like a toddler got hold of it, but I edited it on Microsoft Paint ;-)

The blue lines indicate where you'll apply your foundation & the green lines indicate the blending.
The reason why this will look like your whole face is covered with foundation is because your skin in this area tends to be more red than the rest of your face, this is due to hormones. This area is also prone to blackheads as it produces the most oil, also known as the "T-zone". So once you have cancelled the redness & covered the blackheads, your skin looks clear, smooth & even :)

When I apply my foundation on only that part of my face, I use a such a little bit, I mean a little - about a quarter of what I would use if I applied foundation to my entire face using a sponge. And I won't use a sponge, I'll use my fingers. This is because I find it easier to apply and blend if it's such a small area.

When using this method you'll also discover if you have the correct shade of foundation or not. If you do, you won't be able to see that you have foundation on only a certain area. If you don't have the correct shade, you'll be able to see the "line" of foundation immediately.

Once your foundation is on, you can apply your eyeshadow, mascara & a light sweep of blush.



Now if you're some one that likes to party over the weekends & is probably wanting to wear heavier makeup, then use this method during the week & "stack-it-on" over the weekends.

Hope you found this useful & helpful
xo

Trick for sparse lashes (great for the oldies)

As you can see in the above photo my eyelashes look fuller on the left eye than on the right. I'm going to explain how I did this!

All I needed was a black eyeliner pencil and a ear bud. Make sure your eyeliner is sharp, not "brand new HB pencil" sharp but just so that you get the pencil between your lashes nicely. It may tickle at first but you'll get used to it eventually.
First apply your foundation, concealer and powder. Then using your eyeliner pencil you are going to "color in" the gaps of the roots on your lash line. Use a connect-the-dots type of motion (little strokes for better accuracy). I like to start from the outside working my way in (towards your nose) and end where your lashes start to get less. You will find that while doing this a thin line just above your lashes was created, which is great, because it just adds to the look that we are trying to achieve. Now, you need to take a ear bud and smudge that line created just above your lash line. Smudge it inwards - towards your nose so that it looks blended in and natural.
You can now go ahead and apply your eyeshadow and mascara. If you are applying a few layers of different shades of eyeshadow, do these steps before you apply the last or second last color. This is just to ensure that that feint black line does not disappear completely.

Enjoy your fuller looking eyelashes!

Name change!

Hi Guys!

I changed my blog & facebook page name to Pretty Lovely instead of Kiss and Makeup. Even though I preferred the name Kiss and Makeup there is a company in America trading with that name and I did not want people to think that I was blogging for them!
I think Pretty Lovely is a pretty lovely name anyway :)

Take care,
Karmen

P.S Blog to follow on how to make your lashes look thicker/fuller!

My first tip! Wear colors that suite you, not necessarily trend looks.

When it comes to makeup trends stick to what suites you. Makeup is there to enhance your natural beauty, not make you look similar to a clown! You may come across books or magazine articles etc that will tell you what colors to wear if you have blond hair & blue eyes you can only wear blues or pastel colors on your eyes; I have blond hair & blue eyes & those colors look ghastly on me! I look washed-out & doesn't do my true beauty justice. Blue, if not put on VERY carefully, looks terrible... At the end of the day the colors that look best on me are soft browns! 

This comes with practice & playing around with your makeup & when you wear it you should feel confident that the makeup you have on makes you look beautiful. 

TIP: If you are just starting out with makeup & are wanting to experiment start with getting yourself a neutral makeup pallete (soft browns, browns & beiges). These colors suite all hair colors, eye colors & skin colors!

P.S this is a photo of me playing around with red lipstick - I had never worn it before!

This is the beginning!

So, this is my very first blog! I'm so glad that I am finally getting my butt into gear & starting to do what I've been wanting to do for a while now - tell girls/ladies about makeup using South African products. There are so many American makeup bloggers using American products out there & I want one that will reach out to SA girls using SA products!