Make Mine Mineral

“Proto- col have cleverly blurred
the line between makeup and skincare”

I’ve long been an advocate of mineral makeup. When it comes
to making a celebrity client look radiant and youthful, I have to say that there
is really no better product than a mineral powder foundation.

You may have noticed that for some time now ‘Mineral’ has
been a beauty buzz word used by almost every cosmetic brand around and it’s
with good reason. Mineral ingredients, in their purest form, promise to not
only even out the skin tone but also diffuse fine lines and offer the complexion
a natural, high sun protection.

The science is pretty simple. Mineral rocks such as mica,
zinc and titanium dioxide are crushed into a powder form so that they shimmer
ever so slightly (without looking glittery) when they’re brushed onto the skin.
When the minerals blend with natural oils already in the skin the result is a
complexion that looks flawless... and because the minerals are so finely milled
they can be built up in sheer layers to cover the most stubborn areas of
redness without looking cakey.

In my experience, once I introduce a woman to mineral
makeup, she loves the effect so much so that she rarely wants to go back to
using a traditional foundation. The problem however is that most mineral
foundations come in pots of loose powder and require clever application to get
the right amount of coverage without using too much. Many women complain that
the pots spill in their handbags and that the loose eye shadows fall all over
the face when brushed over the eyelid.

Enter Proto-col, the company best known for bringing us
skin-strengthening collagen in tablet form. Proto-col has now turned their hand
to compact mineral makeup and the timing couldn’t be better. I was delighted to receive a selection of their Baked Minerals range of compacts because it meant that I would be able to
carry mineral makeup in my kit and apply it without having to worry about the
mess.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this was more than
just mineral makeup. Proto- col have cleverly blurred the line between makeup
and skincare, blending complexion calming essential oils like jojoba oil and safflower
oil together with healing lavender(great for spot prone skin) and baking them
into a compact to make application easy. The foundations feel super soft and
silky to touch. They leave the complexion feeling hydrated yet not at all
greasy. I love the Baked Mineral Colour Corrector – a swirl of green and flesh
toned powder which adapts to any skin tone to obliterate redness. The shimmer
powders impart an instant glow without looking too shimmery. The eye shadows
are a dream to blend and my favourite; Smoky, suits absolutely every skin tone
I use it on.

The best product really is the lip gloss though. The wand
lights up for easy application and the tube has a mirror on the side so that
you can see what you’re doing. A range that’s easy to apply and absolutely
flawless looking on the skin- I think this could be the future of mineral makeup.

From £11.95 to £27.95

Semi Permanent Eyebrow Makeup

 

My most popular Semi Permanent Makeup treatment by far is the Eyebrows. Eyeliner and Lip liner will beautify but creating eyebrows where they are none can entirely change the way that a woman looks and feels.

I recently had a client visit me for a full Eyebrow Reconstruction. Having already lost her eyebrows to years of over-plucking, they eventually disappeared all together during an awful period of chemotherapy. Thankfully my client’s health fully recovered but her eyebrows didn’t and she had taken to wearing a long fringe that she really didn’t feel suited her.

 

It never fails to amaze me the impact a great set of brows has on a face. The right length will frame the eyes. The correct shape will make the eyes appear bigger and brighter. A beautiful arch will add a certain ‘polished elegance’. Lifting the tail ends of the brow can knock five years off a face there and then.

My client in question was understandably nervous about the treatment. She was keen to see natural looking results. After all, I was about to draw on hairs that would last around a year! I began by using an eyebrow pencil in a similar shade to her hair colour to draw the brow onto the skin. This is an important process – I like to use a method of measuring that will ensure both brows match each other exactly. Symmetry is key to beauty and these measurements need to be precise. My client was delighted with the shape – a soft but highly arched brow that instantly made the eyes ‘pop’.

The process is rather like a tattoo however I implant the colour into the shallow dermal layer of the skin. The needle I use is incredibly thin , allowing me to apply strokes as fine as natural hairs. These ‘hairs’ will fade gradually over the year until a colour boost is required.

My client was so happy with her new eyebrows that she cried. The fringe was scooped back at the same time that her posture straightened. I literally watched her confidence grow instantly.

This really must be one of the most rewarding jobs in the world!