The do's & don'ts of matte lip products

Matte lip products in all their popularity and surrounding controversy begs the question; do I wear it? How do I wear it? What shade do I get? These questions present an endless list of uncertainties but fear not, keep reading and ill provide you with a few do’s and don’ts when it comes to these products. Best grab a pend and paper!

DO – Match your lip liner

This applies mainly to those who are opting for a bright, bold colour. Applying a lip liner prior to your matte lipstick is a good idea since this will prevent your lip colour from ‘bleeding’ (where your lipstick escapes the natural line of your lips). It’s also perhaps an even better idea to get a lip liner that matches the colour of your lipstick as best as possible, to avoid the dreaded 90’s inspired two toned look.

DON’T - Over apply it

Since matte lip products are not very moisturising (if at all), it kind of just sits and doesn’t really fade away as fast as what other lip products do. I know it’s tempting to keep reapplying your product in the hopes that it will bring some moisture to your lips but don’t, sit on those hands. Re-applying will just cause the product to pile up on top of your lips and the chance of it being even is pretty slim. If you really want to re-apply, first remove the remaining product on your lips with a wipe before applying a fresh coat.

DO – Keep your lips moisturised

This is probably my biggest fault when it comes to using matte lip products, I cannot stand when my lips aren’t moisturised so I make a point in applying lip ice before I apply my lip colour. This will avoid dehydration, flaking and will keep you lip colour looking fresh as can be. #Yay!

DO – Exfoliate

This goes hand in hand with keeping your lips moisturised, exfoliating will get rid of any dry flakiness and will help with a good application of you lip product. I like to use a ‘sugar lip scrub’ from “Beauty Treats”. I usually purchase this product at Dis-chem, it often comes in a variety of flavours and is very affordable.

DO – Pick the right shade

This is the most important, choosing a colour which is too light for your skin tone could make you look corpse like while choosing a colour too dark for your skin tone may stain your lips and wear badly. Opting for corals, reds and pinks is pretty much your safe zone. If that’s not your thing, then I say wear what feels right to you.

At the end of the day experimentation is always your best bet, I’d do it with lip products that are a little bit more on the affordable side before spending your hard earned cash on something expensive that you just might not like. Find out what works best for you and rock it! Happy shopping ;)

S

Xoxo

June Surprise :GIVEAWAY

So June has finally come around and we’re going to have a ball because we are celebrating Shez does life’s first anniversary! #HappyDance! In that I would like to thank you all SO much for your continued love and support, words cannot say how grateful I am to be able to do what I love and to have readers who stand by me. So to thank you in a proper manner I am hosting a giveaway!

With the help of the lovely Miss Luarynne Gouws from ‘Hey pretty S.A’ the giveaway will include the “Colourpop Ultra Matte” Liquid lipstick in the shade ‘Lumiere’ which I’m sure a number of you will know was created by youtuber Kathleen Lights in collaboration with ‘Colourpop’. That will be accompanied by a few other surprise goodies which I myself love so I’m pretty excited about this.

Let’s get the rules out of the way quickly. The giveaway will commence today, 6 June 2016 and will run through the course of two weeks closing at 6pm 20 June 2016. The winner will be announced at 11am on the 21(st) June 2016. To enter the giveaway you will have to

1. Like my Facebook Makeup page (Link below)

2. Tag your bestie/s in the comments section on Facebook

3. Share the post for an additional entry (Optional).  That’s it!

*You must be 18 years or older to enter (If you’re younger, please ask your parent’s consent first’.

*You must reside in South Africa to stand a chance to win

*After the winner has been announced you will have 48 hours to make contact with me to receive the giveaway, after 48 hours without contact I reserve the right to select another winner.

*Items in the giveaway may not be exchanged for a different colour/item or cash. 

That just about covers it! I’m really excited about this giveaway and I hope that you are too. I’d love to hear from you, let me know what you’d like to read about and whether you have any questions feel free to post a comment below. Thank you all again for all the love and support in the last year, may there be many more years filled with articles and giveaways. Let the excitement begin…

S

Xoxo

Facebook link -----> https://www.facebook.com/Sherina-Tavares-Make-Up-Artist-1560618330896446/?fref=ts

Colourpop Lippie Stix - First Impressions

I have drooled over makeup from the United States long before I became a makeup artist and I vowed that someday I’d get my hands on it, today is that day my friends! I have watched so many make up tutorials where they’ve used ‘Colourpop’ products and they are so appealing to the eye that my first ever purchase has been the ‘Colourpop’ Lippie stix in the shade “Tootsi”, here are my first impressions…

I caught wind of Muse.sa on Instagram some months back, they stock several kinds of makeup brands that we are yet to be blessed with here in South Africa, everything from ‘Anastasia Beverly Hills’ right through to ‘Morphe’. Luckily they stock ‘Colourpop’ which was much to my excitement. I made my special order with them at the end of April and received it approximately 4 weeks later (I was about as excited as a child on Christmas day when it arrived), needless to say - I am very impressed with the service that I received and will definitely be making purchases with them again in the not too distant future. *I’ll place a link down below for their Instagram page*

‘Tootsi’ is the name of the new lippie stix sitting in my vanity and let me tell you that I think I may be in love. This is a cool toned grey beige ‘greige’ as they call it, with a matte finish. The colour first of all, is stunning and so perfect for winter, I was at first both curious and nervous about whether or not the matte finish would dry out my lips but after wearing it for a few days I am happy to report that my lips are in fact in one piece and not dried out from this product.

The packaging is really pretty and initially the first thing I had noticed about it is that these lippie stix are all twist products so there really is no mess or fuss for us #HappyDance. Application of the product is pretty satisfactory; it applies evenly and fades the same way after hours of wear, through eating and drinking. It’s beautifully pigmented and just an all well rounded lip product.

All in all, I really cannot say a bad thing about this product. It’s still affordable and I’m really quite happy with it, before you know it I’ll be purchasing a few more and adding them to my ever expanding lip product collection. Any recommendations for my next purchase?

S

Xoxo

Muse.SA Link:

https://www.instagram.com/muse.sa/?hl=en

Stop the mess - look your best!

Winter has arrived here in the sunny Southern Africa and boy I am not a winter baby at all but alas it is inevitable… More clothing, warm drinks and snuggles under the blankets but what about our hair? Sometimes we don’t think about the affect cold weather has on our locks. I’m going to give you five tips to help keep your hair beautiful and healthy all year round.

1. Wear a hat, bad hair days happen to everyone but at least now in the winter months you’ll be able to conceal it without having to worry about it too much. Besides hiding a bad hair day, wearing a hat on a winter’s day will protect your hair from the harsh cold and dry air which can cause more damage in the long run than you realise. Do yourself a favour though, before you put your snug beanie on your head before heading out the door, wrap your hair in a “silk” scarf and then put the beanie on. You will save yourself a ‘static head’ which is no more fun than a cold head in winter.
2. Condition, Wearing a hat everyday may not be an option so your hair may get a tad dry due to the harsh cold but fear not, treat your hair once a week to a deep conditioning treatment. This will help replenish the moisture that may have been lost in your hair.
3. Keep washing to a minimum, try and keep it between 2-3 washes a week in order to retain some moisture and prevent it from drying out. It’s important to dry your hair before leaving the house, not only because you’ll freeze but because the combination of your wet hair and the cold air will cause further unwanted damage.
4. Regular trims, luckily here in South Africa we don’t experience winter for more than about 4 months so we can consider ourselves lucky in that sense. Regardless, consider getting a trim every 6-8 weeks just to help prevent dry, split ends
5. Don’t raise the temperature, I speak from experience here; there is nothing more tempting than indulging in a piping hot shower on a cold winter’s night but it can be unloving to your hair. Even if you can’t resist a shower such as that, I’d suggest a deep conditioning while you’re in there but crank down the heat when you go on to rinse it out.

Wearing about four layers of clothing may be unavoidable in winter but there’s no reason why your hair shouldn’t be as stunning as it is in the summer months, just a little extra TLC and you’re set. Snuggle up and stay warm my loves, I hope these tips are as helpful to you as they are to me.

S

Xoxo

Like, Love, Longing for...

1.      Essence gloss stick : This is the newest item in my makeup bag, I recently wrote an article on my “First Impression” of this product so if you’d like to read about it more extensively I’ll place the link down below. I like this product, I really do. There are so many shades to choose from, Glossy or Matte the world is your oyster. The gloss stick which I have is in the shade “Clear Nude”, It’s super wearable and such a beautiful winter shade which I’ve been wearing practically non-stop. I will be perfectly honest though, the only reason as to why this product didn’t cut it onto my “love” list is simply that when I made the purchase it looked to me as it was a twist gloss stick BUT it actually needs to be sharpened. It doesn’t so well in that department, Other than that I think I’ll keep using this product.

2.      L’oreal Telescopic Mascara: My mom was the one who placed this product on my desk a few weeks ago so this was totally by accident but it definitely makes it onto my ‘Like’ list. The packaging says ‘Extra-black extreme lengthening mascara’, they weren’t joking. I’ll usually use this when I’m getting ready for a night out because it makes your eyes pop. One coat and you’re ready to go, you really get extra length and volume so a little goes a long way, not to mention that it really stays on, removing it is going to take a little extra Miceller water but I do think it’s worth the purchase.

3.      Victoria’s Secret, “Total Attraction” fragrance mist: Alright so for those of you who follow my blog, you’ll know that I’m a tad bit coco for cocopops over this brand so I knew that this fragrance was going to end up being a favourite from the get go. Let me just start off by saying that the new fragrance mist packaging is to die for, It’s so classy looking and just Ah, yes I love it…Not that the previous packaging was terrible because it really wasn’t but I do think that this is a step up from what it was. The scent I got this time around is called ‘Total attraction’ and to me it smells of strawberries but upon doing abit of research it actually has tones of, Cherry orchid & Lily Blossom’s, so not far off. All in all this brand still remains affordable and a definite favourite in my books.

4.      Sally Hansen, Miracle gel top coat: I’ve worked through a number of top coats in the past ranging from good to pretty ‘blah’ but this has quickly become one that’s pretty great. My nail polish usually doesn’t last me longer than about three days as i wash cars and dishes (not very conducive too great looking nails, I know) but when I purchased this product I found my nail polish lasting between five and six days. A definite repurchase in my eyes #Like

5.      Colourpop Lippie Stick, Tootsi:  This will be my first Colourpop purchase and I am so incredibly excited about it… I’ll be making the purchase from a company called ‘MuseSA’ (I’ll place the website link below) they sell a variety of makeup brands which we cannot get our hands on yet here in South Africa. I’ve ordered my lippie stick in the shade “Tootsi”. I’ll keep you posted on the service I receive and will most likely do a “First Impressions’ article on it as well. Keep an eye out

6.      Urban Decay: If you haven’t heard yet then here it is, Urban Decay is coming to South Africa ladies and gentleman #HappyDance The stand alone store will be opening up in Sandton city, Johannesburg in Mid-May 2016. I cannot wait to see what it will look like and get my hands on some of their aweseom products!

S

Xoxo

Protein and M&M Cake Jars!

‘A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips’, or so they say but it doesn’t have to be that way especially with this cheat treat recipe!

Ingredients

1 Large Egg

1 Large egg white

1 Scoop of Vanilla protein powder

½ Cup of unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk (or any milk substitute)

1tsp Vanilla Extract

6Tbsp Coconut flour

1/8 Cup Almond flour

½ Banana (or unsweetened apple sauce ¼ cup)

½tsp Baking Powder

1Tbsp Mini baking M&M’s

Method

1.      Pre-heat your oven to 350F / 180C

2.      Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add the M&M’s last and mix by hand

3.      Take out two half-pint size oven proof jars, coat them with non-stick cooking spray and evenly distribute your mix into them. Don’t fill it to the top as they will rise.

4.      Top it off with a few more M&M’s and bake for 25-30 Minutes.

5.      Allow the jars to cool then screw the lid on and you’re set.

Want to guess how many calories are in this recipe? A grand total of 327, now you really can enjoy an indulgence without feeling guilty ;) Enjoy every bite!

S 
Xoxo

*Recipe taken from 'Bodybuilding.com' website

Essence Velvet/Gloss sticks - First Impressions

A fellow beauty blogger recently posted an image of her Essence cosmetics haul and in this cute bundle lay the new Essence Velvet sticks. I immediately became curious about this product as I’d never seen it on the shelf before so alas, I hit my local drug store (Dis-Chem) and was fortunate enough to find these on the stand. A first impressions post had to be written so here it is!

Ok so let me start off with the basic’s here. In this range of Velvet / Gloss lip colour sticks there are a total of ten shades, five velvet and five gloss. It’s sort of self-explanatory that the velvet sticks have a ‘Matte’ finish to them and that the gloss sticks have a… well gloss finish to them. The shades include:

Velvet:                                                Gloss:

01 Nude Hero                                   01 Radiant Rose

02 Peony Star                                  02 Clear Nude

03 Mega Melon                                03 Luminous Rosewood

04 Cherry Crush                              04 Poshi Pink

05 Plum Perfect                               05 Brilliant Burgundy

I picked up one of each, 05 ‘Plum Perfect’ & 02 ‘Clear Nude’

Clear Nude

When I first applied them I noticed that both are highly pigmented and feel a lot like a lip balm. They aren’t very moisturising but neither dried out my lips either which was a pleasant surprise especially coming from a ‘Matte’ lip product which usually does just that for me. They have a long wearing period and seem to fade evenly when you eat or drink. #LookingGood

When I first opened up the packaging I looked at it and thought that it looked just like a jumbo lip pencil. Don’t think that I’m very far off with that one. I find that because of the shape it’s pretty easy to achieve the perfect lip edge using this product, the formula is pretty hard so you won’t have to worry about smudging either.

Perfect Plum

The only thing that I was a bit “Huh” about with regards to this product is that when you look at it appears to be a “twist up” but in fact it is not. You will need to sharpen these lip colour sticks, which I guess isn’t much of a down fall since a little goes a long way with these…

 All in all I’m definitely not disappointed with these lip colour sticks although I cannot say just yet that I love them as I haven’t quite had them long enough , I’ll have to keep you posted in that regard. If you have these in your vanity are they one of your favourites or will you be purchasing yours the next time you’re able to?

S

Xoxo

( Side Note: Since I've been wearing this product quite a lot lately I have just tried to sharpen it - the results aren't so great as it does so unevenly and the actual lip colour softens as well #BitOfAMess, Anyone else experience this or is it just me? )