Brows of Dreams - My pick of the best brow products

Yesterday was apparently National Brow Day which means two things:

One: marketing companies will declare a national day for literally anything (a quick scroll of the National Day Calendar Website tells me that October has National Days for (ironically enough) both Temperance & Vodka; handbags; online banking and chocolate-covered pretzels to name a few. Madness.)

And two: Brows are BIG business.

I knew both these things already, of course. The range and choice of brow products has exploded in the last ten years as perfectly precise brows suddenly became the focus of every teenagers makeup look (we’ve got Kylie Jenner to thank for that). Thankfully the trend for heavily drawn (or crayoned as I tend to describe the style), solid-looking brows has moved on to a more natural one. Big, boyish, full and feathery - now everyone wants their faces framed by Cara-like brows. Which is great news for those blessed with a profusion of hair, untouched by tweezers; not so great for anyone who overplucked trying to look like a 90s Kate Moss.

Before we even begin to talk about makeup though, the first bit of advice I will give you is to go to the salon for a tint and a shape. Everybody can benefit from at least a little tidy up: whether you’re naturally full or sparce, light or dark you’ll be amazed at the difference a clean, fresh brow will make. Once you have that shape mapped out it becomes so much easier to see what makeup products you need to apply and where you need to apply it for the best and most natural effect.

I meet a lot of women in my work as a makeup artist and not knowing where to begin when making up their eyebrows is the one of the number one problems I hear from them. That along with a general sense of being overwhelmed by choice. The old cliché that they frame your face is absolutely true: when you get them right it really is one of the most transformative things you can do. So here is my rundown of the best products to help you achieve that perfectly groomed look, no matter what unloved state your brows are in!

Rachel, barns & Yard

Best For A Foolproof Fuller Brow Look

Anastasia Beverley Hills Brow Wiz - the easiest pencil to use if all you want is a little more soft definition and to fill the odd gap. Just hard enough to stop you applying too darkly, soft enough that you get some impact. It has a fine nib at one end and a spoolie at the other so you can keep brushing through to soften your work. Huge shade range from super light Blonde all the way through to Ebony. At a push, I can use shade Taupe on almost everybody. The perfect pencil basically.

Best For Building Up An Overplucked Brow

Huda Beauty Bomb Brows Pencil - this pencil has the tiniest, finest nib on the market (it’s retractable drawing pencil thin) which allows you to draw the most delicate of lines. So it is PERFECT for anyone who has a lot of missing hairs or really needs to rebuild their shape with makeup. By creating tiny hair like strokes on the skin you end up with a soft, very natural looking effect. Even if your brows end up as 50% pencil they will never look heavy with Huda.

Best For Longwear/Waterproof Brows

Anastasia Beverley Hills DipBrow Pomade & Brush - I use this on pretty much every brow type in bridal makeup. There’s no other product like it for longevity. It was the original ‘crayon brow’ culprit honestly as girls would apply it in a solid block of brow, but it actually is incredibly versatile. I use the ABH brush with it and take the smallest amount on the back of my hand, dipping both edges of the brush in the product and then almost wipe all of it back off on my hand so that it applies very lightly. Used in this way it can build a bare brow back up to fullness, fill gaps by recreating hairs, softly redraw the arch, gently extend the tail. It’s great for those who want a stronger brow look but once you get the hang of it it’s also great for more natural girls who really need their makeup to stay put.

Best For A Filling For A Feathery/Laminated Look Brow

Iconic London Triple Precision Brow Definer This works in a similar way to the Huda pencil by creating really fine hair strokes, but this time it’s in a pen format. So that gives you more depth and definition to really achieve that on trend brushed up brow look. Good range of colours and has a pencil on the other end for filling the brows more generally too.

Best Gel For Natural Hold

Nudestix Brow Set Gel XL Brushing through with a clear brow gel holds those hairs in place so you don’t have that windswept mad professor look by the end of the day. This is the brow gel I constantly keep in my bridal kit. I’ve tried them all. Some of them have great hold but leave the hair feeling a bit crispy, others flake, others don’t seem to have any holding benefit at all. The Nudestix is perfect - holds like nothing else, keeps the hairs looking like hair (more unusual than you might think - lots leave them looking oddly lacquered) and feeling soft. It has the most delicate tint to it that just adds the gentlest touch of extra definition.

Best For Full On Feathery

ABH Brow Freeze & NYX Brow Glue in Clear are for you if you love that laminated look. For the uninitiated: brow lamination is like a reverse perm for the brows. Perm solution is applied and the hairs are brushed into place so that they remain brushed up and feathery for about 6 weeks. When done well it leaves the brows looking fuller and more youthful and modern, but you will have seen some overdone startled caterpillars walking around too I’m sure. These products temporarily give you the same effect (not the caterpillar one hopefully). They are also great for keeping the most unruly of brows more naturally in place where more traditional gels have failed. These things HOLD hairs where you put em. It’s called glue for a reason girls!

Best For Fluffy Brows With Hold

Iconic London Liquid Brow Silk is my personal everyday brow hold product of choice. It has a bit more substance than a traditional gel so appears to slightly thicken the hairs while holding them. It’s a white coloured thin pomade texture that dries clear. I brush it backwards and down through my brows from tail to head and to coat the hairs before brushing them up into place to get a soft fluffy, feathered look that stays all day. This is a regular repurchase for me.

Best Tinted Brow Gel

Hourglass Arch Brow Volumising Fibre Gel. Tinted gels are great for a quick fix. If you’ve got no time to faff a quick brush through with this gives the impression of extra fullness (tiny fibres coat the hairs to make them appear thicker) and more definition as any lighter hairs are grabbed by the tint and made visible where they were otherwise not. If your brows are generally a pretty good shape this might be all you need everyday. There are loads on the market ( and honestly lots cheaper) but the Hourglass ones are just flawless.

In short I love an eyebrow! Without these products in my own makeup bag my own brows would be in a sorry state of sparse unevenness. Some can be a challenge to get right but when you do it can be face-changing. Perfecting a natural-looking, full and feathery brow is one of my favourite parts of makeup. I shared some of these in action on my bridal clients over on my Insta where I’m planning a series of brow videos. Grab yourself a magnifying mirror and get practising - it’s time to up your brow game!

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A post shared by Amy Laney - Natural Bridal Makeup Artist - Worcester (@amylaneymakeup)

SAVING FACE - My Current Skincare Loves

New Skincare Favourites

God, I get so excited about new skincare! When a delivery arrives with some new cleanser or serum or moisturiser I just want to get up to the bathroom straight away and cleanse my face so I can use them all. Even if that means immediately reapplying a full face of makeup!!

Like most of us, I’ve had a bit more time than usual to linger over my skincare routine lately. Being a totally promiscuous skincare junkie I have a very generously stocked bathroom cabinet full of products that I dip in and out of depending on what I feel my skin needs that day. There are always some old faithfuls in there that I can’t imagine ever being without but mostly I love trying out new things so most of the products I’m using currently have only been in my rotation for the last few months or so. Two of them are repurchases (my favourite facial oil and face mask) but the others are new to me and I’m loving them. So…here’s my recommendations based on what I keep reaching for every day…

Elemis Pro Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm is my new favourite evening cleanser. It’s a rich, rose scented, oily balm - it smells DIVINE and completely removes all makeup including mascara. I always use a warm damp flannel to remove my evening cleanser but this one also emulsifies well with water if a wash cloth isn’t your thing.

Milk Makeup Vegan Milk Moisturiser: my latest purchase and God this stuff is beautiful! I have been feeling like my skin needed something really nurturing and moisture infusing and this...is...it. It has the most perfect rich texture that sinks in quickly whilst leaving the skin feeling plump and hydrated and I am absolutely loving it.

Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Pore Refining Cleansing Gel has been my go-to morning cleanser for a few m months now. Refreshing and refining without tightening, it’s the perfect morning wash off cleanser or light second cleanse for anyone with combination skin. I really do see a difference in my skin texture when using it. 

Biossance Squalane + Phyto Retinol Serum is another new addition and so far so good. It contains bakuchiol - a plant derived retinol alternative that helps reduce lines and wrinkles but unlike retinol is safe to use morning and night. It’s creamier in texture than most serums I’ve used before so is super nourishing. It contains 100% plant derived Squalane to deliver and retain essential moisture, niacinamide to restore the skin barrier and fight water loss plus Hyaluronic acid too so is a great extra step for upping your hydration levels. Again, I’m loving this.

Kate Somerville + Retinol Vitamin C Moisturiser applied every other night is really helping to keep my lines and wrinkles at bay, pores refined and pigmentation marks lightened. It’s firming, brightening and nourishing and frankly bloody brilliant. It’s pretty strong stuff if you’re not used to retinoids so start slow but it’s by far my favourite retinol of all I’ve tried so far.

Herbivore Orchid Facial Oil is what I reach for when I want my skin to feel indulged. On a no-makeup day I sometimes use it in place of moisturiser, or under makeup if I’m going for glow. In the evening I’ll layer it over serum and moisturiser or retinol as an extra comforting blanket of moisture. It contains squalane again which locks in moisture and helps prevent hyperpigmentation as well as Omegas 3 & 6 and essential minerals. The addition of elasticity boosting jasmine oil smells INCREDIBLE and the tiny amount needed means a bottle lasts for aeons. This will always be on my bathroom shelf.

Nestled at the back there is the classic acid toner/ liquid exfoliant Biologique Recherche Lotion P50 (I have the PIGM version - to target pigmentation issues). Swept over cleansed skin every other night (alternating with your retinol nights) this sweeps away dead skin cells, and regenerates and refines the skin. All Lotions P50 contain a potent combination of AHA, BHA and PHA exfoliants: lactic acid, malic acid, citric acid, salicylic acid and gluconolactone, to act as a chemical exfoliator. As its name indicates, the Lotions P50 gently renew the skin over 50 days – ‘P’ stands for peeling and ‘50’ stands for 50 days – which represents about two epidermal cycles, for a gentle yet effective exfoliating process. There are many impersonators on the market, but this Parisian Spa original is the absolute best (with a price tag to match, I’m afraid!)

My Sunday mask routine might sometimes involve something a little stronger (like Caudalie’s Glycolic Mask or The Ordinary AHA 30% Peeling Solution which are both brilliant for a quick intensive brightening effect) but it always rounds off with the rose and almond scented Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask. It’s a pore-refining and moisturising 10 minute quick fix and I couldn’t be without it for my weekly deep cleanse.

You’ll find most of these items on Cult Beauty’s website. (For 15% off your first spend over £25 follow this link: https://share.cultbeauty.co.uk/x/9zGDbT)

Covid-19 update

Well, 2020 is going well so far isn’t it?! With your wedding on the way, you may well be feeling rather anxious about what the next few months will bring in the midst of the current health crisis. I’ll level with you - I am too.

My hygiene practices are already very stringent - clean hands and extra sanitiser at all times, equipment and products cleaned and disinfected regularly - so I’m very confident that I have things under control from my end. But I am going to have to work extra hard to keep myself, my clients and my family safe. With that in mind I thought it might be a good time to remind people of my regular contraindications for makeup application.

Clients are required to inform me if they are suffering from any of the following. I am without exception unable to apply ANY makeup treatment or skin contact on anyone with any of these conditions:

Impetigo

Conjunctivitis

Stye or other Eye Infection

Scabies

Ringworm

Coldsore (Herpes Simplex)

Acne Vulgaris (severe infected)

 This is standard practise and I have always been prepared to refuse treatment of someone in that situation. It’s imperative in keeping my kit and equipment sanitised, my clients healthy and my reputation intact. In order to continue to do that during the current Covid-19 outbreak I shall be extending this to include anyone who is displaying cold and flu symptoms or has done so in the last 14 days.

The new government guidelines are advising people to isolate for seven days if they are showing any signs of fever, persistent cough or shortness of breath. Other countries have gone further, and so to ensure all of my clients and my family are protected I will be too.

My work is in EXTREMELY close contact with people and it is impossible to avoid touching during a makeup application. They may take a little longer as I pause for extra hand washing and sanitising. My trials take place in my own home (or occasionally someone else’s) and so please don’t be offended when I ask you to wash your hands on arrival. I am also now asking that if you have ANY cold or flu like symptoms or have been in close contact with anyone displaying those symptoms that you do not attend your trial as scheduled. We can reorganise for a date after fourteen days and I will ensure we get another booked in as soon as possible.

I know there are worrying times ahead for everyone. We have to take care of each other and I assure you all that I am doing everything I can to take care of you.

Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for your understanding.

Amy

On Feeling Beautiful...

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I am constantly telling my little girl how beautiful she is. I do it without thinking. And I think it's so important that she feels that she is beautiful, but I do sometimes worry about it. So much so that I find myself consciously adding on extra compliments to the endless chimes of "gosh, you're pretty" for fear of her growing up thinking that it's all she has to offer the world.
I compliment her whenever she does anything of note - when she reads well, learns a new skill, tries hard at something, makes me laugh, shares her sweets...

It is sort of ridiculous how much it means to us women to be told that we are beautiful. After all, our beauty or lack of it isn't our own achievement, but an accident of genetics - something for our parents to be proud of, not us. And yet, let a little girl grow up without feeling that she is beautiful and you raise a woman full of insecurities in all areas of her life. 

Of course beauty is not the most important quality in a woman any more - thank goodness. And we must let our little girls feel as though they can do anything, be anyone they want to be. In the book, The Help, the main character, Aibileen has a phrase that she repeats with the little girls she looks after - "I am kind, I am smart, I am important". Add "I am beautiful" to that and I think you've got the perfect mantra for raising a happy, healthy, confident young woman. "You are beautiful, you are kind, you are smart, you are important."

So tell your daughter that she looks pretty today. Do it often. Then tell her that she can rule the world.

In Your Face Cancer - My Take on The 'nomakeupselfie'

This post first appeared on my previous blog, The Wren's Nest on Friday, 21 March 2014

So, I did it. You probably did it. And as a direct result Cancer Research UK has raised over £2 million so far. I have read, seen and heard a lot of people criticising the campaign - suggesting it is flippant, saying that the last thing a woman with cancer cares about is her appearance so what has going without make-up got to do with supporting women suffering from cancer? There have been words like 'narcissism' thrown about, that the women posting these pictures are 'missing the point'. I think they're wrong. And here's why.

The subject of women's cancers is an especially emotive and complex one. Cancers of the uterus, cervix, ovaries and breast are destroying parts of the body that are meant to give and sustain new life - the very essence of what it is to be female. I think there is a reason why breast cancer charities are some of the most high-profile in this country that goes beyond the statistics showing it is the most common cancer in the UK with 55,000 diagnosed every year. It is because the female breast has forever been held up as the ultimate symbol of femininity. Just look at the Venus di Milo, Barbara Windsor in the Carry On films, Marilyn Monroe, every buxom wench in every period drama ever made, Kelly Brook even. Women's feelings of attractiveness,  of their sense of self, their sense of feeling womanly, are hugely bound up in their relationship with their breasts. And we really do have a relationship with them - some of us even give them names. Ask any woman who has gone from a voluptuously bosomed young childless woman to flat-chested post pregnancy and breastfeeding and they will tell you they hanker after those boobies of yore. That they could cope with the stretch marks if only they still had big boobs. I know. I'm one of them.

So, when a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer it can feel like a particular kind of betrayal by their body. A part of their body that is intrinsically part of their being a woman.

And then comes the surgery when at best they may lose a part of it, at worst they may lose a breast. Or both. And, as grateful as they are for being alive, it is incredibly difficult to feel womanly without them.

And then there is the chemotherapy and the radiotherapy that leave you looking and feeling exhausted, that result in weight loss and very often hair loss. And again, as grateful as you are for being alive you have lost another intrinsic part of your femininity.

If you are fortunate enough to make it into remission, the tamoxifen prescription often results in early onset menopause, and again, as grateful as you are to be alive...

A woman who undergoes treatment for breast cancer has to cope with feeling terribly ill, feeling incredibly scared and with feeling unfeminine, with feeling less like a woman. Through these silly little photographs, we are saying that we respect their grace and dignity, that we are prepared to step out of our safe, comfortable lives and put our naked faces in the public domain. That we want to try and understand, in the smallest of ways, for the briefest of moments how it feels to face the world without a part of our perceived womanliness. By stripping ourselves of the face paint, the smoke and mirrors artifice of our beauty and femininity, we are attempting to show our solidarity. To stand shoulder to shoulder with our sisters. Surely this is the true meaning of womanhood.