Lipstick 101

Hello lovelies. You guys know I love lipstick.Today I will be sharing my tips on how to wear lipstick ( especially for us ladies with big lips). Believe it or not some people can get it wrong when it comes to wearing lipstick. I believe that any lipstick is wearable as long as you have a lip liner. Yes lip liner should be written down as a fundamental item in the lipstick bible.

These are the products I use to prep my lips.

Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert but I decided to share some of my tips personal tips.

1) Before lipstick application moisturise your lips. You can use a lip moisturiser of your choice or a lip primer.  Not all lipsticks are moisturising .Lipstick with  matte finishes can be quite drying . Mosturising your lips prepare your lips for that smooth finish . Moisturised lips make lipstick application easier especially for matte lipstick. I believe mosturised lips are also less prone to dry cracked skin so it's a win win situation for me.

 Intense lip moisturisers should be given more time to set before lip stick is applied ( I'd say 5 to 10 minutes). If you really want to you can invest in a lip primer ( which ensures smooth application and long lasting colour).

2) Invest in lip liner and or a lip brush. I can't emphasis how important lip liners are. Lip liners add definition to your lips. You can use them to manipulate how you lips look especially when it comes to amplified lipstick. If you have big lips or lips with no definite shape these tools will come in handy. Without a lip liner when applying certain lipsticks you might get that exploded lip look which also isn't cute. Lip liner colours to invest in are brown and red. Yes Brown is the holy grail of lip liners. As it goes with most colours. Lip liners are also great because you can use them as lipsticks. Just fill in your lips, add lip gloss and voila you have it. Here is one of my tips. With nude, pink and other light colours try using a dark lip liner ( let's say a brown, purple or burgundy) This will give you a lovely effect. ( Don't forget to blend). You can apply lip liners before or after the lipstick application it's really up to you. Just experiment to see which technique works best for you.

A lip brush is particular useful when applying your lipstick. For a precise and long lasting finish you should use a lip brush. You can build up your colour intensity gradually and control how much colour you put of your lips.

3) Exfoliate your lips regularly. There are three things you can do to keep your lips exfoliated:

• use your tooth brush. After you finish brushing your teeth simply brush your lips with your tooth brush. do this in circular motions or your lips to take the dead sink off. Or you could keep and extra tooth brush to do the same thing. 
• brown sugar and olive oil. You can make your own lip exfoliator. I would advice you not to make two big a batch and buy something to preserve (vitamin E oil) to your home made exfoliator. Keeping it refrigerated will help it not melt. You have to make sure your lip scrub isn't too oily or it may not work. The brown sugar will remove the dead skin and the olive oil will help moisture your lips.
• buy a lip exfoliator: I am guilty of this. Although sometimes I use my tooth brush. I purchased a lip scrub from Lush about two years ago. I would definitely recommend it as it exfoliates and mositurises at the same time which saves me from using a lip balm right before lipstick application. Of all the 3 things I have mentioned I would say the lush lip exfoliator gives the best results. An added bonus is it tastes yummy and it smells lovely as well. 

4) Don't be afraid to experiment. I am one person who loves to try new things. Most times I mix up my lipsticks. This is great because I get to come up with my own lip colours so I am spoiled for choice when it comes to lip colours. I'd also say do your research before you buy a lip colour it helps to see how it looks on people and the reviews about the lipstick and tips on how to wear it. No lipstick is unwearable that is my motto. It's how you manipulate the lipstick to suit you that counts.

Well I hope my tips where useful and can help someone.

Let me know what you think. Do you have any lipstick tips?

Love

Tiwi

Finding the perfect coat

Hello lovelies

I do love Sundays because I get to play in my wardrobe a bit. I get to think of outfits to wear and it's the only day I actually have an excuse to get dressed up. On Sunday I decided to try out some new shoes and a vintage tweed blazer I haven't worn yet. I'm on a mission to utilise those things I never wear. If we would honestly take a look at our wardrobes we would realise that we don't wear/use a lot of the things we own. I'm telling you guys. It's only when you have to move house that you realise the amount of things you have accumulated. I guess I a trying to be more efficient and wear my ideas instead of wearing the same thing all the time.

So this last Sunday I went for a casual look with my usually pair of jeans. ( I'm currently looking for new pairs). I paired the jeans with a man's shirt ( The story behind where that shirt is from is really funny). Men's shirts have very stiff collars and I like that. They give your outfit a sharp and clean finish. especially if you are layering necklaces with a jumper of blazer. I also love the fact that men's shirts are not fitted. I paired the shirt with a blazer and some Zara cut out boots I got in the summer sales. The coat was not part of the outfit. I actually purchased it on Sunday. Initially it was for my vintage store Tiwi's Closet vintage but it fit like a dream on me. These coats are currently trending but I've been looking for a camel/ beige coat for the last year. I'm so glad I found this one.

The boots were not the most comfortable but I am breaking into them and I don't regret buying them. Definitely an addition to my winter essentials.

I will definitely be sourcing more coats like mine for my store.

Be sure to check out my store Tiwi's closet vintage.

What I am wearing

Coat : Vitnage// blazer : Tiwi's Closet Vintage// Shirt : House mate's // Jeans : Newlook // Shoes : Zara// Necklace: Gifted ( primark) // Lipstick : Ruby Woo // Bag: Zara

Well that's all folks . I hope you have a fruitful and blessed week.

Love

Tiwi x

Brown

Hello Lovelies

Today is a quick OOTD. I realised the other day that I need a style change. To be honest I've been in transition for a long time. I'm still decided what is me. I love vintage fashion and I don't see myself ever giving that up. Instead I want my vintage game to get better. 

So I wore this outfit on Sunday to church. It's inspired by the 80s and a whole lot of brown. The blouse is one of my favourites. It goes with just about anything and doesn't crease  easily. The trousers are too big for me. They were a perfect fit when I bought them last year. I've had the blazer since my uni days. I love the shoulder pads.

I tried a bantu knot out on my crotchet braids. That was a fail but in their defense I didn't use any styling products. Maybe I'll try it again.

What I am wearing

Blazer : thrifted (charity shop)// Trousers : thrifted ( charity shop)// Blouse : thirfted (charity shop)// Shoes: Office// Bag: Zara // Neckpiece: Dorothy Perkins // Lipstick : Cherrybomb Wet n Wild

Wishing you are happy Friday and an awesome weekend.

Love

Tiwi

My Skin care regiment

Hello lovelies

This is another highly requested blog post. Never in a million years did I think people would actually be interested in my skin but hey...

My skin without makeup. 

                                                                                    My Skin ( a description)

source

I generally have a good skin. Thanks to genetics. I don't usually wear makeup because I don't need it but like everyone else I have my issues.

My Skin problems
I have normal / combination skin. My skin is oily around my Tzone area. I have clogged pores around my chin and my nose. I also have hyper pigmentation around my mouth. I also have an uneven skin tone. I suffer from hormonal acne as well.





Today I will share products I use. I may do a more detailed follow up post  if people are interested.

Night Cream mosituriser. I use this after I wash my face at night. I sometimes use it together with Vitamin E oil. This cream is thick and perfect for moisturizing my face. You will see that I use quite a few Vitamin E based products. Vitamin E aids in skin regeneration. Your body regenerates while you are sleeping so I believe using these products help my skin. The reason I use the Nivea face cream is it is very hydrating and it doesn't break me out.

Eye Cream. You are never too young to start using an eye cream. ( By young I mean from 18 upwards ). I use the Body shop vitamin E eye cream daily. When I was looking for an eye cream I didn't want anything to strong or for mature skin and the lady in Body care recommended I use this one. It is quite pricey at £11 for a rather small tube but so far my skin is loving it.

Skin around your eye is thinner and has more muscles which makes the skin more sensitive and prone to a variety of issues, like puffiness, discoloration, fine lines and wrinkles. There also tend to be minimal oil glands around your eyes to help keep the skin naturally hydrated using a good eye cream would be advisable. My issues around my eyes are dark circles and puffiness. I use my eye cream twice a day. It is part of my face moisturising routine.

Face Brush. I get mine from the body shop it is really inexpensive only £4. This exfoliates my skin.It also removes dirt and build up. I use it everyday but upon researching the benefits of a face brush for this article.  I may take it down to 2 days. You have to be careful with a face brush as your skin is sensitive. Don't be to rough when using the brush. The face brush also helps the face wash penetrate deeper into the layers of your skin and bring up all the dirt. For a deeper cleans I would definitely recommend using a face brush.

With a face brush be sure to keep it clean. I use hand wash to clean my brush after every use. I also try to change my face brush ever 2 months.

Olay essentials complete care normal/oil face moisturizer with SPF15. This is my winter face moisturiser. Winter in England can make your skin dry. This moisturizer keeps my face hydrated. A little goes a long way and this bottle will probably last me the whole year. I don't use this in the warmer months as it makes my skin oily. Although it contains SPF15 I still use my sun screen with this moisturiser.

Anne French deep cleansing milk. I usually use this at night as part of my night time skin routine. I use this to clean/ tone my face with a cotton pad before I wash my face. The best way to describe this process is the pre-cleanse.

This is my face cleanser. It is the Medik8 beta cleanse for problem skin. This face cleanser is expensive. I get mine online. It costs between £18 ( if there's a special) and £23. I use this cleanser particularly because it contains ingredients such as tea tree oil and sailcylic acid that are good for acne prone skin and clogged pores.

This is my summer face moisturiser and I swear by this stuff. When I went on holiday to Swaziland I used this everyday. It kept my face mattified (just like it says so on the cover). It also contains Salicylic acid which is a definate A plus for me.
One thing I struggle with in warm weather is an oily face. If you have this problem then I would suggest this product to you.

Sun screen. You know the saying black people don't need screen because we have more melanin.  Well that's a lie we do. Our skin is prone to aging just like any other skin and hyper pigmentation.
 I currently use the La Roche- Posay sunscreen. I use this daily with my moisturizer. Sun screen helps prevent hyper pigmentation.  It also protects my skin from the sun. The sun contributes to aging skin. It also helps me maintain my complexion especially in warmer months.  I use  the oil version of this sun screen all over my body.
Please note that this sun screen leaves a grey tinge if you use too much of it. You can purchase this sunscreen online. On the feel unique website. They usually have good deals you just have to check regularly. I believe they ship world wide.

 Coconut oil. I love this product. I only use coconut oil on my face at night. I use it with my vitamin oil. The coconut oil allows the vitamin E oil to penetrate deeper into the layers of your skin. Vitamin E oil helps repair and brighten your skin. I use my coconut oil and Vitamin E oil combo as an alternative to the Nivea night face moisturiser, when I want something more natural or I want the Vitamin E to really work it's way into my skin. A little goes a long way with coconut oil.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. Mine is actually a sample but I love it so much I will be investing in it when I'm less poor. This product is 100% effective :When I have my hormonal break out this product gets rid of my pimples without any nasty scarring. The break out is usually gone after 24 hours when you use this product.

Well I hope this post has helped. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me.

Also let me know if you would like me to do any more skin care related post? If you want to see it I will write about it.

Have a lovely time

Tiwi 

Thrifted

Hello lovelies

I just thought I should share a quick OOTD with you guys. I wore this super casual outfit to run some errands yesterday. I would say that apart from my watch and jeans everything else I'm wearing was thrifted. I am currently working on a super detailed post on my daily Skin care regime for you guys. Posts like that take a while for me to complete and I want it to be as detailed and as informative as it can. My skin regiment is one of my highly requested posts. I can't wait to share it with you

What I wore:

Jeans : Newlook// Boots : Thifted ( Zara) // Jumper : thrifted ( Vintage) // Bag : thrifted ( Vintage) // Coat : Vintage ( Thrifted).

By the way. If you like my style or are interested in vintage clothing then check out my vintage store here.

Well happy mid week people.

Love

Tiwi x