Tag: makeup

What’s your skin saying sis?

Published on by The Essence Of Efe4 Comments

“Love your skin and your skin will love you”

Hey!

I listened to a podcast a while back and they mentioned how this quarantine season has led to more people investing in skincare- after all you are at home looking in the mirrors more often, and people are now taking time to really look after their skin. I was thinking this describes me perfectly- I’ve been obsessed !!

From my last skincare blogpost which was a while ago (read here), I spoke about using all-natural products in my regimen which included lemons, Aloe Vera and a good amount of water as my daily intake. Now I’ve switched up my routine drastically and started to incorporate more products from skincare brands, here are a few I’ve been loving:

  1. Pixi Vitamin C Tonic
    https://www.pixibeauty.com/products/vitamin-c-tonic?variant=12409892733024
    I never used to tone after doing my washes, but I realised how important it is in refreshing your skin without stripping its natural moisture. It also aids in preparing the skin to drink up your post-cleansing moisturizer. I spotted this after watching a video from LizLizlive on YouTube and decided to give it a go. I would highly recommend this as it leaves the skin feeling so uniform and glowy after washing

    2. The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Treatment
    https://theordinary.deciem.com/product/rdn-hyaluronic-acid-2pct-b5-30ml
    Since entering quarantine, it seems like The Ordinary has picked up its popularity as it’s all I see over social media- so I had to jump on the bandwagon!
    At first I was quite afraid of using these products and I am kind of an advocate for natural skincare products, the words “acids” “peels” and “chemicals” make me feel queasy but I decided to give this a try
     

    The main purpose of this is to get rid of blackheads, reduce breakouts and remove dead skin cells, and after a terrible breakout I had on my forehead, I decided to invest. What I love about it, is that it didn’t give me that sting/burn that you get with some products. I also like how affordable it was, I believe this product was below £10 so I understand why it is a popular skincare product amongst young people.

    3. Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant
    https://www.paulaschoice.co.uk/skin-perfecting-bha-liquid-exfoliant-m2010.html
    During this quarantine, my problem areas have definitely been on my forehead. After researching about my tiny bumps on there, I watched a video by Hyram on YouTube and discovered ‘Fungal Acne’. He recommended this product and after seeing it being highly recommended by others I decided to give it a try. I’ve only used this for a few days now, so will have to see and give it a review later on- so far so good though!

    4. La Roche-Posay Anthelios 50 Sunscreen
    https://www.lookfantastic.com/la-roche-posay-anthelios-ultra-light-invisible-fluid-spf50-sun-cream-50ml/12021438.html
    If you are a melanated sister like myself, then you have probably heard of this sunscreen being RAVED about by all skincare gurus. Although this is on the pricy side (I believe this was almost £20) it is a great sunscreen product. I think what makes this product special is it doesn’t give a blue tint on dark skin that most sunscreen products are known for. Nevertheless, it is vital that you wear sunscreen at all times for the ultimate protection of that beautiful skin you are wearing !

Thanks for reading !

My Fave Beauty Products of 2018 So Far !

Published on by The Essence Of Efe6 Comments

So, I’m no makeup expert or blogger, but I wanted to document some of my fave beauty/makeup products that I’ve really enjoyed and used up this year. Although the year hasn’t ended yet, I still feel like these are notably the best products that I have added to my routine which enable me to create the best makeup looks for those crazy nights out! (lool I’m really just attending a wedding or going out to eat)

  1. Fenty Beauty Pro Filtr Foundation

So, this year Riri released her makeup line titled Fenty Beauty which included foundations of 40 shades alongside a universal lip gloss and other amazing beauty products. I had been using my Maybelline Fit Me which was really good, however I knew that I was attracted to the Fenty foundation based off of all the reviews and hype going around it, so I decided to purchase it before my trip to Canada. I have the shade 450 and so far, it’s doing really well for me. For what you buy you get a lot of product (30 ml) in comparison to other foundations, and the range of 40 shades means it is suitable for every woman of every single shade and undertone. So far this is the only high-end foundation I am using at the moment, but I do want to delve into other foundations that are out there.

fenty beauty

 

2.  Becca Ever Matte Poreless Perfecter Primer
So yes, I fall into the category of people with oily skin- like OILY SKIN, as in a couple of hours after I apply my makeup it will look as if I got oil from the bottle and drenched it onto my face! I have tried many primers since I got into wearing makeup and none of them have done me justice. Until I found out about this primer from Becca. I had previously known about it from various beauty bloggers on YouTube using it in their tutorials but have never ventured out into looking at it. This year I purchased a small bottle (12 ml) to try it out and I must say it has done me really well in controlling my oil throughout the day. This is defo my go-to primer (until I find something better). Another product I can recommend is the KIKO Matte Face Base primer.

becca

 

 

3. NYX  Makeup Setting Spray
Another product which helped with my oily skin is a fixing spray by Nyx. I only started to incorporate a setting spray into my makeup routine this year, and honestly it is the best decision I have made ever. (yes, I used to leave my house with an ashy powdery face lool) But introducing a setting spray really helps to complete your look after all the powders that have been sitting on your face. After highlighting, it’s my favourite step when I am going for a really good makeup look.

nyx

  1. MAC Lipglass in Spite
    Lastly but not least is my favourite lip gloss so far which is by MAC. In my opinion it is a really enticing nude gloss for dark skin tones, and it just perfects your whole look completely. I purchased this whilst in Canada, so it was a bit on the cheaper side, but despite the price in the UK, I will still recommend this product. Mac do a whole range of lip-glosses and lipsticks, so I look forward to having a collection of them, slight addiction is pending lool.

mac

 

 

Thanks for reading this makeup/beauty post. I hope to do some more in the near future surrounding drugstore or cheaper products as most of the products I mentioned were of high end, and as a student I know that can be quite difficult to manage.

 

Stay Blessed x

Dear Makeup Brands…

Published on by The Essence Of Efe2 Comments

IMG_2578[1]
Source – Instagram (nyamtang)
This is the beautiful Nyma Tang, a South Sudanese Youtuber, who has a channel with over 200,000 subscribers. As you can see she is a beautiful, dark skinned woman with skin to die for. Her inner melanin is filled with glow and sparkle and I am really enjoying her posts on her channel of recent. She is mostly famous for her series #Thedarkestshade where she reviews foundations, concealers and other products in the darkest shade to suit her complexion. This series gained fame as it pinpointed the major problem with makeup brands these days, especially affordable drugstore brands, in getting their shades right to suit all complexions from light to dark. I came across this video from NowThisEntertainment about how she explained her troubles of going to drugstore brands and finding that they don’t appeal to her complexion and often she had to go to higher end brands, which could be quite expensive at times in the US and even here in the UK

Upon watching this video above, I started to realise that for me in particular it wasn’t so much a problem, but for darker skin tones it was a major problem for them finding foundations that were either ashy looking on them or did not match their proper complexion properly. I realised it as I thought whenever I will visit a local Superdrug near me, looking at the brands of Rimmel London, or Maybelline, they would have a range of colours for lighter skin but only have 2-3 shades for darker skin girls. Therefore, leaving them to drift towards higher end brands like Lancôme or Nars who offer great alternatives, however can come at an expensive price.

So I guess the question exactly is, why don’t makeup brands cater towards darker skinned women? I can admit her skin shade would not be something you come across on an everyday basis, it’s unique in itself. However it doesn’t mean popular makeup brands should simply stop catering for their skin shades. Even looking at it from the other way round, most of the light shades still do have a tint of a tan look in them, forgetting that there are paler skin people and that not everyone prefers that tanned look even though it is what is in fashion right now.

Except for black owned brands such as Black Opal Beauty or Fashion Fair who focus on black skin mostly, many brands that are mainly advertised as being affordable for women and easily accessible should take a rise on expanding their colour ranges to suit each skin type. Especially with the rise of popular woman from Nyma herself to other youtbers such as Nikki Perkins or even actors such as Lupita Nyong’o who are gaining prominence in the spotlight.

My hope for the future is that makeup brands will continue to expand on their colour ranges, not only for foundations but other products such as blushers, highlighters and lipsticks (especially lipsticks, we need to stop looking like we have just eaten a powdered doughnut!) so that women will not have to resort to expensive brands all the time, even thought they are of very good quality

I’m no beauty expert myself, but I would really like to know why there isn’t a full range of colours suitable for all women of colour !