Beauty Professionals Speak!

So just in time for all those Christmas Eve parties I've been able to get the most Christmas-related beauty dilema asked to me by my readers, and put it forth to some of the beauty editors of top magazines including the likes of Marie Claire, Stylist, Company, Elle and More! magazine. To read my full introductory post to this exciting new feature, click here.

So for this post, I put forth a question asked on my Facebook page not long ago by Kate 15, from Shropshire. She briefly asked me on chat, 'I need to know how to apply glitter in a subtle way... I don't want everyone to look at me like I'm a weirdo but I want it to be noticeable enough that I'll get a couple of compliments. Can your editors help me in time for Christmas Eve?' Well, never fear Kate! Sarah Jane Biggs Beauty Editor of More! magazine wanted to take this one, and here is what she came up with...

Short but sweet, Sarah Jane simply said,

'I love BeneFit's Lust Dusters. Gorgeous colours and just a hint of glitter/shimmer x' 

And since I'm such an epic fan of beneFit my self, I took the initiative to head out and purchase one of these bad boys.

Retailing at just £14 on the beneFit website, these little pots of glitter-pigment are perfect for a sprinkling of sparkle if you don't want to be brassily glitter-fied! Similar to BarryM's Dazzle Dust, this is basically a container with a very loose powder inside, who's glitters are so tiny, it appears from afar almost like a luxury shimmer shadow, but up close twinkles in the light. Most of the colours available are pastel shades, which is great as they highlight your eyes and even though they come in a couple of brighter pastels (like the blue shade  'boom boom' and the green shade I got, named 'moon doggie') they are also suggested by beneFit themselves to be used also as a subtle highlighter on cheekbones!

So here is what a Lust Duster looks like in the pot... Mine's the one on the right...

And now, on the face...

As you can see, I've kept things relatively simple for the rest of my face with just a nice reddish lip, a slightly rosy cheek, a slick of black gel liner and a couple of coats of black mascara. I used Urban Decay's Primer Potion for underneath the dust (vital with loose powders as they can slide easily) but for the actual eyelid, the Lust Duster dominates all!

So I'd like to thank Sarah Jane Biggs of More! magazine tons for her contribution this week! Each week I will be putting a question to the beauty editors, and one of them will respond, so keep your questions coming girls! I've already got a post on keeping winter lips soft, and another on keeping hair healthy in the miserable weather conditions on there way, but please ask me some more questions, as I really want this to be an interactive feature where my readers are fellow beauty bloggers can get proper answers from the women in the know.

So what do you think? Have you tried the Lust Dusters yet? Do you know any other subtle glitter products to help Kate out? Would you wear a green pigment as a cheekbone highlight? Let me know...

Love
gabriellasofia

My Super-Top-Secret Beauty Professionals Feature...

I’m so happy guys! I can finally reveal my new feature which will a weekly thing... are you all ready for it?

Each week HauteFuture is going to be bringing you beauty tips and tricks from the people that KNOW what they’re talking about! These women know the ins and outs of the beauty industry, no exfoliating beauty pumice stone (rock) has gone unturned where these women are concerned, they have worked with the best make-up artists, beauty brands and products available at the moment. I am of course talking about the beauty directors and editors behind our favourite magazines!

This is super-exciting for me! Each week I will be putting your beauty questions to the geniuses who find the best products out there for us, and getting cold hard answers. These women are like beauty royalty. Trust me, they KNOW.

So which lovely ladies are onboard? Well...

Firstly, we have the beautiful Lisa Oxenham (also known as the Beauty and Style Director at IPC Media, host to the likes of Marie Claire, one of my all-time favourite magazines!!!) Having met Lisa a couple of months back at Marie Claire’s Inspire and Mentor Estee Lauder event, I knew that she was someone I wanted to know. She ran a short seminar on the new season looks including hair buns and red lips, and the whole time the audience was captivated. As well as clearly knowing her stuff, this lady has a great stage-presence and perfect hair. I was overjoyed when she agreed to work with me in order to bring my readers the best beauty knowledge there is out there!

Next up is Sarah-Jane Biggs, or the Beauty Editor at More! magazine. This is a name I’ve known for a while as she held top beauty positions in the magazines of my teenage years... Any Bliss magazine fans? Sarah-Jane was the Beauty Editor. Heard of a little publication called CosmoGIRL! magazine??? Well, you’re going to be able to put your questions to one of their past Assistant Beauty Editors. Sarah-Jane has made a great career so far of studying the products, technology and techniques which make beauty beautiful and she’s on board to help bring what she knows to HauteFuture readers. I’m chuffed to have her!

Thirdly, Laura Bacharach, freelance journalist and fellow blogger at The Beauty Edit caught my eye when I noticed just how knowledgeable she is about all things beauty. I automatically knew that she was the ‘Real Deal’ in the beauty writing industry and I was hardly surprised that on closer research I found that she’d worked as Beauty Editor at both Cosmopolitan and Look magazines, followed closely by time spent as the Beauty Director at one of my ultimate favourite mags, Company. With years of experience, I genuinely feel so privileged to have her as a part of this!

Deputy Beauty Editor of Stylist magazine, Samantha Flowers, really caught my eye quite recently. After scanning a Stylist mag in the break-room at work, I had a mooch on the beauty section of their website and found a couple of postings where Samantha had answered the beauty queries of readers. She is so thorough in finding a solution for each reader’s problem that I knew I had to ask her to be involved, and happily she accepted my invitation. Thank you Samantha!

Last but DEFINITELY not least, with a CV including top beauty positions at Conde Nast International, Tatler magazine and Stylist magazine whilst currently holding the role of Beauty Director at ELLE magazine how could I not ask the wonderful Emma Smith??? What really caught my eye about my ultimate skin-crush beauty professional were ELLE magazines Top 10 Autumn/Winter Beauty picks. Emma featured the likes of Bobbi Brown, Clinique and YSL amongst her favourite products for the season and I automatically knew she was my kind of person! She gives as much importance to skincare and nails as she does to cosmetics and hair-care and I need that thorough knowledge on-side if I’m going to allow my readers the best advice possible. I still can’t believe I have names as big as Emma Smith on this project.

So I’m trying to act really cool, but deep down we all know I’m beauty-star-struck right now! To have such names agreeing to help me here. But I must be cool. I must focus on the project in question. So without much further ado, I’d like to know your number one Winter Beauty Related Question. Each week, I will select that which I believe to be the ‘best’ question, that which will help the most people and will simply ask the professionals for a brief answer.

So, now you know my secret blog project which I’ve had to keep under wraps for the past few weeks, what are you waiting for? Pop your questions in the comments box below and I will interview the panel of Beauty Genius and report back!

Thanks for reading guys, hope you’re as excited as I am!

Love

gabriellasofia x

ELLE Beauty Intern Competition Entry...

I spent all night writing this competition entry for ELLE magazine as the deadline was today, the 1st of November. But my photo wouldn't upload as it was the wrong size and I couldn't resize it in time for the competition deadline :( The prize was a year-long internship in the beauty industry, spending four months at a beauty company, four months working in beauty PR and finally the last four months on the beauty desk at ELLE magazine. It would have been a dream to be considered, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be :(Anyways, never one to let a blog go to waste, here is the entry that I was going to send. In 500 words we had to describe why our favorite beauty brand was our favorite. I chose benefit. Here goes...

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As a student with a measly loan and a massive beauty habit it is absolutely imperative to me to spend only if it is totally worth it. This is why benefit cosmetics are by far my absolute, second-to-none favourite beauty brand around right now.

In a time of recession, we don’t want to just be paying for a product; we want an experience. I want my rich Rush Hour lipstick to be wrapped in pretty pink tissue-paper, sealed with a branded sticker then placed lovingly into a big, brightly-coloured beauty box for passers-by on the high street to ogle at with envy. I want the assistant at the shop counter to sit me down and treat me to an impromptu makeover, or offer me a free pot full of POREfessional primer just because she has so much confidence in the brand and their product that she knows I’ll soon be back for more. I want a brand that caters to my every need, before even I’m aware that I need it! I want benefit. Always and forever.

From the moment my heart skips a beat when I spot a benefit counter across the department store, to the second when I’m dashing out of the door with one last spritz of my favourite sweetly-scented So Hooked On Carmella perfume, I am a happier version of me! It may be something to do with the beautiful, eye-catching, vintage-style packaging which presents the smiling faces of pretty girls with even prettier make-up applied... Or maybe it’s down to the fact that my e-newsletter almost always provides a variety of discounts, just when I’m having to scrimp and save yet find myself in desperate need of a (hello) flawless foundation. No, it has got to be the frequent introduction of brand new products when I need them most (b.right! Radiant Skincare arrived on shelves during the same week my skin broke out, whilst their Prima Donna lashes are available in stores just in time for the festive season... exactly as I need them!) Of course, it could just be due to my penchant for the yummy smell of their Coralista blush; who knew a blush could smell like Love Hearts???

The most stand-out feature which I feel benefit cosmetics has as a brand is that it feels warm perhaps due to the fact that the company is primarily a family business started by two aspiring models who simply wanted to put their best faces forward... The attention to detail, value for money and interest in the customer are three personable qualities rarely found in globally-recognised companies, and yet benefit manages to achieve all this whilst making hundreds of thousands of women world-wide feel confident, comfortable and (most importantly) beautiful with respect. This is where benefit cosmetic’s success lies. This is why I always hot-foot it over to the counter to chat to the assistant like she’s my best friend about the latest products. And this is why my favourite foundation look is “(hello) flawless!”

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Seriously, I must have the worst luck ever that this didn't send. Never mind. Hope you liked it, and let me know if you hear of any similar competitions as I would love to win such an awesome prize!

Love as always

gabriellasofia x