We gave you the opportunity to ask make-up artist Shahnaz Cola-Wrensch some of your most burning beauty questions on social media. Here’s the final instalment in our series of four posts.
I have unsightly large pores. What’s the best way to look flawless when applying make-up? – Cassy Frost
Dealing with pores is all about your skincare routine, which should help minimise them to get a flawless look. There are pore minimising primers out there too, and these can help deal with the issue and fill them in. This will help give you a flawless finish. Cleansing is key to help remove any dirt in the pores and toning will help restrict pores. Try MAC Fix + – keep it in the fridge and then spritz over the face. This will help restrict pores as well because of the cold temperature on the skin.
What make-up products do you know of that are animal-friendly? (international and / or local)? – Kie-Mari Landman
Lush, The Body Shop, Kiehl’s, REN skincare and Smashbox are the best options for animal-friendly products and are all beautiful brands.
Please advise on the easiest way to shade in eyebrows for dark hair. I want perfect brows! – Ragheema Hamed
There are two ways to create perfect brows. One is to use a brow pencil to shade in the brows and the other way is to take a powder (either an eyeshadow or a brow kit with powder) and use a small angled brush to apply the product. When you’re choosing a shade, you want to go a shade lighter than your hair colour, unless you’re really going for a very bold brow.
Take an eyebrow brush and brush in upward strokes along the brow to make sure all the hairs are in the same direction and tidy. With the brow pen, work gently from the inner corner of the brow, applying in upward motions and then thin out as you get to the outer corner. You basically want the middle point of the brow where it arches to be the darkest and then lighter as you move out.
The same works with an angled brush – you take the powder and then work in upward motions. To work out where the brow should start and end, take a brush and hold along the bridge of your nose. Where the brush starts at the top of the nose is where the brow should start, so if you don’t have a lot of hair or your brow doesn’t quite reach, you need to cheat and create the shape starting from that point. The brow should finish by the outer corner of the eye, so again cheat the shape by drawing it in. You can also invest in brow templates that can help you draw in the brow and then fill in with colour.
Other articles you may be interested in:
Your foundation questions answered
Your lipstick questions answered
The beauty of pore-minimising products
Animal-friendly beauty
Eyebrows through the ages
11 Responses
Thank you for the great article. A brilliant guideline in getting a perfect result with L.O.V BROWttitude Eyebrow Contouring Palette!
I love the advice on the animal friendly products. I’m a huge animal lover and I hate when they are used for testing products.
The eyebrow article is nice to know, thanks for the tip.
Brow templates! Missed that up till now, must go look for that.
Wet ‘n Wild (you can buy these at clicks for very affordable prices) are also animal friendly. Their lipsticks and lip stains are phenomenal!
I’ve been looking at some clicks stores in Cape Town, but haven’t been able to find, please let me know where you were able to find?
Hi Abieda. Wet n Wild is available at selected Clicks stores nationwide. We suggest contacting Clicks to find out what store closest to you has stock.
An angled brush is my best friend for my brows.
I use a dark chocolate Bobbi Brown shadow on my black brows and it really helps to fill it in and add definition without looking harsh or artificial. Then I brush off any excess powder with a clean mascara brush followed by a brow gel to keep the hairs in place.
Beautifully groomed eyebrows really do make the world of a difference.
Hmmm, anything eyebrow related I LOVE…
I do love me some The Body Shop and Lush goodies!! Great series :)