My Top products for blonde hair

June 27, 2017melissaclarkemakeup

Bright clean blonde hair is amazing but as a blonde lets be honest it can be a pain to maintain.

There are many elements such as Water, pollution and the sun can turn our locks brassy. Over styling can cause hair to be dry and more prone to breakage.

Over the years I have put together a few tips to help prolong my freshly toned locks.

Finding Your Blonde

Choose a professional hair colour stylist. Going to a Top class salon to get your highlights done is essential. Blonde hair is the hardest colour to get correct so its important to find a qualified colourist.

Making your colour last

I found the key to preserve my illuminating toned hair and it may sound bizarre but wash your hair less. ( your hair not your daily showers obviously ). I know it sounds disgusting but I trained my hair to not get greasy. OK at this point you’re thinking what is she on about but it works believe me. I found over the last year or so that every time I got my colour done it wasn’t lasting as it should. I was washing my hair every second to 3rd day so I started leaving it an extra day every week. I am now only wash my hair every 5-7 days. I found that the condition of my hair also dramatically improved it was amazing.

Choosing the correct shampoos and conditioners

As a blonde ,look for formulas that are designed to maintain and protect your colour, opt for a sulphate free formula if you have dry scalp. To keep the tone of your hair and to stop brassiness opt for a purple or silver shampoo.

Here are my favourites:

Joico Colour endure Violet Shampoo €11.70

Available at hair salons I picked mine up @ Blakes carlow

or @ Beauty Bay

Alfaparf Never Brass €18.00

Available in Alfaparf salons

Bleach London Silver Shampoo and Conditioner

Boots €8.49

Provoke Touch of silver

Boots €4.99

Alfaparf semi Di lino reconstruction shampoo and conditioner

Available at Alfaparf Salons

€15 to €30

Happy hair days

Melissa xx

Catwalk HQ Tan – Summer goals

March 22, 2017melissaclarkemakeup

Hey guys

This weeks blog is about the newest tan on the market at the moment, which you might not have heard of yet Catwalk HQ.

I am a massive tan addict. I love testing all different tans on the market. I love looking bronzed and golden, it gives me so much more confidence. I have had my ups and downs with Tanning products. Every skin type is different, it is important to find a tan suitable to your skin type therefore its all about trial and error. Summer is also approaching , which requires more body parts exposed and we all want to look sun-kissed and bronzed. I have found the perfect Tan.

My Top Tan at the moment is Catwalk HQ. Where do I even start, I just am in love with it. It is an Irish product and produced in the west of Ireland. I love when Irish brands create amazing products,we are seeing a lot more fantastic Irish products coming into the beauty industry over the past few years. Firstly they do not test on animals and it contains no parabens or harmful ingredients. It is full of antioxidants which are good for our skin, which is amazing.

Its a mousse formula that is available in a medium and dark shade. It smells divine and feels super soft on the skin during application. Its very easy to blend onto the skin with the help of their own branded velvet mitt. Drying time is about 2 minutes and develops within 2-4 hours. I personally leave mine over night and shower in the morning as I like my Tan to be a nice deep shade.

The catwalk tan lasts a good week and it fades gradually.

I get so many compliments when im wearing the tan and have been using it the last two months. Overall its an amazing tanning product and it gets a 10 /10 from me.

Melissa x

Invisalyn – Approaching the end of my Journey

December 1, 2016melissaclarkemakeup

Hey guys I’m now 11 months into my Invisalyn experience and I’m back with a quick update from my previous blog to inform you how I’m getting on.

I started to see a dramatic Improvement at Set 22/23. Literally it just happened over a few days I was amazed. My cross bite began to shift across, which was the main reason I wanted to get Invisalyn, to correct the problem. My upper and bottom set of teeth started to shift into position and link together in harmony. I recently finished my final set of 27.

Upon my last visit to Dean Street Dental Co.Kilkenny, I had my attachments at the front removed and I got new moulds taken for my refinement stage. A refinement stage is the final process which corrects minor details. My bite needs to be slightly altered to make it 100% . In my opinion they look perfect but my denist is a perfectionist and wants them spot on. I hope to have my moulds back by christmas week or the start of the new year. I will have approximately 10-15 more sets which I will change weekly. I have got into a routine of wearing my retainers every day and night, I now feel weird when I’m not wearing them a few more weeks wont kill me. I was giving a home teeth whitening treatment which I place into my trays over the next few weeks. This was included in my treatment plan. So I will update you on my teeth whitening process in the oncoming weeks.

This was at set 24.

After treatment at Set 27

Check out my Previous Blogs on my Invisalyn experience and my before pictures of my teeth below:

Invisalyn Part 1

Invisalyn Part 2

Melissa xx

Its all about the base- Why you need a Skincare regime

November 7, 2016melissaclarkemakeup

Since my teenager years I have always been interested in my skincare regime. I ventured into the beauty industry before my makeup artistry studies which helped me thoroughly understand how the skin works and what it needs.

Looking after your skin is essential, not only to have healthy radiant skin but also gives you a flawless base for your foundation. This is a factor that most women and men don’t understand. Do you ever question “why is my foundation not lasting”?. Makeup needs a fresh clean base, to adhere the products.

The skin constantly produces new cells but as we get older the process slows down so we need to work with our skin and give it some help. A build up of cells on the skin can give a rough texture with a flakey appearance. For radiant glowing skin new fresh cells are needed on the top layer of the skin.

First of all know your skin type, there are so many skincare products out there to suit each type of skin. Believe it or not using the wrong products for your skin can be more damaging then not using any products at all. Skincare products do not have to be expensive. I have found some great high street brands that work wonders so search around, boots do fantastic ranges suitable for all ages and price range.

Bin the face wipes – Please do not use wipes to cleanse your face everyday. Wipes are too abrasive for the skin and do not give the skin a deep cleanse.
Cleanse -cleansing the skin will remove dirt on the surface of the skin. Cleansing the skin should be done twice daily every morning and evening. Cleansers come in many different forms lotions, creams, balms and oils.
Toning- Helps tighten the skin and pores, removes trace of any cleanser on the skin and refreshes the skin. Use every morning and evening.
Exfoliate- Helps to remove dead skin cells. Exfoliation should be done twice a week for oily skin and once a week for normal to dry skin.
Mask- Helps penetrate the skin with ingredients suitable for the skin type. Apply once a week.
Serum – serums are lighter in texture than moisturisers but contain more active ingredients. More suitable for mid twenties upwards. I wouldn’t recommend for teenage skin. Apply only every evening.
Moisturiser -Helps keep the skin soft and hydrated and acts as a barrier to protect the skin. Apply every morning and evening.
Eye cream- Helps keep the eyes hydrated apply every morning and evening around the eye socket.
Spf – Apply every morning

Hope this helps

Melissa x