Why So Cheap?!

Why Are AYU Make Up Brushes So Cheap?!

It's a question I get asked all the time- it's almost like people are saying "What's the catch?". I don't like to think of them as cheap, I think of them as affordable! I know there's a large belief that when something sounds too good to be true it generally is- but that is not the case with us. 

The creation of AYU was never intended to make us millionaires, it was to make professional quality brushes affordable to everyone. As a make- up teacher I was always seeing students arrive at class with a big roll of brushes that cost a fiver or thereabouts(you know the ones I'm talking about!!)- always the same type too- poor quality synthetic brushes with no detail and always cut badly which make achieving a polished look almost impossible. My students of course would be disappointed that their brushes were very little use and then would have to spend a small fortune on better ones. It has always irritated me how much the big companies charge for brushes- especially when they are an essential part of most womens daily beauty regimes. I had been thinking of starting my own line for a while and researching it but it meant a big investment and I wasn't sure I could do it so I started off by buying in non labeled quality brushes for my students and selling them on- they were delighted with the savings they were making and finally they had good tools to use! I still wasn't getting them at a price that I was totally happy with though and I felt I could still do better. From this AYU was finally born! 

Laura Maher

I enlisted the help of my sister and business partner Laura- I have the practical skills but she has the brains so we make a good team! She got to work to see if it would even be possible for us to do it. After a lot of research, samples and spending we finally got our 8pc AYU line. I can't tell you how happy we were the day it arrived- it was a real treat to finally have our brushes and made all the hard work worth it! Now to their cost- my philosophy was always and still is- "If I hesitate then it's a no" meaning if we put a price on something and I wouldn't pay it myself or I would even hesitate then I'm not going to expect anyone else to! I had a lot of people telling me I was mad and that I was going to be a busy fool but I didn't care- like I said before I never set out to make millions I just wanted good quality affordable brushes that were available to everyone! Being an online company allows us to pass our savings onto you and that's the way we like it! 

AYU Eyeliner Brush €4.50 (available soon)

We have had really great feedback on our line so far and we are loving every second of being a part of its growth. Just recently our newest brush has arrived- one I am particularly proud of as I spent months getting it just right! It's our AYU Angled Liner brush. I made it super thin but as you can see its has a good length from the side so it makes doing a winged eye almost fool proof! It can be used with gel, liquid or powder liners and also to fill in brows. With it's sharp top it creates a mean cut crease eye too! 

It will be available on our website very soon so we'll keep you posted! 

I'll give you a quick run down of our other brushes below but for now thanks for taking the time to read this! For more information on our brushes and their uses or to get in touch visit us at www.ayu.ie or like us on facebook at AYU Make Up Brushes Dublin

Suzie x

AYU Foundation €10.50

AYU Blush €10.50

AYU Pro Blender €4.50

AYU Powder €15.00

AYU Lip €4.50

AYU Eyeshadow €3.50

AYU Blender €4.50

AYU Pencil €3.50

AYU Concealer/Contour Palette

What are all these colours for?

I am writing this short post because I have been getting a lot of emails lately from people asking what the colours in their concealer palettes are for!

First of all our palette is multi-functional as it is a colour correcting concealer palette and a contour palette. When you open it you will see 15 different creams. 

The first three on the left are your colour correctors and a highlighting cream. 

Highlighting Cream.

Your highlighting cream is the on the top left. It is used to create a shimmery shine or highlight

How to use:

• Apply this cream with a soft brush or your ring finer to the tops of the cheekbones, down the centre of the nose and over cupids bow. 

Green Cream.

This is used to cover any redness in the skin.

How to use:

•  It is used before your foundation and after your moisturiser. 
• Take a small amount of the cream(as a little goes a long way) and warm it on the back of your hand before application. 
• Next apply to the areas where you have redness and blend. It is really important to blend this product until you are left just looking a little pale in the area- you dont want any green still showing as this can show through you foundation if not buffed enough(not a good look!!) 

Lilac Cream. 

This is used to disguise any dark circles under the eyes. 

How to use:

• Again apply a small amount onto the back of your hand. 
• With a soft blending brush or your ring finger blend well under the eye, in the lid and the inner corners to brighten the whole area up. 

Now that you have corrected any discolouration on the skin you can apply your foundation as normal. 

Your second row onwards are all skin colour concealers- these are what we use to create our hightlight and contour and also to cover any blemishes on the skin. Remember that for highlighting you need to go 2 shades lighter than your skin tone and to contour 2 shades darker. You can check out our post on Highlighting and Contouring at http://ayudublin.blogspot.ie/2014/04/defining-your-features-with-ayu.html.  

To cover any blemishes you want to use a cream the same colour as your foundation so it blends in evenly and doesn't draw attention to the area! 

How to conceal:

• Apply a small amount of your concealer to the back of your hand and slightly warm it with your ring finger or concealer brush.
• Pat concealer on blemish lightly. Keep patting lightly until the concealer has blended with your foundation. Try not to rub it in as you can end up making the blemish more obvious and not conceal anything, and more than likely irritate your blemish further if you are rubbing it.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for reading,

Suzie x 

Our AYU Concealer/Contour Palettes are available from www.ayu.ie and cost €17.50. 

Delivery time is 1-2 days.

Defining Your Features with the AYU Complete Contour Set

Defining Your Features in Flash!

1.

I decided to write this blog to show how you can add contouring into your daily make up routine without having to spend an hour in front of the mirror! Now before I start I'm not saying I don't like to spend a long time doing my make up for a big night out but it's just not an option to spend an age doing it every morning! The look I did for this blog was subtle with no eyeshadow or eyeliner just base and mascara. Its perfect make up for work or for getting about on all your daily jobs. First off I started with my foundation(1)- I used MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC25 all over my face.

AYU Concelaer Palette 

2.

3.

Next I applied my concealer from my AYU Cream Concealer Palette(€17.50)- as you can see in the pictures I used a cream 2 shades lighter for the areas I wanted to highlight and one 2 shades darker for the areas I wanted to define(2). You don't need to be neat with this as you'll be blending it all out in a minute. Take the foundation brush that you used to apply you base and starting blending the colours out. I always start with the light colour first. I use our AYU Foundation Brush and find it really quick to  blend the concealers out with this brush as the head is big and fluffy(3). Once your happy that it's all blended and you can see no lines you will need to set the creams.  

4. AYU Powder Contour Set

5.

To set the creams I used my AYU Powder Contour Set(4)(€15.00). I applied it with one of our fluffy powder brushes. All you need to do here is pat on the light powder in the areas you put the light cream and a small amount of the dark powder where you used your darker concealer(5). 

6.

7.

It should look like this once you're done with your contouring(6&7). As all we have is definition in the face now we need to add some colour- I used my AYU Blusher Palette(€20.00) here(I always mix a pink and peach shade for my cheeks as I find it suits me best. I used two of the light shades for this as its for everyday- i go deeper for nightime) The easiest way to apply your blusher is to apply a small amount on your blusher brush and smile- apply your colour to the apples of your cheeks and blend it out towards the upper part of your ear so you don't end up looking like a clown!! Apply your mascara and a bit of lip balm and you're done(8&9)!

8.

9.

The whole look took me 20 minutes to do and that included taking these pictures so you should give it a try! You might surprise yourself! I hope you enjoyed this little "How To". If you did please let me know or if there is anything else you'd like to see us do just shout! 

Thanks for reading,

Suzie x 

All the AYU products used are available from our website at www.ayu.ie and all orders are sent within 24hrs.  

Follow us on:

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ayu.dublin.1

Twitter at: https://twitter.com/AyuDublin

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ayudublin

AYU How To....Smokey Eye

How to do a Smokey Eye:

1. Prep the lid. The key to keeping eyeshadow from melting into your eyelid crease as the day goes on is to keep eyelids oil-free. To do this start with an eyeshadow base (also called “primer”). Simply swipe the primer across the eye and let it dry before you continue.
2. Apply eyeliner. If you’re going for a typical black, brown or grey smokey eye, apply liner in one of those colours above the upper lash line, drawing line thicker in the middle of eye. If you’re opting for a jewel-toned eye (violet makes a gorgeous smokey eye), line eyes with a purple, blue or deep green liner.
3. For colour on the bottom you’ll want to use a eyeliner pencil because they’re easiest to smudge. Once the line is drawn, run your AYU Pencil brush over it to smudge the line. You can also apply a bit of shadow to get full smudge effect.
4. Apply light base colour- the key to a smokey eye is pairing a lighter base with the darker hue. I prefer a nice cream shade for my base. Sweep a light, shimmery shadow over the lids to your browbone. 
5. Blend in darker colour, but keep dark colour below the crease. Now that you have the base and eyeliner on, it’s time to get the smokey effect. You need a darker eyeshadow shade. Using an eyeshadow brush blend in colour starting at your lash line, blending upwards. Make sure to blend colour into the lash line so the eye liner disappears. Stop your deep colour at crease. The key here is to blend, blend, blend! (Brushes to use her are the AYU Pro Blender and AYU Blender)
6. Finish with several coats of mascara. You’ll want to apply a few coats of mascara so lashes are thick and dark. If you don’t have naturally long, curled lashes, curl them with a lash curler first or for an even quicker fix apply false lashes!

Tips:

• Remember to keep lips nude. When applying strong makeup (like smokey eyes or red lips) put the focus on either eyes or lips, never both. 
• For a bit of fun, try a blue or purple mascara. It will make blue eyes “pop.”
• Liner doesn’t have to come in pencil form. Eyeshadows can make some of the best eyeliners. To do this take an eyeliner brush, wet it, then dab the wet brush into the dark shadow. This allows for a deep, precise line. You can also use the dark shadows without wetting brush first. Either way, eyeliner is necessary for smoky eye.

What You Need

• Eye primer 
• AYU 28 Colour Eyeshadow Palette(€24)
• Eyeliner(or eyeshadow)
• Makeup brushes (See www.ayu.ie for our range of individual brushes & brush sets)
• Mascara & False Lashes

The key to the perfect smokey eye is proper blending. You want to make sure colours are blended together flawlessly. Also, it’s important to pair light base colors with rich dark colours. Nice mixes include: Soft gold base with deep purple on top, champagne base with bright blue and peach base with green hue.

www.ayu.ie

AYU Natural Daytime Look

AYU Natural Daytime Look

So today I started to film the first of our AYU Make Up tutorials- let me tell you it was a lot harder than all the current make up artists on youtube make it look! I decided to opt for a natural look to kick things off. I should say before I post any photos that yes the hairband I was wearing is 100 years old and my hair after looks like I was dragged through a hedge backwards but nonetheless this isn't about the hair its about the make up!! 

My skin was cleansed and moisturised before starting so I began with some MAC Strobe Cream all over my face- I love the natural glow this gives the skin under foundation. I always apply this with a clean AYU Foundation brush- I am a firm believer that applying it with my hands will create heat in my skin and promote the production of oil which won't help in keeping my make up in place all day! Next I used Rimmels 25 hour foundation in 200 Soft Beige- I have only started to use this recently on recommendation from some of my make up students and have to say I really like it. It doesn't feel too heavy for daytime but can be built up for a night out! I applied this with the same AYU Foundation brush I used to apply my strobe cream. I followed this with some MAC Prolongwear concealer in NW15 under my eyes with our AYU Eyeshadow brush and down the centre of my nose and above the cupids bow- it instantly brights up your face. To set I used our AYU Powder brush with MAC Mineralize skinfinish in Light Plus everywhere I had my concealer and I used Medium on the outer parts of my face to create a bit of depth. 

For my cheeks I used a mixture of two of the colours in our AYU Blusher Palette shown below. By using a pink and peach shade together I feel it gives a lovely natural blush that doesn't look too much for daytime! I applied these with an AYU Blusher brush. I never do too much contouring during the day but to give a little definition to my face I used one of the mushroom shadows(1) from our AYU Eyeshadow palette- I love when you can use one product for a few different things! I applied it just underneath my cheek bone with an AYU Blush brush and blended it upwards and outwards as you can see in the photos! I also used shadow number 2 as a highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones, down the centre of my nose and above cupids bow, again applied with the same AYU Blush brush.

For my eyes I filled in my sparse brows with MAC brow liner in Lingering- I just do small light strokes to keep them looking natural- I would use this with a shadow at night for more definition. On my eyes I used a light brown shadow(3) from the AYU Eyeshadow Palette in the crease blended out with our AYU Blender brush and a creamy white(2) underneath my brows to highlight the area- I used the AYU Pro Blender for this, I lightly added a creamy beige(4) to blur any lines from the brown and white. Its a very subtle look but nice for day to day wear I think. I used a MAC kohl eyeliner in Teddy on my lash line and smudged it out with an AYU Crease brush as I didn't want any hard lines. I followed this with some black mascara.

For my lips again I kept them neutral with a light pink gloss from the AYU Lip Palette applied with an AYU Lip brush.

And here is the finished look- my photography skills aren't the best but I will get better I promise!! I will have the video up over the next week once I had gotten a handle on this editing business!! 

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Suzie x 

To purchase any of the AYU products above please log on to: www.ayu.ie. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and P&P is FREE until the end of February 2014.

Does Make Up have a sell by date?

Does Makeup have a sell by date?

Are you one of those people (ahem...like I was) that have been collecting/hoarding a vast collection of makeup products for months, even years? Who would have thought makeup had a sell by date?! Think about it though. As hard as it is to hear this, keeping your beauty products for too long will welcome bacteria onto your skin, eyes and lips. It's better to get rid of them before your skin tells you to! 

Here is a guide to typical makeup expiration's;

www.makeup.com 

Though makeup brushes don't have a specific sell by date, they generally will last for as long as you look after them. Be sure to wash them regularly (see our post here) as they can harvest bacteria too. 

So what's lurking in your makeup bag?

Thanks for following us,

Laura & Suzie  ��

Website: www.ayu.ie

Facebook: AYU Make Up Brushes Dublin

Making Up the Kildare Rose of Tralee hopefuls!

The make up girls of IBHT were out in force this morning armed with their AYU Make Up Brushes and AYU Make Up Palettes to make up the lovely Kildare Rose of Tralee hopefuls before they braved the weather at Punchestown Races.

 

The girls hair was styled by the hair dressing students of IBHT headed by senior stylist Emer Keogh. They created some beautiful looks for the girls as you can see below!

For make up we keep it subtle but defined. Bases were kept fresh with warm flushes on the cheeks complimented by gorgeous highlight on the tops of cheeks and down the nose. Eye makeup was achieved with AYU Eyeshadow palettes using creams, taupes and browns applied with AYU Crease and AYU Pro Blender brushes. Eyeliner was applied thinly to the root of the lashes to create a fuller effect without being too harsh for daytime.

It was a great experience for our Make Up students and I hope they enjoyed themselves. The roses themselves were over the moon and have already rebooked their make up artists for their show in April! 

Thanks for following us,

Suzie 💋

Website: www.ayu.ie

Facebook: AYU Make Up Brushes Dublin