About Me

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WELCOME TO MY BLOG :) I'm a self-taught make-up artist with over 13 years experience currently living and working in London. Combining a life of a freelancer with working for the best make-up company MAC Cosmetics. I created this blog out of pure PASSION FOR MAKE-UP and started writing it while I was taking some time off from my travels and staying in my hometown in Slovakia and continuing it now from London, (where I settled down for now), enriched with my MAC experience. I really hope you like it. Please don't forget to subscribe and share the page with your friends that might be interested. I'm looking forward to your comments. XOXO SOPHIA

Sunday 30 December 2012

NEW YEARS EVE MAKE-UP INSPIRATION, INSPIRACIA NA SILVESTROVSKY MAKE-UP

Mile Damy, Dear Ladies, 

Zajtra je Silvester a tie z vas, ktore sa rozhodnete ist namiesto chaty a papucoveho vecera niekam von medzi ludi na skvelu zurku sa iste budete chystat a licit. Nasla som zopar obrazkov, ktorymi sa mozte inspirovat... 

It's New Years Eve tomorrow. Yay, if you don't know what kind of make-up to do, feel free to inspire yourself from the pics bellow. 





Umele mihalnice a Silvester to proste ide do kopy ;)
Fake lashes and New Years Eve go together so well ;) 







Ak nechcete trblietky, volte farby ;)
If you don't want glitter go for a more colourful look ;) 




zaujimava spona do vlasov vam zdokonaly look na vecer
Interesting hair piece will "pimp" your evening look ;) 


Mozte zvolit akukolvek farebnu kombinaciu 3 farieb, len dodrzte postup najsvetlejsia,
tmavsia a najtmavsia. Najtmavsia ide vzdy do vonkajsieho kutika oka - a vela tienovat.

You can choose any combination of 3 colours you like. Just make sure you stick to
one rule the darkest colour goes to the outer corner of the eye - keep blending ;) 


trblietky mozte mat vsade, vsak je Silvester ;)
glitter is all around - yes it's NYE ;))) 




Ked neviete ako na to Nic z Pixiwoo vam to ukaze ;) 
If you don't know how to achieve this look Nic from Pixiwoo will show you. 



Produkt, ktory Nic pouzila (Collection 2000 Glam Crystals ocna linka) u nas nedostanete, ale ak mate chut zvolit nieco trblietave, ako to spravim ja, tak si zajdite do nejakeho nakupneho centra a zakopnite o "stanky" co su uprostred chodby medzi velkymi obchodmi. Tam vacsinou maju nechtove veci, a medzi nechtovymi vecami najdete aj rozne trblietky, ktore su sice na nechty ale mozte ich pouzit na rozne ucely. V tom stanku kupite aj priesvitny gel, ktorym prilepite trblietky na viecko. Alebo v drogerii najdete produkt 2v1 trblietava linka na oci. Kupite v DM - Essence alebo skuste MAC pigmenty. 


Nic used Collection 2000 Glam Crystals glittery eyeliner. If you can't get it try Essence or good old glitter pots (the ones for nails and get yourself a clear liquid eyeliner to help the glitter stick onto your lids) or MAC pigments, Jemma Kidd, Sephora or No.7... Almost every make-up brand has a glitter eyeliner these days ;) 









UZITE SI OSLAVU, POSPOMINAJTE NA UPLYNULY ROK, PODAKUJTE SA ZA SKUSKY A ZA VSETKO (CI DOBRE CI ZLE) CO SA VAM PRIHODILO A ZELAJTE SI NIECO DO NOVEHO ROKA ;) 

ENJOY THE PARTY, REMEMBER ALL THAT YOU WENT THROUGH THIS YEAR, THANK FOR ALL THE CHALLENGES YOU HAD TO FACE AND ALL THE GOOD STUFF. AND WISH FOR SOMETHING ;)




XOXO SOPHIA 



Thursday 27 December 2012

BEST MOISTURISERS FOR DRY SKIN, NAJLEPSIE KREMY PRE SUCHU PLET, A.K.A. DRY SKIN vol.2, SUCHA PLET c.2


Mile Damy, Dear Ladies ...

(English is further down in blue italic font)

Ako pokracovanie serie blogov o suchej pleti vam dnes poviem o dalsom kroku v starostlivosti o suchu plet:

Volba spravneho kremu

Na trhu su dostupne miliony kremov pre suchu plet, suchu a citlivu plet a pre uplne dehydratovanu plet. Najznamejsi krem pouzivany uz aj nasimi babkami je klasicka Nivea, lenze Nivea obsahuje vela oleja a pokozka sa vam potom leskne ako diskogula ;) Ja som sa chcela hlavne zamerat na predstavenie takych kremov, ktore vam pokozku vyzivia dodaju hydrataciu a pomozu udrzat pokozku hydratovanu po dobu 8-14 hodin. Niekde v tomto rozmedzi si asi budete opat aplikovat krem na tvar, takze sa vam opat zvlhci a zostane hydratovana. Pokozka po takomto kreme bude ziarit zdravim, nebude vypnuta a aj make-up vam bude na pleti lepsie drzat a vyzerat prirodzenejsie. 
Budem sa asi opakovat ked vam opat zdoraznujem aka skvela je kozmetika od BIODERMY ale proste je uplne skvela, aj akakolvek kozna lekarka vam to povie. Mne Biodermu predstavila prave moja kozna lekarka, velmi mila pani, ktora ako jedna z mala koznych, ktore som stretla v zivote, sa naozaj rozumie svojmu remeslu a je maximalne profesionalna ;) Ale aby to nebolo stale o Bioderme prestavim vam aj zopar kremov inych znaciek ako napriklad La Roche-Posay (skvela kozmetika) , Clarins a Dermalogica. Naschval volim kozmetiku, ktora sice nieje najlacnejsia ale je cenovo dostupna a nenechate za nu mesacny plat ;) 
(Ked kliknete na mena znaciek najdete tam link, kde si mozte produkty zakupit)


This blogpost is the second part of my series dedicated to Dry Skin - care.  

Today I will talk about the next step in skincare for dry skin. 

Choosing the right moisturiser


You have millions and millions of products dedicated to dry skin on the market these days. Probably the best known is the good old Nivea in a blue tin can, used by our grannies I believe ;) The only thing with Nivea is that it has lots of oils in it and leaves your skin oily and shiny like a disco ball. I did a bit of a research and the products I'm about to introduce to you are meant to re-hydrate your skin, make it look dewy, fresh and healthy with a beautiful glow for anything between 8-14 hours - as you're most likely to wash your face in this time frame and apply another layer of moisturiser and the whole process begins again. 
I hope I'm not getting on your nerves with constantly talking about BIODERMA, but I absolutely love their products, and any good dermatologist would tell you the same. I was introduced to it by my dermatologist who out of many I know really knows her job and loves it and is great at it and also is a fantastic person. But to talk about other brands I decided to do some more research and I found another brand (available in your pharmacies) that I will talk about a bit more and it's La Roche-Posay. And I have two more brands for you in store today - Clarins and Dermalogica. I deliberately chose products that aren't enormously pricey but are 100% recommended by dermatologists
(Each brand name has a link attached to it, just click on it and a homepage will open) 



PO Zinc - reduces redness, soothes skin
ostranuje zacervenanie a upokojuje pokozku
PP - stimulates the natural cutaneous
barrier repair process. 
stimuluje prirodzene reparacne procesy
v mieste koznej bariery


Nutritive - "skin food" for flaky skin, restores
hydration in skin, reduces redness and flaky skin. 

Vysoko vyzivny krem pre extremne suchu
az supinatu pokozku, obnovuje vlhkost pokozky
odstanuje zacervenanie a napomaha
redukcii supin na pleti
Riche - rovides long-lasting hydration and restores
the skin’s comfort, suppleness and radiance.

Dlhotrvajuca hydratacia pokozky do hlbky.
Pokozka je vlacna a ziariva.





Sensibio Rich - instantly soothes feelings of overheating, redness and tightness, and provides immediate comfort. Hydrates, nourishes intensely and rebuilds the cutaneous barrier thus avoiding the penetration of irritant agents.  Okamzite upokojuje pocity palenia a pnutia, zacervenanie a poskytuje bezprostrednu ulavu. Hydratuje, intenzivne vyzivuje a obnovuje barieru koze, cim zabranuje prieniku drazdivych latok.

Moisturises and reduces skin sensitivity 
Vyzivuje a ostranuje citlivost pokozky

Instantly moisturises, soothes heating and
irritation on a dry skin. 

Okamzite vyzivuje, upokojuje
zacervenanu a podrazdenu
suchu pokozku


IN URGENT CASE -  this product is a remedy when your skin is extremely dehydrated. It's like a SOS lip balm for skin. 
V PRIPADE NUDZE - tento krem je ako liek na extremne dehydratovanu pokozku. Je to ako SOS balzam na pery pre plet. 
Age defying moisturiser by Clarins, great even for dry skin. 
Protivraskovy krem od Clarins, skvely aj pre suchu plet. 
Antioxidant moisturizer for dry skin
Antioxidacny krem pre suchu plet
This deeply nourishing, heavyweight skin treatment cream helps combat chronically dry, dehydrated skin while replenishing critical moisture levels.
Tento hlboko vyzivujuci a osetrujuci krem pomaha bojovat s chronicky vysusenou pletou, a tiez napomaha pleti aby ostala hydratovana.  


Az trpite chronicky suchou pletou po pripade sa vam tvoria supinky, odporucam zacat s "liecbou" ihned a to kupou hlbokovyzivujuceho kremu a aplikovanim dvakrat denne. Ked sa vam po iste dobe (ktora je u kazdeho individualna ale minimalne mesiac potrva kym si plet zvykne na novy produkt) plet napravi, mozte rano pouzivat lahsi krem ale na noc by ste stale mali pouzivat hlbokovyzivujuci krem.
Ak mate klasicku suchu plet (nie extremne pripady) tak najvhodnejsie je ked si kupite sadu starostlivosti o suchu plet ako som o tom pisala v predchadzajucom blogu odlicovac, pletove mlieko a vyzivny krem. 
Uz tu bolo vela diskusii o tom ci sa na na noc natierat kremom alebo nie. Ak mate mastnu plet, tam to az tak potrebne nieje ale v pripade suchej pleti je to podla mna maximalne potrebne. Hlavna vec je vecer sa odlicit a namazat kremom, a k tomu este ocnym kremom, kedze sucha plet sa prejavuje predcastnym starnutim a tenkou pokozkou hlavne v okoli oci. Je vhodne zacat pouzivat ocny krem o nieco skor (kludne uz aj v 20ke) ako tie z vas, ktore mate plet zmiesanu alebo mastnu. 

Dakujem vam za vasu pozornost a navstevu blogu. Posledna kapitola serie o Suchej pleti bude o podkladovom make-upe pre tento typ pleti a jeho aplikacii. 

If you are one of those who suffer from chronically dry flaky or blotchy skin, I advice to start with the "treatment" as soon as possible - run to the nearest pharmacy and buy yourself a deeply nourishing hydrating moisturiser ASAP and apply it twice a day! After about a month (or longer it's individual with each person) your face will adapt to the new moisturiser and hopefully the extreme will be reduced to regular dry skin. When you have a regular dry skin start using a cleansing kit designed for dry skin (as you could read in my previous blog post) and use a lighter moisturiser under foundation and a heavier before going to bed. Make sure you buy a good eye cream as people who suffer with dry skin get wrinkles around their eyes faster than people with oily or combination skin. You should start using a light age defying eye creams from about the age of 20.

Thank you for your time and for visiting my blog. The last chapter of the Dry Skin series will be about choosing the perfect foundation and application. 


till then ..... XOXO SOPHIA


DRY SKIN vol.1, SUCHA PLET c.1

Mile Damy, Dear Ladies,

(English is in blue italic font)

V zimnych mesiacoch vela z nas trpi suchou pletou/pokozkou. Niektore mate az supinatu pokozku a popraskane pery. Mozno mate na tieto veci svoje recepty, ja som vam chcela dat svoje osvedcene typy. 

Lot of us suffer with dry skin in winter. Some of us even have dry patches and blotchy skin. You might have your own ways how to treat dry skin. I would like to share my ideas with you. (English continues further down)

Dalo by sa to zhrnut v troch bodoch, ktore vam postupne priblizim. 
1. Spravna starostlivost o plet (denne, tyzdenne, mesacne ritualy) 
2. Volba spravneho kremu
3. Volba spravneho podkladoveho make-upu a jeho aplikacia


1. Dnes vam poviem nieco o Spravnej starostlivosti o plet  -  



Najdolezitejsie je (a toto musim najviac zdoraznit) ODLICOVANIE vecer. Aj ked sme uz nadovsetko unavene, najdime si aspon 5 minut na odlicenie pleti pred spanim, plet sa vam za to odvdaci tym, ze vrasky pridu pozdejsie a v mensom rozsahu! Ja som zastancom rychleho odlicenia - s pomocou odlicovacej emulzie, ktora sa napeni a nou sa odlici vsetok make-up aj ocne partie. Vela znamych sa ma pyta ci ma nestipu pri tom oci? Odpoved je nie, lebo ich mam zavrete a ked si ich zavrete emulziou pretriem hned si celu tvar oplachnem a nema ma co v ociach stipat. Dokonca su specialne mydla na suchu pokozku ako od Biodermy alebo od Dove. S mydlom ale opatrne, ak pouzijete obycajne mydlo a nie mydlo urcene pre suchu plet moze vam ju este viac vysusit a to urcite nechcete. Takze odlicit sa treba kazdy den
Ci uz zvolite formu kremoveho odlicovaca alebo emulzie necham to na vas, kazda z nas uz s odlicovanim ma ake take skusenosti ;) Ale jedna vec mi neda, vela zien sa odlicuje nedokonale, tak ze zbytky maskary im stale zostanu pri korienkoch mihalnic - to sposobuje vsetko mozne od necistot, ktore sa vam mozu dostat do oka a mozu sposobit infekciu, az po predcasne starnutie. Nedokonalemu odliceniu mozte predijst tym, ze pouzijete emulziu (preto ju pouzivam aj ja).

It could be summarised in 3 simple steps:
1. Choosing the right skincare and skin routines (daily, weekly and monthly)
2. Choosing the right moisturiser
3. Choosing the right foundation (foundation application) 

Today I will tell you about the first step: 
1. Choosing the right skincare and skin routines 
The most important thing (and I can NOT emphasise this enough) is REMOVING MAKE-UP before going to bed!!! No matter how tired you are, find some strength in you to spend 5 minutes on your skin and it will repay you by looking young longer and you won't have panda eyes in the morning ;) 
I personally love gel or mouse make-up removers - it's the quickest way how to remove make-up 100%. Lots of you ask me if this stings my eyes, but until your eyes remain closed it doesn't ;) You have a great range of make-up remover gels and mouses available from Bioderma (see pics below) one range is especially designed for dry or dehydrated skin. Watch out for soaps as they may dry your skin out even more (unless you use soaps designed for dry skin - Dove, Bioderma). So the thing you should do everyday is..... ??? - REMOVE YOUR MAKE-UP!!! Doesn't matter if you use a cream remover or a gel one, I leave that one up to you, but make sure you do it properly. Cream make-up removers can leave a residue on your skin especially in the under eye area, which can cause skin irritation or eye infection - that is the reason I choose gel removers. 


Bioderma Atoderm mouse gel/ penovy cistiaci gel
Bioderma Atoderm gel / emulzia
















Dove sensitive skin soap bar/ mydlo 




Bioderma Atoderm soap bar/ mydlo




















Bioderma Hydrabio H2O cleanser / cistiaca voda
Cleansing milk/ cistiace mlieko




















Niektore zeny trpia supinatou pletou hlavne v zime a hlavne v zonach ako brada, celuste a nos. Aj tomuto sa da pomoct aj uplne predijst pomocou jemneho peelingu. Suchej pleti by mal stacit raz do tyzdna (skuste Bioderma Hydrabio kremovy peeling).

Some women suffer with blotchy or flaky skin mostly on areas like chin, jaws and nose. You can help to overcome this by using a gentle cream scrub once a week. Try Bioderma Hydrabio creme scrub - pic below
Bioderma Hydrabio cream scrub/ kremovy peeling

Ku kozmeticke by ste mali zavitat tak raz do mesiaca, ked uz nie na cistenie pleti tak na dobru masaz, ktora vam krasne prekrvi pokozku a napomoze prevencii vrasok - a je to predsa forma relaxu ;) 

You should visit a beautician once a month for a relaxing face massage or some nice face mask as a form of relaxation that is very beneficial for you. Not only you'll feel relaxed but your skin will feel and look great. 



Dalsie dva kroky:
2. Volba spravneho kremu
a 3. Volba spravneho podkladoveho make-upu a jeho aplikacia
vam prinesiem v dalsom blogu uz o par dni ;) jeeej ;) 

I will talk about the other 2 steps 
2. Choosing the right moisturiser
and 3. Choosing the right foundation (foundation application) 
in the next blog, in a couple of days ;) yay



till then .... XOXO SOPHIA 

Wednesday 5 December 2012

FACE MASK... PLETOVA MASKA




Mile damy, Dear ladies, 


Pletova maska raz za mesiac, je vynikajuci napad. Ja zboznujem gafrovu masku, dostat ju v lekarni alebo u vasej kozmeticky!!! 
Gafrova maska je dobra na stiahnutie porov, ozviezenie, vypnutie a ukludnenie pleti. Je prijemne chladiva a po umyti je plet viditelne vypnuta a pruznejsia. Je dobra hlavne na mastnejsiu plet, lebo ma protizapalovy ucinok a vyditelne lieci vyrazky. 
Aplikujte na ocistenu plet, nechajte posobit 20-30 minut a oplachnite teplou vodou. Potom pouzite pletovu vodu alebo hydratacny tonik a nakoniec hydratacny krem. Ked mate mastnejsiu plet ako ja, mozte pouzit Biodermu - Sebium Hydra. 

Face mask once a month is a very good idea. I love camphor mask - available in your pharmacy or maybe your beautician can sell you one. 
Camphor mask minimizes pores, refreshes, calms and leaves your skin looking supple. It's probably best for you with oilier skin as it has an anti-immflamatory effect and visibly reduces pimples and redness. 
Apply on clean skin, leave on for 20-30 minutes, then wash off with warm water, apply face tonic and a hydrating moisturiser. I use Bioderma Sebium Hydra.



Ryor - Gafrova maska (only available in Slovakia or Czech republic)







Strictly professional - Hydrating mask with camphor oil
EVELOM - Rescue Mask EVELOM link





Bioderma Sebium Hydra










XOXO SOPHIA  

Monday 3 December 2012

HIGHLIGHTER ... ROZJASNOVAC

Mile Damy, Dear Ladies... 

(English is in blue italic font)

Cim dalej tym viac z vas sa ma pyta na rozne typy a rady ako sa skraslit. Chcem vam tymto dat este viac priestoru. Ak mate akekolvek otazky tykajuce sa make-upu alebo nejakych kozmetickych produktov, posielajte mi ich prosim na tuto emailovu adresu sophiabrad.makeup@gmail.com alebo ich piste do komentov pod ktorykolvek z mojich clankov. Taktiez rada privitam typy na nove clanky. 

Minuly tyzden som sa zucastnila velmi zaujimaveho a prelomoveho projektu v Budapesti, o ktorom vam coskoro prezradim viac. Jedna z ucastnicok tohto projektu mi vnukla napad na novy clanok. Chcem vas oboznamit so svetom rozjasnovacov - emulzii, pudrov a gelov, ktore pri spravnej aplikacii vedia vycarit neskutocne veci. Vasa plet dokaze vyzerat o roky mladsie, cerstvo a stavnato! 

More and more of you are asking me for tips and advice on how to use certain products or how to create different make-up looks. I want to help you as much as possible and be able to answer all your questions. So if you have any questions I haven't written a blog about please make sure you email me to sophiabrad.makeup@gmail.com or comment on any of my posts. Also if you have any suggestions on new posts, please do not hesitate to share them with me (either in email or in a comment). 

Last week I participated in a very interesting and groundbreaking project in Budapest, Hungary. I intend to share it with you shortly ;) One of the girls on this project has been asking for make-up tips and she influenced me in today's post topic which is highlighter - liquid, powder or gel. Highlighters are a great tool and if you know how to apply them properly they can make you look years younger and leave your skin looking fresh and dewy! 



Takze ako aplikovat rozjasnovac? Rozjasnovac (ako to uz z nazvu vyplyva) pouzivame na rozjasnenie pleti. Aplikujeme ho na miesta kde ma najvacsiu sancu odrazat svetlo - Celo, stred nosa, vrch licnych kosti, pod obocie, oblast spankov, pod nos - nad pery, a bradu (vid obrazok).

So where do we apply the highlighter? As it's clear from its name you use it to highlight areas of your face. You apply it on the areas that are most likely to reflect light - top of the cheekbones below the eye, bridge of the nose, temples, forehead, brow bone, cupids bow and chin (see pic below)






















Konecny efekt / Final effect




Na trhu su rozne formy rozjasnovacov, 
There are many forms of highlighters available on the market these days: 

Tekuty rozjasnovac / Liquid highlighter

Revlon Skinlights





Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer





Benefit High Beam
 Gosh Liquid Highlighter

MAC Gloss Creme Brillance




Pudrove rozjasnovace / Powder highlighters


Rimmel 014 Winter Glow


 Essence Sun Club - All over shimmer for blondes (skvely pretoze mate vyber z viacerych farieb v jednom produkte, great because you have a variety of colours in one product

Essence Shimmer Powder



Catrice Highlighting Powder 

Lancome - Blush Highlighting powder

Moj najoblubenejsi rozjasnovac nieje ani tekuty ani pudrovy ale vo forme kremoveho tiena - je od MAC a vola sa gloss Creme Colour Base v odtieni Shell ;) 

My most favourite highlighter isn't liquid or powder but a creme one - Creme Colour Base in Shell from MAC ;) 


Ked si stale nieste iste ci by na vas rozjasnovac dobre vyzeral alebo momentalne si ho neviete dovolit, skuste na miesta kde by ste rozjasnovat aplikovali, aplikovat vazelinu (alebo balzam na pery - nejaky z tych lesklejsich napriklad labelo, alebo nejaky balzam v tube)

If you're still not convinced that you want a highlighter or you can't afford it, try to apply good old Vaseline where you would apply the highlighter and check yourself out ;) 






Vase licka sa vam v zime odvdacia (a budu vyzerat stavnato az k nakusnutiu) ked do nich bruskami prstov vklepete farebny balsam na pery a dodate im krasny lesk a zaroven hydrataciu ;) Skuste ceresnove Labello Fruit Shine Cherry ;) 

Your cheeks will look irresistible and hydrated and will tempt the guys to kiss them if you use your fingertip to dab a fruity lip balm on them. Try Labello Fruity Shine Cherry ;) yumm 



Dufam, ze som vam dala nejake nove napady a inspiracie. Ako som pisala, budem rada ked sa zapojite a poslete mi nejake otazky, ktore potom na blogu zverejnim a odpoviem na ne ;) Dakujem, ze ste si precitali aj tento clanok a budem sa tesit na vase otazky Damy ;) 

I hope I gave you some good tips or inspirations. And as I mentioned I will be very happy if you email me your questions. I will answer them right here on the page ;) Thank you for reading and looking forward to hearing from you ladies ;) 

XOXO SOPHIA