#beauty,
Here's what happened - Napoleon Perdis make-up artists came into my workplace and offered all of the staff make overs. I'm serious! I thought they were joking too, I waited for the catch but... there wasn't one! I was SO excited, you have no idea, I've been desperate for a lovely make-up session, and I was hoping to learn, finally, how to contour like a boss.
So I ran from work when I clocked off, hopped up into the chair, and was practically bouncing at the thought of having my make-up done professionally. I'm a major nerd, so I was SO ready to learn some new tips and tricks. One of my favourite make-up artists (who has done my make-up for a few events) was trained by Napoleon Perdis, so I've always had respect for the brand and the training.
The lovely girls helped me take off my work make-up, and used a cleansing oil all over my face which was actually quite scary - evidently, ONE make-up wipe doesn't remove my whole face. NOT EVEN CLOSE. So I'm going to be looking into some new cleansing methods, folks.
Then my lovely make-up artist applied a primer and we got to chatting. She applied my mascara first, as Napoleon believes it not only gives the formula time to dry, but it means you definitely get time for a second coat. Now I like to do my mascara next-to-last, simply because I do it whilst my foundation sets, before I use a setting powder. But I thought hey, ok, let's see how this method goes.
Now my eyes are NOTORIOUS for FLIPPING THE FREAK OUT the minute ANYONE but me tries to use ANY sort of eye product on them. You can imagine the struggle for Mumma Sparrow back when I did dancing, and eyeliner was a mandatory part of costume. Essentially my eyes turn into Niagara Falls and water all over the place, meaning you have to work super quick to get liner/mascara/falsies on before whatever shadow work is messed up. So when my eyes DID begin to water, on cue, I didn't think much of it.
My lovely make up artist talked me through the products she was using, explaining their benefits and qualities. Were my eyes stinging a tiny bit? Yeah, maybe, but I put that down to them settling from the whole, someone-other-than-me-doing-make-up-thing. Then we got to the good bit, the contouring! I realised that my main problem with contouring is I do stripes rather than swipes, if that makes sense? Rather than buffing and creating ROUND shapes on my face, I do rather sharp, 80's-style diagonal lines, and that's not a good look folks, not at all.
She then used an eyeshadow as a liner (a technique I love myself) to create a softer, natural look, and again, eyes watering, unhappy with me, but again, I ignored it. She applied another coat of mascara. Then she set my look, and I ended up buying a mini-kit with the contour trio and primer (because my Nude Airbrush Mineral primer had run out that very day), and went back to work to show my girlfriends.
The minute I walked in everyone asked if I'd been crying, and if I was all right. And, yeah, my eyes were watering and a bit stingy, but I thought they were still just settling. As I was chatting to a couple of the girls, that stinging turned into a real irritation, they hadn't stopped watering, and I was starting to feel quite hot. I cracked and used a Johnsons' make-up wipe to start taking off my eye make-up, figuring once it was off I'd just fix my face with my own Australis powder and be off to dinner.
I WAS WRONG.
My eyes went into a full-blown allergic reaction, and I had to detour from dinner and instead go to a chemist, who was very lovely but very concerned. She recommended I wash my eyes out thoroughly and use eye drops to calm the irritation, and keep taking Telfast (which I'd been taking already for a cold/hayfever situation). The eye drops worked pretty quickly, considering, and even though they still hurt like hell, my eyes stopped watering and started to clear slightly.
I pretty much went home and went straight to bed, hoping by morning I'd be back to normal.
Welp. I was, and I wasn't.
My eyes were A LOT better when I woke up, but they were a bit gummy, very puffy, and still quite sore. Also, that cold/hayfever thing? Yeah, that had reared its ugly head overnight and left me with NO VOICE. So unfortunately I had to call in sick to work, but I'm glad I gave myself time to recover properly.
When I returned to work the following day, my colleagues, who had seen me after the session, said I did look a lot better, but my eyes were still quite puffy.
I have NEVER in my life had an allergic reaction like that to a mascara or eyeliner. EVER. I couldn't believe it, I was so shocked, and it was honestly a little frightening. I haven't been back to Napoleon Perdis yet to tell them about my reaction, simply because I haven't had time, but I will, just in case it helps them with future clients. I'm not mad at anyone or upset with the brand, if even I didn't know I was allergic to something, how could they? I've been going through the ingredients of the NP mascara versus those of my favourite mascaras, and so far I think it might be either the rice bran extract or the bamboo leaf extract that set me off. Apparently in this case, natural ingredients weren't the right choice!
The lesson here is:
If a product (especially an eye product) begins to sting, irritate, or make your eyes water (more than normal), TELL YOUR ARTIST IMMEDIATELY. Who knows, if I'd mentioned it earlier, she could've switched mascaras, or at least taken it off, which may have lessened the severity of my reaction. I know I'm very lucky it wasn't any worse, especially considering how sensitive the eye area is. I also think I was just too excited to be thinking clearly!
If you want to see a photo of how my reaction played out, visit beautybyasparrow on Instagram, or look for the tag - #beautybyasparrow. (I thought I'd leave it there rather than repeating it and making you all see the redness and horror).
Until next time my little birds,
check your make up ingredients!
Tweet tweet xx
I HAD AN ALLERGIC REACTION AND IT SUCKED
Pretty self explanatory title, right?Here's what happened - Napoleon Perdis make-up artists came into my workplace and offered all of the staff make overs. I'm serious! I thought they were joking too, I waited for the catch but... there wasn't one! I was SO excited, you have no idea, I've been desperate for a lovely make-up session, and I was hoping to learn, finally, how to contour like a boss.
So I ran from work when I clocked off, hopped up into the chair, and was practically bouncing at the thought of having my make-up done professionally. I'm a major nerd, so I was SO ready to learn some new tips and tricks. One of my favourite make-up artists (who has done my make-up for a few events) was trained by Napoleon Perdis, so I've always had respect for the brand and the training.
The lovely girls helped me take off my work make-up, and used a cleansing oil all over my face which was actually quite scary - evidently, ONE make-up wipe doesn't remove my whole face. NOT EVEN CLOSE. So I'm going to be looking into some new cleansing methods, folks.
Then my lovely make-up artist applied a primer and we got to chatting. She applied my mascara first, as Napoleon believes it not only gives the formula time to dry, but it means you definitely get time for a second coat. Now I like to do my mascara next-to-last, simply because I do it whilst my foundation sets, before I use a setting powder. But I thought hey, ok, let's see how this method goes.
Now my eyes are NOTORIOUS for FLIPPING THE FREAK OUT the minute ANYONE but me tries to use ANY sort of eye product on them. You can imagine the struggle for Mumma Sparrow back when I did dancing, and eyeliner was a mandatory part of costume. Essentially my eyes turn into Niagara Falls and water all over the place, meaning you have to work super quick to get liner/mascara/falsies on before whatever shadow work is messed up. So when my eyes DID begin to water, on cue, I didn't think much of it.
My lovely make up artist talked me through the products she was using, explaining their benefits and qualities. Were my eyes stinging a tiny bit? Yeah, maybe, but I put that down to them settling from the whole, someone-other-than-me-doing-make-up-thing. Then we got to the good bit, the contouring! I realised that my main problem with contouring is I do stripes rather than swipes, if that makes sense? Rather than buffing and creating ROUND shapes on my face, I do rather sharp, 80's-style diagonal lines, and that's not a good look folks, not at all.
She then used an eyeshadow as a liner (a technique I love myself) to create a softer, natural look, and again, eyes watering, unhappy with me, but again, I ignored it. She applied another coat of mascara. Then she set my look, and I ended up buying a mini-kit with the contour trio and primer (because my Nude Airbrush Mineral primer had run out that very day), and went back to work to show my girlfriends.
The minute I walked in everyone asked if I'd been crying, and if I was all right. And, yeah, my eyes were watering and a bit stingy, but I thought they were still just settling. As I was chatting to a couple of the girls, that stinging turned into a real irritation, they hadn't stopped watering, and I was starting to feel quite hot. I cracked and used a Johnsons' make-up wipe to start taking off my eye make-up, figuring once it was off I'd just fix my face with my own Australis powder and be off to dinner.
I WAS WRONG.
My eyes went into a full-blown allergic reaction, and I had to detour from dinner and instead go to a chemist, who was very lovely but very concerned. She recommended I wash my eyes out thoroughly and use eye drops to calm the irritation, and keep taking Telfast (which I'd been taking already for a cold/hayfever situation). The eye drops worked pretty quickly, considering, and even though they still hurt like hell, my eyes stopped watering and started to clear slightly.
I pretty much went home and went straight to bed, hoping by morning I'd be back to normal.
Welp. I was, and I wasn't.
My eyes were A LOT better when I woke up, but they were a bit gummy, very puffy, and still quite sore. Also, that cold/hayfever thing? Yeah, that had reared its ugly head overnight and left me with NO VOICE. So unfortunately I had to call in sick to work, but I'm glad I gave myself time to recover properly.
When I returned to work the following day, my colleagues, who had seen me after the session, said I did look a lot better, but my eyes were still quite puffy.
I have NEVER in my life had an allergic reaction like that to a mascara or eyeliner. EVER. I couldn't believe it, I was so shocked, and it was honestly a little frightening. I haven't been back to Napoleon Perdis yet to tell them about my reaction, simply because I haven't had time, but I will, just in case it helps them with future clients. I'm not mad at anyone or upset with the brand, if even I didn't know I was allergic to something, how could they? I've been going through the ingredients of the NP mascara versus those of my favourite mascaras, and so far I think it might be either the rice bran extract or the bamboo leaf extract that set me off. Apparently in this case, natural ingredients weren't the right choice!
The lesson here is:
If a product (especially an eye product) begins to sting, irritate, or make your eyes water (more than normal), TELL YOUR ARTIST IMMEDIATELY. Who knows, if I'd mentioned it earlier, she could've switched mascaras, or at least taken it off, which may have lessened the severity of my reaction. I know I'm very lucky it wasn't any worse, especially considering how sensitive the eye area is. I also think I was just too excited to be thinking clearly!
If you want to see a photo of how my reaction played out, visit beautybyasparrow on Instagram, or look for the tag - #beautybyasparrow. (I thought I'd leave it there rather than repeating it and making you all see the redness and horror).
Until next time my little birds,
check your make up ingredients!
Tweet tweet xx
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