As a mother to three who had so much going on for several years, I did not get the chance to explore what fashion and beauty trends worked for me. I did not know how to develop a proper care routine for my skin, my make up and my hair. For those of you who follow my blog, you will know that this year has been about exploring new hobbies and personal challenges. I have dedicated one year to myself. Sounds rather selfish when I re-read that. Yet I think it is actually one of the bravest things I have done.

So when I won a make over session with MakeUp Artist to the stars, Ryno Mulder; I was so excited. Then as the day drew closer, I was also a little nervous. Reality is that when you bare your face to someone for a couple hours, and allow them to do your make-up, you bare a little more than your face.

Up close and personal, all your flaws are now visible to someone else and that can be a little disconcerting. But Ryno is a true professional and a genuinely easy going, sweet soul and put me to ease within 10 seconds of meeting him.

I booked the session on the afternoon of my fortieth birthday. It felt right that I mark the day in this way. Sitting just within a window while the sunlight danced outside to the sounds of Indila, a Turkish music artist, I was literally transformed. While Ryno worked and we chatted, I was pleased to realise that I actually knew one or two tricks of the trade such as doing your eye shadow before your foundation and concealer so if any powder falls on the cheek bones, it can be cleaned away.

My greatest issue are these dark circles under my eyes. I think that is a problem that many women have. I knew that I should use a concealer. But which colour concealer? Ryno explained that orange was the concealer to use. The skin under the eye, is the thinnest skin on the face. Usually it is the blood vessels under the skin that for various reasons show through the skin causing the area to appear darker. That hue is a blue-green colour. So in order to conceal it, person like myself must use an opposite colour to blue-green, which in my case is orange. Voila! Now I know instead of bemoaning my dark eyes, I can do something about it.

I had to ask about contouring. Let’s face it, we didn’t really know how important contouring was until Kim Kardashian made women around the globe realise we can all have great cheekbones with the right colours and brush techniques. Ryno said I didn’t need that for day to day make-up. But yes for evening, glitzy events or certain types of photographic shoots, it could be something to try.

For my lips, Ryno used Mac Current Lipliner, Mac High Drama Liquid Lip Colour Ombrèd into Stila Lume Shimmer Liquid Lipstick. Oh my soul! I love lip colours and often when I’m tired, a great lipstick rescues my face from looking completely ashen. This blend was stunning and it lasted way into the night.

When I finally looked at myself in the mirror, my immediate thought was “Wow, I can still recognise my face, yet I look better than I believed I could look”. I wanted to cry but I can’t exactly pin point why I wanted to cry. I will admit, that my the fear of dabbing my face and changing one millimeter of my make-up kept me strong. This experience was big for me.

Many women for many reasons can’t see themselves looking and feeling good because sometimes life is too hard for too long, and we forget what “good” feels like. For me, by surrendering to the process and trusting Ryno to do my make-up the best way he saw fit; I can say that there was not better way to have spent the afternoon of my fortieth birthday. Thank you to SA Mommy Blogger Awards for the prize and Thank you to MakeUp by Ryno for your time and talent.

You can follow him on Facebook & Instagram. Thank you for this wonderful experience Ryno!