Since February is supposed to be the month for love, I'm going to devote this blog to all you makeup "lovers" with a lesson on how versatile makeup can make you look.
One of my favorite "makeup lovers" are those who have decided to turn their love for makeup into a profession as makeup artists. This month I had the pleasure of working with some of those makeup artists at my Makeup Artist Workshop. Since I don't get a lot of time to "play" with color I especially use this time to do one or two creative looks that I really want to do.
In this look I worked on model Daria, in various shades of brown using Jane Iredale cosmetics. The goal was to give her a fashion look that would be sleek and chic without taking the focus away from her and her clothes.
Lips were made pale with contoured her cheeks. Then eyes were softly smoked using mainly dark brown and bronze with only the lash line lightly rimmed with black liner. I used a small amount of Chi Straight Guard to make her hair simple yet very sleek. The fuller long bang adds a touch of trend to finish the look.
To show you how versatile makeup is, I'm going to show you another look of Daria again. This time the look was created by my makeup artist student Cheryl Dailey during the Makeup Artist Workshop.
The goal for this look was to give her a soft beauty look. Hair was made to look tousled to give a feeling of freshness. Cheryl used shades of natural pink and brown to compliment her skin tone. Lips were glossed instead of a full lipstick so natural color would bleed though. Skin looks soft yet glowing.
Same model....totally different looks! I really loved both of these looks on her, don't you?!
Now that you can see what makeup can do, lets address your makeup questions!
Beauty Questions
Beauty question: "I will be in Trinidad for carnival and want to adorn my face with gems/crystals. What type of gems/crystals do you suggest? I need something that will not leave terrible tan marks. Also, what type of glue should I use that will withstand sweat? Thank You!"- from Nicole in GA.
Answer: Feel free to be creative! You can use any gems or crystals that you want to use but it is best to use gems that are flat on the back. Try going to an arts and craft store like Michael's or Dick Blicks. You can find an assortment of various shapes, sizes and colors of gems to use.
Make sure that skin is free from oil before applying them, by rubbing skin with toner or astringent first. Use waterproof eyelash glue, like Duro, to keep gems in place. Apply the glue to gems and let the glue get a little tacky then press gems onto skin.
If you sun bathe with gems on your skin you will have tan lines. If you use interesting shapes, like hearts or diamond shaped gems, then tan lines might be very sexy! Use your imagination! Now you are ready to party!
Beauty question: "I'm of Italian decent though I'm not very dark. My skin tone is medium golden with some olive in it and my natural lip color is highly pigmented a bright rosey color. I have tried (in vain) to create a a non-frosty nude lip to wear with smokey eyes but either my lips look greyish or they just look like I don't know what I'm doing. Could you give me some pointers, please? Thanks!" from Lisa in Texas.
Answer: There 2 versions of a nude lip that I am going to give you. One nude color that is natural looking for your lips, and a second nude color that is a pale brown shade. I'll tell you how to create both.
Since you have a natural rose color to your lips, find a lip color that matches the inner rim of your mouth, then mix a little bit of your foundation with it to tone down the rose into a more rose-brown tone. Rub it on your lips and them blot. Then mix some of the color with clear gloss and pat on the gloss to give yourself a bit of shine.
Now you have a nude color that is closer to your natural lip tone. Not all lip colors have to be made from lipstick. For a pale brown nude version, start with your foundation and mix a little bit of your concealer with it to lighten the shade. Make sure you only go one shade lighter so lips don't look like you've eaten flour. Then follow the other instructions by blotting and topping with gloss.
Cream foundations are my favorite to use, when I am using them as lip color. Try are Black Opal foundation stick or Cream to Powder foundation by Iman. Both versions will give you the natural matte looking lip color that you crave! Enjoy!
Beauty question: "Cheek highlighters; can you please help in advising where the best place for application is? I've been told to apply to the t-zone, using more above the cheek bones. do you agree?"- from Angela in California.
Answer: That technique is great if you are looking to highlight other areas of your face as well.
If you just want to focus on your cheeks you can achieve a natural looking highlight by putting a matte bronzer or a face powder that is one shade darker than your skin on the hollow of the cheek bone and then putting a shimmer on the tops of the cheek bones.
A great matte bronzer to try is by Wet N Wild. Their bronzers come in a golden shade and a bronze shade. Pick the one that resembles how your tan naturally. For a shimmer you can try Sephora Cream All Over Color. The color can be used on the cheeks as a highlight or as an eye color.
Now that you have created shape to your cheeks, take a clean blush brush and blend, blend, blend. If it looks too harsh tone it down by topping it with a little face powder. When you are happy with the tone of the contour and highlight, then put your favorite colored blush on the apples of the cheeks. Now you look fresh with a natural looking highlight and blush to your cheeks.
Keep the questions coming! The more you ask, the more I can answer for you.
MY FAVORITE THINGS
Brrrrr.....it is so cold! I just started using the Lip Tint by Aveda and can't seem to put it down because my lips can get so dry in this freezing cold weather but I don't want to sacrifice my craving for color.
It gives a smooth feeling to your lips that is not waxy like other chap sticks, while it still gives you enough color to make you look polished. It also contains an SPF 15 so your lips can look as good as it feels even when the weather warms up again! Love it!
One of my favorite "makeup lovers" are those who have decided to turn their love for makeup into a profession as makeup artists. This month I had the pleasure of working with some of those makeup artists at my Makeup Artist Workshop. Since I don't get a lot of time to "play" with color I especially use this time to do one or two creative looks that I really want to do.
In this look I worked on model Daria, in various shades of brown using Jane Iredale cosmetics. The goal was to give her a fashion look that would be sleek and chic without taking the focus away from her and her clothes.Lips were made pale with contoured her cheeks. Then eyes were softly smoked using mainly dark brown and bronze with only the lash line lightly rimmed with black liner. I used a small amount of Chi Straight Guard to make her hair simple yet very sleek. The fuller long bang adds a touch of trend to finish the look.
To show you how versatile makeup is, I'm going to show you another look of Daria again. This time the look was created by my makeup artist student Cheryl Dailey during the Makeup Artist Workshop.The goal for this look was to give her a soft beauty look. Hair was made to look tousled to give a feeling of freshness. Cheryl used shades of natural pink and brown to compliment her skin tone. Lips were glossed instead of a full lipstick so natural color would bleed though. Skin looks soft yet glowing.
Same model....totally different looks! I really loved both of these looks on her, don't you?!
Now that you can see what makeup can do, lets address your makeup questions!
Beauty Questions
Beauty question: "I will be in Trinidad for carnival and want to adorn my face with gems/crystals. What type of gems/crystals do you suggest? I need something that will not leave terrible tan marks. Also, what type of glue should I use that will withstand sweat? Thank You!"- from Nicole in GA.
Answer: Feel free to be creative! You can use any gems or crystals that you want to use but it is best to use gems that are flat on the back. Try going to an arts and craft store like Michael's or Dick Blicks. You can find an assortment of various shapes, sizes and colors of gems to use.
Make sure that skin is free from oil before applying them, by rubbing skin with toner or astringent first. Use waterproof eyelash glue, like Duro, to keep gems in place. Apply the glue to gems and let the glue get a little tacky then press gems onto skin.
If you sun bathe with gems on your skin you will have tan lines. If you use interesting shapes, like hearts or diamond shaped gems, then tan lines might be very sexy! Use your imagination! Now you are ready to party!
Beauty question: "I'm of Italian decent though I'm not very dark. My skin tone is medium golden with some olive in it and my natural lip color is highly pigmented a bright rosey color. I have tried (in vain) to create a a non-frosty nude lip to wear with smokey eyes but either my lips look greyish or they just look like I don't know what I'm doing. Could you give me some pointers, please? Thanks!" from Lisa in Texas.
Answer: There 2 versions of a nude lip that I am going to give you. One nude color that is natural looking for your lips, and a second nude color that is a pale brown shade. I'll tell you how to create both.
Since you have a natural rose color to your lips, find a lip color that matches the inner rim of your mouth, then mix a little bit of your foundation with it to tone down the rose into a more rose-brown tone. Rub it on your lips and them blot. Then mix some of the color with clear gloss and pat on the gloss to give yourself a bit of shine.
Now you have a nude color that is closer to your natural lip tone. Not all lip colors have to be made from lipstick. For a pale brown nude version, start with your foundation and mix a little bit of your concealer with it to lighten the shade. Make sure you only go one shade lighter so lips don't look like you've eaten flour. Then follow the other instructions by blotting and topping with gloss.Cream foundations are my favorite to use, when I am using them as lip color. Try are Black Opal foundation stick or Cream to Powder foundation by Iman. Both versions will give you the natural matte looking lip color that you crave! Enjoy!
Beauty question: "Cheek highlighters; can you please help in advising where the best place for application is? I've been told to apply to the t-zone, using more above the cheek bones. do you agree?"- from Angela in California.
Answer: That technique is great if you are looking to highlight other areas of your face as well.
If you just want to focus on your cheeks you can achieve a natural looking highlight by putting a matte bronzer or a face powder that is one shade darker than your skin on the hollow of the cheek bone and then putting a shimmer on the tops of the cheek bones.
A great matte bronzer to try is by Wet N Wild. Their bronzers come in a golden shade and a bronze shade. Pick the one that resembles how your tan naturally. For a shimmer you can try Sephora Cream All Over Color. The color can be used on the cheeks as a highlight or as an eye color.
Now that you have created shape to your cheeks, take a clean blush brush and blend, blend, blend. If it looks too harsh tone it down by topping it with a little face powder. When you are happy with the tone of the contour and highlight, then put your favorite colored blush on the apples of the cheeks. Now you look fresh with a natural looking highlight and blush to your cheeks.
Keep the questions coming! The more you ask, the more I can answer for you.
MY FAVORITE THINGS
Brrrrr.....it is so cold! I just started using the Lip Tint by Aveda and can't seem to put it down because my lips can get so dry in this freezing cold weather but I don't want to sacrifice my craving for color.It gives a smooth feeling to your lips that is not waxy like other chap sticks, while it still gives you enough color to make you look polished. It also contains an SPF 15 so your lips can look as good as it feels even when the weather warms up again! Love it!
