What's the saying?.... "April showers bring May flowers"?! Well April brought more for me than May flowers! It was my first month as Creative Director for Cosmetech magazine.
I have been a "contributing" creative/art director for many beauty and fashion stories in the past. I have creative director credits for Lucire magazine, Skin Inc magazine, Bride's Noir magazine, Belleza magazine and many others. This is the first time I will be an on going creative director.
What makes Cosmetech magazine so special to me is it's editorial devotion to makeup artists. So I couldn't resist joining their wonderful team.
Cosmetech originally started as a magazine for only permanent makeup artists, and has now grown to accommodate other types of beauty and fashion makeup artists as well.
My first article with Cosmetech started in this month's May/June issue. Instead of doing a general beauty story, I decided to talked about makeup on teens and preteens called "The Eyes Have It". The article goes into step by step detail of makeup techniques that can be used to make the eyes stand out, without over doing it.
In this shot I talked about using blue eye shadow ( Lisa Watier Poudre dip Yeux Eye Powder Dip in Bleu) to enhance the eyes while keeping the look young and fresh looking! If you are a makeup artist, or want to be one then this magazine is perfect for your reading library.
Speaking of "wanting to be a makeup artist", I teach the Makeup Artist Workshop. The class is 2 days of hands on makeup application
and technic demonstrations. We do beauty, commercial, fashion and glamour style makeup on various models. Students get to have their work professionally photographed too.Even though I am instructing the class, I also get a chance to create too. Here is a beauty shot that I did with one of the models in the class. I wanted to do something soft, simple and pretty to enhance the model's look without over powering her features, so this is the look that I came up with.
Even though I am known for creating looks for editorials and commercial campaigns with makeup and hair products I can do more than just create a pretty face! I've had an opportunity to prove that for the May cover of Skin Inc. magazine.
This cover has given me the opportunity to show off my other creative side of styling through objects. I still use color and placement, just like I do when creating looks with makeup and hair, to create an eye popping images.
I used a color combination of black, red and green. I was able to give the cover an Asian influence thru the use of a Bonsi which was provided by Proflowers.com, and dishware topped with authentic Japanese tea provided by adagio.com. The theme was inspired by the new spa cuisine that is featured in this issue. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Well....back to makeup and your questions!
Beauty Questions
Beauty question: "Eyebrows! What is the best way to achieve "natural looking" brows if you don't have much to work with? I've tried pencils, brow color/wax, combination of the 2 and still haven't achieved that "natural look". Help!!!!!!!!!!!!"-Pat in Florida
Answer: You can thicken your eyebrows by using Rogaine on them. In the meantime, a fuller more natural looking brow can be acheived if you use the right technique. Fill in brows by using short strokes, to immulate strands of hair instead of "drawing in" your whole brow. Then soften the line by using an angled brow brush to blend it. Make sure that you use short strokes in the same direction that your hair grows. Try using a shade that is slightly lighter than your hair color so the pencil doesn't over power your real brow. After you are satisfied with the pencil, fill in your whole brow with a colored brow gel to complete the look. My favorite brow pencil is Revlon Brow Fantasy Pencil & Gel because it has both the pencil and brow gel all in one.
Beauty question: "I'm not a professional makeup artist, but I can't help but wonder--looking at my personal makeup collection--how old is too old? I throw away mascara after 3 months and replace it with new, I clean my brushes (only used on me), what about eye shadows, lipsticks, gloss, etc. Aren't they a breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria?Your opinions....."-Pat in Florida
Answer: Powders last longer than liquids or creams. In most cases powder shadows, blushes and face powders are good for about 2 to 3 years depending on if the powder is loose or pressed. But if you ever see color separation or it smells funny then it needs to be thrown out.
For Creams and liquids the shelf life can be from 6 months to 1 year depending on how you use it. If you constantly dip your fingers into product and don't pay attention if you wash your hands before you use it, it can increase the "toss it out" factor.
Your eyes are very very delicate. So being especially careful on any products used around the eyes are important. Mascara needs to be tossed on a MAXIMUM of 3 months BUT if you get a cold, toss them out sooner. When you get sick your eyes get watery, carrying germs that your body is trying to expell. So lashes can harbor germs on them and you don't even know it. So dump your mascara so you won't risk the chance of getting an eye infection.
Answer: Powders last longer than liquids or creams. In most cases powder shadows, blushes and face powders are good for about 2 to 3 years depending on if the powder is loose or pressed. But if you ever see color separation or it smells funny then it needs to be thrown out.
For Creams and liquids the shelf life can be from 6 months to 1 year depending on how you use it. If you constantly dip your fingers into product and don't pay attention if you wash your hands before you use it, it can increase the "toss it out" factor.
Your eyes are very very delicate. So being especially careful on any products used around the eyes are important. Mascara needs to be tossed on a MAXIMUM of 3 months BUT if you get a cold, toss them out sooner. When you get sick your eyes get watery, carrying germs that your body is trying to expell. So lashes can harbor germs on them and you don't even know it. So dump your mascara so you won't risk the chance of getting an eye infection.
Beauty question: "One of my fave colours is stuck shut. I know that polish got in there...anyone have suggestions on how to open it? I fear that I might have to find am empty bottle and break this one open...which I am trying to avoid doing."- Denise from Illinois
Answer: I used to have this problem. Hold the bottle upside down, and then pour finger nail polish remover on the cap. Make sure you do it over a sink so it doesn't damage your floor or furniture. A cap ful should do the trick. Then let it set upside down for a while so the remover can loosen it. Then try to untwist it. If it only moves a little bit, pour more remover on it and repeat.
If you have the Twist-off nail polish (the kind you dip your finger into), it won't work. It is great for removing polish from your nails, but the remover is saturated in the sponge so it can't reach down into the lid to get to the hardened nail polish. So pouring it, and letting it set for a while is crucial.
Once you get it open, use the remover to clean off any additional polish on the lip of the bottle AND on the inside threads of the cap. Then spray some Pam or baby oil onto a swap and brush it on the threads of the polish to keep it from happening again.
Answer: I used to have this problem. Hold the bottle upside down, and then pour finger nail polish remover on the cap. Make sure you do it over a sink so it doesn't damage your floor or furniture. A cap ful should do the trick. Then let it set upside down for a while so the remover can loosen it. Then try to untwist it. If it only moves a little bit, pour more remover on it and repeat.
If you have the Twist-off nail polish (the kind you dip your finger into), it won't work. It is great for removing polish from your nails, but the remover is saturated in the sponge so it can't reach down into the lid to get to the hardened nail polish. So pouring it, and letting it set for a while is crucial.
Once you get it open, use the remover to clean off any additional polish on the lip of the bottle AND on the inside threads of the cap. Then spray some Pam or baby oil onto a swap and brush it on the threads of the polish to keep it from happening again.
Beauty question: "I love to wear my hair short, but I need some new ideas for new cuts. Do you have a website that I could check out and see new short cut styles?"- Pat in Florida
Answer: There is a great book called The Mane Thing by Kevin Mancuso. Kevin is a celebrity hair stylist. He has done the hair of top celebrities like Britney Spears, Jennifer Connelly, Christina Aguilera, Halle Berry and many more. His book is filled with great tips and tells you exact instructions to get tons of looks both long and short. He also has a web site by the name.....The Mane Thing at http://www.the-mane-thing.com/ that is also filled with tips and hairstyling instructions. Check it out!
Answer: There is a great book called The Mane Thing by Kevin Mancuso. Kevin is a celebrity hair stylist. He has done the hair of top celebrities like Britney Spears, Jennifer Connelly, Christina Aguilera, Halle Berry and many more. His book is filled with great tips and tells you exact instructions to get tons of looks both long and short. He also has a web site by the name.....The Mane Thing at http://www.the-mane-thing.com/ that is also filled with tips and hairstyling instructions. Check it out!
MY FAVORITE THINGS
One of my favorite things are my CHI hair products and hair tools. I especially love how the Chi flat irons can smooth the most curly hair with ease. The flat irons even come in various sizes, so you can work on any hair length. The curling irons are amazing too. You can get the spring handles or the marcel version. The marcel version even has a versatile locking feature so you can have the handle move or stay stationary....what ever you prefer! They also carry a great hair line called BioSilk. It ads shine and softness to the hair. If you read my blog last month, all of the hair in the shot was by CHI and BioSilk. Love it!
