Monthly Archives: april 2010

Classic with a twist

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Hi everyone,

It’s been Friday and Saturday again, which means I did the girls’ makeup again. This weekend I gave Nouk a classic lined eye with a very modern BRIGHT lip for spring:

Nouk was already wearing makeup on her eyes, so I worked around a base that was already there.

Face:
I started with Smashbox – Photofinish primer with Dermaxyl, which gives a great base for the L’Oreal Matte Morphose Souffle Foundation in 180 – Rosy Sand that I used on her. This colour matches her current skintone EXACTLY, it was amazing to see. I then used a mixture of MUFE lift concealer in no. 2 mixed with no. 3 to hide her dark circles, I applied this with a Smashbox – Crease brush no. 10 because this blends the concealer into her skin amazingly. After this I used a little Stila – Convertible Colour (dual lip and cheek cream) in Orchid (5) with my Sephora Mineral powder brush, then set all of the makeup on her face with a light dusting of Make Up For Ever – Super Matte Loose Powder in 12 Translucent Natural and then added some Stila – Sun SPF15 Bronzing powder in shade 01 to very subtle-ey contour her sheeks (with a MAC 109 brush).

Eyes:
With her face perfected I just added a little Smashbox Eyeshadow in Vanilla to even out the colour on her eyes a little and added a little MAC – Cork to the crease with a MAC 217 brush. Next I lined her eyes with Stila – Smudge Pot in Jet Black using a MAC angled brush.
There was already liner on her bottom lashline and mascara on her lashes so that needened be touched.

Lips:
On her lips I added a little Make Up For Ever – Flash Colour Case‘s fushia mixed with a little clear gloss.

Somewhere, Beyond the Sea

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Hi everyone,

 

Here’s a non wedding related post for all of you who’re not getting married, in a wedding or enjoying the wedding posts. A bright glittery blue nail by Barry M.

This is an amazing colour, the only thing that annoyed me a little is that even with 3 topcoats, it’s still bumpy. But it looks amazing so I don’t really care about fixing that any more then I already have. It’s been on my nails for two days now, so it’s staying longer then the OPI glitters, which is good.

It’s the colour 297 – Blue Glitter by Barry M. (Martini, you’re getting one of these via mail soon ;) [if it hasn't arrived yet] )

 

Flash:

Half sun half shade:

Sunlight:

Wedding makeup (part two – Bride and Bridesmaid makeup tips)

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bellaressa asked me to look into bridesmaids looks for her. She wants to do her own look from start to finish. There is no budget only she wants to wear Nars – Amour blusher. Also she wants to slim down her face so I’m going to use a contouring that’s natural but also I’ll advise a hairstyle that will slim down the face.

Her dress will be this amazing pool blue colour that will make her skin look radiant. When thinking about makeup for a wedding, see if you can find out the colour flowers that will be used or the colour of the dress you’re wearing. Also as a bridesmaid you’re supposed to compliment the bride, and not clash with her colours, it’s her day after all.

Colours for makeup:
If you’re looking for advise, use these seasonal colour tips if you want a hint of colour in your makeup:
Spring:
– pink, lemon, baby blue, lime green

Summer:
– white, sunshine yellow, gold, sky blue

Autumn/Fall:
– orange, russet, green, purple, gold

Winter:
– ice white, silver, green, vibrant red.

If you’re looking for a hint of colour in a certain colour theme, go for these:
Mixed Berries
- Plum, Purple, Pink, Red

Mediterranean Spice
- Honey yellow/Gold, Blue, Lime Green
Sand and Coral
- Sand, Tan, Bronze, Coral

When wearing hats:
If you choose to wear a hat, consider how much light will not reach your face, change your makeup accordingly and again try different types of makeup with pictures and then choose which you like best. 

The time of the ceremony –is it a day or evening wedding? If it’s a day wedding, a lighter and more natural look (the best version of you) works better and a more dramatic look is amazing to frame your face at an evening wedding.

Remember your make up should be a little more dramatic than your everyday make-up as you can tend to look pale and washed-out in photos if your make-up doesn’t stand out.

Your Face
Foundations with yellow undertones work best with flash photography.

Keep away from shimmer highlighters as this look will not show up well in photos and give a reflective shine.
Use a light dusting of translucent powder to prevent any unwanted shine. However, you shouldn’t look flat, your face should have dimentions (highlight on the cheekbones).
Use a bronzing powder to warm your skin tone and give a natural glow. Place on areas where the sun would naturally hit e.g. Forehead, cheeks and bridge of nose. If you want to contour your skin, skip the bronzer because bronzer AND contouring just makes you look muddy brown. So either contour or bronze.

Your typical wedding eye makeup
The eye-area should be soft and natural with no heavy, dark lines.
Keep away from up to the minute eyeshadows and make-up trends as you will regret it when you look at your photos in years to come!
Use a brow pencil slightly darker than your hair colour and avoid heavy, dark shadows.

Your typical bridesmaid eye makeup tips

  • Make sure that your choice of make-up shades is a little different from the bride, it is her special day and she should be unique.
  • Your make-up shades should not clash with your dress colour. For example: if your dress is maroon, opt for cooler pinkie browns or neutral browns, rather than orangey browns or peach.
  • Use waterproof mascara.
  • Adapt your make-up look for the time of day – lighter for day weddings and darker and more glam for late afternoon or evening weddings.
  • Have a small bag of touch up products on hand thought the event.
  • Your make-up does not need to match the other bridesmaids, as long as a general theme is achieved – for example glamorous look or a more natural day look.

Your Lips
Use a lip-liner the same colour as your lipstick and avoid a noticeable or dark lip line.
The colour on your lips will depend on whether you are a warm or cool colour palette.
It is more flattering to define one area i.e. If you want dark, defined eyes, go for a lighter lip shade and if you want dark/bright lips go for natural, light eyes.

Touch Up Tips
If you’re there with friends, have each of you have something else for touchups with you. One with a bag of cotton buds, one with a mascara and some disposable wands, one with blotting papers. . . divide and conquer!!!

Makeup tips for African-American skin:
The best colors for African-American skin tones and how to properly deal with common problems so you can be wedding-day gorgeous.

Finding Foundation

In general, foundation that has yellow undertones is the most flattering, but if you have very dark skin, a foundation with a slight blue cast works best. If you have medium-toned skin, choose a foundation with a red-yellow hue. And if you have light skin, look for a soft golden shade.
I have friends who have three different skintones on their skin, the forehead is darker the apples of the cheeks are lightest and the rest is a midtone… How to fix this? Get two differen colours foundation. One for the darker parts, one for the lighter and you mix the two for the middle colour. Then you can actually shape your face, go with the lighter over the darker places and the darker over the lighter places and you use the mixture over the rest. Now set this foundation with a powder in a colour that’s the middle colour (the colour your face now actually has overall). At this point you need to add depth back into your face, best way to do this is by contouring, but I’ll get into that further down when I’m explaning the look.

Getting Cheeky

The key with blush on African American skin is to avoid anything that looks ashy or pale on your skin. Lighter skin tones look pretty and most natural in dark bronzers, though apricot, rose, and soft pink also work well. Medium to dark skin tones look best with deep blush hues like dark rose, currant, and plum.

Lips

In general, the darker your skin tone, the darker you can go with your lip color. Burgundy and blackberry are beautiful on dark skin. Women with medium skin tones look pretty in currant or red, and those with light skin look best in low-voltage neutrals and glosses. If your bottom lip is paler than your top lip, you can even them out by applying a sheer, dark lipstick to your lower lip as a base, then sweeping the same lipstick over both lips.

If you want to have very full lips lips that don’t require too much enhancement, avoid bright, attention-getting colors and stick to quiet, flattering shades instead, like caramel and soft brown.

 

* All the information stated above is based on my own experiences, and taken from books like: “Wedding Style” by Carole Hamilton / InStyle Weddings / InStyle Wed
dings magazines / Getting Gorgeous / Jemma Kidd – Makeup Masterclass / Kevyn Acoin books.

Wedding makeup (part one – Planning and choosing Bride and Bridesmaid beauty)

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Hi everyone,

I started this post with general Brides and Bridesmaid beauty and makeup information and then started on the makeup look…. this post became soooo immensely huge that I’m cutting it into two. So here is part one.

bellaressa asked me to look into bridesmaids looks for her. She wants to do her own look from start to finish. There is no budget only she wants to wear Nars – Amour blusher. Also she wants to slim down her face so I’m going to use a contouring that’s natural but also I’ll advise a hairstyle that will slim down the face.

Her dress will be this amazing pool blue colour that will make her skin look radiant. When thinking about makeup for a wedding, see if you can find out the colour flowers that will be used or the colour of the dress you’re wearing. Also as a bridesmaid you’re supposed to compliment the bride, and not clash with her colours, it’s her day after all.

Theme weddings mean a different type of makeup then a “normal” wedding. If you’re talking “Goth” wedding I would go for a smokey eye, if you’re talking about a “Beach” wedding I’d say loose hair and minimal makeup, for a “Winter” wedding I’d go for more silvers etc etc. “Normal” weddings ask for the most beautiful version of you. This means no makeup that’s overly apparent, but a healthy happy face. Look very closely at the invitation, is it classic or is it bright, is it different in any way…. this can give you a hint for the wedding to come.

Own wedding makeup
When thinking of your own wedding makeup, a moodboard is an amazing place to start. You can add looks from your parents’ photo album, friends wedding albums, wedding magazines, wallpapers, movie stills (27 dresses ;) ), flower magazines, colour samples, facecharts etc etc.

5 to 6 months beforehand:
- Find a hairstylist, this can be your regular hairdresser, but can also be a special one for weddings. Once you find the one you trust and whose style you like, talk about how you want your hair to look on your wedding day and if this means growing out bangs or something how you’re going to do this. Schedule all colour and cut sessions up until 2 weeks before the wedding. After this conversation, no more suddenly changing your haircolour to platinum blonde or fire engine red, your hair needs to look healthy, and this means deep conditioning and regular trims and eating well to help your hair grow healthy to give it volume and strength.
- Have your brows shaped by a professional. If it goes wrong your brows can still grow in! If it’s perfect, take a picture and come back once a month for touch ups. Don’t do any plucking the last 2 days before the wedding!!!
- Go see a dermatologist if you have a skin issue you want gone before your wedding. This is the best excuse in the world to have someone look at a sunspot or acne scars. If you have oily skin, book monthly or biweekly glycolic acid peels at a trusted local spa to help your pores clear until the wedding day. If dull and/or dry skin is your problem, consider scheduling a series of six peels spaced two to four weeks apart for skin that’s smoother and brighter looking.
- Invest in an amazing serum, day and night moisturizer and don’t go out without sunscreen!!!

3 to 4 months beforehand:
- Monthly facials are amazing to relax but also for your skin!
- Begin researching your makeup options, if you don’t know a makeup artist who you would like to hire, fins a saleswoman at a makeup counter or a local department store whose work you like and ask if he/she would be willing to do your makeup (in exchange for a fee of course). If you’re looking for a professional, you can also try asking a local modeling agency of a salon for a list of the professionals they use.
- If you ask a friend who you trust to do your makeup, you’re in luck and in hell. They can do many tests on you and will not ask for (a lot of) money, on the other hand, it’s a huge responsibility to do a wedding makeup and this can mean your friend’s nervous and things can go wrong on the day of your wedding. Try and keep one another calm and do test photographs of several different looks in different lighting to find out what makeup photographs well. (MAC – Mineral powder is a big nono for a wedding because if photographs horribly).

1 to 2 months beforehand:
- Get weekly manicures and pedicures. This allows short nails to grow out and overgrown cuticles to be pruned. Also this is the time to do polish tests. Will you use the same colour on your feet as on your hands? Do you want nailart? Are you going for nudes or will you go for a theme colour (like lilac if you’re using lilac flowers).
- You’re going to smile in a lot of the picures so your teeth need to look their best, go see a dentist for professional whitening or do the over the counter kind if you don’t need as much whitening or don’t have that much money to spend.
- If you’re using a professional makeup artist, do a trial run with the makeup and the hair to see the final look. Bring your veil and all the other things you might want placed in your hair (flowers etc.). Wear the accessories you’re going to wear that day and bring the dress if possible.
Now is a good time to do a run through of the entire look and make a schedule for your special day.
- If you want to do your own makeup (I’m sooo proud ;) ), but do a test on the look you’re going for!! Try out new products but photograph every look to see how it looks with different lightings and products.
- Do a test on any false tanning you’re planning on using for your wedding day. See on what day it looks best, but also check if it doesn’t give off on anything white.

3 to 4 weeks before:
- Are you going to wax? Stop shaving and/or waxing now, your hair needs to be long enough when you wax later.

2 weeks before:
- Do a microdermabrasion if you liked the way your skin looked when you tested him earlier.
- Get a final hair-trim and touchups to your highlights.
- Get a massage

1 week to go:
- Get a glossing treatment at a salon (or do one at home for a few days)
- Need waxing? (upper lip, legs, bikini line, etc). Do it now. Your skin can heal and you will not have red bumps on your wedding day.
- Get a paraffin hand mask, this will leave your hands softer and smoother then any moisturizing can and you want your hands to look amazing and ready for that ring!
- Get a facial, it relaxes you and your skin can still recover and look it’s best on your wedding day.

1 to 2 days to go:
- Get a mani-pedi. After today, no more doing any cleaning or dishes until you’re married!
- Exfoliate your skin the night before your final tanning if you like your tan on day two (or three) and get your tanning done today.
- If you haven’t used a glossing treatment on your hair, today is the day you’re going to have to use a deep conditioning hairmask.
- Limit your intake of salt and alcohol, this can lead to puffiness under your eyes and drink plenty of water. (prevent dehydration headaches)
- Put together a beauty emergency kit for your handbag (or to stash with your best friend ;) ). Things you need to put in there: lipstick (and gloss if you’re wearing it), blotting paper, cotton swabs, makeup remover, bobby pins, mini hairspray, compact, brush, breath mints and nail polish,
- Avoid coffee, tea, cola and sugar to help you sleep better. Don’t exercise within three hours of bedtime.
- Moisturize your body from head to toe.
- Freeze moistened green or white tea bags to put over your eyes the next day. The tannins will help reduce puffiness.

Your big day!
- Eat breakfast!!! Include complex high-fiber carbs and lean protein for long term energy. Keep drinking plenty of water and apply the frozen teabag
s for 10 minutes if your eyes seem puffy. Consider a soak in the tub!!
- Apply your makeup and style your hair (of have them done for you).
- Check your manicure for chips.

In the wedding and doing your own makeup?
Now that you’ve thought about it a lot, and think you know what you want…. you start practicing, there is no way around it because Hey, you want to look your best and practice makes perfect. Also you want to test out your makeup and see if it actually stays on the way you want it to. So your otherwise hanging around and doing nothing Sundays, will now be done with your makeup applied flawlessly! Also consider you’re going to be photographed smiling A LOT! So if you have stains on your teeth, 3 weeks in advance would be a good time to start with an over the counter whitener.

Another thing to consider is not to change your browshape the day before the wedding, because one if it goes wrong you’re going to hate EVERY picture you’re in, and two swelling and redness is not sexy! For huge changes to your brows, go to a professional a few months before the wedding, so that your hairs can regrow if you hate it. My advise would be to think of subtle changes 2 weeks before the wedding (if your brows need any changing) and slowly is better then all at once. Keeping your brows perfect isn’t time consuming, it just takes 5 minutes every other night and a good picture of how you want them on your face hanging by the mirror. On the big day, use a brow wax or spray a little hairspray on your browbrush and then shape your brows (after filling them in if this is necessary).

Also new masks aren’t a smart thing the day before the wedding, sometimes a mask can trigger an outbreak and this is not what you want, do a deep cleansing mask 2 weeks before the wedding and try to keep your skin as clean and moisturised as possible, a great moisturizing mask that can work wonders are the Dermalogica Skin Hydrating mask and Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing mask.

A fake tan can make you look healthy and slimmer, but you don’t want to look like you’ve been tangoed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1jywlZG74o). If you apply a fake tan, a great scrub is essential. But fake tanning isn’t something I would advise doing in the last 4 days before the wedding.

Don’t do any HUGE hair changes before the wedding, you will need to get used to a pixie if you usually have your hair long. Also major colour changes are a nono. Do go for a trim and deep conditioning treatment a week beforehand and do an at home gloss the night before. A great thing to do even when you’re not going to weddings is use olive oil as a hair mask.
A small thing that can work wonders however is subtle thin strands of highlights.

Nails:
Also think of your nails when going to a wedding, you can go for a classic French Tip , or a soft nude. You can also match your polish to the dress, or choose not to, to make it more fun.
If I had to choose for a nailpolish for weddings out of my collection I’d go for:
Illamasqua – Wink
Essie – Mint Candy Apple
Gosh – Frou Frou
only not matte, this is very different but also very classy at the same time.
OPI – Tickle My Fance-y
China Glaze – Agent Lavender
China Glaze – How about a tumble
OPI – Bubble Bath
Misa – Sun kissed
Essie – Flawless
China Glaze – White on White
Essie – Loophole
OPI – You’re a doll
OPI – Birthday Babe
China Glaze – Innocence
OPI – Suzi & the Lifeguard
OPI – Don’t toy with me
China Glaze – Ruby Pumps

Colours for makeup:
If you’re looking for advise, use these seasonal colour tips if you want a hint of colour in your makeup:
Spring:
- pink, lemon, baby blue, lime green
Summer:
- white, sunshine yellow, gold, sky blue
Autumn/Fall:
- orange, russet, green, purple, gold
Winter:
- ice white, silver, green, vibrant red.

Makeup bag:
When you’re a bridesmaid, your probably not lucky enough to carry a bag big enough for ALL the makeup touchups you could need that day. The best way to cope with this is by thinking ahead. Is it a daytime wedding, then you’re probably going to need blotting paper (the sun will make you shine), are you wearing red lipstick, you’ll need a good mirror and a lipstain to hide the fading and the lipstick to reapply. Bring bobby pins if you have your hair in an updo. Also bring tissues to help with the tears.

 

* All the information stated above is based on my own experiences, and taken from books like: “Wedding Style” by Carole Hamilton / InStyle Weddings / InStyle Wedding
s magazines / Getting Gorgeous / Jemma Kidd – Makeup Masterclass / Kevyn Acoin books.

New MAC goodies

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Hi everyone,

I got these amazing pearlglides today. The colours I got are undercurrent, petrol blue and designer purple. I also got from the MAC Liberty of London collection the nailpolish in the colour Blue India.

Flash:

Lamp:

You can expect a look with these pearlglides very soon and a swatch of the polish tomorrow. I just had to tell you that the nailpolish smelled like normal paint, but applied soooo smoothly. The drying time is something I’m testing out right now. I applied it at 8.30 PM, I’m going to bed in an hour…. if it dries horribly, you’ll see it in the swatches tomorrow.

http://twitter.com/BogusCee

Pastel eye makeup (Lancome spring look recreated on Nouk and Nic)

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Hi everyone,

I did both Nouk and Nic’s makeup yesterday and I did them with the same makeup.

Nouk:

I used this as an example:

If you look at both the girls next to one another it looks amazing:

This is how I built up the look:

I used the Make Up For Ever – Flash Colour Case‘s white as a base over the entire eye and under the lower lashline.
Then I used Sephora – Colorful Mat Mono Eyeshadow in mat No. 06 (white) to set the cream. I then used from the same line the colour baby blue No. 36 which is a lavernder tinted baby blue on the inner part of her eye up to the brow. I darkened this blue on the nose side of the blue with Rimmel London Colour Rush in 020 Tempted. I applied this with a fluffy brush to help the colour application appear as a wash.

I then took some of the cream green shadow from the Sephora idyll palette on the innerside of her eyelid (not on the inner corner, apply it on the lid itself). I set this cream with another Sephora – Colorful Mat Mono Eyeshadow but now in the colour lime green No. 42. I used a big fluffy brush to apply the colour midnight kiss No. 34 on the outer part of her eye (from lashline to brow), blending this inward and outward.

I used the Stila Eyeshadow Quad in Montmartre (which contains all shimmery colours, a vanilla pinkish colour, a light lilac colour a purple and a light aubergine colour). I applied the two lightest colours under their brows and then used the darkest as a wash over the other purple on the lid to darken it a little. I then took MAC pigment in Light Lilac Crush Metal on another fluffy brush and applied it between the purple and the white to add a sparkley highlight.

I then used again another Sephora – Colorful Mat Mono Eyeshadow but now in the colour mat No. 02 on an angled brush and applied it as close to the lashes as I could to give them a little definition. I then went over this with Bourjois ombre stretch in dark grey over the outer half of the line I drew before. I also applied this on the lower lashline.

I then took a little black eyeliner and went only in the corner and made a LITTLE wing and blended this out to appear almost non excisting. Then I applied mascara only to the top lashes. and was done with these amazing eyes: