Here is another look I did for my dear friend. It makes it so much easier for me to film knowing who I’m “talking” to. I hope you enjoy. Of course something happened halfway through and the camera stopped filming, how annoying.
Preperation:
Start by washing your hands, you don’t want to clean your face and whilst doing that rubbing other bacteria and dirt on it. So clean your hands and then your face. If you’re not anywhere near water, use a Continue reading
Hi everyone,
I saw this tutorial online on how to do a fishtail braid and I thought I’d share it with you.
Hi everyone,
Ow nooo it’s Halloween already, and you need a last minute look. It’s easy, wear all white, use good gold and blue (turquoise) jewelry, wear sandals and rock this Egyptian Alexander McQueen type makeup look.
Continue reading
Hi everyone,
I wanted to do a couple of Halloween looks. We don’t have Halloween here like they do in the States, buttt most of my visitors come from the US, so I’m doing this for you.
I’ve read the book Memoires of a Geisha LONG before the movie came out and when I saw the movie I just was in awe of the makeup. Geisha makeup is very distinct and very difficult if you’re holding yourself to all the traditions. 
(source: Wikipedia)
The traditional makeup of an apprentice geisha features a thick white base with red lipstick and red and black accents around the eyes and eyebrows. Originally, the white base mask was made with lead, but after the discovery that it poisoned the skin and caused terrible skin and back problems for the older geisha towards the end of the Meiji Era, it was replaced with rice powder.
The application of makeup is hard to perfect and is a time-consuming process. Makeup is applied before dressing to avoid dirtying the kimono. First, a wax or oil substance, called bintsuke-abura, is applied to the skin. Next, white powder is mixed with water into a paste and applied with a bamboo brush starting from the neck and working upwards. The white makeup covers the face, neck, and chest, with two or three unwhitened areas (forming a W or V shape, usually a traditional W shape) left on the nape, to accentuate this traditionally erotic area, and a line of bare skin around the hairline, which creates the illusion of a mask.
After the foundation layer is applied, a sponge is patted all over the face, throat, chest, the nape and neck to remove excess moisture and to blend the foundation. Next the eyes and eyebrows are drawn in. Traditionally, charcoal was used, but today, modern cosmetics are used. The eyebrows and edges of the eyes are colored black with a thin charcoal; a maiko also applies red around her eyes. 
The lips are filled in using a small brush. The color comes in a small stick, which is melted in water. Crystallized sugar is then added to give the lips lustre. Rarely will a geisha color in both lips fully in the Western style, as white creates optical illusions and colouring the lips fully would make them appear overly large. The lower lip is colored in partially and the upper lip left white for maiko in her first year, after which the upper lip is also colored. Newly full-fledged geisha will color in only the top lip fully. Most geisha wear the top lip colored in fully or stylized, and the bottom lip in a curved stripe that does not follow the shape of the lip. Geisha round the bottom lips to create the illusion of a flower bud.
Maiko who are in their last stage of training sometimes color their teeth black for a brief period. This practice used to be common among married women in Japan and, earlier, at the imperial court, but survives only in some districts. It is done partly because uncoloured teeth seem very yellow in contrast to white face makeup; colouring the teeth black means that they seem to “disappear” in the darkness of the open mouth. This illusion is of course more pronounced at a distance.
For the first three years, a maiko wears this heavy makeup almost constantly. During her initiation, the maiko is helped with her makeup either by her onee-san, or “older sister” (an experienced geisha who is her mentor), or by the okaa-san, or “mother” of her geisha house. After this, she applies the makeup herself.
After a maiko has been working for three years, she changes her make-up to a more subdued style. The reason for this is that she has now become mature, and the simpler style shows her own natural beauty. For formal occasions, the mature geisha will still apply white make-up. For geisha over thirty, the heavy white make-up is only worn during those special dances that require it.
As you can see there are many different rules and regulations for doing Geisha make up. I’m doing the white face with white cream shadow (Make Up For Ever Flash Palette) and doing the eyes with red, black brows and red lips.
If you’re going as a real Geisha, I’d recommend getting a Geisha Wig, because getting your hair to look like a Geisha’s is very difficult using the traditional ways (that’s why they only do their hair once a week and sleep with their head propped up). If you use more moder ways you can make it look like a Geisha, but it will not move like a Geisha.
Ask a friend to to the back of the neck!! 
Now for the real tutorial: Continue reading
Click on the picture to go to the original blog explaining the look.
To follow my daily life, add me on twitter: http://twitter.com/BogusCee
EYE
FULL FACE
LIPS
NAILS
SPECIALS
Hi everyone,
This post is going to be the third out of a trilogy 
This is the funked up version of a smokey eye. For the explanation of the first 5 steps for a basic smokey eye you can click here for part I.
The first 5 steps in pictures: 
For a wetlook smokey eye click here for part II. You add one product to the smokey eye shown above and the look turns into this:
If you want it even more different, you add one more product, MAC 3D glitter. I’m not advocating putting glitter on your eye, it can scratch your eye if it gets in the eye. If you do use glitter it is your own responsibility.
To make the glitter stick I used MAC Fix Plus Spray. 
All pictures were taken in natural light and this next one is done near a lamp, so that adds to the warmth and shows the glitter differently. 
Hi everyone,
This post is going to be the second out of a trilogy
This is the kicked up version of a smokey eye. For the explanation of the first 5 steps, you can click here for part I, for an even more funked up version of this smokey eye, click here for part III.
The first 5 steps in pictures:
To go from there to the look I’m showing you under here, only means adding one product. A shimmery pigment is all you need, I used Illamasqua (Dystopia Collection) Pure Pigment Loose Eye Powder in Android.
Adding this skimmer gives it a wetlook feel even though it isn’t.
Hi everyone,
This post is going to be the first out of a trilogy
I wanted to do a smokey eye using only 3 products and 5 easy to follow steps. Then I wanted to kick it up a notch and then I wanted to funk it up some more. I was taking a study break and ended up doing this look in 20 minutes (and then remembering I needed to go to the store and having to take it all off because it was a little much for a daylook store-run).
So what you see here is the start of the set, click here for part II and here for part III.
You start with a clean face because when only using blacks you can have fallout. You can use a base like Urban Decau primer potion if you like, I didn’t use a primer here, because if it creases it will add to the rock look. A great looking smokey eye isn’t perfect.
The way to get a super black lid is by using a black eyeliner gel or cream. Today I took a cream black eyeliner by Clinique and placed this all over the lid up to the crease and on the waterline. It doesn’t have to look perfect!
I then took a smudger brush and blended the edges, you do need to hurry with this because when it sets it won’t blend anymore. If you do have that problem, put a teeeeeeny tiny bit of liner on the brush and use that to smudge the colour out. It still doesn’t have to be perfect. 
You’re now slowly getting that smokey eye, take a black matte eyeshadow (I’m using MAC – Carbon) and try to get the wing to go to the end of your brow, but also follow the line of the waterline. 
Step four is actually a cleanup step, take a cotton pad with eyemakeup remover (non oily!!) or a makeup whipe and clean up under your eyes, even if you don’t see it on your skin, you probably will on the pad or whipe.
Now you can do your foundation, contouring, blush, under eye concealer, and whatever else you want to do. I only did the concealer here because the look is so strong, I wanted my skin to be bare. I’m LOVING the Make Up For Ever HD Concealer but the pencil release thingy is annoying me because the product dries at the end and that means a thick gloopy concealer. Right now I squish out some concealer from the tube and not let it come all the way out. 
Lastly you curl your lashes and add a TON of mascara (I’m wearing 2 coats of YSL – Singulier).
If you want you can add a highlight, but because the smokey eye is black you can use your own skintone as a highlight on the browbone. I didn’t add anything to keep the look modern and simple.
Hi everyone,
I wanted to show you all the look I had on last night when I went out to dinner with my collegues.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might see the resemblance between the look I did here and the look I did on Nic in March 2009. 
I was wearing blue jeans and a mosterd coloured shirt with a blue coat and these blue and yellow nails that for some reason I wanted to keep the theme going and went with blue and gold eyes. I wanted to do a look that wasn’t something everybody can wear, that showed a little artistry and a little guts. I knew I didn’t want to look perfectly coordinated so I did choose a slightly darker and more vibrant blue on my eyes.
Skin:
I ALWAYS work an a clean and well moisturised face before applying any makeup, whether I’m just wearing a primer or a primer, foundation, powder combo, it doesn’t matter, I don’t wake up properly if I don’t wash and moisturize my face. These days I’ve been using 4 drops of SkinCeuticals called Prevent Serum 10 AOX+ to start my moisturizing routine, I then use a Clinique eyecream called All About Eyes Rich which is slightly thicker and richer then the normal All About Eyes I use in spring and summer. The temperature is starting to drop again and it’s raining more again so the skin will dry out sooner and using a slightly richer eyecream helps keep the skin looking amazing. I switch up the rest of the “routine” every day, I do need a moisturizer, but which one depends on the makeup I want to wear, the weather and the way my skin looks and feels that day. This day I used a MD Skincare tester called Auto-Balancing Moisture Lotion SPF 10 which looked good, but felt kinda sticky on my skin, so not a love at first sight product for me.
Perfect Canvas:
I used Laura Mercier – Foundation Primer Oil Free as a base and then took a little Make Up For Ever HD Concealer under my eyes and some Make Up For Ever – Full Cover concealer on 2 small blemishes. Taking a MAC setting powder I set everything. I used MAC – Powder Blush in Harmony to contour my cheeks a little and was done with it.
Lips:
I knew I was going to dinner with collegues, so it would be more dimmed lighting (no sunlight). I also knew that there would be food, so no bright lip look because that lip would never stay pretty when eating. You might consider wearing a stain without a glossy extra coat, but that’s too matte for the dimmed lighting if you ask me. This might sound like every look takes huge planning, and it might if you don’t have a feel for makeup, I do this thinking maybe in 1 minute and then decide on a look, so it’s not a thing that takes up hours of my day. I used a little chapstick and that was it for the lips.
Eyes:
On my eyelid I’m wearing the Make Up For Ever – Flash Colour Case gold as a base, then I used Honey by Urban Decay on top of that to set it, this is an amazing gold colour so gold on gold means an intense colourdepth.
On/In the crease, as a liner and under my eye I’m wearing Make Up For Ever – Aqua Liner in 15L which I blended up somethat and then I set that with Urban Decay – Adore. I also put some Adore on the top of the lashes when I was done with my mascara which was the black YSL – Singulier for an extra suprise of blue when I blinked. When using two very different colours like blue and gold you need to make sure you use a different blending technique then when you want to blend two colours into one another. Because gold is a yellow tint and mixing that with blue will give you a green this is a more tricky makeup look. This means I used the gold only where I knew I wanted the gold to be and then I blended it out into nothing at the place where I knew I wanted the blue to meet it. I then used the blue first with a heavier hand and then when I needed it to fade I used a softer hand which lightens the opacity of colour. You don’t want to take a blending brush and blend blend blend these two colours with some elbowgrease, you want to actually blend as little as possible and place the stronger (in this case the blue) on top of the less strong (gold) colour and fading it with application and not by blending the colours together.
I then put in my contacts and placed the Aqua liner on my waterline afterwards (you always get some more water in your eyes when placing contacts and you don’t want this to ruin your just placed eyeliner.
As you can see in this picture, the perfect winged out look is just like the perfect eyeliner, you follow the line of your lower lashline and then you end with the perfect wing. 
I hope you like my final look. Because everything was pulled together I didn’t do anything with my brows and I didn’t use a blush because it will be warm at dinner and I’ll flush naturally.
Hi everyone,
I’ve been planning to do this look on Nic because she had blue eyes but for some reason we always end up doing something else, so I decided to do it on me.
The inspiration was this picture: 
The hardest thing about this look isn’t what you think, the hardest part is picking the right colours for you. If I’d used the exact same colour I’d have looked very ill because it’s too yellow for me. All the eyeshadows I used are from the Sephora Color Play Palette which has almost every colour you could need if you go away and want to bring one palette.
Hair
I have naturally curly hair, so all I did was I cut off a little at the front to make it a little wider (yes, I do cut my own hair at times). I then washed it and let it dry naturally and it basically looks like Olivia’s does in the picture. If you don’t have naturally curly hair try a small barrel curling iron and use many small sections to create a big head of hair. When done, put your head foreward and let your hair fall to the front and go through the back of your hair to create a little extra lift and then flip it back and put a hair band in it.
Eyebrows
Olivia has thin-ish groomed brows, they’re slightly lighter then mine so I didn’t do what they did on her. To make her arch stronger they put a line through only the top of the eyebrow, focussing the colour on the arch to make it stronger and higher.
Skin
Olivia has an amazing skin and bonestructure. She’s wearing a little foundation and concealer to even out her skintone and VERY little light pink blusher on her apples and a little contouring under her cheekbones. Not many are blessed with her bonestructure and depending on what your bonestructure looks like you need to contour accordingly. I can best tell you so read my blog on contouring for the right way to contour your face. Remember, dark colours pull back and suck in and light colours emphasise and bring foreward.
Eyes
I started with clean eyes:
I then used a little Soft Ochre Paintpot as a base: 
Next I took a soft shimmery brown from the Sephora Palette 
and placed this with a big brush on my eyelid and a little over the crease: 
I also took this colour under my eyelid and I didn’t blend out the edges too much because Olivia has strong edges on her look. 
I lined my eye with a very creamy Stila Kohl in Onyx 
I chose a creamy liner because you need to blend this with a pencil brush to look more natural. You can even add a little of the original eyeshadow on top of it if the blending doesn’t go the way you like it. The lining doesn’t have to be perfect because you’ll blend it with the pencil brush, so don’t be all precise with it. 
Something many women find very hard to do is tightlining. This isn’t something that feels good!! You see guru’s on youtube placing the pencil on the waterline, closing their eye and then going over the waterline, this is a way that scares me half to death, you can easily poke yourself in the eye. The way I do it is by first doing the top because that will probably make your eyes water. I hold my brow and then look down (this is because you don’t want to tugg the skin too much and this is an easy way to do it without hurting yourself). 
If you have watering eyes sniff a few times and it will disappear. Now line your lower waterline, I’m using a Waterproof UD 24/7 liner in Zero 
. If you cannot bare to do this, use a creamy pencil and only line the lower waterline, then close your eyes very tightly for 5 seconds and it will transfer a little to the top waterline, remember to reapply to the lower waterline to keep the density of colour. 
I darkened the outer corner and crease a little with this slightly darker and warmer colour: 
Don’t blend too much at this point because the look isn’t a blended out smokey eye. Add a matte highlighter 
under your brow on your browbone and a shimmery one 
on the inner corner (use a dome shaped brush for this). 
Now you only need a black mascara (curl your lashes if you need it, Olivia doesn’t have her lashes curled I think) and you’re done.