Category Archives: Tips and Techniques

Methods of Application

Tips and Techniques, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Hello 1984!

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Yes, I had electric blue tights with the alphabet spray painted all over them in black.  I also had granny boots, pencil skirts that laced up the back, and many, many a shoulder pad.  I also had, stolen from my mother, a Dior four color eyeshadow palette, with a fab bright blue, orange, green and yellow.  Man I loved that palette…

Anyway I’ve been seeing a lot of these “rainbow” eyes lately and was just in the mood.  Nowadays I’d probably wear this with a nude lip, back in the day, however, shocking pink, purple or bright orange would have suited me better.

1.  Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion all over.

2. L’Oreal HIP Striking Duo (the yellow side) all over the lower lid, around the inner eye, and line 1/4 the way across lower lashes.

3.  L’Oreal HIP Perky Duo (the green side) outer 2/3 of lower lid.

4.  Elf Mineral Eye Shadow in Sweet patted in middle of lower lid, not blended at all.

5.  Urban Decay Mildew in outer corner and crease, getting softer toward inner crease.  Use to line under lower lashes from outer corner to about 1/2 way in.

6. L’Oreal HIP Perky Duo (green side) blended under lower lashes out of Mildew toward yellow.

7.  L’Oreal HIP Perky Duo (gray side) very softly above outer corner of upper lashes, and outer corner of lower lashes, like a “V”.

8.  Smashbox Eye Shadow in Oyster under brow bone.

9.  Maybelline Great Lash Mascara Blackest Black.

10. Laura Mercier Blonde brow pencil.

No one said it was going to be simple.  :)

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Tips and Techniques

Eye Makeup Application for Glasses Wearers

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When I was 9 years old, my grandmother called me in to her room and asked me to put her eye makeup on for her.  She couldn’t see what she was doing without her glasses and said she was “making a mess.”  I had no idea how to begin and followed her instructions closely.  Ultimately I’m not sure if my first attempt was any better than what she could have done, but she was happy.  Eventually I got better at it for her.

Today I saw a post from a young woman who wears glasses and wants to wear eye makeup but is unable to see well enough to do her eye makeup without them in place.  So far she’s been able to put on a little mascara, but has yet to venture further.  This got me thinking about the best way around the problem; my brain landed on cream shadows and smudged eye pencil.

The creams are easily applied with fingertips, and the pencil line doesn’t have to be perfectly straight.  This is the eye I did for the young woman in the posting.  I hope she likes it.

Eye for glasses wearers

 

I kept it pretty natural so mistakes won’t matter as much, and because it’s her first real foray into eye shadow.

1.  Laura Mercier Platinum Creme Eye Colour all over, applied with finger tips.

2.  Laura Mercier Alloy Creme Eye Colour from the lash line blended up to the crease with finger tips.  Rose Gold from L.M. would work beautifully here for daytime as well.  Any deep tone cream color would be great in place of the Alloy for a more dramatic evening look.  Just make sure to use a darker colored liner (step 3) that’s  compatible.

3.  Urban Decay Glide on Pencil in Bourbon across top of the lashes.  Then smudged with either a smudge brush or finger tips.

4.  Maybelline Great Lash mascara in Blackest Black.

5.  Laura Mercier Blonde brow pencil.

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Tips and Techniques, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Cat Eye in Neutral Tones

Brown Cat EyeThis is one of my all time favorite looks.  It’s simple yet dramatic, clean, and looks good on everyone.  Furthermore, it can be worn with any lip color.

These are the steps I took and the products which were used to create this eye for you.

1.  Laura Mercier Linen Eye Basics, eyeshadow base all over.

2.  Smashbox Oyster eyeshadow, pressed on with a flat, not fluffy, eyeshadow brush,  just under the eyebrow to highlight the bone.

3.  Studio Gear Barely There matte eyeshadow from lash line to crease.

4.  Laura Mercier Cafe Au Lait eyeshadow very softly applied to the crease.  Please refer to my post “The Salt Analogy” here.  Less is more and the brush you use matters.  I used my Bobbi Brown eye blender brush,  because I just wanted a soft shading in the crease.  Sort of an enhancement of the natural shadow created by her brow bone.  The darker color in the outer color is not Cafe Au Lait, it’s step 6.

5.  Laura Mercier Black Ebony cake eye liner applied with a pointed eye liner brush.  I started at the outer corner of her eye and did the little wing bit first, by pulling the line up slightly.  I didn’t want an extreme cat eye; I was going for something that would elongate the eye when opened and look relatively natural.  From there I picked up my brush and began a new line, extremely tight to the lashes, about 1/4 of the way out from her inner corner.  I pulled the line out to meet the furthest tip of the wing, gradually allowing the line to get thicker as I reached the outer corner.

6.  Laura Mercier Coffee Ground eyeshadow applied carefully and gently to the outer corner of the eye.  I used this deep tone to give depth to the look.

7.  Laura Mercier Brunette brow pencil.

8.  Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Black applied only to the outer upper lashes.  This application furthers the effect of the “cat eye”.

I apologize for for the quality of the photos today, but was working with a very unruly model.  …ahem…

Happy painting!  Let me know how it goes!  S

 

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Tips and Techniques, Tutorials, Uncategorized

Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Green?

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Plum and green might not sound like the most natural of combinations, but they are.  Red and green enhance each other, they’re opposites on the color wheel…suffice it to say, one makes the other pop.  So, if you have even the slightest hint of olive in your beautiful brown eyes, any eyeshadow with a little red in it (think plum, reddish brown, copper, etc.) will enhance the green in your eyes.

If your eyes are already green, or blue for that matter, colors with a red undertone should be a staple in your eyeshadow collection.  I added a bit of green to this look to further the effect of bringing out the green in her eyes, and also because I just think the colors are really lovely together.

Regardless of your eye color, this is a look that works well on pretty much anyone.

1. Laura Geller Eye Spackle Primer

2. Laura Mercier Platinum Metallic Creme Colour all over.

3. Laura Mercier African Violet lash line to crease.

4. Laura Mercier Black Caviar Liner blended into upper lashes.

5. Urban Decay Mildew Eyeshadow smudged into Caviar liner and around entire eye.

6. Laura Mercier Black Turquoise Kohl Eye Pencil on the water line (inside lower lashes).

7. Laura Mercier Brow Pencil in Brunette.

8. Maybelline Great Lash Marcara in Black.

 

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Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques

The “Natural” Look

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Our idea of looking natural, isn’t really all that natural.  Unless of course we mean to say we want to look as we really are.  In which case we don’t need makeup do we?  When a client tells me she wants to look “natural” what she really means to say is, “I want to look perfect AND like I’m not wearing any makeup.  I hear you sister, so do I.

Here are a few tips to help you achieve that “natural” look.

1.  Take care of your skin. The better shape your skin is in, the less face makeup you’ll need.  Please remember, no amount of makeup can cover dry or peeling skin.  In fact, makeup usually makes it look worse.  I have recently fallen in love with several products from the Mario Badescu line, specifically: Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Glycolic Foaming Cleanser, Glycolic Eye Cream, and most of all the Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs, and Rosewater…it’s delightful, refreshing and soothing.  You’ll be pleased to know that the most expensive item on that list is $20.00 the others range from $12.00 to $7.00.  You can thank me later.  oxox

2.  Select a foundation or tinted moisturizer that is the same color as you are. Do not try to “correct” your skin tone with your foundation.  You’ll wind up looking like your head belongs on a different body.  Go to the cosmetic counter with no makeup on…I know, I know, but trust me on this one.  Select three foundations that are within the realm of possibilities and make a stripe of each one running down the side of your face (mid cheek to mid neck).  The one you have a tough time seeing, is your color.

In the nineties we had a huge backlash against pink foundations, and with good reason, many, if not most of us are far from the pink color they were pushing.  Unfortunately we over compensated and suddenly everyone was yellow.  The truth is, we are neither completely yellow, pink, brown or red any more than we are black or white.  In real life we know this, don’t lose sight of that fact in the cosmetic department.

3.  Use foundation to even out your complexion. Foundation and tinted moisturizer, are simply meant to even out your skin tone.  In my humble opinion, a sponge gives you the best, most even, and sheerest application.  Do not try to use foundation as concealer or cover up, a thickly applied layer of foundation looks like, well, a thickly applied layer of foundation, not the “natural” look we’re going for here.  If you have dark circles under your eyes don’t bring your foundation all the way up under the eye, we’ll use a concealer for that. The fewer layers of makeup, the better.  If you don’t have particularly dark circles under the eye, go ahead and take the foundation all the way up to the lash line.

4.  Camouflage and concealer have specific purposes, use them. If your skin is perfect, you can skip this step.  The rest of us however, will want to pay close attention.  Ahem.  Concealer is meant for the under eye area.  It should be relatively creamy so that it goes on easily, without pulling the delicate skin around the eye.  Camouflage, or cover up, is a different animal altogether, it’s meant for the face.  It needs to be a bit thicker and drier than concealer so that it will stay in place, and not cause nor worsen blemishes.

Apply your concealer only to the areas under your eyes where you need it.  Pay attention to detail here.  There is no need to cover the entire under eye area if you’re only dark in the inner and outer corners for example.  After you’ve applied the concealer to your darker areas, use your finger to pat it into place.  The patting motion blends the concealer without removing it altogether.

Use camouflage, with a synthetic bristled brush, as an eraser.  Lightly paint over what you’re seeing through the foundation that you’d rather not see.  Use the light tapping motion again here to blend.  Remember, do NOT rub.  It will remove the product you just applied.

A special word about pimples: pimples are generally shaped like mini volcanoes.  If you tap on top of the volcano to blend, you are going to remove the camo from the peak while the base of Mt. St. Helens remains unblended.  Why?  Because your finger can’t get to the bottom, it’s being stopped by the apex of the volcano.  Forget your finger when it comes to pimples and just use your brush to blend the outer edges.  Once you’ve camouflaged the top of the pimple, leave it alone.

5.  Set your makeup with translucent powder and a puff. Every step up to this point has involved a liquid, or at the very least a creamy, product.  If you want to keep your makeup on your face you must set it with powder and a puff.  “Why the puff?”, you ask after spending upwards of $60.00 on a powder brush.  A puff presses powder into the makeup on your skin and actually sets it in place, whereas a powder brush lightly dusts powder all over you face (and your bathroom) without setting your makeup.

Setting with a translucent powder is key here for all, from  the darkest complexion to the lightest.  Tinted powder will change the color of your carefully chosen foundation.

6. Your skin is multicolored; use bronzer AND blush to achieve a truly “natural” look. Your skin at this point looks perfect, yet bizarrely monochromatic.  Now is the point where we apply bronzer to bring some of the color obvious in your arms, chest and neck, back to your face.

Please do not paint racing stripes up the sides of your face.  Contour is fine in black and white photographs, but in real life it is rarely done well.  I advocate avoiding it altogether.  Instead, I prefer to apply bronzer softly to the high points of the face; where you’d naturally get a bit more color first.  (Forehead, bridge of nose, tops of cheeks, chin.)

Next, smile.  Apply blush with the flat side of your brush to the apples of your cheeks; where you would naturally blush if you were so inclined.  Consider “The Salt Analogy” repeatedly at this point.

Lastly, blend with a dry sponge.

Welcome to the land of the perfect “natural” people.  What you choose to do with your eyes and lips is entirely up to you.  I’d just comb out my brows, throw on some lip gloss and mascara and call it a day…you know for that truly “natural” look.

Meanwhile, what you’ve just learned will never need to be learned again, even as fashions change.  “Natural” is natural forever, unless we evolve into something else, at which point I promise to revise this post.  oxox  Enjoy!

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Tips and Techniques

Focus: The Perils of Pressed Foundation Powder

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This week a young woman came in looking for a pressed foundation powder.  Poor thing’s skin was all shades of broken out, and judging by the scars it had been for some time.  I asked her why she wanted a pressed foundation powder as opposed to loose, or some version of a traditional liquid foundation.  Eventually it all boiled down to ease of application.

Here’s the thing, pressed powder (whether it be foundation pressed powder, regular pressed powder, or mineral pressed powder) is a terrible choice for acne prone skin.  The issue is not so much the formulation of the product, it’s the mode of application.  Think on this; as you take the little puff that comes with your powder and rub it all over your face you’re picking up about a million hitchhikers as well as the oil they eat.  Yes, you are not only transporting bacteria back and forth from your face to your compact but also giving them the means to stay alive.

When you’ve finished applying your powder, you take the loaded puff, place it on top of your powder and close the compact, establishing a safe and warm environment for the bacteria to breed.  Now repeat this process daily, or even a couple of times a day until you run out of powder.  Eww.

It has been suggested that keeping the puff and the powder separated resolves the issue.  Some companies have created compacts that hold the puff in it’s own compartment, others suggest you retain the little plastic film that comes on top of new powders and use that as the means of separation.  While I can see how that might help minimize the problem, it still doesn’t negate the fact that you’re spreading bacteria from your face to your product, then back again.

So what’s a girl to do?  I suggested she try an oil free foundation.  My client was resistant to doing more than one step.  (Liquid foundation, in most cases, requires the use of loose setting powder.)  There was really only one obvious choice in that case, loose mineral powder.  She was unconvinced.  The truth is, loose powders are messier and not as convenient as pressed powders.  Ultimately, she bought what she wanted in the first place, a pressed powder foundation.

Please keep this in mind.  In cosmetics, as in life, the easiest way is not always the best.

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Tips and Techniques

Red Lips

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Red lips are fierce, and we know this.  You are either the sort of woman who wears crimson without a second thought, or the kind of woman who shudders at the thought.  It’s quite cut and dry really.

Well, I am here to tell you that there is a red lip out there for everyone, you just have to do a little sampling.  Get with a salesperson and hit the cosmetic counters.  Be prepared to try on a few shades.

My all time favorite red lip is simply Jungle Red Lipliner Pencil by Nars.  I just draw them on, fill them in and bam!  There’s no stopping me sister.

The best thing about using just a pencil when you’re dealing with a bright or deep color like red, is that you don’t have to worry about it smearing all over your face, or Heaven forbid, creeping it’s way up into fine lines around your mouth.  Also, it lasts.  If your lips are a bit dry use the teeniest amount of lip balm to smooth them out, then apply your pencil.

Remember when working with red, take your  t i m e.  Work in light small strokes around your mouth until you’ve outlined it’s shape, then carefully fill in with liner or lipstick…or both.  If you want to really throw caution to the wind, add a little pop of gloss, clear is fine, to the middle of your top and bottom lip.

Yes it is ok to even out your lips.  No one has perfectly symmetrical lips.  If you like larger lips and one side of your bottom lip drops a bit lower than the other, bring the other side down.  If one side of your top lip is larger than the other make ’em match girl.  The key here is subtlety.  Don’t draw a whole new mouth.  Do even things out.

Lastly, in nearly every case, a strong mouth means you need to ease up on the eyes.  Think about a soft cat eye, or just black mascara. Now hold your head high, smile and wait for the comments.  They usually go something like this, “Oh, I could never wear that color”, or “I’m just not brave enough to wear a red lip.”  Guess what?  You are.

oxox

S

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Tips and Techniques

The Salt Analogy

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I spend a good portion of my life teaching women, and sometimes men, (hello, I am from Miami), how to apply makeup.  As a result, I have come up with what I think is a very helpful analogy.

Most of us, at one time or another have had to cook something.  Those that haven’t, have certainly eaten.  Applying makeup is like adding salt to your food. You add a little salt, then have a taste, a little more, have a taste.  Adding too much salt is disastrous.  The outcome is  terrible and it’s virtually impossible to remove.  You’ve basically got to start all over.

The same principle applies to makeup.  Apply a little, have a look, a little more, have a look.  You can always add more.  Taking off too much, however, is not always an easy task. In a great many, if not most, cases it requires that you start all over.

So there it is my friends, the salt analogy.  Hope you find it useful.

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Product Reviews, Tips and Techniques

Focus: Dehydrated Skin and Green Eyes

I had the most fabulous client today; a genuinely happy person, and it showed.  She had delicate features and huge deep set green eyes.  Beautiful.

She came in with no makeup, (thank you), just moisturizer.  Even moisturized, her skin appeared very dehydrated.  I pressed a little of Laura Mercier’s Perfecting Water into her skin with a cotton pad and voila!  The improvement was instant.  I really focused on the skincare with her.  There was a redness to her skin that was just a result of being overly dry.  After using serum, day cream, eye serum, and eye cream, the redness was diminished.  This was one application.  Imagine what she’ll look like in a week.  Happily, she bought it all.  I can’t wait to see what she looks like next time I see her.

While skin care is the most important aspect of your beauty routine, in my humble opinion, color is the most fun.  As I mentioned, huge green eyes.

1.  I used a very sheer application of Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Color in Platinum, from brow to lash.  Starting at the brow to get the greatest concentration of pigment there, then pulling it down so it gradually fades toward the lash line, as a result of what’s left on the brush really.

2.  Then I used the same product in Burnished Copper moving in the opposite direction, (in other words, starting tight to the lashes and pulling up, stopping just under the crease, so the color on the brush starts to fade just under the crease).

3.  I used the best tool in the world, my finger, to softly blend where the two colors meet, so as to transition from one color to the other seamlessly.

4.  Next, I used a very small amount of Laura Mercier Sherazade Eye Color (sort of an earthy golden green…I know it sounds scary, but it’s not) in the outer corner of her eyes, imagine a soft sideways “V” shape.

5.  Again with my fingers, I gently patted the Sherazade into place over the creme colors.

6.  Last but not least, I gave her a tight line with Laura’s Black Ebony liner just under the lashes, followed by a coat of mascara.

Gorgeous.

I will recreate the eye and post pictures at a later date. If any of you decide to give the look a shot, I’d LOVE to see your pictures!

Goodnight beautiful creatures!

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