Pigment tips and tricks

 I have been so busy with family engagements and preparations for my son's school, that I have been kept away from my blog lately. But I was able to play around the other day with some new eye shadows, pigments, and glosses tucked away in my kit. What I discovered from my own experimenting and from tips and tricks of others it that the possibilities are endless. I had the fortune of picking up a couple of Illamasqua pigments in Fuore and Beguile and they are amazing. Not only to they do triple duty but I bet I can find two or three other uses as well. 

 How many of you are completely bored with the shadows and lipsticks/glosses in your kit at the moment? My easy suggestion is to pick up one of these pigments and begin experimenting. It's like opening up a whole new kit of colors and special effects. You can use these pigments over eyeshadows, over lip colors, along the apples of your cheeks or around your eye area/temples for an ethereal glow or in the corners of your eyes for an extra pop of brightness.  Mix them with a little Vaseline and use them on your eyelids to give your lids a shiny glossy look. My favorite is adding a few pats of pigment over lip gloss. I use it to highlight the cupids bow of my mouth. It leaves your mouth with a nice nude lip and adds a pop of shine.  Here is a picture of how highlighting can add a whole new dimension to your overall look.  Highlighting your brow bone opens up your eyes and makes the color of your eyes more prominent. Highlighting the inner corners of your eyes gives you a more awake look. Highlighting your cheeks and around your eyes gives you a soft focus effect or "glow" around your face and highlighting your lips and the top of your lips or cupid's boy makes your lips appear fuller and attracts light to them making them shine and gives your face a nice glow.  You don't have to spend a fortune on pigments. These retail for $24.00 from Sephora.com but you can find some browsing your local drugstore. Look for shiny peach or silver colors. Loreal HIP had a few shadows last season that were perfect for highlighting.  Don't be shy and start mixing and experimenting. Remember, if you aren't happy with your first blend then try again. You are bound to find your perfect combination.

Highlighting adds dimension to your face and hides imperfections

ILLAMASQUA Fuore Pure Pigment

ILLAMASQUA Beguile Pure Pigment

ILLAMASQUA Beguile Pure Pigment

INGLOT AMC 251 Gloss

Smokey eyes and nude lips

I know, I know, what you are thinking. Oh so Kim Kardashian, but I just can't help it. Urban Decay has me so excited I can hardly wait for fall! Their Smoked Palette has been sending shivers up my spine and I need to get my hands on it stat! I have been settling for Benefit's Creaseless Creme Eyeshadow and liner in Strut to get me by in the meantime. Today I paired Strut with a Nars duo Tzarine and the result was a grey smokey haze. With my eyes so dark I opted for a very naked pout so I lined my lips in MAC's Naked liner and used Stila's Kitten lip gloss for added shine. I love the look of dark mysterious grey eyes and grey always make my blue eyes pop. Some of my other recent faves have been mixing the darker shades in Urban Decay's Naked and Naked 2 palette. Just be sure to stick to 2 to 3 shades or they will get lost on the lid. Too much mixing and you loose the allure of the shades.

Benefit Creaseless Creme Shadow and Liner in Strut

MAC Naked Lipliner

Stila Lip Gloss in Kitten

Wedding Makeup Day!

I had the honor of making up my beautiful friend Laura and her sisters for her big day last Friday.  I was so excited that I could hardly sleep the night before. Armed with my espresso and make up kit I got to work and lived in the moment that morning. Because Laura's wedding was being held outdoors and in high heat I knew I had to select a virtually bullet proof no shine make up. After much deliberation we went with Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra 24 hour in the fairest shade. 

Find at Sephora

I was able to use this for all the girls however, her twin had just come back from a beach vacation and had a gorgeous tan so I mixed the fair with a warmer shade to get the perfect blend. I am happy to say it stayed on all day and wore beautifully throughout the night. I used Bobbi Brown's gel liner in espresso ink and Dior show waterproof mascara. Laura wanted a natural eye so we opted for Dior's Nude Pink. It was perfect and I even amped up the pink with a tad of lavender from the Nars, Charade shadow duo. Just to give a slight accent to add to her bouqet. We went with Lancome's Rouge in love lipstick in Lasting Kiss and I used a nude lip pencil from Lancome to define her lip line. On her cheeks I wanted her to have a rosy glow so I patted on some cheek butter from Korres and they I finished it off with Tarte's blush in exposed. I highlighted the inner corners of her eyes with Illamasqua's pure pigment in static and used a fan brush around her eyes and the top of the cheekbone to add a bit of an ethereal glow. Here is a picture just after we finished with hair and makeup. Keep in mind we did makeup at 10 am and the wedding was at 5pm. So as the day went on and the lighting changed her cheeks and lip shades settled a bit.

Beautiful Laura

Lancome in Lasting Kiss

Korres Cheek Butter in Philla Rose

Tarte Blush in Exposed

Nars shadow in Charade

Brand to know....Korres

Known as Greece's fastest growing natural skincare company. Korres products can be found online and at Sephora stores.  Centuries ago, Greeks discovered the medicinal value of some of their native flora and began to explore their use as natural healing remedies.  Two decades ago, George Korres, pursuing his passion for natural homeopathic remedies, embarked on a journey that within a few years led to the founding of the KORRES brand.

I picked up a couple of their products today and I can hardly wait to give them a try.

I picked the neutral pink beige of this product

Korres Cheek Butter in Philla Rose-warm pink

Urban Decay's Smoked Palette

 Making the rounds at my local Sephora I stopped in my tracks when I spotted this lil baby. I love a smokey eye so this was a showstopper for me. All of these smokin shades are packed into a cool black zippered case. Check out these shades below and imagine the endless possibilities. Or just use the 12 hot look book inside the kit created by a pro makeup artist. $49.00 at Sephora or Urban Decay online.

The King of the Gel Liners

Looking for an all day... long wearing.... no tearing... sensation. Then Bobbi Brown has you covered. In fact this liner is sooo good that it won the Martha Stewart Wedding Award for the best gel eyeliner.  Pick up the gel lining brush from Sephora and you are set! Line all around your eyes for a dramatic look, or just on the top into the lash line to add definition to your lashes or perhaps try the every popular half line from the middle of your eye to the outer corner and all below. Or if you are feeling really daring draw on a winged liner look. Whatever your choose you will be happy you trusted your eyes to Bobbi for a no smudge no budge gel.

My first foray into theater...

I recently had the opportunity to provide the makeup design for a local theater company's upcoming production. Needless to say I jumped at the chance to create the looks. I spent the weekend with my makeup case and tools in hand thinking of concepts for each look for the various characters. What a fabulous time I had! Then, yesterday I presented my designs to the actors, director and producer.  I will return to complete the looks with the actors and do a makeup application later in rehearsals. Here are a few of my face charts and ideas that I presented yesterday. The theme was tacky intense makeup so you can imagine how fun this was.  Therefore, the makeup was heavy and full of color. I can hardly wait to see the finished looks during the show. I promise to post pictures.