Beauty Goof #3: Eye Concealer Confessions

Women want to choose the right concealer and this is one of the top concerns brought to my attention. How do you know which color is right? This is usually a bit more tricky than choosing the right foundation so the assistance of a pro is highly recommended. Concealer often needs to cover discoloration around the eyes which tends to be blue, red or brown. You have to apply a bit of color theory to get this right. Many women want brightening under the eyes and therefore head straight toward their first mistake - choosing a concealer color that is too light for their skin. A whitish concealer will not cover anything. It will however, add a white streak on top of whatever color your dark circles happen to be. You could end up with a "red white and blue" hue that while perhaps patriotic, is likely not your intent.
What you will likely need for a truly effective cover-up is two products: a color corrector (usually in the form of a cream stick or tube) and a concealer that matches your all-over skin tone.
If your dark circles are more reddish in tone, you will want a corrector that is green to neutralize the discoloration. If you have bluish veins to conceal use a yellow corrector, and if you have brownish dark circles a salmon or peach color works wonders. After you have determined the color of your dark circles and have gently padded the corrector on top of the discoloration, you can now apply the correct concealer. This should always match you skin in depth and in tone just like your foundation. Smashbox, Makeup Forever and DuWop cosmetics provide excellent color neutralizers and concealer options. Stop in Sephora to check them out and solve your concealing queries once and for all!

The Beauty in Caring

While searching photos of Sephora locations in New York City I came across this photo of a Sephora associate volunteering her makeup artist skills for a Methodist charity.

Maybe its the wine I'm drinking right now, or its my PMS (or both) but immediately upon viewing this, tears started flowing down my cheeks! To me it speaks volumes. The woman may not have felt pretty in years (or maybe she has always felt pretty?) yet here she is, at least 80 years old getting a makeover. I wonder what her motivation was to go and have the makeover done. Does this photo make you think about our culture of beauty and how futile the pursuit of physical beauty is? What does this photo make you think about?

Victoria Secret's Seasonal Makeup

Beauty Boo-Boo #2: Brow Neglect

"The eyes are the windows to our souls. The brows are the window treatments." Ah, nope, not exactly Wisdom of the Ancients, but poignant nonetheless. Brows truly are a central communication facial feature. Just think of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. Boy did Miss Leigh convey a heck of a lot through that half-cocked eyebrow. Brows are the one feature women either tend to over emphasize or ignore completely. I suspect the former is due to women trying too hard to get them right and the latter is due to women too afraid to get them wrong.

Brow grooming is indeed a tricky enterprise. You could rely on someone at a salon to wax them (I recommend this at your own risk of peril) but only: 1.) when you have selected a truly talented pro and 2.) after you have allowed your brows to grow in for 3 weeks. This may be fine for your first attempt at ever shaping your brows but for general up-keep? Who wants nice brows for 3 days and furry ones while waiting for the next waxing appointment? Tweezing may be a a more practical and economical choice as this can be done daily ensuring your brows are consistently groomed. If you are a brow-grooming virgin and will be shaping from "scratch," either consult a professional to guide you or consider purchasing brow stencils. You can get these through a company called Anastasia, a Beverly Hills based company that only sells brow cosmetics. Her stencils come in 4 different shapes and will help you tweeze where you should and block where you shouldn't (available at Sephora).

I am now an official M.A.C. Pro Member. Yessir.

So it's finally here - my M.A.C. Pro card! Woo-hoo! I am so thrilled to get down there and buy some much needed tools before Saturday when I have a bridal party to gussy up. I think I may pick up some eyeshadow colors and concealers as well but that will depend on what fabulous colors I actually view in shop!

The Best Mascara EVER

And believe me I have tried them all. Alright, it may not be perfect for every living soul out there, but Benefit's Bad Gal Lash quickly became my favorite mascara for its lush application without clumping. I swear - No clumping. From the first time I open the tube till it is time to buy a new one (5 months later) the application is great. I will say that the newest tube isn't as juicy as the first 3 I bought which was a disappointment (I even exchanged it for a new one but still the same issue) but the application is still great. Each lash is defined and twice as long.

Benefit Cosmetics LLC

Makeup Mistake: Brushing off Good Brushes

It can be tempting to skimp on buying good quality brushes with an assumption that cheap ones should do just fine. It can be particularly tempting to skimp when you see the prices of professional brushes. Sticker shock is a common reaction by women I work with when I mention the price of individual professional makeup brushes. I may show her a pony hair powder brush that is $40 and she temporarily stops breathing. What's interesting is the lack of context many women fail to have comparing purchases. She may be willing to spend $30 on a bottle of foundation (which lasts 6 months) yet be reticent to purchase quality tools (which if taken care of can last 5 years or more). I tell my clients to think of buying good brushes like buying good shoes. They immediately get the point: good shoes are at least $40 but women don't flinch because they are very accustomed to shoe shopping. Its simply a matter of exposure.
So why are professional brushes better? The answer is: the application and the wear. Cheap brushes have a tendency to streak and drag color on in uneven ways. The synthetic bristles often do not hold the pigment and you will end up with more on the ground than on your skin. You will also notice that it is very common for cheap brushes to fray easily and shed. (Nothing is more annoying that trying to pick off little hairs all over your skin). The wear of good brushes, if taken care of properly, is also ten times better.
When you are ready to purchase brushes visit a retailer where you can actually feel and test the various types. Sephora is a terrific store to be able to test out brushes from many different lines. Sephora also has their own line of professional brushes that are actually very good quality. It is important to be able to feel the brush in your hand and try application. This is definitely where a professional sales person will come in handy. He or she should be able to tell you what type of hair the brush is and how it is assembled. The best brushes will have the hairs sewn into the handle not glued.
You may feel overwhelmed by how many brushes there are to choose from but you will likely only need 5 or 6 to complete your basic needs: A well rounded powder brush, an angled blush brush, concealer brush, an all-over eyeshadow brush for depositing base color all over the lid, a dome-shaped eyeshadow brush for blending color in the crease, and an eye smudge brush that can be used smudge eyeliner and to apply brow color. There are many others that I love that I would recommend, but these are the best basics for you to have.

Why A Beauty Blog?

I have been around the makeup and fashion industry for over 16 years; long enough to have seen my fare share of makeup triumphs (and yes makeup disasters). The one fact that has surprised me most over the duration of my career is the lack of basic knowledge many very intelligent women have about makeup colors, application and skincare. Most women innocently fall into bad habits that persist for years - women with educated girlfriends who were simply not brave enough to admonish them - "sweetie, you have a foundation line that looks like a 5 O'clock shadow!"
Over the years thousands of women have sheepishly admitted to me their ignorance and their desire to start getting things right. Unfortunately there are many makeup consultants out there who either give faulty information to make a sale, out of their own ignorance or out of a lack of interest to help. That is why I created this blog for beauty. This is your place to access quick answers to your beauty questions and where you will receive pertinent tips and information to help you make well informed makeup and skincare purchases as well as guidance on makeup application.

Makeup Isn't Everything... But...

When I decided to go back to college in 2002 to earn my degree - I did so with the intention of completely changing careers. In a post-9/11 environment I felt doing makeup wasn't really a service to my community and I wanted to delve into a career that would "change the world." I had absolutely no idea what that would translate into; only a very broad sense: would I help starving kids in Africa? Work in a battered women's shelter? I just didn't know. I just felt very guilty that my life wasn't serving anyone but myself. I actually majored in journalism before changing my mind on a dime one day in class on a sudden whim. I got to thinking: what do most journalists really do to change the world? I mean, they talk about problems, but do they ever do anything to actually solve them? We have too many journalists who talk and talk and offer information that is more often than not fear-mongering gossip and blather.

Alright, so fast forward to today and you know what? I'll donate my money and time to various charitable causes in order to give back to the world - but as for my career, my talent lies in art and creativity. Doing makeup may not seem like a vocation that really contributes any real value to the world, but I have finally learned that value is not precisely in what you do - but how you treat people. Lots of women really need a confidence boost and an excellent makeup artist will help point out what's beautiful. Some women actually tell me they feel "ugly." Right there I have an unusual opportunity to help her recognize what is pretty about her: her hair or her full lips or long lashes. Every woman has something striking about her. I know its a shame that our world is so caught up in beauty. Darn it, we can't help it - we're human. The least we can do is learn to expand our vision of what we view as beauty - if only for the sake of making another person hold their head a little higher. I don't think that is far off at all from my original intent when I went back to college. As a matter of fact, I think that is precisely what I meant when I said I wanted to change the world.

Getting The Glamour Groove On

Not every model I get to work with is as awesome as Melissa and Kristen. We bonded instantly and had a great session together. You'll certainly gather that by the amount of laughter in nearly every shot! But truly, the session was really all business... (yeah, right.)
For Melissa's look I chose to recreate a photo I saw in a magazine where the model had similar features. I used soft taupes to fill the lids of the eyes complemented by a pretty pink on her cheeks and lips. The foundation used was Bare Escentuals. I wasn't as happy with the application of the foundation and blush as I usually am - I think my poor kabuki brush has seen its last days. Kristen's makeup was inspired by a photo I saw of Winona Ryder with incredibly smoky eyes and pale lips. With the high flash of the camera I could have even smoked it out even more. All in all a very successful session. The ladies looked marvelous and we had a great time capturing some hot photos.

Top Makeup Blunders

I am often asked by women the right way to apply makeup, but rarely am I asked "what am I currently doing wrong?" We all could use an unbiased opinion from time to time; a subjective eye to help us out with our techniques - yes, even veteran makeup artists like myself. I remember years ago when I was in my early 20's a fellow coworker suggesting I try adding color to my very blond brows. Once I looked at my darkened brows I thought twice about the enterprise; she thought I looked like Brooke Shields, I thought I looked like Bert from Sesame Street. But after enough affirmation from others around me and after I got used to the idea of doing my brows, I too realized how much better my overall appearance looked. Some beautifying techniques simply take time to get used to. For me as it turned out, it actually took a long time for me to perfect my brow look - It was two more years before friends had the nerve to tell me that one of my brows was way shorter than the other one. Oops. Luckily, I finally got the right formula and my brows are often the one thing people compliment me on. Keep on coming back every week and check out the scoop on the most egregious makeup mishaps and how you can steer clear of ever standing out for the wrong reasons!

This Week's Makeup Mistake:
Wearing the Wrong Foundation Color

We all have seen women walking by with makeup that is obviously too dark or too light for their skin. They just seem to blithely stroll along unawares. Nothing will diminish the look of your complexion faster than foundation that looks too dark, blotchy and uneven. A foundation that is too light is equally unattractive. Keep the purpose of foundation in mind: it is not supposed to mimic flawless skin by completely concealing every inch of your skin under a thick, packed on layer. In addition, foundation is not to be used to give your skin more "rosiness" or to make you appear more tanned (people will clearly see you are neither) it is simply supposed to even out your natural skin tone. What many women do not understand is: Foundation should match your natural skin exactly. Choosing the right color can be tricky so do solicit the help of a pro if you can; if not, bring a trusted friend with you and be sure to try at least 4 or 5 shades in different formulations - cream if you are dry, water-based liquid or oil free powder if you are oily (types of foundations will be posted in a subsequent entry).
Once you have 3 or 4 shades next to you to try, use a Q-tip to place a stripe down your cheek close to your mouth. Once you have striped your skin with the 4 colors, DO NOT blend them in. Simply let them sit on the skin in a thick stripe. choose whichever color seems to disappear best against your skin tone.

Put Your Stock in Minerals - Bare Minerals

Unless you have been living under a proverbial rock for the past couple of years, chances are you have heard about the latest foundation sensation - mineral makeup. The buzz is all over - from Sheer Cover makeup to Jane Iredale to perhaps the one company who really started the whole mineral craze: Bare Escentuals. So what exactly is all the fuss about? My husband sees me putting on my Bare Escentuals in the morning and chuckles saying "there she goes putting ground rocks on her face." He may be chiding me but when asked straight up how he thinks my skin looks he'll tell you I look great. The beauty of Bare Escentuals is it's simplicity - in every respect. Not only is it truly about as pure as "ground up rocks" (its only ingredients are bismuth chloride, mica, iron oxides and titanium dioxide) but its application is easier than any liquid ever was. It does take time to get used to applying the powder makeup with a big round kabuki brush which is the one complaint rookie users have about B.E., but this is really only a matter of acclimation to a completely new method to application. Once you get the general gist of "swirling, tapping and buffing" the product onto your skin, the result couldn't be better. I have personally witnessed hundreds, perhaps thousands of women who's smiles have gleamed after seeing their complexion in the mirror after I have applied the makeup. It simply looks terrific on the skin. That said, this makeup is not for everyone. Is anything in life?
The biggest critique I have of Bare Escentuals is their color selection for darker skins. Quite frankly - the deeper colors are the pits for anyone with golden undertones (and in my experience that is the majority of all individuals). About a year ago Bare Escentuals did release several new dark colors to their line and I anticipated their launch with great excitement. But alas, all but one of the shades were still way too pink and ashen. Some of the colors come up so pink on the skin that the woman's face is clearly lavender. Not since the smurfs have I seen anyone with true blue skin. But back to the bright spots of Bare Escentuals: for most fair to tanned clients this line of mineral makeup is a true winner. You can learn more about the line through Sephora's website.