Big lashes, Tangerine Lips, Peaches and Cream Skin, Oh My!

Adios Winter! Spring is here and I for one, couldn't be more pleased to say goodbye to my winter blues! I am excited to share with you a few of my favorite 2013 Spring Trends....



Coral and Tangerine lipstick are my favorite color hues for lips. It's a classy and sophisticated alternative to red. Wear the bold hue with a minimal eye and a paler coral with a smokey eye.

Lashes! I am a huge fan of trio lashes, three lash pieces on one strand. These blend in effortlessly with your natural lashes for a dramatic pump to a smokey or minimal eye makeup look.

Give any complexion a Peaches and Cream look with the right blush shade!

Fair skin with a warm undertone should use an apricot shade as an overall highlighter. A strong peachy yellow tint goes well with your coloring.

 

Fair skin with a cool undertone should use a peachy-pink color because it balances warmth. Try a whipped texture for a natural, flushed from within look.

 

Medium skin with a warm undertone should try an amber hue, which will make you glow. The mix of yellow, orange, and beige gives a subtle dimension to medium-warm skin.

Medium skin with a cool undertone will benefit from a balance of pink to achieve a subtle spring flush. Try a sheer tawny rose shade on the apples of cheeks.

Deep skin with a warm undertone could easily pull off a neon bright with their strong warm base and deep golden undetone. Choose a cream base formula for a luminous sheen.

Deep skin with a cool undertone needs an orange powder with a strong neutral base for their cooler skin tone that radiates tangerine tints. Keep it looking like a natural flush!

 Enjoy the warmer weather to come as we look forward to the summer trends!

To Prime or not to Prime

So....Your makeup slides off your face or disappears during the day. This is a common complaint I hear a lot! Are you using a primer? If you don't know what it means to prime your face, listen up... I'm about to make your day!

The 24 hour holding agent for your foundation, why not? We paint our nails, our house etc., why not our faces? When building a beauty regimen for ourselves, a face primer is often overlooked. Back in the day, makeup artists didn't have high tech primers that produced amazing effects such as refining our skin's texture, evening our skin's tone, or minimizing our pores.

When selecting a primer, think about what it is that your skin needs. Is it for photography or for everyday, with a bit of SPF? A primer with silicone is excellent for giving makeup that fresh look, but can show shiny spots in photography. If you have a color correcting issue like redness, opt for a color correcting primer with a green pigment, while a pink tint can liven up a dull complexion.

Whatever your foundation problem is, it's sure to be corrected with a primer suitable to your skin type. You will be so glad to know this come the hot humid months of summer!

Blah....January.

The only good thing about January for me is my sweet Momma's birthday. The weather we are having where I live is dreadful and the holiday spirit and glitter is all but erased. Yes people, I have the blahs....

This is suppose to be the new year and the start of new beginnings, I should be revived and joyful! Instead, two weeks into January and I have the winter blues. If you are with me, we need some mood enhancing beauty products to perk us up. Here are three products that have made me feel more like, maybe getting on my exercise bike? :)

I am starting with Aromatherapy, the smells of peppermint, grapefruit, and lemon can be inspiring and invigorating to say the least! I am currently trying John Frieda's root awakening to invigorate and energize, because let's face it, those are the key words here! This shampoo and conditioner gently cleanses your hair with a scent of peppermint and a slight cooling sensation. I would also suggest a visit to the Bath Junkie to create your own blend of inspiring scents.


Moving onto the category of dull and dry skin, try incorporating a lotion with some caffenine such as Jergen's Skin Firming Advanced Moisturizer. Nothing is worse than dull itchy dry skin! It's hard to believe that caffiene not only gives you energy, but can also diminish the look of fine lines and cellulite when used over time.

Lastly, a punch of color for my cheeks. Loreal Visible Lift cream blush in a peachy color that is infused with tourmaline pearls to bring about that radience that is lacking this time of year. It's a hybrid cream/ powder formula that won't settle into pores and fine lines, but rather gives you a flawless even tone.

I hope your moods will be lifted with anything you decide to try and keep in mind that Spring Break isn't too far off!

Tis the season for a red pout!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Someone asked me if I buy a new red lipstick every season, of course I do! I am also constantly asked about how to choose the right shade of red for your skin tone, so here is a little direction in that area....

If you’re very fair with a porcelain or ivory complexion, you should go for sheer colors. 

If you wear a sheer red it could be warm or cool. You don't want to look gothic so you want something sheer so it’s a lot more wearable. Almost between a lipstick and a gloss.  Also for light skin tones if you’re going to go with the lipstick rather than a gloss, select a red shade with a blue undertone. A good way to test if your lipstick has a blue undertone is by marking on a plain white piece of paper to see if it has more blue, yellow or brown tints in it.

When you are medium-olive toned you can go a little cool and a little warm. A lipstick with a little yellow and blue combined is good. Many red colors have either a yellow undertone or just brown or blue. Medium skin tones can do all of the above! So lucky..:)

For darker skin tones, you need a darker, richer, burgundy red. A little of brown and yellow undertone. The problem with dark skin is a too blue undertone looks too pinky so you need a burgundy or brown base to it.

Far too often women miss out on wearing this wonderful shade for fear of picking the wrong color, I hope this helps, so you can have some very merry lips this season!

Golden Eye

Golden eye.... Sounds like a James Bond movie right? Not this time....It's the golden look carried over from summer, with a little kick that will warm up your holiday!

I have been obsessed with gold eyeshadow all summer and now it's time to take it into this season , but punch it up a little for a dramatic smokey look that's different from the traditional smokey eye. The key to this look is in smudging/ blending the liner!


Step

1. Prep and prime face

2. Sweep a velvety gold or bronze gold shadow from brow to lid. I use MAC shadow in Woodwinked because it's one of my favorites.                

3. Optional to take a medium brown shadow to the crease.

4. Take a darker brown like Urban Decay's Twice Baked Chocolate Brown and line upper and lower lash line.

5. Highlight your brow with a white shimmer shadow such as MAC Dazzelight.

6. Use a black liner to tightline your eyes for that added "pop!"

7. Coat with black mascara.

This is the look that will enhance any eye color and goes with just about any outfit for this season.

Tightlining

   
I just  love when I disover a new technique that changes my beauty routine...For me such a discovery was Tightlining, a technique to give you the illusion of a bigger, more natural eye... It's perfect when you want to give off that "not trying so hard" beauty vibe!

Tightlining is when you apply liner to your upper lash line, sort of like drawing roots on the underside of your upper lashes, right at the waterline to make your eyes stand out and give the illusion of fuller lashes and bigger eyes.

How To Tightline Eyes with Pencil or Gel Eye Liner

1.Using clean fingers, gently lift your lashes upward (this step is only necessary if you find it easier to tightline). You'll see tiny gaps between your lash hairs, which you'll be filling in with eye liner.

2.Using either a gel or pencil eye liner, lightly dab the eye liner in between each individual lash (as close to the root as possible), to fill in your lash line and make it look fuller. Start at the the inner and work to the outer corner of your eye.
3.To intensify the look, tightline your bottom lash line as well. It's the same concept as the top, but you'll be filling in the space between your lower lashes.

 

Tightlining is my favourite elegant ‘no makeup’ makeup look. For people who prefer nude makeup or light makeup, but still want to appear awake with deep eyes, tightlining is the way to go!

 

 

 

 

Bridal Makeup Breakdown: Bride Christine

My bride is gorgeous to begin with, but I love seeing how makeup transformed her into a more glamorous version of herself. I never want my bride to look like the makeup is wearing her. My pet peeves for bridal makeup is when the makeup is too caked on, the eye makeup and brows are too severe, and the lips are too over done.

The look of the day had a classic feel with warm tones to go with the exceptionally hot Tennessee heat wave! The makeup I chose for Christine had soft hues of gold, latte and chocolate that suited her skin tone very well.
 Here is a list of products I used to create her look on this most special day!

Face:
Airbrush Foundation in Natural Beige
Concealer in Light/Medium
Makeup Forever HD Setting Powder
MAC Blush in Blush Baby

Eyes/Brows:
MAC Brow Pencil in Coffee
MAC Dazzelight as a highlighter
Chanel Ombre Shadowlights in Chahut in crease
MAC Brun Satin eyeshadow on lid
MAC Eye Khol in Smolder to line eyes
Lancome Definicils Mascara in Blak
Andrea Individual Lashes

Lips:
MAC Nice'N' Spicy Lip Pencil Pro Longwear
MAC Viva Glam Lip in Angel
Hard Candy Mouthing Off Sheer Lip Shine in Sweet Treat

Brittany Connor Photography did a beautiful job of capturing the beauty of this bride!