Phenomenal Blowout Tips!

I love how the beauty mags seem to be reacting to the crummy economic situation. Finally, they're not all pitching products to us that we can't afford; instead they're giving us advice on some things we can actually use. I knew at least one good thing could come out of this recession!

My OMG moment came tonight when I was reading The 12/1/09 issue of Life & Style (with Robert Patton on the cover...love him!...and I came across the feature "Master a $200 Salon Blowout." Perfect timing--I was fresh from the shower with wet hair up in a scrunchie (I know! I intend to single-handedly bring them back...SATC be damned...they are my favorite thing ever for so many reasons...but I digress). I decided to try these blowout tips because I wanted to know if everybody else in Manhattan really does see a stylist weekly/have better hair than I do, or if I'm just lazy. Turns out it was the latter. I'm in love with my hair right now; like Homer Simpson in the Minoxidil episode, who fell in love with his own reflection in the mirror...I adore the way my hair looks right now. It was a little bit of work, but the article says that by using minimal product it should hold out for a week....we'll see!! Tips are from Kimberly Clo, creator of DVD "Now you know how to blow-dry your hair"

Step 1. Lightly apply a heat-protectant spray onto strands. Less product helps a blowout stay fresh-looking for at least a week. (I tried TIGI leave in conditioner; worked great)

Step 2. Start with an oval brush--the flat sides are great for creating straight looks, while the curve makes a soft curl. Then, to get strands super smooth, dry hair in pieces no larger than the width of the brush. (I don't know about this whole oval business--I used a regular old round brush and it worked just fine for me!)

Step 3. Follow these steps exactly!!! To section and dry hair like a professional: *Divide tresses horizontally from ear to ear. Move aside hair above ear line and pin it. Then divide bottom section of hair in half and blow-dry from roots to ends. *Unpin top section. Draw another horizontal line from temple to temple. Pin aside the hair above that line. Repeat previous technique with hair below. [key: make sure hair is TOTALLY dry before moving on to next section. don't rush it.] *Divide remaining hair into front and back sections. Blow-dry the back frist, brushing strands straight up to create volume. [this is important--wrap hair around brush, hold it straight up, and just unroll brush slowly inch by inch as exposed hair dries, thus exposing new wet hair] *Dry the front layers while brushing forward, then out and back--as if feathering hair--to create body around the face. [this was the part that amazed me most. I can't believe how much volume I got from my hair using zero mousse or any product with hold, for that matter!!!]

Step 4. Finish by rubbing a drop of lightweight styling lotion in hands and running it through hair from ear level down to the ends. Then glide palms lightly over hair from roots to ends. [I skipped this step b/c that stuff tends to weigh me down--again, my hair is fine. It's good for people who are using these tips to smooth out curls, though, or for those whose hair is dry and tends to frizz.]

If you try it, let me know how it works for you!!! I am so excited.... If I can motivate myself I will post pics over the next few days, to see if the blowout really looks cute for a week. It's hat weather in NYC, so I don't know how well it will hold up! We'll see!

You know you love me,
xoxo
!

Olsen Twin Eyes

I can't be the only person who was wondering how Ashley & Mary-Kate achieve that perfect smokey undereye effect. I love how it enhances their eyes, makes them look huge, and still manages to look intentional--not like their makeup ran, or like they have crazy dark circles. Though this is an MK & Ashley signature, I've also seen this look on Cameron Diaz, Katie Holmes, and in the Becca ads for summer. So when I had the opportunity to catch up with Becca National Artist Lynn Furge, I jumped at the chance to ask her how to make this look happen.

According to Lynn, it's all in the brush. You've got to have a good, clean brush to smudge--and the smudging is how you're going to get that clean, graduated effect with color concentrated at the lashline and evenly blended down to an imperceptible finish. The brush Lynn used on me was the Becca Eye Definer #30; at home, I've been using the Sephora Professionel All Over Shadow Brush Large #21 on myself, and I'm thrilled with the effect.

So I've been practicing, and here's the look I've come up with. I'm in love with it!

-Apply Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Linen to lid and lower lashline (to create a long wearing, creaseless base for shadows)

-Brush ID Bare Escentuals shadow in Faux Fox thickly onto upper and lower lashlines. Don't be too precise! This look should be quick and easy.

-Dab a tiny bit of MAC shadow in Embark just into the roots of the lashes.

-Smudge some powdery black liner just into the roots of the lashes--I use the black end of Becca's Ibiza pencil.

-Now take your clean smudger brush and, starting at the inner corner of the eye, press it down until the bristles smush out and down. This pushes the shadow down your undereye area in an even, graduated smudge. Now drag the brush out towards your ear. Repeat on the top lashline. This is the key step!

-Line the inner rims of your eyes with Kevyn Aucoin Eye Pencil Primatif in Basic Black. This is the creamiest, blackest pencil in the world, and I literally would die without it. It lasts all day and looks fierce.

-I like to throw a little more Faux Fox over my lid to smoke up the rest of the eye. This morning, I also dusted a little bit of Becca Jewel Dust in Nixie onto the middle of my lids.

-Finish with some Smashbox Bionic Mascara. I got a sample of this recently and I'm liking it a lot for its deep black color and thickening skills. I'm not getting a ton of length out of it, but the thick lashes are best with this look. My trick for making this work is to hold the brush in front of my eyeball and close both top and bottom lashes onto the brush at once. Then I wiggle the brush from left to right and messily smudge mascara onto my lashes. It's ok with this eye look if you get some mascara onto your skin--it's a little bit messy, a little bit morning after, and a little bit rock'n'roll!

Happy smudging!

RuPaul's Trick for Dark Circles

There are so many reasons to love fearless diva RuPaul.  Among other things, she's got makeup skills like no other!  At The Makeup Show, Becca National Artist Lynn Furge shared with me RuPaul's special trick for making those dark circles a thing of the past (this is an especially great trick for all divas with skin tones on the deeper end of the spectrum).  All you need is some Becca cream blush in Byzantine--a gorgeous, deep peachy-gold color (think Nars Multiple in Orgasm, only deeper, denser, and less glittery).  Apply a swipe of Byzantine over the dark circles; its orangey color will correct their blue-purple tones, and its shimmer will diffuse light.  Top with a great concealer (Becca's is available in a whopping 34 (!) shades; Alicia Keys can't live without it), and you're out the door.

Smokey Eye with Sharon Gault

This past weekend, I had the good fortune to attend The Makeup Show in NYC.  There, I managed to catch one of the keynote speeches given by celeb makeup artist Sharon Gault, muse to famed photographer David LaChapelle who has worked with Madonna, Courtney Love, Mariah, and countless others!  

Sharon did a hot smokey eye on one of the models there, and I took step-by-step notes on what she did and the products she used.  I've since tried this look on myself and on a client at Sephora--who promptly purchased every single product I put on her face!  Check it out:

1.  Sanitize your hands with Jao hand sanitizer.

2.  Prep client's skin with rosewater toner to take oil away.  (At Sephora, I like to use Caudalie's cleansing water for this purpose--you can remove eye and face makeup with a cotton pad, and it leaves skin fresh, soft, and prepped for moisturizer)

3.  Use eye cream--Sharon's choice: Embryolisse (the make-up artist's must-have!)

4.  Apply Embryolisse face cream over the whole face with a clean foundation brush.  This product works as a 3-in-1 as a moisturizer, primer, and makeup remover!  (an artist at the Make Up Forever boutique on W. 12th St. told me that guys can also use this as a shave cream in a pinch.  I've heard that this is the only cream that some models will let you put on their faces)

5.  Line eyes with black Face Atelier pencil.  This pencil is a powder-pencil formula, similar to that of Laura Geller's and Becca's.  Rim whole eye with black liner.

6.  Contour crease of eye with same pencil, drawing moon-shaped line.

7.  Use Face Atelier's gel shadow transformer and mix it with some gold powder pigment from MUFE (try Yellow Gold 920); apply over center of lid with brush, tapping and blending.

8.  Blend and smudge with a clean brush.  Add a touch of dark pigment to smoke up the area! (Try MUFE Star Powder in Black Gold 950).  While you're smudging, the eye should begin to take shape with two "points" under the brow; the smoked shadow should come to a point at the outer corner of the eye, like a wing, as well as under the thickest part of the brow (not under the arch).  This should create a subtle, smokey "M" shape.  I don't know why this works, but I tried it on myself and it does!

9.  Go back and hilight with MUFE Flash Color in Gold 4.  Smudge like crazy, until you're really well blended like this:

10.  Clean up any pigment that's fallen down onto the cheekbones with an Alcone makeup wipe (or more of your Caudalie cleansing water).  

11.  Apply RCMA foundation with your foundation brush, blending the right shade right on the client's face by adding the colors as you need them.  This palette is the one she used!

12.  If you're doing stage makeup, roll a little bit of MUFE HD foundation onto the face with a sponge.  This will give extra coverage and make the skin look perfect on the monitor.  (This product won't be available at Sephora until August, but you can find it now at the MUFE boutique in NYC)

13.  Press-don't brush-MUFE HD powder into the face using a kabuki brush.  Then use a small, clean blush brush to apply more HD powder under the eyes and around the nose. 

14.  Paint lips with a nude peach gloss.  (Try Nars Orgasm or Sephora Collection #21)

15.  Dab MUFE Flash Color in Coral 2 high on cheekbones for blush.  

16.  "mess up" eyes a little bit by adding some purple flash color (try Violet 22) to lids with your finger tip.  

17.  Mix Flash Colors in Black 11 and Brown 23 and line under eye again to finish messy, smokey look.  Voila!!!  Instant sex appeal!

(notice: Sharon's model already had on purple false lashes before she did the eye makeup; obviously, if not, you'll need mascara too!  I like a long wearing formula on top of a fiber-based primer; this one does it all, and lasts all day.)

Other pro-artistry tips and tricks Sharon shared with us:

1.  If working on set, keep an eye on the monitor and how your subject's makeup is looking on screen.  Remember that you're working for the camera, not for the eye!

2.  Touch your clients lovingly and sweetly.  If you're working with a celeb client, you might want to consider holding a large powder puff (like Laura Mercier's) between your hand and their face--some celebs prefer that you touch their faces as little as possible.

3.  Always communicate with your client at the beginning of your consultation, and ask them what they want!

4.  Consider lighting a candle at your makeup station.  Anything that smells good will make your client more comfortable and relaxed with you!  (I've also heard that Cinema Secrets brush cleaner will make your brushes smell lovely, and Jao makes your hands smell like lavender.  Don't forget to pop an altoid, too!)