Why Am I Just Discovering This Now?

The Beauty Blender. My new best friend~ Seriously - I was a bit skeptical but loving all things makeup I had to try it out. It is awesome! Sooo much better than a regular triangular sponge. You just dab dab dab and then blend a bit and voila - no foundation lines and perfect coverage. I'm not totally sold on the need to buy the blender cleaner (you can buy just the blender) but I did purchase it to try out.

It's not cheap but totally worth it IMO.

Fabulous Lashes

Today I'm going to demonstrate some techniques that will make your lashes look long and full no matter what kind of mascara you use. I'm going to be using Revlon Beyond Natural Defining Mascara. You should have already applied all your other eye makeup (basically shadow) already.

First I start by using an eyeliner brush and a cake liner to create a very fine line right up against my top lashline. This helps to make the lashes thicker without being a noticable liner line.

Next (and this step is optional - and should be saved for special occasions, not everyday) I take a soft black eyeliner pencil (in this case Rimmel Soft Khol Kajal Eye Pencil), lift up my upper lid, and line just below and into my upper lash line. Liquid liner would be to harsh here and powder might fall in your eyes which is why I use a pencil. The softer the better so you don't end up tugging on your delicate eye lid.

Next I curl my lashes and apply the first coat of mascara. I like to run the mascara wand over a tissue to get rid of any lumps. Starting at the roots of the eyelashes sweep the brush horizontally from roots to tip and wiggle a bit from side to side as you move the brush up. Repeat on the other eye. Let that coat dry for a minute and then repeat. This will add the volume to your lashes.

After you have finished the second coat, use whatever mascara is left on the wand to go back over your lashes but this time hold it vertically. Pull the want from roots to tip again but focus on the tips to add length.

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Voila!

MAC Stash

I got up early and kid is still sleeping so now I have time to post about the MAC makeup I got while on my trip. This is mostly for my kit but still fun to play with occasionally.

First is my Paint Pot in Bare Study*not the color in the picture*. I liked so many of them but with a limited amount of moola to spend I needed one that I could get the most uses out of. I think this will come in very handy for doing wedding makeup. It can be used as a base over the lid before shadows, or a hilighter. It's a nice neutral color. It's described as champagne with gold and white pearl.

I also purchased my first jar of pigment. I went out on a limb and bought a color I woudn't normally look at but it was so fun. Blue/brown is a deep brown with a blue/green reflection. The thing that is cool about the pigment is they can be used in so many different ways. As eyeshadow, lip color (though I probably wouldnt' use blue brown on the lips!), blush (if you have a pink version) etc. You can also use them wet or dry - and a small jar lasts forever as I've been told.

I've been lusting after the Slimshine Lipsticks for a while so I had to pick one up. The color I chose is called Scant, which is a mid-tone plum with gold pearl. It's a very pretty color - I wanted to keep it for myself instead of adding it to my kit - but I already have wayyy to many personal lip colors. It feels very light on the lips and I love the sheer color. It's not too shiny but is not matte either.

Last but not least I coudln't NOT purchase a Lip Glass. I love the new Viva Glam VI color so I had to get it. They describe it as a soft pink tinged mauve.

My Vacation Goodies

It's been a while - but I've been sans internet access for over a week and then had to catch up on housework, then we went backcountry camping for a couple of days. Whew! I think we are done for the summer. It really doesn't feel like we had much summer this year. Boo.

Anyway back to the topic at hand. While we were in Ottawa and Montreal I hit up Sephora and MAC and came away with a few goodies I wanted to share.

First of all I have some of this for my kit but because I have rosacea I wanted my own personal bottle so I picked some up. It is great because you can put it on even without foundation and it will tone down red areas without leaving a green color on your skin.

Also by Make Up For Ever I picked up some HD Invisible Cover Foundation. I LOVE it! IT is lightweight yet still covers well without looking like you are wearing a lot of makeup. It comes in TONS of shades so it's easy to match one to your skin tone. I found one that matched my pale skin perfectly . That's not easy. Normally I find something close but either a little too orange or a little to pink.

I needed a new under eye concealer so I decided to try Cargo's One Base. I do like it - it provides good coverage even on my extra dark circles. It doesn't make them dissapear completely but I don't think there are many products out there that could. The nice thing about this product is the quantity that you get with it. The tube is quite large so if you are only using it under the eyes it should last quite a long time.

You are supposed to be able to use this on your face for spot concealing also - but you would need a different color as its not a great idea to use the same color under your eyes as on the rest of your face. Your under eye concealer should be a shade or two lighter than the rest of your face - whereas your spot concealer should match your skin exactly. Too light and you end up drawing attention to the areas you want to hide.

I'm a sucker for eyeshadows so I also picked up a Cargo Eyeshadow Palette. The one I chose is called Vienna. It contains 3 brown toned shadows and one blue. The lightest color is a great hilighting color and the medium brown works perfect for everyday. The darker brown can be used as a crease color or all over the lid if you want to make blue eyes really pop. The blue is just a fun option for something different.

I'll be back to post about my MAC purchases later. I need to get some other work done this morning :P

Beyond Basic

I meant to do this post a while ago but between a week at the lake and then having a sick kid, I haven't been able to find the time.
The next look I'm going to describe is a bit beyond the basic look but not a full on evening out makeup look. It's something you would wear to work or when you want to feel a little more polished.

1. Start with a light to medium coverage foundation. You can use a primer if you so choose as it will help even things out but it's not totally necessary. If you have super clear skin you could mix together a bit of sunscreen and foundation and use this in the place of just foundation for a very light coverage with sun protection.

2. Conceal darkness under the eyes and then using your skin matching concealer or foundation stick conceal any blemishes and areas of redness. For blemishes remember to pat around the blemish (not over top) to blend.

3. Apply powder to set your makeup. Concentrate on areas with concealer.

4. Take a medium shade of eyeshadow in a neutral color or a contrasting color (to make your eye color pop) and apply it from the lash line to just above the crease. We'll save contouring for a more dramatic look later on.

5. Take your hilight color from the basic look and apply it to the brow bone and just above your cheeks.

6. Take a grey, brown or black liner and line the top lid close to the lashes. I like to use a powder and brush for liner during the day. I apply powder to the brush (angled), place the brush against my lashes and wiggle it back and forth gently. This gets the color inbetween the lashes and makes them look thick without having a noticible line.

7. Optional - fill in your brows with powder and an angled brow brush.

8. Curl your lashes and apply a coat or 2 of mascara.

9. Apply a natural looking blush and for a pop of color that will last a bit longer, take a bright pink and apply lightly to the apple of the cheeks.

10. Apply a natural pink, peach or browny pink lipstick and or lipgloss and you're finished.

I'm still in my pj's now so I haven't taken any pictures. I'll update later with some phots.

Basic Makeup

Basic makeup is one my my favorite looks because it doesn't take a lot of effort or time, yet you still feel pretty and polished when finished. It's the perfect look for everyday. Here are the steps that I follow when doing the basic makeup application:

1) Start with your foundation. No scratch that. The very first thing you should do EVERYDAY is apply a sunscreen to your face (and body if exposed). AT LEAST SPF 15.

If you feel you need some coverage use a light to medium coverage foundation. You may only need a tinted moisturizer or powder. Apply to the whole face or spot cover red areas and areas that need to be evened out.

2) Take your concealer (one to two shades lighter than your foundation) and cover the undereye circles. Take a different concealer OR stick foundation in a shade that matches your skin and spot conceal areas with blemishes or redness.

3) Apply powder. I focus on the areas that have been concealed( undereyes plus some on the lids for a smoother and even surface) and the t-zone.

*If you want to apply a bronzer for a bit of a sun kissed glow - now would be the time to do it. Apply bronzer to cheeks, temples and a tiny hint on the bridge of your nose and tip of chin.

4) Apply a hilighting color to your eye area, just underneath the brows. I either use Benefit's High Beam or today I used Rimmel Colour Rush Quad Eyeshadow in Chocolatine. You can also apply a bit to the corner of your eye right around the tear ducts.

5) Apply eyeliner just to the top lash line. Black is usually too dramatic for an everyday basic look, so I use either dark brown or grey. Get as close to the lashes as possible. I used Rimmel Extreme Definition Two-Tone Eye Definer in Vamp (the darker side).

6) Curl the lashes (unless you are blessed with long curly lashes). This helps to open the eye area. Tip: Squeeze the curler at the base of the lashes, move it up a bit and squeeze again, and then again at the tips. Instead of crimping the lashes at the base this will give them a bit of curl. For even more curling power use a blowdryer to heat the curler before you curl the lashes (but not too hot - you don't want to burn your eyelids accidentally!)

7) Apply one coat of mascara. I've been using either L'oreal Voluminous Original Mascara or Revlon Beyond Natural Defining Mascara. Tip: Wipe the applicator with a tissue prior to applying your mascara to remove clumps.

8) Apply blush to cheekbones. A peachy pink color looks pretty and warm on almost everyone. I really like NARS Orgasm. If you use a blush with a bit of shimmer skip this next step, otherwise...

9) Apply a hilighter to the tops of your cheekbones.

10) Finish with a swipe of a natural colored lip gloss ( I used Rimmel Vinyl Bronze Mirror Shine Lipgloss in Summer Nude) and Voila!

It looks like a lot of steps but it should really only take minutes.

Joe Fresh Makeup Review

When I was in the city on the weekend I popped into Superstore and was excited that they had the Joe Fresh makeup line. I've been wanting to try these products out for a while. I picked up 4 eyeshadows ($4 each), 1 cheek tint ($4), 2 cream lipsticks ($6), 1 matte lipstick ($6) and 2 eyeliners ($6).

I really like the packaging. It's very simple and clean looking. As for the products:

The first picture is of the lip sticks. I purchased from top to bottom: Nude (matte), Coral (cream) and Cinnamon(cream). The colors are very nice and the consistency is pretty similar to other brands. I really like the matte nude. I find it hard to find a nude that isn't too pink or peachy. This one is just right

At $6 it's hard to go wrong.

On the right is the Peach Cheek Tint. It almost looks coral rather than peach but it's a very nice color on. Next time I'm at the store I'll probably buy all the other colors!

For eyeshadows I picked up some pretty neutral colors, but they do have some brights as well. The colors on my hand are:

Dusty Rose, Pebble, Plum and Espresso.

I don't mind the shadows for the price, but I wasn't thrilled with the application. I found them hard to apply and blend. They are ok if you want to try out a new look and don't want to shell out a bunch of cash on something you aren't sure you're going to like.

I didn't try the eyeliners - but these are the colors I picked up. One is a grey/blue and the other is purple. Just for funsies.:)

I would definetly buy the cheek tint and lipsticks again but probably won't purchase any more of the eyeshadow.

Here I used Espresso and Pebble eyeshadow on the eyes, peach cheek tint and nude lipstick.

Beach Inspired

Ok - I really should be cleaning my kitchen since I'm having people over for a meeting tonight, but instead I'm procrastinating by playing with my makeup. It will serve me right when people come over and our house still looks like it was hit by a whirlwind and they will think I am the worst houskeeper in the world (and they may just be right).

I haven't had much time to play with all the new MAC eyeshadows I bought for my kit and I was suddenly inspired to create a beachy look. Not a bronze goddess on the beach look, more like there's an ocean on my eyelid look. Anyway here it is. For those of you new to my blog - this is quite a different look for me. Despite my affection for makeup I tend to lean to the more minamalist/natural look than anything. Still it is fun to play ( I just won't go pick up my daughter from daycare before washing this off :P)

I'll have to write down what I used later as I REALLY should clean up...Sigh.

Wow - this angle makes my nose look huge! HA!

Awesome Drugstore Concealer Find!

If there is one product I have tried a lot of it is concealer. I was genetically blessed with these lovely dark circles under my eyes. (Thanks mom and dad!) For the last little while I've been using Bobbi Brown correct and concealer, but I'm quickly running out. The other night I was talking to a friend and she told me that she LOVES this Rimmel Recover Concealer. I was skeptical because a) there were only 3 colors and I'm VERY fair skinned b) I've never had luck with a drugstore concealer. Well I was blown away!

Not only did it cover my circles, it had a very silky texture and dried to a matte finish. For only $7 CDN I coudn't really go wrong. I think I have a new favorite concealer!

Pre - concealer (ug yes I need to pluck!)

After concealer

Bad Day Makeup

Aka I woke up late and didn't sleep enough and look like crapola....

Being a new mom and working full time there have been more than a handful of mornings when I definetly didn't get enough sleep the night before. I'm also blessed with natural mega-dark undereye circles. The scary zombie look isn't very flattering on me, but some mornings I'm so tired and running short on time that I don't really feel like doing a full makeup application. What to do? How do you fake looking awake in a time crunch? This is what I did yesterday (please do your best to ignore the mop on my head, I'm growing my hair out and don't have an appt for a trim until Tuesday):

1) I started by washing my face and applying my facial sunscreen. After that I applied Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting primer to give a nice even base. I didn't plan on wearing foundation so I wanted my skin to look as smooth as possible.

2) If you are like me you don't EVER leave the house without concealer. I made that mistake once and you wouldn't believe the comments I got! Using my ring finger and patting gently I applied Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer (in porcelean) under my eye and to the inside corners beside my nose.

3) If you want your concealer to last you must set it with powder. For double duty (and because I wasn't planning to use shadow)I took a larger shadow brush and swept MAC Studio Fix powder all around my eyes. This helped to set the concealer and brightened and gave an even color to my lids.

4) Everyday I take a good look at my skin. I don't wear the same makeup two days in a row. Somedays a bit of spot coverage is all I need, somedays I wear a tinted sunscreen for a bit more coverage and some days if I want to look polished and professional I'll break out the foundation.

I have rosacea so I frequently have redness on my cheeks and around my nose. I like to use MAC Studio Stick Foundation on problem areas (instead of concealer) when I'm not applying a full coverage foundation. I'll just use it to cover up the red areas. Yesterday I only needed to add a bit around my nose.

5) Instead of applying eyeshadow I opted to apply hilighter to my brow bones, inner corners of the eye and my cheekbones. My fave right now is Benefit High beam. Add a few dots to the cheekbones, brow bone and inner corner of the eye and pat (don't run) with your finger until blended. Its an easy way to give your eyes some definition and make you look more awake - plus adding it to your cheekbones gives you a fresh glow.

6) To my cheeks I applied a cream blush - Stilla Convertable Color in lillium. On days when I don't wear foundation and powder I like to stick with cream or gel blush. If you apply a matte blush when the rest of your look is light and dewy it can look unnatural, plus powder blush is more likely to streak if you don't apply it over powder.

7) I curled my eyelashes to help open they eye area and applied a couple of sweeps of Loreal Voluminous mascara in Blackest Black.

8) I finished it all off with a coat of Smashbox Lip Paint in Artiste on my lips.

Voila! Like I said - it SOUNDS like a lot but really it only took a couple of minutes.

My Makeshift Makeup Kit

One of the things I really needed was a new makeup kit. Let me tell you - finding just the right thing (especially in Canada) was very difficult. Either they were TOO big or too small or shipping was going to be almost $100! After some trial and error I think I have come up with something that will work well for me.

It took a while to find the case. I found the organizers first and then I needed to find a case they would fit in! The one that they were designed to fit in has been out of stock everywhere. Last weekend at Michaels I found this scrapbooking supply case that works perfectly! I think the name of it is Scrap Paper Scissors.

To keep everything organized inside the kit I purchased some ArtBin Super Satchel plastic cases from an online art supply store. They are fairly deep and have removable dividers.

The Perfect Lip Color

It was lust at first sight yesterday. I went into Shoppers to check out the Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener and came home with this :

(I bought Artiste - the middle color). It makes me so happy. The color reminds me of a sparkling golden sunset at the end of a perfect summer day. Really. Thats what I think of when I look at it! I think it's a great color for spring/summer. My dilemma was do I buy it for my kit or buy it for myself. I'm selfish. I bought it for myself!

I also picked up this

(The peachy one) to add a bit of glow to my skin.

And this:

For a subtle glow. To top it all of my husband has no reason to freak because I used $55 worth of Shoppers Optimum points!

The Best Beauty Product for Spring

All year round for that matter. The best beauty product for spring, without a doubt, is sunscreen. Yes, you should have been wearing it everyday in the winter but let's be honest, did you? ( I know there were a few days I forgot).

Now that the snow is melting and the temperature is rising you're probably ready to expose some more skin. It's essential to make sure you cover any exposed skin with an a broadspectrum suncreen with an SPF of AT LEAST 15 everyday. This includes face, ears, neck and hands).

Sun damage is the numero uno cause of wrinkles, not to mention skin cancer and age spots. If you want a sun-kissed glow, try a bronzing powder, sunscreen with self-tanner or add a bit of bronzing gel to your sunscreen.

With the plethora for options available all year round, there really is no reason to bake your skin. Unless this is the look you are going for:

Feeding the obsession

So I went to pick up a USB cord for my home office printer (stupid thing didn't come with one!) and I had to go through the drugstore. While I was there I coudn't help but look at the makeup. I found this Sally Hansen lip stuff they don't have anywhere else in town and decided to give it a try. The price was right. I love it. I take the "Fully Fabulous" SPF 15 Lip Shield and then layer the "Fresh" Natural Butter Lip Shine over top. So purty!

Aaa Memories!

My very first lipstick. Christmas 1980something. Crayola brand.

How to Find the Perfect Lip Color

I hate to tell you this, but there is no easy way. I spent YEARS searching for that perfect lip color. I think I've finally found it, and yet everytime I am in the drugstore I find myself looking at all the lipsticks and glosses. I just can't help myself. Not that a person has to be limited to just one color. I may wear a different color everyday depending on my mood.

Back to the topic at hand...for an everyday color that will always look great, look at your natural lip color. Your best color will be a shade darker or brighter but not far off your natural color. When you wear it (even with no other makeup) it will make your whole face look brighter.

For most people this is going to be a pink, pinky brown or pinky peach shade. Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone to find the right shade. I was always looking at pinky brown, mauvy colors and noticing that I had about 20 variations of the same color at home. One day I decided to try Maybelline's new Shine Seduction liquid lipcolor. Instead of buying my regular pinky brown I picked up "Champagne Fizz" - a sort of peachy color. Well let me tell you - I LOOOVE this color. It looks pretty and natural and so far I haven't tried it on anyone that it doesn't look good on!

I think the Shine Seduction line is a great place to start looking for a lip color because the colors are very pretty and sheer, and even if you want to try something new like a cherry red, it's not going to be over the top dramatic.

The Right Colors

I've had many people ask me over the years " What colours should I be wearing". I'm not gonna lie, there is no easy answer to that. Sure there are guidlines that can be followed but they aren't going to work for everyone. I get frustrated when I read things that say if your eye color is this you should wear this. Many times they assume if you have dark hair then you will have darker skin, or if you have brown hair you will have blue eyes. HA! I have dark brown hair, blue eyes and pale pale skin that burns.

The point I'm trying to make is that it all depends on a variety of factors such as your skin tone, hair color, eye color etc. It's going to be a lot of trial and error. Something that looks awesome on your best friend might not look great on you and vice versa.

That being said, there are some ways to narrow things down:

Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. Are they green looking or blue, or a combination of both?
If they are blue you probably fit more into the cool range of things. You can probably wear blues, purple, grey, silver, white, black.
If they are green you are probably warmer toned. You would look at warm colors such as yellow, orange, red, peach, gold and ivory.

In between cool and warm is the neutral zone: pink, brown and green (bet you didn't know pink and green were neutral did you!)

That will give you someplace to start your search. Additionally you can look at eyeshadows in terms of your eye color.

Blue eyed people will ususally look good in:

• taupe
• light grey
• heather
• greyish brown
• purpleish brown

People with green eyes will usually look good in:

• yellow toned beige
• heather
• moss green
• greyish brown
• taupe

People with brown eyes will ususally look good in:

• grey beige
• medium brown
• khaki green

Sometimes you have to go a bit out of your comfort zone to find something that looks really fantastic on you. Thats' how I found my holy grail of lipgloss. (To follow in a seperate blog)

Drugstore vs Department Store

If there is one thing I have learned over the years from many many makeup purchases, it is that you don't have to spend lots of money on department store makeup to look good. Did you know that Lancome and L'oreal Paris are part of the same company? Many of the L'oreal products are the same or very similar to the Lancome products. Why spend more?

I've found you can get wonderful foundations, concealers, mascaras and lipstick/gloss at the drugstore. That's where I get most of mine (well except concealer - I have super dark circles so I need HEAVY duty coverage). There are two things I reccomend people splurge on: 1) eyeshadow and 2) blush. The reasons are the same for both. Professional eyeshadows and blushes are highly pigmented meaning a little goes a long way. You need to use a lot less than you would a cheaper version. (Oh and please don't ever use the tiny brush that comes with drugstore blushes to apply your blush unless you want to look like you have racing stripes on your cheeks!)

If I have a chance, later I will come back and post some of my favorite drugstore finds.

Why I'm here

8 years ago I took a makeup artistry course. I loved it. I've always been obsessed with makeup and doing makeovers (just ask my mom!). Unfortunately the time wasn't right for me to persue a career in makeup artistry. I had also just graduated from University and had $30,000 worth of student loans to pay off, I had no vehicle so getting around was difficult, and I didn't really have enough money to spend on a good kit. Most of the work for a makeup artist is freelance and I wasn't confident that I could make a go of it and still pay my rent and student loans. I got a full time job in radio and that was that.

Well fast forward to now. I still have a full time job that I like but I decided this is something I want to do for fun. I really enjoy makeup and I hope to be able to help others.

Thats the long and short of it. I hope I have time between my full time job in marketing and my new freelance job to come here and update this blog with little beauty tips, tidbits and advice.