Hot or Not Beauty

This season glamorizes one of my personal makeup obsessions which is eyeliner, so I decided to focus a bit on it regarding the types available, techniques and best options available on the market.

Eyeliner helps to create a stylized look to your eye that can range from a subtle allure around the eye to a full-fledged graphic black in a winged/cat eye shape for the ultimate sexy look.

Here’s the type of formulas available and product recommendations for desired look:

Eyeliner with eyeshadow:

Eyeshadow - Eyeshadow allows to create an eyeliner effect (with the help of a flat, small eyeliner brush like Make Up For Ever’s #2S) and can create a line without making it too harsh or obvious which can be practical for everyday look or if you work at a more conservative place but like to define your eyes. There are no color limits and you have the advantage of coordinating it with whatever eyeshadow you are wearing without aditional purchase:

Pros - Soft undefined line that are only limited by your selection of eyeshadows

Cons - Is not as long wearing as other formulas, highly stylized graphic designs are harder or impossible to attain.

Recommendations - Definitely an eyeshadow whose formula is high on pigment, shimmery light colors will prove almost invisible, less resistance to sweat and oil throughout the day. Personally I prefer a matte finish, but you can chose iridescent or pearly finishes if you decide to line with eyeshadow. I recommend Shu Uemura, MAC, NARS and Make Up For Ever eyeshadows for this effect.

Next we’ll explore other types of formulas, so sit tight.

Last, but certainly not least, we’ll go over key items to take with us in order to always look fresh. Once, while looking for a friend’s cellphone at a party, I found 4 lipglosses, three eyeliners, two blushes, two mascaras, two pressed powder compacts and wondered where was the need to bring all this with her. Usually accessories like handbags for more formal situations are of limited size and therefore don’t allow you such freedom of choice.

So here’s what I think you should bring and what you definitely shouldn’t.

Bring it on
Pressed powder or blotting paper - One or the other, if you don’t like to feel as if you’re caking on powder, then opt for blotting paper, the pressed powder should preferably be in the shade of your loose powder or make sure that it doesn’t alter your complexion. I like MAC’s blotting paper, as well as their blot powder compacts.
Lipstick and/or lipgloss - With sipping, eating and so on and so forth, lipstick and gloss (specially gloss) wears off and should be reapplied. Remember to fill in your lips with your lipliner in case you use it, so you don’t distract yourself and end up with just an outline of your lips. I’m not issuing any recommendation, as you should stick to what you applied at home.
Concealer/highlighter in pen format - I prefer Yves Saint-Laurent’s Le Touche D’Éclat or La Prairie’s Light Fantastic Cellular Concealing - Brightening Eye Treatment. You can also opt for Diorskin’s Skinflash, but I’m not crazy about the texture. These allow to bring an instant highlight to a darkened area without disturbing your makeup and without caking it.
Multi-Purpose Stick - If your skin can handle it, or if you have an oil-free version of it, I’m biased towards the NARS Multiples.

Leave at home
Foundation - Leave it at home and don’t cake it on, you won’t look better, you’ll look heavy
Mascara - I don’t think mascara should be reapplied, it will cake on your lashes and make them heavy and icky.
Eyeshadow - If you prime it well and use good products, you won’t need to reapply your eyeshadow, so leave it behind.
Eyeliner - Same as eyeshadow, if it has enough staying power, no need to clutter your purse or handbag

When touching up, always remember that less is more, it’s not a matter of how much you apply, it’s how you apply.

After evening out and perfecting your complexion, you have created the canvas for the next stages of makeup application.

Before applying your eyeshadow, apply a primer (like Urban Decay’s Primer Potion) and after it’s completely dry, use a large brush and apply a neutral eyeshadow the color of your skin tone to ensure that whatever colors you use afterwards will not stain.

Favorite eyeshadows:

MAC - Eyeshadow
Chanel - Le Quatre Ombres de Chanel
Shu Uemura

There are no rules regarding whatever eye-makeup should be for these types of occasions. You should consider the time of day and what kind of outfit you will be wearing and leave the more heavy and dramatic looks for evening rather than daytime. However there are no set rules, if you want to wear smoky black and deep red lips by all means do so.

Prefer a more holding eyeliner like a gel eyeliner rather than pencil (if you prefer pencil, then opt for a waterproof one) to assure that it will hold throughout the day.

Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liner
MAC’s Fluidline
MAC’s Powerpoint
Guerlain’s Loose Eye Kohl
Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream Liner
Make Up For Ever’s Cake Liner

I prefer waterproof mascara for these occasions, even if you’re not emotional you never know when an unexpected tear might appear, so be ready and bullet-proof.

I recommend one of Helena Rubinstein’s mascaras, they’re my personal favorites and allow all type of desired effects, my Holy Grail is Lash Queen. For a mascara primer, use the Shiseido one without a doubt. If you’re more daring then opt for false lashes.

Do your eyebrows with a dark pigmented matte powder, using brow brush that has hard bristles making sure that you don’t overdue the application to avoid the eyebrows ending up too dark and artificial.

Only consider contouring if it’s an afternoon/evening wedding, contouring in the daytime looks extremely artificial and you’ll be drawing attention to areas that you would prefer to keep minimized. You can add a touch of bronzer to the areas where the sun naturally hits your face, but avoid orange pigmented ones or those with too much glitter.

Unless your skin is dry/normal (allowing the use of a cream blush), opt for pressed or loose powder blush, applying it with a light hand to ensure a careful and controlled application (invest in a good blush brush as well) and while a bit of shimmer is perfectly acceptable avoid colors with too much glittery look to them, a softer, more formal look is quite often preferred and photographs a lot better.

Where blushes are concerned, my preferences go to MAC, Chanel and NARS.

There are no definite rules where lips are concerned, try to keep lip-lining as natural as possible and fill in your lips with your liner so you won’t end up with lined lips and nothing else underneath, keep your liner as closest to your lipstick color as possible and usually a creamier lip liner is easier to apply and blend. To avoid harsh lines, blend the liner with your lip brush.

My favorites are Chanel’s Le Crayon Levres and MAC’s Cremestick liner.

Add a touch of gloss for a pouty lip or lay it on for a more lacquered vinyl-ish look with:

Lancome’s Juicy Tubes
MAC’s Tinted Lipglass
Chanel’s Glossimer
Yves Saint-Laurent’s Le Touche de Brilliance
Dior’s Gloss Show
NARS‘ Lip Lacquer

After looking your most gorgeous, the next article will focus on what to bring in your purse to always look your freshest.

One of the biggest industry stables where blush is concerned is Nars pressed powder blush in “Orgasm”, and it is supposed to be the exact shade of a woman’s natural flush after… *ahem* cardio.

But is it, true? Can a shade of blush compliment every skin tone? In my modest opinion… well no. Don’t get me wrong I love Nars‘ blushes, I particularly appreciate the fact that they’re highly pigmented and still possess a sort of transparency that makes them look natural, but “Orgasm” doesn’t flatter everyone. Personally I think it’s only good for fair, light and light/medium skin tones and will select some other shade like “Exhibit A” for a deeper skin tone or for a more dramatic look.

Honestly, although it is a gorgeous pink/peach with gold shimmer there was a rather media hype around, considering the provocative name and the attributes given to the color. Deeper skin tones will just seem that they’re not wearing any blush at all.

I repeatedly see people making the same mistake: they will be excited with the hype of a particular color that they will completely ignore if that particular color is flattering or not, sometimes they are misled by the person behind the counter, sometimes not. So, the next time you’re considering a trendy color, try it out on yourself and think twice and explore all colors and shades.

The image of picture perfect skin and smoldering sensuality is the premise for Nars Fall Collection.

While lip colors range from beige, pinks and reds, the new eyeshadow duos have a metallic finish and allow both a more subdued and delicate look or a more intense glare.

I definitely recommend the Kalahari Duo Eyeshadow if you want a to give a metallic sheen and are fond of sexy neutrals and the Flamenco lipstick, because if you haven’t noticed, I’m a sucker for red lipstick.

For some reason the few collections I’ve taken a glimpse aren’t making me go wild, which is odd because I’m usually more fond of Fall/Winter collections rather Spring/Summer ones, however this year nothing so far has peaked my interest apart from the upcoming collaboration between Alexander McQueen and MAC Cosmetics.

Along with collection you get as well two new lip glosses in Chantaco and Tempest in sheer rhubarb and pink tones for all you gloss addicts. With no new products or formulations in view, NARS Cosmetics is keeping itself pretty subdued for the fall season.

It amazes me however that NARS hasn’t hopped on the mineral foundation bandwagon, leaving me wondering whether they’re still in the process of finding an adequate formula or are simply not interested at all.

Did you ever dream that cruises dictated a makeup trend? Well they do. Most major deisgners produce a cruise collection each year. You know, for those ladies who can afford to buy a complete new designer collection of cruisewear just for the occasion. While most of use get a new swimsuit, a pair of capris, a couple pair of shorts and a dressy gown for that special dinner night, cruise collections are extremely popular.

This brings us to makeup. Designers spend time in perfecting the makeup looks for their collection along with their makeup artist. Backstage at the Christian Dior Cruise 2008 Fashion Show, held May 14, 2007 showed the perfect looks to accompany cruise wear. Now a couple things to remember. One — maybe you aren’t going on a cruise, but cruise wear is in effect a type of spring clothing, so you may want to check out the spring trend in makeup as presented. Two– runway makeup or makeup done for fashion shows is exaggerated. Just look at what the focal point is in the makeup and then you can have an idea of what to emphasize in your makeup to step up to the trend.

Let’s look backstage at Dior:

Notice the bold brow. Do you want to wear a thick dark brow that brings back images of the beautiful Audrey Hepburn? Maybe that’s your style. Be careful, you could easily do the Groucho Marx look. But, the designer is trying to tell us to pay attention to our brows. Fill them in with a pencil or powder. Take to to acheive a beautiful full brow. Your eyebrows should be full, not necessarily thick, sculpted and frame your face. Check out how the eyes stand out even more prominently when eyebrows are defined.

In this next set of photos, look at how cheekbones are highlighted. What’s the message here? Well, a soft highlight on top of your cheeks is flattering and soft. Even if you think you don’t have cheekbones, they are there. Take a soft shimmer powder of a cream luminizer and dot on top of your cheek to achieve this look. I love NARS Multiples, try Cococabana. Laura Geller’s Beauty Dews which contains 3 luminizers to create a luminous highlight.

Last but not least, keep lips nude or neutral so that all eyes are on your eyes.

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I’ve been writing about Spring 2007 makeup, so take a peek at some of the best collections!
NARS “Charmed”
Inspiration:
A blend of simple and sophisticated: light, fresh pink sheer lips are accented by bold and daring hues of apricot and plum for eyes with just a hint of sparkle.

Includes:
• NARS Duo Cream Eyeshadow Compact, Thebes
• NARS Sheer Lipstick, Tutti Frutti
• NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, Calliope
• NARS Lip Gloss, Risky Business
• NARS Makeup Primer With SPF 20

Lorac “Pleasure Island”

Inspiration: Look like your favorite celeb – just back from an island vacation with sun-kissed skin. Sparkly hues for eyes, cocktail-flavored lips, and lashes meant for the red carpet will keep you looking fresh and fabulous.

Includes:
• LORAC protecTINT Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30, Dare to Bare
• LORAC Cheek Stamp Satiny Powder Blush, Golden Glow
• LORAC Publicity Stunt Lashes Long-Wearing Mascara, Black
• LORAC Maui Wowie Full Face Kit, Limited Edition ($90 Value)
• LORAC Mocktail Flavored Lip Gloss, Maui Mai Tai

Vincent Longo: Sheer Beauty
Inspiration:
The youthful spirit of Spring is here with a soft and sheer natural look. Start by applying a flawless complexion and add touches of flushed colors to cheeks and lips.

Includes:
• Vincent Longo Duo Lip Pencil, Soft Pink/Spring Rose
• Vincent Longo Water Canvas Creme-To-Powder Foundation, Bisque
• Vincent Longo Water Canvas Blush, Savannah Fresh
• Vincent Longo Baby Balm Lipstick SPF 12, La Dulceta

Of course there is no need to buy every piece in every collection, the point is to do a makeup update. A pretty new lip color, lighten up your cheeks for spring or try something new on your eyes.

Get shopping!

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I love the Spring 2007 makeup trends. They are wearable and reasonable. Trend #1 that I wrote about was the heavy metal influence. Wearable metallic eye shadows. Spring makeup Trend #2 was a bold lip. Now, mind you, each trend isn’t meant to be worn all at once. You would definitely be a victim for the makeup police. And remember, trends are just that — fleeting. So take your pick and wear it well.

There is no better way to look fresh for spring than to add a touch of blush to the apples of your cheeks. And fortunatley, pink blush is a easy-to-apply spring trend. Makeup brands are behind this trend, as well as designers. The flushed pink cheek was seen on runways and is being featured in spring editorial makeup. Michael Kors models sported a clean fresh face that featured pink cheeks.

Carol Shaw, founder of Lorac features a soft pink cheek using her Cheek Stamp blush in Hibiscus (glimmering rose) or Pink Paradise (vibrant pink).

The pink cheeck interpreted by Lorac. Notice the soft pink lips and soft pastel shadows that compliment the soft flush of pink on the cheeks.

Bobbi Brown, the Grand Dame of natural beauty also does the pink cheek justice. Again, notice the soft eyes and mouth that accompanies this makeup trend of soft pink blush.

Long time frangrance house Guerlain does the updated pink cheek in it’s spring makeup collection.

My favorite pink blushes:
NARS Desire blush A yummy cotton candy pink. Perfect for porcelain to medium skin tones. Nars blush in Sin is ideal for deeper skin tones, olive to chocolate.
Laura Geller Pink Grapefruit Baked Blush — a sheer pink with golden luminescent light diffusers. Good for all skin tones, light to deep.
Cargo blush in Catalina for all skins tones. Lyon for deeper tones.
Smashbox blush Radiance (radiant fuschia) — perks up all skin tones, in particular deeper tones.
MAC Powder Blush in Desirious or Frankly Scarlett. Both are awesome on all skins.

Flushed pink cheeks are a HOT Spring makeup trend!

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When nude lips first became vogue, I was horrified. Even though I am a makeup artist by trade, I just couldn’t get with that non-lip look. Slowly but surely I was won over. It was sort of like when Bobbi Brown introduced the natural “browns” in lipsticks. I thought this is the ugliest trend ever. Who the heck wants brown lips? Well, that trend was here for quite awhile, and Bobbi Brown is now a household name.

The nude lip though has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for many women. For example, the girl with virtually no lips. You know, thin, where-are-they lips. Nude lipstick and in particular nude glosses have been their saving grace. Let’s go back to art school for this principal of light and dark. Dark makes objects appear smaller (that’s why we love to wear black) and light makes things appear larger (that’s why we paint small rooms in light colors). The nudes act as an optical illusion if you will. Adding that light to the lips, makes them appear fuller. Why not pay $20 for a plumping nude colored lipgloss as opposed to hundreds for collagen or Restalyn?

Stars certainly love the nude look. I remember when Jennifer Lopez sported a Bourjois Lipgloss for a certain photoshoot, the sales were off the hook for that brand. Jen has that signature nude lip. On occasion we see her with a vibrant red, but for the most part, she is that nude lipgloss girl.

Back to makeup artistry. As an artist, you learn balance on the face. So if eyes are the focal point, the mouth should be softer. If the mouth is the focal point, then eyes should be soft and fresh. This is when the nude lip became so popular with the smoky eye look. When a woman is wearing heavy, dark makeup on her eyes, the last thing she needs are lips that are fighting with her eye makeup. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls and Beyonce’ are both women who rock this makeup combination of dark eyes and nude lip.

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Spring makeup trends encompass several key looks. Metallics, bold lip, flushed pink cheeks and strong brows. Remember, the key to a trend, is interpreting it so that it fits your personal style. Let’s look at bold lips today.

At the designers shows, bold lips were shown in a variety of ways. Geisha style, with a nude face, and in all colors. What can we lay people take away from this? That you can wear your bright bold lip with different makeup looks. A fresh clean face with a bold lip will be quite refreshing for Spring. Sophisticated makeup, (think Geisha) works well with a bright red lip for spring.

Dior Couture interprets the bold lip Geisha style. Lacoste, aware of their clean sporty image, interprets the bold lip real world style. Tuleh also showed the bright lip with a clean face. A trend we will definitely be seing this spring. It looks like desgners and makeup artist were on the same page. Diesel also showed a clean face with bright lips.

The bold lip look can be easily worn for day and night. For the conservative career woman, the college girl or for a night out on the town. It’s definitely a club look and it’s for the ladies who lunch.

Sephora interpreted the look with a Cargo PlantLove™ Botanical Lipstick in Maria, $20, a sheer-but-bold red shade.

Other bold lip choices:
Gloss: Stila Lip Glze Cranberry (sheer brick red)
Sheer Lipstick: LOLA Ali (medium violet red)
Lipstick: Vincent Longo Gel-X Lipsticks Enhanced With Lip Plumping Moisturizers — Coast (berry plum cream)
Stain: Nars Lipgloss Stain Rage (rose coral)

Here to bold lips — HOT!

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Bronzer has become a year round makeup staple. Where once it was used to just give that aura of having sunned in the tropics, now women (and) men use bronzer to look refresed and to fake a tan. I have worked with many many bronzers, and have my favorites.

My Top 5 Bronzer Picks:

1. NARS Bronzer in Casino or Laguna
Okay, you all know I love this makeup line, and the bronzers are beautiful. Never orange, but just the right amount or warmth. Casino is the perfect bronzer for darker skins and the best countour powder I’ve found. With the slight shimmer, skin always looks luminous.

2. Cargo Bronzer
Generous sizes and light, medium, dark and matte finishes. These pretty bronzers warm the skin without streaking or looking artificial. The option of a matte finish is ideal for those who don’t like a shimmer in their bronzer.

3. Laura Geller Bronze and Brighten
Not only is this a beautiful bronzer that works on all skin tones from light to dark, but the bronzer works double duty as an eyeshadow, eye liner, contour powder or “foundation” for darker skin. Balances the tone of ruddy and yellow skins. It’s actually a baked liquid — pretty awesome technology.

4. Guerlain Terracotta
Terracotta has been a mainstain bronzer for years. Guerlain was making bronzer long before other companies even thought about it. While their earlier versions tended to make skin look a tad orange, of late this bronzer has just gotten better and is the Grand Dame of Bronzers. I like the matte finish in particular.

5. Stila Sun
My favorite is the original, but now there are sheer and matte versions of Stila’s lovely bronzing powder.

Application tips:Use a big fluffy brush. Lots of brands sell a bronzing brush at a ridiculously high price. Sephora has a retractable brush for $19 which is a good buy for your bronzer brush. If you can find one cheaper, let me know.

Brush bronzer over the points of the face where the sun would naturally kiss it with color — forehead, cheeks, chin and across the nose.

For more intense color, buff the color into the skin.

Bronzer can keep your looking fresh in the midst of winter, so go ahead and give yourself a little warmth.

Bronzer — Hot.

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Winter skin with the blahs is just not cute. Ok, so it’s been a few months since you have seen some sun. That’s no reason to look like you need a vacation in St. Barts. Trying looking like you just returned from a lavish sun drenched vacation and are oh-so-rested. Just a few little makeup tips will do the trick.

1. Exfoliate and Moisturize.
Get your skin glowing with a good scrub and a drink of water. Exfoliate dry dead skin with a powerful scrub. Try Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion. What it is: Magnesium oxide crystals that polish away dead skin cells, leaving skin radiant.

What it is formulated to do: Diamond shaped crystals exfoliate evenly without scratching or irritating the skin to smooth fine lines and wrinkles and improve the overall texture of the skin.

After exfoliating, plump up skin with a good moisturizer. My new favorite moisturizer for day is Laura Geller Moisture Compound SPF 30.
What it is:
The best of all worlds: daily moisturizer formulated with nurturing shea butter with an airy, whipped texture, and antioxidant vitamin E, plus a UVA/UVB sunblock of SPF 30.

What it is formulated to do:
This lightweight moisturizer helps maintain the skin’s moisture balance and contains important ingredients that help impart a younger, brighter appearance to the skin.

What else you need to know:
Vitamin E has been added for antioxidant protection and an SPF 30 sunscreen keeps your skin shielded from the sun’s harmful rays. Fragrance-free and oil-free and comes in an “airless” pump so you can get every drop.

2. Get Blushing
Fresh rosy cheeks make all the differnce in a blah or ohhh la la appearance. Try a blush with a hint of pink or rose to do the job. Try NARS Outlaw or Cargo in Mendocino. These are the perfect powder blushes to give that hint of life to your cheeks. For creamy color I love BECCA Cream blush in Amaryllis or Lotus which is the perfect complement for darker skin tones.

3. Luscious Lips
Keep the rosiness going on the lips too. Try a rich lipstick on rose tones (they make your teeth look whiter) or a ultra shiny gloss in the same color family. Try Vincent Longo Lipstain SPF 15 in Genasai, a fresh raspberry or Tarte 24/7 Lip Sheer SPF 15 in Friday, which is gorgeous on all skin tones, light to dark. For perfect poutable lips, try Stila Cherry Mint Plumping Lip Glaze.

Apply these few tips and your skin will go from blah’s to aaaahhh’s in a matter of minutes!
Fresh radiant winter skin, definitely HOT!

All products available at Sephora.com and select Sephora stores.

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No doubt you brought the year in with a bang, so why not go out with equal impact? For some, New Year’s Eve Partying is non-stop — music, dancing and drinking. For others, the evening may be more intimate, with dinner and a toast to the new year. Either way, here are some makeup tips to help you sparkle and shine as you bring in the new year.

For the party girl who plans to get her groove on way past midnight, makeup longevity is key. So not only not only is long lasting makeup of importance important, but how you apply it is too.
New Year’s Eve this year falls on a Sunday, so you are able to get plenty of rest, eat something and drink plenty of water before that ball drops in Times Square at midnight.

Everyone can start with the basics:

1. Prep skin well with moisturizer and primer. Laura Geller Spackle and Smashbox Photo Finish.

2. Apply Foundation. Keep it light, only applying to areas that need coverage. Usually under eyes, around nose and mouth. Feather out to cheeks. Try a foundation brush for airbrush quality coverage. $24 at Sephora.

3. Set with loose powder. I prefer a velour puff to set powder.

4. Apply a blush with shimmer. My favorites are by NARS. Bump it up a notch from your usual day times application. Take your loose powder over your blush again to set it. (using a big powder brush)

5. Try Smoky Eyes. Click here for step by step.

6. Finish with shimmery, glossy lips. For long lasting gloss, try Laura Geller Lip Stay in Pucker or Pout. These dual sided lip colors have stain on one end and gloss on the other. So your lips shine and you have color for hours.

Final tips for long lasting makeup:
Set Eyebrows, eyeliner and lipcolor with BeneFit SheLaq. Makeup won’t party!
Carry a compact for shine touch ups.

Go ahead, get your party on!

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