Cute Makeup Tips

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Whenever I think of Anastasia Beverly Hills, I think of two things: brows and quality.  Of course, lately Anastasia has really been branching out and now makes a wide range of beauty products for the entire face.  The quality remains the same: solid. 


Coming soon is Anastasia's newest waterproof topcoat, Lash Genius.  This product will make your favorite mascara and make it waterproof with a few swipes.  It goes on top of your normal mascara and looks a little like a clear mascara.  It doesn't make lashes clumpy, doesn't feel heavy, and it doesn't harden your mascara. 

I don't normally wear waterproof mascara, but there are times when I should.  Some examples: when I'm at a wedding (I always cry!), watching a tearjerker, or listening to StoryCorps on NPR on my way into the office (those damn heart-warming stories get me teary every single time).  Seriously...listening to StoryCorp on NPR will make even the most cynical people burst into tears, and I've cursed my lack of waterproof mascara many a time.

Lash Genius gives you flexibility, which is nice.  It doesn't alter your normal mascara, but instead acts like a "umbrella" for your lashes.  Living in the soggy Seattle area, this is something I appreciate.

I've been trying out a sample of this, and so far, so good.  I like that I can't tell that I'm wearing it.  It also seems to last a good, long time, but since it's not heavy and clear, you could probably swipe on an extra coat if you're having an especially moist day (ew!  I hate the word "moist!"  Sorry about that!).

Anastasia's Lash Genius will be out (at Sephora!) in May 2012 and will sell for $21.  Check it out!

Wow.  I still can't believe that 2011 is almost over and that the holidays are here. If you're still working on your wish list, here are five things to consider:

Clinique's Black Honey Glow ($28.50): I  have had a pretty long-term love affair with Clinique's Black Honey.  I use it on my lips at least a few times each week, so it's no surprise that I love this kit.  You get mascara, blush, lipgloss, and an eyeshadow duo....everything you need for the perfect face.  And the shades are going to rock and be very flattering...it IS Black Honey, after all!

mark On the Dot Natural Eye Color Compact ($15): finding the perfect eyeshadow shades is an on-going quest for me.  I like a wide range of neutrals to play with (to dress up or dress down, as my mood or the occasion dictates). This compact includes 9 of mark's best sellers, so getting the right look will be a snap!

Sephora by OPI Glimmer Wonderland 18-Piece Mini Nail Colour Set ($48): this is the perfect gift set if you're like me and you paint your nails every week. For the cost of a few mani's you can get 18 different colors to play with.  The shades included range from fun and flirty to classic.  I bet you'd be happy to get this under your tree!  

Rembrandt Deeply White 2 Hour Kit (about $22): white teeth are always in, and this is the perfect addition to your beauty routine this season. The Deeply White 2 Hour Whitening Kit is a fast, enamel-safe way to whiten your smile in just two hours.  I've spent a ton of money (and time) on dental work in 2011, so making my teeth look great is high on my list as of late. Head over to the Rembrandt website for deets...and for a coupon!
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BirchBox (amounts vary; you can get a year for $110): this is the gift that keeps on giving!  Every month, you'll get a lovely little box filled with high end beauty samples.  I gave myself this and look forward to what's inside every month.  You can also buy products from their website and get discounts on featured products.  You never know what you'll find with this!

If you're wasting time on facebook, you should check this out, from Sephora:

School or work is on a break, time to look fab for Christmas! Here are some glamorous look for the Christmas season. Great for Christmas parties or just to look special every day during the holidays. Time to kick back and be a little creative with yourself this Christmas!









FLAWLESS SKIN

It's Christmas and the snow is falling. Nothing is worse than blemishes, freckles and dark circles on your face. Picture a snow princess or angel, porcelain and pristine. So let's ditch the bronzer and tan for a season!


Tip 1: Use a primer. It'll create the perfect canvas for your face that will help your makeup stay put and fill in pores.
Recommend: Smashbox Studio Fix, Revlon's Au Naturelle Primer

Tip 2: Conceal with a multicolored palette. Don't think that your skin comes in one shade. Our skin has many pigments. Use yellow for dark circles and green for redness.
Recommend: Benefit's multicolored concealer, Lise Watier (available only in Canada), Physician's formula Concealer Sticks. 


Tip 3: Mineral foundation. I know some of you really dread layers and layers of makeup on your face but full coverage doesn't have to be thick coverage. Try a mineral makeup. You buff on as many layers as you want and still feel like you are wearing nothing.
Recommend: Bare Escentuals foundation, Physician's Formula mineral foundation, Revlon's Mineral Makeup

Tip 4: Spray on some natural spring water. This will set your makeup so it will last all day. Believe it or not, having water on your face will make your makeup rather waterproof for those of you living in rainy or snowy places. Plus, it will hydrate your skin for the dry winter. So very multi-functional!



CHEEKS

Brrrrrrrr...it's so cold when you are outside in the snow. But don't you just love those rosy cheeks you get from being outside? That's why I think rosy cheeks will be perfect for the holiday season. Nothing better than naturally glowing cheeks that make you look like you just came back from a snowball fight!



Tip 1: Use one of those shade smart blushes. The ones with microbeads that turn into the perfect blush color for you when you put it on. This will give you the best natural blush ever.
Recommend: Almay Smart Shade blush, Smashbox O-Glow blush.

Tip 2: Apply it in the right areas. Smile and dab it right on those cheeks. Plus, blend blend blend.







EYES

My favorite part. Think gold, silver, green and plum. Just don't mix too many colors together or you might look like a Christmas tree. To make all the difference, remember to wear fake eyelashes.


Gold: The trick is to mix the gold with silver. Never apply gold alone or else it will look unnatural. Put silver on the inner corner of both your upper and lower lid and apply gold on the outer. Blend the two together. For an evening look, mix gold with brown to look sultry.

Silver: Also do not wear alone unless if you have really deep set eyes. Give your eyes some definition or your eyes will look flat like a white piece of paper. Give it some contour with gray or brown where your crease is and bravo, your silver will make you look wide awake for those present opening moments.

Green: Depending on the shade of green you pick, you can achieve different looks. I personally think matte dark green, like a Christmas tree is perfect for Christmas. It can be worn alone or just underneath your crease if you apply a similar matte highlighter on your brow bone. Also, contour those creases with black or brown for a smokey look. For those of you who like lighter green such as lime or forest green, go for a frosty look. Remember frost not glitter. Mix green with gold or silver. If you are a little on the wild side, try mixing it with pink for an edgier look.

Plum: To be used for evening looks. Here's your chance to have smokey eyes and stand out. I love plum and this will be the look I will be rocking most of the holiday season. Matte or shimmer, the possibilities are endless. Use plum with silver and I like to use a black shade on the crease to give my eyes some contour.



LIPS

Marilyn Monroe, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani. What do they all have in common? They are huge fans of red, bold lips. Me too but when I first tried red lips, it looked horrible. After some experimentation, I finally figured out why!




Tip 1: Use a lip liner. Contrary to popular believe, you are not supposed to match your lip liner with your lipstick. Match it with your lips because the point of a lip liner is to accentuate your lips, not your lipstick.

Tip 2: If you have thin lips or if you just want poutier lips, use a gloss on top. This will make the color underneath last longer.

Tip 3: Use one of those long lasting lipstick. One side with color, the other side with gloss. No doubt you will be munching on something throughout the day during the holidays. Nothing more annoying than reapplying every hour.
Recommend: Revlon's Colorstay Lipstick, Mac's Prowear lipstick, Maxfactor's lipstick.

For those with thin lips: apply gloss on top of your red lipstick. The trick is to make them look bigger. Matte red lipstick will shrink your lips, it did to mine.
Recommend: MAC red lipsticks and glosses, Clarin's Joli Rouge (my personal favorite)

For those with full lips: you will look gorgeous in matte red lipstick. It will look classy and elegant.
Recommend: Revlon's Matte collection lipstick (I'm in love with this one), Mac's matte lipstick

I have collected over the years 5 ways to make your eyeshadow stay. These tricks are easy and they work. This has been a very expensive question for me as I have spent an ample amount of time and money to find the best way to keep my eye shadow from creasing and fading for years. After many trials and errors, I can finally say that I barely have any trouble keeping my eye shadow on. Let me share with you my secrets and hope all of you will no longer experience this cosmetic hassle.


1. Prepare a clean oil free base

Create a clean base for your eyeshadow to adhere to. This means having a clean and moisturized skin. Also powder your eyelid area to absorb the excess oil before applying eyeshadow.

2. Use an eyeshadow primer

Using an eyeshadow primer can not only prevent creasing and fading of the eyeshadow but also increase the intensity of the eyeshadow. My favourite high end primer is the Urban Decay Primer Potion and my favourite low end primer is the Elf eyeshadow primer for a fraction of the price. You can also substitute a primer with a good concealer.

3. Use a cream eyeshadow base

Another option is to use a cream eyeshadow base that has almost the same color as your eyeshadow. This allows the powder eyeshadow to adhere to the cream eyeshadow and also makes the eyeshadow appear highly pigmented.

4. Wet your eyeshadow

Using your eyeshadow wet will not only intensify the look but also prolong the wear of the eyeshadow. I like to spray the eyeshadow brush with a fine mist of water or contact lens solution and then dip the brush into the eyeshadow. Do not spray too much liquid or it will not only mess up the eyeshadow in the pan but also your eyeshadow look.

5. Spray water or makeup setting fix

Set your eyeshadow with mineral water, water or a makeup fix like MAC fix plus. This also gives a dewy finish to your skin.

The most hyped palette at the moment would have to be the Urban Decay Naked Palette. It has been so popular that Sephora has been out of stock for months. The question is...is this an over hyped palette or does it really deserve its fame. I will provide an in depth review on this palette based on my two months experience with it. Enjoy!

Overview:

Suitable for: Very universal. Great for anyone who loves neutrals.

Pigmentation: Excellent. Some darker shades are more pigmented than others.

Price: Reasonable, great for what you are getting which is 12 gorgeous shades.

Versatility: Endless possibilities. Each eyeshadow can be used to create either a natural barely there look or a sultry smokey look.

Staying power: Very good alone and excellent with a primer. I find that it stays put better when used with a primer and a coloured or nude base rather than a primer alone.

Blendability: The smooth velvety texture allows room for blending for a seamless finish. However, too much blending may cause some sparkles to wear off and can result in a little bit of muddiness.

Texture: The texture is satin smooth and velvety. None of the shades are powdery or extra soft, which helps to minimize fallout.

Packaging: Sturdy suede expensive feeling palette with great portability. Comes with a large mirror inside the palette and a slot for the eyeshadow brush they provided. I like to pop in a dual ended eyeshadow brush so that all I need is one brush for the entire eyeshadow look.

Sin (champagne shimmer)

Naked (buff matte)

Sidecar (beige sparkle)

Buck (brown matte)

Half Baked (bronze)

Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer)

Toasted (taupe-bronze)

Hustle (mocha shimmer)

Creep (near-black metallic)

Gunmetal (dark grey metallic)

Not sure about you but I am personally not a huge fan of wearing fake eyelashes every day. I prefer wearing them for special occasions only. Besides, falsies aren’t exactly the most natural makeup accessory to wear everyday. Finally we have a solution to have real full, long and fluttery eyelashes; a lash growth serum. Yes, finally something that works. Read on about this falsies replacement serum: Rapidlash.




Rapidlash is a lash serum that helps to lengthen, thicken, curl, multiply and fortify the lashes.
Time varies between individuals but as a beauty advisor who gathered testimonials from my customers, it usually takes 3-6 weeks to see significant changes.


It applies like a liquid eyeliner at the base of your eyelashes once a day.



Length- The length of my own lashes increased by 40%.
Thickness-The fullness of my own lashes increased by 200%
Number of lashes- I noticed my lashes are densely packed together and new lashes are growing at the roots




As a beauty advisor working for a beauty store, I was skeptical about this item at first. I’ve heard multiple gimmicks about growth serums and they never seem to work. However, as each of my beauty advisor colleagues have tested this product, each and every one of them received astonishing results right before my eyes. It was then I decided to try it. After 4 weeks, my short study asian eyelashes grew like crazy and here I am today recommending this product to all of you girls who aren’t blessed with long, lush lashes. We have a cure!


I got my Rapidlash at this beauty site on OMG beauty shop. It is the cheapest place to buy it compared to anywhere at drugstores on the internet as other places retail for $60 and they sell it for $39.95! Below is their link:

http://omgbeautyshop.com/index.php/brushes-and-more/fake-eyelashes/rapidlash-eyelashes-renewal-serum.html
 

If I were stuck on an island and I was given the choice to bring one make up item with me, it would be an eye liner. Wouldn’t you? Eyeliners are the quickest way to make any eyes look defined or sexy. Despite that, eyeliners can be tricky to work with and sometimes we end up with raccoon eyes. Whether you are an au natural girl or a smoky eyed city girl, I will list some tips, looks and some of most appraised eyeliners to make your life easier.

The Look:

Super natural

Skip the eyeliner. Use a black or dark brown eye shadow with an angled eyeliner brush, smudge it along your lash line for a barely there look. Finish off with a coat of mascara. To intensify and prolong the shadow, wet the brush before application.

My product recommendations:

Lancome color design eye shadow in new black

Clinique color surge eye shadow in color surge

Revlon Color stay 12 Hr Shadow in Sterling Rose (dark gray color)

The Look:

Natural

Use a pencil eye liner. For a smoky and more natural look, a khol works better than a wax or cream based eyeliner but keep in mind that the khol may not be as long wearing. When using a pencil eyeliner, use short strokes and keep it at the base of the lash line. To prolong the wear of a pencil liner, set the line using an angle brush with eye shadow of the same color over the line.

My product recommendations:

Gosh or Bourjois Kohl

Lancome le stylo waterproof eyeliner in black

Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in point zero

The Look:

Dramatic

Liquid or gel liners will give you the definition for va va voom eyes in an instant. They tend to stay on longer but also require some practice. Before using it, practice drawing several straight lines on the back of your hand. Keep a q-tip by your side in case of mess ups. Use short strokes again and for an extra kick, add a wing at the end of each line.

My product recommendations:

Lancome art liner in black

Loreal Linear Intense liquid liner

Maybelline liquid works liner (waterproof)

Bobbi Brown gel liner

Shiseido the makeup fine liquid liner