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Products of the Week 3.9.13

10.3.13

When compiling my group of products this week, I wanted to get outside the box a bit. We’ve covered eye creams, concealers, etc and they are fantastic, but today I want to show you some products that aren’t at your standard department store counter.

1. Make Up For Ever Aquarelle ($21 at Sephora.com).

This product is incredibly versatile. It is a liquid that can be used in a plethora of ways. I use it in my airbrush gun (for those fellow MUAs), I have used it straight out of the bottle with a liner brush, it can be used as eye shadow, etc. My recommendation: chose one of the lighter (or brighter!) colors and using your ring finger, dip your finger on the lid of the bottle and pat the color all over your lid, blending well. (Note: a LITTLE goes a LONG way, so start with a tiny amount). Then, using a liner brush, apply the black along the lash line to create a perfect winged cat eye. The color will last all day without touch ups!

Untitled 2 Products of the Week 3.9.13

2. Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in # 13- Warm Beige ($23 at Sephora.com).

The Aqua Creams from MUFE are one of the longest lasting products I have found to date. I keep this shade (#13) in my kit and use it as a highlighter for the entire face. My recommendation: Dip your ring finger into the cream and apply it to the top of your cheekbones, your inner corners of your eyes, brow bones, cupids peek (the top, middle of your top lip), and collar bones. The effect cannot be seen when looking straight at the face when close up, but when the light hits those places, it bounces off and you have the appearance of glowing skin. I use this on ALL my brides and often in photo shoots. The glow that is created is simply gorgeous.

3. MAC #217 Blending Brush ($23 at MacCosmetics.com).

When applying eye shadow the the crease, it is so important to blend blend blend. If you do no blend properly, you have a dark, crisp line just above your brow bone that looks messy. The solution? This brush! I do not use a lot of MAC products and tend to favor Make Up For Ever products, but when browsing my local MAC store, I cam across this brush and could not pass it up. My recommendation: Apply you contoured eye look as usual (lighter color on the lids, darker color in the crease, etc). When you have applied all your colors, use this brush (clean, with no product on it) and using a firm hand, blend all the lines until they are buffed to perfection. You will find many uses for this brush, but this is my favorite!

4. Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation SPF 15 ($65 at SpaceNK.com).

I am completely in love with the entire Ellis Faas line- the performance, the pigmentation, the presentation, the storage, etc. I love it! One product I absolutely cannot live without is the foundation pen. Now let me preface with $65 is quite a bit of money for foundation, but you do get a refill with it. So it ends up being twice as much as the pen can hold. Being that I only use the pen for under eye concealer, I have found it lasts me a very long time- months. I have used their concealer as well and I love it for blemishes and such, but there is just something about the Skin Veil Foundation that gives me the perfect coverage for my under eyes. My recommendation: pump once every two days (or two applications), drag the brush back and forth under your eyes to spread the product and then with your ring finger, blend. It melts into your skin beautifully and covers any hyper pigmentation under the eyes.

I hope you love these products as mush as I do! If you try them, please let us know your thoughts

New York Fashion Week- Behind the Scenes: Makeup for Tracy Reese with Mally Roncal

13.2.13

We had the opportunity to go backstage at Tracy Reese’s NYFW show and speak with the always incredible Mally Roncal. She was warm and gracious and broke down her steps in creating her Tracy Reese’s exclusive look. Please click the image above to see our interview with Mally (NOTE: The video is loud and there is a lot of background noise… it’s loud in those tents! Please turn your volume down before playing.)

For Glowing Skin: Mally used her Glow Primer as a base and to create a subtle glow. She topped skin with her Diamond Unpowder which uses a unique moisture delivery system to keep skin looking fresh, fabulous and radiant all day long. Then, to give the skin even more glow, she used her Effortless Airbrush Highlighter on the cheekbones and used her blush Mally’s Baby on the apples of cheeks. Each model finished with her Evercolor Poreless Face Defender to seal in makeup without a cakey finish.

For a Bold Smokey Eye: Mally created an artistic smokey eye. For this, she used the black eyeshadow from her City Chick Smokey Eye Kit in Soho Silver all over the lid. Then, she bent a clean mascara wand to each model’s specific eye shape, before dipping it in her Evercolor Silk Eye Defining System in Jet Black to smudge it out on the ends of eyes.

For “Slept in Lips”: Mally started the look by applying her lipstick in French Kiss on the lips and then continued the rest of the face. Once each model was complete, she used a tissue and dabbed off the excess lipstick, so it looked like the model slept in her lipstick.

For Defined Brows: Mally filled in the eyebrows with her 24/7 Brow Express so they were strong and defined.

“She is the quintessential New York City girl. She’s confident. She’s fierce. Whether she has been out all night with her girlfriends, or just working the night shift, she’s out feeling as fabulous as she did when she left the house. Her skin is healthy, glowing, and artfully undone. The eyes are strong, which are the focus, and heavily smokey.”- Mally Roncal

I would like to extend a giant ‘Thank You’ to Mally, her entire backstage crew for allowing us to be in their faces for so long and her PR team for welcoming us with open arms.

Get Kate Beckinsale’s Hair and Makeup for the Total Recall Premier

08.8.12

Celebrity hairstylist artist Mara Roszak created Kate Beckinsale’s look for the Total Recall premiere in Los Angeles. Taking inspiration from Kate’s structured dress, Roszak created a texturized look for the red carpet. Roszak described Kate’s look as “edgy and undone, with an effortless feel.”

Get Kate’s hair in three simple steps:

Prep and Texturize- Achieving the undone quality of Kate’s hair relies on creating texture while preventing flyaways. Start by evenly applying John Frieda Frizz-Ease Curl Reviver Styling Mousse ($5.99 at drugstores) through towel-dried hair to tame frizz, boost shine and build texture. For added volume, spray roots with a texturizing spray and rough dry.

Secure the Style- Next, twist small sections of hair to create tousled texture. Once hair is completely dry, gently tease the crown for a bit of height. Next, pull hair back create a loose braid. Tuck the ends under and pin in place with bobby pins, crossing the pins to secure the look and make sure the braid stays in place. Allow pieces in the front to fall out and frame the face.

Polish and Perfect- To finish the look, spray John Frieda Frizz-Ease Moisture Barrier Firm-Hold Hair Spray ($5.99 at drugstores) on your fingertips and pinch sections while rubbing your fingers together on the hair to add more texture and break up the look. Then in an even, all-around motion, mist a thin coat of hair spray to set the look.

After your hair is perfectly set using Rozak’s steps, use my steps to get her makeup look as well:

Using a liquid foundation like Make Up For Ever’s Face and Body ($40 at Sephora), apply foundation with a damp sponge, I love the Beauty Blender ($19.95 at Sephora), all over the face.

Apply a cream blush to the apples and/or cheekbones like NARS The Multiple ($39 at Sephora) in shade Orgasm. Blend the color well with the sponge.

Apply a cream shadow in a cool shimmer gray, like Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream ($23 at Sephora) color 2 Steel, from the lashes to just below the crease with a flat shadow brush like Sigma’s E55 ($9 at SigmaBeauty.com).

With a clean blending brush, like Sigma’s E40 ($11 at SigmaBeauty.com) blend the crease so there is a soft fade of color just above the crease.

Using a liner/pencil brush like Sigma’s E30 ($9 at SigmaBeauty.com), pull this color up beyond the lashes to create a ‘winged’ or cat eye shape. The idea is to create this shape with the shadow alone and not a hard liner.

Use a black liner with a metallic inflection like the Sephora Collection Retractable Waterproof Eyeliner in 09 Glitter Black ($12 at Sephora). The black will provide a hard line and contrast against the gray, while the shimmer will reflect light.

Apply the cream shadow within the lower lashes with the liner/pencil brush from previous step.

Line the lower water line with a bronze pencil like the Lorac Eye Shadow/Liner in shade Paparazzi ($18 at Sephora). This also follows the shimmer effect with silver metallic inflections.

Apply a deep black mascara like Rimmel’s ScandalEyes in 003 Extreme Black ($6.99 at Ulta).

Because the emphasis is on the eyes, the lips were kept neutral by sweeping a light gloss over the lips. Try Revlon ColorBurst Lipgloss in Crystal Lilac ($7.49 at Ulta).

Set the t-zone with a powder like Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder ($26 at Sephora) using a large powder brush like Sigma’s F30 ($19 at SigmaBeauty.com).

Voila! You’re done and looking like a million bucks with glistening eyes and fantastic hair!

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JenniferK

Video Tutorial: Look Stunning Using Only The Make Up For Ever Flash Palette

21.7.12

If you knew there was one product you could use to make up your entire face, you would want to know all about it right? Well, Make Up For Ever has that one product in the form of their Flash Palette.

This palette is expensive (at $99), but it literally has every color you would ever need to use.

Purple eyes? Got it!

Fuchsia lips? Got it!

Black liner? Got it!

Silver liner with blue mascara? Got that too!

With this one palette you can create any look you want. I do not know one makeup artist that does not have this in their kit because it is so versatile.

In this tutorial I show you how to create an entire look using only the Flash Palette, and some skin products.

I used 3 (skin) color products aside from the palette:

Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Luminous Foundation (available at Target.com for $9.99).
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural (available at MACcosmetics.com for $29).
Temptu S/B Concealer Wheel (available at TemptuPro.com for $26).

I also used all Sigma Beauty Brushes aside from one Kryolan Art 3503 Professional Brush. All Sigma Beauty Brushes can be purchased at SigmaBeauty.com. The Make Up For Ever Flash Palette can be purchased at Sephora.com for $99.

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