One of my favorite shows to watch is Mirror/Mirror – they have some unique and easy makeup tips that I love to try out.

I caught this last night and thought this was GENIUS, so I had to share this short segment!

“It sounds ironic, but (makeup artist) Mathew uses the same red lipstick as a camouflage for blemishes. You want to work with it in a very, very sheer way and use very little of it. Take just a bit, rub it on the hand and just dab, dab, dab,” he says. Add foundation and the blemish will be gone!”

Click here to watch the first minute of the video:

Runway to Real Way

With the humid & hot weather, can come some messy issues with your makeup. It’s important to always switch up your makeup routine with the changing seasons, so here are a few tips for the summer months:

• Always cleanse your skin well to make sure your face holds on to the makeup you apply. Here is a product that I’ve heard works really great to really give you a deep clean (it’s on my shopping list to buy soon): http://www.beautychoice.com/products/DermaNew_Acne_Oil_Clarifying_System_5_piece-12748-0.html
• Moisturize! If your skin is dehydrated it’s going to pull moisture from your makeup.
• Use eye cream during the day, not just at night, and choose a gel variety – works almost like an additional primer.
• Use a silicone-based primer and really work it into your skin to make your makeup stick.
• Cream-to-powder eye shadow and gel-based eye liner have the most staying power. Steer clear of wax-based pencils, which tend to melt.
• Opt for waterproof mascara or use a waterproof top coat to seal regular mascara.
• After using concealer only where you need it, layer translucent powder or rice powder on top of it.
• Find a foundation that has sunscreen, then use as little as possible, applying with a brush in small feathered strokes.
• In summer, switch to a powder blush instead of cream blush that might melt. Use a small amount high on the cheekbone.
• Try using a light, shimmery eye shadow on lips, topped with gloss for all day color.
• Spritz a toning mist/setting spray over your finished makeup to seal in the look.

Earlier today I did a makeup consultation with a lovely 40-something woman and she really found many of these makeup tips helpful. She didn’t know about how her blue & purple eye shadows aged her & how filling in her eye brows brought some youthfulness to her face. Of course this list doesn’t have the same effect as when I am there in person actually doing the step-by-step application, but here are a few things you can try for yourself:

*Primer all over the face – fills in the wrinkles – use a green-toned primer to get rid of facial redness

*Light application of liquid foundation all over the face – evens out skin tone – matte finish for oily skin, light reflecting foundation for dull skin – make sure it has SPF (if you don’t already use an SPF moisturizer) – powder can settle into the wrinkles and make facial hair more prominent

*Thicker-consistency concealer applied under the eyes (upside down triangle from inner corner to mid-point), all over the eye lids, & around the nose – fills in wrinkles and gets rid of darkness & redness

*Optional: light application of translucent powder – sets foundation & concealer

*Pink-toned blush on apples of cheeks – cream blush can give skin a great glow rather than powder blush

*Powder that matches hair to fill in eyebrows – darker brows frame your face & make you look younger

*Brown/black pencil to line top & bottom of eyes – extend out just a little past eyelashes – make sure to soften the line by smudging – can use brown eyeshadow as well

*Brown/black thickening mascara on top lashes only

*Matte neutral-toned eyeshadows with a highlighter just under the browbone – shimmer makeup can settle into wrinkles and make them more obvious

*Nude lip liner with a light colored lip gloss makes chapping less noticeable – use Chapstick daily

With me doing makeup on other people, I really need to take care on keeping all my products and brushes very clean, but I also need to make sure that I am not using any old products. When we are dealing with our own makeup, we may not care as much about it, but here is a tip to help keep you more on top of it.

You may may have never noticed this, but many makeup products have an “open jar symbol” near the ingredients listed on it’s label. It will show a number with an “m” next to it meaning the number of months you should only save it for once you open it for regular use. (more…)

One of the biggest makeup trends you can see this season are bold & very defined eyebrows, so how fitting that I did something different with mine! Believe it or not, I had NEVER had my eyebrows touched by anyone until last week – I had always shaped them myself. I went and had them threaded and they turned out amazing. She only had to get rid of a few hairs, but it made a nice difference. (So use this as a reminder to be careful & only pluck a little at a time when you are doing them yourself!)

I had a girl ask me a few weeks ago how I defined her eyebrows so well without an eyebrow pencil, so I wanted to share with you my preferred way of doing this. I use the matte eyeshadow “Coquette” by MAC & apply it with a very short & flat brush. I find that this color goes well with just about everyone’s eyebrows. I follow the shape of the natural eyebrow, but add bolder angles where they end and at the arch.

Eyebrows frame your face, so it is important your eyebrows are always well groomed!

Some quick beauty fixes that you might find really work for you when you are on the run!

Clumping mascara? Use a clean mascara wand to try to get rid of some of the clumps (while the mascara is still wet), then use a tooth pick to separate your lashes.

Puffy eyes? Place an ice pack on your eyes for a minute, then dab some chilled Preparation H  under your eyes until it’s absorbed. Add a touch of concealer (a pink base cancels out the purple) & you should see a difference!

Mosquito bite? Place an ice pack on the area for a minute, then dab some Visine eye drops on the red area. Add a touch of concealer (a green base cancels out the red) & red be gone!

Teeth stains? Always carry around some teeth wipes with you for a quick brush in between your red wine, coffee, or tea to get rid of the stains!

I’m now in my 2nd trimester and continue to read about things I should and shouldn’t be doing when it comes to certain beauty products & what new things I can expect. Here is some good info I have come across:

• It is normal during pregnancy to grow hair on other parts of your body, such as your abdomen, face, or back. Don’t shave, but using a hair bleach every so often might be a good option at this time!
• Creams or oils (such as vitamin E oil) or other treatments have not been shown to prevent stretch marks. They do, however, help with skin dryness and may reduce itching. It doesn’t hurt to lather up your body more during pregnancy in case it might help you with stretch marks! (more…)

There is nothing like a pimple to make you feel like that’s the only thing that people are staring at when you are face to face! Obviously, you can’t make it totally disappear but you can try to do your best covering it up with some makeup tricks.

Before any application, make sure to add extra face moisturizer on the problem areas, as they tend to get those dry edges.  Using a concealer that matches your skin tone or one with a green tint (helps with the redness), lightly blot the pimp(s) with the tip of your finger or a makeup sponge. Trying to leave more of the concealer on the top of the pimp(s), then blending from the edge out to your face so it’s not a big spot.

Apply some light foundation as you usually would and finish off with some loose powder.

Remember, your acne could be coming from dirty brushes, old makeup, makeup that is not oil-controlling, or from not properly washing your face before going to bed! Try to avoid all this and use this makeup trick to cover them up when they pop up!

I can’t carry around my whole makeup collection with me everywhere I go, so let me note some of the basic makeup steps & products that I use (and can easily carry around) daily!

*Moisturizer with SPF 15+ – load it on ladies!

*Sheer foundation or powder all over

*Light sweeps of bronzer on face & neck

*Blush just on the apples of the cheeks

*One coat of black mascara on the top lashes

*Dotted black eyeliner on the lower lash

*Lip gloss to finish it off!

Just 5 minutes in the morning, can help make you look great all day!

Something I like to do is mix the MAC Studio Finish concealer with the MAC Studio Fix Fluid and cover under the eyes, around the nose,  mouth & any other must-cover areas.
It makes it easier to apply the concealer since it gives it a creamer finish and just adds extra coverage in the areas where you need it most!