The Makeup Palette: mark.

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

The early bird gets the dark circles....

Work, family, friends, we are thinking of everyone but ourselves. It seems like taking care of ones self has become a lost priority. Take some time for YOU. Busy schedules often leave you haggard, causing dark circles under your eyes, blemishes, and hyperpigmentation. It's imperative that you stay hydrated, lower your stress levels and get in at least eight hours of sleep each night. As important as these things are for your physical appearance, they are most important for your overall health. So while you take a load off, vow to drink your H20 and set an earlier bedtime. I can help with the rest.

To achieve the maximum effects by doing your part to stay healthy as stated above, here are some holistic measures for your eyes: Place a chilled spoon, raw potato slices, or cucumbers over your lids to constrict blood vessels and diminish dreaded dark circles and puffiness. Tea bags also work as most contain an anti-inflammatory. My personal favorite is green tea. Seep for 6

minutes let cool off (so you don't burn yourself) and place the bags carefully over your closed eyes. Follow up with your own personal favorite eye cream. Then, if you need a little extra hand to perk up your peepers, makeup can be your best friend.

Although, let's be real. No matter how much time and money you spend on your makeup, you can't just expect it to perform miracles. Major skin ailments will not just completely go away with a dab of concealer. It's not cosmetic surgery, so understand what it WILL do for you. Camouflage.

Here's a list of my FAVES....

1. Smashbox - Photofinish Color Correcting Foundation Primer $38

If you suffer from rosacea, or any sort of redness, try this in "color adjust." Not only will it neutralize the redness with it's green shade, it will also minimize the look of fine lines and create a smooth canvas for your concealer and foundation.

2. Benefit - Erase Paste $26

Blends so smoothly, and erases before your eyes! Definitely lives up to it's name.

3. Benefit - Lemon Aid $20

My absolute favorite eyelid primer. Perfectly cleans the slate, hiding any and all discoloration.

4. Kevyn Aucoin Beauty - The Sensual Skin Enhancer $45

You won't need to use much as this is a super rich formula. It can be used as a foundation, concealer AND highlighter. And come on... it's Kevyn Aucoin, need I say more!?

5. Make Up For Ever - Lift Concealer $22

This is just one of those magic products.

Containing Tensine, this will firm and tighten while keeping skin healthy with vitamin A and E. It will also work as a concealer and highlighter. Oh! Did I mention it will also help reduce the appearance of fine lines, and wrinkles? Absolutely a must.

6. mark. - Speedway do everything makeup $8

This will work wonders to conceal those more pesky brown spots, blemishes and under eye circles. It also doubles as a foundation.

7. Neutrogena - Healthy Skin Smoothing Stick $6.50

Extremely lightweight, glides on easy and will not appear thick or cakey. Hence it's perfectly named "skin smoothing stick." Comes in a variety of colors, but as I stated before, yellow is the best color to neutralize those under eye circles.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Midnight Madness....

Seems that the world has been "glamoured" into loving things that go bump in the night. Audiences have been love bitten by Twilight, HBO's "True Blood," and The CW's "The Vampire Diaries." Making vampire pop culture more popular than ever. Let's toast to this madness with a little after dark beauty. Pick and choose products to be the queen of your night.

Let's start this off with a bang:

1. Kat Von D for Sephora - Perfume in- "Sinner" $55

Intoxicating! As this smell lingers it's bound to leave you on someone's mind....

2. Sephora by O.P.I - Nail Colour in "Dark Room" $55

"Bid adieu" to the tired french manicure. Try this black tweaked with forrest green. Be a rebel.

3. Lancôme - Declaring Indigo limited-edition color design

palette liberty in "Golden Audacity" $42

Think outside of the box of greys, and blacks with a sexy new idea for a smoky eye look in indigo and gold! Absolutely hypnotising.

4. M.A.C Cosmetics - Lipstick- In "Ruby Woo" $14.00

No doubt about it, from makeup artists, beauty editors, and all over the blogosphere this is a favorite across the board. Rock this blood stained lip look with a little clear gloss on top! Sinfully sexy.

5. Benefit Cosmetics - Face powder in "Thrrrob" - $28

Ultra light, and seductive this mimicks your cheeks natural flush when you're in an...errr... lustful situation.

6. mark. - on the edge hook up liquid eye liner- in "cleo" $5.50

Liquid liner is almost always present when trying to evoke your inner bad girl, this one has a great precise tip for any type of drama you're looking for.

7. Givenchy -Phenomen'eyes mascara- in "Phenomen'Black" $28

This will top off your look and make you look as untouchable as it's precision wand.

8. Hair - Try the Herbal Essences collection "Tousle me softly" for a low cost way to achieve sex kitten hair!

On a fashion note: Finish up whatever makeup you've mixed and matched for this look with a hot coverup. Just about every true badgirl out there owns a motorcycle jacket. This is one of my favorites:

Express- (Minus the) Leather Motorcycle Jacket - In "black" $118

and for an inexpensive alternative:

Forever 21 - Slant Zipper Cropped Moto Jacket - in "black" $32.80

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Fall trends: The Earthling...

When you ask a woman what look she's going for, 9 times out of 10 she will say, "natural!" Of course she isn't quite ready to do without makeup completely, she wants just a little help. However sometimes that natural look of muted taupes, tans, and beiges becomes so blasé. That's why I'm so excited about the new "it" looks going on right now! One of this fall's hottest looks is a refined earthy appeal. The colors of foliage, pumpkins, fields of gold, apples, pine trees and rich chocolates are all "now" trends for your face. So it's still natural beauty, just with a POP of vibrant color.

Foundation: To avoid the cakey look and keep your own skin radiating through, you can always use a tinted moisturizer. However, I've always found them to be a bit overrated. Most of the time our imperfections still show through, sometimes they

even give a slick and greasy look to your face. If you agree, try achieving glowing skin by using M.A.C's mineralize line. It will not let you down. Start out with Mineralize Satinfinish SPF foundation, then use a small amount of Mineralize Skinfinish Natural on top. The right shade for you is KEY, so ask for a hand at the counter. (M.A.C has a great tutorial on their website on this product as well!)

Cheeks: Contour, contour, contour! Which is also an amazing cheat to making your face appear thinner, and who doesn't love that around the holidays? I wouldn't suggest using a bronzer to do this, since it's not summer, and our tans are fading, you don't want it to look fake. Also, go easy on the amount used, you don't want a clown effect either. Use a pressed powder that is 2 shades darker than your skin tone and buff under your cheekbones and a tad around your jaw line. Finish up by adding a light flush to the apples of your cheeks, I am obsessed with Nars Blush in "Orgasm." It's not a new product by any means, but it's a must. Light, flattering, and gorgeous on anyone's skin tone.

Eyes: All right, it's what you've been waiting for. Back to the rich autumn colors I was talking about. To dazzle with your lids use Guerlain Eye shadow Quads in both "Brun Mordore 441" and "Bronze Dore 481", or M.A.C eyeshadow "Humid" and Mineralize eyeshadow quad in "Natural Flare" and play around with the placements of each color on your lid. Be creative! Then finish it up with a a smooth line of black liquid liner to your upper lash line. No retro wing though! If there isn't enough liner for your liking, try brushing the bottom lash line with a brown shadow instead of heavy liner. It's about simplicity!

Eyebrows: Stop over-plucking this season! Thicker brows frame the face better, make your face more narrow, and can even take off a few years. Just don't go all Frieda Kahlo on us, that would be overdoing it. Still keep them cleaned up, and nicely placed with a conditioning brow gel by Anastasia.

Lips: Though recently so many dark lip colors, even black, graced the runways and magazines, I would stick to a nude in order to pull off this earthy vibe. We're finishing this up with some sun on your kisser. Try mark. Glow Baby Glow luxe in "Sun Luxe."

Lock, Stock, and Smokin' Fashion....

Most of us have been inspired by our favorite celebrities red carpet smokey eyes. We want that same sultry sex appeal, but not everyone can have a team of makeup artists to work their magic. This is a list of varying degrees of drama for those who want a little or A LOT of smoke to their look. Whether it be a dark polish to your nails, glitter or a little gun powder eye liner, everyone will find something on this list to get their fix.

1. Kat Von D for Sephora- "Rock 'n Roll Eye Shadow Duo in Sixxshooter" $20

If you're a smoky eye addict like I am, then you will absolutely adore this compact! Long lasting, and it goes on subtle so you have

control to build up the drama that you'd like.

2. Sephora by O.P.I- "Matte Nail Color in Metrochic" $9

I can't lie to you, the matte finish threw me off at first. This is definitely not for the faint of heart, only made for those serious trendsetters out there. But it will really grow on you! Promise. You can even add gloss to the nail base or the tip for a unique twist on the classic french manicure.

3. Avon - "Glimmersticks Waterproof Eye Liner in Smoky Grey " $6.00

You've got to love charcoal liners. Even worn only accompanied by mascara it is incredibly sexy! Or grab some shadows and mix 'n match with this replacing the classic blacks and browns that sometimes become tired.

4. mark. "Winkstick Hook Up Eye Shadow Stick in Coy"

$5.50

This is for those girls who want to try the smoky effect, but aren't totally committed to the sometimes high drama it entails. It's creamy, and adds a gorgeous smoked purple haze to your eyes.

5. Make Up For Ever -"Glitters in Silver 2" $13

Alright you attention seekers, you know who you are. Get creative! Place a little dab of this anywhere you'd like for a fearless pop of sparkle. Tip: Coat your lids with a small amount of "M.A.C: Gloss Creme Brilliance" to allow the glitter to adhere easier, more evenly and stay put!

6. M.A.C - "Zoom Lash in Zoom Black" $13

This is one of the most amazing mascara's on the market, I swear it. It provides amazing length, thickness and doesn't leave your lashes stiff or clumped. But you only need a small amount! A little goes a long way. You can also sweep it on after using your favorite mascara for an added punch!

7. M.A.C. - "Eye Kohl in Smolder" $14.50

Last but not least, for those who are loyal to their black eyeliner it's a smoky eye STAPLE. It's thick, goes on smoothly and has

incredibly rich pigment.

Also, if you want to master you're own smoldering look study Troy Jensen, Mario Dedivanovic, and Stephen Moleski. Best known for their works on Jennifer Lopez, The Kardashians, Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls, Megan Fox and many other undeniably gorgeous women.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

For my penny-pinching diva's!

Buyer's remorse is a thing of the past! With this economy we're all trying to save our pennies, but nobody wants to skimp out on their overall appearance! You don't have to overspend when trying to remain fresh and fashionable! "Avon" and "mark." offer top of the line products for a fraction of what you'd pay in department or specialty stores. With my compare and contrast blogs you can find alternatives to some expensive favorites, and the best part is no one will know the difference!