Before & After: Picture Perfect Prom

Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing this gorgeous girl's Senior Prom makeup!  Meet Sydney, she is stunning without an ounce of makeup on but it's always fun for me to glam up beautiful faces for a special occasion and she was so fun to work with :)  Sydney asked for a smokey eye but didn't want to look too done up so she trusted me to create something in between heavy glam and natural.  We decided on a neutral smokey look, with mostly cooler tones for her big night and because it was a night full of photos and dancing and fun, we added lashes and a flawless bronzed airbrush base.

She is such a sweetheart!

For her look, I used many of the same holy grail staples I use on other clients, so for the sake of repetition, I'm not going to link them all once again but feel free to ask about any specific products used and I will happily list them! 

 The focus of Sydney's look was on her perfect skin which we highlighted with a layer of Dinair Colair|Radiance Airbrush Foundation.  I customized her color to add a little bronzey/tan warmth to her complexion so her face matched the rest of her body.  I mixed the colors: C117, C125 and Golden Tan.  We added a little bronzer and contour to add definition back into her face and gave her cheeks a youthful blush by mixing Benefit's "CORALista" and "Dandelion".  To add a little sparkle and glow to catch the light, we dusted MAC's Mineralized Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle on the tops of her cheekbones and along the bridge of her nose and cupids bow.

For her eyes, I used the Lorac MegaPro Palette because I'm obsessed with it. Haha! I love Lorac's shadows, their pigmentation and wear are lovely.  I also used Urban Decay's "Dark Horse" as her outer V/Crease color.  This added a touch of drama for her desired "smokey eye" but didn't darken the overall look too much.  If requested, I can list every shadow used :)  To make her eyes pop from a distance and in photos, we added some false lashes - I used the KISS 11's (one of my favorite demi wispie styles)

How beautiful does her skin look! I'm in love with the glowing, youthful finish Airbrush gives.  Everything else about her look was simple and natural, as I wanted her to feel like herself - so we left her eyebrows natural with only a little shadow to fill in sparse areas and added some of NYX's Butter Gloss (my all time favorite!) in Eclair and Fortune Cookie.

So happy I could be a part of helping her feel extra beautiful on her special night!

Country Concert: Cat Eye

Who doesn't love to get a little dolled up before they go out for the night or for a special occasion or event? 

I know I certainly do, and so does Ashley :)

 Ashley was going to the Garth Brooks' Concert later that night and wanted to add a little extra glam so she asked me to help (my favorite thing to do!!) She has beautiful big blue/green eyes and wanted to accentuate those with warm tones, so she chose a golden bronze smokey eye. 

Since it was a night time look, we kicked it up a notch and added some lashes and really smoked out her liner and the outer corner of her shadow to create a cat eye, almond shape which added a sultry edge to her overall look.  

How stunning is she!

(One of these days I'm going to remember to take the before picture too, ha!)

COMPLEXION

Base: Origins GinZing Moisturizer & MAC Strobe Liquid

Primer: Garnier

Foundation: Airbrush

Concealer: MAC ProLongwear
Powder: Neutrogena Shine Control

Contour & Bronzer: Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit  'Fawn' & 'Java'

Blush: MAC 'Melba'
Highlight: theBalm 'Promiscuous Pearl'
Lips: LA Girl 'Nude' Liquid Lipstick

EYES

Base: MAC Painterly & LA Girl Pro Primer Stick in White

Shadows: MAC 'Orb', 'All that Glitters' | Urban Decay Naked Palette 'Buck', 'Half Baked' 'Smog' | Lorac 'Brown', 'Black'

Brows: Lorac 'Brown' Shadow used lightly

Liner: Milani Liquid Eye Pencil & L'Oreal Infallible Gel

Lashes: Kiss #11's (Demi Wispie style)

SEPHORA VIB SALE 2015

Hi beauty lovers! Just a reminder that Sephora is having one of their semi annual sales and if you've been waiting to purchase something, now might be the time! I loooove shopping during their sale, and even though 10-15% doesn't seem like much, it helps ;)

You can shop in store OR shop through their site and score some goodies! BUT don't forget to sign up for Ebates before you do (and follow their link to Sephora!) because you can add another 4% cash back to your savings!

Ready..... Set.... GO!!! 

Natural Beauty: Brown Eyes

Meet Kayla, she has one of the sweetest hearts and prettiest smiles around! She is going to her High School Senior Prom at the end of the month and asked me to help her figure out a look for the night.  She doesn't care for much makeup (and doesn't need any!) so she wanted a neutral, natural look and I wanted her to feel like her most beautiful self. So we kept things very soft and youthful, but added a few touches of glamour :)  Makeup is nothing but fun and it all washes off at the end of the day so I convinced her to try a few new things and we had a giggle along the way.

She just radiates so much sweetness, you all need to know her! 

We wanted to keep everything about her overall look very natural - but a "flawless natural".  The aim was to emphasize and draw attention to her beautiful brown eyes whilst not overwhelming her face with too much in the way of lashes or liner.  Kayla doesn't like to look like she's wearing makeup so my challenge was to use and layer products that added to her features, not covered them.  We used individual lashes in the outer corner of her eyes to add a little glamour and airbrush makeup to keep her skin looking youthful and skin-like.

COMPEXION

Kayla already had a light layer of tinted moisturizer on so we simply added a little primer and concealer under her eyes and followed with one light layer of airbrush foundation.

Bronzer: Laura Geller  (lightly dusted over cheeks as a blush too)

Powder: Neutrogena Shine Control 

Highlight: theBalm 'Promiscuous Pearl'

Contour: ABH in 'Fawn'

Lips: We tried a couple lip options, with a light nude gloss and Kayla's own mauve lipstick.

EYES

I kept her shadows very neutral and softly smokey - using only browns and champagne's.  All shadows used were from the LORAC MegaPro Palette, in order of use, 'Cream', 'Fawn', 'Khaki' in her crease and under brow bone.  'Smokey Topaz' all over the lid with 'Sand' smudged under her lower lashes and 'Opal' as an inner corner highlight.

Liner: Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 'Brown' and ELF Liquid to cover lash band and hide glue.

Brows: Khaki shadow

Mascara: (Kayla's own)

Lashes: (My all time favorite individual lashes!) Kiss Trio Lashes in 'short' (3 on each eye on outer most edge) I find mine at Walmart.  I think they add just enough volume to give the eyes definition without over powering the rest of the look.  

How pretty is she!

I can't wait to doll her up for the real thing and I'm so happy she liked the final look we created :)

Copper & Lashes

Today's look was all about rich copper/bronze tones to emphasize Ashley's gorgeous baby blues.  She needed a 'full face of makeup' look for an evening work event so we had some fun playing up her eyes.  One of the quickest ways to instantly add drama and glamour to any makeup look is by adding false lashes.  I love false lashes! We kept the eyes quite simple with the shadows used and smudged and smoked out some liner so that the main focus would be her lashes.  Look how they open up her eyes! 

Complexion

Primer: Garnier
Illuminzer: Josie Maran 
Foundation: Airbrush - 2 layers

Concealer: MAC ProLongwear NW20 + NW25

Powder: ABH

Blush: Benefit Coralista
Highlight: theBalm 'Betty-Lou Manizer
Lips: LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint in 'Nude' (see previous post for info on this!) and Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Gloss in 'Rule Breaker'

Eyes

Base: MAC Painterly and ELF 'Brownie Points' on top.
Shadows: Urban Decay Buck, Venus, Faint, Crave - main focus was theBalm's Manic Maribel from the 'Balmbini Palette'
Liner: Milani Liquid Eye and ELF liquid
Brows: Smashbox shadow in M6
Mascara: Benefit They're Real
Lashes (star of the show!): Salon Perfect - Perfectly Glamorous #615

+Ashley Pedigo 

Quick! Josie Maran is on HauteLook!

Guys! Exciting news! I just wanted to quickly post this in case any of you are interested in trying out some of Josie Maran's beauty and skincare products. As I've mentioned before, I love her skincare line and several of her products are holy grail status for me. Her line is usually sold at Sephora and QVC so when it comes to HauteLook during one of their flash sales, I jump on it! I love a bargain, especially when I know I'm getting great quality products, and most things are 50% off, so go get you some!

HauteLook is a flash sale site, and you have to move quick or things sell out fast!  

Product Spotlight: LA Girl Glazed Lip Paint

I know I'm late on the bandwagon, I know... 

I first heard about these glosses around 8 months ago when my YouTube subscription feed was blowing up with EVERYONE reviewing them. I really liked Kathleen Light's review. So I heard some great things and I guess I never tried them out simply because they were only available online at the time.. and I kind of forgot about them. Well guess what! I found these at my local RiteAid a couple days ago! Now, I do believe there are around 18 colors total, which can all be found HERE, but my store had 4 shades, and you best believe I grabbed all of them - from top down: 'Nude', 'Bombshell', 'Blushing', 'Pin-Up'.

I'm not normally a gloss kinda girl (long hair+lip gloss+wind = get the heck off my lips!) but I figured with the craze surrounding everything liquid lipsticks these days, these would be great for my kit. Since everyone seems to have favorable things to say about them, and they're only $3.49!!!!, what could it hurt to try?

People have compared the packaging to the Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipsticks but I believe the formula is completely different.  These have the color payoff and pigmentation of a liquid lipstick with the moisturizing wear of a super shiny gloss.  They smell pepperminty (not too bad, I HATE the smell/taste of the Revlon Kissable Balm Stains (original) ugh, ew, yuck) but these were pleasant enough and wore nicely. Be warned with the darker colors - they will transfer onto your teeth if you're not careful upon application.  Remember a little goes a long way, you only need the smallest amount because they're SO pigmented! My favorite is (obviously) the nudest color; for me, it's the most wearable and suitable for every day.  When photographed 'Blushing' and 'Bombshell' looked almost identical but their colors are definitely distinct in person. Blushing was more mauve and Bombshell was more hot pink.

Lip Swatches from top left to right: Nude, Blushing, Bombshell, Pin-Up 

I'm exited to try other things from LA Girl, I've heard their Pro Concealer is fabulous and a lot of the pros swear by it's coverage so hopefully the drugstores will start stocking their whole line!
#LaGirlCosmetics #liquidlipsticks #makeup #mua

Artist Appreciation

I don't know about you - but I LOVE seeing what other talented makeup artists (professional and amateur) are creating and that's why I love platforms like Instagram and Youtube.  There are so many amazingly talented artists out there, showcasing and teaching their tricks of the trade and I love getting inspiration and motivation from them.  I follow hundreds of MUA's on Instagram and YouTube and get so excited when these men and women achieve success and recognition for their hard work and creativity. I could only hope to go the places they've gone, and I thought I'd share a few of them with you.  Now, I could list every single one of those hundreds I mentioned above (honestly, I could, I really love them ALL) BUT that might be a little much, so here are 8 women who've inspired me lately <3

From top left:

#1. Marina Rumppe - I think her beautiful face speaks for itself, I can't quite get over how much she resembles the actress (and Mrs. Johnny Depp, *sigh*) Amber Heard.  She's stunning and I love the ethereal, glowy goddess looks she creates.  She's recently shared that she's working for Bravo and working with celebrities! Congrats Marina! @marinarumppe

#2. Jade Marie - I've been following Jade's work and blog for years and years and I'm a little obsessed with not only how gorgeous SHE is, but how gorgeous she helps all of her clients to look and feel.  She is one of my biggest inspirations because she creates the type of makeup artistry I hope to emulate. Seeing her airbrush looks got me interested in airbrush makeup and now I couldn't imagine my life without it.  She was recently featured on Lily Ghalichi's live glam video stream, on www.ghalichiglam.com.  Love her!  Check out her amazing site HERE. +JadeyWadey 180 

#3. Court Montes - I just love her looks, they're always so youthful and glowing with bright eyes, pink cheeks and lots of lashes.  Her bridal looks are some of my favorites with a little extra glamour and drama than the average. @courtmontes

#4. Desi Perkins - Oh my gosh, can we start with her skin? Ok, maybe her skin is all we need to talk about! It's perfect. I love watching Desi's makeup tutorials on youtube - she has great step by step video's on how she achieves her amazing looks - check her out! @desimakeup

#5. MakeupbyAnna - Anna is the Founder of Dose of Colors and I'm inspired by her determination to grow her own company.  I haven't tried any of her products yet, but I want every single one of her lipsticks, they're all on my wishlist! @makeupbyanna

#6. Cara - I've followed Cara's blog for years and love everything she recommends! She does great 'Monday Makeovers' and always emphasizes her clients' natural beauty. I pretty much go and buy every single thing she talks about because if it can make her look fabulous, I sure hope it can do the same for me.  I first discovered her on youtube while searching for hair tutorials, she has killer hair.  She's recently started her own makeup line, congrats Cara! +Maskcara 

#7. Ashley Rose - This stunning celebrity makeup artist has been inspiring me to play with lashes more because she always posts the most striking photos of her eye makeup.  I kind of wish we could trade faces because wow, not fair! I love how she manages to create looks that leave the skin looking flawless but still touchable and skin-like. I hope she makes videos on youtube soon because I will be watching (on repeat) to learn everything! @ashleybias

#8. Eileen - I first discovered Eileen's 'Honey B' glam from watching 'Total Diva's' and learned she's the girls' makeup artist.  I love her looks! She's a double threat because she does amazing things with hair as well.  I hope to learn much more from her as her experience with print and TV work is so inspiring! @honeybeileen

Everyone needs to check out these talented ladies and please recommend any other great artists you know! 

#youtube #instagram #mua #inspiration #makeup 

Current Skincare Obsessions

As a beauty junkie, I am always trying new products, especially skin care ones.  I am continuously on the hunt for the next "holy grail" item to add to my routine and every now and then it happens! I will fall madly in love with something and want to shout about it to the rooftops! So here goes some shouting.. I thought I'd share some of my current favorite beauty items (from the past couple of months) in the hopes of introducing you to something new that you might just love too :)

#1. LUSH's Full of Grace Serum
O.M.G. I am obsessed with this little guy.. It is so, sooo good!!  Their website describes it as a "solid moisturizing serum packed full of hydrating tropical butters, calming chamomile and antioxidant mushroom extract to keep your skin in fantastic condition, all year round."   I have been using this serum for 2 months, twice daily (after cleansing and toning and before moisturizer) and I have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin's texture and overall appearance! It feels brighter, more even toned, plump and hydrated.  It feels lovely and soothing when applied, melts into your skin and absorbs quickly so you're not left feeling sticky or oily.  LUSH markets it as being great for sensitive skin (and really all) users, and I would agree! I have sensitive, acne prone skin and I haven't had any irritations or reactions from this little gem.  It's highly worth a try. I love mine so much, it's gone :(  I think he'll be in my routine forever more!

PS. I may have gone a little cra-hazzzy in LUSH a while back and bought nearly their entire store, so I have also been loving a few other skincare items from them.  If you're in the market for a more natural, fresh line - you should also check out:

Mask of Magnaminty Face and Body Mask & Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub (the bf loves this one too!)

#2. Andalou Naturals 1000 Roses Floral Toner Sensitive
I have been trying to switch my skincare routine over to the most natural, chemical free products I can find because no one wants parabens, carcinogens, preservatives, artificial fragrance and colors in their beauty products (or food, or anything for that matter!! YUCK) So I stumbled across this aromatic rosewater mist and my skin adores it too.  I found mine at Market of Choice in the organic beauty section but you can also order online at Vitacost.com (and read all about it's awesomeness).  I love this toner because it absorbs quickly, smells amazing but not too rosey (you know, the kind of rosey that maybe your Grandma might smell like, love you Grandma!) feels light and refreshing on the skin, and again - hasn't made me break out.  Some toner's can be so harsh, full of alcohol, astringent and just strip your skin of all it's goodness.  No bueno. This one is fabulous and gentle, in fact -  I've heard nothing but great things about the whole Andalou line and intend on trying some more soon.  I love watching Kendra Atkins on youtube and all of her product reviews - she has several video's that go into depth about the benefits of this skincare line - check her out! Another alternative rose water spray which I've loved in the past is the Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herb and Rosewater (only $7!!)

#3. Josie Maran 100% Pure Argan Oil
I think Josie Maran's products are all amazing.  Quite literally - I have loved every single one that I've ever tried.  She also promotes more natural ingredients, removing all parabens, sulfates and Phthalates from her line. I'm sure you've all heard about the wondrous things that Argan Oil does and can be used for (if not, google it!) I'll admit - I'm sure there are other companies that sell great quality product - but I love Josie Maran's version because I trust it.  It is expensive (I find mine at Sephora but QVC also has great kits!) and I usually buy the 0.5oz bottle for $16 but the great thing about it is that it lasts such a long time! I've just run out of mine and I've had it for probably 6 months. You only need a couple drops and your whole face and neck (or hair and body too) is gloriously moisturized.  I used to be terrified of using oils on my skin because I have oily skin, and what's more insane than adding MORE oil to it? But trust me - it works.  My skin loves this, and soaks it up.  I use it mostly at night, but you can also wear it in the morning under makeup if you apply sparingly.  My skin has actually stopped producing as much oil over the past couple of years since I've been moisturizing with oils (other great ones I swear by are jojoba and coconut) and I think that's incredible.  It's worth a try - Sephora often has travel size/sampler/holiday kits that you can pick up to try several products for less and I highly recommend grabbing one of those! Also they'll be having their VIB Sale next week so go shop!!

If anyone tries out these products, I'd love to hear your experience!

Ps. Sometimes great skincare companies like Josie Maran, Murad, Mario Badescu, Sibu, Pacifica are featured on HauteLook at discounted prices! (I've purchased from all of them) Sign up and keep an eye out if you're on the hunt for a bargain, it's an awesome site ;)

Golden Smoke

Today's glam session centers around a golden, bronzey smokey eye with flawless airbrushed, sunkissed skin.  Katie has the perfect face to begin with, I mean - can you get more amazing bone structure?! Nope. No contouring needed! Not fair at all.  (At least the rest of us have makeup to help ;))

Katie's every day makeup routine is simple and low maintenance so she wanted to learn a few more glam tips and tricks to jazz up her look.  We did a wearable, day time appropriate, neutral smokey eye with warm gold and bronze tones to make her blue eyes pop!  What accentuates gold better than a tan? Since she just got back from Cali, she was lucky enough to have a natural glow so we based her whole look around that...

Seriously, she's so pretty! *sigh*

To achieve her look, I used:

COMPLEXION

Base: MAC Strobe Liquid Lotion (Similar)

Primer: Garnier 5 Second Blur

Foundation: Airbrush (Perfect to cover imperfections but leave the skin with a natural, skin like texture, I wanted to leave Katie's freckles visible :)

Concealer: MAC ProLongwear Concealer

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit

Blush: MAC Melba & Milani Luminoso

Highlight: theBalm Mary-LouManizer - I layered this over her cheekbones, cupids bow, along her nose, and above her brow bone to add a glow everywhere.  (Katie has dry skin and NO visible pores so she can get away with a shimmery glow all over - if you have more oily skin, keep the shimmer to the tops of your cheekbones)
Lips: Rimmel Lip Liner in 'Natural', L'Oreal Infallible Lip Gloss #601 'Nude ballet'

EYES

Primer: MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly
Shadows: Urban Decay Naked Palette 'Buck' in crease and outer corner with 'Half Baked' packed all over lid in layers. I used a matte black to smudge along her upper lash line.  Under her lower lashes I used Lorac 'copper'.

Brows:  Katie is growing out and reshaping her brows so we kept them very natural and just added some 'naked' shadow to fill in some sparse areas.

Eyeliner: L'oreal Paris Infallible Gel Liner in Black (top) and Rimmel Waterproof Kohl Kajal in '005 Nude' in lower waterline.

Lashes: Kiss in '11'

Happy Saturday Everyone!