Makeup Tips/How To

Tuesday Tip: Apply Moisturizer Before Your Face Primer

August 18th, 2015 by Karen 15 Comments

Let's get ready to moisturize and prime! — Ready to moisturize, blot and prime!

I know I say this all the time, but that’s because it’s freakin’ true! — it really does take a village, so to speak, when you’re trying to do the whole smooth/flawless skin thing, or as close as you can get to it.

Oh, my goodness, yes, it would be SO nice if it were possible to do it all in one easy step, but that hasn’t been my experience. There are lots of steps involved in getting as close as possible to perfect-looking skin for me, and it takes a lot of work, especially upfront prep work at the beginning of the process.

But here’s something that helps, and I always do it, without fail: I always apply moisturizer before my face primer.

When I do, my skin looks smoother, my makeup lasts longer, and everything I apply on top of moisturized skin just seems to work better.

I really don’t know why… Maybe the moisturizer plumps the skin and makes whatever I apply on top of it look smoother. Colors also look richer and more intense.

Here’s my basic process…

Step 1: Moisturize

First, I moisturize, and it’s the first step when I’m applying my makeup (before this, however, right after washing my face in the morning, I apply any skin serums and products with SPF).

My combination skin is more dry than oily (but it’s also oily on my forehead and around my nose and chin), so I reach for rich moisturizers, and I like ones that don’t contain SPF, in this case, to avoid the telltale white cast that can happen when you mix SPF-containing products and flash photography. I also like moisturizers that don’t pill or clump when I apply other products on top of them.

Once my face is fully moisturized, I give the moisturizer enough time to fully absorb and sink in, which is usually around five minutes. Note: this step is very, VERY important because if the moisturizer is still wet in spots, products applied on top of it won’t last as long as they should/could.
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Bring Your Foundation Up Into Your Hairline So It Doesn’t Look Super Obvs

August 13th, 2015 by Karen 9 Comments

Are you wearing foundation, or is that a kabuki mask?

Or, who’s that guy who wore the scary white hockey mask in those slasher movies? Was it Jason Voorhees??

Ah, the dreaded line of makeup demarcation…

Well, this is one of those things you may not think of straight off the bat (I sure didn’t), but when you realize that you’re not doing it, you’re like, “Oh! How did I not think of that?”

I don’t know how it is for you, but when I first started applying foundation, I would stop right before my hairline because, I figured, well, that’s the edge of my skin…so that’s fine, but then when I saw myself in pictures, there would be a distinct line of demarcation between where my foundation stopped, and my hairline began, and it looked like I was wearing a mask.

Luckily, there’s an easy fix. All you have to do is gently drag product up into your hairline with your foundation brush or BeautyBlender sponge.
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Go With the Grain When You Apply Powder (and Foundation)

August 12th, 2015 by Karen 12 Comments

Facial hair.

Unless you don’t mind sitting in front of the computer for the next four hours, let’s not even go there…

OK, let’s go there anyway. 🙂

In my years on the road to Mrs. Chewbacca-ville (it’s been a good ride!), I’ve made a few fur-related observations, like that it helps to go with the grain when applying face powder or foundation.

Whenever I apply powder or foundation with a brush, I always apply in the same direction that the hair on my face naturally grows, as opposed to brushing against the grain and literally lifting the hairs up to make them stand at attention.

Sure, sweeping a big ol’ powder brush willy-nilly all over my face feels great, and it’s fun, especially when I sweep in huge circles (SO FUN!), but it also exacerbates the facial fur situation — i.e., it makes the hairs look more obvious.

For the hirsute ladies and gents among us, go with the grain next time you apply powder or foundation! You’ll see a difference.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Easy Winged Eyeliner for Beginners

August 10th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

OK, straight up, by “easy winged eyeliner,” I mean easy in reference to being able to successfully draw the shape and angle you want, and not easy in terms of being able to do the whole thing in 30 seconds (it will probably take longer than that). This method here involves four steps, but they really are easy, and at the end of them you’ll have perfectly placed wings.

Now, we all know someone who can perfectly apply winged eyeliner in a single glorious swoop, but I’m totally not that girl. To get my winged liner the way I like it, I have to apply it in layers and steps.

It’s all about the layers. 😉

If you’ve ever struggled to draw your wings just right, or if you can only do it with an obscene amount of Herculean effort and concentration, this method of layering will help you place your lines and wings exactly where you want ’em. Pretty soon you’ll have winged liner like a BOSS!

What you’ll need…

A black pencil eyeliner
An angled eyeshadow brush
A black powder eyeshadow
A gel or liquid eyeliner
Q-tips

1. Line your upper lash line (you can also do your water line, but it’s optional)

I tightlined my eyes first, because I always tightline, but it’s completely optional. What we’re gonna do now is line our upper lash line, so grab a black pencil eyeliner with a sharp tip (or sharpen a dull one), and line the upper lash line on one of your eyes with it. The sharp tip just makes it easier to be precise than a dull or blunt tip does.

Try to keep your line as thin and as close to your lash line as possible. Don’t worry at this stage if your line isn’t as thick and voluminous as you’d like, or if the edge is a little wonky or jagged, because we’ll rectify that sitch in a second. Repeat on your other eye.

2. Smooth the edge of the line and start building the shape of your wing

To smooth the edge of the line and start building the shape of your wing, take a clean angled eyeshadow brush, and run it gently along the edge of the line you drew in step one (note: I do each step on each eye along the way to keep them symmetrical). Start at the inner corner and move out. When you get to the outer corner, drag the brush out a bit to create a faint outline of a wing using the remaining product on your brush.

To get both eyes symmetrical, it helps me to look straight into a mirror with both eyes open while I’m working.

If you find that your wings aren’t even, don’t panic! Use a Q-tip to tweak and adjust them.

As for the angle of your wings, it’s up to you, but I think it helps to visualize an invisible line that extends up and out from the outer corner of your lower lash line. Just follow the angle of your lower lash line up and out.

Totally optional and up to your own personal preference, though. I usually like to flatten my wings out a bit (so not as steep), because it appears to elongate the eye, and I like that effect. Play around a bit until you find an angle that works for you.

3. Thicken the line and wing

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How to Tightline Your Eyes

August 10th, 2015 by Karen 30 Comments

Tightlining, or “tight-lining,” despite its action-packed name, is not a new extreme sport. It doesn’t have anything to do with bungee cords, ratchet straps or zip-lining, but along with filling in my brows and curling my lashes, it’s an essential part of my everyday makeup routine.

In tightlining, you line the base of your upper lash line from below, getting down in there between the roots, and I do it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Even when I’m under a severe time crunch and have to start making “tough” decisions on which and what parts of my routine I have to skip, I’ll skip bronzer, highlighter, and if I have to, I’ll even skip blush…as long as I still have time to tightline.

So how does tightlining differ from the typical ways of applying eyeliner? Well, I usually apply eyeliner from above, where I get the tip of the liner down between the roots of my lashes and along the lash line, and in tightlining, it’s the same basic process, but I come at the base of the line from beneath it, where I can really get the liner down in there between each and every lash, and it makes the lash line look nice and thick, and that makes the eyes look bigger.

Before tightlining (left) and after (right) — Before tightlining my upper water line (left) and after (right)

For tightlining, of all the different eyeliner formulas — gels, powders, kohls, liquid liners, etc. — I like black waterproof twist-up pencil liners the best, and I choose the twist-ups because the tips are usually super thin, which makes it easier to get down in between each of the lashes at the roots. I also like waterproof formulas because they last (and I LOVE Chanel’s Waterproof Eye Liner in 88 Noir Intense for this reason).

Of course, if you feel like black liners are too stark for you, you can always use another shade. Deep blackish gray, brownish black, medium-toned gray, navy or brown all work, too. Whatever darkens your lash lines and floats your boat.

Step 1: Sharpen your pencil

To start, the first thing I do is sharpen my pencil.

I know that sounds kind of “Duh, Karen!” but using a sharp tip really helps. It makes it much easier to get between those lashes at the roots.

Step 2: Placing the pencil at the base

Next, I place the tip of the pencil just beneath my lash line, pointing at an upward angle, and close the eye I’m working on so that the tip of the liner presses up against the base of the lashes.

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Fri-Yay Makeup Fun: How to Do a Graphic Cat Eye

August 7th, 2015 by Karen 22 Comments

Today was the first day in the past two (or three) weeks I felt makeup motivated enough to do something more ambitious than color in the crease, color on the lids and a little in the outer corner, and I’m hoping it’ll break me outta my current eyeshadow rut (*crosses fingers*).

I call this a “graphic cat eye,” and you may or may not remember it from this Buxom Eyeshadow Bar post a while back.

It’s an exaggerated version of cat eye liner (aka “winged liner”) done with colorful purple eyeshadow (instead of liner), and it’s one of those makeup looks that might seem hella complicated, but it’s really not at all. The hardest parts are probably getting the wing angle and the shape of the eye symmetrical on both sides, but if you go slowly and work in layers, I’m sure you’ll be perfectly fine.

Here we go! 🙂

First, I started by curling my lashes and tightlining my upper lash line with black liner…but you can skip that if your lashes are naturally curly (lucky you!), and/or you’re just not that into tightlining (oh, and I do both eyes together at the same time to keep them symmetrical).

Next, I lined my upper lash lines and drew a wing using an angled brush and a dark plummy purple eyeshadow, but I started by sort of marking in a couple layers first with the shadow and the brush head dry to get the general shape. Then I wet the brush head, dipped it back into the eyeshadow again and went back over the line and wing to deepen the color and create a slight gradient.

The shape, angle and length of your wing, which is probably a tad messy at this point, kinda serves as a roadmap for the rest of the eye look.

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Makeup Tip: Go Sample Crazy When You’re Looking for a New Foundation

August 5th, 2015 by Karen 36 Comments

Whenever I go to Sephora or Ulta or to a beauty counter at the mall, and I’m looking for a new foundation, I’m that person who leaves with a purse full of samples.

No, seriously. It’s like “No sample left behind!” 🙂

The main reason I do this is not because I’m super chintzy (although I can see how it would be entirely possible to exist solely on samples if one were extra crafty and bound and determined), but because when it comes to foundation, I don’t always knock it out of the park on the first try. Sometimes it takes me a few swings to find the right match.

Try to get samples of the neighboring shades

I always ask for samples — as many as I can get — of the neighboring foundation shades around the one that looks like my closest match in the store. That way I can test them all at home to find the one that looks best on me in natural light, see how each one wears throughout the day, and also see how they all look in pics.

Plus, you just never know if a formula is going to oxidize and darken on your skin throughout the day. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve tried a shade that seemed to match me perfectly in the store, only to have it look totally wackadoo a few hours later, and that’s when it’s nice to have a sample of the next lighter shade on hand.
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A Lazy Girl’s Eye Makeup: Color in the Crease, Color on the Lid and a Little in the Outer Corner

August 5th, 2015 by Karen 29 Comments

Holy eye makeup ruts, Batman! I’ve been in one for about a month. I just haven’t wanted to push myself, makeup-speaking, or venture out of my comfort zone.

Does this ever happen to you?

I really haven’t been experimenting with any new eye makeup techniques lately or funky eyeshadow placement, and I’m not going the extra mile, you know? — like by applying false lashes or going buck wild with my eye looks. I’ve been eye makeup lazy, also known as perfectly comfortable doing the same-o, same-o, which for me is color in the crease, color on the lid and a little in the outer corner.

“…color in the crease, color on the lid and a little in the outer corner.”

-Anonymous lazy woman

I’ll use different eyeshadows, of course, but I’ll place them on my eyes in more or less the same way.

This is the Old Faithful of eyeshadow placement positioning for me, LOL! Putting color in the crease, color on the lid and a little in the outer corner gets the job done. It appears to deepen the crease, which matters to me because mine isn’t naturally very deep (my eye shape is somewhat “hooded”), and I like my eyes to look like they’re set a little deeper.

1. A mid-toned eyeshadow in the crease

When I do this eye look, this is how I’ll start, and it’s usually with a matte or a satin brown to fake the falling of shadows and sort of make my eyes look like they’re set deeper than they actually are.
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