Makeup Tips/How To

Dude! Valentine’s Day? I know it’s hella commercial and cheesy, but I don’t even care. Chocolate, love and baby cherubs? You can’t go wrong with that. Plus, crimson lips? If there’s a day to go crazy with crimson, it’s gotta be V-Day.

But what if you’re scared to wear really red lips? What if you like the idea of going full-tilt Gwen Stefani, but you’re too terrified to try?

These five baby steps will build your courage for crimson lips. Remember, Drake was on Degrassi Jr. High once upon a time. Everybody’s gotta start somewhere.

1. Keep calm, and start with a red lip tint or balm

Before going all the way with opaque red lips, you can take a baby step with a tint.

Red balms and tints are like crimson kitten heels, and years from now, when you’re strutting around town in the red lipstick version of 5-inch stilettos, you’ll think back to your starter balms…

When you wear a red balm or a tint, you’ll get a sense of what it’s like to wear red on your lips without the full-on shock of something opaque like MAC Ruby Woo.

And that shock at seeing yourself in red lipstick for the first time is a legitimate thing. The first time I wore red (I think it was in high school, which would place it in the early Cretaceous Period), I didn’t recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror. A red lip balm reduces that risk.

Some tints/balms to try…

Fresh makes a great one called Sugar Lip Tint in Cherry ($22.50). Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Red Dahlia is also gorgeous (and affordable at $6.99).

2. Shine with a sheer red gloss

If you’re more of a gloss girl, you could skip the balm, and go for a sheer red gloss instead. It’s the same idea of easing your way into red with a baby step.

Look for a sheer red gloss that lets most of your natural lip color through. That way you won’t have to worry about the gloss migrating outside your natural lip line.

Check out Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Taylor ($19) or NYX Butter Gloss in Cherry Pie ($4.99).

3. Text a friend

Think of her as your makeup training buddy. Here’s the scenario: you’re visiting a makeup counter and trying to choose your sheer red gloss, but you can’t decide. Do you go with a sheer blue-based gloss or a warm-toned yellowish red? Sparkles or no sparkles?

Gah! These decisions are tough. 🙂

If all of the reds start to look the same, swatch the top contenders on your arm or the back of your hand, then take a quick pic with your phone.

Text it to a friend who (hopefully) knows a little bit about makeup, and ask her which shade she likes best for you, because it never hurts to have a second opinion.
[Continue reading…]

Brows — my sweet, sweet joy and my sweet, sweet pain.

I’ve reluctantly come to grips with the painful reality that I will very likely never be one of those lucky gals/guys who wakes up in the morning with immaculately lush, gorgeous brows, and I’m OK with that.

Because that’s what makeup is for.

Although, truth be told, I’ll always be jealous of my BFF Jen for being one of those naturally big-browed babes…

Let me tell ya, it’s really annoying, LOL!

Back in the ’90s, when everyone was plucking their brows into oblivion, Jen was constantly bemoaning her beautiful brows, saying that they were too damn full and sooo difficult to tame. 🙂

Yeah, what I wouldn’t have given for that problem. I’m always having to fill in mine (freaking Raul!).

On the positive side, at least I’ll probably never run out of new techniques and brow products to try. There’s an endless supply and lots of room to play.

Last year I was really into filling them in with eyeshadow for a full, kinda in-your-face brow look, and sometimes, let me tell ya, those big brows entered a room before I did, haha!

These days I’m more chill about my brows… I still like them big and full, but a little less blocky and more textured, so that they look more natural and real, if that makes any sense. I want brows that look like they just naturally grew out of my head that way.

There are different ways to get a full, but natural brow look, but here’s mine. I use a brow pencil, brow gel, and follow these three simple steps.

First, you’ll need the following…

• A brow pencil with a skinny tip. I like Brow Wiz by Anastasia Beverley Hills ($21). It has a twist-up pencil on one end and a brow comb on the other.
• A brow comb (if your pencil doesn’t have one; see above)
• A clear brow gel, and my favorite of the moment is unsurprisingly called Clear Brow Gel ($22), also by Anastasia. I like it because it dries to a matte finish and has a very strong hold, so those little brow hairs don’t move a muslce once it sets.

Step 1

Begin by filling in your brows with your brow pencil starting at the inner end using short strokes, light pressure, and moving in the same direction that your brow hairs grow, with the goal being to go with the natural flow.
[Continue reading…]

One of my New Year’s resolutions? Go to more parties.

But the free food and drinks and great excuse to wear heels are not the primary drivers here (although, not gonna lie, they’re all super fun reasons)… My main reasons are “research.”

No, seriously. Parties are perfect places to talk to people about makeup!

Case in point: at my BFF Cindy’s birthday lunch a couple weeks ago (aka Carb Fest 2014!), I sat next to a gal named Stacy. When I introduced myself, the first thing she said was, “Oh! You’re Cindy’s makeup blogger friend!” which, of course, opened the floodgates. 🙂

We covered so many bases! We talked about under-eye concealer (run to the closest NARS counter, and pick up Pure Radiant, ASAP), highlighting, and traded makeup ideas for parties.

Stacy wanted ideas for fast ways to crank up her makeup after work, but she said she didn’t have the best blending skills.

I suggested three things — a black pencil liner, a bright lipstick, and five minutes.

First, the before…

The before/work look

This would be a typical standard-issue work makeup look for me with neutral eyes, cheeks and lips.

Step 1: Reducing shine, and applying black liner

First, blot or reapply powder on any shiny spots, and then line your upper and lower water and lash lines with a creamy black pencil eyeliner. Next, soften the lash lines with a pencil brush, then create a smokey haze around them.

Now, to intensify the look, apply a new coat of mascara to your upper and lower lashes.

Stop here if you just want to end with a smokey eyes/nude lips combo.
[Continue reading…]

Red lips, like fire, are hard to contain. They’re also hard to resist. Every gal I’ve ever known has wanted to wear red lips at one time or another. Even my staunchly anti-makeup BFF Cindy, who will get in her car and drive 50 miles away from me if I approach her with a lip brush, craves crimson sometimes.

One trick to controlling the fiery power that is red is containing it within a boundary, like by lining the edges of your lips with lip liner. For a defined, distinct boundary around your red, use a liner shade slightly darker than the red lipstick you plan to apply, then fill your lips with the same liner, except for the middle of your top and bottom lips (to create subtle variations between the color in that middle area and the other parts of your lips for extra dimension).

Now, soften any harsh edges with a lip brush, while keeping that open area in the middle of your lips clear for the next step: your lipstick.
[Continue reading…]

“I have way too much makeup!” said no woman, EVER.

If your figurative makeup storage cup currently runneth over, take a look at what you have around your apartment/house/condo/igloo/yacht. There’s a good chance you have at least one of the three items below, which you can repurpose for more makeup storage.

1. Shopping bag gets a haircut

Trim the top section from a shopping bag (I like using MAC bags for this), and then you can stash makeup in the bottom part.

One other nice thing about this hack is that you can trim the bags down to whatever height you need. 🙂

[Continue reading…]