NO MORE MAKEUP FACE!!Interview with Matt & Zag
Many women fall victim to the “Makeup face monster” in the same way a junkie gets hooked on drugs. Didn’t think you and the crack whore down the street had something in common did you? Well think back to when you had your first taste of makeup. You put it on, felt good, felt sexy, felt empowered. Then as time went by you started to need more, maybe those pimples were a little harder to hide then before. Next thing you know, you can’t have fun without it. You find your self putting more and more makeup on. You start changing your activities to include it. “Sorry girls, I can’t go swimming with you today, it might mess up my makeup.” We know, it’s hard to hear, but WE ARE HERE TO HELP!!!
We enlisted advice from leading professional makeup artist Victoria Stiles to help you get back to basics and learn some techniques to use makeup as weapon of beauty again.
As a makeup artist I come across all different skin types, tones, and textures. Each face is not created equally therefore the same products are not used for everyone. When I hold makeup trainings for clients who want to learn how to do a basic face for everyday wear, I start with assessing their skin type. Skin is the basis for all makeup applications. Often I compare prepping your skin to sanding a piece of wood—if you paint a wood surface that is un-sanded, how does it look? The same rule of thumb applies to makeup. By applying foundation to a face that is not thoroughly moisturized, the result can be flaky and cakey!
In addition to prepping the skin, choosing the right foundation for your skin color and type is key for a flawless natural finish. First identify if your skin is normal to oily or normal to dry. Be sure to choose a foundation that has light to medium coverage—full coverage is typically used for more dramatic makeup, photography, or stage and is usually too heavy for everyday use. For normal to oily skin types, stick with a matte liquid or powder foundation. For normal to dry, choose a liquid foundation that is water or silicone based with a demi-matte or satin finish. Choosing the right color for your skin is equally important—“base face” is not an attractive feature! If your foundation color is off, the rest of the makeup is off and looks unnatural. Determine whether you have a yellow undertone or a pink/red undertone. Based on your undertone, eye a few colors in a range you instinctively think you fall in. Always match your foundation color to your neck color by swatching a small amount of the product in sections along your jaw-line. If the section of color along your jaw-line matches with your neck color, congratulations, you have the perfect match!
Once you have tackled the most important elements to your daily makeup routine, skin care and foundation, the rest is easy! In order to achieve a fresh look, stay away from rimming your entire upper and lower eye lid with deep black or charcoal shadows and eye-liners. Instead, choose neutral eye-shadows in soft browns with either a matte or shimmer finish. Gently sweep one color across the lid, line the top lid with a dark brown or grey eye-liner shade, add one coat of mascara to the upper and lower lashes, and your look is almost complete! Finish off the look by applying a soft pink or coral cream blush to the apples of your cheeks with a makeup sponge (this will give you a naturally flushed look) and swipe a shade of sheer lipstick or gloss in a color that is one or two steps deeper than your natural lip color. Quick lip tip: Stay away from sticky lip glosses—guys HATE sticky lips!
We hope Victoria’s tips help you stay the gorgeous, sexy and empowered woman you are. You can see more of her work and cutting edge tips at: Victoria Stiles Makeup
The Best Make-up Brushes for a Flawless Face
Make-up can often be a really important part of a person’s daily routine. If you’re the kind of person who can’t leave the house without even a quick cosmetic fix, you’ll know that make-up brushes are an essential buy when out shopping for basic beauty needs. Most cosmetics already come with their own applicators, but the best make-up brushes will usually need to be bought separately. Of course, if you’re going to spend all of that money, you’re going to have to figure out how to clean make-up brushes. After all, what’s the use of having a really great set of make-up brushes if they’re all gross and grungy?
There are many kinds of make-up brushes with different shapes and sizes, textures, handle lengths, and bristles. Each one has a different function and are great for applying different kinds of make-up. If you want to be able to apply your make-up well, it’s good to stick to a few “essential” brushes that are both versatile and practical.
- A large powder brush is one of those essentials. It’s a big, full brush with a domed or rounded shape, and it’s useful for dusting on loose powder or brushing off excess debris.
- A concealer brush, on the other hand, has a squarer-shaped head, with corners that are tapered for blending. It should have a long handle and be a comfortable weight for your hand, since it’ll be used for precision applications.
- For blush, use a brush that is slightly smaller than a powder brush, with a large head and slight tapering.
- For your eye make-up, start with a medium-sized eye shadow brush with a square head slightly tapering corners, and firm but soft bristles.
- An angled or slanted eye liner brush is also a great addition to your make-up brush set. Try to make sure that the head is small and narrow, with bristles that are soft, but firm, because it’s meant to apply fine lines and blend or soften edges.
- A lip brush with a small, flat, narrow edge is great for blending and applying lipstick; just make sure that it has a cap and/or a retractable head, for hygienic purposes.
If you want to learn how to clean make-up brushes, but are worried about having to go through a lot of hassle to do it, stop worrying! All you need to do is run the bristles of each brush under some warm water, use a bit of shampoo to work up a bit of lather, rinse off as much of the make-up tint as you can, squeeze the excess H2O out of the bristles and lay them flat to dry. If you care for them, the best make-up brushes can serve you for years. I have some that are 15 years young and they are still serving me each day!
