makeup

TBD LINER TRICK: INSTANT INTENSITY

photos + post by amy nadine, graphic design by eunice chun

This is one of the oldest tricks in the book and how makeup artists made gel liners back in Old Hollywood. It really fills in the holes in between your lashes and gives you an intense smudge like a kajal liner or grease paint. It’s super simple and easy, but if you’re a minor please get adult supervision.

TOOLS

  • A kohl eye liner pencil from your local drug store. Our favorites {that you probably already have in your makeup drawer} that work especially well using this technique are this Maybelline one and this one from Covergirl.
  • An open flame {a lighter is nice because it’s portable, but you can also use a candle or a gas stove top}.

STEPS

  1. To slightly liquefy it, hold the tip of the pencil in the flame for one quick second. Don’t even say one Mississippi!
  2. Wait 15 seconds for the pencil to cool down. It gets really hot so you have to let it cool down then always test it out on the back of your hand before you go anywhere near your eye!!
  3. Roll it a little on the back of your hand to mold and keep the tip pointed while it’s becoming a solid again.
  4. Sweep the liner along your upper + lower lashlines as well as your inner waterline if you want to make your eyes even more piercing.

makeup

NYFW EYES: BRIGHT OR BARELY THERE

photos: gorunway.com/graphic design: eunice chun/post: amy nadine

Such a contrast this season on the eyes of the runways of New York Fashion Week! We saw either really bright and fun washes of color inspired by the clothes or very minimal eye makeup that let the fashion have center stage. And… we were able to get the 411 from the head makeup artists at a few of the shows to find out exactly what they used in case you want to recreate the looks yourself!

BRIGHT EYES HIGHLIGHTS

  • Peter Som: Makeup artist Tom Pecheux wanted an ombre watercolor effect on the eyes and used his fingers to apply MAC Eye Paints for a DIY feel (these are our favorites). He focused the lighter version of the shade on the lid, the medium version on the crease and the darker version of the shade on the brow bone.
  • Nanette Lepore: Makeup artist Max Delorme used MAC Pro Paint Slicks by mixing Pure White with the colorful shades to instantly make them into pastels without losing any intensity and applied them all over the lid.
  • Donna Karan: Makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury traced MAC Lip Liner in Magenta (no that isn’t a typo!) on both the upper and lower lashlines then instead of mascara, she painted MAC Pro Chromaline in Process Magenta on the lashes. So cool.
  • Monique Lhuillier: Makeup artist Val Garland lined the upper lid with MAC Chromagraphic Pencil in High Def Cyan then followed it with a sweep of MAC Electric Eel Eye Shadow.

MINIMAL EYES HIGHLIGHTS

  • Naeem Khan: Makeup artist James Boehmer used NARS Madgue Duo Eyeshadow with a couple coats of NARS Larger Than Life Mascara.

makeup

MINIM-EYES ME!

photos + post by amy nadine, graphic design by eunice chun

Every now and then I love to sneak these little lovely mini lashes along the bottom lashline of my clients’ eyes. They just add a little fullness and balance, especially when I’ve used false lashes on the top lashline. It’s super easy to do and only takes a few minutes. Here’s how:

  1. Grab a pack of mini lashes at your local beauty supply store or online here. With slanted tweezers (or your fingers), gently pull out a lash cluster so it’s ready to go.
  2. Add a dollop of lash glue to the top of the package (or the back of your hand) and allow two full minutes for the glue to get tacky (this helps prevent the lash clusters from turning on their sides or sliding down).
  3. Pick up the lash cluster with your tweezers by pinching the end of one of the lashes. Turn it “backwards” or opposite of how you found it in the packaging then dip the knot of the cluster directly in the glue.
  4. With the cluster still backwards so that it curves inward towards your skin, slide each lash cluster in between your own lashes and place it directly on the lash line. I sometimes do 4 clusters on the outside corners of each eye, or I really go for it with 8 clusters all the way across each eye.

 

makeup

DOUBLE DUTY: BLUSH AS EYE SHADOW

photos + post by amy nadine, graphic design by eunice chun

I can’t tell you how many times I sneak a little blush on my clients’ (and my) eyelids to make them come alive. Maybe 1,000? It’s a magical little moment that takes a soft look and turns it into a gorgeous sunset. Here’s how to make it happen:

  1. Apply a bronzed chocolate color on your lids if you have warm undertones or a smoky dark grey if you have cool undertones. Focus on your lids and don’t go higher than your crease.
  2. Apply the same shadow on your lower lash line with a thin liner brush.
  3. Dip your eye shadow brush into your most harmonious blush shade (find yours with our printable guide here) and sweep it back and forth directly in your crease. I used this gorgeous peachy coral shade on Carissa above because she has olive skin tones.
  4. Rim the inside of your eye (waterline) with a minx pencil for warm undertones like I did above, or black kajal pencil for cool undertones.
  5. Line the upper lash line with a dark brown or black pencil (this is our favorite one that goes on like a pencil but looks like a liquid liner.
  6. Finish with a coat of your favorite mascara.

 

makeup

HOW TO PROPERLY WASH YOUR BRUSHES

photos + post by amynadine, graphic design by eunice chun

This isn’t the most exciting lesson, but it’s important nonetheless! Because we must clean our brushes so we can stay on top of bacteria and other offenders that we don’t want to end up on our face. Think of it as basic hygiene. For brushes that you use daily (and don’t share), I would aim for at least once a week (every Sunday perhaps?) or twice a week if you really love makeup and apply it often. There are two ways to properly wash your brushes depending on your personality and time constraints: heavy duty (for those of you that want instant professional strength cleaning agents to annihilate everything) or gentle (for those of you who have more time and prefer to keep it simple). Here’s how:

HEAVY DUTY

  1. Pick up a professional brush cleaning spray from a your local or online beauty supply (the Cinema Secrets spray above is perfect for professional makeup artists who need to clean their brushes repeatedly throughout jobs but this aromatherapy cleaning spray is my favorite to use on my clients because it leaves an amazing smell on the brushes). Starting with your foundation and cream blush brushes (these have the most product residue and need the most attention),  spray it directly on the brush heads to completely soak the bristles.
  2. Rub the brush head back and forth over a paper towel or tissue repeatedly until there is no more product coming off.
  3. Spray the rest of your brushes one at a time (i.e. eyeliner, lip, eyebrow brushes).
  4. Rub these brushes back and forth as well, noticing that they will come clean much faster than the first ones. This solution dries within minutes so it’s great on the go.

GENTLE D.I.Y.

  1. Pour a tablespoon of any baby or organic shampoo (or this brilliant brush wash formulated specifically for this) into a small bowl then add warm water from your faucet so it gets nice and bubbly. One at a time, dip your used brushes into the solution, gently swirling them across the bottom of the bowl to release the product. Keep the brushes in the water as you add each new one.
  2. After washing, let the brushes have a quick soak for 5-10 seconds, no more and no less.
  3. One by one, hold each brush under cold water to rinse any remaining product and seal the hairs.
  4. Re-mold each brush if necessary by pressing the hairs between your fingers until it’s back to its original shape.

DRYING STATION: You don’t want to dry your brushes in an upright position because the water settles into the glue that’s holding the bristles together at the base of each brush head and starts breaking down the glue over time, causing the hairs to come off when you swipe the brush against your face (so annoying). So you can either lay your brushes flat or even better, make this quick little drying station in two steps!

  1. Grab a hand towel, a paper towel or a dinner napkin like I used above. Fold it in half three times, to make it smaller and to create a “crease,” then unfold it once. Where your crease was, slide anything cylinder shaped under it to create the base of your see-saw. I used a big powder brush that was dry and not washed this round but a round magic marker works great too.
  2. Balance each brush across the crease so that the brush head is pointing down, but not touching the napkin. It’s much easier to balance than it sounds, I promise! Now let them dry completely for a few hours (or overnight) and return them to their home (my work brushes live in this amazing brush roll, while my personal brushes live upright in my favorite Mary Poppins mug).