Posts Tagged ‘tip’

PERFECT EYE SHADOW BLENDING

No Comments

Post + Photography by Amy Nadine, Graphic Design by Eunice Chun

I can’t stress this quick tip enough. Do not blend with the same brushes that you used to apply the shadow! Don’t do it! Hear my voice in your head and put the brush down, grab a clean unused one and blend with that one.

Why? Because when you create a smoky eye, you’re depositing a lot of product onto the lid, so how can you truly blend the shadow you’ve precisely placed if there’s still product on the brush? You’re just applying more, not blending. And smoky eyes are all about blending. Furthermore, you typically use more than one shade when creating a smoky eye (lighter on the lid and darker in the crease or The Reverse Smoky Smoke with the darker on the lid and the lighter in crease), so if you blend with the brush that you applied one of the colors with, the remaining product on the brush will spread over the entire area and create a sloppy and muddy look. What’s the point of taking the time to do something pretty to only undo it or not finish it properly?

OUR FAVORITE BLENDING BRUSHES:

STEPS:

  1. After you’ve finished your smoky eye, grab a clean, unused brush and blend all over by sweeping the brush back and forth in a windshield wiping motion then in smaller swirling motions, then again with bigger motions.
  2. Continue until there are no harsh edges.

If you don’t have a clean brush in your arsenal (you know who you are!), no worries, just put your laptop down and take a trip into your makeup bag and clean them so I can sleep tonight knowing our TBD readers clean their brushes regularly! Revisit my Brush Cleaning Tutorial if you need a refresher. Thank you!

 

TEAL IS THE NEW BLACK

No Comments

Spring is the perfect time to break out a little color in your palette! And it’s much more wearable than you think if you apply the bold color along the natural shape of your eyelid (don’t wing it out) and pair it with a soft pink cheek and lip. I had the pleasure of creating this look for Emmy Rossum a couple weeks ago for her red carpet event and got so many emails asking what I used on her, I thought I would do even better and actually show you step by step exactly what I did on Emmy on my friend Jessie!

Sponsored Post + Photography by Amy Nadine, Graphic Design by Eunice Chun

TOOLS:

  • Teal Eye Shadow — I used Lorac Eye Color in Celebutant and also really love Urban Decay Stardust Eye Shadow in Atmosphere which is slightly cooler while the Lorac shade is warmer (revisit my Undertones post if you haven’t determined yours yet!)
  • Medium Dome-Shaped Blending Brush – Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Brush is the perfect compacted head for control when applying all over the lid and in the crease. If you don’t own a brush like this one yet, you’re missing out!
  • Black Waterproof Liner — I love Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Onyx because it glides on thick and the blackest black like a kajal liner but it’s waterproof so it stays longer.
  • Mascara – I used Kevyn Aucoin Curling Lash Color in Rich Pitch Black because it’s kinda major when it comes to curling and painting your lashes. Trust.
  • Pearl Cream Eye Shadow – I used Stila Smudge Pot Liner in Kitten, the iconic warm pearl shade.
  • Small Tapered Brush — Try the W3LL People Tapered Angle Eye Brush for both the pearl shadow above the crease or the teal shadow on the bottom lashline.
  • Pale Pink/Peach Cream Blush – I used Stila Convertible Color in Gerbera which is gorgeous on pale skin like Emmy’s and medium skin tone like Jessie’s or try Petunia on dark skin tones or Fuchsia on the darkest skin tones.
  • Foundation – I used Luminess Air Matte Foundation because I love the velvety coverage and the fact that it’s matte so you don’t need to powder after.
  • Pale Pink/Peach Lipstick or Gloss – Emmy chose to leave her lips bare that night but another option would be Lorac Couture Shine Liquid Lipstick in Haute like I used on Jessie for a colored shine or Vincent Longo Wet Pearl Lipstick in Honeysuckle for a satin finish.

STEPS:

  1. After applying foundation all over your face and neck, apply the teal shadow all over the lid and crease with the medium dome-shaped brush.
  2. Sweep the teal shadow along the bottom lashline with the small tapered brush.
  3. Rim the inner waterline with the black waterproof liner by gently pulling down on the bottom lid and tracing the pencil just above the lashline.
  4. Sweep the pearl shadow just above the teal, above the crease, to add a little life to the area.
  5. Coat the lashes with mascara.
  6. Smile in the mirror to pop out the apples and apply the pink cream blush on the upper half of them.
  7. Finish with the pale pink lipstick or gloss.

By now you’ve probably caught on that we find a lot of our makeup + hair must-have’s on one of our most favorite beauty sites, Beauty.com… so we’re so excited to invite our readers to their bi-annual Friends & Family 20% Off Event from today until Friday 5/17 at midnight PST! It’s such a rare opportunity to get 20% off YOUR ENTIRE ORDER of your favorite prestige makeup brands like Urban Decay, Kevyn Aucoin, Stila, Vincent Longo, Lipstick Queen and my favorite Beauty Blender Egg-Shaped Sponge that you’ve been dying to try (including all of the products used in this post, just make sure to use this link after you’ve added the items to your cart to get the 20% off)!

Sponsored by Beauty.com!

LIPSTICK AS BLUSH

No Comments

Post + Photography by Amy Nadine, Graphic Design by Eunice Chun

Using lipstick as blush is not only a lifesaver, but it’s actually how cream blush came about believe it or not! A classic satin or matte finish lipstick is the perfect substitute for blush. Further, there are hundreds of different shades of lipstick, and not as many with blush, so I find that I’m using gorgeous pinky-nude lipsticks on my clients’ cheeks all the time simply because I don’t own blush in that color! Here’s the best way to apply it: (more…)

AND THE WINNER IS…

No Comments

We’re excited to bring you the winner of our Pick Your Own TBD Tutorial and thank you to everyone who voted! The look you chose was LOOK 3! We’ve partnered with Vidal Sassoon Pro Series to create a step-by-step breakdown on how to get this look yourself and think you’ll love just how easy it is to do. This tutorial shows us how to get natural texture + a little volume without using a curling iron. Here’s how:

TOOLS:

 

  1. Start by washing your hair and only conditioning the ends lightly. On towel dried hair, spray Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Color Protect Spray from the middle to ends. This is an amazing light-weight conditioner that not only protects but also helps close the cuticle, creating more shine.
  2. Next up, pump a golf ball-sized amount of Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Boost & Lift Foaming Air Mousse into the palm of your hands.
  3. Massage it evenly throughout your roots. Really work it in to avoid ” flat spots” where you may have missed with product. If you spend a couple minutes getting it evenly distributed, you’ll get a better result with mousse!
  4. Now toss your hair all to one side and blow dry on high.
  5. Flip it to the other side and do the same. It’s okay to go back and forth. You want to get it about 90% dry, leaving just a little bit of moisture. NOTE: If you’re blowing out curly hair to get this look, blow it out all the way! 100% dry! Then see step 7!
  6. Last, flip completely upside down and make sure you dry the area by the nape of your neck.
  7. OPTIONAL: If you’ve blown out curly hair and it’s now 100% dry, spray a little bit of Vidal Sassoon Pro Series Repair & Finish Spray. This will restore a small amount of moisture and allow your hair to take the shape of the wave without causing the hair to curl back up.
  8. While your hair is still warm from blowdrying, wind all of it into a tight bun at the crown of your head (as you see in photo 8!) and secure it with pins. We prefer using hair pins (aka: U-pins) for this so they’re not too tight, but you can use bobbypins if you’re careful not to open them too wide. Avoid using ponytail holders as they can leave an unwanted crease. If you have shorter hair, you can make 2 buns by dividing the hair into two sections– one up top and one in back.
  9. Try and leave your hair in bun for at least 30 minutes. It needs time to cool in order to take the wave shape. This is great for those of you who do your hair at night because you can sleep on it and get an even better wave! Once the hair has cooled, remove the pins and lightly brush the ends if neccessary. Literally all we did in this photo was take it down after 30 minutes of cool down time, shake it out and brush the last 1 inch using a comb. If you want to, you can go over any unruly pieces with a large barrel curling iron or you can hit the ends with a flat iron for an edgier look.

Thank you to Vidal Sassoon Pro Series for collaborating with us on such a fun voting post. Good luck everyone and show us your waves on Instagram! Tag us @thebeautydept!