How to Reuse False Lashes

It’s perfectly ok to reuse false lashes (ONLY ON YOURSELF, NEVER REUSE LASHES THAT HAVE BEEN WORN BY ANOTHER PERSON- AVOID CONTAGIOUS DISEASES PLEASE!) to get the most bang for your buck.  Especially if you’re using high end brands.  Watch as I show you how to remove your lashes properly, clean them, and then store them so they’re good as new for the next round!

Makeup Tutorial- Jessica Alba Kid's Choice Awards Look

Before I moved I filmed about 10 videos I'd planned on uploading once a week or so while we waited for the new house to be finished being built. (Seems like my whole life is revolving around this house right now!  I can't wait for it to be finished so I can get my studio all set back up again finally.  I feel like my life is incredibly boring without meeting with clients every day lately.)  But then we moved, and I couldn't find the cords for my computer.  All the videos were on the hard drive, and now that I've finally gotten it all back together I can pull those files off an upload them!  Yay!

Here is the first of my celebrity tutorials- Jessica Alba from the Kid's Choice Awards.  It's a gorgeous glowing look (I mean seriously, is she ever not glowing and gorgeous?) with soft rosy cheeks and beautiful deep teal eyeliner.  I added a bit of sparkle with a line of glitter eyeliner over the top, just for a pop of fun.  I really hope you enjoy it!  Teal liner is really really in for summer, and although this is a bit more on the emerald end, you can definitely switch it up with a more blue shade.

What trend will YOU be rocking this summer for a hot date?

Products Used or Shown:

Elf Blushed and Bronzed

Clinique Blush in New Clover

Stila Waterproof Liners in Peacock and Starfish

Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer

NYX Glitter Liner in  #110 Crystal Jade

MAC Eyeshadows in Orb, Gesso, and Kid

Bite Beauty Lipstick in Musk

Victoria Secret Lipgloss in Mocktail Hour

L’Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation in W 1-2

You can view my other videos here:

HOW TO APPLY FOUNDATION WITH A BEAUTY BLENDER STYLE SPONGE- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOS4HMvHzWI

HOW TO POWDER UNDER YOUR EYES- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXUVN7duRbo

HOW TO APPLY POWDER TO SET YOUR FOUNDATION- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDatlnwGArs

HOW TO CONTOUR AND HIGHLIGHT YOUR FACE- http://youtu.be/6syRC94ex7I

HOW I FILL IN MY EYEBROWS- http://youtu.be/M7TENQirOLI

China Glaze Ombres Sets

At Sally Beauty Supply the other day, I found the coolest looking sets for DIY ombre nails.  There were three color palettes to choose from, but naturally I had to pick up all three.  The boxes come with instructions on how to achieve the look, and it looked so easy.  It was, but then again it wasn't.  There are definitely some tricks to getting it to look like the photos, but I think I came pretty close.  The pink set came out the best.  What do you think?

The purple one kept losing color on the tip while I was dabbing trying to blend.  For some reason it wasn't sticking.  Also, if you aren't wiggling it up and down along the nail, it gives it a really textured look from the sponge instead of the smooth blended look in the photos.  If I were doing this on my nails, I'd probably do two coats of color.

It's really hard to see the gradation of the greens, because the two middle colors of green are too similar to see much of a difference at all.  

Here are all of the single swatches of color.  The first color of each I did two swatches so that I could show the ombre on the first and then still have each of the single colors next to it. The pink is really pale and doesn't show well on the nail wheel, and the green is a pure white.  But there's a blank nail in between each color set to keep them separate. The darkest green color is also weirdly matte instead of glossy like all the other colors.  I think the greens are my least favorite set, but the middle two colors are pretty on their own.

The directions show to dab it directly on the nail and wipe the color off the skin afterwards, but I'd recommend either putting cuticle oil around the skin or even using masking tape to make clean up much easier.
 

The pinks came out better because by then I learned to do thin strips of color and not use so much of the lightest when I sponged it out.   I think I'll do this as a video some time coming up if my nails grow out enough.  They've broken off almost every finger now.  Oddly, the middle finger on my right hand is the only left still unbroken!

Top Beauty Apps

Just about everybody has a Smartphone these days... or an iPad, or an iPod that's basically an iPhone (minus the phone calls!).  This past week I've been test driving some of the top beauty apps available.  (And by "top" I mean the top ones that showed up by relevancy when I typed in beauty.  Read below for why some of these don't earn top ratings in my book.)  Now, these were on my iPad, so they are from the iTunes store. Not sure their availability for Android phones or tablets, but you can check out my Winners below and see for yourself on your system.

I also learned that some of my top beauty magazines have online subscriptions for free I can easily add to my newstand in iTunes.  No more toting heavy magazines with me everywhere!  Yay!  But I can't exactly dog-ear the pages for reference though. :(

The Losers-

1. Modiface Makeover: 1 Star.  This app is supposed to allow you to test run different makeup products on a photo of your own face to see how they would look.  The concept is solid. You take a photo of your own face and then can do test swatches on your actual features with buyable makeup products.  However, what it has in theory it lacks in application.  The colors are really sheer, so it's hard to say for sure if that's how the pigmentation will really look on you.  It's ultra unrealistic looking.  I tried out lipstick colors, and it didn't even overlap me lips.  It tried to, but there was on predetermined lip "shape" that is superimposed over my mouth.  It looked kind of like a child's crayon drawing.  There's also the Makeup (what the difference is supposed to be beats me) and Nails versions, but this was so bad I deleted them without even trying them out.

2. My Beauty Bible: 1 Star.  At first, I thought it looked really professional and user friendly in its layout. I was excited, but the free version is almost useless.  There are only five videos, seven photos, and I didn't bother counting the text tips (which were ridiculously basic).  They also make another app (which I didn't realize until I opened it, and it was almost identical) called How To Do Your Makeup Professionally.  There were even LESS videos supposedly in the paid version than My Beauty Bible.  And they aren't even professionally produced photos by actual makeup artists.  They are imported videos from YouTube.  Why people would PAY to have access to these when you can see them for FREE on YouTube is beyond me.  Color me annoyed.

3. BarryM Looks: 1 Star.  I was excited to see this, because I've heard such good things from other YouTuber's out there about the BarryM products.  Having seen them in action, I thought they looked to be great quality.  Apparently though, that doesn't translate to their app quality.  It looks like a 6th grade powerpoint presentation, with outdated graphics.  The videos have no voice and are very ameteurish with low quality resolution and lighting.  It's ok if you want to see how the products work, but they even show the quality of the products off well at all.  It looked like bad Wet N' Wild makeup from 1989.  They look super cheap.

4. How To Make Your Hair Look Fab: 1 Star.  By the makers of My Beauty Bible.  Enough said.

5. Mark.trends: 2 Stars.  This app is basically an ad for their new products.  Like an Avon catalog with 8 pages you flip through on an iPad.  You can get through it all in a matter of minutes.  But I gave it an extra star, because it does look really nice and professional.  Just with there was some interactive elements to it that made it engaging!

The Winners-

1. Beauty School by Typef.com: 4 Stars.  This app is great for beginners at makeup!  You input your personal traits (like hair color, skin color, skin type, etc) and select mini courses to show you basic application techniques.  You get written step by step instructions, videos, and product recommendations.  It's like all your basic beauty articles from a magazine in one place.  I recommend it if you are looking to start wearing makeup everyday (for work, etc) and need some guidance, or for young girls just starting to experiment passed lipgloss and mascara.

2. Beautylish: 5 Stars.  The winner by far, I love this app.  I've started using it a bit more on my actual computer through the website, but it allows me easy access to my account when I would rather work from the couch!  You can upload your own videos and connect to your YouTube account then link to the products you used.  It gives your audience instant buying power!  There's an online retail store, so they can purchase everything there all at once.  It's great for those people who don't want to have to search everywhere for the products used in their favorite tutorials.  You can also write and read reviews on hundreds of products, and there are awesome forums where you can chat with makeup and beauty enthusiasts from all over the globe!  Plus, you get $10 store credit for joining.  All for FREE.  (Keep in mind though that the credit is good for only 48 hours.)  I've already had a great time connecting with people and sharing my opinions.

The Contenders-

1. Celebrity Makeup Looks: 3 Stars.  It's basically full of YouTube tutorials featuring how to's on celeb looks.  Again, another app trying to feed off of YouTube's gurus to create their product.  The ads at the top of the page are distracting from watching the videos, and there's no way to get rid of them.  The description bar doesn't open fully, and you can't read much at all.  However, there are links that connect you to that guru's YouTube account, so you can subscribe and watch their videos through YouTube at a later time.  It's a decent concept, narrowing down the focus of the videos into one place.  But again, it's really just using the work that YouTube has done to create it's own app.

2. Bloom Beauty Trends: 3 Stars.  This is a good place to promote yourself or finding a professional near you, but I didn't see many members near me. I can see this becoming a big thing in the future, as more pros join and it becoming a great resource.  But it's really no more useful than YouTube itself.  You can find someone's profile and see their tutorials and education/references in one place though.

Do you have any favorite beauty apps that you'd like to recommend?  I'd love to hear about them!  Please leave me a comment below!

How To Contour And Highlight Your Face

For this tutorial, I used powder products to contour (add shadows) and highlight (bring forward) my face.  I like using powder products, because I prefer to set my foundation after applying with a loose hydrating powder.  My favorite is Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder.  You could use a cream or liquid product to add your contour and highlight prior to your foundation for a more natural look or after the foundation for a stronger look and then add your powder over the top.

Products Needed:

*Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer- a matte dark bronzer with a delicious chocolate smell!
*Stila Eye Shadow in Kitten- careful this color is very very shimmery so use sparingly!
*Real Techniques Contour Brush
*Real Techniques Setting Brush
*Crown Brush IB106 Angle Blush Brush- from their Italian Badger line

Step 1:

* After you apply your foundation (watch how I apply it with a Beauty Blender™ style sponge here!), concealer, and powder, dip your angled blush brush into the bronzer and apply it under the cheekbone from the back of your cheek forward. Stop it just below the apples of your cheeks.  Repeat on the other side.  (Check out the video to see how I hold the brush and how to find where the perfect placement for your contour shade.)

Step 2:

* Using your angled blush brush, apply the bronzer at the temples and along your hairline to give some dimension to your forehead.  This will make the center of your forehead look brighter without having to apply a shimmery highlight in your t-zone, which could make you look oily or shiney in photos.

Copyright Too Faced Cosmetics. Image from the Sephora website.

Step 3:

* (Optional) Using the setting brush, apply bronzer in a narrow line down the sides of the nose to make it appear thinner.  Be sure not to take it all the way to the tip of your nose, or it could look dirty.  Blend it out very well so it's just the hint of a shadow and not a dark obvious line.

Step 4:

* Swipe the contour brush over Kitten and tap the excess.  Apply the highlight over the top of your cheekbones from just before the temples to just over the center of the apples of your cheeks.  Do this for both of your cheekbones to highlight.

Step 5:

* Without adding any more product to the brush, swipe the brush in a "C" shape over the outer edge of your eyes to bring a touch of radiance to your eyes and really bring out this area of your face.

Step 6: 

* Use your setting brush to get a very tiny bit of Kitten on the tip of the brush and swipe it down the center of your nose and over the bow of your lip.  Make sure to blend away any edges with your fingertip so there is no obvious makeup here.  You just want it to catch the light a bit and add a glow, not a frosted stripe.

Step 7:

*  If you need to tone down any of your contouring or hightlighting, use your buffing brush to soften the edge with a bit of your face powder.

Step 8:

* Don't forget to add some color to your cheeks!  Even if you don't want a real "pink" or "peach" color to your face, you should use a blush to blend the area between the highlight and the cheekbone together.  You can always try a very nude color with a hint of brown to it for a very "no makeup" look, but honestly I prefer something with a touch of pink.  Nobody's face is completely devoid of natural flush, so eliminating it has the tendency to make it look very unnatural.

How to Powder Under the Eyes and Around the Nose

Keeping your concealer from creasing under your eyes can be a major headache for some people.  Not only do you need to find a product that doesn't move and still gives you the right amount of coverage, you can't go and ruin that by applying your powder incorrectly.  Even if you don't have the perfect product, knowing how to powder it can at least give you better staying power until you do find that perfect product for you.

Personally, I love the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer.

Then, I set my concealer with loose powder. Smashbox's Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder is great because it works to hydrate the skin throughout the day, so it won't dry out your under eye and make it look more creased.  You can purchase both of these products at Ulta.  If you don't have an Ulta near you, the Maybelline products are available at any drugstore, and Smashbox is available both online and at Sephora.

Step by Step:

1. After you apply your concealer to your undereye area- Take a two-ply tissue and peel it apart so that you are left with an even thinner piece of tissue, and then wrap it around your ring finger.  Use that finger to gently pat away any excess pigment and oils from the products.  Once the concealer has been warmed up by your body, the concealer can move, so this takes away an extra that can settle into the fine lines and look cakey.
2. Dip your small fluffy brush into your loose powder and shake the excess off.
3. Lightly run the brush under the eye area to add some of the powder to the concealer and set it into place.
4. Lightly run the brush around the sides of the nostrils, upper lip, and your bottom lip to set any concealer you may have placed there.  The small brush will also allow you to target these smaller creases a larger traditional powder brush would miss.

Check out the video I filmed for my YouTube channel here!

Products used in this video were:

*Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder in Fair
*Real Techniques Setting Brush

How To Apply Foundation With A Beauty Blender Style Sponge

I never used to use sponges for anything other than applying moisturizer to clients before putting their foundation on.  I certainly never used them on myself, and I always saw them as a disposable product necessary only for sanitation needs in a professional environment.  Having worked for makeup counters for so long, I was a firm believer in applying foundation with a foundation brush and a foundation brush only.  Even after I discovered the world of airbrush makeup, I still put my own foundation on the traditional way day in and day out.

Then I discovered the "beauty blender style sponge".  The original is called the

Beauty Blender™.  It came out a few years ago, but I never paid much attention to it.  I got one as a gift from someone once and didn't even take it out of the package.  Through some industry friends, I found out about a generic version online from Qosmedix.com, and I decided to buy a few (since they are only about $2 a piece there) for friends and stick them in with the makeup gift baskets I'd made for them that Christmas.  I had an extra one laying around for myself, and this past October I tried it out for the first time.  I wasn't impressed.  But little did I know, I was using it incorrectly!  The most important thing to remember is to use it wet, and use it to dab the makeup on the surface of the skin!  It made all the difference in the world.  Now I don't use anything else to apply my foundation, and it's changed the way my makeup wears on my skin for the better.

Here's how I compare the "original" to the "generic" version:

* The generic version has an indent in the center of the egg shape which makes it perfect for blending and softening out the edge of your makeup around the jawline and smoothing down the sides of the nose.

* The generic version is available in either pink (perfect for girly girls) or black (which doesn't exactly hide the dirtiness the way you'd think).  Either color will have some staining that even the amazing original Beauty Blender™ sponge cleaner can't remove.  Once the sponge starts to break down and not work well, it's time to toss it, but with regular cleaning, you can reuse it over and over and over!

* The generic version is sooooo much cheaper!

Copyright Qosmedix.com Oblong Blending Sponge, Pink

Now for the Step by Step to applying your foundation with the sponge:

1. Wet your sponge thoroughly with water, then squeeze out as much as you can.  The sponge will swell to twice it's size and give you ample surface area to apply your foundation with.
2. Apply your moisturizer and primer to the skin and allow it to sink in.  In my YouTube tutorial, I used Ren Ultra Moisture Day Cream and Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer.
3. Apply some foundation to the back of your hand and dip the flat "butt" of the sponge into the foundation.  I used Benefit's "Hello Flawless!" Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation in Ivory.
4. Start in the center of your face to the side of your nose and start patting the foundation onto the surface of the skin.  Work your way to the outside of your face, applying the foundation in areas where you need the most coverage.
5. Use the pointed end to smooth out any edges under your eyes and around the nostrils and the indented side to smooth out the edge around your jawline and down the sides of your nose.

And there you have it!  Beautiful, natural looking foundation!  Be sure to watch my Tutorial on how to use the sponge as well as the other videos in my "Basic Face Series" on YouTube which covers getting the perfect canvas for your makeup application.  Don't forget to like the videos and subscribe to my channel to see more great tutorials and product reviews!