Todays Face

Todays face was a request by a few fellow MUAers. The told me I would look lovely with a pinup styled makeup (red lips, cat liner), so last night before bed I gave it a try and I really liked it. This type of look for me definitely will take some confidence to actually wear it out in public because I feel like it's too harsh. Or maybe I could find a way of toning things down a bit. I always love doing request looks for some reason, so if anyone has any other ideas in mind let me know! Anyway, onto Todays Face!

Products Used:
(all other makeup other than the eyes and lips were from earlier in the day so it's all worn off and old. Therefore, I won't mention it, unless you guys ask then I'd be happy to)
- Wet'n'Wild MEGA LINER [Black]
- M.A.C. Lippie [Russian Red]
- Revlon Eye Palette [White]

I find it takes some time and practice to get a good cat eye down, I'm still in the process of learning this so forgive me if it's a little messy /: If you guys know of any tips or tricks for the liquid liner, I'd love to know!

I really like these lips, I was wondering what other eye looks might be good with them. Any ideas?

XOX,

- Mj

Todays Face

The Kardashian sisters were behind todays face I always (almost) adore their makeup, they wear everything so well from sexy smokey eyes to fresh pink lips. Here are some photos I used for inspiration, and how I created my own Kardashian look!

Products Used:

- MAC Select SPF 15 [NC37]

- Fit Me Foundation [220]

- MAC Cream Colour Base [Pearl]

- bareMinerals Contour [Fresh]

- MAC Sheertone Blush [Springsheen]

- bareMinerals [Mineral Veil]

- Sephora Palette (stars * are over the colors used, they have no names)

- NYX Black Kohl Liner

- L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black

- MAC Lipstick [Myth]

For this look, I concentrated mostly on perfecting my cheeks and skin, because that is what I always find myself envying when seeing the Kardashians. I wanted to go for a pinky peach cheek with lots of sheen to provide that glamour glow we all know I can't get enough of.

Step 1 FACE:  Always make sure to properly prep your face for makeup. For me, this includes, cleansing, and moisturizing and using Fix +. Give this about ten (10) minutes to set and dry properly. Now, I was looking for a smooth sheer coverage foundation so I went with M.A.C. Select SPF 15 in NC37, for definition, I applied a darker foundation (Fit Me in 220) to the frame of my face. This is a technique that allows light to reflect from the center of your face and it gives a really beautiful effect. Just make sure the darker color isn't too  dark and also be sure to blend, blend, blend! Next, I patted M.A.C. Cream Colour Base in Pearl onto the apples of my cheeks, cheekbones and bridge of my nose. I like to use my fingers for this because it gives a glow, but a real natural one. Finally, I used bareMinerals Fresh into the hollows of my cheeks and all around my face.

Step 2 CHEEKS: Again, this is where I wanted the most focus to be so I use a few different products to create a one-of-a-kind blush that's perfect for my skin tone. First I popped on a layer of M.A.C Sheertone Blush in Springsheen, after that I whipped out my new Sephora palette and used the creamy peach / orange to provide the real color. After this I used the lightest color in the palette for extra highlight. I ran it over the blush I already applied and right above my cheekbones. Don't forget when you're finished with your face makeup to set it with a powder, I used bareMinerals Mineral Veil.

Step 3 EYES: It's NECESSARY when applying eyeshadow to use a primer as your base. Find one that works for you and use the heck out of it! I use MICABELLA's eye primer and apply it with a concealer brush. Using a medium shadow brush I applied a light shimmery champagne color all over my lid up to the brow bone, just a thin wash of color, nothing dramatic. I also popped this into my inner corner to brighten and open my eye. I used a similar shade but it's a tad darker for an all over lid color. Then, I applied a matte brown to my outer corner and a little into my crease, using a M.A.C. 217 brush. To enhance this I blended a bronze brown into my crease and beneath my lower lid. I used an NYX kohl liner to line my upper lashline, as well as in both my top and bottom waterlines. I feel like the dark black against the whites of my eyes really makes them pop. And finally popped on a few coats of L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara.

Step 4 LIPS: I mixed two lipglosses to create an earthy nude pink that I frequently see Kim Kardashian rockin'. Before I put the gloss on I ran M.A.C. lipstick in Myth over my lips to lighten them up a bit so the true color of the glosses would pop through better. I applied the gloss with a drugstore lip brush.

*NOTE: I put stars (*) over the products I used in the Sephora palette so you could color match if you don't have that exact one.

Final Look

Notice the glow radiating out from my cheeks, this isn't from the flash, it's a result of the Cream Colour Base layered beneath the blush, and then a powder highlighter over that. I really love using this technique.

When applying eyeshadow, another layering technique gives great results. If you use a white shadow pencil (like NYX Milk, or Urban Decay Yeyo) in the inner corners of your eyes and blend them with a liner brush. Apply your shadow as usual and then go over the areas where you put the pencil liner with a light shimmery shadow. This will guide lots of light to that area, brightening it up a thousand fold. It makes the eyes look very lovely.

These side shots showcase the face makeup at it's best. Notice the deeper, darker contour blending into the peach blush blending into the highlighter. 

If you guys have any other questions, just ask! 

XOX,

- Mj

Todays Face

Products Used:

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in 220

MAC Blush in Cheek 

BareMinerals contour in Fresh 

BareMinerals highlight in Well Lit 

e.l.f. Eye Primer

MAC eye shadow in Club

No Name Eye Palette

NYX Eye Pencil in Black

Maybelline Falsies Mascara

MAC Myth Lipstick

Revlon Just Enough Buff Lipstick

Clinique Gloss in Bamboo Pink

Step 1 After moisturizing, I used my Fit Me foundation and applied it with a M.A.C. 187. Instead of stippling, which is what this brush is actually intended for, I buffed. Buffing is just spreading the makeup in circular motions, it gives a really even finish and helps the product set into the skin. I threw on a little blush in Cheek from M.A.C. and then applied the highlight to my cheeks, and down the bridge of my nose.

Step 2 The real focal point of this look was in the eyes. Although I'm usually not one to wear heaps of dark colors on my eyes I actually really liked the way this turned out. Fist I primed my lids with e.l.f.'s Eye Primer. I then used a peachy / coral eye shadow in and a little above my creases and then used an NYX pencil liner in black to line my top lashline. and then applied M.A.C.'s Club to the lid. This is a really unique color, when first applied it's a dark reddish brown with a little black and then it has a duochrome effect where it turns a little teal and blue shimmer. It's really beautiful. I tried to get a good photo of the amazing color effects. I definitely recommend this eye shadow because it's so pretty! I made sure to concentrate this over where I put the black liner because it makes the teal shimmer really pop having a dark colored base like the liner. As it moved up my eye to just below my crease I gently blended just a touch.





Step 3 I took the peachy eye shadow I used on my lids and put in beneath my bottom lashline and then went over it with the Club eye shadow. I made the Club end slightly higher than the other pigment so you could see both of the colors beneath my eye. After that, I lined my upper and lower water lines with my NYX pencil liner in black and popped on a couple coats of mascara.

Step 4 To finish this look off I used a thin layer of M.A.C. Myth lipstick, it's a really muted pale nude so I needed to go over it with something that had a little more pigment. In this case that was Revlon's In The Buff. Because my lips were a little chapped I put a gloss over them (this hides my cracks in my lips pretty well) I used Clinique Bamboo Pink, this too is a muted nude but it has a hint of pink and some sparkle. All together it created a really lovely lip look.

 This was a look inspired by Mila Kunis' makeup at the MTV Movie Awards. While I was getting my daily fix at makeupalley.com someone posted a picture of her there and said someone should do a dupe of it. That someone ended up being me and and fellow beauty blogger (you can find her dupe here). I had the idea that a few people should try out this cool because I thought it would be interesting seeing how different people interpret one same look. Take a look at hers to see the different ways we did everything! This was a really fun look to do with the deep, sultry colors. I hope you liked it! I hope that I'll be doing more of the friend dupes in the future!

Here's the photo I attempted duping!

XOX,

- Mj

How To: Stippling Liquid Foundation

Stippling is a technique used my makeup artists when applying foundation. It achieved by tapping a specific type of brush onto your skin, rather than buffing or using a sponge. This technique, when done correctly with provide you with a airbrushed, smooth finish.

Where To Begin?
You will want to start buy purchasing a stippling brush. You can find these under other names such as a skunk or duo fibre brush. You're best bet for getting a quality stippling brush would be to go with the MAC 187. This is an extremely soft and efficient stippling tool. There is a dupe for this brush that can be found here.

Tap, Tap, Tap!
After you've found your proper tools it is time to learn the technique. Stippling is described as the creation of a pattern by using small dots. This is exactly why we need the duo fibre brush as it has specific fibers that will grab and hold foundation to apply in "dot form", for lack of a better term. Tip: Do not pour your foundation onto the brush, the key is getting the product only on the longer of the two fibers (the other ones are just to aid in the solidity of the brush and for ease of application). Pour your foundation onto a mixing palette or the back of your hand. The idea is again, to only get product on the longer of the two fibers that are on your brush. So, you will want to 'tap' the ends of the brush onto your foundation so the fibers grab it. Once it is on your brush you will want to begin by lightly tapping the product wherever you want it applied until you are left with a smooth finish. Only use a tapping motion, do not stroke, buff, or blend the makeup in any other way, or it quite defeats the purpose! Do not use your stippling brush to buff out your foundation, this can still be done but just use a regular complexion brush. You can apply as much or as little product as you'd like just keep tapping until you are satisfied with the finish of your skin. Continue applying all over your face and down onto the neck to prevent any makeup lines. And now you are left with an airbrushed, dreamy smooth base for the rest of your makeup!

My Overall Thoughs / Feelings
To put it frankly, I love stippling. It is the easiest way to get an airbrushed look without an airbrush! It also prevents the all common issue of streaking because you are not pulling the makeup around your face. The only thing I would caution is to be sure you have tapped enough so that you aren't missing any areas and the makeup is evenly dispersed throughout your face. Otherwise, I totally recommend stippling, it's not a difficult technique and you are left with a professional finish.

Stash Swatch: Tutorial for the MUAers!

Hi guys, if anything is unclear or you want more info. just comment and I'll explain whatever you need. (: Enjoy

^brows^

 ^inner lashlines and crease (brown look)^

 ^lid and crease^ (purple look)

Bottom Palette: inner corners (purple), lids (brown), crease (purple)

Top Palette (all from brown look) : (lightest color) all over lids, (upper left) crease, (upper right) crease, (darkest) outer corner & bottom lashline

Products Used:

Brushes -

MAC 217 for crease / blending

No name medium shadow brush (densely packed bristles) for lid colors

No name medium shadow brush for buffing, no pigment used

MAC 266 for lashlines and inner corner highlight

Michael's paint brush for pencil tip, just used to apply the pigment to the crease

Brown Look - 

Revlon ColorStay 12 hr e/s pallete in 14 Nude Elements

Maybelline ExpertWear e/s in Natural Smokes

Aziza Palette no name

NYX e/s in Deep Bronze

Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes in Black Diamond

Wet'n'Wild Mega Liner in Black

Purple Look-

Revlon ColorStay 12 hr e/s pallete in 14 Nude Elements

Covergirl Eye Enhancers in Violet Frappe and Shimmering On

Aziza Palette no name

Clinique Cream Shaper for Eyes in Black Diamond

Wet'n'Wild Mega Liner in Black

Revlon Super Lustrous in Just Enough Buff

 ^brown

 ^purple

^lips for both

There ya guys go, don't forget if there's anything else you would like to know or any other breakdown's you would like don't hesitate to ask!

XOX,

- Mj

HANGOVER MAKEOVER

In the spirit of the release of the Hangover II I've decided to post the HANGOVER MAKEOVER. It happens to the best of us... we all know waking up the morning after an epic night reminicing and laughing about what adventures happened is fun. But waking up to a reminder of that heavy mascera you wore last that started out looking fantastic and has now moved it's way south on your face area isn't so sexy. This is for those days when you just can't call in sick, but can't go into the office looking like a zombie-raccoon. While there is no magical remedy to hide the tell tale puffy bags and dark circles there are a couple things you can do to make it more tolerable for those looking at your for the rest of your day. Before we begin, if any of your are reading this while you have a hangover, just to make things easier on yourself go pour yourself a big glass of ice water and pop two ibuprofen or tylenol..... Now, back to the make-up!

- First, You will need to calm the puffiness and bags beneath your eyes. You can achieve this by using a cold compress. The idea behind cold compresses is that because of the low temperature applied to your normally hot skin your blood vessels will constrict, reducing blood flow, and thus reducing and redness and swelling. I would also recommend using an under-eye roller infused with caffeine or some other de-swelling ingredient. Like this

 one.

- Now it's time to prep your skin. Alcohol causes dehydration to just about everywhere in your body (fun fact: including your brain, ever wonder why people make those oh-so-wise choices when intoxicated?) including your face. Your skin is likely to be colorless, lifeless, and dry. Use a moisturizer with SPF to prevent any further damages. Don't forget to also apply a primer so that your make-up doesn't come off during the day to reveal what you actually look like (; I suggest this and this.

- Our main concern: Those bags and under eye circles! These are the tell tale signs of a hangover, so our focus is to eliminate any reminisce of them. You can achieve this by applying an orange based concealer like Almay's Bright Eyes. The orange will counteract the purple / blue dark circles that have appeared on your face uninvited. Be sure to use a concealer that is appropriate to your skin tone, it should be one shade lighter than your foundation. I like to apply this around my entire eye just to make sure everything is even and one color.    

-Time to liven up the face. Apply a cream blush, like MAC's Cream Colour Base in Pearl to the apples of your cheeks and on your cheek bones. This will bring some light onto your skin. Next apply your foundation as you normally would over the cream blush. This will give the illusion you are glowing from the inside. After my foundation, I used Bare Minerals Fresh as a contour and MAC's Cheek as a blush, to just add some nice color. I  also threw a highlighter (Bare Mineral's Well Lit) on to my cheek and brow bones for some extra glow. 

- Widen the eyes. Our goal here is to look as awake a fresh as possible. This being said skip any eye shadows with sparkles as they can fall into fine lines and make wrinkles more visible, also avoid dark shadows. These make it seem that your eyes are sunken in, something you definitely want to stay away from when diagnosed with a hangover. Stick with neutral colors, maybe something with a little shimmer on your top and bottom lash lines like Victoria's Secret Luminous Shadow in Nude Glow (here) to brighten things up even more. Opt for a lengthening mascara, this will open your eyes more than a volumizing one would, these can sometimes cast shadows and make dark circles more prominent. The final step: apply a lip color that's close to that of your natural lips, throw on some gloss and you're out the door. I used Clinique Long Last Glosswear with SPF 15 in Air Kiss

There it is friends, a complete de-hangovering guide. Hope this comes in handy, but you don't have to use it too often (:

Before and After: HANGOVER MAKEOVER

XOX,

- Mj

My Turn

Here's the result of my inspired creative mind all thanks to Sophy Robson and my friends at www.makeupalley.com. I started browsing around for ideas and found this modern twist on french tips. Since I'm quite the rookie when it comes to painting my nails (actually painting anything, for that matter) this task didn't seem too bad since the supplies only include tape, scissors, lacquer & relatively no skill. I tried duplicating this look from chloesnails.blogspot.com she has this and so many more awesome looks.

Lately I've been in this earthy ethereal mood so I chose some neutral colors for my nails. My base is some unknown brand in a very nude color. Don't forget to let your base dry completely before continuing.

Next, I placed a piece of tape (sorry it's black, it's electrical tape, I recommend using clear scotch tape) diagonally across my nail. Be sure to press it firmly onto your nail to prevent any bleeding of your top color.

I put about three coats of O.P.I's Over The Taupe over the base coat (that's DRY!) and removed the tape. You do not need to wait for this to dry before removing the tape.

Continue previous steps to each nail and this is what you get. Feel free to move your lines around to create a more individual funky look or stick with what I did if you'd like. This was really easy and it looks cool. I can't wait to go out and pick out some rad color schemes to try out next. Hope you guys liked this, if you have any questions just comment at the bottom and I'd be happy to help!

xox,

- Mj