Makeup | Summer Sexy

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It could be that you’re gonna hit the beach, or that you’re gonna be in the hot sun; basically it’s the same concept makeupwise, go minimal.

Winter will [hopefully] soon be over, we’re trying to get our act together and get more active and release the sexy beast that’s hibernating under all those layers of flab  winter gear. Clothes aren’t the only thing that should shed during the summer season, so should makeup. 

Ladies, this concept is even more pertinent if you’re gonna hit the beach or the pool this summer season, either with the family, with friends or as part of a social engagement. The bbqs, the summer jams, you get the picture.

Jet setters, this also works well  as ‘day makeup’ if you plan to travel to a warmer climate, no matter what time of the year it may be. Nothing looks more uncomfortable than you in a picture with a gorgeous getaway background, sandals to die for, an easy breezy smile and a face chock full of makeup. 

Here are a few tips on looking sexy cool beach/ pool makeup.

1. Protect your skin

Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen, a minimum of SPF 15 for darker skins, higher for lighter skins, especially if you plan to be in the sun for an extended period of time.

Slather a generous amount of sunscreen, at least 20 minutes before you apply any makeup, to give it a chance to soak in,  get comfy and dry, to prevent the chance of anything applied over it smearing. 

Trick: Sunscreen needs to be reapplied at least every 2 hours or so when you are actively in the sun. So that you still protect your skin while not disturbing your makeup, seek and find one of those powdered sunblocks that you can re-apply, much like face or blotting powder.

Neat ain’t it?

2. Forget the heavy cakes

If you want ‘flawless skin’ on it in the hot sun, try working on it from the inside out, starting with proper nutrition, hydration and a solid skin care regime perhaps.

Even if you have less than stella skin,  trying to achieve this by wearing thick, creamy foundations and concealers is a no go. This is not a photo shoot. No average person is going to excuse why you are wearing layers of makeup with zero clothing, or why your smile is running down your face. Not only that, doing this will make you look high maintenance, to each his own yes, but this is an internationally ‘Not-so-Sexy’ look. Reserve ‘high maintenance’ for galas and otherwise stuffy indoor business.

Still, you don’t have to go completely au natural. To achieve a natural yet polished look you can wear a dusting of powder based coverage – a dusting i.e. apply it with a brush, not a solid sponge applicator. A brush will apply a much lighter layer of powder, which can be done a couple types to build up coverage if necessary. A sponge applicator applies waaaay too much powder  in one fell swoop for it to be considered natural sexy. 

3. Make it last

There is waterproof makeup out there, but I’m not a fan, except maybe water proof mascara, especially the ones that go on as a liquid but comes of tube-like. I’m not a fan of other types of ‘waterproof makeup’ because when applied, it has a tendency to look like you just decorated yourself with kiddie glue.

Tip: If you choose to wear ‘normal’ waterproof mascara, the lengthening mascara formulas are the easiest to remove and look most natural, as the volumizing formulas are of a thicker consistency and tends to clump. – too much drama if you are going for a ‘natural’ look. 

Also consider wearing either matte lipstick or lip stains, which give a natural sexy pout over lip glosses as these will have a tendency to slip right off your lips. Also, if applicable lengthwise, your hair will get trapped in your lips and removing them will leave all sorts of greasy streaks all over your face. Eww. 

And definitely no glosses with glitter, glitter on your lips only work for Christmas soirees. Glitter on your face as a whole doesn’t look quite right in the hot sun as the sun would amplify the shine, which brings us to the next one…

4. Bring on the bronzing

Regardless of your skin-tone, ebony or porcelain goddess, choose to dust on a bronzer that gives the appearance of a ‘natural tan’, and not the fake oompa loopma ones. And because I know that none of us reading this here do artificial/ indoor tanning I don’t have to say much else about the health dangers of looking like an orange fictional character, but in the event that I’m over estimating in judgement, see here.

The right bronzer can be used as a bit of  everything, to give that cohesive naturally bronzed look. Apply a little where the sun would naturally hit – the forehead, the the top of your cheekbones, and your chin. 

Tip: apply a bit of the bronzer on your eyelids as well, (coppery lids are uber sexy), and extend the bronzer application on the upper cheekbones to your temples as well as to the apples of your cheeks. Follow with a bit of your normal blush on your cheeks (preferably an apricot or pinkish shade)

5. Avoid re-applying

Take your time and apply your ‘look’ before you leave the house. Apply it, set it, and let it be. If it fades it fades. You should be too engrossed in enjoying the warmth, food, frolic and sangria to give a damn anyways. It’s warm, and you’re hot, what else is there to care about? 

If you get sweaty though, or start to feel uncomfy, grab a blotting sheet or two to sop that baby up.

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Spring Beauty Forecast

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BMP Tip 5| 5 easy ways to look 10 years older

Lest you be found guilty by the Beauty & Makeup Police (BMP) while you try your very best to get your festive sexy on this holiday season, we thought it would be constructive of us to pin-point some of the biggest beauty/ makeup mistakes to avoid this ‘Holiday Glam’ season.

Here is the 5th simplest way to look 10 years older.

 

 

Bold Eye and lip colour

This only works on the runway and on 10 year old girls y’alls. Otherwise, it’s just too much going on aka ‘hot mess’.

Either:

- Dramatic eyes and nude lips, paired with blush that is present enough to balance the both. 

For bold eyes, stick to matted smokey colours, focusing shimmery highlights on browbone or on the inner corners of the eye. Alternatively, use shimmery accent eyeshadow colours to line/ add smokey definition to the eye.

All over eye glitter screams 80s.

Or:

- Bold lips paired with ‘Understated Glam’ eyes.

You don’t want to go too bland with the eyes when donning bold lips as you run the risk of looking lopsided, or at least like your makeup is unfinished. So, you can apply a shimmery neutral eyeshadow colour, a shade or so lighter than your natural skin colour, over your entire eyelid area, and then line your upper lash line with a statement liquid eyeliner in black, and you are good to go.

Alternatively you can do eyeshadow contouring for a smokey eyed look, but with neutral colours, opting for the smokey part in a brown or similar natural looking colour rather than black. Paired with eyelash extensions, this look can get you exactly where you need to go.

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BMP Tip 3 | 5 easy ways to look 10 years older

Wearing foundation in the wrong undertone.

Take the time to figure out what the undertone of your skin is. Typically medium to darker skins have a yellow undertone and fair skins have a pink undertone. However, this may not hold true for everyone as Mediterranean skin can have an olive undertone.

Your skin undertone will establish the colour foundation that you should wear, as well as the hues of coloured cosmetics that will work effortlessly well for you – eyeshadows, cheek colour, as well as lip colour – sticks, glosses or stains as well as other things like clothing and hair colour.

Knowing your skin undertone, and choosing the right hues to compliment it, is a guaranteed way of looking your best self even on your worst day; regardless of whatever else is going on, your skin will always glow and your eyes will always sparkle because of the colour that surrounds them.

This also holds true for wearing too thick a layer of the right colour or wearing too much concealer on dark circles. Holy Concealer Batman!

For all my tanning and bronzing fiends, this also falls in this category. No-one is naturally orange. And as exciting as you’d like everyone to believe your life is, no-one’s gonna believe your fake bronzed look in the middle of the holiday season. There is a huge difference between naturally warming up the skin with cosmetics and artificial tanning. 

Work with the skin colour you were given. Keep it at a hundred and let your true self shine. If you wish to use the tanning creams to give you a hint of colour then do so, but lets not go overboard.

If you use a tanning bed, please stop. It’s not smart, you will only damage your skin.

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5 Simple Ways to Look 10 years older | BMP Tip 2

Lest you be found guilty by the Beauty & Makeup Police (BMP) while you try your very best to get your festive sexy on this holiday season, here is a second easy way to look 10 years older.

Wearing too much powder

Because it’s cakey and aging.

Packed on powder doesn’t stand up well to bright lights and flashing camera lights. Also if you have started to wrinkle or even if you have laugh lines, it’s just way too easy for the creasing lines to be more pronounced by wearing too much powder, as the powder will tend to break apart and crack in a sort of arid, desert lands steez.

Further to this, unless you are of a fair complexion, do not believe the hype that translucent powder matches ‘every’ skin color. It doesn’t.

There are over 6 billion of us here, if finding a similarity between all of us was as easy as translucent powder, then World Peace would not be an issue. Skin and skin tones, like human beings are way too complex for anything to be even remotely that simple.

Find powder in your skin tone, apply it over any foundation or concealer that you may be wearing and call that a day. Unless you’ve been sweating up a storm crunking in the club and have totally removed your makeup, use oil absorbing or blotting sheets to get rid of the shine, rather than apply more powder.

In a crunch? Those sanitary toilet seat ‘paper’ covers, grab one (a clean one) tear it in some manageable sized square-ish shapes and stash a few in your pocketbook.

They function in pretty much the same way as those commercial blotting sheets and work better than tissue, as they don’t leave any white residue behind.  This way you don’t look all spotted when the UV black light comes on in the club.

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Eye Seduction | The Basic Smokey Eye

 

The Basic Smokey Eye

With the understanding that there is no way really for someone to either or explain or master a smokey eye makeup application by just reading about it, these are the basic steps to a smokey eye.

Of course many variations exist, as well as various executions based on various levels of expertise, still following steps ought to be useful.

 

1. Prepare the eyelid by creating a good base

After applying foundation and loose powder, prep the eyelid using an eyelid primer.

Alternatively you can blend a small amount of your normal foundation over the eyelid using a cosmetic triangle or sponge and pat lightly with loose powder on large powder brush.

2. Apply the mid-tone eyeshadow from lash line to eyebrow

Fill the entire space up with an eyeshadow that closely matches, or is a shade lighter than, your natural eye lid colour and blend. A shimmery (not glittery) shade is usually very flattering.

 

 

3. Apply the highlighter eyeshadow to the inside corner of the eye area and on the brow bone.

Using an eyeshadow brush, apply a light shade of eyeshadow at the inner corners of the eyes as well as on the brow bone. Blend WELL into the existing mid-tone.

If you have perky (large) eyes, forget applying this shade to the inner corner of the eye as this will just make your eyes look even larger.

 4. Line eyes with black eyeliner and blend

Using a black eyeliner, line upper and lower lash lines with black soft kohl eyeliner pencil. Smudge the line with fingertips or a soft brush to diffuse the harshness of the line a bit.

 

 

5. Apply the accent tone around the lash line

A smokey grey, a black, a metallic navy, an eggplant shade – you create the fantasy that you’d like here. Just so long as it doesn’t match the colour top that you’re wearing exactly. Too matchy matchy.

Starting from the outer corner of the eye, apply eyeshadow using short, controlled strokes on the upper lash line toward the middle of the eye using a small eyeshadow brush. Use a little of the accent colour at a time, you can always layer more colour if you wish the colour to be darker.

At the middle of the eye on the lashline, blend this accent colour into the corner of the eye where it meets the high tone that you’ve previously applied.

Now, starting again from the outer corner of the upper lash line, blend accent color upward and over the eyelid until the colour reaches the eye crease, just where the eye folds when you blink.

Blend, blend, blend.  

If you decide that you want you want the smokey effect darker, use more eyeshadow on the eyeshadow brush and always start from the outer lashline and blend it up. That way the darkest effect will always be at the outer corner of the eye.

You can choose to focus most of the accent colour just to the outer colours of your eyes, or you can up the ante and colour your entire eyelid with the accent colour. For extreme sized eyes, the first technique opens smaller eyes and the second minimizes larger eyes.

With a very small eyeshadow brush, or with those teeny, firm eye shadow sponges that normally come with eye shadow compacts, apply accent colour on the outer bottom lash line, and blend toward the inner of the eye. 

Blend the free outer edge of the eye in a slightly upward fashion, so as to not make eyes look droopy.

6. Apply Mascara

Focusing on outer lashes, apply two coats of masacara on top lashes. If you dare, try applying to the outer bottom lashes as well. However, to avoid the spidery look, only apply mascara to bottom lashes if you’ve previously lined them. Mascara with no eye-liner on the bottom line looks well scary.

Easy does it, it’s a little tricky.

Use waterproof mascara, or the type that coats the eyelashes in a ‘tube-like manner’ so that mascara, especially that applied on the bottom lashes,  wouldn’t run if you get misty. 

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Minimalista Steez

On a very basic level, smokey eye shadow differs from a more natural, well defined eyeshadow application in the following ways:

- The choice of makeup colours (variations of your skin-tone’s natural colours vs. statement bright/ deep/ vibrant colours)

- The intensity/ amount of the accent shadow applied and 

- How far from the lash line toward the crease the accent eye shadow goes.

Just a little definition goes a long way. In a normal eyeshadow application the accent colour is limited to the lash line, with particular focus being paid to the outer corners of the eye.

For more on applying everyday makeup using 3 colours see GC post Makeup | 3-C Eye Definition
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Makeup Tip | Choosing Eyeshadows

One of the simplest ways to add definition and contour to the eye area is to apply eyeshadows in a combination of 3 colours. 

 Of the three colours that you choose:

- The lightest colour would be the highligher 

- The medium colour would be the mid-tone

- The darkest colour would be considered the accent tone.

In a eyeshadow quad (four colours as shown) any mixture of colours can be used, but a safe rule of thumb is to use the three lighter colours for fair to medium skin tones and the three darker colours for medium to dark skin tones. 

Of course, choosing colours that are varying shades of your natural skin colour, with the mid-tone closely matching your natural eyelid colour, will look most natural and have the longest staying power.

Alternatively you can choose the high and mid-tone as natural colours, and use the accent colour as the pop colour – a beautiful eggplant, a navy, or a grey for example. These colours look most natural.

For a naturally ‘flawless’ look on medium to dark skin tones, with yellow undertones:

- a metallic, goldish tone as the highlighter,
- a bronzy, caramely or coppery mid-tone works well for the mid-tone and
- a dark chocolate or smokey black for accent tone works well.

The key is to Blend.

Blend, Blend, Blend.

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BMP Tip 1 | 5 easy ways to look 10 years older

Lest you be found guilty by the Beauty & Makeup Police (BMP) while you try your very best to get your festive sexy on this holiday season, we thought it would be constructive of us to pin-point some of the biggest makeup mistakes to avoid this ‘Holiday Glam’ season.

 

1. Runaway Red Lipstick

This has to be the number one pet peeve of the BMP.

If are young and already have fine lines and wrinkles radiating from your lips, and you are a smoker, this alone should make you stop. Purposefully aging yourself prematurely is beyond comprehension and is the definition of insanity. Not only is smoking unhealthy for you, but it makes you look a quicker hot mess. Anyways, another post for anti-smoking rants.

To prevent against bleeding lip colour you can do one of the following:

- Line lips using lip liner

In addition to adding definition to the lip line, this helps prevent lip color from escaping through any fine lines and wrinkes that may be present along your lip line.

Be sure to use a lip liner in a colour that is at most 2 shades darker than your natural skin colour and be sure that it BLENDS WELL with the lip color, Please.

 Opting to wear black lip liner, alone or with nude lip colour is tantamount to stepping on the last nerve of this pet peeve. This not only ages you, but it makes you look like you are from another (unfashionable) planet.

Also, apply lip colour with a lip brush to ensure that you don’t apply lip colour over and beyond the lip liner border, because of course this will defeat the entire purpose of the lip liner.

In this case, you most definitely need to colour within the lines.

- Avoid dark/ bold lip colour altogether

I’d go with this one. Be ahead of the game and focus drama on the eyes instead. Wear nude lip colour or some gloss in a flattering colour and save yourself the stress and embarrassment of either the mystery of the traveling lipstick or that of lipstick-stained teeth. 

Hey, the more makeup you wear, the more high maintenance it is. Keep it simple.

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Makeup | Eyeshadow 101

Of all makeup products, eyeshadows offer the greatest way to add personality to the face.

Eyeshadows can be used to:

- Soften the eye area
- Create light and dark illusions that can make subtle changes to the eye area
- Correct and/ or enhance eye shape.
- Accent the eyes

 

Top 10 tips regarding eyeshadow application:

1.  Never use an eye-shadow that’s the exact shade as your eye colour.

 The same colour family – lighter or darker, sure. But using one that matches your eye colour exactly, over your entire eyelid will make you look like you have one big eye, or well two… if you do that on both eyes.

2. Use natural colours for day, more unique colours for night.

 Shadows in tones like bronzes and metals, golds, coppers, tans, tawnies, chocolates, whichever variations of your natural skin colour, work well for day.
You can snaz it up a bit at night or for special occasions by going for eggplant, navy or smokey greys as your accent colours, for example.

3. Use an eyeshadow base for prepping the eye.

 It can help to even out the eye area, in the event there is any uneven pigmentation or discoloration.
It can also help the eyeshadow to either adhere better or prevent it from creasing, especially in the case where dramatic eye shadow colours are used.

4. Apply a light to medium shadow, from the lash line to under the brow as the first step.

This creates an even canvas on eyelid and helps facilitate colour blending.

5. Use larger, fluffier eyeshadow brushes for blending, and for shadow application in larger areas.

Use smaller, angled brushes for accenting smaller areas.

6. Soften edges of medium to dark eyeshadows by blending with a lighter shade of eyeshadow

7. Avoid letting eye shadow get too far out of the sides of the eye

As far as possible, keep eyeshadow within the boundary of the eye. To establish this boundary, draw an imaginary line from the corner of the eye to the end tip of the natural eyebrow. Keeping eye shadow in this area will help you look like you are awake.

Veering too far under this line can age eyes, or make you look like you’re sleep walking.

8. Use lighter eyeshadow colours to highlight or emphasize unique areas of the eye.

 For example on brow bone areas, or in the inner corners of the eyes to open up the eyes.

9. Use darker colors to create depth and definition

 For example when creating the illusion of a smokey eye

10. Use wet shadows for liners if necessary

For example if you have oily skin, or when you would like to line over false eyelashes.
Wet shadows can also be used as liners to create a variety of liners that match your shadows exactly, without having to spend a fortune. <- My kind of party.

For more on applying wet eyeshadows as an eyeliner see GC post Drama Glamour

 

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Beauty | Flawless Face

 

Ever seen someone, who on second look is obviously wearing makeup, and still be compelled to remark “Wow, her skin is flawless!”?

Fresh-faced makeup looks prompt this response. Not that intricately applied, brightly colored cosmetics aren’t fabulous, but then the response  usually is “Wow, great makeup!”.

There is a difference. In the first look, the individual is wearing the compliment and in the second, the makeup is.

Ever notice advertisements that promote skin care products, where they would like you to believe that the model’s face is ‘naturally’ clean like that after washing?

Mhmm.. Don’t believe the hype.

Apart from costly air-brushing, the look is as a result of expertly applied makeup in hues that match the model’s natural skin colour and tone perfectly. You too can achieve this look. 

Regardless of makeup trends, a ‘flawless face’ is always in style. ‘Less-is-more’ will always work in your favour when it comes to looking fabulously flawless.  Leave overdone statements for accessories and shoes – things that wouldn’t smudge and smear, and instead work makeup that is classically chic.

Find the right foundation

A little goes a long way with foundation. The new lightweight formulations that appear to blend in, work well at creating a naturally flawless canvas. Take your time to find the foundation that works for you, and invest if necessary, especially if you have darker golden skin.

Mineral makeup is all the rage these days, and often these formulations contain either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide (or both), which are natural sunscreen agents. However these minerals are opaque white in colour, and can make darker skin tones appear ashy, especially when exposed to unnatural lights like camera flashes. 

Use natural hues

Stick to makeup hues that flatter your skin tone. For darker skin tones for example use eyeshadow palettes that are goldy for highlighting, bronze, and coppery for midtones, and deep chocolate and smokey blacks for accenting the outer corners of the eyes. As these colours are close to your natural skin tone, if they start to wear during the day or night it is not hardly as detectable as wearing pale, silvery tones on bronzed skin.

Sheer lipsticks, which look like lip glosses but are longer wearing and less goopy, in natural pinky tones for fairer skin tones and coral-ish hues for darker skin tones, work excellently for a flawless look. Looks like your natural lips, just enhanced. 

Use blotting paper rather than powder for touch-ups

Adding too much powder can make face look cakey and unnatural. Those round cosmetic sponges that come with most compact powders can pick up a lot of powder with one swipe. Putting on makeup this way as a ‘quick touch up’, especially when you are in a rush can result in a look that says, “I just applied compact powder”. 

Once you have properly applied loose powder over the foundation the first time around, let the natural, youthful dewy-ness show through the night, while keeping the excess shine at bay with the use of blotting paper/ tissues.

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