Tag Archives: expert tips

by | May 31, 2012 · 6:50 am

How to Fake Perfect Eyebrows

If you haven’t had the time or cash to splurge on a pro brow shaping, but you need to look pulled-together in a pinch, use this quick trick courtesy of Taylor Chang-Babaian, makeup artist and author of Style Eyes:

The key is to “create a well-defined arch or the illusion of one,” says Chang-Babaian. Do this by filling in your brows focusing on the arch area with a fine-tipped brow pencil.

If your hair is blonde, Chang-Babaian recommends using a pencil that’s one shade darker than your brow hairs, but if you’re a brunette, use a shade that’s one shade lighter. She also suggests using pencils with a slightly ashy or taupe tone. “Colors with too much red in them look fake — unless, of course, you are a redhead,” she says.

Try: Benefit Instant Brow Pencil, $20

And, if you’re not quite sure how to create the perfect shape, cheat by using a brow stencil like Anastasia Beverly Hills Classic Stencils, $20. Just be sure to brush through your brows really well after penciling them in for a more natural look.

Set your brows with clear gel like Urban Decay Urban Brow Styling Brush and Setting Gel, $20 and you’re good to go.

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by | May 12, 2012 · 2:33 pm

Steal Her Makeup Look: Elizabeth Banks From the What to Expect When You’re Expecting Premiere

My friend and fabulous makeup artist Gita Bass posted a photo (via Facebook) of the latest look she created for Elizabeth Banks’ What to Expect When You’re Expecting premiere (Are you going to see it?) and I had to know how to copy it. Here’s the scoop she gave me — just in case you’re game for recreating it:

“I evened out her skin tone with Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in 5, $59,” says Bass.

Next, she used Dior Skin Flash Radiance Booster Pen in Candlelight, $37 to highlight the areas under her eyes, along her cheekbones and down the bridge of her nose to add dimension to her face.

To define her eyes, Bass blended Chanel Illusion D’ombre in Emerveille, $36 (a peachy-golden hue) on Banks’ lids and “layered the gold shade from the Tom Ford Beauty Eye Color Quad [in Burnished Amber], $75 over the top,” says Bass. She then blended the bronze shade from the same quad into the creases of Banks’ eyes. She lined top and bottom lashlines with Laura Mercier Caviar Eye pencil in Cocoa, $24 using a small stiff brush, and finally, she curled Banks’ lashes and “applied several coats of Yves Saint Laurent Volume Effet Faux Cils Luxurious Mascara, $30.”

Then, to give Banks a “peachy glow” Bass reached for Yves Saint Laurent Creme de Blush in Velvety Peach, $38. She applied to to the apples of her cheeks and blended outward.

Bass completed the look by adding a bright pop of color to Banks’ lips. She used Make Up For Ever Rouge Artiste Natural in Soft Fushia, $19. I’m so buying this shade. It’s gorgeous and I’m always for a bold lip color.

That’s it. Will you give this look a try?

Image: trend911.com

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by | April 11, 2012 · 7:55 am

Make Your Eyes Look More Almond Shaped — With Eyeliner

Last night while checking out the new location for the Napoleon Perdis Makeup Academy in Hollywood, I also picked up a few key makeup tricks. If you, like me, have large or round eyes and want to make them appear a bit more almond shaped when using a long-lasting gel eyeliner like Napoleon Perdis China Doll Eyeliner, $25 — more dreamy, if you will — try this trick:

Instead of applying a perfect or sharp-looking line from inner to outer corners, smudge the line a bit. Use a flat liner brush to apply the gel, which will make smudging a bit easier (try MAC 212 Flat Definer Brush, $22.50). And, focus the liner on the outer corners of your eyes. It should be thicker on the outer corners and thinner as you reach the middle of your lid. Then, instead of continuing the line across the inner half of your lid, simply dab just a bit of the liner right on the upper inner corners of your eyes. The line will look like it’s connected, but it’ll be very thin and subtle in that area, which is what you want. This instantly gives your eyes a more almond, sexy shape.

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by | March 15, 2012 · 6:00 am

Is Your Skin Truly Sensitive? Find Out!

A few months ago Annet King, director of global education for the International Dermal Institute, tweeted the stat that about 50 percent of the population claims to have sensitive skin. But do they really? According to King, not necessarily. She said that while some people do have truly sensitive skin others might have sensitized skin, which is temporary and often brought on by environmental issues.

So, if you think you have sensitive skin, King recommends you ask yourself these questions:

  • “What is my skin texture like? Is it delicate, fine, sometimes transparent skin, thinner than average?”
  •  ”Is my skin tight? Tightness indicates dehydration, which can lead to skin reactions from products/irritants [that are] able to penetrate the skin barrier.”
  • “Does my skin look red or blotchy? This indicates capillary activity which maybe over reactive (i.e. you get red easily)!”
  • “Does my skin flake or crack easily? This is common in dry, sensitive skin and is another sign of a compromised barrier.”
  • “Do I blush easily? Blushing — another form of over reactive capillary action.”
  • “Do I react easily to topical products? [This is a] common sign of sensitive skin and is generally an inherited trait.”

If you answered yes to pretty much all of these questions and you are fair skinned, of northern European ancestry and suffer from allergies, asthma or eczema, you likely have truly sensitive skin according to King. “What we call this is the atopic triad. [People that fit this description] have higher levels of histamine in the body and thinner, more reactive skin,” she says.

But, if you answered yes to the above questions — some or even all of them — but the symptoms seem to come and go, you likely don’t have truly sensitive skin. Sensitized skin, which is what this is, likely flairs up “after travel, periods of stress, too much sun or over exfoliating,” says King. Truly sensitive skin, which you’re born with, experiences the above issues constantly. And, unlike sensitive skin, “any skin type, race or age can be sensitized — it’s not restricted to fair skin,” she adds.

So tell me, do you have sensitive skin or does your skin just act sensitive from time to time? I’m in the truly sensitive skin category.

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