MakeUp Journal

Brush, Cream or Stain Your Blush

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:34:33 +0000

If you have just worked 12 hours or are looking at a long hard day and are now expected to be the sexy momma, the high-browed hostess, or the dewy-eyed ingénue, try one of these techniques

Powder is very popular today. It is a lot of fun to get a large powder brush, dip it into a pinky coral shade, the shade of loveliness wherever you live, and dust the apples of your cheeks. No harsh lines or splotches, just a 60 second glow. More drama you say? Sweep your temples and forehead.

For smooth skin, cream blush is very natural and appealing. After foundation, lightly tap the apples and the along the cheekbones with the color, then blend with a sponge for the natural glow. Dust with translucent powder and you are set for the day.

Stain your cheeks? Yes. These are great and in your hectic day especially for women who want a naturally bare look, this is the perfect solution. Stains set in seconds so work quickly by applying to the apples of your cheeks with your fingers and rub in circular motion. You do not need to apply powder. Use the same stain on your lips for a natural overall glow.

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Rosy Sun Glow

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:33:45 +0000

Everyone loves to look kissed by the sun and have a radiant, healthy glow in summer, rather than a pale, office pallor. However, we also know that excess exposure to the sun can be damaging to the skin, so moderation and a little help form the cosmetic counter will produce a rosy glow without the harmful side-effects.Bronzers are excellent. They are pretty on everyone no matter skin type and color and are much safer than prolonged exposure to the sun. Every cosmetic company has a line of bronzers so start with the one to which you are most accustomed.For the bronzing effect of a rosy sun glow, apply the bronze on the apples of your cheeks, the cheekbones and temples, and then a little on the forehead, nose and chin. Go back and apply your favourite pinky coral color to the apples of your cheeks. Just using a bronzer can end-up looking kind of drabby brown, a little too earthy so that the fresh color on your cheeks will give the hint of a healthy, fun-loving glow.This is a major technique used by top celebrities who want to look like they do something other than spend all day under a camera.

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Complexion Perfection

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:53:33 +0000

You might be saying, “Come on Robbi, you give great tips and advice, but nothing can make my skin look perfect. I was cursed with the dreaded combination affliction at birth.” I understand your frustration. But here is the thing. Something can be done no matter what your circumstance, as long as you are willing to have it work.

Combination or problem skin as some people call it is oil in some areas, not in others, or acne scarring, or any number of natural skin situations. I call it skin. It is your skin and you can care for it and are just as beautiful as Liv Tyler because you radiate health and happiness.

The first step is to slick on primer. Get a good one that feels natural and light weight on your skin but does a good cover job. Then, find a natural foundation that is liquid and paraben-free. Stay clogging oils, and preservatives. Avoid caking your face with foundation to conceal blemishes.

Use a small-tipped concealer brush to spot conceal by dipping into a sparing amount of concealer, dabbing on the spot and blending lightly. If you have redness marring your skin, use a yellow tinted concealer rather than pink after you have applied the foundation.

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Sparkle for Oily Skin

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:52:41 +0000

Oily skin is not a curse. You too can achieve a youthful sparkle and glow with the use of the right products where it counts. Oily skin is a boon when you mature or if you have a lot of exposure to extreme weather elements. The following 3 steps will create flawless skin for the oily complexion.

Start with a primer to even out your complexion. Then, use a light, liquid foundation or tint sparingly over your face. Follow this with a translucent powder.

The greatest concern here is that colored powders tend to streak on oily skin. That means that you must avoid powdering the tops of your cheekbones. Also stay away from anything other than a liquid foundation. The cream and powder based ones will smudge and discolor during the day when they mix with your skin’s natural oils giving a muddy murk rather than a dewy glow.

For a powder shimmer, after your foundation, use a fan brush to ever so lightly sweep a dusting on the top of your cheekbones.

To maintain a soft and fresh complexion through the day, carry blotting papers with you. These alone will provide the touch up you need for a flawless complexion.

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Luminous Glow

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:51:44 +0000

Even dry skin can achieve a luminous glow. Use the right products for your skin and apply them where they are going to do their job and your skin will be flawless, requiring only an enhancing touch. The following 3 steps produce radiant skin, which is the key to beauty.

Start with a face primer that to eliminate dry patches. Then apply a liquid or cream foundation rather than a powder. Tints and powders create drier looking skin. Blend well by smoothing over your eyelids, into the hairline and blend into your neck. To conceal trouble spots, use a pink-toned concealer under the eyes and one that is the same shade as your foundation for the blemishes.

To achieve a natural glow, apply a cream shimmer that highlights your tome skin like pale pink, bronze or gold, on top of your cheekbones. Avoid placing the shimmer near lines around your eyes.

The final touch for a dewy fresh look is to dust your t-zone only with a sheer translucent powder. You can lightly apply powder across the eyelids with a shadow brush to set eye makeup as long as it does not look cakey.

Regardless of age, you too can have dewy fresh, luminous skin.

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Blend Does not Mean Bland

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:35:52 +0000

Applying make up is an art, but don’t let Picasso’s perfectionist pickiness overcome you. He would throw out canvas upon canvas of masterpieces, crazed by his pursuit of perfection. You have one face given to you and it is already perfect. There is no need to throw anything out.

Makeup is just an enhancement tool. We create masks for different roles and occasions to express the nature of ourselves that best suits the occasion. So, when you are applying blush, choose bright shades and be noticed. Dull, bland colors just make you look muddy or hollow. Apply color to your cheeks and let them be seen.

Use a big blush brush and stroke directly on your cheeks with the bright color rather than under the cheeks because that can make you look harsh and haggard. The big brush will give a more blended, soft, flushed look which is far more attractive.

If you wish to contour your face, use highlights. In theatre, strong contouring and contrasts of the features of your face are necessary so that the last row can see whether you are laughing or crying. Use subtle color to highlight your natural shapes and lines of your face rather than recreate it.

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Shimmer and Shine with Nature

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:34:55 +0000

“More titanium please?” When did you ever think that you would walk up to a makeup counter and ask for a hint more manganese and a dash of titanium to your blush? There is a ground swell in natural mineral make up that is creating a mountain of a stir in the makeup world.

Women today desire to be beautiful naturally. We want to be told that we are radiant because we are, not because we spent hours in front of the mirror dipping into pot after pot of creams, potions, powders, and various elixirs to create a miracle of healthful radiance and beauty.

Well, finally, on the market today, we can trust a product to be pure, natural, radiant and enhancing. The latest rage is raw minerals. What you may ask? Am I rubbing red clay on my face to make rouge? Well that may work if you need clay to dry and draw out impurities as a treatment, but no. These are pure minerals and pigments from nature. Gone are the chemical dyes, perfumes, preservatives, fillers, tack, oils and other unmentionable products that can wreak havoc with your skin and require you to buy an entire line of products to protect you from the damaging effects of makeup.

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Conceal to Appeal

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:34:05 +0000

There are two schools of thought, on how and when to apply concealer; before or after the foundation. This school says after. When you apply concealer before the foundation, all you do is end up wiping it off when you do apply the foundation. Choose a concealer that is going to blend with the foundation. Usually if you stay within the same makeup line you will be able to buy foundation and concealer that will complement each other. It would be silly to end up using a concealer that once you apply it on top of the foundation, does not harmonize or blend in and just makes a mess

And, keep to the same shade as the foundation. If you use a concealer that is a shade lighter, you end up highlighting what you are attempting to conceal. Some use a light face powder to dust your work into submission. Well, that could work, but what happens when the powder goes away, as it will during the day. You will still be left with your original artwork. You better be happy with it.

Remember the three basic fundamentals of makeup, blend, enhance and be natural, and you can’t go wrong.

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Foundation Faux - Pas

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:33:29 +0000

The foundation of your makeup is critical to the success of your over-all efforts. Just like a house that is beautiful, made from the best materials, elegantly designed by the best architecture but built on a cliff, quagmire, or fault line, you are a disaster waiting to happen.

There are some fundamental points to working with a foundation. The first one is to use one – even if you think that means that you have bad skin or are going to look like your grandmother, think again. Foundation now is for healthy skin to smooth and enhance, not conceal, congeal, and generally cake the skin.

Choose a foundation that matches your neck as well as your face because unless you want to look like a zebra, or two-toned sloth, blending is the key to natural looking foundation.

When you are testing the color and weight of the foundation, always use your chest for an accurate assessment of how well the foundation will blend with your natural skin tone. Never use the back of your wrist. You need to match your face, not your elbow.

So the next time you go shopping, say yes to foundation applied properly.

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“Pure” Makeup

Robbi Gunter — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:32:31 +0000

The Persians gave us henna to dye our hair. The Egyptians gave us precious emollients to soothe. The Nobles of the High Courts of France and
England gave us wigs to hide the lice and chalk to produce a pure white pallor that ravaged and pocked the skin. The House of Beauty tested their products on lab animals to make sure that they did not poison us or cause cancer.

Back to NatureAs we have come through the centuries, makeup has been in a downward health spiral until Anita Roddick opened the first Body Shop in 1976 protesting the use of animal products and declaring the need to return to nature and pure products.

Pure IngredientsIt stands to reason that if the ancients used berries and natural ochre and umbers to create dynamics and effects on the face and skin, not to mention the blue wode of the Picts, seen on Mel’s face in Braveheart, then why can’t we?

Pure Raw MineralsToday we are seeing the purest of the pure coming onto the market; natural minerals and inorganic pigments unadulterated and untreated. They are finely milled and mixed with other pigments to create breathtaking colors that simmer in a matte finish or shimmer outrageously.

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