Friday, October 22, 2010

Fall Eyes

PRODUCTS USED

EYES
- urban decay primer potion
- trax e/s mac
- brun e/s mac
- virgin from urban decay naked palette
- sidecar from urban decay naked palette
- sketch e/s mac
- urban decay 24/7 eyeliner in zero
- woodwinked e/s mac
- mac superslick eyeliner in marked for glamour

FACE
- face protect visage spf 50
- nars sheer glow foundation in Tahoe
- mac pro longwear concealer in nw35

LIPS
- Cushy lip pencil mac
- Half and Half lipstick mac
- Runway fave lipglass MAC

CHEEKS
- Harmony Blush mac
- trace gold blush mac




Monday, October 18, 2010

How to Sanitize Makeup

Hello Gorgeous Ladies!
This post has been a long time coming. My subbies on youtube have been asking me to do a video on makeup sanitation, but I decided to write about it instead. Hope this is just as helpful if not more!

Sanitizing makeup is probably the thing I am the most wary of, especially since I am a makeup artist and use tons of brushes, and tons of makeup on my clients on a day to day basis. Sanitation is SO important because if you don't, your customers can develop skin reactions, infections, and many other things! Though I have not heard about any MUA being sued for something like that, it is a definite possibility and you don't want to be known for spreading infections, because in this industry, word of mouth is your greatest source for success.

There are a few different ways to sanitize makeup, and I will all of you about the different methods I have/still use. Originally, when I first started doing makeup I was taught the MAC method of sanitizing makeup, which is to take a tissue and rub off the top layer of your powder products. This includes eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters, etc. With you using brushes and double dipping into products (which is almost a necessity with makeup) you get into germ breeding. The brushes touch the clients' face, and then the surface of your makeup, which leads to all bacteria transferring from their face to your makeup. However, this bacteria stays on the surface of your product and does not penetrate below the top layer. That is why taking a tissue and rubbing off the top layer is a great way to sanitize powder.

Now, sanitizing cream products is much more difficult. If possible, you should use a spatula and scoop out some product to use. If you have not done this in the past, you can take a coin or knife, and scrape off about 2 layers of the cream products. On a cream product, bacteria tends to penetrate a bit deeper than on powder products.

Lipsticks, eyeliners, and lipliners are the easiest to sanitize. I use 70% alcohol (available at any drugstore for just a few $), pour it into a small cup, and then dip the above products into the alcohol, then rub off a layer on a paper towel. Though it sounds tedious, the aforementioned products are the easiest to sanitize.

When it comes to using lipglosses and mascara, make sure you always use disposable applicators, because mascara is the biggest carrier of germs! These disposable applicators are available at macpro.com, Sally Beauty Supply, and even crownbrush.com, so they are easily accessible and a MUST have if you are a MUA.

HOWEVER...

I just got my hand on an AMAZING brand of cosmetic sanitizers called Beauty So Clean. They have a cosmetic sanitizer spray as well as cosmetic sanitizer wipes. The spray is especially ingenious because all you have to do is spray it on the surface of all your powder and cream products (which is most of your kit, anyway!) and after 10 seconds, you are ready to go! This spray settles onto the surface of your products, and sanitizes it by removing 99.9% of the germs. Yes, that not 100% but even the daily soaps, shampoos, and anti bacterial sanitizer you use on yourself is 99.9% effective. Using the spray literally makes my sanitizing time about 20 minutes for my entire kit, while the aforementioned method took about an hour. The only downside is that the spray is really expensive, at $12.50 for a tiny on the go bottle, and $25.00 for the pro size bottle. Also, being a spray, you end up using much more of the product than you think, so it will not last a lifetime like most makeup products do.



www.beautysoclean.com

As for the sanitizer wipes, its meant to be used for lipsticks, lip liners, and eye liners. All you do is wipe off the tip, and you are ready to go! The only downside of the Beauty So Clean products is that they have a strong smell of alcohol, which can give you a massive headache (in fact I have one right now due to cleaning my kit!).

When working on a photo shoot or backstage at a show, I like to keep the sanitizer wipes and spray on hand, to quickly sanitize everything on the go, so your clients dont feel like they are in bad hands.

As far as brushes go, I use MAC's Brush Cleanser and clean ALL my brushes off after each use. It's a lot to do, but since the MAC brush cleanser does have some alcohol in it, so the bristles of the brush dry faster. However, it is worth your time and money to sanitize ALL of your kit AND your own personal makeup because you don't want a bad reputation from one eye infection!

Hope this was helpful!

Monday, October 11, 2010

My Favorite MAC Eyeshadows

Here is a list of my favorite MAC eyeshadows. To see what they look like, scroll down to watch the video ;)
Eyeshadows
1) Brun
2) Coppering
3) Bronze
4) Espresso
5) Soft Force
6) Goldmine
7) Woodwinked
8) All that Glitters
9) Ricepaper
10) Contrast
11) Prussian
12) Bamboo
13) Freshwater
14) Smut
15) Satin Taupe
16) Sketch
17) Trax

Pigments
1) Reflects Copper
2) Steel Blue

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Naked Sexy Brown Eyes

This is the most versatile, user friendly palette on the market today. Not only are the colors vibrant enough to make a statement, but they are a velvety delight to put on the eyes. Fallout is very minimal, and the price tag is great! For someone who likes neutral colors, this palette is a must have. I have almost forgotten about all my other eyeshadows after getting this palette! A complete MUST have in my opinion. Check out my video below to see how I achieved a natural, yet glam look with this palette.

PRODUCTS USED

EYES
1) UDPP
2) Smog
3) Darkhorse
4) Hustle
5) Creep
6) Naked
7) Sidecar
8) UD 24/7 Eyeliner
9) Smokey Lash Mascara MUFE
10) espresso E/s mac for eyebrows

FACE
1) Syracuse sheer glow foundation Nars
2) MAC mineralize skin finish in medium dark
3) Adobe blush by Mia Bellezza Cosmetics (www.miabellezza.com)
4) Matte Bronze by MAC
5) Eye M Glam highlighter by Mario Dedivanovic. (Giella Custom Blend Cosmetics)

LIPS
1) cushy lipliner MAC
2) Half and Half lipstick MAC


Friday, October 1, 2010

September Favorites!


I love doing favorites videos, and this month especially! All the products in here are tried and tested products that really deliver. Enjoy!

1) OPI Nailpolish- Already Famous
2) Face Protect SPF 50 Primer MAC- Really great primer for oily skin
3) Half and Half Lipstick MAC
4) BBQ Lip liner MAC
5) Eyebrow Spooly- Mine is by a random company that I don't know, but you can get it at MAC
6) Under Eye Luminizer Mia Bellezza- www.miabellezza.com
7) 130 Brush MAC- Great for buffing in foundation, or even for blush application
8) Matte Bronze Bronzer MAC- Cheaper alternative for more expensive bronzers
9) Heather Buff Lipstick Bobbi Brown- The best nude lipstick I have ever used!
10) Pro Longwear Concealer NW 35 MAC- does not crease, and is super blendable
11) Harmony Blush MAC- Very natural looking blush, great for a MUA kit especially
12) Trace Gold Blush MAC- Great to highlight for a natural look during the day time, but it kind of flies everywhere!
13) Espresso Eyeshadow MAC- Best multi tasking product Ive ever used. Great to contour cheekbones, nose, chin, good for eyebrow coloring in, and also good as brown eye liner!
14) Makeup Forever Smokey Lash Mascara- Expensive, but AMAZING mascara, especially to volumize eyelashes
15)  Naked Palette Urban Decay- The best neutral eyeshadow palette I have ever used, hands down. It surpasses any neutrals that MAC has, and the texture of these eyeshadows blends beautifully! Love this!