Little Downy Darlings.
Several months ago I wrote a Get Even More Gorgeous With Beauty Marked! Blog post come poem in the form of an address to one of my most favourite beauty tools and it’s definitely worthy of singing its praises once again. Actually, this natty little downy darling is not only deserved of a royal repost, but quite possibly public holiday-worthy, if you ask me. So in the meantime, while not-so-patiently awaiting the Public Holiday Decreeing Council to convene and come to my senses, here’s an esteemed encore posting for your reading pleasure. All hail the humble cotton bud! Ode To A Cotton Bud
The End Is REALLY Nigh.
I am so sure this year has flown by a heck of a lot quicker than the last. Wouldn’t you agree? Currently I am nursing my last flu of 2007. I guess the upshot of that is that I can now rest assured that this will be one less bug I can look forward to not getting in 2008! No prizes for guessing that my NYE makeup will be comprised of veritable tons of concealer! I might even call the green stuff to duty to hold the fort under my Rudolphian nose.
Just really wanted to post to say that my best 2007 NYE makeup tip for all FOTNs (Face Of The Night) will be layer, layer, layer! No joke. Layer all that you can for the greatest makeup steadfastness. These “oldie but goodie” BM! blog posts of yore may just be what you’re after:
But if you can’t be fussed and are of the school of thought that espouses the “Go Hard Or Go Home” belief, well all I have to say to you then is… You Go Girl! *whispers* I don’t half mind the Rock Chick/Hooker Panda Look myself as quiet as it’s kept.
Most importantly, have a great & safe NYE and an even better 2008! See ya next year Gorgeous Ones!
-BM! xx
A Great Beauty Buy!
You wouldn’t believe it if you read about it, but the uber cheap facial tissues from the $2 (.99¢ USD) Shop are just brilliant for having on hand when applying cosmetics. Seriously. The cheapies totally leave their more luxe and famed elder sisters in their wake. Who would of thought it? The super soft, thickly plied, much fancier tissues often leave annoying downy bits of fiber on your face which love nothing more than to display their plush magnetism by sticking fast. The more expensive, thicker ply tissues are also not very absorbent when it comes to all things cosmetic. The cheap and cheerful tissue numbers are superb at blotting up the excess oils in makeup, moisturizers, sunscreens, primers etc.. They tend to only sop up excess oils while leaving coveted pigment behind. Cheap tissues also seem to work at their stellar best when peeled down to one ply and used singly. Very cool. I suspect that’s actually due to their sheer lack of fibers of any real discernible ply that make it a near impossibility to leave any behind on your gorgeous face. So do be sure to pop into your local $2 dollar (.99¢ USD) Shop and snaffle up a box of these handy and cheap as chips little gems to keep on the ready just for makeup use. Ooh, do we ever love a nifty beauty bargain buy!
Mojoless Monday?
I know the feeling. I am pretty sure the fact that we are well and truly in the thick of the “Silly Season” isn’t helping much either. With Christmas parties, finishing up (or starting) the last minute shopping, all the stresses of the Season, and tying up the loose ends at work, who could blame us for feeling trés mojoless at the moment? Talk about a daunting time of the year. No wonder we all seem so “over it” before we start. Think of this Get Even More Gorgeous With Beauty Marked! blog post as a not so subtle reminder to Go The Red, Orange, Coral, or Pink Lipstick and be done with it. Seriously. The bright lip works wonders absolutely every time we need a boost. Promise. When wearing a bright lip, your makeup Mojo will come racing back so quickly, you might start to doubt if you ever actually lost it in the first place. We love that!
A Quick A For A Quick Q.
Q.
Hey BM!,
I’ve got dark skin and even darker under eye circles. I’d like to use concealer to rid them, but am not sure how many shades lighter, if any, to go and do you think those concealers with shimmer in them would be good for me?
A.
Quick answer in two words: One and Nope.
*takes a bow*
*Long answer alert* One shade lighter (than your foundation that is) in concealer is generally plenty. If you go too many shades lighter, dark circles will look like grey LCD lights beaming back at you in the mirror. Not the look you’re after, I’m sure. One shade lighter in the same undertone colour as your skin (foundation) will subtly lighten the dark circles which allows them to blend in quite naturally with a further flawless application of your foundation when set.
Illuminators in concealers are all the rage at the moment, I know. But between you and me, I don’t tend to go for them on darker skin tones as the pearlizing ingredients added stand out a lot too much on darker skins. The end result being that you can get alarmingly shiny looking (read: greasy) under-eyes or the dark circles are transformed into ashen circles. Ugh! Again, not a wholly flattering nor natural look on most. I hope that helps some. Please let us know how you get on, as we’d love to hear from you!
Times When A Breakdown Is A Good Thing.
I often get asked if it is really necessary to remove all of one’s makeup from the day’s adventures if you are going out for the evening and still wish to wear makeup. To be honest, I don’t feel it is always 100% necessary to remove all of your makeup and cleanse, but if you’ve got the time and energy…go for it! If not, this is when I’d go “the breakdown”. Breakdown the bits of your makeup that are looking a bit battle weary and blot, perhaps powder and reapply. This treatment, of course, doesn’t really extend to mascara as that’s a whole other kettle of fish altogether.
So for everything non-mascara related, just lightly remove or take back by gingerly wiping off with a tissue and or cotton bud. When you’ve done this ever-so-gently, blot your entire face (t-zone especially) with cosmetic blotting paper or film. *whispers* One square of single-ply, super cheap loo paper works fantastically by the way. After you’ve blotted away any excess oil or perspiration that would have naturally managed to creep to the skin’s surface after a day’s wear, just barely powder your entire face (loose or pressed powder is fine). When you’ve finished your ‘barely there’ powder, feel free to reapply your makeup to your beautiful heart’s content.
Carefully breaking down your makeup, blotting, lightly powdering, and reapplying will often give you a nicer looking and longer wearing base for your colour cosmetics than would freshly applied. Go figure? I suspect it has a lot to do with the artful building up of makeup and removing the excess oils, which leave mainly pure pigment behind. (Much like the Beauty Marked! technique for getting your lip to stick.) But don’t be tempted to skip the blot step, because it’s the buildup of oils that actually cause the cakey and flakey thing to happen, which is definitely not the effect we’re after. It’s now, after I’ve done the above, that I adore a quick and ultra indulgent spritz of rose water. Quite frankly, I can’t think of a better and more luxe way to set my makeup. Mmmm.
Now on to the matter of mascara. You know, generally, I am tempted to just leave it alone. I rarely reapply new over old, as that just seems to tempt fate, especially where the potential for clumping and flaking is concerned. But if you reckon there’s only a weensy bit or no bit on, then by all means reapply. Just be extra vigilant for clumps and ensure the lashes stay separated. You can carefully re-curl your lashes with a non clamp-style curler if you’ve got one. If not…use your finger to gently press the lashes towards your lid and hold for about 30 seconds or so before the mascara is dry. Sometimes the finger trick works so well that I often wonder why I bother searching for my curler in the first place, which, oddly enough, always seems to grow legs…especially when I’m in a rush.
So there you have it: Times when a breakdown might just be a good thing. Ultimately though, the most important thing of all to remember is to blot and don’t stress…because you’re beautiful!
Culture’s Rarest Pearls.
We’ve got to hand it to M.A.C.. They really are just too cool for school. They are the cultivators of “New Cool” to be precise. There are no gradations where they’re concerned. The Stylistics Collection by M.A.C. is imminently due to hit our shores in true style. Like they’d arrive in any other fashion.
“The cultivated new cool of 21st century Hepcats. When it comes to style, design, and hip, they’re in the know…they’re the true jazz, culture’s rarest and richest pearls. Act smooth, be soft, but diamond-sharp…super cool. Their paradox is the mystery. There’s glamour in the je ne sais quoi.”
Stylistics Lipstick
In Vogue Neutral mid-tone brown with gold pearl (frost)
Soft Pout Sheer pink peach with pearl (frost)
Stylistic Vibrant yellow red (cream)
The Scene Deep Berry (cream)
Stylistics Lipglass
Conversational Sheer creamy white with pink pearl (frost)
Witty Intense red with red pearl (frost)
Tastemaker Deep wine with red and gold pearl (frost)
Hyper Chic Neutral caramel brown (frost)
Sheerspark Pressed Powder
Solitaire Beige with gold pearl
Warm Ice Soft pink peach with pink pearl
Pave Dirty pink with gold pearl
Fashionette Berry with red and pink pearl
Sheer Mystery Powder
Model Chic Warm beige
Lighthearted Caramel
Dark Secret Deep Caramel
Brushes
316 Stylistics Special Edition brush
224 Stylistics Special Edition brush
129 Stylistics Special Edition brush
Stylistics Clutch Vintage-inspired Evening clutch
The Stylistics Collection by M.A.C. available from December 3rd, 2007 from David Jones’ counters exclusively.
