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Thursday, August 25, 2011

ELLE

Recently I have had the opportunity to work with 2 amazing people. The first is the upcoming musician Elle. I have to say she is one of the most amazing people I have worked with in a long time. Beautiful, talented, and a personality to knock your socks off. I was lucky enough to fill in as a replacement artist for some pictures on her press kit.
 The photographer she chose to work with was Erik Motta and his wonderful assistant Ari Zapata. Elle's personality was captured flawlessly in his photography. Fantastic music played in his studio made it a comfortable place to be in. He did two separate looks to show off how individual she is.
For her makeup we stuck with a very basic look. She loves her winged eyeliner which became a staple for Elle. I had run out of my Smudge Pot so I went to CVS and substituted it with Maybelline's Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner. The eyeliner worked great. It was a cheaper alternative to the Smudge Pot. Like everything though, there are still the perks for the good stuff. The Smudge Pot by Stila  is bolder in color and I find to last a little longer.
As for foundation, I discovered a nice surprise. Revlon's photo ready foundation was incredible! A friend I went to school with had told me about the formula but I honestly forgot to try it. Elle brought her own and I was curious to try it out. It is now a product I will fully stock in my kit when my Airbrush is unavailable. We finished her off with a little bronzer, a MAC blush of her choice and my favorite eyelashes! They are half a strip of lashes to lay in the corner. Accentuates the cateye wonderfully! Finished with a nude lip for the one shoot and added a cupcake pink lipstick for the other!
All in all, the day turned out to be great. We even booked another shoot and vamped up that leopard print skirt! I cant wait to see the pictures and share them with you also. Feel free to check out the links below to see more work by Elle and Erik! 

ELLE:
 http://www.officialellemusic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ellefanpage

Erik Motta:
http://www.erikmotta.com/
http://www.facebook.com/erikmottaphoto






Monday, August 8, 2011

The Retro winged eyeliner

The famed "Cat Eye". It's a look that took me a long time to master. Eyeliner can make or break your look and for me personally, the winged liner will enhance anything! To me, there is nothing classier than a great black liner and bold red lipstick. I have a technique that I have developed over time to help me achieve this look. Hopefully it will help you too!

First things first, make sure you select your liner. I am partial to an angled eyeliner brush and a cream liner. A pencil will make your look a little softer (and make sure its sharpened to a point), and a liquid will give you a dark, well defined look. I find the cream liners give you a look right in the middle (Stila's Smudge Pots eyeliner are my favorite!).



Start with your liner and draw a line from the outer corner of your eye on an upward angle. Your can make the thickness and length to your own preference




Draw a line from the inner corner of your eye connecting to the beginning of your angled line. Next draw a narrow triangle connecting the tail to your selected place on your basic eyeliner. Normally this is kept to a spot close to the outer Iris.







Now fill in that traingle!!!!!








 And Finally, (this part is optional) add your bottom liner for more definition and a super dramatic look! Oh, and also optional, add the red lipstick :)







Hopefully this will help you reach this awesome retro look!

Monday, August 1, 2011

The basic Smokey

One of the most common looks I am asked to recreate is the "smokey eye". It seems to be the one makeup style that stays timeless. What most people do not realize is that your smokey eye does not need to be just black! There is a whole rainbow of colors out there that can be used to add effects to your look.

Now remember, there are so many different intensity levels to a smokey eye too. You can  make this look a wearable daytime staple or really step up your game and make it a super sultry dramatic eye.
Today I am going to give you my technique for a basic, semi-dramatic eye. First make sure you have all your tools necessary. As I stated in one of my earlier articles, I absolutely cannot live without my fluffy blending brush. It makes your shadow look airbrushed. Heres how we start:
  • Always apply an eye primer (my favorite is still Urban Decay's Primer Potion) or a light layer of concealer to even out the eyelid and hold shadow on for longer.
  • Apply a light neautral shade from lashline to browline. 
  • Take your darkest color of choice (typically a black, brown,charcoal or spice it up with a hunter green or a deep purple) and blend the color from the lashline to the crease. The key to this look is blending your color so you never have a harsh line. I personally like to use my fluffy blending brush for most of the application.
  • Blend the color in small circles in an upward and outward motion.
  • Your eyeliner is now applied how your most comfortable. It can be applied before the eyeshadow for a softer look. Also the line can be drawn after for a more intense eye. I personally love using a cream eyeliner for this. The liner can be smudged, again for that softer look or left alone to make a harsh line (which is more intense).
  • For a little "POP" add a light application of shimmer right under the browbone.
  • Add some liner to your lower lashline and inner rims
  • And lastly, top in with mascara (2 coats)
OH! And remember, a little color goes a long way. It's always easier to add more shadow then take the access off :)