Face It!

Who doesn’t love intense cheekbones? Sometimes you’re not blessed with contoured cheeks at birth, but you can create that illusion. Contouring can work on any face, the round, long, and narrow.

You can contour with cream or powders. I think it’s best for normal to dry skin to use creams, and combination to oily to use powders. The reason creams are good for dry skin types is because they drink into the skin for a long lasting wear. Powders are good for oily combination skins because they keep facial oils from streaking your look.

Use a contour color that’s 1-2 shades darker than your complexion. This is what will make your bones stick out from the rest of your face. If you have a golden undertone apply a bronzer with a reddish tone to it, and if you’re a pink undertone apply a bronzer with a golden sun kissed tone. The same goes when choosing a good highlighter as well. If you’re not sure what you’re undertone is, here’s a quick trick to tell: on your wrist press your finger to your skin, and quickly pull away, the color your skin shows where your fingerprint was indented, pink or yellow, is your undertone.

To make your face appear narrow, contour under your cheekbones working the color upwards towards your temples in a C shape. When contouring a man blend the cheek color downwards. Men’s cheekbones are different than a woman’s, downwards motions will appear more natural on men. On the cheekbone always apply your contour color starting from the hairline and work the product down towards the apple of the cheek. Applying the product starting at the apple of the cheek up to the hairline will make the face look fuller. The depth of your product should always be closer to the edge of your face in.

Make sure you’re really blending your skin with the contour color, you don’t want the color to look blunt. Blend your contour bronzer with a separate clean brush to blend more product to the skin.

Cheekbones aren’t the only contour accessory, your nose and jaw line are just as fierce when contoured. Apply a deeper shade on the sides of your nose to make your nose appear thinner and a highlighter on the nose bone to make it look longer. For a structured looking jaw, apply a contour under the face, right under your jaw line and apply a highlighter right where your jaw line begins.

Contour sculpting cream choice: Nars Multiple or use 2 shades higher in your liquid foundation color for a real natural look. (Apply with a flat foundation for high pigment or a stippling brush for a light finish.)

Contour powder choice: MUFE sculpting duo (Apply with an angled blush brush for an intense pigment and blend with a clean brush, or a domed shaped powder brush for lighter look.)

Highlighter cream choice: MUFE HD blush

Highlighter powder choice: Smashbox Soft lights

Now your face is ready for it's close-up!

The cat that lives on..

I am a huge fan of eyeliner! I rock the cat eye on a daily basis. Every shape has to wear their liner differently, down shaped eyes should apply the liner facing up, high arched eyes vice versa. If your eye shape is neither you can get away with applying the liner either way. The classic cat eye color is black; however, browns look good too, for an every day look. I love spunking up my look with vibrant colors, purples, greens, bright blues, are some of my favorites.

Cream eye liners stay on the lid the best. My choice: MUFE Aqua black.

For liquid liners I prefer to use a pen, it's as easy as writing, my choice: Nars

Pencil choice: Urban Decay zero liners.

Here are the steps to the perfect cat eye:

1. Place the lid with an eyeshadow primer. This will help the liner stay on all day long, smudge proof.

2. Use an eye liner pencil to trace your line before applying the cream, this will make it easier. Using an angled liner brush, apply starting at the corner of the eye-close to the nose with a thin line of cream liner. The liner should get thicker as you get to the other end of your eye.

3. The pointed end of the cat eye is called the wing. When the wing comes to a curled point this can give the illusion of a fuller lash line. For a dramatic sharp wing, for the non-steady hand, you can apply tape underneath the lower lash line and apply the liner care free. When done pull the tape off and the task is done.

Don't forget to paint your lashes with plenty of mascara!!

Have your fill

Alot of people suffer from large pores and eventually we all suffer from wrinkles. The first sign of aging begins on your hands, no one every protects their hands from the sun. Start using a SPF hand lotion once a day to stop aging in its tracks, and prevent future damage. These suggestions are also important for your face. Sometimes large pores and wrinkles are genetic and there's no escaping it, but there are temporary solutions. There are products to solve these issues:

For Wrinkles: Apply Clarins Smooth Perfecting primer before foundation. This product will help your foundation stay on longer and will stop makeup from sitting in your flaws.

For Wrinkley eyelids: DO NOT apply glitter eyeshadow, this will enhance wrinkles! Apply matte shadows. You can still highlight with a frosty eyeshadow on the browbone. To keep makeup from settling in wrinkles, appy Two Faced wrinkle injection (this will temporarily plump lines). Also apply Urban Decay primer potion to keep makeup on neatly all day.

For large pores: You can also use Clarins Smooth Perfecting Primer, or the best temporary solution is Dr. Brandts Pore Refiner. This product can also be used as a primer for foundation. If you suffer from large pores: DO NOT WEAR foundations with talc or mica, they will enhance your pores and ash the skin on darker skin tones. Most mineral foundations share these ingredients, so I've found it's best to wear liquid founations, my choice: MUFE HD foundation.

Makeup can fix all these flaws, don't you love it!

Frosty as a Snowman

Nature can really inspire your look. Today is a snow day and I love looking out at the tree branches covered in white. I always remember playing in the snow as a kid so care free and using my imagination to build forts, and pretend my sister and I lived in snow caves. Now that i'm older I feel my imagination has faded, but today looking out at the trees made me think of beauty ice queens. The look of frosted eyeshadows and lipsticks came to mind.

Frosted eyeshadows can have a sparkle, but my favorites are just illuminating. Frosted shadows can be used all over the face. You can highlight the upper cheek bone with a light pink, golden or white shadow to contour your face. You could also apply your frosted shadow to a clear lip gloss, to match your eyes and lip. Even if you're not an eyeshadow wearer, I always suggest applying a light frosted shadow underneath your eyebrow- from the arch of your brow to the end. This really wakes the eyes up and gives the illusion of a delicate pretruding eye. This type of shadow really plays with light to give your face a beautiful glow. My favorite frosted shadow brands: Dior, Nars, and Urban decay.

Now it's your turn to frost your look!

No makeup-makeup

The trick to the no makeup look is not to wear none, but to wear perhaps more. It's kind of like when you do the roll out of bed look to go to school, you wear your pajamas, a messy bun, and a full face of makeup. Hey, we're girls it's what we do!

The one thing you should never leave without is bronzer. It really lights up your face and helps contour you in the right areas. Always apply alittle bronzer right on the cheek bone. Bronzer should always be applied starting from your hair line down to the apple of your cheek. This will apply more bronzer near the end of your face, giving you the illusion of a permanent kissy face cheek. Our cheek bones define our femininity and we need to show that.. even on a trip to the supermarket. If bronzer isn't your style, apply a tinted moisturizer, with a quick blush on the apple of your cheek. Perfecto in a momento!

The Perfect No makeup Look:

1. Apply skincare regimen.

2. Color correcting primer

Green- corrects red, Blue- brightens dull skin, Orange- blends uneven skintone.

(Choice: Nars primer is good for rosacia or MUFE primer)

3. Undereye concealer, this step is only necessary if you have puffiness or deep shadows under the eye. (Choice: Benefit- Boing, Kat Von D- tattoo concealer)

4. Foundation- powder, tinted moisturizer, liquid.

( Choice: L'Oreal True Match or MUFE Mat Velvet)

5. Fill in brows with a brow filler, powder, pencil or marker. (Choice: Anastasia brow powder)

6. Prime lashes with a fiber primer. (Choice: Sephora Collection fiber primer)

7. Apply mascara one minute after primer drys. (Choice: MUFE Smoky lash)

8. Apply an eyeshadow primer on your lids, this will stop shiny lids and shadow creasing. You can even apply it when not wearing shadow to stop lid shine.

9. Apply your bronzer lightly on the lid of your eye to the crease. Apply a light eyeshadow under your brow bone to brighten your eye area. Go for pink a light pink shadow if your an olive skin tone, and golden if you're more fair, opposites pop.)

10. Apply bronzer on your cheek starting from your hairline. Bronzer goes anywhere the light hits- cheek bone, forehead hair line, center of nose.

11. On apple of cheek place a blush. (Choice: Nars Orgasm blush)

12. Set with setting mist (Choice: Sephora collection radiance mist, or MUFE Mist and fix.)

13. Lip gloss

This may feel like alot of steps, because it is, but they're quick steps. This look should take 15 minutes and you're ready to run... your hair is another story.

Most of the time it's "What happened in Vegas"

Tattoos can be a great idea at the time, and then the next morning, not so much. There are ways to resolve a tattoo tragedy; one way is laser removal which is painful and still leaves an outlined scar for life. Another approach is tattoo concealer. I have a tattoo of my sisters hand writing on my right foot, "Lots of Love." Definitely do not regret that one.. but some people aren't as lucky, "I Love John 4eva," on your right shoulder can start to look horrid, after John splits. Even a tattoo on the wrist, on a prestigous job interview.. but nothing makeup can't fix.

The best concealers for covering tattoos are:

1. Makeup Forever- Full Cover

2. Kat Von D- Tattoo Concealer

Steps to a perfect cover:

1. Moisturize the area.

2. Apply a pink color correcting cream over the tattoo. This will fade out alot of darkness.

3. Apply concealer with a makeup sponge. (you can wet the sponge with water to avoid losing product).

4. Let the concealer dry and then apply another coat. (Note: Concealer must be your exact skin tone, nothing lighter or darker.)

5. Seal with a Setting Mist for a more realistic skin look. (Oily skin tones apply a translucent setting powder, depending where the tattoo is located.)

Wah Lah!! Your tattoo has vanished!

Holla out to an Icon...

Marilyn Monroe had a huge impact on the makeup industry. No one can rock a red lip and not think, "Is this Marilyn enough?" For many years I told myself I would dress up as her for Halloween, finally, Halloween 2009, I did. To be an icon for a day was amazing. The confidence you gleam while wearing a daring red lip is indescribable. You can't just put a red lipstick on, you have to ROCK THAT LIP!

Fair skin tones look good with a bright red lip. Medium skin tones look good with a deep red. Deeper skin tones can wear deep or bright red and it will flatter their tone. If your pout just isn't pouty enough, add a white or pink highlighter to the V of your lip (cupids bow), and line the outer rim of your lip with a lip pencil similar to your regular lip tone. Add your red lipstick and you will be as fierce as an icon, and don't forget to ROCK IT!

Airbrush

What a world we live in, when you can go into a store and purchase a mini at home air compressor to apply your foundation. I must say there is nothing like it. Your face picks up the light perfectly for a flawless picture everytime. I purchased the Temptu airbrushing system, easy clean up.. because there is no clean up. All the makeup is in individual pods that you slide in for an easy application everytime. I definitely suggest in investing in one, totally worth it and super fun. Defintely need an oil based makeup remover or cleanser to remove though, because the foundation is just that good.

Khole Kardashian had her makeup airbrushed for her wedding that aired on E about a month ago. Her skin looked gorgeous, and she probably paid a hot amount to get it done, probably the same I paid to get the machine and pods, for her one day event. I may not be able to afford to get my makeup done to that extreme, so I pamper myself. Hey, it may be expensive but if it makes you happy and beautiful, I say invest!

La La Lashes

Everyone has their addictions, some may spend massive amounts on cigs, my drug happens to be... lashes. My dream-fake lashes and mascara in the gallons. A good mascara can change anyone's look. My favorite mascara: MUFE (Makeup Forever), Smoky Lash. The brush looks like it would clump, but it surely does not. It grips your lashes perfectly and curls them up, without the need of an eyelash curler.. this pushes lash length to the max, insane! Then I love to fill my lashes in with Ardell false lashes #105. I use them individually, literally pulling each lash off the string. You could use them as strip as well.

If false lashes is too complex, you can prime your lashes with a quality lash primer, I suggest: Smashbox primer. The primer is white so you see where it's going. Apply looking down into a mirror for maximum curl without a curler. Once it dries (2 mins), apply a fiber mascara, like: Fiberwig or Sephora Collection Length mascara. Magnificent!!

It's hard to find the right mascara for your certain eyelash size, but I've tried them all, and I love my mascara...

My Top 5:

1. MakeUp Forever- Smoky Lash

2. Sephora Collection Length Mascara

3. Cover Girl- Lash Blast

4. Fresh- Supernova

5. Dior Show- Unlimited