All About Eye Primer: the Eye Makeup Saviour

Dior Spring/Summer 2013- Totally everyday makeup right? 

So yesterday’s eye post has gone pretty viral so today I thought I would continue on the topic a bit and write a quick blog about eye primers. I saw some of the spring/summer looks on beauty editor and most of them seem to involve copious amounts of eye makeup. Eye primer keeps complex eye looks lasting for more than ten seconds. I foresee that if you are going to be rocking eye makeup into the spring and the summer, you are going to need to use an eye primer.

How to: Look Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

Bright Eyed!

So this is my blog in devotion to eye care. Eyes being the windows to the soul and all, it is important to look after them. They are also the first thing to show signs of aging. Also the first thing to show when you are looking as sub-par as I currently do getting over a winter cold. So here are my tips to make it look like you have actually slept and looked after yourself (not that it is any substitution for that right?)

How to: Dewy Makeup (Even in the Dead of Winter)

Louis Vuitton Spring 2012

So it’s January still. I hate January. Just saying. It is dark, cold, you are back to “healthy eating” and to top it off it wreaks havoc on your skin. So here are my tips for looking glowy and dewy in January, like Christmas actually refreshed you (not!).

How to: Apply Highlighter

Anja Rubik as Hermes by Karl Lagerfeld for Pirelli- beautiful highlighting!

So mildly tricky, highlighter when done right can be fantastic. I prefer to highlight over contouring because it is a lot less tricky. Contouring should only be performed by professionals ie. Makeup artists- in my humble opinion. Or be forever asked (mostly by men) why you have brown stripes on your face. Highlighting allows you to subtly bring out your bone structure without looking strange.

How to: Choose a Moisturizer- An Ingredients Breakdown

Am I doubting most lab girls look this good?

                Well this is going to be a pretty heavy post but I feel like it is something that has to be done before I go on. After the BB cream post, a few questions popped up about what to look for when you are looking for a “good” moisturizer. I am not going to address any anti-aging really because that would take me the next month of Sundays, with all the different types and new and better types coming out all the time. This is just the rule of thumb for basic moisturizing and skincare; things to look for in your anti-aging products.

Looks I am Loving: Dick Page for Michael Kors Fall 2012

Rosy prettiness!

So I am going to talk about this even though it’s a bit old. Gasp! It’s from last season! I do really like it and now that I have a blog I can talk about it. They showed it at a recent Shiseido school and I remembered how much I loved it. If you haven’t guessed yet Dick Page is my makeup artistry hero. And it feels appropriate now that the weather has gone frigid and our cheeks have taken on a naturally rosy glow. Nothing perks me up like a good dose of blush.

How to: Apply Nail Polish (+ SS 2013)

From Rag & Bone SS 2013 (same show as I have pictures from on my BB cream post)
I stole this picture from a great Aussie site that has pictures of most of the nails coming down the SS 2013 runway

So I was looking at a bunch of pictures coming off the runways and I came to three conclusions: a) designers are really nutty b) nail art is still going strong and c) that it is high up keep nail season. Not only is there crazy nail art, but also a lot of pastels and whites which are always high maintenance even if they are seemingly not. The problem with whites (and pastels) is that the formulas are generally thick, they require several coats, and show flaws easily. Funky nails also draw attention to the flaky, lizard hands that Canadians have a tendency to get in the winter time, and we are too impatient to wait until July to wear the spring trends. So dig out your hand cream, cuticle balm and buffing sticks. Here is some inspiration from the SS 2013 shows:

What is (Actually) a BB Cream?

Rag & Bone Spring/Summer 2013 (All Revlon!)

So I am sick of answering this question. If only there was a way to answer this question and tell the world all at once. There is… or at least for the four people currently reading my blog. Well at least four less people will ask me.

Looks I am Loving: Jessa from HBO’s Girls

Jessa bold lip + barely and eye = Awesome

Yes I am not the first person to be raving about this show. It’s a bit much in the sex department for my taste but one thing that has gotten my attention is the makeup. If it is supposed to be a real depiction of women, they are doing a fairly good job, most people don’t wear gobs of makeup. But their characters wear barely any! It is sort of refreshing in a way to see women looking good with just hints of it.

Why I wear Sunscreen everyday

Fabulous sun protecting hat but don`t forget your décolletage!

If you have yet to hear everyone yammer on about how important sunscreen is I will now add to the chorus. Born with carrot top orange hair (now blond thank goodness), I possess that sort of ghostly pallor that make tanning bed worshippers quake with terror. And no I don’t want to spray tan. I think fair skin, like any other skin when well looked after, is classy and beautiful.  Every makeup artist on the planet seems to want to pile on a small truckload of bronzer on me despite the fact that I basically don’t tan ever, naturally. With the red-head skin, I turn a delightful shade of lobster and then peel back to albino, sun damage irrevocably done. So I am easy to sway on the fact that sunscreen is probably a good idea.

How to: Apply Lipstick like a Hollywood Maven

Lauren Bacall rocking a red lip

                I love lipstick; probably more than is reasonable or rational. It comes in so many different ways and colours and nothing makes me feel like I have myself more together. I think a lot of women are missing out on the fabulousness that is lipstick because they are afraid of it. They blow it out of proportion, into something that is beyond them. This seems to come around a lot at Christmas when everyone out of the blue seems to want to wear lipstick because they think they should but they are lost lambs in a world filled with lip gloss. Lipstick, even applying it in great detail like I have explained here is way easier than any smoky eye I have ever heard of. ­­­­­In the world of makeup, anything goes so don’t be afraid to be wrong, it always washes off. I guess you could go and watch some chirpy, peppy, skinny internet girl do her lipstick but I will offer up my methods of application in hopes that women everywhere will go confidently forth with lipstick:

Hello!

I am about the bazillionth person to set up a beauty blog, I know. Just what the internet always needed.

I a humble slave beauty girl, working at your local drug store, on the front lines of the beauty madness. Call me a supreme beauty skeptic. I go to the beauty “schools” every season for each company to see the new launches, the latest and greatest, which usually… not so much. It is comical really, each trainer trying to convince a whole room of women who have tried everything, and then some that this new product they hold in their hands is the fabulous thing that everyone has always needed. If it truly is, I will know pretty quickly from someone if it doesn’t. Or they will send me home with swag, in attempt to sway my vote and it actually is (shock! That is maybe one out of ten).