Posts with tag MakeupArtist

Recently we caught up with celebrity make up artist, and shu uemura Artistic Director, Gina Brooke. She was in San Francisco for the day, to do a seminar at Neiman Marcus and meet one-on-one with some lucky clients. Despite her busy schedule, Gina was as serene and charming as possible. While sipping on hot water and lemon, she chatted with us about Madonna, skincare, and her favorite shu uemura products.

We told you about Heidi Klum's fab new makeup kit on Friday,
but what we didn't mention is that we were actually there with the supermodel when she revealed her Oscars look. We got the skinny from Heidi, and her makeup artist Linda Hay, on the inspiration behind the Spring Look Makeup Collection, how they dream up red carpet looks, and the duo's best kept beauty secrets.

Not surprisingly, it all starts with the dress! "I asked Roland Mouret to design my dress this year because he is so about a woman's body. I just love the way he cuts. It's sexy without showing off everything" says Klum. "Once Heidi picks the dress that's when I start thinking about the rest of the story" explains Hay. "It's never really finalized until the day-of. We're all Geminis so we are always getting new ideas and changing our minds!"

Once the makeup is done there's the challenge of how to keep it looking fresh all night, which is where the kit comes in. "The purses are beautiful and glamorous but they are are getting smaller and smaller, you don't have anywhere to put anything!" says Klum. Hay's solution's clever but always a scramble to get together. "I have never found a truly small compact so I usually give her powder scraped off and wrapped in a tissue with a mini brush, blotting papers because it gets hot on the red carpet. If her bag is big enough I will stick in a lip gloss as well" With her expert team their to support her you'd think Klum would have no complaints about Oscar night, but as it turns out there's one thing she doesn't like, "There's never any food there, by the end I'm always straving!"

OK enough about the glamorous red carpet life of a supermodel, what about the rest of us gals? Here are Heidi and Linda's Top 5 tips for looking red carpet ready.

1. Give your skin a day off. "On a day off I do nothing!" says Heidi. "If I am going out with my husband maybe a tiny bit of lip gloss or mascara, but I try to let the skin breathe.
2. For a beautiful 5-minute face Linda Hay says "Mascara, lip gloss, bronzer and you're good to go. But don't use the bronzer as a contour it's too harsh. Instead apply it anywhere the sun would touch your face." (In case you have forgotten over the winter that means your cheekbones, temples and the bridge of your nose)
3. To make your eyes look larger Heidi says "Don't do dark eyeliner inside your eyes it makes them look smaller. If you go underneath the lashes and put a lighter liner on the inside it makes them look much bigger."
4. Heidi anti-aging secret? A product she spent 2 1/2 years creating herself, natch! "I love In An Instant, it's how I take care of my skin."
5. "Putting a highlighter in the inside corners of your eyes and under your brows really helps" says Klum. "Even if it's just photos with your friends at dinner, if you do that, your face will pop"

We have heard about this little beauty trick so many times – use Preparation H to smooth out the undereye area. It's top makeup artists' secret weapon and, best of all, it's super cheap. But is there any real evidence to back up the claim?

Finally, we had a chance to test out the brunette blue eyed makeup kit that PD Roche of UBU Makeup sent our way. Lucky for us she sent us two shadows, a blush, mascara, gloss, eyeliner and an application booklet so that we could take the goods from day to night.

In the wake all of this organic, natural hubbub, many people have become alarmed that the makeup they are using is damaging and maybe even toxic.

Admittedly, we are a little bit makeup obsessed. On a normal day, we don't really even wear much makeup but it's just fun to pick out, look at, and know that it is there "just in case."

Thanks to three new collections at Target - JK by Jemma Kidd, NP Set by Napoleon Perdis, and Pixi by Petra Strand - we can pick out as many colors as we want without worrying about budget or that fact we probably won't wear it as often as we'd like.

While you might not be familiar with the Westmore family by name, you're most definitely familiar with their work, and it's their artistry in make-up that has earned the Westmores the 2,370th star on the Walk of Fame.

A Walk of Fame spokesperson said, "The Westmores not only created, but they defined the role of make-up artists in Motion Pictures. George Westmore opened the very first make-up department at Selig Studios in 1917." Members of the family were responsible for the signature looks of stars like Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, and even Barbie.

Do you want an end all be all makeup palette that is as perfect for your skin as it is healthy? Do you need a makeover? Do you want to learn how to shape your brows and apply your makeup the right way? Look no further than the UBU Makeup team.

Though we love a sinful smoky eye, we have been dying for super simple beauty trends. Apparently the beauty goddesses have heard our prayers and have answered with runway shows – Calvin Klein, Prada, Stella McCartney, Valentino -- chock full of au naturale. Heavenly!

Each show had the same qualities in common: fresh, glowing skin and features illuminated by golden and nude palettes.

Get this super natural look in a few easy steps.

One of the few makeup trends that really caught our eye was the "sweaty" faces at Alexander Wang.

While we often get this look by, well, sweating like pigs, Shiseido makeup artist Dick Page made the models look sexy sweaty instead of gross sweaty.

"There's a lot of heat on the cheek and bridge of the nose," describes Dick Page, Shiseido's Makeup Artistic Director. "I want them to look overheated." You don't get more right on than that on a hot, humid NY day.



Since it is not about precision, the look is surprisingly easy to achieve. Page used different colors of cream blush across the middle of each models face in lieu of skin prep (foundations, concealers, etc). Next he added his new Pink Mesa lipstick with a dab of gloss in the middle of the lip. For eyes he added "murky weight" with smudged black cream liner. Just before the models hit the stage, Page covered their faces with a squirt of water. Simple right?

So next time you come out of the gym don't think "Ew! I'm so gross!" think "Ahh! I'm so Alexander Wang!"



Via Sephora

This is the third celeb favs feature, this time all about the makeup products that make celebrities go from average Joe's to Hollywood royalty in minutes. They need a little help to look so perfect too, people. Gosh.

Did you know that most makeup tips try to work the eye into an almond shape? It's true. The shape is considered the most flattering and extremely exotic. However, the tips often don't take into consideration those with deep set, wide set, small eyes, round eyes, or heavily hooded eyes. And if you wear glasses? Puh-lease, you'll never find info for that! Except for here that is.

Over the last decade that we've been wearing makeup (yeah we had one of those dad's that forbid it until we were 16... laaaaame), we have probably tested every single mascara available at our local drugstore – no kidding. We had a great time testing over the years, particularly during a brief period of CVS employment that was strictly for the cosmetic discount. It was basically a crazed 2 month makeup rampage... ahhh the memories.

So after all of this time, we are pleased to share our findings with you.

Who doesn't? Getting free material is the stuff. Going to fancy parties is where it's at. And being recognized for being able to pick clothing out of a closet, dab on lipstick or put hair into a ponytail? Wowza sign us up!

But getting to that higher level requires a little work and know how. Let's take a look at how to get yourself that stylin' position you've always wanted.

As women, we want our mascara to be a macho man -- thick, long, long-lasting, conditioning and waterproof. Okay, maybe that was the wrong metaphor but regardless, we expect a lot out of our mascara but we might not be doing our part in meeting our partner half way.

Here are a few helpful hints to get the best show out of your favorite mascara.