September 2011
36 posts
Hi! I had a quick question...I'm going to homecoming tonight and I was wondering if you had any good makeup ideas for an ocassion like that?
Hi Emma!
General tips:
- If you’ll be taking lots of pictures, I’d suggest sticking with some simple neutral smokiness around the lashes/lids and soft lips, because that never goes out of style. (Trust me - you don’t want to look at photos 10 years down the road and cringe… Don’t go for anything too trendy or you’ll be hiding photos from your kids in future.)
- Don’t use highlighting pens like Touche Eclat, etc. If you must, make sure you take a quick snapshot of yourself with your camera or phone before applying the rest of your makeup. These things can show up as ghostly white patches on camera. (Same thing with foundation.)
- Bring blotting paper (if you have some) to keep your skin shine-free without having to cake on too much powder as that will look better on camera as well.
- Since you don’t want to be worrying and fussing over your makeup while you’re drinking, chatting and eating, I wouldn’t suggest dramatic lips or you’ll be checking yourself in the mirror every 5 minutes.
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Of course, there aren’t any hard and fast rules. Wear what makes you feel confident and fabulous. At the end of the day, you’ll remember how fun the night was, not how nice your makeup was!
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Nice soft, smoky looks to try:
1. Katy Perry’s dark brown matte smoky eyes if you’re pale. Best part about this is if you get a little smudgier as the night wears on, it still looks good. If you really want some drama, stack 2 strips of lashes on each eye! (But only if you’re sure you won’t be worrying about it all night.)
For the lips, go for a soft blush shade like Katy as it’s very pretty and flattering.
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2. Miranda Kerr’s honey glow if you’re tan (go for champagne and taupe shades rather than coppery or amber shades that have red and orange undertones as camera flashes pick up red tones and can make your eyes look brassy and swollen.)
If you want the look below, wear a shimmery beige-toned lipstick or gloss. If you don’t like shimmer, a soft nude creme will do as well.You can keep everything looking soft and glowing by going for creamy/shimmery textures rather than mattes.
How to Conceal: Undereye Circles
Unless you are one of those lucky souls who don’t have very noticeable shadows around their eyes, you probably need a little concealment in that area.
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THE MYTH?
Using a very light concealer to try to “brighten” dark circles.
It does not work because Black + White = Grey.
That light, bright under-eye effect you see on people like Kim Kardashian and J Lo comes mostly from dusting on a thick layer of paler powder under the entire eye area to catch eyeshadow fall-out. At the end, the excess powder is swept away, leaving that light, bright effect over the under eye and cheekbone area.
(Even so, I recommend only going 1-2 tones lighter with the powder as you could look like totally overdone and fake if you’re not careful.)
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THE TRUTH?
If your dark circles are moderate to serious due to allergies, heredity, etc., you will need to correct the color tone with a concealer that has OPPOSITE color tones to that part of your skin. It might sound counter-intuitive if you’re unfamiliar with color-theory, but it really works better than plastering on layer after layer of pale concealer and ending up with a reverse-raccoon eye, below.
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THE RULE OF THUMB?
Salmon.
Salmon is the magic shade that neutralizes plummy, purple shadows under the eyes. It also works on some hyperpigmentation and other dark discolorations near the mouth and eyes. I’ve used it on older acne marks and it evens out everything as well. Only thing to note is NOT to use it on fresh red marks, as salmon is a bit red and will not help as much.
Photo credits: hoydenabouttown.com
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PRODUCTS:
Eve Pearl, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Skin Food, MAC, Amazing Cosmetics, and a whole host of other brands are now producing these slightly orange-tinted creamy formulations suited to the under eye area. Most generic brands don’t produce a very wide range of tones. If you have very deep skin tone, MAC and Eve Pearl are the brands I know of that produce suitable shades for you.
If you use a MAC NC30 concealer usually, look for the NW shade 1 color lighter. (NC30 -> NW25; NC25 -> NW20, etc.)
Eve Pearl Salmon Concealer Trio
Attempting to erase every last bit of imperfection often tends to backfire, in my experience. If you circles are severe, apply the salmon correct first, THEN layer on your regular skin-tone concealer. Color-correction minimizes the need to cake on too much product.
Skin Food Salmon Darkcircle Concealer Cream
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Read about Concealing Tools and Overview here!
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Also, get 50% off all Studio Line products with code: ECD2
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Deal of the moment:
e.l.f. Studio 85-Piece Complete the Look Palette - Limited Edition
“Applying lip balm constantly retards your lips’ ability to produce new cells?”
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(Source: methodsofhealing.com)
We all know the skin on our lips is different from the skin on the rest of our body. However, according to thebeautybrains.com, applying too much lip balm on your lips retards new cell production as your body is not receiving enough signals to stimulate normal levels of turnover.
The main culprits cited are petrolatum (that’s most lip balms out there) and beeswax (hello, lipsticks) because they are the most effective barriers from the environment.
(Source: methodsofhealing.com)
Of course, you should not be rushing out to snap up all those “organic” lip protectants. I don’t see any studies that show that using petrolatum and beeswax products will impact your lip cell renewal more than other lip care products. The writer is, as far as I am concerned, only stating that those 2 ingredients are some of the most effective moisture barriers, and theoretically, might have the biggest impact on cell turnover.
Also, the rest of your face apparently does not react the way your lips do, so you SHOULD still moisturize.
Read more about it at:
http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/05/16/are-you-addicted-to-lip-balm/
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Personally, I first started using lip balms when I was 11 and got massively chapped and cracked lips during a trip to the dryer parts of Western Australia. I probably began regular balm usage from about 17, after I started wearing lipsticks, and since then I can’t go ANYWHERE without something on my lips.
It’s definitely not psychological, as my lips will get very tight, sensitive and uncomfortable very quickly, and licking or rubbing them excessively will almost always guarantee rashes and raw redness.
On one hand, I would like to dispute this claim about lip balms retarding cell renewal, but now that I think back on it, my lips weren’t always this parched and sensitive until I started wearing lip products regularly.
Well, I might do an experiment (more in later posts) and try to slowly wean myself off lip balms to see if my lips get less wimpy, but honestly I’m not sure how much help it would make considering I use lipstick almost daily.
Still, it’s worth a shot probably.
