Makeover! Darby

Darby is a stay-at-home mom of one little one, with another one on the way!   She has pale skin and bright blue eyes; a knockout combination!

We tried really, really REALLY hard to get good lighting on the "before" pictures, and the lighting seemed good... until I compared it to the lighting for the "after" pictures.  *sighs*  I need to get a professional lighting set-up.  Anyway, both sets of photos were taken outdoors, within an hour of each other. 

Before:

Sh

After:

Side-by-side:

Her beautiful skin is being tossed for a loop with with the hormonal curve-ball that can accompany pregnancy, so I introduced her to Asian BB Creams.  Because she is so pale, she won't have a hard time finding a color match.  The easy buildability means that she can apply one layer all over, and then additional layers where needed.  The additional complexion benefits of sunscreen, blemish control, whitening, and wrinkle preventives will help her need less coverage over time.  

Here is another before and after:

And one more!

Nearly everything we used can be substituted by drugstore products, and you can find the cheaper equivalent by googling for a "dupe".  The two things I would not suggest duping are the BB Cream and the eyeshadow (both the eyeshadow and the powder liner).  You can find better deals by searching on Ebay, Amazon, or AllCosmeticsWholesale.  

Finally, a complete list of what we used:

Face:

Face:  Skin79 Diamond Collection The Prestige BB Cream,  Boots No7 High Lights Illuminating Lotion (Discontinued) (E.L.F. Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal is a dupe, and only costs $1)

Illuminating Powder: Lorac Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Spotlight 

Contouring Powder: NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna

Blush: Tarte Cheek Stain in Full Blossom (I think this color has been discontinued.  However, I found it for $10 at allcosmeticswholesale.  I have ordered from them before and didn't have any issues with the products.)

Brows:

Pencil: Cover Girl Brow and Eye Makers in Midnight Brown 

Powder: Maybelline Ultra-Brow Brush On Color in 10 Light Brown 

Lips:

All-over: Wet n Wild  Silk Finish in 529B (color name is Copper Dust)

Eyes:

Lids: E.L.F. Essentials eyelid Primer

Lids: Stila In the Know("air" on browbone)

Lids: Urban Decay palette Naked 2  ("chopper" over inner half of upper lid, "ydk" over outer half of upper lid) 

Liner: Mosha Katani Eye Pigment in Persian Queen, around lashline and on waterline.

Lashes: Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara in Black

Brushes:

RealTechniques Stipple brush

Sonia Kashuk Smokey Eye Brush Set, and other Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow brushes

Angled brush for eyebrow

Makeover! Myra

Myra is a very busy lady, managing both a household and outside work projects.  She wanted a look that she could wear for date night, but still look like herself.  She also wanted to play around with some lipsticks, which is totally up my alley!

She has the longest natural eyelashes I've ever seen. Seriously, I'm envious.  She also has full lips, and it's a feature I felt she under-emphasizes.  Topping it off are cheekbones that really pop when she smiles, and we have a recipe for creating a soft eye, brighter lip, and glowy cheeks. 

Before:

After:

Side by Side:

One more!

We did a really easy smokey eye, in copper and brown, with black liner on her waterline.  She has deep set eyes, so the duo-tones in both the eyeshadow, mirroring her deep brown eyes and insanely long, dark lashes, really makes her eyes stand out and command attention.  We tweezed her brows just a little bit, too.

On her lips, we did a slightly brighter color for the photos, but we also looked at some more berry colors she could try later on her own.  The brightness was off-putting for her, so I showed her how to take a brighter, matte lipstick, and use it as a stain.  Patting matte lipstick on, and then really rubbing it in will give you a wash of color, but won't leave you feeling like you have a bunch of stuff on your lips.  You can also top it with a balm or gloss, and not worry about re-application as much. 

Here is a complete list of what we used!

Face:

Face: Aveda Inner Light Mineral Tinted Moisture in 02 Beechwood, Buxom Divine Godess Luminizer

Illuminating Powder: Lorac Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Spotlight 

Contouring Powder: NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna

Blush: Stila Convertible Color in Peony  

Brows:

Pencil: Cover Girl Brow and Eye Makers in Midnight Brown 

Powder: Maybelline Ultra-Brow Brush On Color in 10 Light Brown 

Lips:

All-over: Wet n Wild Megalast Matte in 906D (color name is Wine Room)

Eyes:

Lids: E.L.F. Essentials eyelid Primer

Lids: Kat Von D True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Ladybird ("vespertine" on browbone, "harlow" on crease, "wolf" on lower browbone ridge from inner corner to outer wing) (currently sold out on Sephora.com; I'm assuming they'll get it back in stock)

Lids: Urban Decay palette Naked ("smog" all over lid) 

Liner: Mosha Katani Eye Pigment in Persian Queen, around lashline and on waterline.

Liner:  Mosha Katani Eye Pigment in Black Sea, on lashline for smoky eye.

Lashes: Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara in Black

Brushes:

RealTechniques Stipple brush

Sonia Kashuk Smokey Eye Brush Set, and other Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow brushes

Angled brush for eyebrow

Review! Wet n Wild MegaVolume Mascara

I've been trialing a lot of mascaras in the past year.  Most of them have been higher end, and came as deluxe trial sizes in Sephora's holiday sampler pack.  I came to the end of those, and wanted to try out some more mascaras, but, honestly, I didn't want to shell out big bucks to try a product that is historically more of a miss than a hit.

So, enter the cheapest of the cheap drugstore mascaras!

Today, I have Wet n Wild MegaVolume Mascara.  It was $2, at Walgreens.

This mascara gives a very natural look.  It coats well, doesn't clump up, doesn't make the lashes stick together badly, and stays put.  I set my undereye makeup with powder, and with that step, the mascara never traveled down my lower lid.  I was disappointed that it didn't give more volume like it says it will, because otherwise it is a very nice mascara.

It is a drier formula, and doesn't have that really wet stage when you first open the tube like many mascaras do.  I was surprised that it stayed the same consistency for the month I have been trialing it, and it didn't seem to thicken at all after being exposed to air through usage.

Personally, I like a really dramatic look for my lashes.  Because this is so natural, I wouldn't re-purchase it for my use.  However, if anyone likes to keep their look natural, I would definitely recommend trying this mascara.

Makeover! Ashley

Ashley is a very busy mom, balancing her day job with her home life.  She wanted to learn some new techniques to liven up her date-night look.  She requested a pin-up, cat-eye, bright lip look.  To achieve her goal, we modified that request to a bold winged liner with a brighter-than-she's-used-to pink lip.

Ashley has super pale skin with a smattering of freckles, deep brown eyes, and intense cheekbones.  She has the perfect face structure for winged liner, and I was stunned with how well and how naturally she pulled the look off.

Here she is before:

And, after!

Side-by-Side:

To achieve her subtle pin-up look, we really concentrated on two things: perfect skin, and winged liner.  I find that for flawless porcelain skin, nothing beats a good Asian BB cream.  We used Skin79 Super Plus Beblesh Balm, with one layer all-over, then a second layer over any stubborn areas, and then one more layer for the under-eye area.  Because this foundation is full coverage, it will take away her natural glowiness; so, I mixed in a bit of No7 High Light Illuminating Lotion to the Skin79 before application.  We set the undereye area with a Lorac powder, and then all over with Aveda loose powder.

For the winged liner, I sketched in our "rough draft" with Mosha Katani's eye pigment, dry.  Then, once we were happy with the placement, I filled it in with Mosha Katani's eye pigment, mixed with her Sormeh Sealer.  This mixture creates a liquid liner that will stay put all day.

Here is a complete list of what we used!

Face:

Face: Skin79 Super Plus Beblesh Balm, Boots No7 High Light Illuminating Lotion (may be discontinued, can substitute Benefit High Beam)

Illuminating Powder: Lorac Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Spotlight 

Contouring Powder: Too Faced Matte Bronzing Powder in ChocolateSoleil 

Blush: tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour blush in Splendor  

Setting Powder: Aveda Inner Lightloose powder in 01 translucent

Brows:

Powder (to fill): Stila In The Know palette, Earth

Lips:

All-over: Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in 525D Retro Pink

Eyes:

Lids: E.L.F. Essentials eyelid Primer

Lids: Stila palette In The Know (air, all over lid and up to eyebrow)

Lids: Kat Von D palette Ladybird  (harlow, just under eye socket ridge)

Liner:  Mosha Katani Eye Pigment in Black Sea, Mosha Katani Sormeh Sealer

Lashes: Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara

Brushes:

RealTechniques Stipple brush

RealTechniques Powder brush

Sonia Kashuk Smokey Eye Brush Set

Angled brush for eyebrow