I've been layin' low the past couple of weeks, but don't fret! I stocked up on plenty of photos to keep you guys updated! Here are a few appointments I had over the past couple weeks...

This is Raquel, don't even get me started on those eyes of hers!! She never wears any makeup, so we decided to go big or go home! We were both really pleased with the end result...

Raquel struggled with her skin in the past, which left her with some discoloration. After applying moisturizer and primer I perfected her skin with full coverage foundation and concealer. To keep things from being too heavy I dusted her with a light layer of loose powder. We went for bold color on the eyes with a light pink lip to compliment, and a heavy contour to show off her cheeks.

I recommended she try MAC's Green Gel Cleanser as her daily cleanser followed by the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator 2-3x a week to control her oil. As a moisturizer we chose Oil Control Lotion, and I also recommended our brightening serum to help brighten and even her complexion. Skin care is the building block of any good makeup application! I can't stress enough how much a good skin care regimen will improve to look and wear of your makeup! If you struggle with discoloration from scarring or sun damage look for products with yeast, vitamin c, and green tea.

Products Used:
Oil Control Lotion followed by Prep & Prime Natural Radiance
Studio Fix Fluid
Studio Finish Concealer
Contour Creme
Select Sheer Loose Powder in 2 shades - one under the eyes to set her highlight, and one that matched her skin all over.
Gentle Blush
Shell Creme Colour Base
Spiked Brow Pencil
Soft Ochre Paint Pot
From light to dark: Nylon, Fushia pigment, Violet pigment, Fig 1
Bisque as a highlight
Boot black liner & Smolder on the waterline
**She already had on lashes**
Viva Glam 5 lipstick
Whirl Liner
Mineral Tinted Lip Balm in Stay Warm

Winny came in for her wedding last week (CONGRATS!) She wanted a very natural, soft, subtle look...

Everything was kept very lightweight and minimal! Perfect for a small intimate wedding! I can't wait to see her professional photos...

Products Used:
Prep & Prime Skin
Face & Body Foundation
Select Cover Up
Select Sheer Pressed
Spiked Brow Pencil
Soft Ochre Paint Pot
Sweet Satisfaction Prolongwear Eyeshadow
Brown Down
Blacktrack Fluidline
#36 lashes
Zoom Waterfast Lash
Give Me Sun Bronzer
Warm Soul Blush
Soar Lipliner
Syrup Lipstick
Viva Glam 6 Gloss

When it comes to makeup "natural" and "neutral" are two classifications that I hear frequently. Although the terms can tie in together and describe a similar look, that is not always the case. Natural makeup defines a look that is essentially nude. Think "no makeup makeup," or "second skin makeup." The color palette includes flesh tones, or colors you would naturally find in the skin without any makeup applied. Focus on highlighting and perfecting the skin to give it a "fresh faced" look.

By definition neutral means "no color." A neutral makeup look could include muted shades of grey, earth tones, flesh tones, and shades from light to dark. Textures can be anything from matte to metallic. Neutral makeup doesn't necessarily need to be soft or light.

Face:
Prep & Prime Skin
Prolongwear Concealer & Foundation
Studio Fix Powder
Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark (contour)
Peaches Blush
Too Chic Beauty Powder (highlight)

Eyes:
Painterly Paint Pot, per usual.
Nylon (lid)
Samoa Silk (crease)
Brown Script (crease/corner)
Gesso (Highlight)
Blacktrack & Fascinating Liners
Zoom Lash
#43 lashes

Lips:
Chicory Lip Pencil
Crosswires Lipstick

Face:
Prep & Prime Skin
Studio Sculpt with #188 brush to make it more sheer
Prolongwear Concealer
Mineralize Skinfinish Natural
Nars Laguna Bronzer (contour)
Warm Soul Mineral Blush
Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish

Eyes:
Painterly Paint Pot
Crystal Avalanche (lid)
Copperplate (crease)
Print & Carbon (corner)
Gesso (highlight)
Blacktrack liner
Zoom Lash
#43 Lashes

Lips:
Honeylove Lipstick
Have to Have it Liner
Luminary Lusterglass

This poor woman braved tropical storm Debby in order to get her makeup done for a family member's wedding! Talk about devoted...

Here's what I used:
Eyes- Brun (eyebrows)
Painterly paint pot
Nylon (lid)
Weathered Prolongwear eyeshadow (crease)
Typographic (outer corner)
Blacktrack (upper and lower lashline and waterline)
Zoom waterfast lash
#36 lashes

Face:
I did a "skin cocktail" by mixing two pumps of Studio Fix Fluid with one pump of Prep and Prime Skin and a few drops of Pink Rebel Lusterdrops. (My lovely coworker Tiffany gave me the idea!)
Prolongwear Concealer (under eyes, down center of nose, forehead, around lips)
Select Sheer pressed powder

Cheeks:
Cubic blush
Give Me Sun mineral bronzer

Lips:
Blankety lipstick
Nice N' Spicy prolongwear liner
Baby Sparks dazzleglass

Nothing looks worse than a thick layer of concealer slapped on the skin with ink still peeking through. When trying to conceal something with an intense amount of color, such as a tattoo or bruise, the trick is to color correct. Applying a thick layer of concealer will only give a plastic mismatched effect to the skin, and most likely won't cover the ink completely. See below:

Now, unless your photographer is really good at photoshop, or you don't mind looking like you're covered in chemical burns this may not be a very good idea. In order to hide a tattoo, with or without special tattoo concealer, you need to color
correct first.
So here, my friends, is a color wheel:

I'm sure many of you haven't seen one of these since elementary school, but understanding this is key! Color correcting is all about covering one color with its opposite. For example, a very common trick with concealing blemishes is to apply a green concealer. The green concealer will cancel out the red of the blemish and bring the skin back to a natural flesh tone. Therefore, in order to cover yellow ink apply a purple corrector, orange would be corrected with blue, and so on...For tattoo outlines and shading I use a light peach or orange toned product depending on the person's skin tone. The orange will cancel out the blue/green in the dark ink.

Once you've corrected the color the trick is to work in thin layers; powder, conceal, repeat. I find this works better if you apply concealers that are far too light for your skin. Powder products always make things appear darker, so this trick always saves me from turning the skin too brown or somewhat grey.

You may have to repeat the last two steps a few times, just remember to use thin layers and powder between each one. Best of luck!

It may be only June, but fashion week has come and gone and that can only mean one thing: the trends for this fall are hitting the market! Come August you'll start to notice the shift in trends from spring/summer into fall/winter and I can not wait!

The color palette is inspired by cool tones, jewels, sepias, and neutrals. The textures play with metallic against mattes, and the skin is velvety. Lips are red and lashes are barely there. This upcoming season is all about picking a feature and amplifying it, then softly building the rest of your makeup around it. Whether it's a strong brow, geometric liner, or intense contour, this season will put a masculine spin on feminine beauty makeup.

Jewel tones seem to make a comeback every winter, but this season the placement is different. Try mixing up the way you apply your eyeshadow and go outside of the box with where you place color. Mix matte and metallic textures, and skip a brow highlight. Light washes of shadow are leading this season's styles vs. high impact intense color

Red lips are a classic look that you can't go wrong with. The modern spin on this season's red lip is to pair it with a truly nude eye; think "no makeup makeup!" Skip on loading up on the mascara, and if you can't live without it try only applying it to the top lashes. Apply a wine or burgundy colored stain if bright red is too intense!

Graphic eyeliner gets more geometric this season. Instead of a classic winged out liner this look is more about adding structure and architecture to the face. Not quite the classic look of winged eyeliner, this is definitely more of a statement.

Brows are fuller and darker this season. Skip the tweezers and grab some clear brow gel! A fuller brow is youthful, but still strong.

This season's contouring and highlighting has moved on from bronzed and glowy to cool and velvety. Creamier textures in cool browns are replacing warm bronzers, and highlights are less shimmery and more subtle. The look is all about playing with the natural shadows of the face to give depth and shape.

Although runway makeup is beautiful, it isn't the most wearable. Take this season's trends and customize them to fit your lifestyle! Work with products you have, perhaps applying them with a new technique or placing them differently. You'll be surprised with what you end up with! Don't be afraid to be a little messy or make a mistake. Makeup isn't supposed to be perfect and clean.

Let's face it, not everyone wants to tote around a makeup bag with 50 different products in it, it's just not practical. So today I gave myself a challenge: Create a polished makeup look using as few products as possible. Here's the before, after, and products I chose: 

I went with a natural/neutral color scheme and kept the coverage pretty sheer. I applied Prep & Prime skin beforehand to enhance the wear of the makeup and give a mild amount of moisture to the skin. For foundation I chose Face & Body foundation, which is great for a light, natural coverage. I skipped powder today in order to leave more of a shine to the skin, and went over the high planes of my face with Pearl Cream Colour Base to bring out the highlights.  Nars Laguna bronzer was my contour, which I also used as a crease color instead of an eyeshadow. For the eyes I used Painterly Paint Pot, two limited edition shadows in neautral tones, and fascinating eye kohl. White eye kohl is a necessity for any natural/neutral makeup look! It opens the eye and cancels out any redness on the the water line! I filled in my brows with Dirty Blonde brow pencil and finished with mascara. The Paint Pot doubled as an under eye concealer; and I used Keep It Loose Casual Colour on my cheeks and lips! Ta-Da! Quick, low maintenece makeup!