HIYA FOLKS

Hello ladies. Its been a while. Things at ladymama have been a bit sluggish since the webmaster had a baby so meantime im gonna blog back here in the "alter heim."

SOOOO wedding season is fast approaching, and i am excited and available for all your bridal makeup needs. But.......would you dare to do as the new dutches of camberidge did and do your own makeup for your wedding? Lets have a look a Princess Cathrine's look.

Kate did a lovely balance of drama and understatement. she want soft in terms of color, allowing her gown to shine, and because it was a daytime wedding, but it was after all her wedding and a royal one at that and that calls for a little more glamour than her regular look.

Her foundation is even, matte and simple. In fact she doesn't look like she's wearing much foundation, and probably only put some on toruble areas., setting it with powder.

Kate's eyebrows are bold and well defined, very well groomed.

Her eyes are a soft smokey eye look. To get her look, apply a neutral light catching shade all over the eye. then using a blending brush or your fingers apply a  sheer wash of medium reddish brown into the crease, blening outwars and  upwards towards the outer corners.

tTke a well sharpened and creamy black eye pencil and apply a thin line as close to the lash line as you can get, the use a smudger or q-tip to smudge the line a bit especially towards the outer edge. now line the lower lashline thinly connecting the top and bottom lines at the corners. Use a q-tip to remove the excess from the bottom and thin the line out.

Take a rosey pink blush and apply JUUUUUUst a little on the cheeks sweeping back towards the ears. stop applying as soon as the color starts to show.

Kate's lips are a nude neutral. Use a lipstain just a bit darker than your natural color, and top with a clear gloss.
Add an art deco Diamond Cartier tiara borrowed from the queen and you're all set.

if this sounds too intimidating, i'd be happy to do it for you.:-)

new blog news!

I am now the official beauty blogger for Ladymama.org! i will be posting new blogs there weekly. please  sign up. i will still post here as well

Thinking about spring!

Spring will be here before ya know it and green eye shadow is gonna be abig trend then. don't get scared off. The thing about trends is making them fit YOU! while i think there is a shade of green to compliment everyone, if you feel its too vibrant then find a shade of green tinted grey or beige or a deep emerald eyeliner to ease into it. i'll do a video IYH to demonstrate how to pull of the look abnd how to balance the blush and lipcolor to the vibrant eye shade.

LET ME TEACH YOU TO DIY!

I am now offering DIY classes one on one or in groups where i will teach you how to do your OWN makeup like a pro. I am not going to try to sell you any products, this is about technique.

I'll teach you, depending on how many classes you want everything from the basics to details of several looks for your coloring and features. please email me at beautybychava@rocketmail.com or call 718-986-1211 for details. and if you host the class at your home, you will get a discount.

at $60 for a one hour class, the class pays for itself the first time you do your own makeup instead of paying $50 to $80 for a makeup artist for your next event!

Let's talk Brushes!

Most women use the applicators that come with their makeup but quality brushes are essential to creating a great even look.

good quality brushes should have soft bristles and a fimly crimped ferule that holds they hairs so they don't shed and so the stick doesn't wiggle. there are literaly hundreds of kinds of brushes but i'll go through some basics with you.

Powder brush: this is a multitasking brush and i have several made of different kinds of hair and in different sizes but you really only need one or two. it should be soft, dense and shouldn't shed. this brush is a workhorse applying mineral foundation, blushes, bronzers and finishing powders.

the kabuki brush: also a workhorse. its a Japanese style powder brush which is a must have if you use mineral foundation regularly. the short plump handle allows for great control and the britles are very dense, very soft and in the perfect dome shape. you use it to apply mineral makeup in buffing motions and it provides great even full coverage.

eye shadow brush: there are an endless number of eyeshadow brushes in various sizes, denisties and shapes. for most people i'd reccomend a standard midsized tapered fluffy brush like number 4 for general application.

crease brush/blending brush: this brush is used to add contour and depth tot he crease of the eye and also comes in many sizes, shapes and densities. one like this is a good standard one to have for application and blending on most eye shapes.

angled liner brush:  this brush is used to fill in brows and apply cake and cream eye liners.

foundation brush: a quality foundation brush is used to apply liquid and cream foundation evenly on the face without absorbing the pigment like a sponge does

angled contour brush. used to apply contour colors under the cheekbones or hilight shades above them to create a defined facial structure.

Winter Looks: royal blue liner and DIY lipstain.

People tend to associate certain looks with winter. the red holiday lip, frosty blue eyes.....i feel that it should be far more broad. in winter most of us frum ladies have paler skin than in summer. so in winter weneed to work with looks better suited to a lighter skin tone. also in winter we tend to play with cooler colors than in summer or spring. a very trendy eye combo for fall was gold and purple which i love because it is universally flattering. purple makes all eye colors pop and gold compliments every skintone, but for winter i would switch that to a silver and purple. if silver seems to guilded for you then go with something less bright like a pewter or greige. the idea is to cool the look down for winter.

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another thing i like for a quick look is royal blue eyeliner. colored eyeliner is great in a hurry because it giveds you the definition of a liner and the color or a shadow in one swipe so no other products are needed. i choose royal blue because its less wild than the sky blue ive seen around but more vivid than a navy which can get mistake for black. give it a thin winged line.

pair it with a vivid berry lipstain. i say stain, not lipstick because a full lipcolor would compete with the color on the eyes and look like too much. don't have a lipstain? make one easily but applying a heavy coat of deep berry or red lipstick and leave on for 5 minutes. then blot off as much as you can. you'll find some color remaining on your lips as a stain. the secret is that even high end lipsticks use food coloring like red number five as pigments and when you have a highly pigmented lipstick and leave it on, the color will stain your lips just like a cherry Popsicle stains your tongue,

Got Me a BREAKOUT! AAAAAAAAAH!

I have sinned! I have neglected my skin and now have a bad breakout on my chin. I didn't follow my own advice. i let myself dehydrate and there is nothing skin hates more than being thirsty.
When I'm having bad skin i stick to pure mineral foundation for several days. it gives me some coverage to hide the blemishes without cloging the pores and making the breakout worse. (I don't use mineral makeup in my kit for wedding ect, because they tend to have high spf, which is great for the skin day to day but reacts badly with camera flashes making you appear ghostly in pictures)
As for treating the blemishes themselves nothing works as well as tea tree oil imo.

   On a seperate note, i found a product which i have to recommend. i found at my food co-op, an organic market, a jar of ALBA Body polish, an exfoliating scrub made with honey and which ground sugar cane as the exfoliater. it also has a silicone primer mixed in which leaves the skin with a smooth feeling and it smells devine, like honey cake. highly reccomend it.

Kate Middleton: Makeup fit for a princess.

Kate Middleton, in case you've been living under a rock the last few weeks, is the lovely common-blooded bride of England's formerly handsome, prematurely balding prince William who proposed to her after 9 years of reports that a proposal was iminant. Its a pity, he shouldn't have been pressured into it.

Anyway, Kate has become our generations Diana, with every outfit she wears getting sold out in seconds, her hairdo becoming instantly chic and of course her makeup being analyzed. Despite, as my previous blog mentioned, makeup trends leaning toward bright, loud matte looks, Kate has kept her makeup simple, dewy and natural as I think befits and princess.

Since my last how to blog focused on creating a natural look i think i will soon make a kate middleton makeup video which has a little more color on the eyes than the Williamsberg crowd would go for, but is still a subtle, glowing look that would would look just as at home at the office as it would under a bridal veil.

Its OK for me to NOT like beauty trends right?

OK so i know i'm a pro in the biz and all that but i hope its OK if i totally hate this season's upcoming and current trends in makeup. and frankly in hair and clothes. its like the 80's resurrected.
According to the fashion powers that be, aside from hair bumps, VERY textured big wavy hair, puffed sleeves, multilayered clothes chunky bright jewelry and other scenes from my very early childhood being cool again, makeup is having an 80's revival and while i can teach you how to do it, i'm not a fan.


its all about loud and matte: matte everything is back. i was raised both as a teen and then taught in beauty class that matte is bad. matte looks dry, dead, lifeless.  Dewy skin, and luscious lips were the way to look youthful and fresh. keeping lips neutral allowed you to play with color on the eyes. , blending was the key to every look and i loved every second of it.

So now they recommend matte foundation and strong matte colors all over. Matte lipstick in colors like fuchia and orange and purple, pink powder cheeks and on eyes, instead of blending to create definition they talk about applying of vibrant (i.e. loud color)
and the total givaway to the 80's mess: straight, bushy brows. my whole life i have loved the look of an elegant graceful arch over the eyes to anchor the look and frame the face. these arches could be pointed or curved, bold or delicate, but the so called BOLD brows around now just look messy to me. i mean they are combed and gelled but look masculine, heavy and neanderthal like.

i may do a video to demonstrate these looks just for fun and for those who do want to be trendy,
but i believe that beauty has to be about bringing out your best look and while sometimes trends can be great, (i love that the sculpted contoured look is back) i don't beleive one should wear a trend just cuz its a trend. you have to be confidant enough in yourself to look good wearing something everyone else isn't because it suits you.

THE NATURAL LOOK : BP and WILLIAMSBURG- this is for you

in have been geting more and more requests from chassidish customers in the boro park and Williamsburg communities B"H. in a way they are the most challanging customers because when they want a natural look they don't mean a well blended or soft look. they want a natural look- as in they want their face to be radiant but with no makeup really showing especially on the eyes. it takes alot longer that you'd think to create this kind of look.

doing makeup for the sephardi community where they love color is more fun as an artist but also in many ways easier. you can play around.

On these clients creating the illusion of glowing skin is key. The shape of the eyebrows, the hilights and contours, the lush lashes....you can't rely of color to do the job for you and mistakes wil be more easily noticed.


I have alread shown in my contour blog and my concealer video how to create the base for this look in terms of glowing skin.

Onto the eyes. there are several ways i do this.

1: Powder eye shadow.

I apply a thin layer of a matte primer or shadow magneton the eye to hold the color. then cover the eye in a satin finish nude eye shadow. satin finish is not shimmery but not as flat as a true matte- it does catch the light a bit. i then use a blending brush to add a deeper shade, about 2 shades, into the crease. which color? most people assume brown when creating shadow and this may be true but brown comes in different shades and depending on the eye color you may want to go with  different shades of brown.. a taupe is most universally flattering when in doubt. Brown and hazel eyes look best with a purplish brown, like the color of hot chocolate. Blues should go with a greyish bown, or taupe, green eyes with a golder of coppery brown. in truth any of these colors will work with any eye color but these are the colors to choose to make the eyes really sparkle. add just the barest hint of the color in the crease and blend. the color will be almost invisable appearing like a natral shadow but the eyes will stand out. i add a hint of a shimmering highlight shade under the brow bon and the inner corners of the eye to make the person appear awake and well rested.
i usually use my coastal scents warm palette for this look.

2: Cream eye shadow.

most cream shadows will crease so this is tricky. I use Illuminare cream eye shadows. they come in only skintones, browns and 2 highlighters making it ideal for this kind of look and they don't budge once dry. They do take a bit of practice. they're available on the Illuminare website.

3: foundations:
The fastest way to create this look, is using different color cream foundations. i use my cinima secrets five color palettes and apply a nude shade all over the lid, blend a deepr shade from the same palette into the crease with my finger, add a lighter shade uner the browbone and then set it with a translucent powder like kryolan or makeup forever.

 In some cases i will add a brown gel liner, smudging it in with the shadow before it sets.

Then use a lash curler and sweep on a volumizing mascara.


For cheeks is as usual prefer cream blushes, sometimes using a lipcolor as a blush and BLEND WELL!! to avoide the streaky look. however i will sometimbes use powder blushes. i will dust lightly from the apples up the cheekbones with a brown or bronze blush for dimention and then swirl a peachy pink on the the apples for that pinched fresh look.

for lips i use a neutral nude, pink or peachy color, and i always prefer to use longwear lipsticks for simchas like covergirl outlast or loreal infallible.

sorry about that

I culdn't do the stage makeup blog i wanted to because as i was preparing to do it my ride to the theater rang my bell wondering where i was. apparently they had asked the cast to be there an hour and a half earlier but having left my cell in the dressing room i didn't get the text. i'll try to do it before my next performance jan 8th if i have time after shabbos.

Stage Makeup! FUN FUN FUN

I am currently in the cast of the Neshei tzedakah Player's cast for The barons and The bankers- the story of the Rothschilds and due to frequent costume changes and the fact that i play both a male and female at various point in the show, I am having a BLAST with the stage makeup for myself and the rest of the ensemble. stay tuned for my videos showing my looks for the show.  I'll show you how i go from the painted up brightly colored look that i wear with a HUGE wig and 18th/19th century ball gown to the way i masculinize my face to play inspector fouche, napoleon's police chief.

VIDEOhow to use concealer so you don't need foundation

Concealing in place of foundation

Greetings, my public! So yesterday I was telling you about how proper concealing can let you go foun dation free for every day. The benefits are great. no foundation ever looks as natural as your real skin assuming you have even skin tone (no blotches, redness, ect). If you are interested i may demonstrate this in a video later on.

I mentioned in the splurge or save series that there are 2 types of concealers (i'm referring to cream concealers cuz thats all I really use.) under eye concealer which is meant to brighten and hide dark circles, is supposed to be creamy and opaque. Camouflage concealer is meant for covering up blemishes and pimples. it is thick and pasty like spackle. it would look bad under the eyes because of its cakey consistency but the under eye concealer would be too emollient for blemishes and would slide right off pimples.

Its commonly thought that yellow concealer is best for undereyes. Not necessarily. it works if your dark circles are maroon or reddish but if they're blue, well yellow and blue make green and no one needs green undereyes. my favorite color for undereyes is an orangey pink or salmon color, in about the same range as your skintone. sometimes i'll mix that with a little yellow if the clients skin calls for it. Benefit's erase paste is a great under-eye concealer

another one is coastal scents concealer quads in light- the light one has a salmon shade which is great for undereyes as well as a yellow shade to mix it with if needed.

Using either your ring finger or a small soft concealer brush, lightly tap the concealer back and forth under the eye area until it is well blended. if you do it too hard it pushes the concealer into the fine lines and creases making them seem deeper.

With blemishes, take a tiny concealer brush and take a camouflage concealer like benefit's Boing, or coastal scents 10 color concealer palette and apply a tiny amount to the blemish. then use your pinky to push the concealer into the skin. don't tap, or the concealer will come off. just push into the skin so it blends with the surrounding texture.

set with a fine translucent powder and you're done. skip foundation and apply color as usual.

Going Foundation Free- It CAN be done!

 I play with makeup with way kids play with crayons. I'll give myself a full face then wash it and start over, just for fun. I go through phases with makeup when I am really into certain products. I went through a colored eye liner phase, a lipstick phase, and now I'm on a concealer kick, with creams, camaflauges, hi-lighters, and primers and i discovered something. I don't need foundation. When concealer is done right, the color matches skintone exactly, it stays put and is applied right, you really don't have to bother with foundation assuming you have an even skintone. i use a salmon colored concealer mixed with a skintoned concealer to neutralize undereye circles, and a camouflage concealer pressed in with a small brush on my blemishes and thats it. i can leave it alone and left my pores breathe. and since foundations are the most expensive item in my kit, this allows me to save it for special occasions and clients.

in my next post i will discuss how to properly apply these concealers so that foundation isn't necessary

CONTOURING: chisel the face you wish you had

    Not only is contoured makeup highly fashionable right now it is also a great way to even out facial structure, create the illusion for strong cheekbones, thinner cheeks, smaller double chin and a slender nose.

   You'll need 3 shades of foundation or contouring powder. the middle shade should match your skintone exactly. The other two should eb 2 shades lighter and 2 shades darker than your natural skin color.

I found this picture online which i will use to help expplain how to use these colors.

The lightest shade should be placed in any area that light would hit if it was shining right at your face. the center of you face, bridge of your nose, middle of the forehead blending into the nose, brow bone,and chin.

. The darker shade goes under the cheekbones, under the chin and onto the neck, at the temples and in careful drawn lines on the sides of the nose. these should then be blended together. I like to finish that off with a hi-lighting cream or powder over the hi-lighted areas to give a nice glow and then use a setting powder like Makeup Forever's HD Microfinish Powder, available at Sephora..

SPLURGE OR SAVE: part 4

Final chapter in the splurge or save series.

Eye Shadow: save

OK what makes a quality eye shadow? PIGMENT! the intensity of the color as it appears on the skin , also called color payoff.

I do not buy department store eye shadows in principle because i think paying 14 to 20 bucks for one color is outrageous. i buy the eye shadows for my kit in artist palettes online and in that was i can get between 88 and 120 colors for a decent price, but the average frum women doesn't need that big of a selection and prefers a small product she can toss in her purse. At the drugstore, i find that Loreal's HIP (High Intensity Pigment) line of eye products rivals easily any of the pro brands i was trained with. the eye shadows are vibrant, and silky and easily bendable. I'm a big fan of their cream liners as well.

Loreal's wear infinite line is also a big favorite of mine as are Cover girl and Maybeline eye studio

Remember no matter what eye product you use they will look better, and last long when used with a quality primer.


Eye Liner: splurge.....mostly


OK so for eye liner its hard to give a blanket accross the board answer because there are so many kind. for most eye liner products, assuming you want a clean line and not a smudged look which does have its fans,  you're gonna have to pay for quality.

Liquid liner: here you can find good products cheap. Revlon's color stay liquid liner and Milani liquid liner do have great long lasting formulas. I wore Revlon colorstay to my own wedding and it looks flawless all night.

Cream/Gel: This is my favorite kind of liner and i confess many of the ones in my kit are off brand that i found cheap and bought as a way of trying out new colors without investing too much. And while they look as good as the more expensive ones, they don't last. they dry out quickly so i don't get much use out of them before throwing them out. A cream liner also has to be top quality if you want it to stay on properly. Poorly made formulas can give you the racoon look like nothing else by the end of the day. while physician's formula does make a line of cream liners which are decent and cheap (3 for $10), mac fluidline is the holy grail of gel liners.

Khol liner: don't bother. a powdery mess that does nothing special no matter where you get it.

pencil:  Like cream liners there can smudge and spear and it can also be tough to get the clean line you want. now thats fine for blended looks like the smokey eye but if you want a defined look ONLY buy drugstore brands that are waterproof or longwear. Revlon Colorstay pencil is a safe bet.




Cake eyeliner: cake eye liner is actually a pigmented pressed powder. any well pigmented eye shadow can be made into a liner with a dampened liner brush. so if the shadow is good, you're fine.


Alright ladies, now GET SHOPPING!

SPLURGE or SAVE: part 3

Moving right along.....

Concealer: Splurge

 Concealer is one of the trickiest products to get right application wise even for an artist. There are two kinds of concealer according to Laura Mercier : under eye concealer which should be creamy but shouldn't settle into creases and crows feet, and camouflage concealer which should be more of a thick paste for covering pimples and blemishes. The camouflage would look like spackle under the eye, while the creamy concealer would slide right off zits.  Pigmentation and texture are crucial in concealing so you can't afford to go for bargains in this department. Sites like coastal scents do have some decent concealer palletes that are more affordable that the most expensive brands, and i use them in my kit but for the real cream of the concealing crop i love Benefit. They have some amazing concealing products. Erase Paste for the under eye, Bo-ing for covering booboos, and the Stay Don't Stray concealer primer which keeps the Erase Paste from sinking into fine lines. They have a sample kit in medium shades called "Confessions of a Concealaholic" which, if the colors suit you are a great way to try out their concealing and priming products.


Lipstick: regular- splurge
               longwear- save

So this thing about lipstick is it doesn't stay on. right? its on your coffee mug, your pillow case, you're reapplying it........so with lipstick, a cheap product will be a waste. This is something where you get what you pay for. you need a texture that adheres to lips without feeling dried out and a strong pigment. this is also why lipstains have become so popular..If you're going to wear a regular cream lipstick, you ought to go for quality. Laura Mercier, Mac and Lancome are all known for great pigment and staying power in their lipsticks.

Another lipstick option which I personally prefer are ongwear lipsticks and lipcolors which have a color coat that dries and stays on for 6 to 18 hrs and a gloss coat  that goes on top to keep the lips supple and looking moist. these can be easily gotten at any drugstore. Covergirl Outlast lipcolors and Loreal Infallible lipstick and lipcolors are my favorites.

SPLURGE or SAVE?? Part 2

Now, where were we.....ah yes, to spend on the high street fancy makeup or save and go discount and drug store. Some surprising bargains to be had, and some surprising products you can't afford to go cheap on.
Foundation was a splurge,  mascara was a save, but what else?

Blush: Save

 While its true that many expensive blushes like Nars give a beautiful effect, you can indeed find beautiful glowing blushes at the drug store. the key is to know what to get. Avoid anything chalky and anything from the waaay cheap brands. I am always partial to cream blushes because, especially in natural light, they will always look the most ntural and blend the best. Loreal HIP and Covergirl  have some lovely options. Physicians formula is a wonderful brand for this who love sheer dewy glow. They have blush mosaics and palettes which combine various tones and shimmers when you swirl the brush on it and give you a beautiful multidimensional finish.

Bronzer: save

Yes bronzer is not something worth spending big on. I don't use bronzer much, but if I did I would be spending my makeup dough on physicians formula. They seem to specialize in bronzer and have SO MANY many varieties. As with the blush the magic lies in allowing you the customize the dimension, shade and depth by swirling your brush over several colors in the compact. and unlie many bronzers they have several LIGHT shades of bronzer to suit lighter skin tones.Too dark bronzer in the bane of any bronze makeup look. It screams fake.

SPLURGE or SAVE? what makeup products have to be expensive and which don't?

Money is tight these days. the value of the dollar is falling and everything seems to cost more than it used to.Everyone is tightening their belts and trying to find ways to cut back.
Interestingly studies have shown (people actually study this stuff) that when the economy dips, makeup sales go up! Women want to feel beautiful so when they can't afford to buy a new designer outfit or chic shoes, they will instead buy a hot new shade of lipstick or luscious mascara.

But still every woman wants bang for their buck. We want the lipstick AND the mascara. We want an array of eye shadows for every mood. We want concealer to make our skin look flawless and we want it to STAY PUT! But we still need some jingle left in our pockets. So what products are worth splurging on the high street brands and what products can you save and go for the department store brand with. You may be surprised.
The next few entries will give you some ideas and recommendation of products you should invest in and products you can get for far less.

Foundation: Splurge

 

No matter how fancy your makeup is, it will look cheap and obvious on the background of bad skin. A clean canvas as we say in the business is essential for any look. i personally like to avoid foundation when i can since if the person has good skin, no foundation will look as good as that. Cheap foundations may dry looking cakey, patchy or change color as they dry.
My favorite foundations are cream foundations by cinema secrets and graftobian, companies which specialize in makeup for film.. the finish is smooth and beautiful, colors are blendable and buildable for custome coverage and color.


Mascara: Save

Many of the drug store brands of mascara are actually made by the same companies that make the department store brands so you can get quality at Walgreens. Current favorites of mine are the lashblast line from Covergirl, and the Rimmel London mascaras. Coastal Scents also has a good one which defines well.