Drama Queen

There are several ways to shape and dramatize your eye make-up.

Favorite: A white/frosty eye pencil or shadow to be lined on the inside half your eye.

Tip: Be sure to blend evenly with the rest of your eye-liner to produce the desired effect.

Drama: Don't be afraid to use colored eye pencils and combine with a white eye liner, or MAC cosmetic's Nylon eye-shadow.

Power of Pink

Greenhouse Effect

Client Request: A smokey eye with green shadow

Selection: Bash & Ivy Ink Green Gel liner by Bobbi Brown

Green with Envy: If you blacken your creases, your eyes illustrate an ideal blend of a metallic forest green smokey eye.

Neccessary: An angled eye brush is key to using Bobbi Brown gel liners

A Champagne Toast

New year, new trends.

Since working at Bobbi Brown, I've fallen in love with their shimmer shadow called Champagne. It's the perfect blend of gold, nude, and shimmer!

Fact: You can pair this shadow with almost any lip color, since it provides your eyes with a touch of shimmer!

The Silver Lining

Silver: Gray's metallic evil twin

Dare to be evil! A silver shadow is an ideal base with colors like black and gray.


Boundaries: Keep your silver shadow primarily in the inside portion of your lid to attract just enough attention to your eyes.


Try: Urban Decay's Gunmetal is an ideal candidate for silver plus gray, and a added glitter surprise!

Frenemies

Enemy: Dark circles

Friend: Concealer Estée Lauder 'Re-Nutriv' Intensive Concealing Duo

I have had a concealer craze for several years and experimented with as many brands as I could find including Bobbi Brown, MAC, and Sephora...

It wasn't until recently I was introduced to Estee Lauder's concealer which I can proudly say has worked it's magic. The combination of two pigment concealers gives you as much coverage as you prefer and does not crease or crack!

Necessary: Even if you are blessed with a flawless eye area, concealer is the key to brightening up your face.

Express Yourself

C'est Jolie's official logo...

A Touch of Sparkle

Spread some holiday cheer to your eyes with a touch of glitter!

You have to be careful when applying because a spill is very likely and the last thing you want is to look like an ornament...

Option: Make-Up Forever has a line of glitter shadows that combine glitter & color to give you just enough sparkle!

You're Making Me Blush

Pet peeve: Women who feel they don't need blush.

Yes, you have lovely skin, but please don't make the mistake of believing you are not blush worthy, because no matter how flawless your complexion, your cheeks can always use some color!

The level of your blush is based on the color scheme you are using on your eyes and lips -- and the rare occasion you should minimize it is if you are emphasizing a dramatic lip with a loud color like red.

Option: If you are a blush lover and refuse to change your red lips -- keep your eyes neutral with just mascara, or a fun pair of false lashes!


Think Pink: Based on your lip color, use a bronzed or a rosy pink color to accent your cheeks.


Favorite: Bobbi Brown has an amazing line of blush colors that are perfect for any skin tone. I use Pale Pink, and it works wonders.

Noir

I had to blog about Beyonce's make-up in her latest video, "Videophone"

The beauty of this bold eye, is that you can try this, regardless of your eye shape because it will generally produce the same look. Smudge free liquid liner and eye-liner is a must!

You will need a black matte shadow and an eyeshadow stick to give you the defined shape. Try YSL Color Rich Eyeshadow Stick as your base to give you less of a mess, and use a thick layer of liquid liner, followed by black shadow.

Be wise: Carefully shape each eye to match one another and do your eyes first before any foundation or powder, in case you mess up, it'll be an easier clean!

Bare It All

There is something super sexy about a nude lip.

If you're not in the mood to find a lipstick/gloss, a simple way to shift the focus of your make-up to just your eyes is by using a fun eye-shadow, keeping your brows thick & defined, and adding a nude lip color as the finishing touch.

Afraid to go bare? An alternative to a nude matte lip would be to use MAC cosmetic's Lustre lipstick with Revealing lip gloss on top to give you the just enough color. I wanted to draw just enough attention to the lips, without having it overshadow the colors used in the eyes.

Merry Me

Tis the season to be jolly, which also means lots of holiday festivities!

Working ladies: If your office is like most, they will throw a party directly after your work day, which means you will need a "freshening up" session.

Welcome a much needed cocktail faster, versus appearing half-tired plus exhausted from your 7 am wake up call, by cutting your session time in half.

Freshening: Directly after applying your make-up in the morning, lightly spray your face with Make-Up Forever Mist & Fix.

Groggy to Glamorous: It will set your make-up for the entire day, so your face will continuously stay looking so fresh and oh so clean...

Warning: Do not over spray, all you need is a spray for each side of your face = 2 sprays.

The holidays are also an ideal time to experiment with colors and adding a touch of merry to your make-up style!

Option: Smoke your eyes with a hint of black, or a darker shade of shadow and try to balance the emphasis on your lips with a deep pink shade to match your eyes.

Eyes: I used a cream base and added a deep purple on her crease to give her an edge versus making it appear too smokey.

Lips: A deep pink mixed with a gloss to complement her eyes and cheeks, while giving a balance to her look.

A Political Statement

It's rare to see women in politics on anything other than CNN. Michelle Obama has not only taken on the role of our first lady, but in my opinion, since Jackie Kennedy, she's transformed herself into a political fashionista!

Fearless: I adore this shot from her Vogue photo shoot, the contrast of her navy blue makeup with a pink lipstick, with her stunning dress gives her a timeless, yet sophisticated look.

Accessorize: Her eyes are bold with a black shadow and a nude lip gloss, paired with a chic necklace.

Make a statement: By accessorizing with not only with your make-up, jewelry, and dress, but most importantly with a handsome date!

Colorblind

The art of beauty.

A Soul Search...

I made an unexpected trip to Bloomingdales to re-stock some needed items.

I arrived with my list, I left with no soul, since that's what I provided as payment.

For your soul: Estee Lauder Re-Nutriv, under eye cream, promising to keep the area hydrated, wrinkle free, and repell dark-circles. Retail price: $100

Beauty is pain: I will try out this so called "miracle" in a cream, and write a review in a few weeks!

What's in a dollar, or two?

On average, I spend anywhere between $50-100 per month on make-up essentials such as foundation, liquid liners, and lipsticks/gloss.

I could go the generic route, but sadly I have made a lifetime commitment to most of these products, and can't cheat my way out of spending less money, which led me to ask:

Question: What are 3 essential make-up items you can't live without?

Most to least:

Christmas wish list: A new soul, lots of new make-up. Thanks Santa!