Corrective Concealing

Corrective concealing is one of the most underestimated steps of a makeup routine. It is an essential step that can change your entire face and make you look flawless.

What is corrective concealing?

Corrective concealing (or color-correction) consists of using different correcting colors that are opposite to each other on the color wheel to counteract and cancel any problematic areas.

How does corrective concealing make a difference?

Concealing any problem areas by using colors that counteract them can really help the skin look a lot more flawless. It counteracts and neutralize the spots and problems, making them a lot less visible.

What are the kinds of corrective shades and how do they work?

For makeup, there are three main correcting shades. These are, lavender, yellow, and green.

Lavender (Opposite of yellow on the color wheel): A light lavender concealer will neutralize any yellow tones on the skin such as bruises and discoloration.  

Yellow (Opposite of purple on the color wheel): A pale yellow concealer will counteract any purple/blueish tones on the skin such as under eye circles, blueish bruises, and any dark spots.

Green (Opposite of red on the color wheel): Green concealer neutralizes any red tones on the skin. Use it to neutralize any redness on the skin and any acne blemishes that have a very red tone due to the inflammation.

Always remember to apply the correcting shades before the foundation and follow up with a skin-toned concealer. Remember that these shades should only be used for color-correction, not coverage. It is recommended to follow up with another product that will hide the tones of the corrective shades. Applying foundation on top will ensure that it cancels the problems and the colors don’t show through the foundation. No one wants to have lavender/green spots on their face!

Doing Ari's Makeup

As part of my Capstone, I decided I wanted to do some girls' makeup. With the help of my mentor, I contacted some 9th graders from SLA to do their makeup.

The first girl was Ari Haven.

Ari is a beautiful girl with very soft and delicate features, so I wanted to do a wearable daytime look, and then darken it up for the nighttime.

Makeup I used:

Eyeshadows: Coastal Scents Revealed Palette 

Makeup Brushes I used: BareMinerals, Urban Decay, E.L.F, and SOHO London

Here's the process:

- Ari has beautiful skin, so I skipped foundation and started by applying Benefit's Boi-ing concealer to her eyelids to even out the discoloration, underneath the eyes to cover any dark circles, and on the rest of the face to even out her skin tone.

- Then, I applied a shimmery champagne color to her eyelids, and a medium matte brown to her crease.

- After applying eyeshadow, I filled in her eyebrows, and applied mascara to her upper and lower lashes.

- After finishing the eyes, I contoured her cheeks with bronzer, applied blush, and highlighter on top of her cheek bones. 

  - To finish off the look, I applied some lipstick and lipgloss. 

 - In order to take this look from day-to-night, I darkened the eyeshadow by applying some black to the outer-corner of the eye and the lower lash line. 

Finished look:

Special thanks to Ms. Dunn for helping me with my Capstone and the beautiful model, Ari Haven.

Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser Review:

$6.00-$8.00 (All drugstores)

Maybelline recently came out with a new collection full of innovative products for 2014. One of the things that caught my attention the most about this collection was, without a doubt, their new face primer. Face primers are not really popular in the drugstore category. Only a few brands have come out with a few primers.

What’s interesting about this new primer is that it claims to vanish the pores instantly. It claims to leave the surface of the skin poreless, creating a flawless canvas for your foundation.

I couldn’t resist the hype and decided to try this product. So, here’s what I think:

Packaging: It has a super cute packaging, which definitely works to advertise the product. It comes in a very small tube which you can squeeze the product out of.

Formula: The formula of this primer is a clear gel that feels lightweight. It definitely feels like it has a lot of silicone. It feels very silicone-y. It went on very smoothly, so smooth that it felt a little too greasy. I applied it on my T-zone and it did diminish the appearance of pores. I noticed that it made the foundation blend a lot easier.

Wear: The primer didn’t make my foundation last any longer and it didn’t control the oil on my skin. I have very oily skin and at the end of the day, some of my foundation wore off and my skin was oily.

I personally think this primer is okay. I think it only works for diminishing the appearance of pores, but it definitely does not control the oil or prolong the wear of the foundation. I still use this, but I don’t reach for it everyday. When I use it, I make sure to combine it with an anti-shine primer and set my foundation with primer.

How to know your skin’s undertone:

As I mentioned earlier, skin undertones play a huge role on how your foundation will look on you. Knowing which undertone you have will help you choose which colors compliment you the most and it will make your foundation look a lot more natural.

What is a skin’s undertone?

The undertone of your skin is the tone/color that is beneath your skin. Note that this is not how light/deep your skin. It is the ‘‘tint’’ that your skin has.

There are three main types of skin undertone categories:

Warm/Yellow: A warm undertone is when the skin has a golden/yellowish color to it (Yellow is a warm color). The skin doesn’t look yellow, but it looks kind of an olive color. If you’re a warm undertone, choose foundations that have a golden undertone to it and that are less pink.

Neutral: A neutral undertone is a mix of warm and cool undertones. The skin doesn’t look too pink, but it doesn’t look too golden either. It’s right in the middle. Choose foundations that aren’t too pink or yellow and that have a beige (neutral) undertone to them.

Cool/Pink: A cool undertone is when the skin is more pink than yellow (Pink is a cool color). The skin looks slightly peachy/pinkish. Look for foundations that aren’t yellow since those will be really noticeable on your skin.

How to know which is your undertone?

There are simple ways of determining what your undertone is.

Jewelry: If you wear jewelry, look and count how many gold and how many silver pieces you have. Decide which one looks the best on you. If you find that your wear silver the most and it looks best on you, then you probably are a cool undertone. Silver makes the pink undertones of the skin ‘‘pop’’. If you find that gold looks better on you, then you probably have a warm undertone. Gold makes the warm undertones of the skin ‘‘pop’’. If both look equally as good on you, then you might be under the neutral category.

The color of your veins: Look at the veins on your wrists. If you have blue/purple veins, chances are you have a pink/cool undertone. The pink of the skin makes the veins look blue/purple. If your veins have a greenish color, chances are you have a warm undertone. The golden tones of the skin makes the veins appear green. If you can’t decided or have a mixture of both, then you might be neutral.

Knowing your skin undertone can be really helpful for applying makeup and deciding which colors suit you the best. It might even help you choose a hair color that complements your skin the best!  

How to choose the right foundation:

As I mentioned earlier, foundation can be one of the trickiest part of any makeup look. Choosing the right shade and formula of your foundation is just as important as how you apply it.

So, how do you choose the right foundation? I think the most important things to remember when choosing a foundation are:

• Your shade range
• Your undertone
• Your skin type

Knowing these three things will determine what kind of foundation would suit you best.

• Your shade range: There are three main shade categories. These are light, medium, and dark. Knowing in which category you fall is essential for picking a foundation as this will determine what shade would be the best.

• Your underdone: A skin undertone is the tone/color that is beneath your skin. Your skin color may change during seasons, but your undertone does not. There are three types of skin undertones. These are, yellow, neutral, and pink. Knowing which undertone you have is essential for picking any foundation because it will complement your sin and it will look a lot better. It is really easy to tell if you have a foundation with the wrong undertone.

Example: If you have a yellow undertone, look for foundations that look a little more golden than pink.

• Your skin type: Knowing your skin type will be very beneficial when picking the right foundation. The three main skin types are dry, normal, and oily. The consistency of the foundation should complement your skin type.

Dry skin: If you have dry skin, look for liquid foundations that claim a dewy, natural look. Matte foundations won’t work for you as they will accentuate your dry spots. Stay away from matte and powder foundations.

Normal skin: This is the easiest skin type to work with. It all depends on what you like. If you prefer a more natural look, opt for liquid foundations. If you want a full coverage and matte look, then look for powder/cream foundations that aren’t too heavy on the skin.

Oily skin: If you have oily skin, it is best that you stay with long-wearing, matte foundations. Powder finishes are the best for you because they will control the shine on your skin. You can also choose cream/whipped foundations that are light and don’t feel heavy on the skin. Stay away from liquid foundations that give dewy finishes.

How to apply foundation:

Once you have the right makeup tools (brushes, sponges, or clean hands; applying the foundation is very easy.

• Start by pouring some product on the back of your hand. Don’t pour too much. You can always add more later if you need to.
• With your brush/sponge/fingers, grab some foundation and start dotting it on the center of your face. This is the place where people usually have redness, large pores, and other imperfections. It’s important to focus on these places and apply the most foundation on them
• Buff the foundation onto the skin working outwards towards the rest of your face
• Add more product if you need to. Sometimes a second layer of foundation over areas that need more coverage can be really helpful
• Make sure to buff the foundation around your hairline, around the nose, and especially on your neck to avoid obvious foundation lines
• Follow up with concealer underneath the eyes, and over blemishes or spots that need extra coverage
• Set the entire face with a thin layer of powder to make sure that the foundation doesn’t move around. Remember the pat the powder and press it onto the skin instead of swiping. This will prevent all the foundation and concealer moving all over your face and taking away some of the coverage

Foundation can be a very tricky step to master, but with practice and the right tools, a perfect skin can be achieved all the time. Hope this helped!

The right way to apply foundation:

Every makeup should start with a flawless canvas. Foundation is the key for creating the illusion of perfect skin. A good foundation will hide all of the face imperfections, correct, and make the skin appear flawless. This can tie a whole makeup look together and make it look polished.

How can you achieve this? Here are some simple steps and tips on how to apply your foundation:

• There are different ways of applying foundation. You can use your fingers, a brush, or a makeup sponge. I find that the most sanitary way of applying your foundation is with a brush or a makeup sponge since your fingers can carry a lot of bacteria that you don’t want to bring to your face.

Each makeup tool will give you a different finish. For example:

Compact Face brush: A face brush that has a lot of bristles will pack more product and therefore give you a full coverage look. Use this if you want concentrated coverage on problematic areas.  

 Real Techniques, Coastal Scents 

Light Face Brush: A face brush with less and much softer bristles will give you a more light coverage and airbrushed look. Use this for an everyday basis or just to apply a thin layer of product to the skin.

  EyesLipsFace (E.L.F)

 Fingers:  Although it’s not really recommended to apply foundation with your fingers, this will give you a super natural finish. The warmth of your hands will let the product soak and melt into your skin a lot faster and better, providing a seamless foundation application.

Sponge: Makeup sponges can give a really airbrushed, dewy finish to the skin. I recommend running the sponge under some water to make it damp and then applying your foundation with the damp sponge. This won’t let the sponge absorb any foundation and the water will give a dewy, healthy finish to the skin.

Beauty Blender

How to do a simple eye look/The basics of eye makeup:

To do any eye look, it’s important to have the right tools and to know your eye shape. Once you have these things figured out, creating any eye look will be super simple.

What do you need?

There are three main brushes that are essential for any eye look. These are:

Flat brush: This type of brush is, like the name says, flat. This helps for packing color onto your eyelid. Grab your eyelid color with this brush and gently pad it onto the lid. This brush can also be used for highlighting the inner corners of the eye and the brow bone.

Crease brush: This type of brush has longer bristles that usually loose. The shape of this brush helps the bristles get into the crease of your eye and distribute and blend the eyeshadow seamlessly. Simply grab a darker colored eyeshadow and place this on the crease of your eye using window-wiper motions. Blend out the edges of the eyeshadow for a perfect eye look.

Definer brush: This brush is smaller and the bristles are more dense. This brush is ideal for applying eyeshadow on the lower lash line of your eye and on the outer-corner. Grab the darkest color and run this on the outer-v of your eye and also run it on the lower lash line. Make sure to blend it with a crease brush to diminish any harsh lines.

*All the brushes I showed are from Coastal Scents. They can be found at coastalscents.com*

How to clean makeup brushes:

Makeup brushes are the holy-grail tools of every makeup artist (and non-makeup artists too!). They are just as important as the makeup we use on our face. Therefore, we must take care proper care of them.

Washing makeup brushes is a very important step that many people tend to forget/ignore. Truth is, not washing your makeup brushes can have terrible consequences. Makeup brushes collect dust, bacteria from the air and from the skin, and of course, a combination of all of the makeup that you used on those brushes. When these brushes are not cleaned frequently, all of the bacteria collected from the dust, air, skin, and old makeup that’s been sitting on them starts to grow. This can have very harmful effects to the skin such as acne, clogged pores, and even allergic reactions. Washing your makeup brushes will extend the longevity and performance of the brushes. It will help keep your skin clear and remove all of the residues of the makeup you use on your eyes and face.

Now that you know the horrible effects of not washing your makeup brushes, the next step is to learn how to wash them.

Makeup brushes can be cleaned everyday with just a tissue, right after each application of makeup. However, it is recommended that you wash them at least once a week with any gentle cleanser and water. I like to use a face cleanser or Johnson’s baby shampoo because it’s gentle and affordable.

How to wash them:

1. I like to start by organizing and separating my brushes into face and eyes categories.
2. Wet the brushes: Run one brush at a time under lukewarm water for 30 seconds to make sure the bristles are fully saturated.
3. Pour the shampoo: Pour a dime or quarter size amount of the shampoo on the palm of your hand.
4. Wash the brush: Gently sweep and swirl the brush back and forth on the palm of your hand as if you were doing your own makeup. This will gently clean the brush.
5. Rinse: Rinse the brush with lukewarm water, making sure that all of the shampoo is rinsed out.
6. Reshape brush: Gently squeeze your brush with a towel and reshape to its original form. This is important because it helps the brush dry in the correct shape.
7. Dry: Leave the brushes sitting in a dry, non humid surface. I like to place them over a towel so it can absorb the excess water and fully dry.

I do this once a week and let my brushes dry overnight. That way my brushes are ready to use in the morning. It’s a very easy process and doesn’t require much work depending on the amount of brushes that you have. This is a very important process that can’t be forgotten!

Macadamia Deep Repair Masque Review:

Taking proper care of your hair can be hassle. There are countless amounts of shampoos, conditioners, and deep conditioners to choose from. Choosing only one of them can be very, very difficult.

I personally love to take good care of my hair and experiment with new products to see which ones work the best. I struggle with really thick, frizzy, dry, wavy hair. It’s hard to keep the frizz and dryness away, but luckily, I’ve found something that actually works.

The Macadamia Oil Deep Repair Masque is a deep reconstructive conditioner that’s meant to deep nourish your hair in less than 10 minutes. It contains a blend of macadamia oil (the start ingredient in this combo!) and argon oil along with tea tree oil, chamomile oil, aloe and algae extracts. All these fabulous oils work with your hair to nourish and rejuvenate it.

Formula: This masque is a really rich one. It has a very creamy, thick, whipped texture. Even if you turn the container upside down, the product won’t run down due to how thick it is. This can be a really good thing for dry ends, but it can also be a problem for the roots. I find that my hair gets really oily if I use this hair mask on my roots, so I always make sure to only apply it on the lower half of my hair. I find that a little goes a long way. It has a fabulous fresh, fruity smell that actually lasts on your hair after you get out of the shower.

Packaging:

It comes in a very pretty green container and it’s available in two sizes: 8.5 oz and 16 oz. I purchased the smallest one first just to try it out, and since I ended up loving it, I bought the bigger one.

Overall thoughts:

I really love this hair masque. It is my holy-grail deep conditioner. I find that it makes my hair really soft, shiny, manageable and my ends feel a lot less dry after using this. It leaves a pleasant fragrance on my hair that lasts for about a day. It’s hard for me to notice a difference with hair products, but I can say that this one does stand out.

The only downside to this awesome product is its price. It is not a very affordable hair mask and it’s kind of hard to find. It’s not available at drugstores, only high end counters and online. It took me a while to try this product because it had a very high price, but after trying it, I can say that the price is definitely worth it. I will definitely keep repurchasing this product.

Urban Decay Revolution Lipsticks Review

Urban Decay came out with a line of new products for 2014. While looking at the new collection on their website, the first thing that caught my attention were the new Revolution Lipsticks. I’ve been watching people on Youtube rave about these, so I was really excited to try them.

The price of each individual lipstick is $22.00 (Very pricey for a lipstick!)

I was hesitant about buying these at first since I didn’t know whether or not they’d be worth the $22.00. MAC lipsticks are $15.00 each, and their quality is amazing.

I was expecting a lot from these lipsticks, and I wasn’t let down by them.

Urban Decay describes these new lipsticks as a ‘’Rich, buttery lipstick at its best—with the signature Urban Decay pigment-rich color you crave. Urban Decay’s Pigment Dispersion System™ gives Revolution Lipstick its super creamy texture, intense pigmentation, superior color dispersion, and extended wear. Maxi-Lip™ defines and hydrates lips while making them look plumper and fuller. And a nourishing blend of jojoba oil, avocado oil, cocoa butter and shea butter keeps lips super moisturized and cushiony soft. The luxe, custom-designed gunmetal tube (lined in Urban Decay’s signature dark purple) looks so gorgeous, you’ll want to keep pulling it out of your bag.’’

And without a doubt, they were right! The consistency and creaminess of these lipsticks is impressive. They are very creamy and rich without being heavy. They do not feel too dry or too creamy… just the perfect consistency! The jojoba, avocado oil, and cocoa butter definitely hydrate the lips without making it feel heavy or sticky.

The finish on these is a shiny one. There are no mattes in this collection, only satin/shiny finishes. I noticed that I can still add lipgloss after the application (I like my lips to be extra shiny).

The pigmentation is also outstanding. One layer of lipstick is enough with these. There is no need to go over your lips multiple times to get good color payoff.

I also don’t notice a scent on these.

Packaging: Each lipstick comes in a gorgeous metal tube that looks and feels really high quality and high-end. This definitely adds to the quality of the lipsticks. It looks gorgeous on your makeup vanity or purse!  

The only cons would be the longevity of these. I find that I need to reapply them every 2-3 hours, which is pretty frequently considering it’s such a high end lipstick. If you drink and eat the lipstick will wear off, the darker shades leave a little tint behind.

Shades I purchased:

Native - Pale, warm pink. Pigmentation is a little more sheer than the others. Perfect everyday nude pink color.

Venom - Dark, purple plum. Rich and pigmented plum color. Perfect for a daring, bold look!

 Native, Venom 

Native, Venom

Are they worth it? Yes! I only purchased two shades, but I would definitely repurchase more if I could afford to. I don’t think it’s necessary to buy these, considering there are so many affordable lipsticks at the drugstore. However, if you feel like splurging a little, these are a great option since they won’t let you down!