Fun and Easy Beauty DIYs

 

Today, I had a fun filled day playing in makeup and getting creative with fashion.  I was on my lunch break, killing some time at a local Dollar Tree store, while getting my phone serviced in the area.  Now, hanging out in Dollar Tree with no plan of action or a list of some sort, is pretty darn dangerous. Well, at least for me.  Expecting to spend maybe five dollars on random goods actually turned into a $30 haul.  One of these haul items included a pair of sunglasses with a black, plastic frame.  I'd recently lost a pair of my favorite personality glasses, so I decided to purchase an inexpensive pair of sunglasses to play around with.

 

After purchasing the glasses, I carefully popped out the lenses and immediately put on my new find!  By the end of the day, I had received several compliments from passersby.  Guess I'll be stopping back at Dollar Tree to get a few more glasses with different frames.  I may even try painting some frames as an art project with my daughter, so stay tuned!

 

In addition to my fashion accessory experiment, I also decided to play around in makeup. I'm a makeup artist and that's what we do! I encourage my clients and my staff to think outside of the beauty box to create fun textures and colors! After all, that is how many beauty brands created your fave colors!  Using all MAC products, I created a floral-inspired fuchsia lip to compliment my new glasses.  Here is what you need:

 

1. A petri dish (or whatever container you can find to mix products)

2. Fashion Boost Prolongwear Lip Pencil

3. Clear lip glass (tube)

4. Pressed Pigment in Amethyst

5. Disposable mascara wand or Q-Tip

6. Lip brush

 

 

 

First, take your disposable mascara wand to gently scrape the pressed pigment into the petri dish.

 

Next, squeeze a bit of the clear lip glass onto the petri dish next to the loose pigment.

 

Now, mix the two together in the dish.

 

Line and fill your lips with the Fashion Boost lip pencil, essentially wearing it as though it would be the lipstick.

 

Finally, use your lip brush to paint the mixture in the center of the lips. You won't need to paint over the entire lip. The gloss mixture will warm a bit and spread naturally. 

 

 

With the use of a prolongwear lip pencil and the lip glass mixture, you've created a beautiful and unique long wearing lip!  Feel free to try the technique with different pigments, pressed and loose and remember to HAVE FUN! Makeup is about options and creativity! Exercise your inner artistry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GET THE LOOK: Naturi Naughton

Hello, once again loves!  I recently had the pleasure of getting Miss Naturi Naughton red carpet ready for the opening night party for the American Black Film Festival 2011 that took place at Club Play in Miami Beach.  You may know her as a former member of the group 3LW, Denise in the remake of Fame and probably most notably for her role as Lil Kim in the film NOTORIUS.  The multitalented New Jersey native also made her mark in theater, playing little Inez in the musical, Hairspray. 

Naturi was a joy to work with!  She knows her makeup stuff!!  We spoke mostly about makeup and skincare techniques and products.  Naturi has FLAWLESS brown skin!  When I inquired about her skincare regimen, she responded that she uses a brand of products called Dermalogica (http://www.dermalogica.com/) to keep her skin in check with traveling and environmental stresses.  The products leave her skin clear, even toned and hydrated, so I didn't need to use a lot of foundation on her.

I first primed her skin with MAC Prep & Prime skin to ensure that the foundation would remain fresh and long-lasting underneath red carpet lights and the humidity of the club atmosphere. 

Generally, during a makeup application, I like to begin with the brows and eye makeup.  In the event that there is any eyeshadow fallout or darkness, I can clean it easier from bare skin that trying to correct it on top of concealer.  Naturi's brows were already a nice shape, but just to give her brows more definition I used a MAC 263 brush and Espresso eyeshadow.  This also accentuated her arch, thus opening up her eye space for big, dramatic eyes!

photo:AJ Shorter Photography

Next, I primed her lids with MAC Paint Pot in Groundwork to eliminate creasing over time.  Naturi's Miami-style blue mini dress screamed glam and she wanted her eyes to match without competing too much with the dress!  We settled on golds and blues, with winged liner and lashes.

First I applied concealer as her brow highlight.  Using a concealer versus a highlighter gives a more skin-like look and doesn't compete with the shadows as we wanted the attention to fall on her lid space.  Then I applied MAC eyeshadow in Amber Lights to the lid with a 239 Brush so that color would pack on to the lid.  In her crease, I used Brown Script, a mid-tone warm brown to blend, with a 224.  The season is about random "pops of color" so I snuck in a bit of Electric Eel (vibrant, satin blue) to her outer lid space and a touch of Carbon (black).  Naturi loves to create an appearance of an extended eyelid, so I created a wing with E.L.F black gel eyeliner with a 263 Brush.  Finally, to complete her eye look, I used feathery Red Cherry lashes.

For the face, we didn't want the elements of foundation, concealer, blush and lips to overshadow eyes so I kept it simple.  I applied Makeup Forever HD Foundation to to the outer perimeter of her face and MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in a lighter shade underneath her eyes, center of the forehead and the bridge of her nose for a highlighting effect.  I dusted MAC Matte Bronze Bronzer over her face with a 150 (Large) Brush and applied Pink Swoon blush to her apples for a light flush.

Naturi wanted a lip that said 'Miami,' and that would appropriately fit her overall look.  I suggested pairing MAC PRO Lipstick in Show Orchid with MAC Cremesheen glass in Partial to Pink to the center and she loved it!  NOTE: Skipping lip liner gave a more muted, natural look.


Naturi and I discussed the need for more women of color to experiment with brighter shades.  I personally think that women with darker skin tend to bury themselves in coppers and browns because they fear that color would stand out too much against their skin!  It may, but its all about referring to a professional for the correct products, textures and application methods!  You can rock vibrant colors, you just have to own it and not over do it!  That's where I come in!