Supernatural Botanicals

Although many basic rules of makeup application stand the test of time, certainly, makeup application goes through its fair share of trends.  Donna Mills, the 1980s glam queen, gave us The Eyes Have It.  It’s her 80s version of all things glam.  Check out this hilarious look at old school Donna.

All you glossy girls listen up.  If you like a super-glossy lip without being sticky, YBF just might be Your Best Friend.  As you probably know from experience, some glosses can be so sticky and cakey on the lips that you can’t tolerate it.  Not so with YBF.  The glosses are easy to wear, and provide mega shine.  Available in trendy, cute colors, too.  The Pink Pearl color is baby pink with just a hint of the pinkest-pink color, and ultra glossy.  It’s very Kardashian.  And if you like to be a glam girl, these glosses are perfect for your kisser.

YBF Set of 3 Aqua Liplights Lip Glosses
These lip glosses help reflect light for a beautifully fashionable, get-you-noticed look. They are sheer enough to wear alone fur a pop of color during the summer or layer over lipstick in the fall for a rich pout.
Available in 3 different shades
Pink: Crystal Crimson, Pink Pearl and Radiant Raspberry
Neutral: Rustic Reflection, Twlight Tan and Twinkle Taupe
Wine: Glimmering Grape, Luminous Lilac and Vivid Violet.
Price: $19.80
Where to buy: www.Ybfstacey.com

One of our favorite makeup artists around here is Kandee Johnson.  She’s an amazing stylist that has a wildly successful YouTube channel…that you should check out here.   Kandee will show you how to do some incredible looks for Halloween.  Don’t be intimidated, she breaks it down.  You can do it…really, you can!  If you want to be over the top, in addition to having the coolest look at your next Halloween costume party, try these looks on for size.

It’s always a surprise to see how overlooked our makeup vanities are.  Women spend an exorbitant amount of time and money on makeup purchases, so their makeup vanities should have equal exceptional value.  Creating a beautiful and functional vanity to your home will not only make your home more beautiful, it will make you more beautiful!  A functional, well-lit, well-organized vanity will naturally provide a better end result…beautiful makeup application.   One of our former makeup vanity blog posts continually elicits comments and inquiries on where to purchase them.  The following makeup vanities can be found at Pottery Barn Teen, www.PBTeen.com.

For all day lip color, skip lipstick all together and go for a lip pencil.  The lip pencil has the ability to “stain” the lips far longer than ordinary lipstick.  After applying a great lip pencil shade to your lips, use a gloss or lip balm on top for moisture.  Lip pencils outlast lipstick by almost double the time.  And lip pencils are generally less expensive than lipsticks.  Go buy a handful of lip pencils and experiment on your lips.

While teens across the nation are gearing up to go back to school, the fashion and beauty industries have kicked into overdrive.  When you have too many options, many times you’ll end up spending your money on things you don’t end up liking once you get them home.  Beauty products, much like clothes, are very personal.  Get to know what works for you. Experiment and try new colors, new fashions, new trends, and see what works for you.  Just because a skinny leg jean or a flesh-colored lipstick is hot and trendy doesn’t mean it’s going to look good on you…specifically.  So explore your options.  When you get a lot of compliments on a color you wear, pay attention to those cues.  That color works for you, so stick with it and expand on it.  If low-rider jeans make your hips look too big, then kick them to the curb and wear a more flattering cut for your body.

Back to school makeup is a snap with a few of these favorite items right from the drug store or supermarket.

Start with a clean foundation…a blemish-free face.  So you’re prone to breakouts at this age.  No biggie.  Send blemishes packing with an easy skincare routine.  Wash your face in the morning and before you go to bed.  Never wear makeup to bed.  Just wash and go twice a day.  That will keep your skin fresh and clear.

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Next, prime your face with foundation to even out skin tone, cover blemishes (if you have any), and to give your skin a pretty glow.  Mineral makeup is a relative newcomer on the scene in the makeup world.  It’s one of the easiest foundations to apply.  Liquid foundation can leave you with an embarrassing ring on your jawline.  Mineral makeup blends perfectly into the skin and is great if you have oily skin.  It reduces shine and eliminates excess oil on the skin’s surface.  And it’s so easy to apply, you won’t even need a mirror.

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Pretty eyes are easy to achieve with the thousands of choices in eye color you have to choose from.  Whether you go bold and beautiful or soft and shimmery, you’ll find every color of the rainbow to choose from.  Being a teen gives you a license to use bright and bold colors, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  But avoid doing that every day at school.   Try to stick with a more daytime look while at school.  Try going bright and bold on Fridays!

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The teen license to use bold colors applies to lips as well.  Glossy pink cotton-candy colored lips are so pretty and is a perfect color for teens.   Afraid to go bold?  Try a sheer bold color for a more muted effect.  Glossy lips and teens go together like Friday nights and football games.  It just works!

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Maybelline Great Lash mascara is a secret tool of the trade to many makeup artists in Hollywood.  This mascara is used on many of the sets for Hollywood movies.  It goes on clump free, stays put all day long, and makes your lashes appear to be a mile long.

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And it’s as simple as that.  Back to school beauty is in the bag in a few easy steps.  Here’s to a beautiful new school year!

Mabel Williams, Maybelline namesake

Maybelline is the gold standard in mascara; in fact, they were the original creators of mascara.  Here’s the skinny on how mascara was developed.  Tom Lyle Wiliams would watch his sister, Mabel, with fascination as she performed what she called the “secret of the harem”, mixing petroleum jelly with coal dust and ash from burnt cork and applying it to her lashes and brows.  Mabel’s simple beauty trick ignited Tom Lyle’s imagination and he started what would one day become a billion dollar business.  He named it Maybelline, which is a combination of Mabel + Vaseline.  Brilliant invention!

Kevyn Aucoin’s Face Forward is one of the best books on the market (still) for learning proper makeup application and principals.  After all, if you are wearing makeup every day, you should be the artist of your own face.  You should know basic principals on bringing out your own gorgeous features.  The late Kevyn Aucoin was a self-taught master of makeup, and his book depicts all kinds of celebs in all different and amazing ways.  Want to become a makeup artist?  Train yourself, like so many successful makeup artist do.  Many of the best makeup artists today are self-taught.  The difference between self-taught and formal teaching, many times, is passion.  Check out Kevyn Aucoin’s book Face Forward for a crash course in makeup application.

Yes, yes, and yes.  Katie Holmes is perfection in Vogue Espana in month.  Excellent makeup artist!  Smokey eye, nude lips, great contoured cheeks, defined brows.  Perfect!

The prettier the vanity, the prettier the girl.  Having a well-designed makeup vanity, or makeup station,  not only acts as an addition to the aesthetics to your room, but also makes putting makeup on a far more enjoyable experience.  Being able to keep everything in oneplace simplifies your life and keeps you ultra organized.  Look at these designs for inspiration.