As an artist and as a woman I am a minimalist. When it comes to my makeup – both personal and professionally – I have always aspired to carry as little as possible and still be able to get the job done. When I heard that makeup powerhouse Francesca Tolot often carries little more than a small sized Art Bin™ box, she became my patron saint. I do not know if that rumour was ever true but it’s my goal and I am sticking to it!

1 ) Tarte Ring It In Mini Cheekstain Set (pictured above) -
I mentioned these here on Makeup to Go! when they first came out, but these are worth a second mention. As we all know, I think the Tarte Cheekstains are some of the most fab makeup items ever, and this little set in three great shades is just the perfect size for work and play. Continue reading →

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The Classic - Nars Orgasm Blush

Needless to say, all of the products I’ve mentioned thus far in this “The Basics” series are my completely subjective recommendations. I recommend them based on my usage and generally long-term satisfaction with a product. If another makeup artist were writing these articles, they might recommend entirely different products. That said, things are about to become even more subjective as we move away from skin/foundation products and into the vastly huge world of color products. We begin our look with Cheek colors.

I am starting with cheek color because I find that when it comes to makeup most women focus on their eyes, some of us focus on our lips and then cheeks are generally ignored. This is unfortunate because few things will make a woman look fresher and YOUNGER faster than a well applied cheek color. In no particular order, here are some cheek color products that I love and use on the regular… (for cheek colors specific to women of color, revisit my previous article “Beauty Noir: Best Blushes for Darker Toned Beauties”) Continue reading →

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Pangea Organics Facial Scrub

While most women are mourning the end of Summer I am singing Hallelujah for the start of Fall! Autumn, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before and I am certain I will mention again, is my favorite season of the year, November being my fave month (Thanksgiving and birthday month!) Admittedly this probably comes from having been born and raised in Southern California where I get all the sunny beautiful days without all the heat of summer. Makeup-wise, fall is a time of transition between the easy breezy days of summer and the deeper tones of winter. It is also likely that you’ll need to start tweaking your skincare routine a bit.

Trend-wise, Fall 2011 went refreshingly against the grain. While the tendency is to jump to dark and dramatic colors in the cooler and colder months, this year the trend is more towards a softer, more neutral palette. Soft eyes (even when “smokey”), soft lips, a soft blush of cheek and a soft matte finish is not only more wearable on the day to day for more women, it is also more flattering for more women. Dramatics can be great but the harder, darker colors can also be quite aging. Here are a few things I am loving going into Fall… Continue reading →

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T. LeClerc Poudre Libre en Banane

I have a confession: I LOVE face powder. Love Love Lovey Love Love. It softens colors, smooths the complexion, helps blending, erases mistakes, sets the makeup, on and on. It’s a wonder product! Yet I find most women simply wonder “What am I supposed to do with this?” Let me assure you: Once you get the right formulation and learn to use it the right way, you too will be a convert. As I have stated before I am planning a series of video tutorials and probably one of my first ones will be using powder correctly but in the meantime in The Basics we will cover some of the best powders out there and what makes a powder one of the best. NOTE: I am really only talking about loose powders in this article. Yes, I know many of you are more used to pressed powders. Pressed powders are great for touching up, but they are not the wonder product that is loose powder. If you are really fixated on pressed powder, most of these brands make pressed powder versions of these loose powder products. I invite you, however, to allow loose powder to sweep you off of your feet… Continue reading →

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Ardell Pestañas Individuales

For this month’s installment of Maquillaje Para Go, we discuss the joys of false eyelashes. Delia and I were clearly on a similar page as I had planned to have one of my upcoming The Basics articles on False Eyelashes. Look for an “answer article” from me in the coming weeks. In the meantime let’s enjoy what Delia has to say about this makeup artist essential item… (as always, the English version follows below…)

¿Qué hace usted cuándo quiere tomar su mirada al próximo nivel? ¡Agregue pestañas postizas! Si es un cambio dramático o un cambio sutil, agregando pestañas postizas definitivamente aumenta cualquier mirada. No sea intimidado; pestañas postizas toman alguna práctica para dominar, pero una vez que logra entenderlo usted se preguntará cómo pudo sin ellos. Continue reading →

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Bare Escentuals Matte Mineral Foundation Powder in Deepest Deep - the shade I use on myself

Ah foundation… to Foundation or not Foundation. That is the question. Well the correct answer, in my ever so humble opinion, is a resounding: It Depends. It depends on a variety of factors, actually. Is this for everyday or for photography? If it is for photography what type of photography and what type of finish do you want? If it is for everyday what type of skin do you have and what kind of coverage do you need? Then there is the issue of matching the color properly. No two women are exactly the same coloring yet manufacturers can only produce so many colors in a line, and for years women of color were left out completely (fortunately those days are long over and most lines include shades for all women). No wonder so many women have a hard time picking the right foundation! Well, I am here to share what I know in the hope that it will help you make a better choice on your next foundation purchase. The right makeup will make the world think you have fabulously perfect skin, even if you – like myself – do not. Also, I am focusing on true foundations, not tinted moisturizers. Personally, I think a Foundation is a better purchase because when you want fuller coverage you have it, but if you want more of a tinted moisturizer all you have to do is mix any of the below (except for the Powder foundation) with the moisturizer of your choice and voila! You now have a perfect color match Tinted Moisturizer. Continue reading →

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Youngblood Cosmetics Endless Beauty

At a recent trade show, I stopped by the Youngblood Cosmetics booth with no intention to purchase anything and I walked away with 2 artist palettes. This has since proven to be one of the best makeup purchases I have made in quite some time and I’ve used the palettes on 95% of the jobs I have done since purchasing them. Needless to say then, when I found out about Youngblood Cosmetics Endless Beauty Event I was excited to attend and learn more about the line. The event took place this past Friday, July 22, at Siren studios in Hollywood, a well known location for LA media makeup artists. I was curious to see how Youngblood was going to transform the space into something suitable for a cosmetics education and networking event. It turned out the upstairs studio was perfect, with two “salon” rooms – one where the Youngblood artists could do makeovers, and one where all the Youngblood Cosmetics products could be displayed so attendees could see, touch and play with the products – and then the main area was set up for demonstrations and education. Continue reading →

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Earth Science Skincare Azulene Eye Cream

Continuing on with our theme of The Basics I next want to turn my eye to eye-creams (yes that was corny).

Without a doubt the first area of deterioration I see when I am doing people’s makeup is around the eyes. Good moisturizer, sunscreen and eye-cream are just essential to ones beauty regimen in my opinion. And the necessity of this intensifies with fair-er skin tones. I think young women are in denial of how early the lines around the eyes really start to develop. I have had models in my chair in their late teens that were already starting to develop fine lines. Now granted, there are likely some lifestyle issues factoring into that as well (if you smoke…) but still. That is REALLY young to be developing wrinkles and as of right now once you have a wrinkle there is no way to get rid of it. Protect your skin now as much as you can and stop those lines before they get started! These are some of my best picks in eye-creams. This is in no particular order as different eye creams address different issues… Continue reading →

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EDIT Monday, July 25

OK so I think I’m at 497 followers BUT I noticed a lot of people who are joining now are either cosmetics companies, or SEO companies or other folks who do not need to win an eyelash curler. So instead of giving the Kevyn Aucoin curler to the 500th Follower, when I reach 500 followers, I will draw a random follower to award the prize to. That way it will hopefully go to someone who will use and appreciate the prize.

My Follow Me button is on the top right of my blog. Good luck!

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The crowd at IMATS LA. Image courtesy IMATS - © Kyle Shold

As the other half of the MTG writing team, Delia shares her experiences and impressions of this year’s IMATS. As always, the English version follows below…

Muchos de nuestros vendedores preferidos fueron presentes: Yaby, Koh Gen Doh y Kevyn Aucoin, así como algunos nuevos vendedores: Sugarpill y Lime Crime. Aunque fue difícil de llegar a algunos de los puestos, yo logré hacer unas pocas compras. Uno de los primeros lugares que paré fue el puesto de Parian Spirit. Parian Spirit, que coherentemente trabaja como el principal limpiador de brochas, siempre parece tener el mejor precio. Por $25 se compra un limpiador de liquido de 16 oz., un limpiador en tamaño de viaje de 2 oz., y un frasco de limpiador. Gran precio por un gran producto. Próxima parada fue Temptu porque necesité mas base de aerógrafo. Este base de aerógrafo hace la piel mirarse resplandeciente y perfecto. Tambien visite a Liz Yu, creadora de cosméticos Yaby, en el puesto de Yaby donde consegui tubos de Yaby que pueden ser llenados con cualquier líquido. ¡Gracias Liz para hacer consolidación de maquillaje más fácil! Continue reading →

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