Make Up For Ever Los Angeles boutique image courtesy of MUFE

At long last I made it to the Make Up For Ever (MUFE for short) boutique in Los Angeles! I was invited to the store opening, didn’t make it. Went to the “Pro Social/Mixer”, which I wrote about. And finally after having a meeting in the same area (a section of Los Angeles I tend not to go to often) I finally said, “Let me just go to the store and see it for real this time.”. 4-ish on a Tuesday afternoon turned out to be a very good time to visit. The store was busy with clients in the artists chair, but not a zoo at all in fact I pretty much had the store to myself to look, touch and smell as makeup artists like to do.

The store is a wee little space that manages to be fully stocked with items and artists work stations without being cluttered and chaotic feeling. I am assuming that the store carries the entire line both of consumer and professional products, but I am not completely sure as unfortunately none of the artists were available to ask questions. One of the more interesting aspects of the store is that one corner is devoted to being the “Pro Atelier” area. Here they had out testers of all of the products in the store and a lighted, mirrored work area. It is described as an area for “research and inspiration” where artists can try out the products, sketch face charts if desired, etc. Apparently artists are also able to book time to bring in a client. Not sure how that would work exactly as I would guess that since this is the Make Up For Ever store they would want you to use all Make Up For Ever products. In any event I thought that was an interesting idea.
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Sheckys Girls Night Out LA - The LookStore's booth for The LookBag Beauty Club (event co presenter and one of the few beauty vendors at the event)

The Holiday season is underway and with it comes the start of Holiday events. I try to attend as many events as I can in general as it is important to see and be seen in this biz, but there is an extra little “something” about events during the Holidays. Two of the events I attended were open to the public and you may want to consider adding them to your Events Calendar next year.

Make Up For Ever Mixer:
Amidst much fan-fare and excitement, seminal makeup artists’ brand Make Up For Ever (MUFE) opened it’s West Coast flagship boutique this Fall. The boutique opening was a private affair, so to officially open its doors to the Los Angeles professional community the boutique held a “mixer”. For those who’ve never attended one, a mixer is basically a professional excuse to get together and have drinks with peers and colleagues. There was music and energy, goodie bags were given to attendees (a sample of the now iconic HD powder and a tube of MUFE’s waterproof mascara which is pretty much the only waterproof mascara I have found to be vaguely tolerable), wine was poured, and all of the store’s product selection was on display. Continue reading →

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I previously did an article listing various Black Friday events and then I realised two important things: A ) everyone beauty blogger on the planet was surely giving the same information and that’s assuming followers of beauty blogs did not already have that information from the myriad of Black Friday emails. and B ) I do not really care about Black Friday. At all. There, I said it. I actually often participate in the anti-Black Friday event “Buy Nothing Day” and make it a point to do no shopping whatsoever on Black Friday.

When I do shop, I actually greatly prefer to support small business during this time of year. The Big Girls and Boys are going to get theirs regardless. Small business needs love too. Also if you are a pro makeup artist, there are other things to think about besides buying more product (fun though that may be ). Here are some cool Black Friday / Cyber Monday (my birthday!) sales that you may not have known about… Continue reading →

Technorati Tags: 100 percent pure, camera ready cosmetics, darcy botanicals, Eve Pearl, oyin handmade, sugarpill cosmetics

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Red lipstick. Outgoing, sexy, bold and daring, red is the Porche Carrera Cabriolet of lip colors yet so many women are afraid to wear it! To help you quell this fear, for this month’s installment of Maquillaje Para Go Delia is covering the best in red lipsticks. Enjoy… (English translation follows below…)

Yo soy un firme creyente de que cualquiera persona puede usar un labial rojo. Escucho a las mujeres que dicen que no pueden usar un color rojo por que no se ve bien en ellos. Bueno a eso digo tonterías! Hay un rojo para todos. Es importante recordar que el “rojo” viene en varios tonos y no es sólo el color en la caja de lápices de colores que pensamos. Continue reading →

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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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Dolce & Gabbana Perfect Finish Creamy Foundation

Hello hello.

1 ) Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick –
Let me join everyone else by talking about this amazing sounding new product. This is a lipstick/lipgloss 2-in-1 product with the outer rim being lipstick, and the inner circle being the gloss. Instead of having a matching lipgloss as these types of products generally do the gloss component of this product comes in contrasting colors which when applied will create a fabulous 3 color with a burst of shine. When I looked at these in person some seemed lower in contrast, and some seemed higher contrast to the lipstick color but that will depend on how pigmented the glosses actually are so more to follow once I actually own a few of these. In any event, these will be fun to play with for makeup mavens and makeup artists alike. 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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Back in when I was a little girl, my mother was a member of several “beauty clubs”. These clubs were advertised in magazines and you filled out a little beauty profile and they sent makeup and fragrance items direct to your door. These were full sized products but they were usually older brands and/or discontinued items. I joined a beauty club when I got old enough, it was a cheap way to try out a lot of new product and every now and then I would score something really great. Every month I opened my box with a makeup addicts glee to see what makeup Santa had delivered. In today’s modern era, Beauty Boxes have taken over where the old beauty clubs left off.

The new Beauty Box craze delivers deluxe samples in pretty packaging to its members on a monthly basis. Whereas the old “clubs” had kind of a hand-me-down feel, the new Boxes are all about premium, high end quality. As far as I’m aware, this new craze was started about a year ago with the advent of Birchbox. Now, of course, there are several services to choose from, all with their own unique twist. Over the next several months I’m going to be joining these various services to see what the scoop is on each of them. Here are the ones I have my eye on… Continue reading →

Technorati Tags: beauty box, beautyfix, birchbox, eco emi, glossybox, gogogirlfriend, loosebutton, luxebox, makeup, makeup to go, red meow, samples

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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 →

Technorati Tags: bare escentuals, face atelier, Iman, iman cosmetics, l'oreal, nars, nars cosmetics, shu uemura, smashbox, smashbox cosmetics, stila, stila cosmetics, youngblood cosmetics

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NARS Cosmetics Larger Than Life Long Lasting Eyeliner

Fall is fast upon us so all the lines are debuting their Fall Collections. A benefit to the change of seasons is that many lines will be selling off old product from previous collections. It’s a great time to be a makeup maven right now! Here are what some of my favorites have going currently (all the headers are links directly to the sale/collection being discussed)… Continue reading →

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