Skimlinks Test

Makeup to Go!

makeup to go blog tania d Russell makeup educator Los Angeles San Francisco

Home
About
Blog
Services
Contact

Contact Us

Ready to work together?
Let’s get started!

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Comment or Message *

Consent *

I consent to having my information saved by this site in order to respond to my inquiry.

Phone

Or Email Us: info @ makeuptogo . com

Schedule A Portfolio Assessment

Grab your freebie!

Join our newsletter "Speaking of Makeup" and gain access to our library of free worksheets and resources to kick your makeup biz into high gear.

makeuptogoblog

As we continue our look at the spectrum of Black s

As we continue our look at the spectrum of Black skin tones, it's time to look at one group that - in my experience - tends to fly under the radar. This is the group that I refer to as Maple.⁣
⁣
Now - full disclosure - not only did I NOT do any of the makeup pictured in this graphic as I normally would post - I didn't coin the phrase "Maple" for this complexion group either. I learned that phrase from master makeup artist Marietta Cater-Narcisse @mariettacn when I took one of her classes many many moons ago. (She used shades of wood to describe the ranges of skin tones instead of equating Black shades to food as is so often done...)⁣
⁣
Within the Maple family, we're talking about fair-to-medium skin tones with reddish/pinkish undertones instead of the “more customary” yellowy/beigey undertones. Air quotes because human beings are individuals, not “customary“. But you know what I mean. 😉⁣
⁣
Why is this fam under the radar? There are a few reasons I can think of, but one of the main reasons - as illustrated in the last photo frame in this post - is these skin tones are often warmed up particularly for photography. So you won't see the "maple-ness" unless you see them completely bare-faced.⁣
⁣
While I do neutralize any redness around the nose etc, and warm up the skin as needed for photography, I personally do not like to wipe out *all* of the pinkness of this undertone. I like to preserve the pretty, rosey glow that these complexions tend to have. You can see in these photos both Miss Rihanna and Miss Beyonce look like teenagers without their customary beat! The final finish will, of course, depend on what your client wants, what you’re working on, etc. etc.⁣
⁣
Have you worked in this shade range? Are you in this skin tone family? What are some of your fave products?
🔸
Photo Credits: Just Jared. com, Styles at Life. com, Harper’s Bazaar/ Fenty Skin,

xin nian hao! Happy New Year 🎆 ⁣ ⁣ It is th

xin nian hao! Happy New Year 🎆 ⁣
⁣
It is the year of the Metal Ox the lucky colors for which are yellow, green, and blue.⁣
⁣
It’s also Valentine’s Day weekend which synonymous with the colors red and pink.⁣
⁣
So here’s a holiday color mashup for ya ;-)⁣
⁣
Whether you are Valentine-ing, Galentine-ing, or Selfentine-ing (or Baskbetball-entine-ing like myself 😉 ) thanks so much for being a part of the Makeup to Go fam. Have a lovely weekend and 恭喜发财 in this New Year (happiness and prosperity) 🎆 🎍⁣
⁣
📷 @mansoooooooor
💃🏻 Kaitlyn⁣
💄 me ... I know the lips and cheeks are @juliehewettla because this is when I first bought it and fell in love with the lip/cheek pots, but who knows what else I used LOL ⁣

We interrupt our normally scheduled post so we can

We interrupt our normally scheduled post so we can insert a freshy 🤩⁣
⁣
Yesterday as I was scrolling around on the IG, I saw a post from @IAmSamFine that it is the 23rd anniversary of his seminal makeup book – “Fine Beauty“. Wow. 😮⁣
⁣
This made me reflect on a few things. First of all – I am old. Second of all it made me think about how much the industry has *completely* changed since I entered the field.⁣
⁣
Nowadays everybody loves Black beauty, and Black lives suddenly matter, brands are pulling up for change and this that and the third. Which is great. But TRUST 👏🏾 ME 👏🏾 it was not at all like that when Mr. Fine released his book.⁣
⁣
Back in the day Black features and aesthetic was thought of as a problem to be fixed. 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 🙄⁣
⁣
It took a handful of dedicated artists and brands to keep pushing the boundaries and keep moving Black beauty front and center to be celebrated. Everything that you see now is a culmination of lots of work that started wayback.⁣
⁣
Three cheers to Sam Fine and Fine Beauty for changing the beauty landscape and educating legions of artists. 🥂

Celebrating the beauty of Black skin tones continu

Celebrating the beauty of Black skin tones continues! For the second installation of Matching Black Skin Tones for Black History Month we're going to look at a deeper complexion.⁣
⁣
Fab miss Mariah has a rich chocolate complexion HOWEVER please remember there are a zillion shades of brown! You can see in her body she has a more yellow undertone.⁣
⁣
A really red-y foundation won't look completely terrible, but it will look off. This is an easy mistake to make because foundations in deeper shades can often skew towards red. This is why we don't try to do one shade out the bottle and hope it works out 😉⁣
⁣
Even some of my fave Black owned brands that are not made specifically for photographic use I've noticed can be a bit too pinky.⁣
⁣
On Mariah I more often than not used @AJCrimsonBeauty. I definitely did on the opening and closing images in this Carousel, and I had to use three shades - 5, 6, & 6.5 - adjusting as needed in different parts of the face.⁣
⁣
What are your challenges - products, techniques, ??? - when working in this complexion range? Or do you have any superfly products or techniques to share? Tell us in the Comments 😊⁣ (and remember... put the beige concealer DOWN and step away...)
🔸⁣
📷 - @saryn⁣
💃🏾 - @m_kenzie⁣
💄 - me using AJ Crimson Beauty foundation (and other fab Black owned brands)

Do you remember your first makeup item?⁣ ⁣ Bei

Do you remember your first makeup item?⁣
⁣
Being the child of the 70s that I am my actual first make a purchase was probably a Bonnie Bell Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker (which back then really tasted like Dr Pepper, do not be fooled by this newfangled version).⁣
⁣
My first makeup kit purchase was Max Factor pancake. Because like many upstart makeup artists back in the day, I only had access to what was available in the drugstore and I knew that Hollywood makeup artists used pancake makeup so that’s what I got. And it (mostly) worked. 😊⁣
⁣
As my knowledge of product grew, I eventually landed in the wonderful world of cream foundations. My first foundations being Ben Nye Film and TV foundation which was fantastic particularly for how inexpensive it was, and this @kryolanus Dermacolors palette. ⁣
⁣
No, I don’t mean I had another older version. I mean THIS ACTUAL Kryolan Dermacolors palette. I have had this pallet for my entire career. Proper care + proper storage + an exceptional product equals it’s still going strong 💪🏾 .⁣
⁣
I remember at the time I think I paid $80 for this which back then was crazy expensive for me and I was like oh God I hope this pays off. Well 20 something years later I guess we can all say it has paid for itself a few times over 😉⁣
⁣
What was one of your first significant makeup purchases?

I went on a rant in my Stories. The subject of the

I went on a rant in my Stories. The subject of the rant isn’t relevant to this post (but it is a good topic – you can go read it in Stories) but in the rant I mentioned that I would be having a new blog post coming soon. ⁣
⁣
So what the heck is going on with Makeup to Go Blog? Well I’ll tell you: A Lot 😊⁣
⁣
One of the challenges in teaching aspiring makeup artists is trying to convey that things don’t happen quickly. Building a career is a build and it takes work over numerous years but next thing you know 5-6-7 years down the line if you followed good advice and did the work, you are doing the things that you dreamed of doing.⁣
⁣
This is what’s happening with Makeup to Go. Things that I set in motion many many moons ago started to come to fruition in Q4 last year. It’s still baby steps, but it’s definitely happening. 😁⁣
⁣
While it is still in baby steps it was a good time for me to tackle a project I’ve been putting off for a while which is redoing and re-branding the website. I have hated the site for a long time, LOL! It was too homemade and pieced together looking. And I have truly learned that I am not a copywriter and I need to hire someone for that 😳⁣
⁣
So that’s what a sista is doing including a marathon overnight session last night. Still quite a ways to go but progress being made and I am pleased. Not to mention the layout of the blog is cleaner, leaner, and actually legible now 😊⁣
⁣
Because there’s no point in getting the resource library up and introducing courses and education on a wack website, amirite? ⁣
⁣
Any thoughts or suggestions on what you might like to see on the new website?

Load More... Follow on Instagram

All content © 2008-2021, Makeup to Go / Tania D. Russell except where noted
Disclosures | Official Giveaway Rules | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy

Copy link

CopyCopied

Powered by Social Snap