Anna Paquin in GQ Style

I did a shoot with Anna Paquin for GQ Style with Robert Maxwell and here are the results.  I do so many vampires these days!

Get the Look: Ali Larter

There is such a lovely beauty about Ali Larter.  She is always elegant without ever seeming to try too hard, which is so refreshing.  I did a really clean, soft and sexy look for her for this event, with just a little emphasis on the eyes.

I used a liquid blush, it feels more like your real skin when you use a liquid or cream blush.  I applied it with my fingers but feathered it out with a small domed blush brush.  For the eyes I used soft bronzy colors and smudged them around the lash line for a very soft smokey effect.  As usual, lots of mascara, especially on the upper lashes because I just love mascara and gorgeous lashes.  Always make sure you brush the browns and use a brow gel.  Even when I'm not wearing any makeup when I leave the house I always use brow gel (and of course curl my lashes--that's my desert island makeup item.  Ok, that and lip balm.  I think I would shrivel up and die without lip balm).


Foundation:
Vincent Longo Liquid Canvas Dew Finish foundation in "Light Beige"


Powder:
Chantecaille Loose Powder in "Ray"


Blush:
By Terry Rose de Rose in "Corail"


Lips:
Lancome L'Absolu Rouge in "Beige Cashmere"


Eyeshadow:
Lancome Color Design shadow quad in "Showstopper Style"


Brows:
Anastasia Brow Wiz in "Ash Blonde"


Mascara:
Lancome Virtuose in "Black"

Tutorial: Concealers

Last night I got a little blemish.  So annoying.  And today I had to cover it which made me think I should do a tutorial on covering spots, marks, pimples, under eyes, etc. because it's really all about the tools and products to effectively conceal those imperfections.

Let's start with brushes.  I cannot emphasize enough how important the right brushes are.  Trying to cover a blemish with your finger instead of a brush is like putting on lipstick with a house painting brush.    Good brushes can be pricey, but they really are worth the investment, and if you take care of them properly, you'll have them for years.  I like very flat concealer brushes, like the Shu Uemura brush below (on the far right) for under the eyes and for covering larger areas or marks.  For smaller spots and marks, a more precise brush will get the job done.  Synthetic or natural hair, I love both, but I tend to reach for the synthetic ones when I want to cover a spot as it holds and applies the product differently.  When I was  first assisting, the woman I was working gave me the best advice for covering a blemish: cover it well and then feather out the product....feathering out the product helps it blend into the surrounding area but keeps the main area covered.  In some extreme situations you might have to "bounce" the brush and concealer onto the blemish so that you aren't wiping away the product while you're trying to cover something.  But this is mostly when you have a large area of raised pimples with dark scar areas and/or very red, angry looking areas.  The flat brush is best for this kind of covering.

If you have a doozy of a pimple, especially one that's raised, the best thing to cover it with is an opaque liquid concealer; it's thicker and has less oil in it than a stick or pot concealer.  And if something is raised on your face, you want to make sure it's going to stick and not slide off.  I love the liquid concealers from MAC and Makeup Forever, they have great colors, are opaque without being chalky, and they stay put.  Apply sparingly with a brush, and then set with powder and that pimple will be covered all day.

For under eyes I prefer a concealer that is warm and often peachy, and almost always with a bit of luminosity to it.  Bobbi Brown, YSL, and Clarins all make concealer pens with great formulas, just find the color that suits your skin tone best and you can't go wrong.  Even with these pens, I still use a brush to blend the product.  I just have more control that way and get better results.  But you can apply the product with the pens' brush, just make sure you feather it out with a nice flat concealer brush so that it blends evenly.

For covering dark areas, scars, and general unevenness, I love a creamy stick concealer....It blends seamlessly with your foundation, which is the goal.  Cle de Peau makes an excellent stick concealer, but so does Bobbi Brown and many other companies do as well, just find the formula and color that works best for you.

Well, I hope this has been helpful.  I think having a number of different concealers, and foundations for that matter (you're a different color in the winter than you are in the summer) is hugely important for achieving the most beautiful, flawless face possible.  The rest is icing on the cake.

Self Magazine April 2010

 

A few months back I worked on a beauty story with Self magazine about how your makeup can affect your mood.  It was a really fun day at a cute house right on the beach in Malibu.  It was bright and hot and sunny, a perfect California day, and perfect day for the story  If you click the link on the Self blog you can see video where I chat a bit about one of the looks.... 

Here's the link:

http://www.self.com/beauty/blogs/selfstylesecrets/2010/03/behind-the-shoot-make-over-you.html#more

Glittery Lips at Givenchy.

I am loving this sparkly red lip. Is red eye shadow wearable? No, but it works here as a light wash and with the rest of the face dewy and bare it looks pretty and interesting. Of course the bleached brow makes it all work... Oh how I love love love a bleached brow.

Pretty. Simple.

Sometimes it's not all about a big bam, bang and a boom and a whole bunch of drama. Sometimes quietly pretty says a whole lot more. Like the makeup at Louis Vuitton, which I think is simply stunning. I love the soft warm contour, the subtle sheen on the cheekbone, the nicely shaped brow, and the lovely shape and shading of the eyes. It is just so fresh and, well, so pretty.....(A credit to the makeup team because these poor girls are so exhausted by the time they get to Paris and their skin has been so beat up by weeks of shows they usually look just spent, but they look fresh as a spring morning here.) It's not "nothing, no makeup" makeup, just what you wish you looked like all of the time.

Get The Look: Elizabeth Banks at the Oscars

Elizabeth wore a stunning Versace gown in a pale icy gray. We went with shades of grays and purples on the eyes and kept the focus on the eyes by keeping the rest of the face nude. Using a metallic gray liner on the inside of the eye makes the eyes sexy but still makes them feel open and "doe like".

Foundation:

L'Oreal True Match in "Light Ivory"

Powder:

Laura Mercier Loose Powder in Translucent

Blush:

MAC Pinch O' Peach

Brow Pencil:

Anastasia Medium Ash

Eyeshadows:

Jouer in "Amaretto"

L'oreal "Nude Sand"

NARS "Eurydice"

NARS "Brousse"

Eyeliner:

Chanel Precision Liner in "Graphite"

Mascara:

L'Oreal Voluminous Dramatic

Lip Liner:

Chanel Precision Liner in "Beige"

Lipgloss:

Armour Beauty in "Edie"

Get The Look: Camilla Belle

Camilla wore a lovely, girly, feathery Marchesa dress to kick off Oscar week. To counter the sweetness of the dress I chose to do a steely gray and silver eye to make the look a bit sexier. Honestly, Camilla can wear just about anything, be it clothing or makeup. Anything looks gorgeous on her and I just adore making up her face. She's fearless and always up for a look.

Foundation:

Armani Luminous Silk #7.5

Powder:

Laura Mercier Loose Powder "Beige"

Bronzer:

NARS Lovejoy

Eye Shadow:

Shiseido "Slate" & "Gray"

Lancome "Garment"

Eyeliner:

NARS "London"

Mascara:

Lancome Virtouse

Lipstick:

Cle de Peau Extra Silky Lipstick #119

Grace Jones and Jean-Paul Goude

Jean-Paul Goude and Grace Jones.... they made beautiful art together. He's a photographer, illustrator, all around smartest artist and he took some seriously iconic images of Grace Jones in the 80's. They collaborated again last year for V magazine, but nothing will ever touch the work they did together in the 80's.

He has a amazing book out called "So Far So Goude" which is worth buying for the name alone.