Oily Skin? Matte It Up!

As an oily skin suffer, I have tried all kinds of things to mop up the shine on my face.  I hate looking like a glossy new penny, and in my years of trying everything under the sun to matte my skin, I’ve nailed down some great products that you should have in your bathroom if you, too, hate looking like a newly minted coin.

1. First and foremost, BABY POWDER.  Seriously.  Baby powder contains cornstarch, which is an awesome oil sopper.  To refresh makeup and mattify skin, simply sprinkle some powder into your palm, twirl a large fluffy brush in it, tap off the excess, and using a light touch dust the powder over your oily areas.  Avoid eyes and eyelids, unless you want to lighten your eye makeup.  This is my absolute favorite way to refresh my makeup mid-day.  Travel sizes of baby powder are available at Target and slip easily inside of a makeup bag or purse!
2. One of the things I keep in my kit is Mary Kay’s Oil Mattifier.  It’s a great tool to use under makeup and helps keep oil production at bay, which means your face is way less shiny by day’s end.  I love this stuff.  My pal Nicole is an awesome Mary Kay consultant, and if you’re interested in this product, you can purchase it from her by clicking here.
3. Don’t waste your money on oil-blotting sheets.  If you’re like me and hoard napkins in your glove compartment in your car, those work just as well.  Using a firm but steady hand, blot oil from your face with a napkin.  Don’t rub!  It’ll take off your makeup.  Just press.  The napkin will do the rest.
4. If all that excess oil has you breaking out, my favorite zit remedy is tea tree oil.  The best way to employ this natural antiseptic is to take two Q-Tips.  Soak one in hot water and press it gently to the blemish.  This trick draws all the nasty gunk to the surface and opens the pore so the antiseptic properties of the tea tree can get in there and work.  Douse the second Q-Tip in the tea tree oil and press it to the blemish after opening it up with the warm Q-Tip.  Do this twice daily, and the zit will shrink up and heal with no scarring.  Be sure you use 100% pure tea tree oil; the best kind comes from Australia.  And while it’s a bad habit of mine, don’t pop zits!  If you can’t stand it, see a trusted esthetician to extract clogged pores for you.
5. If you have a fringe or bangs and they tend to mop up oil from your forehead, there’s another use for that baby powder.  Rubbing a little in your hair can help to soak up oil; just don’t use too much or you’ll look like you’re going gray!  Another great way to remedy fringe from being an oil catcher is to use a dry shampoo.  I love TIGI’s Rockaholic Dirty Secret dry shampoo.  Just hold it 8-10 inches from your hair (seriously — it’ll turn your hair white if it’s too close), and spritz.  It contains clay, which is a natural oil absorber.  It’s also great to revamp your second-day hair!

 

Let me know how these tips help you!  Until next time, keep rocking a fabulous face!

Getting Back on the Wagon

It’s been a couple of years since my last post, and I can’t believe how quickly time has flown by!  I’ve been a busy lady these past two years building a name for myself as a hairstylist and makeup artist, and I’m happy to say that all the hard work has paid off in a big way!  I’ve got a stellar clientele, an amazing portfolio, and a thriving business!  Now that all those ducks are in a row, I have been thinking a lot about what else I can offer, and I want to bring the blog back!  You all deserve some great makeup tips from an expert, and I want to be the one to bring them to you.

To toast to a great start to my salon, and to prepare you for a great summer, I’ve prepared some tips for you to keep you gorgeous all summer long.  Summertime brings some awesome things with it: outdoor BBQs with delicious food, hanging out by/in the pool, and wonderful memories to keep you company all winter long until next year.  However, summer also brings some not-so-awesome things to the party: sweltering temperatures (which brings about sweat), humidity (who also brings about sweating), and sunburns.  Fret not!  Follow my top five summertime skin tips to keep your cool, your fabulous skin fabulous, and your makeup in place!

1. Hot temperatures and humidity can really put a damper on a day in the sun.  To keep my makeup rockin’ from day into night, I rely on MAC Face and Body foundation.  It provides even, buildable coverage with a dewy finish, and best of all, it’s sweatproof, which means it won’t slide off halfway through your day.  Its sweatproof nature makes it inappropriate for everyday use; however, it’s perfect for an outdoor event like a wedding or BBQ.
2. For an everyday fix to sweaty-faced woes, I love Smashbox PhotoFinish Light makeup primer.  It’s a water-based, lightweight primer that goes on underneath your foundation, and will keep your makeup in place all day long.
3. To avoid the dreaded sunburn (and even more dreaded skin cancer), always use a foundation with an SPF of at least 15, or layer on a lightweight sunblock made especially for the face under foundation.  I like Neutrogena Dry-Touch sunblock because it is paraben-free (which means it doesn’t sting), has a dry texture (won’t add to a sweaty or oily problem), and it has a high SPF.  
4. Oily skin always has more of a problem with makeup staying put during hot months.  To remedy this, I recommend using a powder foundation to help sop up excess oil and sweat.  I like to use Pur Minerals foundations during the summer.  Their pressed mineral powder foundations offer excellent coverage, can be used as a concealer, and have shea butter in their formula which helps to avoid over-drying of the skin.
5. To keep eye-shadow in place, I love-love-LOVE Too Faced Shadow Insurance!  It keeps eye shadow vibrant, in place, and bans those terrible creases!  Wear that bold teal shade fearlessly; with this product it will wear all night (and all day tomorrow) long!

These products will keep you fresh-faced and fabulous all summer long.  These are all things I use myself, and let me tell you, they work wonders!

Now, I know I said five tips, but if you find yourself sunburned, in pain, and peeling, I recommend lots of aloe vera gel to soothe skin, some ibuprofen to minimize discomfort and inflammation, sunscreen, and most of all, avoid makeup!  If you feel too lobster-rific, a tinted moisturizer is a great way to cover flaws without irritating sensitive skin.  I like Smashbox Sheer Focus.

Happy Summertime, y’all!

First lesson: Bronzer!

So it’s a little crude, as I’m still working with video editing software, and I had to balance my computer on my lap as I did the whole thing, but here it is!

I thought since I ran out of bronzer and today went to buy some more, why not do a bronzer lesson for my first tutorial? So since summer is here, and everyone wants to be bronzed goddesses (at least I do), I thought I would share some insight on how to apply bronzer like a pro.

Enjoy!

Any questions or anything else, please feel free to comment! Thanks for stopping by! <3

xoxo,

Your artist Lauren

Are You Ready for Some Make-Up?

So you’re not a make-up artist.  That’s ok.  At one point in time I wasn’t either.  I’ve been freelancing now for three years, but I pretty much got started and interested in the field in the summer of 2007 when I did the make-up for the wedding of the best friend I’ve had since I was five years old.  It was a favor to the lovely bride, and I not only did her entire face but the faces of all but two of her bridesmaids, myself, her mother, and her younger sister.  Including me, that was six faces.  I was utterly shocked when people were telling me what a good job the hairdressers that did their hair, did on their make-up!  I found myself correcting people for the majority of the evening.  And from there, my freelance career budded, as did my interest in make-up artistry and cosmetology in general.

I decided to attend cosmetology school, and in the fall of 2007 I started at the Toni & Guy Academy in Carrollton, Texas for an education in mostly hair, and got myself a job as a make-up consultant for high-end lines at beauty chain ULTA.  I ended up taking a break from school for about a year in which I traveled, had surgery, and spent time with my family, but the call was too strong and I went back in early 2009 and finally graduated in September of 2009, with my Texas state cosmetology license following soon after.  All the while I continued to play with make-up, take master classes, work with photographers, do make-up for bridal parties, and give make-up lessons to friends.  The last one I found I was pretty good at.  Most of the time, people would ask me to show them some pointers, or they’d make some off-hand comment such as, “Oh, I’ll never be able to use liquid eyeliner!”  Au contraire.  You can use liquid liner, and you can use it like a pro!  And I’ll show you how; it’s easy!

I don’t know about the rest of you out there, but even when I started putting make-up on others I wasn’t 100% sure what I was doing, not to mention I wasn’t 100% sure what I was doing on myself.  And at that point I was 21 and had been wearing make-up since high school!  I know I’m not the only person out there that’s felt like that, and I know for sure there are a lot of others my age and older that still feel relatively hopeless when it comes to make-up.  Never fear, for that is where I come in!

Every new post on this blog will be a new lesson covering a different aspect of make-up.  To start with, I’m going to cover the basics and my “FAQs”, which include but are not limited to: how to select the proper shade of foundation, how to properly apply liquid foundation, what kind of foundation is right for you?, how to transition from a pencil liner to a liquid liner (I promise, it is easy and so do-able), essential brushes to have in your make-up drawer, how to do a smoky eye, the proper way to wear bronzer…

Oh yes, the list can, and will, go on forever.  Included in these lessons will be either a video where I will explain in-depth  how something is done while I demonstrate the technique on a model, or a pictorial lesson with a photo of each step and sub-steps with clearly outlined instructions.

For the adventurous, there will also be advanced lessons too such as some crazy-fun club looks, avant garde or fantasy make-up, monster make-up, and face painting techniques.

Now that I’ve given you something to look forward to, please be patient as I get my camera crew (hah), models,  and materials all in order to give everyone some fabulous lessons!  Be on the lookout for my first lesson, which I hope to have completed in a week’s time or less.

Feedback is very much welcomed and appreciated!

xoxo,

Your fabulous make-up artiste and author, Lauren <3