Backstage Drama, What's It Really Like

....you won't see these on style.com for sure! Happy days of boredom, panic, drama and relief at the same time!

How To Make Your Skin Glow

The trends are funny. The minute you get comfortable with one of them, lets say, shiny skin, some horrible people start telling you that it’s so over and you should be doing matte.

As one of those “horrible people” or make up artists, let me apologise.

What happens is that long before you, the general public, or whoever is reading my humble ramblings, are aware of the so-called “trend”, we the make up artists have been doing it for a while already.

Then the cosmetics companies notice and develop products and then the trend goes mainstream. The minute the trend has gone mainstream, make up artists have gotten sick and tired of the look and have moved on.

One of the easiest changes that makes so much difference is the shine versus matte.

Take the skin for example. In the 80s matte was the look that created a nice flat canvas for all the shading, blushing, and crazy colourful eyes and lips. Then we move onto late 80s and early 90s, as a knee jerk reaction to the previous excess it all got very neutral and nude. Yes nude make up came into vocabulary about then. And skin gradually became less matte.

Mid 90s it was shine central, Vaseline skin came into fashion. Then after that we got dewy, which to a lay person is something not matte and not shiny. But definitely more natural than the matte look. Your skin should appear "glowing" without apparent shine. And the glow is reserved on cheeks and nowhere to be seen on less flattering areas such as nose or forehead. 

Matte had another appearance not long ago with all the 80s revival trends, so we pretty much came full circle.

What I am trying to say that this season the skin is back to dewy. Total shine was never really that flattering, especially not on photographs, so we settled in the middle. Sheer skin, not too much coverage, the look that is very achievable these days with modern foundation formulas.

So how do you do dewy skin you may ask?

This is how I do it.

Apply foundation that you like by dabbing a few dots in the middle of your face and blend it well outwards with a brush. Good choice of foundations would be Armani Luminous Silk foundation, Crème de La Mer The treatment Fluid Foundation, Laura Mercier Moisture Supreme Foundation. I love La Mer foundation, but for such an expensive product, the colours are limited which is stupid really. Laura Mercier Moisture Supreme is excellent as well, and as a bonus it does not have silicones which I personally dislike on my skin.

Many companies sell foundation brushes that are made of microfibre or nylon, I personally like the real sable brushes that I get from Screenface in London, I prefer to blend with real bristle. You blend the foundation into the skin until the foundation kind of disappears and is not visible. You should have now a nice even base and move onto the concealer. The concealer is there to fix any problems you might have such as dark circles or spots or other “blemishes”. By the way, I don’t see freckles as blemishes so don’t go there.

Under eye concealer should be slightly paler than the foundation and blemish concealer should be the same colour. I like Nars concealer. 

You apply both with a fine brush and blend.

Then you apply loose powder. Take a large brush and fix the foundation, especially concentrating on the middle of the face, under eyes, nose, around the nose, chin and forehead. You need the powder to fix the foundation and the concealer. Becca does a really good loose powder (soon to be sadly discontinued grr), it’s called Fine Finishing Powder or use Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder.

And that’s generally it. If your skin is on the dry side, and you find that the powder just “sits” there, I have a trick that will fix that. Spray some Rodial Dragon’s Blood Hylaruonic Tonic on your face, then pat dry with a tissue.

There you go, a perfect dewy look.

And the more time you spend on your skin preparation, the longer your make up will last.

Oh and another point, whatever your skin tone, please don’t use a lighter foundation than your own skin colour. It will make you look weird, pale and unhealthy. If you must,  go a shade darker.  


Main image courtesy of Becca Cosmetic.

What makes mineral make up different?

 

After doing some research, apparently not much. 

Both the "mainstream" or regular make up and mineral ranges contain pretty much the same ingredients like titanium oxide, mica, zinc oxide, iron oxides, silica, talc, etc.

But what differs mineral make up from regular one is the lack certain allergens, like parabens, chemical dyes and mineral oil. And those are the reasons which make the mineral make up good for oily and acne prone skin. And sensitive skins. 

Oh and by the way, when I say mineral make up I mean foundation. 

People tend to think that mineral make up is more “natural”? Unfortunately that’s not quite the truth and there's nothing wrong with that. No one actually went to the mine, got your zinc oxide and titanium oxide, milled them and made make up out of them. It just doesn’t work like that. Both of those ingredients are processed in the lab as nothing in nature is that clean that can be used in cosmetics, especially zinc oxide has to be synthesised in the lab.

I wrote about zinc oxide in my previous post and indeed, its calming properties make it suitable for sensitive skins. Together with titanium oxide it also provides some sun protection.

One ingredient you should definitely scan the label for is bismuth oxychloride. While it gives the luminosity to the make up, it's also been reported that women would have acne flare ups and irritation when using make up with this ingredient.  

I’m not denying that mineral make up can look great, in fact some of my favourite products are products from the mineral ranges. But, the whole thing lost a bit of sheen for me when the cosmetics companies decided to jump on the bandwagon and brought up eyeshadows, lipsticks, liquid foundations and other things.

The beauty and the attraction of mineral make up was that the ingredient list was short. But now, once you start making liquid foundations, it became as long as the conventional foundation. Why? 

 

Well microbes love breeding in the water and without a suitable  preservative the product will not keep. Apart from going “off” it can also infect the skin. So in order to prevent the product being spoiled they put back the same ingredients that they got rid of in the beginning…. Confused?

So when picking mineral product read the ingredients. The shorter the list, the better the product for you, especially if you have sensitive skin. Especially look out for added mineral oil and fragrance. 

If you want to buy liquid foundation, eyeshadows, lipstick etc from the mineral range, by all means go for it, but be realistic. Chances are that you’re buying the normal stuff that is no different from your mainstream make up.While there's nothing wrong with those products, as long as you know you are buying into the hype, all is well.

Bridal make up Q & As

The season of weddings is almost upon us so I thought I'd post some questions that I've answered not so long ago. Some googling brides to be might find them useful. Enjoy :)

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What one piece of make up advice would you give to a bride preparing for her big day?

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     Book a professional make up artist in advance and do the make up trial. Even if you’re really good at doing your make up, the pro will be there on hand to help you with some new tricks of the trade and make the day less stressful for you. Make sure you test the make up in the natural light and on camera before you agree on the look.

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How should your wedding day make up differ from your day to day look?

     Your make up needs to look timeless, be suitable for the occasion, look good in real life and on camera and, of course, last all day. You need to look like you, just fresher and glowing. You probably won’t spend much time every morning doing your make up but on your wedding day it really pays to spend more time on make up so it withstands the assault of the relatives wishing you good luck! Good professional make up artist will layer the make up carefully so you won’t really need to do any retouching during the day.

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What one beauty product can a bride not do without and why?

      If you’re likely to get emotional on your wedding day then waterproof mascara is a must.

How can you adapt this seasons  makeup trends into your wedding day look?

         This is one of the occasions when trends should take a back seat. You really want to look timeless so when you look at the photos 20 years from now on, you don’t want to cringe. By all means take some inspiration from the current trends which are awash with pastels, but pick just one, like coral blush and leave the rest for some other time.

What is the most common makeup mistake brides tend to make on their wedding day?

          Too many mistakes to mention! Orange fake tan is really unnecessary, just pick a dress that flatters your complexion as it is. False drag queen lashes, yes I’ve seen them on brides…. If you want more lashes, individual lashes are the best way to go. Weird eyebrows. Too much make up applied badly,… of course this can be said for any make up occasion, not just a wedding.

What prep can you do in the lead up to the big day to make sure you’re looking your best (skincare, treatments) etc?

         You should start preparing your skin as early as possible, so get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water. Any new beauty treatments should be tried one month before rather than a day before the wedding – we all remember that scene from Sex and the City when Samantha had a acid peel too late – you don’t want the same thing to happen to you! If you decide to try acid peel, mesotherapy etc, you should do it at least one month before so the skin has enough time to recover. Otherwise, moisturise daily, use facial and body scrub twice of three times a week (depending on your skin type). One point to remember is your eyebrows – if they are overplucked then leave them to grow and have them done one day before the wedding.

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