Anti-quarantine Glam Make-up looks…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

The worldwide lock down has brought my spirits down as well. Physical distancing has bound everyone to their homes hiding or imprisoned; letting one’s appearance go is sadly is the new normal daily life. No hair or nail salons, no spas or gyms…basically no beauty allowed.  And with myself being in the beauty industry, I’ve been unemployed for six weeks now. I’m so bored with my inner thoughts and no amount of youtube, disney + or netflix can distract me from myself. I’m trying not to gain a ton of weight during my unemployed home times, and I’m basically living day to day wondering the necessity of pants. This is a dangerous time. I wanted to find a way to make social distancing more bearable. So what better than to share some glamourous full face make-ups suitable for happier days. These make-up looks I have designed are useless during the lock down, but give me something to look forward to wearing post covid, when all eyes may be on myself and the beauty of others!

Plum Smoke Romance:

I originally did this look for valentines, and I liked it a lot for the flirty sultry aspect. Plum is also a lot more inviting and interesting than the usual charcoal/grey smokey eyes.. So here is how to get it…

  1. Prepping the face…for this look, the less shine, the better. everything has to be matte and smokey. That includes the foundation, concealer and powder. I will even do my eye shadow base in a matte nude color.
  2. Define and fill in brows: pretty standard in all make-ups actually.
  3. Find a matte plum eyeshadow and sweep it on the whole lid from eyelash line all the way to the brow bone. Smoke out and deepen the plum with a charcoal violet shadow for a second coat on the entire eye lid.
  4. Using a soft eyeliner, line the top lid and smudge the line with a dark shadow to blend and set the liner. Use that same shade for the bottom lid and line the outer corners of the eyes.
  5. Two coats of mascara always, and falsies if desired. Blush is optional for this look and I kinda prefer without.
Carefree and smokey. I have dark days too.

Playboy Bunny Neutrals:

I made this look one Halloween when I contemplated donning the iconic  playboy bunny costume. The elegant body suit with stockings, bow tie, ears and tail. It’s pure feminine prowess at it’s best. The make-up for this look is a glam relies heavily and a retro cat eyeliner and shimmering nudes and taupes and goes well with any going out outfit.

  1. Foundation and concealer as always. Concealer is particularily important for a flawless matte complexion. Add powder generously.
  2. Fill in brows bushy and fluff them up fully!
  3. Matte shadow base all over top and bottom lid. Shimmer eyeshadow just on the bow bone and inner corners.
  4. Dark shimmer taupe shadow in the crease. Shimmer nude in the main center upper lid. Line with black pencil. Set the pencil line with a dark shadow, black or brown…outline the bottom lid with a bit of the same dark shadow (just the outer corners)
  5. Do a dramatic cat’s eye liner with liquid liner.
  6. Add two coats of mascara and falsies of desired.
  7. Use a matte blush on the cheeks.
  8. Finish with a red lipstick matte or gloss.
I do like to be girly sometimes. What better than to don a neutral glam look.

Ice Blush Princess:

If one could be the fairest in all the land!  Magical and fancy, pretty yet cool, behold the ice princess make-up. With ice pinks and plenty of dewy glow it’s a grown up way to show off baby doll pink.

  1. Moisturize the face with a non greasy lotion: This looks best when the skin is highly mosturized. Cool shimmery colors show every crack/crease on the face when it is too dry.
  2. Foundation and  concealer or brightening serum under and around the eyes is key to achieving that flawless glow; use face powder lightly to set. Finish brows with and filler and fluff aiming for a natural definition.
  3. Shadow work: Neutral non shimmer eye shadow base on top lid. Shimmering highlight shadow on bottom lid and inner eye corner and brow bone under the brow. Blend lightly with a blending brush. Dark mauve pink for the crease, and cool true pink shadow for the main lid area, Blend.
  4. Black eye liner tight lined to the upper lashes. Smudge the pencil line with charcoal gray shadow to widen and smoke up the line. Use the same gray shadow for bottom lid line (just the outer edges)
  5. Double coat of mascara. Falsies if desired! Spray with a dewy setting spray for moisturizing to take away any remaining powdery look!
Ice pinks are so subtle. But hopefully my shiny color palette is visible here.

So which look is the most glam and fitting for me? I like all three and am happy to have been able to try out these looksduring these sad times of having no reason to get dolled up and be glamorous. Hang in there…beauty will reign supreme again some day.

Making the Contoured Face Trend look fresh, not chiseled:

~ Emmie Reve ~ 1 Comment

The contouring makeup trend is upon us, and has been for a while…the only thing is the aesthetic is rather angular, high impact and not soft or natural. For those unfamiliar with the trend, contouring is a foundation application that uses different shades of foundation on the face to create low lights and highlights blended together to give an illusion of depth and dimension. It’s a visual trick. Light surfaces move forward and dark surfaces recede back. It’s actually an illusion to create, the appearance of high cheekbones, an eyelid crease or skinnier cheeks…

My problem with contouring is that it looks painted, unnatural and is based on fooling the beholder, instead of accentuating the natural beauty one’s face already has. It is about following the beauty standards that pointier noses are prettier, or shallow cheeks are better, and that roundness is not. Rounded features I find are youthful, cute and joyful. These features can be desirable things…

I have stayed away from the contouring trend thus long, only recently adopting a more modified version of contouring. No bronzer, and no high contrast lines that need blending. Just airy bliss. I started using a highlighter to make my face glow a bit more, to look more awake and to accentuate what I already have. For me, this is the perfect compromise…looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed, but not overly harsh or made up.

How I use highlighting daily:

  1. After moisturizing, I apply my favourite foundation. These days I’m loving the Revlon Photo Ready Color Stay foundation with an spf of 20. It gives me added protection from UV rays, while still giving me a creamy, barely there coverage..
  2. Here’s where it gets fun. Add in a highlighting pen, crayon or cream. Any brand will do as long as it is lighter in shade to your real skin tone. There needs to be a reasonable difference in shade between the highlighter and foundation. Too light and it looks unnatural, but too close and it looks like nothing…

    As I mentioned in the steps the best places to highlight: the nose bridge, the forehead, the corner of the eyes, the bags under the eyes, and the cheekbones. Oh, also the cupid’s bow on top of the lips.
  3. I gently draw the lighter color onto my face. Must hit areas: the cheek bones, the crease at the bottom of any eye puffiness, the corner of the eyes, a small triangle on the forehead, the ridge of the nose, my cupids’ bow above my lips, and last but not least a round spot on my chin.
  4. The magic happens when I blend the makeup shades by dabbing a blending sponge on the edges of the highlighted spaces to create a blurred effect. Once all blended, I dust lightly with ;face powder to set and all looks beautiful!
  5. I then apply my eye makeup as usual and end with 2 generous coats of my current favorite mascara…

I feel this leaves me with a dewy, flawless glow on my face that just looks natural as if I was born with it…and not trying to fool the onlooker. Because at the end of the day, makeup is supposed to make me look better, but not like somebody else.

The finished product. Don’t I look alive but not too chiseled? That’s what we want!

“Pretty-sad”…A make up look that is all about being sad…

~ Emmie Reve ~ Leave a comment

I grew up in the 90’s…a decade that was marked with uncertainty for the youth in a baby boomer run society, and the idea that kids might not be okay. Teenagers were involved in the culture of sad, dealing with depression and anxiety. The 90’s culture, music, shows, movies made being sad more visible in the mainstream. Present day, it seems as if a new generation of happy, well adjusted teens has since replaced the stringy hair, grungy, plaid-clad youth of my teens. And so…as homage to my youth I created the “pretty sad” make-up look.

What is the “pretty sad” make up look? It’s the way one might look after crying and realizing there is no escaping life or destiny. Eyes are red from crying, perhaps at unrequited love, and make-up is not perfect. Half covering up the emotional damage, half smeared and old. Pretty sad is about looking little unwell, fragile and affected. And in a way, I think it’s pretty cool. Sometimes one has to let sadness and weakness surface…as a means to purge these feelings. After all it is much better to look sad than to actually be sad!

Sad Girl Make-up Steps:

  1. Prep and even out the face. Here’s the time to use a tinted moisturizer or a sheer coverage foundation/bb cream. Set with a light dusting of face powder. Why go so sheer? This look is about looking undone. So some facial flaws and blemishes actually look right.
  2. Eyes: The eye make-up will sell this look. What is needed in a good shadow base, and then pinky red eye shadow over the top lid and line the bottom lid too. It gives the eyes a slightly irritated look. As if tears were shed not too long ago! Also line the bottom lid with a thin line of dark shadow as if a liner was once there but has since been cried off.
  3. Liquid liner: Here’s the fun part…don’t do a perfect line. make it blotchy, make it smudged. As if the eyes were wiped a few times with tissues.As if eye liner was quickly reapplied. Get creative with it.
  4. Smudged mascara: use heavy coats of mascara and before it dries, blink eyes tightly together and voila…it’s a smeared, cakey mess!
  5. Blush just on the nose: Ever cried and had a red nose? Yes! Take some blush and power the tip of the nose, the nostrils and the undersides. It’s cute in a pouty way.
This is the “I’m with the band” palette by Essence makeup. See the red shadow in the middle top row? That’s the one to use for a sad makeup look.
Lookin’ like a mess, but feeling ok. Sad make up at its best.

And there you have it. The make-up look that speaks of the melancholic pain that haunts the soul. Have the eyes of a poet, while having the elegance of a made up face! I did this look for school last week and my instructor commented on how I looked sad that day. But the truth was, it was all cosmetic and I was simply celebrating the right and beauty to let oneself be sad.