The “I look great with no effort” Make-Up

~ Emmie ~ 2 Comments

I’ve noticed there are a lot of make-up tutorials out there for all kinds of make-up looks.  Day looks, night looks, Halloween looks, work look, and wedding looks, but I was thinking, what is a girl supposed to do when she is having an errand day, such as doing groceries, or going to coin laundry?  There is no look for this that is appropriate.  Work make-up looks too formal, and fun flirty make-up looks too dolly for something mundane like dropping off library books. But not wearing make-up at all is dowdy and sloppy. There is a lot of pressure on women to constantly look put together, even when going to the post office.  But we don’t live in the past era where put together house wives in pearls dominated the general image of women in public.  Now, a heavily made up face on a woman in a supermarket looks slightly out of place to me.  Also there is judgement on busy mothers with young children, from on lookers who think to themseves: where does she find the time to powder her nose and coat her lashes, when she has two screaming children she should be attending to?  (This is not a fair judgement, but something we want to avoid, none-the-less)  So what to do?  I present to you, a formula for the everyday look.  It’s about balance.  Wearing enough make-up to not look sloppy, and yet not looking like a glamour addict, make-up addicted bimbo.  The “I didn’t just roll out of bed” look, also known as the “I am put together in an effortless way” look.

1.  Tinted moisturizer.  I have dry skin, so in the morning my skin is begging for moisture anyways.  I make my own tinted moisturizer with my bb cream/foundation base mixed with a dab of face cream.  This thins out foundation and gives it a more sheer coverage, helping to minimize imperfections, but not to cover-up the subtle textures of a natural skin face. Then follow with a light dusting of face powder.  I stress a light dusting because if you heavily put on powder, then it defeats the whole effortless look.  It will be over done.

2.  Groom your brows with a brow brush and a bit of brow liner.  Just a bit.

3. Then apply eye shadow, but no liner.  Get a semi-fine shadow brush, and use any colour shadow to smoothly line the contours of your eyes. I say any colour is fine because once a shadow is applied, its edges are diffused naturally, and doesn’t cause any bold stark lines.  It gives your eyes a pop, without being too noticeable.  Also it acts as base powder for your mascara to not smudge against the base lids of your eyes.

4.  Mascara is the key to looking done up, but not over done.  Without mascara, girls really do look like they just rolled out of bed and slapped on some make-up.  But mascara makes you look awake, without looking too dolled up.

5.  Tinted lip balm!  I love this stuff.  It doesn’t cover up your lips, or add sticky gloss.  Just a bit of transparent colour, making your lips look naked, but just better.

6. And optional, if you have time, a sweep or two of blush.

And then you’re done.  Now you can rush off to meet up with your friend, not look like you just plopped out of bed. But miraculously, you still look awesome.  🙂

I'm on the go, and ready for my errands!
I’m on the go, and ready for my errands!

Sugar Skull make-up for Day of the Dead and Halloween

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

I am fascinated by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead…I mean who wouldn’t be?  During this festival which falls on Nov. 1st and 2nd, everyone seems to wholly welcome the concept of death intimately into their lives.  It is not feared, like here in North America where death wears a hockey mask and wields a machete, but in Mexico it is whimsical, cheerful and respectful of the other world.  Day of the Dead actually aims to relatives that have passed away, and invites them to join the living at beautiful handmade alters of specialty food, hot chocolate, and pretty, pretty flowers.  How symbolic, and meaningful.  The images of skulls and skeletons are everywhere during this festival, so I wanted to pay homage to this tradition, by painting my face in the same way sugar skulls are decorated.

Here are some tips for great Halloween make-up!

Halloween Make-ups, 101

1. No matter what your budget is for the costume, give a generous amount for quality make-up.  When I say quality, I mean theatrical quality.  I can’t stress this enough.  While wardrobe really is a big part, the face is key too.  Cheap Halloween make-up products do not go on well, their colours are off, and they will end up wasting your money in the end.  For best results, you gotta go to the professionals.  The ones that I use tend to punch a hole in my wallet, so if you want to save money, try not to buy too many colours of the good stuff, instead of buying all cheap stuff.

2.  Build up slowly in layers.  Use sparingly.  Make-up effects look most real when worn thin.  It gives the illusion that that is really how your skin looks like!  Ever see someone over do it with their zombie make-up? You can see the texture of the slapped on make-up, and that ruins all the artistry they put into it!

3.  Keep it simple. Even the most seasoned artist, or makeup artist can over do it and it becomes less real.  Keeping it simple not only makes it easier for the beginner, it frees you to execute one or two aspects of the make-up really well, instead of trying to do fifty.  If you do one thing really well, trust me, that is enough to impress onlookers.

So here is a photo of my Halloween make-up this year!  I made the headband out of silk roses and leaves, aiming for a lush, garden effect!

DSC04874

Stress will age you…

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment
munch
You gotta love Munch’s The Scream

I’m not writing as many entries in here as I would like, the reason being that work has been a major drag as of late. I can no longer keep silent. The worst thing you can do for your skin, and your psychology is to have a draining, unfulfilling job. Women are trained to give, from childhood until adulthood then motherhood, we are expected to give…as if there were no limits to our energy, time and will. This can be problematic when fast-forward into the future, we are grey and old, our children resent us, and our husbands are looking elsewhere. We’ve given all our lives and have gotten little to no recognition.

This is also the norm in the workplace. I’ve been working retail now for many years, and I do it as a job to clock in some hours, be productive, and pay some bills. Technically, I work for fun, as my vocation and profession has always been in the Fine Arts area. But recently, I’ve been feeling more like a slave than as an agent working for fun. The terribly hip and trendy store I work in has recently gotten more and more demanding to the point of blackmailing me to work harder than I am comfortable doing for my rate of pay and my position. It’s not healthy, I am skipping breaks, and just ending the day on total energy drains…sure they want to make an extra dollar, but why should I let them on the cost of my psyche and youth? It is not worth it.

Many people are astonished by my youthful appearance.  When I get I.D.-ed for a bottle of wine, I get many responses.  My most fun one yet…the cashier looks at the year I was born, smiles, looks back at me, back at the card and he declares: “what a pleasure”.  Really.  A pleasure.  So I’m not joking when I say that I am youthful looking for my age.  Back to my point: my youthful appearance is probably not free.  My wrinkle free skin does have a limit.  And I am not going to spend another moment in an energy draining workplace for an average paycheck.  I know maybe it is my vanity that is motivating this decision  but I believe enjoying life is the secret to staying young, and it’s not too late for me to turn away from this gig.  I know that with my background and experience, I will be able to find another job in mere weeks…barely giving me enough time to win back a rosy tinted glow from a stint of unemployment rest.

To take care of your skin:

1. Drink lots of water

2. Try to avoid stress.  Don’t over work yourself to the point of exhaustion.

3. Give enough moisture to the skin: vitamin E oil, night creams…etc.

4. The use of  gentle non soap based face cleansers not more than once a day.

5.  Try using eye gels/cream.  The skin around your eyes is different from the face.

6.   Sleep-in whenever you can.

7.  Believe in something, whether it be religion, or your inner good…always aim for something that will give you happiness and hope.