One of my favourite things to watch on YouTube are monthly favourites. It really gives you an idea of how some products work, and whether they're worth purchasing. I haven't really ever written a blog posting about my monthly favourites, but I do get lots of questions on the products I future. So here are a few shots of some of the products and my February Favourites 2013 video.
BITE BEAUTY Matte Crème Lipstick: Pastille Violet - bright violet (limited edition), Stila Stay All Day® 10-In-One HD Bronzing Beauty Balm With Broad Spectrum SPF 30: Bronze,NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar: Tarred, Josie Maran Lavender Mist: Calming Lavender Water, Clinique Moisture Surge Intense For Very Dry To Dry Combination Skin
Here's a quick video on how to do the infamous sock bun. Sock buns are super easy to do, and very cute. I've noticed lots of girls walking around with this hair do, and figured it must be simple. After searching a few pictures on Pinterest, I found that these two tutorials are the easiest ways to achieve the beloved sock bun. It's great for those days when you're on day 2 hair, and you don't feel like doing much to your precious locks. Also for you long haired girls, don't fret I go into detail on how to achieve the look with hair extensions.
Since it's a new year, I've decided to set some productive goals for myself. One of them being, creating more interesting content for my subscribers on YouTube. I've started to film a segment called "Mag Covers" involving fashion magazine covers, where I then re-create the celebrity makeup look. I'm starting off by choosing two covers from different magazines, one North American and another from the UK. If I get good feed back I will definitely explore other continents for sure. I'm not really looking for anything specific as far as what will entice me to do a look. Usually if it's a look that will challenge me creatively, I'll feel inclined to re-create it.
Now that the whole concept has been explained let's move on to the fun. This month's Mag Cover is US Glamour Magazine, and the lovely lady gracing the cover is the beloved Princess Diaries, Anne Hathaway. I love Anne, she's classy and fresh. Her look always looks impeccable and one thing that stood out in this cover is how different she looks compared to other times I've seen her in media. She has this fun, playful, edge and I instantly wanted this cover to be the first of the Mag Cover series. Hope you all enjoy!
Primer: Stila Prime Pot in Taffy, Cream Base: Smashbox Midnight Brown, Eyeshadow: Smashbox Dusk & Haze, Brow Highlight: Smashbox Haze, Liner: Urban Decay Perversion 24/7 Eyeliner, Mascara: Bare Escentuals Flawless Curl, Blush: Smashbox Pose, Lip Liner: LORAC 05, Lipstick: OCC Lip Tar in Memento/ YSL Rouge Volupte #23, Brows: Anastasia Brow Pen in Univeral Light
Part of being a makeup artist is knowing a little bit about skin. Good makeup looks best on good skin. Good skin, what does that mean? I'll let you in on one of my little secrets that has big effects.
I have clients that say, "Karen I want skin like you, how can I get that?" Now most of the time I'm wearing a full face of makeup, and of course my skin doesn't look naturally perfect when I don't wear makeup. I do have a mild case of rosacea, broken capillaries, and some mild pigmentation from those stubborn pimples. I'm not going to say I have bad skin, because I don't. From a very young age, my mother has instilled good skincare etiquette in me. I never leave my house without sunscreen, I cleanse my face twice a day, and I use nothing but the best products on my skin.
Over time I've realized what products work for me and what products don't. This is important, if you find a holy grail skincare product DO NOT switch out this product for another that MIGHT be better for your skin. Chances are that it won't, and then you're left with a mess.
My skin is a normal-dry combination with some dehydration in the drier seasons. 80% of the clients I deal with, have dehydrated skin. You can be extremely oily and still have dehydrated skin. One product I can not live with out is my face oil. Oil? For your face? I can already imagine a few of you pulling a face, possibly in disgust. But let me tell you non-believers, face oils are becoming one of the most popular products in the skincare industry. Unlike moisturizers, oils penetrate deeper with in the skin, which means you can achieve instant hydration.
A lot of the oils that they use in oil cleansers and treatments are natural. A few listed are argan oil, sunflower oil, almond oil. You can even find these oils safe to use on your hair. They have amazing anti-aging properties and give your skin that dewy radiance that we've all been going crazy for.
I've been using the NUDE Skincare line for about 3 months now, and I can safely say this line saved my skin. I don't have the tightness that I usually have around this time when the weather transitions into a drier climate. My skin looks a 100 times smoother and more radiant. I find myself using less makeup because I feel more comfortable with how it's been looking.
The three products I use are the Perfect Cleansing Oil Face & Eyes, ProGenius treatment oil, and the Radiant Day Moisturizer. The cleansing oil is gentle on even the most sensitive skin. It removes all makeup, even waterproof, and cleans up all dirt and oil left behind. The moisturizer gives me the right amount of hydration without leaving me feeling greasy, which is ideal for you oily-combination readers. And last but certainly not least is the ProGenius oil, which contains some of their most concentrated ingredients. All products are infused with their n-probiotic patent, which helps you create your own anti-aging ingredients within your skin. Also, their products are infused with omega oils that your skin naturally needs, and these omegas give you different skincare benefits. The line is natural, gluten free, vegan friendly(all but one product, which contains bees wax), and free of GMO's and parabens. Check out their website if you are curious and are interested in becoming a oil crazed fan, much like myself.
A few weeks ago I celebrated my 24th birthday. I decided to keep it low key, which is a little unusual for me. None the less, I went to visit my parents in London and had a few drinks and cake. It was actually very relaxing, and the perfect way to celebrate my 24th.
Earlier on in the day I was the make up artist for a bridal party. I spent a good portion of my day doing what I love best, making women feel beautiful. The bride was glowing and the brides maids looked elegant.
I had every intention of going out for my birthday so I did prepare by having a birthday make up look. Below you'll be able to see the exact look I wore for my birthday.
Also, one of my favorite lip combinations makes an appearance in this video. I want to thank everyone that has stopped by this blog and has shown me support. I really feel like 24 is going to be a great year! Enjoy the video, take care.
Last weekend was extremely hectic. With it being Canada day, Pride, and the Euro Cup Final there was no time to stop and breath. I think I was nursing a 4 day hang over by the end, and boy did I pay for it. Now that I've recovered I managed to put a Pride makeup tutorial together!
If some of you don't know what Pride is, it's basically the celebration of the Gay community. Pride falls on a different week in each city. If Pride hasn't happened in your city yet, I totally recommend going out and enjoying a great party.
I had two different looks for the weekend of Pride, but decided to do a tutorial on the look that I got most compliments on. To be honest, I whipped up this look while I was extremely hung over. I'm going to pat myself on the back for that one.
Above you'll see some of the products I consider to be Pride basics.
First off contour, you can't do drag or fierce without a little contour, in fact the more the better. Next up color liners. You really can't go wrong with color at pride use any color combination to make unique looks. Also, making sure the liners are waterproof is key. Pride usually falls in the summer, so you want to make sure that your makeup stays on all day.
One thing I forgot to mention are lashes. I was too hung over to be bothered with applying fake lashes. Instead, I chose a fiber mascara that made my lashes look fake. Urban Decay's Big Fatty Mascara did the job. Now a pop of color on the lips, I stuck with a baby doll pink gloss from Lorac called Haute. It's perfectly creamy and gives you just the right amount of color. Last but not least, SHIMMER. Go wild with glitter and shimmer, it gives the look a little flash!
Summer time when the living is easy. Billie Holiday croons in the background as I'm applying my makeup, but something has changed. I don't want to spend 30-40 minutes applying my makeup. I need simplicity, especially since I'm trying to absorb as much of this beautiful weather as possible. All this being said, I still want to look fresh faced.
Here are a few options for you when looking for Summer makeup.
Keep everything light, that means switch out your thick, perhaps cream foundation and opt for something sheer in texture. For example my go to, Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream. Reminiscent of a tinted moisturizer but with a few more benefits such as priming, perfecting, concealing, and controlling oil through out the day. Did I mention it has an SPF of 35! Protecting your skin is rule number one during the summer.
If you feel like you want a little more coverage go in with a little bit of concealer, one of my favorites being Bobbi Brown's corrector in peach.
Next up, enhancing your eyes. I love the Make Up ForeverAqua Shadows they're creamy and they're waterproof! Also, a few coats of a fiber wig mascara will have you jumping for joy. It's completely water resistant, and you don't need to spend hours removing it. Just apply a little bit of warm water, and the tubes that coat themselves around each eyelash with wash away.
To finish off the complexion go for a natural sun kiss glow. I love Laura Mercier's Loose Shimmer Powder in Sundust. It has a slight shimmer to give the skin an extra glow. If you have oily skin, don't fret there are plenty of matte options out there. Rely on your own natural oils to give you that J-Lo glow.
Also, don't forget to add a little bit of color with some cream blush. Josie Maran's Argan infused cream blushers are gorgeous, and hydrate the skin at the same time.
Finally, a fun colorful lip. Summer is all about color, experiment with different shades and textures of lip products. I've had a crazy obsession with coral lipsticks. The one I'm wearing obsessively at the time is Dior Addict Extreme lipstick in Saint-Tropez.
Down below you will find a tutorial as well. Hope you all enjoy.
Thee season is upon us, which season you ask? The bridal season. I've been booked for a few weddings this summer so I thought it would be a great idea to do a series of bridal videos for my viewers.
My sister-in-law was nice enough to model for me. Everyone this is Erin. She and my brother had a surprise wedding in the Fall of 2010. Yes, surprise wedding. They tricked everyone into thinking it was the reception. when it was actually the real deal. They had us thinking that we were going to the Dominican for a destination wedding, little did we know. Honestly, it was a beautiful wedding and they pulled the surprise off flawlessly.
Gabe and Erin 2010, I took this picture as well.
For this particular look I wanted to do a slightly warmer bridal look, because Erin has blue eyes. I used mostly MAC products, which funny enough I really don't use too often. I think when I first got into makeup I used a few of their products, but I must say I'll be using their products more often.
Here we are with a classic pin-up look. It's one of those looks that have been done over and over again on YouTube. Actually, one of my first videos was a classic pin-up tutorial. But due to crappy quality, I had to scratch the video.
Clarity is absolutely crucial when you're recording videos. If you watch HD on your TV, you should be getting HD quality videos on your computer screen. I find it incredibly annoying when videos are not clear. I want the visual to be SHARP, so sharp I can see the peach fuzz on your face.
I do get a lot of questions about what camera I use to film my videos. So here is a run down of my equipment details.
For photography and filming I use my trusty Canon Rebel T2i, or if you are in Europe the Canon EOS 550D. It films in HD, so I'm able to get some beautiful shots with it. This camera comes with a standard lens, that being 18-55mm lens f/3.5-5.6 IS. This is the lens that I use to film my favorite and haul videos. For makeup tutorials I always use my Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. This is specifically a portrait lens. This means you cannot get wide angle shots like you would get with the standard 18-55mm lens. In plain English, you can't zoom in, or zoom out. It is specific to taking portrait pictures. Having an aperture of 1.8 allows a lot of light in, which means my images are SHARP.
I'm in the market for the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8. I'm finding that the standard 18-55mm lens is just not cutting it for me. I need a greater aperture, and that's where this bad boy comes in. Hopefully a birthday gift to myself this year, we shall see.
If you folks have anymore questions about any of the equipment I use feel free to ask. Don't forget to watch the pin-up tutorial.
Also, let's just make this post a little longer than what it should be. I've recently joined Instagram. Come follow me:
