Fountain of Youth

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.

   

take care.

Today I met the boy I'm going to marry

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. 

Hope you guys enjoy, take care.

Classic Pin-Up Tutorial...and then some

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:

theenamoradosyndrome

take care.

bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 8.0

The Playlist

It's been a long long time since I've made a blog posting, I know. No excuses this time. Let's just go a head and jump into it. I'm pretty sure I've made the decision to actually make this into a beauty blog. After all it's the industry I work in and I'd like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable about beauty products. Actually, REALLY knowledgeable. Beauty products are one of the only things I really and truly have a passion for. So it only seemed like the natural thing to do.

I wanted to start reviewing products that I enjoy using so I could share them with you just in case anyone was curious about them. Today's post is going to be about bareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow palette in "The Playlist".

This palette is filled with most beautiful warm tone colors. You get a little bit of everything. Some colors more for a day time look while others are more for a sassy dramatic night time look. It's such a versatile palette and the colors are gorgeously pigmented.

If you don't know much about Bare Escentuals they're a natural company that's been around for quite some time providing the largest mineral collection. Minerals have been a craze in the beauty industry for some time now, but only recently has it begin to grow even more popular. My reasoning behind this is because minerals are a natural alternative to regular makeup. Free of parabens, synthetic dyes, and sulfates it really makes a client more comfortable about what they are applying to their skin. And lets be honest, I think we live in the age of smart consumerism. We want to be more educated about what we put on or in our bodies.

The Playlist palette is actually made of a specific mineral. Now minerals surround us everywhere. They're in soil, water, pretty much anything that comes from the earth. The specific mineral they used in this palette is sea mineral. Sea minerals provide for smooth velvety application, and makes these colors some of the most pigmented pressed powders I've seen on the market. They also provide anti-aging properties that will smooth the eyelid area. As far as lasting power, they stay bright and vibrant with out creasing. Which is the true test for me. Also, big selling factor as a free lance makeup artist, it works on ALL skin tones.

All in all a stellar edition to my makeup collection.

Here's one of my video tutorials where I used the palette on my friend Meagan for a bronzed makeup look. Enjoy.