Mousse Foundation

In my first post, I discussed how I rarely use actual foundation, because I don't think it's always necessary. However, I had a friend request that I go over how to apply it. This post will cover how to apply a mousse foundation to even out your skin tone.

When choosing a foundation, use the back of your hand as a color guide. This will match the closest with your face, because both areas of skin are exposed to about the same amount of light throughout the day. If you need help matching the color, you can always ask someone working in a beauty supply store for help!

Products I used:

• Ulta Extreme Wear mousse foundation in natural beige
• Foundation brush
• Physician's Formula concealers in yellow and light
• Urban Decay Naked Flushed
• Mini kabuki brush

1.  If needed, apply concealer to any blemishes, and under the eyes for dark circles.

2.  Lightly swirl your foundation brush in the mousse. Be careful not to saturate the brush with too much product.

3.  Lightly apply the foundation starting on your cheeks, then forehead and chin. Blend over entire face, paying close attention to any spots that may have excess redness, such as around the nose. 

4.  Make sure you blend downward so that you don't have a line around your jawline.

5. After the foundation is well blended, feel free to add contouring/highlighter and blush.

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan

Crushed Blush

Traveling Woes

Over the weekend, I flew to Maryland for my birthday. Unfortunately, in the process of my luggage being handled oh so carefully, one of my favorite blushes shattered. Does that mean I have to throw the blush away and buy a new one?

NOPE!

Instead of a makeup application tutorial, this will be a makeup repair tutorial.

Products I Used:

• Maybelline FIT Me! Blush in medium nude (pictured above, broken to bits L)
• Rubbing alcohol
• Toothpick

1.  Use the toothpick to break the blush into smaller pieces.

It should look like this when you are done:

2.  Pour in a little bit of rubbing alcohol at a time, and use the toothpick to stir and smooth out the blush. Be careful not to let it overflow!

It should look like this:

3.  Let it dry over night, and your blush will be as good as new!

Crisis averted.

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan

Basic Eyeshadow

Sometimes, you want a more "done-up" look, but don't have much time beyond what it usually takes to slap on some eyeliner, mascara, and go.  In this post, I will go over a quick, two-color eyeshadow look.

Products I used:

• Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
• NYX Eyeshadow Base in 03 Skin Tone
• Eyeshadow brush
• Crease shadow brush
• Prestige Liquid Eyeliner in Black
• Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer in 261 Noir
• Eyelash curler
• Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black

Note:  As always, feel free to use drugstore substitutes for the more expensive products that I use.  Maybelline makes an "ExpertWear" line of eyeshadow duos that are quite excellent.

1.  First, cover your entire eyelid with the eyeshadow base.  This will help the shadow stay longer and give the color more consistency.

2.  Use your highlighter on both the inner corners of your eyes, as well as right underneath your brows (highlighted on one eye in picture below).  I use the "Bootycall" color from the Naked 2 Palette as my highlighter.

Note: All right, so technically this is a three color shadow, but I don't count the highlighter as a color.  You don't have to use a highlighter, but it gives the shadow a more finished look.

For my two shadow colors, I picked YDK and Busted.

3.  Next, use the lighter of the two colors, YDK, to cover from the inner corner to just past mid-lid with the eyeshadow brush (highlighted on one eye below).

4.  Using the crease brush, use the darker color for the outer corner of the eye, and blend into the crease.

5.  Finish the look with some eyeliner and mascara.

Note: I did put some eyeliner on the bottom lid, using the Rimmel pencil.  When I do my bottom liner, I go along the lash line, from the outer corner to about mid-eye.

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan

Eyebrow Shaping

For this post, I had to let my eyebrows grow in a bit, so that I could show how to reshape them properly.  That's right, I went through a good two weeks of caterpillar brows for you people.

Before you go and waste money on a brow wax, or go crazy and over-pluck them yourself, take a look through this tutorial.  It's actually really easy to shape your own brows.  I have never had mine waxed!

Come on, ladies, if you can suffer through a brow wax, using tweezers is a piece of cake.

Products I used:

• Rimmel London eye pencil in Teal (or any color that is bright and NOT your brow color)
• Tweezerman tweezers
• Angled eyeliner brush
• Dark brown eyeshadow for filling (not pictured)

You can certainly use whatever tweezers you have, but I absolutely love my Tweezerman's!  It's one of those products that's worth the splurge.  You'll notice the difference if you use them, trust me.

1.  Using the same technique as the picture below, determine your eyebrow shape.  This was also covered in my last eyebrow post.

Image from Pinterest

2.  Using the bright eyeliner, mark the three points on your brow.  Then, you can connect them to give yourself a guideline for tweezing.

3.  Now, following your guide, tweeze the area on and below the line.  Using a bright eyeliner as a guide helps you to not over-pluck.

Note: Do NOT tweeze any hairs from above your brow!  The top of your brow is what defines the natural shape.  Tweezing above the brow is another common mistake that leads to over-plucking.

4.  If you need, you can use your angled brush and eye shadow to fill in your brow.

Boom! Done.

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan

Eyebrows - Filling In

I had a friend request an eyebrow tutorial, so I decided to use her as my model!
This post will focus on filling in eyebrows, for those of you with brows that are really light.

Awesome eye makeup is easily enhanced with good eyebrows!

Too often, I see people with either no brows, or brows that are too heavily penciled in.  As always, I highly suggest finding a happy medium.  In this case, that can be done with two simple tools.

Products I used:

• Angled eyeliner brush
• Ulta eye shadow in Chestnut

Note: When choosing your eye shadow color, pick a color that is not a perfect match to your hair color.  I usually go a shade or two lighter for dark hair, and a shade darker for light hair.

1.  Using your nose as a guide, plan out where your brow will start, where the arch will be, and where it will end.

The inside of your eyebrows should start in line with your nose...

...the arch should be about 45 degrees out...

...and the outer tip should fall in line with your eye.

2.  Using the angled eyeliner brush, apply the eye shadow in short even strokes, following the direction of the hairs, to outline the bottom of the brow.

3.  Fill in the rest of the brow using the same quick, light brush strokes in the direction of the hairs.

Note: You can use an eyebrow pencil to finish off the look with the same light, outward strokes.  Just be careful not to go too dark!

Isn't she cute?  Thanks for being my model, Miranda!

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan

Liquid Eyeliner

There are so many options when it comes to eyeliner, and it can be difficult to decide which to use.

My go-to for work and class is usually liquid eyeliner, because it gives a clean, elegant finish to a simple base (see Base Basics).

The idea of liquid eyeliner used to scare me, because I thought it would get all over my face, and I was afraid of poking myself in the eye.  Quit your giggling, these are legitimate fears!

Anyway, getting the hang of liquid eyeliner starts by choosing the right one for you.  The easiest place to start is with a felt tip eyeliner.  I have tried to use the brush kinds, and I gave up on them almost immediately.

Products I used:

• Prestige Cosmetics Liquid Eyeliner in Black
• Ulta Voluptous Volume mascara

Note: If you have a lighter complexion and hair color, use a brown or dark brown eyeliner to maintain a softer look.

Ulta also makes a felt tip eyeliner that is really easy to use, especially if you are a beginner!

1.  Start from the inner corner of your eye, with a very thin, light stroke, and work towards the middle of your eye, getting slightly thicker as you move outward.

 2.  Now slowly create your wing by working from the outside in.  It is easier if you follow the direction of your bottom lid.

3.  Following the natural curve of your eye, fill in the line.  Remember, thinner on the inside, thicker on the outside.

4.  Finish the look with a little mascara!

Easy-peasy.

Just for your reference, this is considered an "everyday" winged eyeliner.  Below is a chart showing the different types of looks you can create with a liquid eyeliner.  I don't use liquid eyeliner to line my bottom lashes, because it tends to look too heavy.

Image from Pinterest

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan

Base Basics

I decided that the best place to start was with the basics.  The first thing most people apply, before any kind of eye-shadow, lip color, etc., is some kind of foundation.

Problems with Foundation

Unless you are going to be in some sort of professional print or film work, you really don't need a heavy base.  Whenever I see a girl with what is commonly called "cake face,"  I can't help but cringe.  If you're not on a set, you should probably just focus on looking like a normal human being.  That mask of foundation is not fooling anyone.

I don't believe in using foundation on a daily basis.  Instead, you can use the following tricks with contouring to highlight your features in a very light way that looks natural.

How to Apply a Base

Products I used:

• Physician's Formula Gentle Cover Concealer Stick, in Yellow
• Physician's Formula Powder Palette, in Beige
• Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette
• A double-ended foundation and concealer brush (you can get these as two seperate brushes, as well)
• A mini kabuki brush (the normal size is too big for contouring)

I tend to use drugstore-brand products that are comparable to high end makeup, but I'll spend the extra on good quality products that are worth the price.  As a splurge, I would highly recommend UD Flushed to anyone that wants an easy bronzer/blush/highlighter combo.

If you're anything like me, as a full-time student who works over 40 hours a week, and has several responsibilities, you probably have those dark circles under your eyes that scream, "I haven't slept in years!"

1.  First thing's first: use your concealer stick to lightly dab concealer in a downward pointing triangle shape directly under your eye.  Blend in using either the concealer brush or with your finger.

2.  Next, use the foundation brush to lightly cover the concealer with a bit of powder.
Note: On some skin tones, you don't have to use a powder to "set" the concealer.  With mine, the yellow concealer blends better with a beige or translucent powder.

Now you're ready to contour!

3.  Next, use the bronzer of the Flushed palette to shadow under your cheekbones, using the mini kabuki brush.  An easy way to find your face's natural contour is by making the dreadful "duck face."  

Then, apply the bronzer lightly to your temples, and on either side of your nose.

Note: If you don't have the Flushed palette, you may use a bronzer of your choice.  Just make sure it is only a shade or two darker than your skin tone, so that it looks natural.

4.  Next, apply blush to your cheekbones, using the mini kabuki or a blush brush.  Start from the apple of your cheek and brush back towards your temple, as shown below.  You can also do a quick swipe across the middle of your nose, forehead, and chin.

Besides the Flushed palette, I'm also a big fan of the blushes in Maybelline's "Fit Me" line.  They are well-priced and easy to match to your skin tone.

5.  Last step to your base look is applying a highlighter.  You can apply the highlighter with your finger, in the areas I've highlighted below:

There you have it!  The idea is to highlight your features without covering them.  Here's a before/after photo without any added mascara, lip color, etc.  It just goes to show what a little contouring can do for your early-morning-sleepy-zombie face!

As you can see, my "before" picture is right out of the shower, and in the "after" shot, my hair is still wet.  That's how quick and easy it is to apply a base.  

Just another beautiful day, xoxo

Sinehan