Show and Tell - Teddy Eye Kohl by MAC

This Teddy eye kohl by MAC is one of my favorite eye kohls when I don't want to use black. The Deep bronze colour of this liner is great for all eye colours, but it isa particular great for green/blue eyes . This liner combined with bronze or red/orange toned eyeshadows is lovely for girls with blue/green eyes. 

WHY? This goes back to basic colour theory. Complimentary colours intensify each other when placed side by side. If you look the the diagram below you will see the colour wheel, complimentary colours are colours that are opposite to each other on the colour wheel. As you can see opposite to blue/green on the colour wheel is orange/purple.

However, many of us would not put on bright orange/purple eyeshadow on a daily bases. However, Eyeshadow/liners that are in the wine/plums/reddish bronze family still have the same effect. These colours are much more wearable. 

To demonstrate, here's a before picture of one of the bridesmaids I worked on who has pale blue eyes.

Here's the after picture. I used the Teddy eye kohl blended out with MAC Bronze, Mulch and Woodwinked eye shadows. See how the reddish bronze warm tones in the Eye kohl and eye shadows made her eyes pop?

Hope you liked this post.

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Show and Tell - MAC NEW Haute & Naughty Lash Mascara and What I do to create full and lush lashes

Lately I've been getting a lot of people asking me if I'm wearing false eyelashes at work. Seriously? Does anyone wear false eyelashes to work? Especially when work means wearing ugly hospital scrubs and bright yellow Crocs for me.

So I would kindly smile and explain, NO, they are not false eyelashes, its just this new mascara. IT IS the HAUTE & NAUGHTY LASH mascara by MAC.

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT MAC HAUTE & NAUGHTY LASH MASCARA?

It is a 2 in 1 mascara.

If you look at the picture, you will see that it is one tube of mascara but it has 2 mascara wands. You can use twist up the pink wand for a light application or twist up the pink wand and the purple wand together for a dramatic application.

I have what some would say typical Asian lashes. I'm not blessed with thick, full and lush lashes that fan upwards. My Chinese lashes grows downwards, many of you who are Asian might know what I mean by this.

From my own experience I've discovered a few tricks and products that work well for me.

1. My favorite eyelash curler is Shu Uemura eyelash curler, the curvature of the lash curler seem to work best for Asian lashes.
2. Always use a WATERPROOF mascara as your base for any other mascara. WATERPROOF mascaras help hold the shape or your curled lashes. Maybelline makes several really good drugstore mascaras. My favorite one is KISS ME Heroine make LONG AND CURL mascara from Asia. You can get this at Pacific Mall in Toronto or Ebay.
3. To create even more dramatic look. Use a eyelash primer right after curling your lashes. I would recommend Curl Curl Curl Towards the sky by Majolica Majorca from Asia. You can get this at Pacific Mall or Ebay as well.
4. After primer and waterproof mascara, build on top with your favorite mascara - my current favorite is MAC Haute & Naughty Lash mascara
   

To demonstrate, here's some pictures:

BARE LASHES - Curled with Shu Uemura

Primer on the Left eye only and Waterproof mascara on the right eye

Primer + Waterproof mascara on the left and only Waterproof mascara on the right. See how the primer is working already and making the lashes on the left fuller and longer?

Now with that as your base, apply another coat of MAC Haute and Naughty with the dramatic wand. See what happens!

Do you see the effect?

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and found it useful.

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7 Looks for 7 days of the week with URBAN DECAY NAKED - Look 2 Gold Bronze Special Occasion Makeup

I’m attending a wedding, here’s the LOOK I’ve came up with and wore that night.

Face:

Stila One Step Correct

Giorgio Armani Foundation shade 4.5 and 5.5 mixed

Mac Studio Finish concealer

La Mer Powder

MAC fix + to set

Brows:

Anastasia Brow Whiz – Brunette

Anastasia Duo Brow Powder - Brunette

Eyes:

Urban Decay Primer potion

Urban Decay Naked Palette – Half baked, Smog, Sidecar

Mac eye pencil – coffee

Kat Von Dee Tattoo Liner - Trooper

Cheeks:

Nars Blush - Zen

Lips:

Liner – MAC subculture

Lipstick – YSL 132 Rough Pur

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7 LOOKS FOR 7 DAYS OF THE WEEK WITH URBAN DECAY PALETTE - LOOK ONE(Special Occasion Night Out Look) featuring MAC Fabulous Felines

Hubby and I went for our 2 yr anniversary dinner, this is the look I created.

Face:

Stila One Step Foundation in Tone

Mac Studio Finish concealer

MAC fix + to set

Brows:

MAC paint pot – Quite Natural(great for natural)

Eyes:

MAC paint pot as base

Urban Decay Naked Palette

• Dark horse in the outer V with MAC 230

• Virgin to hi-light and blend

• Hustle in the outer V

MAC - Fabulous Felines pigment Mauvement on the lid

Mac Black track Gel Liner

Cheeks:

Contour – Makeup Forever Sculpting kit

Blush - Fabulous Felines Soft Meow

Lips:

Liner – MAC Cremola

Lipstick – Stila One step primecolour bronze babe

Hope you like the look and thanks for reading

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Photoshoot with Photographer Keith Lo(Hair by spellbound, Makeup/Styling by me, Models: Sam and Maria)

This was a SUPER fun collaboration. Maria's makeup and styling was SEXY Bombshell and Sam makeup and styling was Urban Chic.

Here's some pics of me applying makeup on Maria, I wanted a strong brow and eyeliner look on her with SEXY RED LIPS (Hair already done by SPELLBOUND):

Getting Sam ready, I wanted to create a perfect brown smokey eye look for Sam, a look that she can go on a girls night out in:

Here's a before shot of Sam(Hair already done by SPELLBOUND):

Sam after

The following are all fun photos taken with my camera.

Maria and Sam with Photographer Keith Lo

Stila One Step Products - Great Time Saving Products

I recently discovered some GREAT new products by Stila at Sephora. I’ve been trying the products out for about a months now and I like them. They the new ONE STEP series products from Stila.

First product- One Step Correct

It is an innovative, three-in-one serum that contains three color-correcting, moisturizing brighteners for flawless looking skin. As you can see in the bottle, it has a triple-swirled helix serum that instantly color corrects, brightens, primes, and nourishes the skin. The green helix would corrects for redness, the purple helix corrects for dullness and the salmon coloured helix to correct for blue(vein) type of discoloration on the skin. On top of the immediately gratifying benefits, the infusion of Stila’s exclusive Youth Revival Bio-Available Mineral Complex™ improves skintone, evens out the complexion, and helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles. This is now a must have in my personal makeup kit and my makeup train case.

One pump of this product is all you need and in that one pump you get all three colours.

Second product- One Step PrimeColor
It is a one-stop product for high-performance, water-resistant, all-over color. The luxurious, velvety texture provides high-definition coverage and claims minimal real estate in your makeup bag. The bright, stunning colors work as eyeshadow, lip color, or blush. I have the colour bronze babe, it is a wonderful light wash of sunshine on your skin.

Third product - One Step Makeup Foundation
It is a fragrance-free primer, concealer, foundation and powder in one product. With a mousse-like formula, it applies smoothly and easily. I wore this foundation by itself on my skin and my T-zone was free of shine for about 5-6 hours. However, since this foundation dries a super matte finish, if you are trying to achieve a dewy skin look, this won’t be the right product to use.

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HOW TOXIC IS YOUR DAILY SHAMPOO? TOOTHPASTE? LIPSTICK? I've always been a product junkie. There are some beauty products in my bathroom that

Watch this video then read this post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8

I've always been a product junkie. There are some beauty products in my bathroom that I just could not live without.

The other day, my co-worker at my full-time job mentioned that since she had her baby boy, she's been more aware of the safety of various products. She has researched pretty much everything that can affect her and her newborn son, from the high-chairs to baby shampoo.

During her research she came across this youtube video, and since she knew I'm a makeup artist on the side, she thought I would be interested in this video regarding COSMETCIS/BEAUTY/PERSONAL product safety.

After watching this video, I was a little surprised and taken back and we decided to look into this further. We came across this cosmetic safety database called SKIN DEEP.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

This is a website launched by Environmental Working Group in 2004 and it's mission is to use the power of information to protect human health and the environment.

This is an online database that offers a safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products. Their aim is to fill in what the companies and governments leave out. Cosmetic companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish. EWG's scientists built skin Deep to be a one-of-a kind resource that rates the toxicity level of your personal care products.

Of course my friend and I had to look up almost all of the products that we use on a daily basis. My Aussie Shampoo, Tresemme heat tamer, Colgate tooth paste, Lancome sunblock, Dove deoderant, baby cream...

I was shocked by what we discovered. For example, VASELINE INTENSIVE CARE HEALTHY HAND & NAIL REVITALIZING HAND LOTION scored a 10/10. A score of 10 is most hazardous, it contains chemicals like DMDM HYDANTOIN which is a known human immune system toxicant and, interestingly enough, a known human skin toxicant. This example is just one of many that took me by surprise.

I'm not a scientist or a chemist, I'm simply a consumer that wants to know what's in my daily shampoo! Given this website, I'm able to become a more educated consumer and a little more aware about the safety of the personal products that I use every day.

During my search, I've noticed a couple of things:

1. Products that contain artificial fragrances seems to score poorly.

2. Products made for sensitive skin score well.

My co-worker and I also found this store in TORONTO that carries brands that scored VERY WELL (i.e. 1-2) on the database.

http://www.epistachio.com/

They have a store at Yonge & Eg and in Yorkdale. They carry John Masters Organics which scored really well on the database.

I found this website very helpful and I'd like to share it you. Use the information to be a more educated consumer, and protect yourself and those that you love. Use your discretion and choose your personal products safely.

Thanks for reading

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