By Victoria, Theatre Makeup Artist

Victoria is a 19-year old college sophomore who attends school in Massachusetts for Engineering, but she’s an avid Theater Makeup Artist and has worked on a variety of shows, from dance shows (think intense, flamboyant glitter) to periodic musicals. She aims to combine her “nerdy” passions with her artistic ones: to overanalyze the mathematics of reshaping the face, learn the science of why a product works better or worse. She’s a romantic dreamer who enjoys re-imagining herself in a soap opera, pretending one day a prince is going to come riding in on a dragon and take her away. Until then, she’s planning to use her makeup brushes and colors to force her friends to be the stars of her imaginary fairy tale.

How-to: Blushing & Highlighting

As a follow-up to my post on contouring, I wanted to discuss how to finish up your look with blush and highlighter. Blush and highlighter really bring life to the face, giving you that sought-after glow. Highlighter has a secondary benefit of really bringing contrast to the shadows, which brings out more of that lovely bone structure.

When do you need blush, highlight, and contour? For me, the answer to blush is always, but what about contour and highlight? If you’re of a darker skintone, like NC/W 45+, skip the contour and stick only with highlight. Contour colours unfortunately rarely run too dark, and you risk the color looking muddy on the face. On the other hand, if you’re lighter skinned, like NC15 and up, be very careful with balance. A dramatic contour and highlight can really sculpt out your features but beware of the risk of looking skeletal.

What You Need

A good directional brush, with a smaller head, or a head the size of the apple of your cheek. The same brush for contouring works perfectly here, so options like the MAC 165, MAC 109, or e.l.f. Blush Brush work perfectly. As for a brush with the head the size of your apple of your cheek, options like the MAC 119 (for smaller apples) or 120 (for rounder apples) are great.

Your favorite highlighter. For more of a glowy effect, choose shimmery highlighters, like Dior’s Amber Diamond, Elf Studio Shimmer Palette, or MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl/Hush. These will give you beautiful glowy finish and really bring your face to life. For a more of dramatic effect, to contrast with the contour, stick with a matte flesh-toned shade that is a step or two lighter than your natural skintone. For this, I turn to powder foundations, or back to my trusty MAC Shape powders, which contain a hint of shimmer (but not too much!). You can definitely layer a shimmer powder over a matte lighter powder, but for natural looks I would avoid this, as it tends to read a bit ashy.

What shades should you choose for highlighter? For a natural highlight, its important to match your undertone with the product. Warmer beauties will find products with a golden or yellow undertone to be really flattering, like Dior Amber Diamond, NARS Albatross, or MAC CCB in Hush. Cooler beauties will find pinker or even lavender toned highlights work great. Look for products like Dior Rose Diamond, NARS Miss Liberty, or MAC CCB in Pearl.

Your favorite blusher. If you’re going with a shimmery highlighter, avoid a blush with too much pearl or frost unless you want to compete with a Twilight vampire for attention!

If we refer back to my original diagram for contouring, it makes finding blusher and highlighter placement is easy!  I like to highlight after contouring; generally, highlighting anywhere where you didn’t contour will help deepen the shadows.

Make a line parallel to the contour line on the top of your cheekbone, and along that line is where the highlight should go. Placing the highlight closer towards your ears will widen your face. Highlighting closer to the apple of the cheek will cause the apples to appear rounder. Whatever you choose, the length of your highlight line should not exceed the length of your contour line; stop highlighting wherever your contour stops.  Then, highlight under the browbone to make the browbone pop, and extend out that highlight to join with your cheekbone highlight. This will help deepen and define the socket, as well as define your cheekbones.

Applying blush last will help to gently blend everything together, but don’t overdo it or else your lines will become muddy and unclear! Blush placement helps reinforce highlighter placement, so apply your blush along a parallel line in between the contour and highlight lines. Don’t smile and apply blush! On many face shapes, this will actually cause the blush placement to be too low. Instead, get some extra lift by applying blush higher along that line. However, if you have a wider face, or you want to soften the cheekbones, apply blush lower along the line, as it will give you an instantly slimmer face.

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By Rae Chen, Local Contributor – Canada

Rae, the easily-distracted Canadian blogger behind theNotice: a beauty blog, is neither the brains nor the beauty of the operation. (The subjective existence of either has yet to be determined – we’ll get back to you on that one.)

She is, however, a rather relentless makeup junkie with a camera, a lack of a filter, and a writing style that’s rather more snark than sycophant.

Strange Tips for Surviving Prairie Winters

There are winter skin tips that I’m sure we’ve all heard by now: don’t shower in hot water, switch to a heavier moisturizer, make sure to exfoliate your body. But – what about all the tricks that slip through the cracks?

When you grow up on the Canadian prairies, you pick up a trick or two. Here are some of mine!

Please note: instead of featuring only Canadian products, this post focuses instead on products (some Canada-only, some not) that are great for our rather unique winters. So, no matter where you are in the world – if it’s cold, there should be something in here for you, too!

Check out the best products for a tough winter from cheeks to lips to skin!

Play the texture game

Your automatic response might be to go with stronger colors as the days get shorter (I know mine is) but consider going for sheerer formulas, too. Translucent, creamy products tend to be more forgiving on dry skin and lips, so I’ll switch to medium-sheer creams, gels, and liquids to create that dewy “glow from within.”

If you find that your cream formulas harden up in the winter, try putting them under your blow dryer for five to fifteen seconds. Don’t shy away from adding a bit of a faux-flush! Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you have to succumb to a ghostly pallor, right?

Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick ($18.00), MAC Lipstick ($17.50), Hard Candy Hide and
Glow Cheek ($7.00), Marcelle Cream Blusher in Raspberry ($11.50).

R-L: Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Cranberry Cream, MAC Lipstick in Desire (Lustre), Hard Candy Hide and
Glow Cheek in Hot Date (2 swatches), Marcelle Cream Blusher in Raspberry.

R-L: Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Cranberry Cream, MAC Lipstick in Desire (Lustre), Hard Candy Hide and
Glow Cheek in Hot Date (coral side).

R-L: Hard Candy Hide and Glow Cheek in Hot Date (coral side), Hard Candy Hide and Glow Cheek in Hot Date
(plum side), Marcelle Cream Blusher in Raspberry.

Light it up!

Luminizers aren’t just for the nighttime anymore – with today’s products, they’re way more wearable than they were ten years ago. If your skin’s looking rather lackluster this winter, try a highlighter on the tops of your cheekbones, under the arches of your brows, down the middle of your nose, and buffed into the high points of your forehead and chin. A general rule of thumb is that the larger the shimmer, the more obvious it’ll be – so swatch before you buy, and pick what you’re most comfortable with!

TIP: If you’re going to be photographed, make sure to “flash” your shimmer beforehand if you can. Take a quick self-photo both with and without flash, then check to see how your shimmer reads on camera. (Too little and you won’t notice it; too much and you run the risk of looking oily!) When in doubt, a less is more mentality is the best bet.

I tend to use creams for the face and pressed powders in the eye area, but again – go with whatever you’re most comfortable with. Gold and peach shimmer usually sits best on warm skin tones, while whites and silvery pinks are typically most flattering for cool skin tones.

Marcelle Multi-Colour Face Powder ($16.95), Marcelle Wet & Dry Eye Shadow ($8.95),
Benefit High Beam ($30.00; mini size shown), Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio ($7.50), MAC Cream Colour Base ($21.00)

L-R in indirect sunlight: Marcelle Multi-Colour Face Powder in Luminous Veil, Marcelle Wet and Dry Eye Shadow in Polar,
Benefit HighBeam, Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio in Creme Caramel (lightest shade only), MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl (Frost).

L-R with flash: Marcelle Multi-Colour Face Powder in Luminous Veil,
Marcelle Wet and Dry Eye Shadow in Polar, Benefit HighBeam

L-R with flash: Benefit HighBeam, Annabelle Eyeshadow Trio in Creme Caramel (lightest shade only),
MAC Cream Colour Base in Pearl (Frost).

Keep it bronzed (but just a bit)

Okay, so: one of my pet peeves? Orange faux-bronze skin tones in the winter. It’s bad enough in the summer, but – winter! No one is naturally bronzed in the winter!

Thing is, though, I do think bronzer is worth keeping on hand after the leaves fall. It makes a great contour (if you choose a matte formula), and a light dusting of bronzer is a lovely way to pick up your skin tone. Just — make sure to use a light hand, okay? Less is more! More is not more; it’s just overdone!

MAC Golden Bronzing Powder ($27.50), Annabelle Haute Gold Zebra Bronzing Powder ($10.95),
Marcelle Tropical Bronze Bronzing Pressed Powder ($14.95)

Add another drop of moisture

I have extremely dry skin all year ’round, so to be honest, my skincare regimen doesn’t change much in the winter. If you’re finding yourself parched, though, here are a few things to try!

German Nivea is one of my all-time Holy Grail moisturizers – I wear it for both night and day, but oilier skin types may find it’s best suited as a night creme. Strangely, some London Drugs shops carry the Made-in-Germany ones, so keep an eye out if you’re in Western Canada! Non-German Nivea (typically made in Mexico or Vietnam, I believe) is easier to find, but it’s quite a bit more greasy, and doesn’t pack the same kind of moisture.

Partially because I’m silicone-free for my skincare, I’m hugely dependent on petroleum jelly and unscented mineral oil. The former is great for hydrating your lips, slathering onto your hands and feet at night, smoothing down flyaways… it’s such a multi-tasker; there’s barely anything it doesn’t do! And the latter is great for an extra layer of moisture coming out of the shower; just spray it on in the tub or rub it into your skin before moisturizing. A DIY facial spray is great to have on-hand, too; I make mine with glycerin and distilled water in about a 1:8 ratio, so I know that it’s silicone-free, paraben-free, oil-free, and completely scentless.

One last product rave: for super-dry skin, I’m a huge fan of Marcelle Essentials Cleansing Milk ($14.50). I literally have not bought another cleanser since trying it for the first time! The difference between a cleansing milk and a moisturizing bar or liquid is enormous; I’m so impressed with the product.

I’m done rambling about skincare now, I promise! Hope it’s not too freezing-cold wherever you are

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By Sarah, Makeup Artist

Sarah Cormier is a self-taught makeup artist in Cincinnati, OH. She mostly does wedding makeup but also has experience working on various photo shoots, fashion shows, and films. In addition, she is a freelance artist for her favorite line, MAC!

When she isn’t busy with makeup, she teaches Spinning classes at her local gym, and also attends Body Pump, Pole Fitness, and Cardio Kickboxing classes. Her other hobby is shopping, favorite stores are Nordstrom, the MAC store, Lucky Brand, and White House Black Market. Sarah is happily married to her wonderful husband of two years, Nate. Check out her blog, Sarah C. Makeup and sarahcormier.com.

Photo by Parker Michael Knight

Sarah’s Makeup Artist Must-Haves

But first, many of you are probably wondering, ‘who is this girl?’, so let’s get acquainted shall we? Here is a little bit about me, summed up by the top 5 beauty products and tricks that I simply can’t live without:

Because I am a perfectionist and huge fan of long wearing products, MAC Paint Pots ($16.50) are a staple in both my kit and personal stash. There are lots of excellent lid primers on the market but paint pots are my preference because they can be used as either as a primer or as eye shadows. They keep products looking perfect from morning until the wee hours of the night. They can also offer a natural look that can be played up with a little contouring and/or dramatic liner. As most of us know, paint pots come in various finishes, but I prefer the crème variety (Soft Ochre, Painterly, Quite Natural, and Groundwork from MAC’s permanent line are examples) because they are the most versatile.

Because I like to save money, I love Pampers Sensitive Baby Wipes ($17.69) for removing makeup at the gym and before I cleanse my face at night. I also keep a pack in my kit for use on clients. You read that right friends! I first learned this years ago from a makeup artist friend and have since read several articles that advocate alcohol-free baby wipes to remove makeup. I like Pampers Sensitive because they are soothing, alcohol-free, and unscented.  Makeup remover wipes range in price between $5 to $25 depending on brand and quantity. Pampers Sensitive are basically the same thing but cost between $2 and $7, and you can often get coupons in the Sunday paper!

Because I adore saving time, money, and space in both my kit and personal stash, Buxom Waterproof Smoky Eye Sticks ($18.00) are my newest obsession. $18 at Sephora gets you this long lasting crayon of joy. Available in an array of versatile and relevant shades, they can be used as an eyeliner, eyeshadow, or blended out to create a smoky eye. Aside from being a true triple threat, what I dig most is how easy they are to apply and blend, before setting to a truly waterproof finish that will not budge. They are especially handy on jobs, where time is usually very much of the essence. All I have to do is grab one of my trusty Buxom Eye Sticks to create a runway ready look in under five minutes.

Because my eyes are my favorite feature to play up, lining the upper water line will forever remain in my back pocket as the best way to make lashes look longer and eyes more vibrant. If you haven’t tried this little trick yet, you must! Just first make sure to use a waterproof liner that is approved by for the waterline by the manufacturer; Aforementioned Buxom Waterproof Smoky Eye Sticks work great!

Because I believe that a flawless face is the most important makeup element, I cannot live without the MAC 187 Brush ($48.00). Commonly referred called the “the skunk brush,” it consists of a perfectly balanced blend of natural and synthetic fibers. Together, these two elements create maximum and even product distribution, which I particularly like because it minimizes waste and extends the life of my foundation. When used with circular and sweeping movements, this brush effortlessly creates a flawless and even finish. I often cannot tell the difference between foundations applied with a 187 and an airbrush, because it is just that good. An added bonus of this brush is that it can be used for any type of face product, blush included, in just about any formula including powders, crèmes, or liquids. If you like the idea of the 187 but find it to be a little too much, try its smaller counterpart, the 188.

What about you, what are your top five (or more!) must haves?

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By Nita J., Virginia, Makeup Artist

Nita J is a strong advocate that true beauty lives in each and every individual. To her, makeup just enhances beauty and should never be used to mask the beauty that a person was born with. With her knowledge of makeup, cosmetic brands, marketing and the beauty industry, Nita J hopes to contribute as much as she can and instill in the minds of others that confidence and true beauty is soul-deep. You can check out her portfolio and her blog!

5 Makeup Artist Must-Haves from MAC

As you can probably guess, a major part of the journey of a makeup artist is the wonderful (and sometimes overwhelmingly frustrating) process of testing out products, falling in love with products, purging products and revisiting products. It sure can get exhausting but in the midst of it all, you come to realize what works and what isn’t so great when it comes to what products to include in your kit. Now, I do understand that we are all not makeup artists, but please keep in mind I am a makeup addict myself and this process also helps me decide what to keep for myself.

On my beauty blog, I am working on a series of makeup products, by cosmetic line, that are great for both personal and professional kits. Since MAC is a universally popular brand, let’s start by looking at five AMAZING products:

Eyeshadows

MAC’s eyeshadows ($14.50), although they are more expensive than other brands, have amazing quality and minimal fall-out, which I love. Worn with or without a primer, these eyeshadows tend to stay true to shade and pigmentation. The more neutral shades are normally the most popular staples found in many kits such as Satin Taupe, Patina, Espresso, Rice Paper, and Naked Lunch, just to name a few. Their staying power is what has me hooked!

Pigments

MAC’s pigments ($20.00) are so multifunctional and easy to work with! For simple use, you can take your favorite shade and dust it over your lids for a quick pop of color or use to stain your cheeks. You can even get super creative by mixing with clear lip gloss or MAC’s Mixing Medium to create more artistic looks. The possibilities are truly endless with pigments. I suggest stashing at least one or two in your kit!

Fix+

This is another awesome product that gets lots of buzz. MAC’s Fix+ ($20.00) is a skin-refreshing spray infused with lots of goodies such as vitamins, green tea, cucumber and minerals that calm the skin and finishes your makeup look to help it last throughout the day. It truly does feel great on the skin and has an amazing, fresh fragrance. For added makeup staying power, I like to spray this product on a client’s skin as a foundation primer when I don’t want the heaviness of a moisturizing cream.

Strobe Cream

MAC says that Strobe Cream ($30.00) “enhances the effects of light on all skin and in all lighting conditions from sunlight to spotlight.” That’s exactly what it does!  It gives your skin a quick wake-up call with antioxidants and botanicals that refreshes and rejuvenates the skin. I personally fell in love with it the first time I used it under my Studio Fix Fluid Foundation. It just gives your skin that extra oomph!

Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder/Pressed

I really like that Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder/Pressed ($23.00) not only controls shine, but it minimizes lines and imperfections. This easy-to-use product can be used as a quick fix on the go, even if you are not wearing much makeup for the day. Us makeup artists LOVE our multifunctional products!

What are some of your FAVORITE MAC products that you can’t live without? What are some that you would like to try? I would love to hear your comments!

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By Dustin Hunter, Makeup Artist

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Dustin Hunter has been designing various media since his early teen years. Studying several different art forms, Hunter’s creative background ranges from illustration and photography to fashion and interior design to music production and makeup artistry. He has worked for over a decade as a professional illustrator and his retail interior design concepts have been featured in nation-wide publications, receiving recognition for their uniqueness and creativity.  Check out his blog and YouTube channel!

MAC Reflects Transparent Teal Glitter

7 Tried & True Must-Have Products

I’m a sucker for multi-purpose products: pigments, cream and liquid paints, mixing mediums, etc. I like to custom-blend just about everything! Not everyone feels the same way, though, and sometimes, it’s nice to have one product that does a job and does it well. These are some of my tried-and-true favorites from a few different companies (hopefully some that you haven’t heard of before)!

Estée Lauder Pure Color Lipstick | Their Long Lasting Cream finishes are some of the best lipsticks I own. They cover well and feel luxurious on the lips. The BEST ones are almost always limited edition. Favorites in the Permanent Range: Cherry Passion, Melon and Rose Tea.

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars | I’m actually not a huge fan of these on the lips, but, OH, the blushes these make! They last forever and blend like a dream (they DO have mint in them though so avoid the eye area). Favorites: Cha-Cha and Divine.

Face Atelier Ultra Sheer | I love these liquid luminizers because you can mix them with foundation, cream blush or bronzer for glowing skin or apply them on their own (I use a fluffy blush brush) for a natural highlighting effect. Favorites: Champagne.

Terra Firma Gel Mineral Matte Finish Bronzer | I use this on myself all the time. It’s highly pigmented (I dilute it with body lotion), long-wearing, won’t rub off on clothes and looks SO amazingly natural – If most bronzers are too orange for you, look no further! (There’s also a shimmering version if you like to twinkle.)

MAC Reflects Glitters | A MAC PRO exclusive (but anyone can buy from MAC PRO). I’ve used these in a multitude of ways: mixing custom lip gloss, over mascara for sparkling lashes, on top of just any eye look, pressed over lipstick for a metallic foil effect, as a face and body highlight, worked into a hairstyle, etc. Not many things are THIS pretty! (Be aware that MAC lists these products as “not for use in the eye area.”) Favorites: Reflects Bronze, Reflects Gold and Reflects Transparent Teal.

MAC Blot Powder and Purely Cosmetics Diamond Perfect Finish Powder | My two favorite setting powders! Blot Powder by MAC is perfect for mattifying a look without adding any color or texture. Diamond Perfect Finish Powder by Purely Cosmetics is a transparent loose powder that easily outperforms the transparent powders I have from MAC and MUFE (smoother application, better line diffusing AND it doesn’t bounce light back in photography).

See more photos & swatches!

MAC Reflects Transparent Teal Glitter

MAC Reflects Transparent Teal Glitter

MAC Reflects in Bronze, Gold, Teal

OCC Lip Tars

OCC Lip Tars in Cha Cha, Divine

Purely Cosmetics Diamond Perfect & MAC Blot Powder

Estee Lauder Lipsticks

Estee Lauder Lipsticks in Cherry Passion, Melon, Rose Tea

Terra Firma Matte Gel Bronzer

Terra Firma Matte Gel Bronzer

Face Atelier Ultra Sheer

Face Atelier in Bronze, Champagne, Opal, Peach

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