spread some good karma ... donate to these charities!!!

PEERS (Prostitutes Empowerment Education Resource Society) has several hand-on programs designed to help sex workers exit the sex industry and create a better life!
please visit the web address below for more info and to donate:
http://www.quammer.dreamhosters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=45&Itemid=157

Little Travellers is an HIV/AIDS initiative that started in Africa ... the little dolls you can buy on this site for just $5 make great stocking stuffers or chanukkah gifts!
http://www.littletravellers.net/

Just a thought; I believe that it is really important for women to develop a sense of global community, I believe the best way to do this is to support women from all walks of life ... please donate from the heart to women in need, through these charities or any other ones you support!
xomarina

COVER GIRL LASHBLAST!

This mascara changed my life...well, not my life but my outlook on cheapo mascara!

so there had been lots of internet beauty buzz about this little orange tube of goodness, so I decided to buy it and try it for myself... at $8 this mascara really gives your lashes the bang for the buck!!!Basically, if you like to the false looking super thick diva lash look RUN (do not walk) to the nearest drugstore and pick some up!!!
I was actually shocked after applying 2 coats of this mascara to my lashes at how long, curly, voluminous, and great my lashes looked (key here is applying 2 coasts!!!).
The brush also really helps separate so no clumping occurs even if you put on lots of coats…The brush is a bit crazy looking and takes a few applications to get use to, but its smooth sailing from there on out ...
Bottom line is even my all time fave Dior Show mascara doesn’t give this kinda volume and length and costs almost 4 times as much!!!!

Glowlife

Glowlife

When I was a little girl, growin up on the hard streets of Richmond and tryin to find my place in this big world, I often stayed up late at night thinking to myself “how does Jennifer Lopez get that magical perfect skin glow?..and how, dear lord, can I get the very same glow radiating from my skin???”


If you went clubbing with me circa 2002-2004 then you probably know that many a times I was accused by women and complemented by men on my j.lo-esque glow. Yes, I sure did love to radiate luminescent aura from miles away, and as a matter of fact I still do… which is what bring me to this very post… so, sadly, the winter season was all about the matt, porcelain, pale skin, but with winter being soon out the door the dewy, sultry, luminescent, bronzy complexion is BACK like a heart attack!!!!!

Now obviously every sexy complexion starts with good skin, and for that please refer to the discussion postings that deal with that matter …this is all about the super sexed up bronze GLOW….

First some basics:
What is luminescence?
It is makeup with iridescent light reflecting pigment in it that draws light and makes a complexion look brighter and more flawless…Its also that stuff that makes stars like J.Lo and Beyonce and many other look super hot …

My top 5 luminescent products and why I would rather sell my soul than be without them:

Nars Skin Brightening Serum – this double duty product is actually the love of my life, and if it were a man I would currently be impregnated with his children!!! Yes this moisturizer/luminescent does come with a hefty $90 price tag in Canada (only about $50 in the USA), but it provides your skin with that prefect subtle daytime glow and brightens and perfects your skin tone and adds that certain jen a se qua to your complexion…slather it on every morning and finish with some loose powder or bronzer to bring out more of the luminous pigment in it and enjoy being the sexiest girl in the room all day long, well unless yer in a room with me, in which case, sorry …. (This is what the cast of sex in the city had on in every episode…for realz)


Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzer – I have mentioned my love for this bronzer previously, and my love for it is still going strong. What separates this bronzer from the rest (other than the lack of availability, size, and price tag) is the fact that this is a MATTE bronzer with luminescent pigment, which means that it will not make you look greasy or shiny but luminous and glowing and radiant and ultra modern and sexy!!!!! Use is all over , or just to highlight your cheekbones , forehead and chin (places where the sun naturally falls for a more organic look), either way you will look delicious.


MAC pigment in Vanilla (warm toned) or Pink Opal (cool toned) – Both of these pigments and very luminous and quite lovely to mix in with you’re ordinary loose powder, blush or bronzer to jazz up your look and take it to that next level of hotness. These can also be used to highlight beneath the brow bone and the top of the cheekbones and temples to give that sultry luminous look.

Estee Lauder Spotlight Skin Tone Perfector – if this product ever got discontinued Lindsey Lohan, Mariah Carey’s crazy ass and I would all end up in the ER due to excessive alcohol consumption cuz that would be the only thing that would numb the pain… basically this shit just makes you look HAWT, and not your average level of attractive, but like guaranteed 150% more sexy guys hittin on you all night long HAWWTTTTTT … pretty much 9/10 times when you see a celebrity on the red carpet glowing and looking super sexy they have this on instead of foundation… this makes your skin look flawless and draws light to your face and helps accentuate all your sexy facial features !!!!!


Nars multiples stick in Copacobana – I once hear that if Sarah Jessica Parker could only bring one thing with her to a deserted island it would be this magical multi use product ……and I don’t blame her, I mean, she has pretty much never been photographed without this on her face, and you know that if she was on a deserted island there would be plenty of paparazzi there and she would have to look good…. This color looks good on everyone and everywhere … use it on its own or as a cream base on your eyes, to highlight your cheeks and on your lips to draw light and get that fresh, light, and dewy look... then call 3 girlfriends and go for lunch, bitch about men, and maybe start your own sex column, see where it goes…. Bottom line, use this product, look beautiful, get inspired ………

Now the how-to:

The most important this is not to get intimidated … lots of girls dodge great products cuz they are afraid of cream and liquid textures, but worry no girl, im here to help (and there is always a bit of valium to take the edge off!!!) …

So after washing your face and toning start with a luminescent moisturizer (if you don’t wanna dish out the big bucks on the NARS try the Stilla luminous moisturizer, its WAY cheaper and a good entry level product)

Next, use your concealer to touch up all the minor imperfections.

Next, Daytime – use your Nars multiple (or any other neutral colored cream product) on the eyelids and cheeks
Nighttime – use the Estee Lauder Spotlight all over, then the Nars multiples in Copacobana all over the eyelids and at the top of the cheekbones and temples
Then, Apply eye makeup (don’t forget to check out the discussion section for eye makeup how-to’s) , and use your MAC pigment to add a luminous pigment to highlight the inner corner of the eyes and beneath the brow bone.

Next, Apply bronzer all over the face, concentrating on the cheeks (or apply your fave blush and mix in a big of the MAC luminous pigment into it to make it more luminescent and dewy)

Finishes with lip gloss (also mix in a tiny bit of the luminous MAC pigment into it to the gloss to make your lips look fuller and sexier) … go out and get ‘em TIGER!!!!


BODY GLOW --- here is one of my very favorit secrets … buy some cheap loose bronzer (not too dark), I recommend the Revlon brand loose bronzing powder because it’s quite luminous…. Then mix about 2-3 tablespoons of it with a liquidly moisturizer or a scented body oil (generally works better with the body oil) and apply on your chest, arms and legs before going out to give your skin a HOT sunkisses luminous glow (be careful because this will come off on your cloths so CAREFUL WHERE YOU PUT IT!!!)


XOXOX marina and j.lo

Smokie Eyes

Smoky EYES

First of all some smoky eye proper conduct: I feel like these days the line between sexy and whory is becoming thinner and less defined, but it is still there and I personally suggest that, at least when I comes to makeup, you stay on the sexy side of things (feel free to cross to the whory side for any other aspects of life you see necessary). So here are some basic guidelines for keeping on the right side of the of the smoky eye green line:
1) Keep the rest of your face neutral, smoky eyes are the main feature of your makeup look so don’t try to balance things out by slathering on bright lipstick or going buck wild with bronzer or blush … its about the eyes, so keep it ALL ABOUT THE EYES!!!!
2) Blend, blend, blend ‘til you your wrist starts to bleed. Yes getting blood all over your bathroom counter is rather annoying BUT what separates a sexy sophisticated smoky eye from ones found on your local 15 year old pole-dancer in training is quality blending!!! The whole point of the look is to see a SMOOTH progression of dark to light shadow from the bottom to the top of the lid, NOT to be able to distinguish between where the different colors where applied. So, grab your beloved crease brush and q-tip and go to town !!!
3) Its not Halloween (unless you are reading this on October 31 and it is Halloween, in which case just ignore this suggestion) and you are not dressing up like a sexy raccoon or a battered wife, so there is no need to look like one!!! DO NOT go for colors that are too dark (like really deep navy blue or black), while these look mega hot on the Gucci runway models, they just look ridiculous in real life and make you look like you got the 1-2 punch combo in both eyes. To make your smoky eyes look ultra modern and sexy go for silvery-grays, rich chocolaty browns, plums, olive greens, and sparkly midnight blues. Yes smoky eyes are intended to be dark, but black just over does it and takes you into whoryville !!!
4) Don’t drag your eye shadow too far out, this will just make your face look wider and your eyes look smaller (unless this is the look you are going for).




Choosing Colors:

The basic rule of thumb for smoky eyes is you want to have 3 eyeshadow colors and 1 pencil liner.

First you want to choose your DARKEST color:

Blue eyes: I suggest going with a dark rich brown, a smoky silver/gray (if you have more cool toned gray-blue eyes this will make them look more blue) or a warm toned olive green.


Brown/ Hazel eyes: I suggest silver-gray, cool plum or cool gray-brown tones, sparkly midnight blue (the color for the season!!!!) wish silver.

The Second color you choose should be the SAME base color BUT at least 2 shades LIGHTER!!! (as a side note: if you choose a color light a midnight blue that has a lot of silver pigment in it as your darkest color , you can choose just a plain silver as your medium shade to play up the sparkle in the blue, same goes for a goldy green or brown, you can choose your medium shade to be a strong gold to play up the gold hues in you dark color)

The third color you choose is the lightest shade, and is just going to be used to highlight your brow bone, the most important thing here is to choose a color which is NOT too light, so pretty much the same color as your skin tone or maybe a shade lighter will do great (and remember if you choose cool toned shadows, choose a cool toner highlighter color, if you choose old tones choose a gold toner highlighter, same goes for silver …etc.)

As for the EYELINER … this is really the key player in your look, but is quite simple to select…. Basically if you go with warm toners go with a rich dark brown , if you go with cool tones go with a dark smoky gray or black (BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE BLACK OR YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF ON THE LONELY STREETS OF WHORYVILLE IN NO-TIME). The most important thing for great smoky eyes is using eyeliner that is soft and easy to smudge and blend, so invest in a good eyeliner cuz the cheaper ones do tend to be harder to work with (my fave are the MAC liners cuz they smudge like butter!!!!).

The Smoky Eye Method:

Step 1: apply concealer all over and around the eye to give you an even toned and smooth pallet to work with.

Step 2: Take your liner and line your top and bottom lids, thickening the line as you move to the outer corner of your eye. The most important thing here is to avoid dragging you liner out too far past the outer corner of the eye and keeping the liner right at the lash line!!! For some extra sex appeal (and if you have big eye ONLY) line the inside of your lids too…

Step 3: apply your darkest color to your bottom lid going overtop and blending with your eyeliner (this can be easily don’t with a q-tip, no need for any fancy brushes), do the same on the bottom lid but don’t go too buck wild on making your bottom lids look too heavy, the goal is to just smudge out the bottom liner with the shadow. Now, with a crease brush apply just a slight bit of your darkest color into the crease not dragging it too far up or out!!!

Step 4: with your crease brush apply your medium shade all over the crease dragging it up and A BIT out (not too much!!!), the key here is to blend the medium shade in with the darkest shade and crease contour!!

Step 5: brush your highlighter under your brow and blend it in with your medium shade, for some extra sparkle apply a bit of the highlighter color on the inner corner of the eyes too …

Step 6: curl your lashes and apply at least 2 coats of BLACK mascara to add some major baby-mama-drama to yuor eyes, define your brows, apply some bronzer all over, finish with some sexy nude gloss and go out there turn heads and break some young boys hearts.

Conclusions: creating a smoky eye is all about layering lighter shadows over darker ones and blending them out to create a smooth progression from darkest around the eye to lightest at the brow bone. This is mostly an evening look, but can be transformed to day by choosing lighter and more matt colors (the only thing is that matt colors are generally harder to blend perfectly so be ware!!!).

Hope you enjoy …
Xoxox marina

some more basix

Before I start with the do’s let discuss some eye makeup DON’T s:
1) Purple eye shadow , this is pretty much the skinny jeans of make up, everyone tries to wear it but only about 1% of the population can actually pull it off. Same goes from colors like bright blue or neon green, hot pink, and bright yellow. Basically the point of wearing makeup is to flatter your face and bring out your natural features, not to look like a ##### or Ronald McDonald, and although these colors look fab on the runways and in magazines they do not translate well into real life.
2) Glitter, not the movie starring Mariah Carey’s crazy ass (cuz that movie is AMAZING), but the stuff some girls feel the need to put on their face. If you are not a current employee of the #5 Orange (or any other strip clubs or ######## parlors) then it is highly inappropriate for you to put this #### anywhere near your face.
3) White eyeliner and too much smudge black eyeliner on the bottom lid, and liner that is above the lash line, all equally unacceptable … refer to the section on eyeliner to find out why you should not do this ….
4) Spider lashes … I’ll admit, sometimes I get too mascara happy, but spider lashes just look scary, like spiders… so restrain yourself from applying 15 coats of mascara, 2-3 will do the job, I promise.

So with this behind us …
The purpose of eye makeup is to flatter your eye shape and color and making the correct color selections and application techniques can make a world of difference…

First lets pick some colors:
I believe that for pretty much every good eye makeup look it is important to use 3 colors, to really create depth and sex appeal in the eye.

First, a HIGHLIGHTER, this will be your lightest color of the palette. This color is used to highlight the brow bone (raise your brows and make them look more archy and sexy) and the inner corners of your eyes (to make them pop), I find that using luminescent or shimmery highlighters adds an extra bit of hotness to any look.

Second, a BASE, this should be a light to medium tone color (darker than your highlighter, but not too dark). If your are only gonna splurge on one eye shadow do it on this one because this is the one that takes up the most eye surface area. You can go with sparkly or matt, it really depends on the look you are going for, but if your highlighter is really sparkly using a matt base will look a bit odd, so try to keep’em in the same family. You are gonna apply it on a large portion of your upper lid, and lining your lower lid with it too, so choose wisely and the world will be your oyster for the chucking.

Last, the CREASE, this should be your darkest shadow, and is the one that is gonna create all the depth and contour in your eyes. Once again, it is important to keep the Highlighter, Base and Crease colors in more or less the same family of tone and texture (ie. It is not advisable to use a luminescent highlighter, matt base, and metallic crease because it will just look kinda odd). You will use this color with your crease brush, and the most important thing here is to BLEND BLEND BLEND, this is what will give your eye makeup that polished and professional look.

Now lets choose some COLOR:

BLUE/GRAY EYES:
Highlighter: I LOVE the MAC Vanilla pigment for this … it is a goldy-white, luminescent color that is great for pretty much any skin tone with blue eyes. Basically, anything translucent, warm eggshell whitish (but not actually white) and shimmery will do.

Base: I love using warm pinky or peachy golds, or very light brick toned browns.

Crease: Pretty much any warm brick brown, rich coppers, or chocolate shade will be great. Use it dry as a shadow and wet as a liner ….

GREEN OR HAZEL EYES (if you want to bring out the green or gold in your hazel eyes):
Highlighter: Same as for blue eyes, something light but warm toned!!!

Base: Light caramel or warm creamy pink or salmon shade, the key is not to go too dark on the base color so your eyes don’t look smaller.

Crease: Taupe, warm plum, rich or antique gold and warm toned browns will all do the job. Once again, use them wet or dry, or go with a dark brown liquid liner.

BROWN OR HAZEL EYES(if you want to bring the brown in your hazel eyes):
Highlighter: MAC Pink Opal pigment is the love of my life when I do makeup on girls with sexy dark brown eyes… the fun thing about having dark drown eyes is you can use cooler more pink or blue toned highlighter colors (now hold your horses sister, I didn’t say pink and blue, I said pink and blue TONED, which means they are mostly white or beige with just the slightest hint of light reflecting pigments in those colors!!!!)

Base: Cooler shades of light grays and light pinks, or cool toned light browns.

Crease: Cool toned gray-browns, charcoals, cool toned plums and burgundy, gray-blue, basically any color that makes you feel kinda depressed when you think about it in an emotional sense and start to analyze it, but worry not, once you look in the mirror all those sad feeling will be replaced by sexy ones …

Some final color thoughts … most of the colors I chose here are pretty …ummm,… boring, some might think, but on the whole you want to wear eye makeup to look beautiful not tacky, and yes brown is not so exciting at first glance, but it is really the most flattering color for everyone… there is nothing wrong with whipping out the colors every once in a while for a night out on the town, but for daytime or glam time the earth tones are the hotness, and if you wanna play them up do it by getting these colors in a variety of textures like luminescent, pearlescent, shimmery, metallic, or matt and try paying around with those.

Now lets get on to EYE SHAPE:
Eyes come in many shapes and sizes, so to thin there is one universal eye shadow technique is just crazy!!!!

SMALL EYES – your goal is to make them look bigger…how ? Start by Apply a light base color all over the top lid and lining the bottom (all the way to the inner corner of the eye) with it too, using your flat brush. Then, with a darker shade and your crease brush shade the crease of the upper lid, dragging the color to the outer corner to lengthen the eye area, and with a flat brush concentrate a bit of this color at the outer corner of your bottom lids. Using a pencil liner or angle brush, apply liner starting at the most inner part of the upper lid, and increasing the thickness of the line as you move outward. Intensify the color at the outer edge of the eye (if you are using a creamy pencil liner, smudge it out a bit in the corner with a q-tip). To finish, use a highlighter along the brow bone, and around the tear ducks to make your eyes pop.

DEEP SET EYES – these are the most challenging, but have no fear … start out by using your base color over entire lid (for this type of eye I suggest going with a bit lighter base than usual), and apply a highlighter along the brow bone line and the inner corner of the bottom lid. Use a darker toned shadow, and begin at the socket line and blend color out above the with your crease brush to give the illusion of a higher brow and larger upper lid. Apply only a thin line or eyeliner for definition along top lid and 2/3'rds along lower lid blending towards the outer edge (thin thin thin), and DO NOT drag shadow or liner out past the outer corner of the eye. On the whole you want to keep this light to make the eye look bigger cuz darker shadow do tend to make deep set eyes look more deep set.

ASIAN EYE SHAPE - apply a light base all over eye area and blend towards nose. Using a crease brush, apply darkest color from crease to lid, fading the color half way up wards and half way across (with intensity decreasing toward the inner part of the eye). Highlight along brow bone and down parallel to nose from brow to inner corner of eye. Apply eyeliner close to lashes to give appearance of thickened lash line. Line the lower lid with the shadow you used in the crease and smudge to soften the line.

MOST OTHER EYE SHAPES- follow same principle of highlighting brow and inner corners of eyes, a base all over, and get adventurous with the crease…. Try dragging the shadow out to make your eyes look more almond shaped OR make your eyes look more round by concentrating the color at your outer most part of your upper and lower lids and rounding the crease or dragging the crease shadow upwards in a circular manner … take a chance or a risk, try doing something you haven’t done before (not just in makeup but in life)... Practice or your girlfriends (this is how I became a world renowned makeup artist), to be able to blend eye shadow well you really need to work on your stroke and practicing on others will really help you improve, really!!! Utilize tools around you, like q-tip, which are great for smudging liner or applying a bit of highlighter under the brow bone or a thin paintbrush as a liquid liner brush … and stay gold, pony boy, stay gold …

Happy exam learning to you and yours
Xoxo Marina

Da Basix

You’ve been asking for it and now you shall receive … this is the beginning of me 2 week exposé on eye makeup

The Basics:

First of all a bit of eye ares skincare: the skin around your eyes is extremely delicate, and product you put on it are harsh and dehydrating… solution, use an eye gel all over your lids and under the eyes after washing your face!!!! … Since we are still young and restless there is no need to use any sort of anti-aging or overly rich eye cream, but eye gels are great because they are light, reduce the puffiness and circles under your eyes (caused by the synergic effect of school + boys + lack of money), and keeps the moisture in the skin and creates a protective barrier between the skin and the makeup… my recommendation is the Calrin’s eye gel, I’ve been using it for years and love its cooling effect… if you want to opt for a less pricey option try the Alba eye gel (available at Choices and some London Drugs), this eye gel is great and for $18 you get quite the generous mount that should last for at least 5 months… so go out and get some !!!!

Eyebrows: Basically on the scale of “The Most Important Things EVER” having good eyebrows fits right between “being popular” and “having a hotter boyfriend than any of your friend”… Many psychological studies have shown that more symmetrical faces are considered to be more attractive and NOTHING balances out the symmetry of your face better than having perfect eyebrows!!! … I always suggest going to get your eyebrows threaded for a few reasons… First of all, you are a poor judge of your own facial symmetry, so you may think your eyebrows are even when they really aren’t, someone else (who knows how to do good brows) will be a far better judge… Second, lots of girls tend to get a bit tweezers happy and hack off too much, and while think brows can be very sexy, hacked brows just look skanky … Lastly, most professionals know how to choose the best arch shape to complement your eyes and face …

If you insist on doing your own eyebrows, I won’t judge you cuz I do my own too … here are a few good pointer to remember…
1) DON’T go buck wild… have an end result in mind!!! Take white eyeliner and on top of your brown draw the boarders of what you want your brows to look like, use these as a guideline, and only pluck outside those boarders!!!! (Before you start plucking make sure that what you drew out is symmetrical, if you can, try to get a second opinion..)
2) Choose a shape that complements your eyes best… if you have deep set, or small eyes make the arch of your browns more defined and angular (this will make your eyes look more round), a more rounded brown makes eye look more almond shaped, while less angular (straighter) makes eyes look more open and bigger. The best is to try to work with your natural eyebrow shape, and enhance it than completely redo it.
3) Only puck from the bottom (well, mostly)... the goes is to highlight your brow bone and make your upper lids look as big as possible so plucking from the bottom is always best… if the top of your browns is wonky puck out the few tray hairs but DON’T OVER DO IT !!!
4) The biggest and worst eyebrow mistake I see is eyebrows that a spaced too far apart. Doing this just makes your face look rounder and nose look bigger and fatter… (Hopefully this is not the look you are going for) … your brows should line up the middle of your nose width wise… to do this, take your white liner and place it parallel to your nose, now move it to one side until it is half way to the edge of your nose, and then the other way, make little marks with it and use these as guide lines for where your brows should start … where should the eyebrows end ? This is a more open ended question … don’t make them too short, generally 45 degrees from the other corner of your eye…

Also, remember to Trim your brows, this makes them look more pampered, but don’t go overboard!!!

Good luck in all your plucking endeavors…

The Basic Tools:
I own lots and lots of makeup brushes, but I can create pretty much any eye makeup look using only these 3 …(look at photos section for a picture of all 3)… and before I describe the use of each ones, I got something for you to consider when shopping for brushes… real hairs brushes are the best, they will last you the longest and are easiest to blend with. If you take good care of your brushes (i.e. Wash them every 2 weeks) they will last you years, and thus are a good investment … MAC is not the end all be all of makeup brushes and doesn’t really compared to higher end brands like Laura Mercier and Nars because the density of the hair is not the great and a lots of the brushes they make now are not pure hair but a blend of hair and synthetic (if you got your MAC brushes a few years ago then they are most likely all real hair and have good density, but for the past few years MAC has been significantly decreasing in quality (notice how new MAC eye shadows run out much quicker than the old ones????) , so be ware and consider other brands when shopping for brushes…)

The Angel Brush: if you don’t have one, run don’t walk to get it!!! I use this puppy on a daily basis for lining my eyes and defining my oh so perfect eyebrows. This brush allows you to turn pretty much any shadow into eyeliner; and allows you to perfectly smudge your pencil liner for a softer look (more on all this fun stuff later on).

The Crease Brush: it enables you to blend shadow like it was a fruit smoothie… that’s pretty much all I have to say about it for now…

The Flat Brush: I heart this brush BIGTIME because it is what separates the English from the Dutch went it comes to professional looking makeup. This is pretty much a detailing brush that allows you to perfectly highlight your brow bone, inner eye corner, and create sultry smokey eyes.

Just remember in brushes look for REAL HAIR AND DENSITY DENSITY DENSITY !!!


Now that we got all the technical stuff out…
The Very First Step to the sexiest eye makeup EVER:
Every artist needs a clean canvas to work with (unless you are one of THOSE artists that likes to work with the dirty canvases)… but when it comes to makeup, you wanna keep it clean, so after you have applied to eye gel and let it dry its time to create the perfect canvas… Having a good concealer is like being guilty and having a really good layer, pretty much it masks all those drunken, blurry, party nights and makes you look refreshed, awake and brand new …mmm hiding my sins is one of my favorite hobbies!!!

How to chose a good concealer: so basically what you want to look for is a solid, cream concealer, that is light in texture but has good coverage!!! My favorites are NARS (the one that cones in a lipstick tube) and Lancome Photogenic.

How to choose the right color for eye area concelaer ? I generally like to get one that is 1 shade lighter than my skin tone, because this makes my eyes stand out more. Another important aspect is choosing the right tone. Some concealers tend to come in more yellow tones (tanned), medium or neutral tones (Asian or olive skin, but are pretty much good for everyone) and pink/peach tones (if you have paler skin with pink tones in it), on the whole don’t concern yourself with this too much because its mostly made for photography. It is a bit better to go with the correct tone for you (because having a warm toned conealer on cool toned skin will may the eye area look washed out and vise versa) but it is more important to choose the correct shade, but don’t go too light!!!

How to Apply? I think using your fingertips is best, just make sure not to pull the skin around your eyes too much and blend it well. Apply all over the lids (lash line to brow, and around the inner corner of the eyes to make the eyes POP) and along the bottom of the eye as low as the top of your cheekbone (remember you don’t want to have distinctive white circles around your eyes, you just want your eye area to look bright and livery so blend blend blend with the surrounding area).

Practice all this stuff in the meanwhile and go get your eyebrows did .. and in a few days the real fun begins … I’m gonna be talking color wheel and choosing the right colors for you, different techniques to complement different eye shapes, more on eyebrows, make 3 takes on smokey eyes and much much more …

Heart with wings,
Marina

some faves ...

These are a few of my favorite things….
Each year billions and billions or skincare, makeup and beauty products find refuge in me bathroom … some of them get rapidly returned to the store, some stay their course but don’t get replenished, but there are a few very special ones that I love dearly with all me heart …. And these are them:
1) Olive Water Face Toner by L’occitane… this toner is formulated more like a liquid moisturizer, and is amazing for anyone who has dry skin, or gets patches or dryness in the winter time. This toner is made from olive juice, which is amazing at neutralizing and cleaning your face and revealing a more radiant complexion… use it under your moisturizer, after washing, in the morning… and by itself at night after washing your face…go to http://www.loccitane.ca ands stock up on the free samples, cuz the best things in life are free!!!!!
2) Anna Sui Powder Foundation… in my mind’s eye this product is prefect… not only does it come in the hottest case ever that you will wanna wip out and make your girlfriends jealous all the time, but it is super light but offers amazing coverage, so toss your old foundation, powder and concealer aside and make room for this delicious press powder foundation… and on top of all this, it smells like roses, thank you Anna Sui for making my skin look flawless and life just a little bit better….
3) Estee Lauder Bronzer in “Bronze Goddess” … another product in which I see no flaws … when I was in Paris, my girlfriends and I went out, and to say the least god a bit tipsy from excessive amounts of cheap champagne , when we got back to our apartment my friend reached into her clutch to get out the keys, and my bronzer was in her clutch too, and as she pulled out the keys my bronzer fell to the ground and broke into a million little pieces as did my heart … thank God I was in a Duty Free shortly after and was able to buy another one, but let me tell you, those were some dark days of my life when I was without it …. Why I love this bronzer so much is because it is matt but luminescent, which means its not sparkly but glowy, and a favorite of people like J.Lo, it gives you the perfect tanned look without being too orange and has reflective pigments which make your complexion look flawless … use it all over, or as blush, either way its amazing !!!
4) Nivea Q10 Treatment (not the lotion but the once that comes in a jar) … I don’t exactly have a Nicole Richie physique, but my stomach, ass, and thighs are so tight you can bounce quarters off of them, this is because I use this cream RELIGIOUSLY!!! Every night before I go to sleep I MASSAGE the cream into my thighs, ass, and stomach vigorously , and wake up with sexy, moisturized, firm skin … if I was Kalis, this would probably be my milkshake …Nivea has a new cellulite treatment product that I have also tried a sample of and I think its pretty good, but I haven’t gone true a full jar to actually say how it does in comparison to this one …
5) Nar’s Liquid Liner … I love it, that’s about it... refer back to the week when I talked about eyeliner if you want to know the reason why…
6) MAC Pigment … I have, hmmm, maybe about 40 of these, ad if I’ve ever done your makeup I probably used a few of you … These are loose full pigment powders that can be used as eye shadow, blush, highlighter, mixed into gloss and nail polish…. The 2 I use more are Pink Opal and Vanilla, they are both luminescent and are great s a base for shadow, to highlight brow bones, check bones and I love mixing these into clear gloss too … another ting I love is that they actually last forever, honestly they do, there are some that I have had for about 8 years and are still more than half full …

from my kitchen to my face..

sometimes I stay up late at night and wonder “how did women look hot back in the day, before Photoshop and derma-abrasion and all kinds of fancy stuff that tightens your pores and gives you porcelain complexion was invented???” … so this week I thought I might just answer that question and provide you ladies with some old school effective, easy, natural, and cheap skincare remedies that have stood the test of time … try ‘em out with your girlfriend at a slumber party (no, I promise you, you are not too cool to have on of these!!! )

Some ingredients that carry over well from your kitchen to your bathroom:

• Olive oil - pretty much one of the best moisturizers out there, chock full of good stuff for your skin.
• Oatmeal – really good for all skin types, amazing as a gentle exfoliater, just remember when adding it to a mask or cleanser to finely blend it into a powder!!!
• Milk – 2% or higher fat content usually is best from skin, when adding to a skincare recipe warm it up to at least room temperature.
• Honey – this #### is delicious and I enjoy smothering most foods I eat in it, and it’s also deliciously amazing at bringing the radiance out in your skin, best from beauty recipes is the runny liquid honey.
• Almonds – I like them in chocolate, I also like them in exfoliator because the make my skin look more radiant than J.Lo and Beyonce put together…biatch!!! When adding them to beauty recipes remember to run them through the blender until they are pretty much powdered, and remember to use RAW almonds.
• Strawberries, Kiwis, and cucumbers - these are basically little antioxidant factories that will neutralize all kinds of crap on your face, and make your skin glow and healthy looking. When adding these to beauty recipes use them FRESH AND COLD (don’t remove skin from cucumber)!!!
• Papayas and pineapples – mmm, they are so tasty and so healthy for you, so eat them fresh!!! Both of these have proteins that are super for your skin. When adding these to beauty recipes mush them into a fine paste.
• Lemons – these are truly magical cuz they make non-lemony things taste more lemony, but are also great for toning the skin and tightening pores.
• Coarse sea salt – it makes the sea salty and makes your skin sexy.
• Witch hazel – buy it and have it around, it’s cheap and good for your skin.
• Talcum or Baby powder – this #### is magical, back in the day they use to use it for EVERYTHING. In nowadays you can get a huge thing of it for like $3 and it comes in a verity of delicious scents. It can be used for anything from volumizing the hair to deodorant to mattifeir for oily skin (I TOLD you it’s magic).
• Avocado – before it made its co-star appearance in California rolls it was best known as nature’s original moisturizer, simple as that.
• Japanese Green Tea Powder – antioxidant are so hot right now that if celebrities could do lines of powdered green tea in high end club bathrooms they would...or maybe they already do?!?!!… Bottom line with green tea is that it is amazing at neutralizing free radicals and detoxifying the skin from pollutants that it absorbs throughout the day.

Wow, I feel like Rachel Ray…

OK, now that you have your ingredients list, lest start cookin up some hotness!!!

Cleanser to nourish your normal to dry skin:

3 tablespoon of finely ground oatmeal
1 tablespoon of runny honey
1 teaspoon olive oil (EVOO)
2 tablespoon lukewarm milk
Combine all of this tasty stuff and let it sit for about minutes so all the ingredients have a chance to get to know each other… in a circular motion apply to damp face, wash off with warm water…

Cleanser for normal to oily skin (use this 1-2 times a week in the morning):

In you blender combine a 2 fresh strawberries, a 1/2 peeled kiwi, and a small unpeeled cucumber, squeeze in a bit of lemon and top off with 2 tablespoons of witch hazel…
Apply to damp skin; let it absorb the oils out of your skin for about a minute or two, then rinse off with cool water.

The Best Toner EVER:

Blend half an unpeeled cucumber finely in blender, remove the pulp and put it in a cheesecloth (if you don’t have a cheesecloth, with I assume you don’t … use a paper towel or a regular clean cloth or a fine strainer) and squeeze out all the cucumber juice.
Mix this with an equal amount of witch hazel, and shake well. For some variation, try adding some lavender oil or rose water, if you have combination/normal/dry skin. For oily/shinny skin, try adding just a tiny bit of talcum powder to this mixture. After cleaning skin, tone and let your skin radiate from mils away!!!! Another great way to jazz up this toner is by adding half a teaspoon of green tea powder to it, but if you do this then you have to put this mixture in a container and refrigerate it over night (This is especially good if you are having some minor breakouts or have discoloration or minor imperfections on the skin due to irritation caused by clogging of pores or exposure to dirt).

MASKS (a little side note first… masks should not be used more frequently than once a week!!!)

Brightening Mask:
Combine
3 tablespoons of finely ground oatmeal
2 tablespoons of finely ground almonds
1.5 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of milk (cream is the best for this)
Combine all these tasty ingredients and let them sit around for a few minutes. Rub on your face (after cleaning) in a circular motion and then leave it on for about 5 minutes. Rinse off with warm water. If you do this once a week for a few months your complexion WILL become more even and radiant!!!!

Exotic Detox Mask:
Blend up some fresh pineapple, papaya, green tea, a bit of honey and lemon, let this mixture cool in the fridge for about an hour… put it on your clean face and let it do its thang for 5 minutes, rinse off and tone … this mask is great for tired skin as well as problematic skin that is prone to breakouts and oily skin.

Moisturizing Mask:
Blend up half an avocado, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of finely ground oatmeal and bit milk. Apply to face, wash off with warm water and immediately follow with a moisturizer.

I’ll add more as they come to me, but I encourage you to just play around with these in the meanwhile, and if you have any beauty recipes of your own I encourage you to post them !!!!

some thoughts on EyeLiner...

Week #3 I’m talking EYELINER …. Pencil, liquid, shadow, dos don’ts, application, smudging, and much more …

Before I start, I just want to talk a bit about bad eyeliner habits that SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT IN HIGHSCHOOL!!!
First of all, WHITE eyeliner, a favourite of the stereotypical 9th grade ####…. yes there is a purpose to white eyeliner and yes I do love it, but making you look trashy is not it. I see lost of girl who feel the need to wear thick white eyeliner on their top lids, or layer white liner with back or coloured liner on their top lids… when I see these girls walking down the street I get these strong urges to tackle them down and give them makeovers because I feel that this is pretty much the worst eye-makeup crime you can commit. Yes, white eye liner can make your eye look bigger BUT only if you apply it correctly (keep on reading to find out just how to do this), and slopping it on you top lid is certainly not the way. So I strongly advise you to STOP doing this of you are guilty of committing this makeup crime because it does not flatter your eyes at all!!!
Another one that is a favourite of the highschooler is the excessive amounts of black or dark eyeliner on the bottom eyelids. While this look does look extremely sexy in magazines IT DOES NOT CARRY OVER WELL INTO THE DAYTIME!!!! Slapping on excessive dark liner on you bottom lids only makes your eyes look smaller and makes your look very harsh and heavily made over (which, contrary to popular belief is not what people find sexy). So just give it UP, and keep reading to educate yourself on how eyeliner should be worn to bring out the most in your eyes!!!!


So now that we have this out of the way lets take LINER … eyeliner comes in 3 basic flavours:
Pencil: lots of girls find pencil liner hard to use, and I don’t blame them because pencil liner is certainly tricky to apply on yourself. The good thing about pencil liner is that it is smudgable and is good for lining your inner lids (these are pretty much its only advantages). Here is the appropriate time to talk about WHITE eyeliner and using it correctly … if you want baby doll huge eyes (this is a MUST for all you girls with small and deep-set eyes), after you are done applying your eye makeup, and BEFORE you apply your mascara, line your upper and lower INNER lids with a few coats of white eyeliner to make your eyes look bigger!!! This little trick can also be carried over to light coloured eyeliners (such as gold which will bring out green and gold tones in brown and hazel eyes, light green which will bring out green tones in blue eyes,..etc). Another thing pencil liner is good for is smoky eyes because of its smudgalbe properties. For a really simply fail proof smoke eye, I suggest getting a warm chocolaty brown (in you have blue/green eyes) or a sexy smoky grey (brown/hazel eyes) THICK liner. Use a light shimmery shadow all over the lids, then line your upper and lower lids (inner and outer), and with a q-tip smudge the liner up and out in small strokes starting at the outer corner of the eye. On the whole, a good and easy to use pencil liner is one that is soft and smudgy, and therefore easy to use. Some of my favourites are the MAC and Pupa brand liners; most of the cheaper liners are too hard and not creamy enough and difficult to apply. Also, remember to keep your pencil liner sharpened and have q-tips near by to fix any mistakes. Apply the liner is small strokes, starting at the outer corner of the eye and going inward, connecting the small lines you are drawing. To get a more even/ soft look go over the liner with a q tip to smudge it a bit and make it look more uniform.

Liquid eyeliner: if you love drama, you most probably enjoy liquid eyeliner… its so sexy and sultry and really makes your lash line look thicker and makes your eyes POP. The downside of liquid liner it that it’s a bit tricky to apply and takes a bit of practice to get it right, but worry not dear friend I have some tricks up my sleeves that will make it a whole lot easier… first of all, for beginners I recommend getting a felt tip liquid liner (these are the easiest to use), my favourite is the L’oreal Line Intensifique Extreme Wear Liquid Liner because it comes with a spongy, very easy to use, applicator. Much like with pencil liner, you want to apply liquid liner in many small connecting strokes. Here the trick is to start at the inner corner of your eye and go outwards. THE KEY is to hold the brush right at the lash line and just gently dab the liner on at the lash line pulling only slightly. For those of us who have been liquid liner addicts for many years I recommend challenging yourself by using a liquid liner brush (I recommend the MAC or NARS liquid liner brushes because frankly the rest of them are too fat). My very favourite Liquid liners are by NARS, and I love them because they are highly pigmented, huge in quantity and amazing in quality. I also enjoy the fact that the NARS liquid liners (as well as Makeup Forever liquid liners) come in a HUGE array of colours (the one I CANT live without is Bullitt by NARS). Many girls think that liquid liner comes in black and dark brown, and avoid it because of its over dramatic look, but most higher end makeup brands have a good selection of shimmery light browns, greys, plum tones, and greens, which are all more fun and wearable then the standard black and drown. I suggest investing in a lighter coloured liquid liner with a bit of shimmer in it for the following reasons: it can be worn in the day time with a neutral base colour and mascara to make eyes pop and make lash lines look full without looking harsh, it can transform to night just by adding a matching eye shadow colour to the crease area, it provides a cleaner/fresh look to eye makeup then pencil liner.

Eye shadow + Angled Eyeliner Brush = true love forever… this is the easiest of all the eyeliner methods and the one I suggest to pretty much EVERYONE. It’s magical how a little eyeliner brush (my favourite is the MAC angle brush … buy it if you don’t already have it!!!!!!!!) and a bit of water (or spit … ew I know its gross but it works when water is not around) will transform any eye shadow into eyeliner. I love this method because it provides a nice soft look and is so easy to do … the only tip I can give here is that sometimes little shadow crumbs fall on your cheeks while you line so I suggest whipping then off with tissue and then applying powder, but other than that its perfect…

Now the big question comes in … how to choose a colour right for you? The simplest answer is look at the colour wheel and go for a liner colour that is directly opposite from your eye colour on the wheel. But, lets not kid ourselves here, no one is gonna do that so here are my suggestions …
Blue/ Green – rich, warm brown with golden tones in it…
Hazel/Brown – silvery grey, cool toned brown, dark plum…
Play around and have fun …

More on LASHES!

his week Im gonna take you into the sick world of my obsession with EYELASHES!!!
Nothing makes your eyes pop like a coat or 2 of mascara … but if you think mascara is all there is, well let me tell you lady, there is a whole world out there for you to discover … lets start from the very beginning …

1) Basically I can’t live without this stuff, it actually makes your lashes long and thicker AND IT REALLY WORKS!!! It’s called Movala Eye-Lite Double Lash. It is a night treatment specifically formulated for lengthening, thickening and protecting eyelashes. After washing your face at night you just put on this clear mascara, and wake up with fabulous lashes. Well, that’s a bit exaggerated; you have to use it RELIGIOUSOLY (meaning EVERY night, NO forgetting) for about a month until you start seeing definite results (you can also use it in the daytime as a basecoat for mascara). But, I assure you the result are there, and your lashes will be longer and thicker then before you started. One of the most amazing things about this product is that it only costs $13, and is readily available at you local London Drugs or Shoppers Drug Mart. (If you are not sold on this, here is a little “do it at home” tip I learned from some very long lashed Japanese girls: Rub eyelashes with coconut oil/almond oil or vitamin oil enriched lip balm to encourage growth, once again, for this to work you must do it EVERY NIGHT!!!)

2) So now that your lashes are longer and more gorgeous than ever, its time to talk about eyelash curling. Some girls naturally have very long lashes, but the problem with them is that they stick straight out instead of curling up. To solve this there are a few things you can do. The easiest and most common way to deal with this is to obviously curl your lashes with an old fashioned eyelash curler (my picks for this would be the Revlon or Shu Uemura Curlers). To keep the curl in your lashes longer try heating the curler with your hairdryer and then curling your lashes. I also highly enjoy the Electric Heated Eyelash Curlers, you use them after applying mascara and I find that they work better than the old fashioned ones for girls with short stubborn lashes (these aren’t the easiest thing to come across and they do tend to be a bit pricy, but I think are a good investment, if you are interested if buying one and can’t find it in stores, contact me and I will track you one down).

3) PRIMER: I highly urge EVERYONE to use it!!!! Generally, what primer does is pumps up the volume on your lashes while conditioning them. There are many many many primers out there, some sold separately, and some come with the mascara… I have tried a whole freakin lot of these, cheap ones, expensive ones, ones that make all kinds of outrageous promises, and all I can say (and I really cannot say this about many products but…) pretty much all primers are about the same, so save on the primer and splurge on something else like an amazing mascara, hot eyeliner, or luminescent bronzer. There is a lot of controversy in the beauty world about wether you should let your primer dry before applying mascara over it or not, in my personal opinion and experience I find it best to LET PRIMER DRY before applying mascara

4) Mascara; it is the love of my life… I consider myself not only an aficionado but also an expert of this magical black goopy gel. The best tip I can give here is KNOW YOUR GOALS when shopping for mascara (no, I don’t mean your goals in life; I mean goals such as do you want your lashes to look SUPER long? Thick? Feathery? Natural? Voluminous?... there is a different mascara for all of these, and you have to know what you want before you dish out the dough). My very favorite mascara right now is the Volume Shocking Mascara by L’oreal. I like it because it is fairly cheap, comes with a primer, and makes lashes look ridiculously long and thick. The brush of the mascara may be a bit intimidating to some at first, but trust me, there is nothing to fear. What I really like about the brush is that it actually lets you get right to the lash line when applying the mascara, which makes your lashes look extra thick. Remember, if you are really light skinned and have light hair Black mascara may look a bit harsh on you, so I recommend going with brown or grey. For extra volume and thickness go for a few extra coats of mascara, but for every day wear I recommend going with the standard 2, concentrating primarily on the outermost/longest lashes.

So to Recap: For amazing lashes make sure to treat you lashes every night before you go to bed, curl, primer and mascara. Throughout the week I will try to add more lash tips including a bit on eyelash weaves, permanent eyelash curling, and fiber crystals. If you have any questions, post them and I will do my best to answer!!!!

The first tip: Lips

My very first makeup tip:
Lipgloss: we all know it, use it, LOVE IT...but did you know that most lipgloss actually highly dehydrates your lips, and over time can lead to lip wrinkling and a reduction in plumpness (and CLEARLY none of us want that ) ...

so what to do, you ask ?

well, obviously I would NEVER tell you to give up lipgloss ...but here are some things you can do to take care of you lips ...

1) Before applying lipgloss apply chapstick (this will create a protective barrier between your lips and the dehydrating gloss)

2) Try to go for lipgloss with a moisturizer in it or a tinted lip balm ... my fave right now is this new brand they carry at the bay called Napoleon, the gloss is called Lip Lacquer. This is quite the revolutionary gloss because it stays on for HOURS and really does moisturize your lips .... yet, it has its downfalls because I do find the color selection quite limiting (and most of the available colors to be a bit unwearable), but if you find a good color for yourself I do suggest getting it becuase for around $20 you get a HUGE tube of gloss (will last at least a year) that keeps your lips hydrated.

3) This is just good lip care sportsmanship basically... EVERY NIGHT BEFORE YOU GO TO BED PUT LIP BALM ON YOUR LIPS... try it, and you will see results in just a month (but you have to do it EVERY night)... you lose a lot of moisture from your lips while you sleeps, and the only way to prevent this is to protect your lips with a balm at night .... my faves for this are Kheils #1 lip balm or Biotherm lip balm (mmm it smells like peaches and is quite glossy) ...

Here is a fun way to jazz up your lip balm:
take a bit of loose shadow and with a lip brush or q-tip mix it with a bit of liquid balm to add a bit of color and sparkle into it ... may fave loose shadow to do this with is MAC's Fuchsia Pigment (great sexy baby doll pink, for that perfect pout) .... another great and cheap way to do this is with the blistex lip medex ( a must have for every girl) , you can mix the loose shadow right into the jar of lip balm and pretty much have a HAWTT new gloss that serves your lips well (if you are finding it hard to mix the loose shadow into the blistex lip medex container put it in the microwave for about 5 seconds to melt it a bit and then mix it in) !!!

EYElash tinting, EYElash perms, false lashes and EYElash Weaves ... oh my !!!

hese are some semi permanent thing you can get dome to your lashes to make them HOT...

Eyelash tinting - i personally think this is a bit of a waste of money because it doesn’t provide so much fullness to the lashes and only lasts about 10 days.

Eyelash Perms - I think these are the HOTNESS, and if you have straight stubborn lashes that stick straight out instead of up I urge you to get one. What they do is chemically curl your lashes to stick straight up. The great thing about this is that you don’t have to worry about curling your lashes at all and this lasts for about 2 months. I recommend going to a nicer salon to get this done (should be paying about $40-$50) properly. if you get this done then i recommend that you also get the movala double lash because this is quite dehydrating for you little lash hairs.

False Lashes - when done right, I love the sexy glam look of a few extra long false lashes placed strategically on the top lid . So how to do them right, you ask? Always go with INDIVIDUAL lashes rather than the old fashion (and tacky) whole line of lashes. Apply the individual lashes with tweezers to the outer corner of your eyes, and then make sure to LINE the eye with some chocolaty brown or smudgy black to hide all evidence of these eyelashes not truly being your own ...

Eyelash Weaves -(in case you don’t know what there are, this is when they actually weave little false lashes onto your existing lashes).... another waste of money in my humble opinion. While they look super hot for about 3 days, they start to go sour pretty fast, and are also rather uncomfortable and make your natural lashes fall out ... if you insist on getting one of these then make sure you go to a really good and clean place because I’ve heard lots of eye infection horror stories with these ...