Demystifying primers and toners – What are they and do we really need them?

Before I attended my Artistic Makeup program and way before the time of youtube makeup tutorials, the only way I could really teach myself about makeup was by reading everything I could find on the subject  but also by getting my makeup done professionally in the hopes of  picking up live pointers . 

Leaving these makeup application bookings, I always wondered why my makeup, more specifically my skin, always looked significantly better than when I applied the makeup myself.
Sure their technique was stronger but I knew there was more to it than that but WHAT?

That is until I started my Artistic Makeup course, and there they were, right where I couldn’t ignore them anymore: the toner and the primer.

OK so maybe a picture depicting magic potion bottles is a bit much, but I'm trying to stress a point here. 

You might wonder how had I managed to ignore these products all of these years, surely the makeup artists used them on my face, and you would be right, they always did. Here is the somewhat embarrassing truth: when I would get my makeup done at a counter,  it was easy to ignore the toner and primer because I thought it was the artist’s attempt at selling more products thus making more money.

However, when i started my makeup course, I knew my teacher didn’t gain anything by pushing the products, if anything it would put his students: future makeup artists, at a financial disadvantage by making them purchase material that is, let’s face it, on the pricey side. So what other reason could he have had than to push products unless the end result would make up for the price. So I threw in the towel, tried it and got hooked.

Having said all that, if you are still skeptical or on a budget and you had to skip one of them, don’t skip the primer! No wait, the toner! ummm  ... how about i leave it up to you to decide?
Here are the benefits and use of each:

Toner:

Designed to cleanse/decongest the skin of remaining residue, to shrink the appearance of pores, to eliminate oils and to get the skin ready to absorb the active ingredients in other products.
All that sound good? Great but I've saved the best for last, the best and main function of the toner is return the skin to its natural PH level. 

Primer:

Designed to prep your skin for makeup by creating a smooth base, to "set" your makeup to make it last, and more importantly, to prevent your skin from absorbing talc and pigment from your foundation. 

My current favorite primer? Make Up For Ever HD microperfecting primer.

The Art of shaping Eyebrows.

Eyebrows, in the opinion of many, make or break the face; it’s as simple as that, no sugar coating possible.

For those of you who have over plucked for years and are now left with a few sparse hairs, I will be talking about my favourite eyebrow pencil in just a bit.

However, if you happen to live Montréal (Canada), I can even go further than that - message me for the  contact info of an incredibly talented “permanent makeup tattoo artist” named Colombe. She will recreate strand by strand the impression of having eyebrows.

Back to my rant/tutorial:

If I were to get a quarter for every time I spotted a beautiful face ruined by what some like to call: "the sperm shaped brows" - I would be rich, not filthy rich but rich all the same. That is saying a lot people! So, the lesson to be learned here today is: If you do not know how to shape your eyebrows, either learn how or take an appointment with a professional that does. It's really quite that simple.

The "sperm shaped brows" - enough said.

Here is a picture depicting the general rules to follow when shaping your own eyebrows:

The "rules".

As you can see each point commences from the side of your nose.
These 3 lines represent where your:
-  eyebrow should commence
-  your arch should peak
-  eyebrow should end

Here's how:

Where the eyebrow should start: 

Use a ruler and place it vertically along the side of your nose reaching upwards passing through the inner corner of your eye.

The place where the ruler meets your eyebrow is where your eyebrow should start.

Where the arch should peak:

Use the ruler again, look straight ahead and from the corner of your nose, line up the ruler diagonally passing through where your pupil ends.  The place where the ruler meets the eyebrow is where your arch should peak.

Where they Eyebrow should end:

Hold the ruler at a diagonal from the corner of your nose again but this time passing through the outer corner of your eye.

The place where the ruler meets your eyebrow is where your brow should end.

This being said, we can only work with what we have. So, if you do not have enough to work with, my absolute favorite eyebrow pencil is from Christian Dior and it's called: DIOR SHOW BROW STYLER in Universal brown. Unless you have blond or ginger eyebrows, this will do to perfection. $30CAD It might seem a bit pricey to some, but it lasts a very long time.

Diorshow Brow Styler Ultra-Fine Precision Brow Pencil 

Makeup on dark skins

I had heard that lighter eyebrows look nicer on dark skins but i think this is a bit much.

Yesterday’s class was about make-up on dark skins. What an eye opener.

The first thing you’ll notice when applying makeup on dark skin is that the colors, once applied, seem to disappear into the skin leaving but a hint.

Of course, you have many shades to dark skin and I am talking more of a medium dark to a very dark for right now.

 To sum up the lessons learned yesterday:

1)      Use a lot of product & use it without fear -  you have a lot of play room, believe me.

2)      Use bright, vivid colors; they look beautiful on dark skin when well blended.

4)      Darker colors tend not to show as you’d expect them to, be ready to work them in.

4)      Try the colors on your model’s hand first; you’ll notice your palette will look quite different.

5)      Use matte products freely as darker skins tend to be normal to oily.

6)      Using too light a color may turn out grayish, a red primer would be a way to counteract this.

(I was going for a top ten but i came short :(  if you know of anymore tips, leave comments and help me out)

The forehead and chin tend to be darker than the rest of the face. Some Makeup Artists prefer to match the colour to the lighter of the two. Some prefer the opposite. I actually like the outcome of both.
But as anything else, the preference of the model/client takes precedence here.

An amazing powder our teacher introduced us to, was called:  “Cocoa powder". It's a type of coppery cocoa color that does wonders on dark skin, it is to be used as a loose powder of some sort, or perhaps even as a powder foundation with a brush. I'll get the exact details in my next class and if I get the "okay" from my teacher and classmates, I'll add some pictures we took in class that day.

Blog soon,

Sahar



Beauty Icons of the 1940s - Veronica Lake, Rita Hayworth, Lauren Bacall

Veronica Lake





War has invaded Europe and has mobilized America in its entirety.
The men are off to war and money is scarce. 
In Europe, due to rations, makeup becomes a product of luxury.
In America, the women have replaced the men in the workforce.
Makeup, no longer affordable, beauty is now associated with a natural healthy glow.
The look has become more subtle, the face - less pale, the eyes and eyebrows subdued, only the red lips have remained.
Women are more implicated in society; they have become more active, they take care of their bodies.  It’s the end of the FEMMES FATALES. 



Pin ups are reborn for the men to dream whilst away at war.

Rita Hayworth



Rita Hayworth



Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall

Veronica Lake

Here's a Veronica lake Tutorial by pixiwoo.

Hope you found it as helpful as i did.
Blog to you soon,

Sahar

Beauty Icons of the 1930s - Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich



Greta Garbo



In America, the 1930s were marked by the economic crisis which led to the unemployment and financial ruin of many. In Europe, by fascism and Nazism. These were hard times, so you can imagine how more and more people turned towards the Cinema to momentarily escape reality.

Alas, the very young Jean Harlow enters the picture. She creates quite a stir as the very first Hollywood star to emerge with platinum blond hair.



Jean Harlow


Her admirers are delighted and attempt to copy her look to the peril of their own hair.
Her eyebrows are shaved and redrawn in a very fine semi-circular line that drags down at the end.
The eyes are enhanced by heavy false lashes and the lips completely redrawn in the shape of a heart and coloured in a very dark red.
The picture I've enclosed is black and white so you're going to have to take my word for it. ;)  (well mine, and wikipedia's anyway)

Jean Harlow - notice the shaved and redrawn eyebrows

Another very influential icon that emerges in this decade was Marlene Dietrich - her fans go as far as waxing their foreheads and pulling out their wisdom teeth to recreate the wide forehead and hollow cheeks of this beauty.

Marlene Dietrich



Marlene Dietrich


As you can see, this German beauty also had her eyebrows shaved and very thinly redrawn in the same semi-circular line. But what made Marlene Dietrich stand out, was the almost architectural facial bone structure that was unique to her.
These women were seductive, provocative, they became known as the FEMME FATALES.

I've also included a FANTASTIC Marlene Dietrich tutorial by Pixiwoo.
This look is important to know well because as Sam says in the video: "if you're a makeup artist, it will be referenced to you time and time again."

Applying false lashes

Pixiwoo - Who What Where

That's the Pixiwoo banner and web address.

If you’ve been following my blog, then you’ve surely stumbled upon videos I’ve posted by Pixiwoo.
I’m writing a post about them to avoid repeating how great they are on ever single post I use their videos on.

I’ll start off by telling you who they are, why I love their work so much as to have - thus far, solely used their tutorials. I’ll also tell you where to get more of them.

Pixiwoo:  A Make-up Artist duo (sisters) with their own make-up tutorial channel on www.youtube.com and website of the same name.

Nicola (Nic) of pixiwoo applying Make-up @ the Becca counter in Australia

As to why I love their videos/work - here are my reasons:

They are immensely talented, I don’t need to add anything to this - their videos speak for themselves.
They’re articulate & eloquent in their explanations.
They’re very versatile – just look at the wide variety of looks they’ve created or recreated.
They’re refreshingly professional – they stick to the subject at hand and their videos don’t drag.
They use all sorts of products ranging from ILA MASQUA to pharmacy brands.
They have an extensive stash to choose from and they truly do use them all.
They give you their real unbiased opinions about each product
They’re very up-to-date with looks and new make-up lines.
They each have fifteen years of experience in the field and it shows in their work.
They always tell you the name of each product or brush that they work with.
They tell you of their experiences so you gain from it. For example: because they‘ve used foundations from all the brands out there and they come out and say: “CHANEL is the best when it comes to consistently making amazing foundations”. Then I obviously will not waste tons of money trying out different foundations and go straight for CHANEL.
(By the way, they couldn’t be more right about CHANEL foundations)

Ok, I’ll stop here because I think I just managed to convince you to follow their blog instead of mine ;)

Samantha (Sam) of Pixiwoo after her Pam Anderson youtube tutorial.