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.

Sculpting/Contouring: Lights and shadows

I once heard: “How you contour a face can either make you or break you as a makeup artist.”

Inexperienced as I was, I didn’t quite comprehend the full meaning of this statement – that is until I witnessed my first “sculpted” face.

Hmmm… how could I explain? Imagine wearing non-name brand shapeless clothing all your life and then suddenly being dressed in DIOR.
It gives your face a sense of sophistication not duplicated by any other technique in Make-up.

In his book “Making Faces” Kevyn Aucoin has enclosed an image of a model’s torso where he’s emphasized with a dark concealer where the shadings should be applied and with a white concealer where the highlights should be applied.

Making Faces - Kevyn Aucoin

Beautifully and eloquently explained with much greater detail, I give you a video by Pixiwoo.

The Chromatic circle

The Chromatic Circle:

The Chromatic circle of colours is a theory based on the mixture of colour substances.
For a Makeup Artist, the comprehension of this theory is KEY in order to create simple mixtures.
The better you understand this theory, the better the makeup artist you are.

The centre of this circle is composed of our three "primary colours". These are the purest of colours - pure because they have not gone through any mixes. Blue,  yellow and red. 
(I know i'm repeating myself here but bare with me, this is the important stuff)

Right outside the triangle of the three primary colours you will find the "secondary colours": green, orange and purple. These colours are the result of an equal mix of two primary colours.

Green, which is composed of the blue and the yellow.        
Purple, which is composed of the red and blue.                   
Orange, which is composed of the red and the yellow         

And finally outside the secondary colours of the circle, you will find the "tertiary colours" (yes tertiary is a word, i double checked.)

These colours are the direct result of the mix between (in equal parts again) of one primary colour and one secondary colour.

Turquoise:   mix of blue and green. 
Indigo:         mix of blue and purple.
Plum:           mix of red and purple.
Vermilion:   mix of red and orange.
Copper:       mix of yellow &  orange.
Lime green: mix of yellow and green.



Ok, one more category and then we're done! Phew.

The Complementary Colours:

In the Chromatic Circle the "complementary colours" are pairs of colours that are of opposite hue.
Because they oppose each other, once placed alongside one another,  the contrast will compliment the opposing colour - hence the name "complimentary colour".
Perfect example: the red Christmas ornament which will appear all the more red once placed on the green Christmas tree.

Here's the interesting part, we just said that when they're placed alongside one another they compliment each other but what happens when mixed together? Well guess what, they NEUTRALIZE each other.
Hairdressers (colour technicians rather) use this trick all the time. For example, if you're a red head and you want to go blonde, the colour technician will mix in a little dollop of concentrated green pigment into the hair colour in order to cut the red.

So how can you tell what is a colour's complimenting opposite?
Easy, you just use the logic behind the theory.

If you're thinking "what logic?" then i'm doing a terrible job of explaining - my bad.
(in which case i would suggest looking at the image of the Chromatic Circle to spot the opposing colour.

Here are some examples that will hopefully make it more clear.

Take our secondary colours for instance:
Green is composed of blue and yellow so the colour that hasn't entered its composition is red, therefore making red its complimentary colour.
Purple is composed of blue and red and the colour not engaged in its composition is yellow, thus making yellow its complimentary colour.
Orange, being composed of red and yellow, having blue play no part in its composition, makes blue its complimentary colour.

Capisci? ;)

So knowing what we know, the following will now make total sense.
As a Makeup artist you will obviously come across faces with imperfections.
How will we correct them? By determining the colour of the imperfection and using its complimentary colour to neutralize it.
(How refreshing to actual learn something you will apply in real life @ all the b.s. classes i had to take along the years)

Red pimple/scar: green corrector
Blue circles under the eyes: peachy or orangish corrector
Purple circle under the eyes: yellow or golden corrector ...umm isn't a purple circle a black eye? :s :/
Green circle under they eyes: peachy or pinkish corrector.

Now, how do we highlight a colour. Comment le mettre en valeur?

Blue eyes   :golden or orangish eye shadow hues.
Green eyes : pinkish or mauve eye shadow hues.
Brown eyes: turquoise or blueish eyeshadow hues.

Now that we have the knowledge, it is essential to mix our own colours in order to adapt to each client. Don't forget - the client's hair colour, skin tone, outfit and even personal preference will also influence the choices you make as an artist. So don't be shy, it's your canvas.


Tomorrow i will cover the warm colours vs. the cold colours. Can't wait :/


Blog to you soon,

Sahar