Everything's Coming Up Golden

So the holidays might be done but we are now right in the midst of Award Season which has me continuing to think about festive, beautiful makeup. On Smash, we did a musical number involving angels and we gave them a gold wash of eyeshadow with a dot of highlight on the inner corner of the eye, glowing skin and pink gloss. It was very sweet and it reminded me of all the images of golden makeup I have been seeing around. Gold eyeshadow has a lot of pop but is neutral enough that you can still glam it up further with a bold red lip like Dolce & Gabbana in Devil or MAC in Ladybug for something sheerer and more moisturizing. The look is fresh and sophisticated. Or you can let the gold be the theme and combine a deep gold eyeshadow with a nude lipgloss like D&G in Glossy that is a nudey-tude lipgloss with flecks of gold in it, and some bright blush. MAC Gorgeous Gold and Goldrush are two fun, rich colors - Gorgeous Gold has a little hint of green and Goldrush is a little warmer - and the MAC pricepoint is not too high. The limited edition Silent Night by Nars looks pretty luxe too. Wear it as a sheer wash or put on a creamy primer and do a deep bling on the eye. I like the idea of pale skin with these looks but you could add bronzer if you want to really J. Lo it up. But for some reason that doesn't feel as contemporary.
This is the look that I'm pretty inspired by right now so give it a try and let me know what other ideas you come up with!

Btw, I just bought the tinted moisturizer from the new line No. 7 in Target to give it a whirl. It is the undercover discount line from Chanel, just FYI, which probably means that the formulas are the same but without all the bells and whistles. For that reason, the packaging for the line is uninspired and they were out of the lipstick collaborations with Poppy, the Lipstick Queen. But the formula for the tinted moisturizer is quite nice and for $12, a lovely alternative the La Mer Fluid Tint that I j'adore. However, in a mega makeup mishap, I combined it with my yam cream whilst rushing to get out of the house for a movie screening and some combo of the yams and the pigment in the No. 7 moisturizer combusted and turned a nice streaky orange all over my face! What a surprise! And of course these things always happen when you are in a rush. Luckily we sat in a dark room for the next two hours so if I had missed a spot in the removal, noone could tell...

Winter Skin Woes, Dry Skin Solutions

So, with the winter weather finally arriving, my skin is taking a turn for the worse. I already have dry skin but it's a constant battle trying to keep my face from falling off once the thermometer drops. And it got me thinking that maybe my Pigment readers might struggle with similar winter scales. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve both high end and shoestring that help keep skin fresh in the cold.

Let me start with lip balms. I have trouble getting excited about lip balm. They all seem to work. But people love the Jack Black brand because it is thick and rich but not shiny or sticky. It's very soothing and just a wee minty. But I'm a fan of cherry Chapstick too...

When it comes to face creams, obviously, Creme de La Mer is a gold standard for deep moisture. I mean, it was invented to help heal burns so our skin issues seem puny in comparison. But if the price tag has you giving me the stink eye, I found this amazingly emollient cream when I was in northern Michigan this summer made in Traverse City of all places (NY snob alert). Creation Pharm Skin Renewal Cream with Wild Yam is all natural, unprocessed ingredients with skin regenerating Evening Primrose, Borage OIl, Cherry Kernel Oil, and Wild Yam extract. When I put it on at night I come to bed and my husband says "mmmmm, yams". But in a good way. The best part is the price: $15 for a big yammy jam jar.

My newest obsession comes courtesy of Arthur's nanny, Angela who recommended NeoStrata Problem Dry Skin Cream. The website description makes it seem like it might be for knees and elbows but sometimes that's how dry my face feels. The cream isnt super pricey and it's got a 20% alpha hydroxy formula so it is not for the squeamish but it peels your skin off in the best way to reveal your baby skin underneath. But don't forget sunscreen with this puppy.

As far as cleansers go, I trust good old Pond's Cold Cream like Grandma used to use which makes my skin feel really well taken care of. And its like $4.50. But if you don't want all those parabens, which are anti-microbial preservatives that are getting called into question for their potential toxicity, you could use a cleanser like Epicuren Apricot Cream Cleanser.

And my favorite trick of all is probably the cheapest. On the days when my skin is feeling desperate, I take a scoop of my least used/cheapest moisturizer - does everyone have like 5 leftover jars of moisturizer like I do?? No? Ok, then use olive or grapeseed oil - and a fist full of sugar and scrub your face with the mixture until the sugar dissolves and your skin is smooth and glowing. You will taste and look delicious!

Stay tuned next week I will have some insight into the fabulous and overwhelming world of Awards Show Makeup!

Drag!

So another day on the set of Smash, another fun makeup!
This one was a big challenge for me because I had never done drag makeup before. And my lovely subject was a performer used to drag (read: Broadway dancer starring in Priscilla Queen of the Desert) but not a professional drag queen so the eyebrows were a challenge. In fact, they were THE challenge aside from going against ALL of my instincts as a makeup artist and doing MORE MORE MORE! I took some tips from the beautiful Manila Luzon, a lovely and fierce DQ who is, according to her website, in a relationship with another DQ. I love it.
I first used a thick adhesive called pros-aide to glue down the eyebrows. My particular subject had particularly strong eyebrows so it took some doing. Then a quick blast with the blow drier on cool to speed up the glue drying process. Next we had to smooth out the glue which took a powder puff FULL of loose powder mashed into the eyebrows to really tamp those suckers down. Poor contact lenses! Then foundation all over and then contour up to where the eyebrows used to be and drawn on eyebrows daintily above that. Then more makeup and eyelashes than I had ever previously put on a person's face in my life. SO FUN.
My feeling is that this poor guy was my first attempt and if I could have had the chance to do it again or do another lady after him, I would be much less ham fisted. But isn't that just how the world works? Anyway, it was a delightful way to spend a morning and fun way to make a living!

Flapper Makeup for the Holidays? Why Not?

So I have been working 2 days a week (now that I am no longer able to pull 70 hour weeks, thank you, Arthur!) and have been frequently pitching in working for my friend Persefone over at the soon to air show Smash (debuting post-Superbowl, Feb 6 on NBC). Its a show about the real life drama in putting together a Broadway smash hit and it has SUCH fun makeup. Working there has been like a continuing education course in stylized makeup. Every week it is something fun and dramatic from Flapper makeups to Drag. This week I'll focus on the Flapper Look we achieved for the dancers in one of the show-within-the-show's musical numbers.

Persefone designed these makeups to look authentically of the period but they came out so beautifully that it got me thinking that they were the perfect starting point to think about holiday party looks as well. What is most stunning about this particular makeup is not only the use of dramatic color but the specificity of shape for the eyes and lips. The eyes were deep, plummy greys that had a soft glossiness (but not sparkle) and a super round eyebrow. The key to the look is the shape of the shadow. Instead of a contemporary smoky eye, we didn't follow the natural contour of the dancers lids but instead created an almost horizontal teardrop shape which imparts a sleepy, pouty look. Try Mac Carbon layered with Blackberry and then use a light shimmery grey like Crystal to smudge and blend it out. I pretty much did the whole look with one domed contour brush and my fingers. Then tons of mascara and a strip of lashes if you've got 'em. It screams "Damn Prohibition! Get me a gin cocktail!"

The skin is flawless and contoured (my latest favorite as discovered by my friend Dina, is the Kevin Aucoin Pure Powder in Natura) but without any serious blush and the lips are a deep, vampy plum or red. Try Mac Seeds of Desire Mattene Lipstick with Absolutely It liner. The key to these lips is that the line doesn't extend all the way out to the corners of the mouth but instead comes up in an almost heart shape to create that Clara Bow lip. The combo of the sweetness of the shape with the drama of the color is striking and easy to recreate. Add the wig, headpiece and costume and the result is a transportive, gorgeous 20's flapper.

Now, if you take the makeup apart and just do the eye with a glossy nude lip or the stylized lipline with just blush and mascara, throw on one of the MANY sequined tops or dresses I've been seeing around and forgo the feathered headdress, you can reinterpret the look for a modern update and just in time for all the holiday parties I'm sure Pigment readers are headed out to. Have fun and stick a flask in your garter for me!

Avon Calling...

So my sister Rachael has come up with a business idea for me and then made it happen. I have become the modern day Avon lady! The idea came when her friend Eugenie was saying that she didn't know what of her makeup she should keep and what she should toss and what she could add. She said to Rachael "What I REALLY want is for Rebecca to go through my makeup bag" and this got Rachael's wheels spinning. So she and Eugenie both organized parties and invited around 8 of their friends who attended for a (modest) fee. There was wine, there was cheese, I gave a schpiel and a demo, no big whoop. Then I sat with each woman individually and with a face chart, sorted their makeup bags, made suggestions as to what to add and was ruthless about what to toss. I had my whole kit with me so that I could give very specific product recommendations and the ladies could see for themselves if they liked them. And since I'm not selling anything beyond my service, there was no pressure although I'm pretty sure that there will be a bump in sales at the Westchester and Cold Springs Sephoras in Tarte products since I had a bag of their blushes/cheek stains/lip stains/ etc. that were all the rage. They even have some sparkly lip lusters that are perfect for holiday. I also brought catalogs for companies that are kind of under the makeup retail radar that are great values and not necessarily known outside of the industry. And while I was meeting with the individual ladies the rest of the gang was chatting it up party style. It was a really fun way to spend a Thursday evening for me and hopefully them too!

The one major thing I wanted to convey while I was talking and giving the demo was that I want to change the dialogue when it came to talking about makeup. Too many women said to me 'I want you to help HIDE...' or 'help me CAMOUFLAGE...' or 'I just get INTIMIDATED by makeup' and it bums me out! Makeup isn't chemo! Thank god. It's totally inessential and fun! Sure, makeup can sometimes look funky - so just wash it off! Instead of hiding, HIGHLIGHT! Instead of camouflage, ENHANCE! I once worked with a woman who was wearing neon orange mascara. Was it a look for everyone? Probably not. But was it striking and fun to look at? Yep. Concealer can help you cover a blemish but sometimes my bright pink lipstick simply brightens up my day. Makeup should make you feel better but not because it's covering you up. I think we should all think about what we look to makeup to help us with and then cheer those thoughts up.

Lace!

So I sat myself down after the baby went to sleep determined to figure out how to work those Sally Hansen Nail Effects and it turns out that you can do it all wrong and it will still look fabulous and last a week. I chose the lace effect and even though they kept getting mistaken for those digital widgets that are everywhere on magazines and windows, I thought they looked pretty cool.
All you do is clean your nails, fit the decals (there are 16 in a box so that you can get the ones that fit your nail bed best), peel off the plastic and stick them to your nails. You then pull them and they break off and then you file the ends away. The result is very smooth and, quite frankly, easier than polish because you don't even need to wait for them to dry! And I've never gotten more "whoa! Cool nails!" comments in my life. Even my nieces thought I looked cool.
Mission accomplished.

Magnets!

So, every once in a while Vogue does a piece on the latest in nail fashion. Usually its a little much for me - $300 for pieces of shed snakeskin glued on to a pedicure? Probably not gonna happen for me. And I hate the look of those little flowers drawn on to a manicure. But the latest is all about nail polish infused with...MAGNETS! Special effects nails with an edge! So exciting although I'm not sure why. I marched myself to Sephora and bought the badass gunmetal gray color and then went to my favorite ladies at Polish Nail Salon in Park Slope ($20 mani/pedi!) and we tried it out. It took some experimenting to get the effect right but, since I've been going to Polish for 8 years, they humored me and really got into it. You have to do one nail at a time, two coats per nail and then immediately hold the magnet that is built into the lid of the polish over the wet nail. But then voila! Voila what exactly? I'm not sure. But it looks cool and what's wrong with a little nail fun in these dreary news cycles.
Which got me thinking about those Salon Effects nail kits from Sally Hansen. I bought the Lace Effect one and will be experimenting with it tonight. Stay tuned.

Also, next week I will be working on the soon to air show Smash doing period 1920s and 50s makeups. Stay double tuned!