sixty three.

For my recent birthday, my cousin Alice, with whom i share a love of coffee table books, bought me a beautiful inspirational book!

Its called "THE SELBY - is in your place"

It takes you on a journey through some pretty interesting people's homes...

(Dan Single from Ksubi is one of them)

It's very cool & a little bit kooky.. actually, very kooky, & is now on my "must read" list for when I'm needing a bit of inspiration!

x

sixty two.

See my lashes?

Ugly photo aside, my lashes are looking pretty lush huh!

This brings me to my THIRD new love.

YSL's 'luxurious mascara for a false lash effect."

Need i say more?

I don't think so!

xx

sixty one.

Did i say I'd only found ONE new love in my last post?

Well that was an understatement.

I meant I'd actually found THREE new loves.

My second, is YSL's Top Secrets flash radiance skincare brush.

In easier terms - skin primer that makes your skin glow! 

(glow as in look radiant, not glow in the dark!!!)

Its a lightweight, water based primer that makes your skin feel soft like velvet & helps to make skin look instantly luminous!

I'm not the biggest fan of primers due to their sometimes oily look & tendency to encourage your make up to slide right off your face!  However,  this one sits beautifully on the skin, you can't feel or see any oil & if anything, helps your make up to last longer!

Did i mention it smells amazing too??

Apply it a couple of minutes before applying your make up so it has time to settle into your skin & be sure to use it next time you're feeling & looking a little tired!

xx

sixty.

Now for a bit of a product review....

I've found yet another new love.

Giorgio Armani long lasting satin lip colour - number 401.

Holy Moley!

Its an INCREDIBLE red-orange colour.  I don't particularly believe in "long lasting" lip colours because as we all know they usually start wearing off after our first couple of sips of a drink.  However, i would say this is about as long lasting as you can get!

It feels so soft and silky on your lips & is a very deep, strong colour.

All you girls that swing to the orange side of the colour chart - get onto this immediately! 

LOVE love LOVE!

I'm now going to try ALL their colours!

x

fiftynine.

Quote of the day.!  

"She alone makes & breaks the rules for her life.  

She possesses that rare gift of individuality; 

she doesn't need approval from anyone or anything."

-Ashley Olsen on Mary Kate Olsen.

fiftyeight.

If you're interested in fashion photography.

check out this book/magazine.

Gives you great insider info to how to get into the industry & how it works!

fiftyseven.

SEE-CHEE

Is one of my favourite blogs to follow.

It is run by Steven Chee who is one of the most successful (& incredible) fashion & advertising photographers in Australia.

His posts keep you updated with his travels & adventures, his latest photographic finds & the beautiful models he works with.

Reading his blog helps me to continue striving for a successful career in make up...

Hope it gives you some inspiration too 

x

fiftysix.

To me, the most simple elements of a make up are what make it the most beautiful.

Pay attention to the small details that make a big difference.

Skin & brows.

They are the two things that help a make up go from.."yeah okay..." to "WOW!"

You don't need to apply everything you've learned to every make up that you do.

Skin with a beautiful sheen.

Highlighting in all the right places.

beautiful, full brows.

soft lips.

Less can definitely be more.

x

fiftyfive.

Make up of the 1940s...

fiftyfour.

Make up of the 1930s

fiftythree.

This has come straight out of my make up lesson book which i had with Rae Morris.  

Make up of the 1920's..

fiftytwo.

This rule is one that can make a big difference to how your make up turns out.

Cream on cream.

Powder on powder.

To break it down - this means if you use a cream or liquid foundation, you must continue your make up with creamy products.. cream blush, cream eyeshadow (which by the way, only lasts 5 minutes) etc...

 

Same goes for powder.

There is only one way to work around this..

If you use a liquid foundation & you then want to apply a powder blush/eyeshadow, you must first dust on some light translucent powder over the area before appling the blush/eyeshadow. You can't go straight onto the creamy skin with a powdered colour, well i mean you CAN, no one is forcing you, but i definitely wouldn't advise it, otherwise it will crease up & start separating.. kind of like oil & water!

& that's NOT a good look!

fiftyone.

Continuing....

So, here are the colours you should use to highlight for different skin tones!

There is one golden (HA! its funny because highlighters are usually golden) rule for highlighting & that is the colour you choose to highlight with must have a shimmery or shiny finish (otherwise it won't "highlight" your skin. duh) & it must always be the same colour as your skin, or lighter.

For pale skin - the best colour to use is eggshell or off-white.

Laura Mercier make a powder called "Stardust" which is perfect for all you pasty skins out there!

Don't worry, I'm not trying to offend you, I'm also included in this category.  i was flattered the other day when i was put in the medium skin tone category.. of course i had fake tan on.

I also love Model Co's "luminosity shimmer stick".  In fact, i would say that i can't get enough of it. I reapply constantly & It's a lot easier to carry around than stardust.  Its a cream rather than powder.

For medium skin tones - Rose golds or soft golds are best.

MAC make a beautiful pigment called "Melon".

For dark skin tones- never use pale shades, you don't want to look frosty! Instead, use golden bronze or just straight bronze colours.

 L'Oreal make a gold eyeshadow called "Sepia Sparkle" which i double up as a highlighter!

For black skin - use dark chocolate colours with shimmer, dark bronze or burgundy bronze.

I also have MAC pigments for this, "Old Gold" & "Pink Branze" are perfect! 

I really hope this has inspired you to add highlighting to your everyday make up regime!

ENJOY!

x

FIFTY!

Making it to fifty tips should be celebrated.. 

Yay! Happy 50th tips & tricks section to me!

(cue clapping & cheering...)

SO I'm give you a really good make up tip. its one of those things that is SO simple to do yet so, SO beautiful when done properly!

Its called highlighting!

Firstly, I'm going to explain to you what highlighting is & show you where to do it.

That will take up one post.

Then in the next couple of posts I'll tell you the best products & colours to use, because frankly its freaking hard trying to think of a fabulous new tip every day.

 Seriously.

 Highlighting is an amazing trick, which brings make up to life.  It turns the most simple make up, into an incredibly beautiful one.  It helps make up to look polished, expensive & very sexy. 

Here are some examples of where highlighting has been used in my work..

see the beautiful shimmer on the top of her cheekbone?

& the beautiful shine down the centre of her nose & on her cupid's bow...

the sheen above her brows, on her nose, cheek, cupids bow & chin...

& the glow on her lips?

Yes these girls would still look great without highlighting... 

but they just wouldn't have that WOW!!! factor...

  Highlighting is basically pulling forward an area & making it stand out, which is why its SO important to highlight in the right areas!

Here is a map of the face with the most beautiful areas to highlight shown in purple.

Starting from the top, they are;

* The middle of the forehead just above your brows 

(only if you don't have oily skin, if you do you don't want to highlight that!) 

 * Just underneath your brows on the top of your brow bone

This looks especially beautiful because it catches the light when you turn from side to side

* The inner corners of your eyes & in the middle of your eyelids

* The tops of your cheekbones

Don't smile when you do this, you don't want the product to wrinkle!

* Straight down the centre of the nose.

When i say straight, i mean straight! you don't want to look like you have a wonky nose if you actually don't! Also, if your nose is prominent don't highlight here as it can make your nose appear wider.

* Cupid's bow of the lip.

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE ONE!

It makes your lips appear fuller & looks great on pretty much everyone!

* Chin

Again, don't highlight if your chin is prominent or if you have oily skin.

A couple of tips with highlighting..

Always make sure your highlighter blends into the skin so it looks like a natural glow.

Never highlight heavily blemished areas or areas where you are conscious of wrinkles or lines.

Never highlight overly oily areas, under the eyes or on puffy eyelids.

& always choose the right colour to highlight with..

Which i will explain in post 51.

to be continued....

x

fortynine.

This is for my number one (& probably only - haha) reader!

Make up can make you look pretty on the outside. 

But it doesn't help if you're ugly on the inside. 

Unless you eat the make up.

 x

fortyeight.

As a make up artist, i work with a lot of beautiful people...

One little tip that has rubbed off on me, is to add some fresh lemon to your drinking water.

It assists in getting rid of the toxins that build up in your body, keeping your skin clear & rejuvinated & helps your body to get rid of fat!

So easy & it definitely works. My skin has become much clearer since drinking lemon water!

fortyseven.

Says it all...

fortysix.

Another great collaboration.

Katy Perry has teamed up with OPI to create some beautiful glittery nail colours!

I'll be jumping on that bandwagon ASAP!

fortyfive.

For a quick refreshment  - invest in some Rosewater spray.

It's a lightweight spray with a great smell!

It refreshes your make up & hydrates your skin!

Also great for refreshing yourself on long flights...

x

fortyfour.

Green With Envy.

fortythree.

I am completely obsessed with coffee table books...

This is one of my faves... It's great for some old school inspiration!

The covers date from September 1916 all the way to September 2006.

It really shows how fashion repeats itself over time...

Such a beautiful book!

xx

fortytwo.

For all the self conscious people with overly shiny faces out there -

this will be your new favourite product!

The Original Super Matte Anti shine is a lightweight transparent cream that keeps shine & oil under control!

Get it for your make up bag now!  

Also great for guys to use, completely blends into the skin!

Available at Scotty's make up

fortyone.

make up by Rachel Montgomery.

Just a little tip!

To create the appearance of bigger eyes..

Use a creamy white eyeliner on the inner rims.

It also helps to make your eyes look whiter & healthier!

forty.

Last week, i did a big three day Coke Zero tv commercial...

I had the very tough (joking) job of making the guys look sweaty while being inactive..

For this I covered them in oil & then continually sprayed them with water to create little balls of "sweat".

I also had to make someone look like they were crying.. & for this i used "nipple cream" all around the eyes & drew little oil lines down his face.. it worked a treat!

... lucky he was a good sport.  He even got into the whole "nipple cream" thing...

I'll keep you updated on when the ad is released!

thirtynine.

Make Up Artists -

This is a little tip that can help you go a long way..

I learned this from the legendary Rae Morris.

If you want to shoot for Dolly, make sure the work in your portfolio is of Cleo/Cosmo standard.

If you want to shoot for Cleo/Cosmo,  you need to have work thats of Marie Claire/ Madison standard.

If you want to be shooting for Marie Claire/ Madison, you need to have work thats of Harper's/ Vogue standard.

If you want to be shooting for Harper's/ Vogue.. well, you need some beautiful & creative work 

& a bloody amazing portfolio!

thirtyeight.

If you've ever wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes at a magazine or even a photo shoot..

Watch Park St on Arena

Wednesday nights at 9.30

You may even get a glimpse of me doing make up for a couple of their shoots!

x

thirtyseven.

Stylists say...

 

The Number one MUST HAVE piece for your wardrobe =  a neat, tailored blazer in a classic colour.

 Photo from theyallhateus

thirtysix.

Lady Gaga has teamed up with MAC again!

her 2011 product for MAC's Aids fund is a beautiful warm nude lipstick.

It's the perfect match for a smokey eye!

Every dollar from the sale goes straight to the cause!

Get it while its hot!

x

thirtyfive.

In Australia, it can be quite hard to find a great foundation for dark skin tones..

Until now.

Atelier foundation is the key!

Such beautiful coverage & a great range of colours..

Google it to find your local stockists.

thirtyfour.

Here's a little tip!

When applying a bold lip colour... 

dab a tiny bit of foundation to your lip first, then powder to help the colour last longer!

thirtythree.

This year you'll see the return of the red lip..

in all variations of the colour.

blue red, orange red, burgundy red, from glossy to matte...

Try it..

EMBRACE IT!

thirtytwo.

Again, I've been MIA... unfortunately there was a tragedy in the family so i haven't been able to come home to my computer to continue blogging!

So to put a smile on my dial & get back into the swing of things..

here are a few fun references!

xx