Tuesday, August 28, 2018

The Best Makeup Tips in One Post

On Sunday, I attended a makeup demonstration in Chicago called Behind the Brush. Lipstick Nick, Director of Global Artistry for Morphe taught the class. Since I have been wearing makeup from an early age and taken countless classes I didn't expect to learn many new tricks. Luckily, I was in for a surprise. I learned quite a bit from the instructor and the questions asked by other attendees. I took pages of notes to make sure I didn't forget any of this valuable information. Once I got home, I decided to apply my makeup, this time implementing everything I learned in the class. My makeup came out quite differently than my usual application, and I am very happy with the results.

Here is the process:


To begin, skin prep is key. This is not a new concept, but I did take note of the type of brush she used to apply moisturizer. Starting with a clean face, she applied Embryolisse moisturizer to the skin using a duo fiber brush. I typically use a flat foundation brush for this step. Using my Christopher Drummond Air Blender Brush (discontinued), I applied a good layer of moisture to my face. Duo fiber face brushes are something I have a lot of. Nearly every brand makes this style of brush so it is quite easy to find at every price point.

When applying makeup to someone else, I often wear my Paw Palette (a small palette that fits around the wrist used to mix makeup products). Lipstick Nick recommended disposable wax paper palette sheets which are available at most craft stores. I never tried this before, so I took a piece of wax paper from my kitchen and used it to hold any products I wanted to squeeze out or mix. The result is easier clean up. When a makeup artist is working on multiple people, it is much easier to just grab a clean sheet of paper instead of having to sanitize a hard palette in between each client. 

Next, the skin was primed, just through the T-zone. Skin prep steps will vary depending on skin type. I used a face primer from CoverFX that I received in my gift bag at the class. 

Base

For foundation she used a full coverage liquid. I used Tarte Amazonian Clay foundation, applying it with a damp beauty sponge.

For concealer, she opted for Tarte's Shape Tape. I used the more budget friendly dupe from Makeup Revolution. Concealer was applied under the eyes, under the cheekbone (just below where contour is usually placed) and a few other spots on the face more as a highlight than covering anything up. My dark circles could have used a bit of color correcting, but I wanted to follow her steps as closely as possible. 


For loose powder, Lipstick Nick works with a custom blend of her favorite face powders. I confess that I have never mixed my powders together this way. She used a mixture of Ben Nye powders, but for my custom creation I mixed Too Faced Primed and Poreless, Nuance by Salma Hayek and Beauty Bakerie together in a cap. Using my new Pro Lush Pointed Powder Brush from Crown Brush, I gently tapped the powder on to set my concealer. 

For added coverage, a colored pressed powder was then applied to the face. I used my tried and true compact from Charlotte Tilbury

Brows 

Lipstick Nick was applying makeup to Jeffree Star who shaves off his eyebrows. Therefore,  she had to draw them in by hand. She started with a lighter brow pencil to draw the outline. Then reaching for a slightly darker pencil she filled in the brow by drawing in little hair strokes, alternating between the lighter and darker brow pencil from Morphe. I used my Urban Decay Brow Pencil in a medium, neutral brown first, and then used my Milani pencil in a dark brown to complete the brows. 

Eyes


After the brows were filled in, she carved out the bottom using some concealer, and also applied some to the eyelids to prep for eyeshadow. Because she was using glitter, she applied her loose powder mixture heavily under the eyes Using a beauty sponge to catch any fallout. To set the concealer on the lids, Parched (matte ivory) eyeshadow from the Jeffree Star Cosmetics Thirsty Palette was applied. If recreating this look, I recommend setting the lids with any matte eyeshadow that is just a bit lighter than your skin tone. Parched may be too light for some, but it works well with my complexion.

The other eyeshadow palette she used besides the Thirsty Palette was a neutral palette from Morphe. I don't own any shadows from that brand, so I found similar tones in my collection from the Paula's Choice / Wayne Goss matte neutral palette & a matte palette from Sonia Kashuk. Using a blending brush, a warm peachy brown was run through the crease, and a bit onto the lids as well. Going back in with a dry brush frequently to blend, then picking up a darker matte brown for the crease helped create the base for this look.

On a smaller tapered brush Kumquat was used to define the outer corner. To apply shimmer to the lid, she sprayed a flat eyeshadow brush with setting spray, patting it on the eyelid. I found this technique interesting, as I generally pick up the pigment on my brush first and then spray the Brush with setting spray or simply opt for a glitter glue. Using Lipstick Nick's technique resulted in a much different application than I am used to. Snatched (pink champagne with ultra metallic finish) was then patted over the setting spray on the eyelid.  I found this approach results in a more subtle shimmer on the lid, making this eyeshadow surprisingly wearable for daytime.

For eyeliner, she used a black gel from Tarte. She highly recommends this product for makeup artists because the squeeze tube packaging keeps things sanitary. 

The liner was applied with an actual art brush rather than a makeup brush. I am no stranger to using art brushes for makeup application,  and did so for my look using a gel liner from Physicians Formula. 

Using a smaller brush, I applied Stroke (matte terracotta) to the lower lash line, really smoking it out. 

After this step, the loose powder under the eyes was brushed away, along with any eyeshadow fallout.

False lashes were used in the demonstration, but I was out of lash glue when I created my look, so I applied multiple coats of black mascara instead. 

For blush she mixed a couple of colors and textures from a Morphe cheek palette. I used a blush palette from my stash mixing a matte and shimmer together. 

The inner corner of the eye, and tops of the cheekbones were highlighted using a highlighting palette. I took note of the very light back and forth dusting motion she used to blend the powder into the high points of the face. 

She then created a nude lip using a Morphe liner, Lipstick and gloss.

I chose a lip liner from NYX called Vanilla Sky. Over that, I applied one of the cream lipsticks I received in my gift bag, called Ex-supermodel. For gloss,  I used Too Faced Barely Legal (a cruelty-free dupe for Nars Turkish Delight).

Here is the completed look:


What do you think? Do you notice a difference compared to other looks I have created on this site?


*This is not a sponsored post. All products were purchased by me. I do not get paid to write reviews, so you can always trust my opinions are 100% honest.

 

1 comment:

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