During the holidays, many of us are attending parties and it’s nice to change things up for these special occasions. About a month ago, I saw a video filmed by Lisa Eldridge, makeup artist extraordinaire, where she showed a cat eye using powder eye shadow. The great thing about this look is that it is easy to do so I thought I would try it and show the every day woman (who is not a trained makeup artist) that it doesn’t require a special skill level to accomplish. Many women are put off by the cat eye because it often involves liquid eyeliner, small brushes and a lot of precision. For this look, though, if I can do it, so can you! I filmed a video that I’m just now putting up on You Tube. Click below to watch!
The eye shadows I used here are:
Lorac Deep Purple (in the Pro Palette)
Mac Soba
Mac Blanc Type
Of course, you don’t have to use these exact products. I’ve gone thru my collection and have listed some potential substitutions below. Purples
Mac Indian Ink
Mac Round Midnight
The Balm Moderato (from the Balm Jovi Palette)
Urban Decay Blackheart (from Naked 3)
Revlon Precocious Eye Quad (the dark purple)
Maybelline Amethyst Smoke Eye Quad (the dark purple)
Wet N Wild Petal Pusher Palette (right column, second from bottom)
The Body Shop Shimmer Cubes (Purples)
Mac Shadowy Lady
Golden Beiges
Naked 2 (Suspect mixed with Tease)
Mac Woodwinked (more shimmer)
Pixi Shades of Nude Quad (the darkest color)
Wet N Wild Nude Awakening Palette (left column, second from top)
Wet N Wild Going in the Wild Palette (left column, second from top)
Mac Patina
Whites/Light Beiges
Bobbi Brown White
Bobbi Brown Bone
Mac Orb
Mac Vanilla
Mac Brule
Too Faced Cream Colored Ponies
If you’re interested in the other products I’m wearing in this video, they are as follows:
Foundation: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation in Cream Ivory
Mascara: Trish McEvoy Volume
Lips: Revlon Lacquer Balm in Enticing
Blush: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Powder Pink
Contour: Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow
Concealer: IT Cosmetics Bye bye Undereye in Neutral/Medium, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-2
As part of my travel series, I decided to document a makeup look that I wore on a recent trip. The test was all about how well this makeup wore as I navigated busy airports, crazy schedules and the dry air in a plane. Since my eyelids are oily but my skin is dry, this promised to be interesting! The fun thing about this is that I was able to make a video and improve my video making skills. The process of editing, adding music, titles, and a voiceover is really cool and I hope you like the video! This particular trip, I traveled to Los Angeles for the week. By the time I arrived at my hotel, it had been fifteen hours in airplanes and airports. Amazingly enough, the makeup products I chose managed to still look fairly fresh, especially the eye makeup. I only really touched up my powder once that whole time so for me, this look (and products) performed really well. Check out the video, below.
Our friend, Mindy, recently shot this short video with our sweet Aqua Kitty. Don’t be fooled by the sweet, loving face! He can be quite a terror! Nonetheless, this video makes me smile and watching it takes the stress out of a difficult day. Enjoy!!
I’m geeky and weird about many things…sci-fi TV shows, Captain Jack Harkness (my love), uncovering non-partisan facts about various political issues, figuring out the right strategy on an account, and skincare. Actually, that’s only a short list about what gets me geeked out but the skincare thing is one I harp on all the time to my friends and family (yeah, I know…I’m a lot of fun). Anyway, for about the past year, I’ve doing a lot of researching and experimenting as well as trying a lot of products. I’ve mentioned before how I’ve found a lot of good in the way that Caroline Hirons teaches about cleansing so I thought I’d go a little bit more into that, especially since more people are asking me about what I do and why my skin is the way it is (they mean it as a compliment! lol). So, without further ado, here’s a video I made that shows my evening cleansing routine (my second YouTube video! Yaay!).
The products I use/mention in the video are as follows:
Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balm (buy it here for $28.50): LOVE this stuff!!
Rodan + Fields Soothe Gentle Cream Wash (available here for $41): Really nice!
Paula's Choice Skin Recovery Softening Cream Cleanser (Buy it here for $12): Awesome stuff!
Clean & Clear Deep Cleaning Toner for Sensitive Skin (available here for $5.79): Gentle and cheap
Makeup Artist’s Choice Mandelic Acid Toner (available here for $10 for 4 ounces---3 sizes available): REALLY love this!!
I find that the 3 step process to remove makeup, cleanse and tone has worked better than anything I’ve ever tried. The oily cleanser (whether it’s a balm or a cleansing oil) does the best to remove makeup and does not impact oily/acneic skin. By following it up with a non-foaming cleanser and an acid-based toner, your skin is prepared for whatever treatments you’re using. If you’re not following a similar process, try it out---you won’t be sorry! You’ll find that your skin is cleaner than it’s ever been and I’ll bet that you’ll notice a difference in clogged pores when you take the extra step of a second cleanse. Do you already have a cleansing routine that works well for you? Please share!!
It's no secret that I absolutely love my golden retriever, Bentley! My husband and I returned from St. Thomas very early Monday morning and Bentley was soooo excited to see us. The video below shows the love that he received from Mindy right before we got there. Enjoy!!
A few weeks ago, during our ongoing “garage purge,” I came across a bag of photos from long ago. One of them was the picture above, which was taken when I was 20 years old. On one hand, I look back on pictures from this period and I see a shy young girl who had very low self esteem and who really had no sense of power at all. On the other hand, my 48 year old self looks back twenty eight years and thinks, “Damn! Look at that hair, that skin and those eyes! Those bright, open, non-hooded eyes!!! What the hell happened???!!”
The picture above was taken a few weeks ago. Comparing the two pictures, one of the first things I see is how my upper eyelids have fallen. This is a natural part of aging and I first noticed it when I was about 33. Pictures from that age show my eyes were well on their way to becoming very hooded…and now they are!!! This little fact of life is why I now extend my eye shadow up past the crease and avoid anything light and shiny on that part of the lid. I actually decided to film a tutorial about how I do my eyes (very basically) and you can watch my absolute first You Tube video by clicking below. Please be kind as this really (no, really!) is my very first video of all time. Let me know what you think!
Despite my comfort with this makeup trick, I am planning on having the hood removed for my 50th birthday in a year and a half. I have friends who have done it and it’s a fairly simple procedure that apparently lasts quite a long time. Until then, I will continue experimenting with makeup! Thanks for watching my video!
