Hi! sorry I haven't written lately, but exciting news is that I finished my NYState exams for Esthetics, and am planning to do it as well in L.A.! I also designed a new line of makeup and skincare, as I used to have my own line and would love to again, this time knowing even more and being tuned in to all of your beauty wishes, which usually begins with simplicity. I know what makes people look more beautiful and what colors we all tend to love, and makeup should be a part of your anti-aging usage daily and now, more and more, skincare is infused in to makeup as technology becomes increasingly savvy to the needs of the consumer, the baby boomers as well as all of us who want to remain as young looking as possible with least effort on most of our parts! LOL!

Update on Beauty Blender: I do love it, have used it wet/dampened as explained in original post, and dry, and with different formulations, liquid, cream, powder, and it works great with all! Definitely not a waste of your money to acquire one!

Another tip I read about and tried: to get that impossibly perfect look and remain skinlike and dewy, after applying your foundation and concealer, press a tissue all over your face gently and your skin will look even more skinlike and perfect, and then lightly dust, or press and roll some translucent powder in your t-zone, if needed. You can press tissue again, but in any case, don't do it so hard that it is taking off your makeup, just making it one with your skin! & you know how in favor I am of skin looking and feeling like skin!

It is your truth, and have a blissful bliss filled day!!!


Coco

Playing at Sephora

I ran in to my neighborhood Sephora yesterday intent on researching a certain skin care line, but instead starting playing with makeup! Sephora has always been great for play time because you can ask for help or not, and just play by yourself with all the pretty little things!!
As I mentioned in a prior post, I love Makeup Forever's HD foundation, but have really only seen it on other people and never really got to wear it myself for a day. I wanted to figure out my perfect color (#115) and so I took what I thought was my color and applied it. After applying to one side of my face, actually one cheek, I suddenly heard an exclamation from nearby me saying how gorgeous and flawless my skin looked, and what was that I was applying? So I showed her and helped her choose her color and ended up selling product,which always seems to happen to me when I am in Sephora!! I just can't get over being a Sephora girl!! At any rate, the foundation did perfect my skin 1-2-3! Then I tried the NARS Multiple in Orgasm on my cheeks. It was sooooooooooo pretty and soooooooooo easy to apply and just that gorgeous fleshy pinky-gold tone that looks fabulous on everyone either as highlighter or cheek color depending on the depth of your skintone.
Next up were a few colors from Bare Escentuals on my lips. First I tried Honey Bunny, which came in a kit only, but it is a gorgeous Brigette Bardot kind of color and felt like it would stay on well for a gloss. Then I played with Bunny, which is a peachy pink gloss that looks absolutely beautiful! I need to wear that one out one day and see how it wears. Lastly, I left wearing their Buxom pencil in Amsterdam, which is a warm peachy brown based hue, and it would look softer or lighter on some of your lips depending on how much color you naturally have in your lips. Also, the Buxom pencils are so easy to use, more matte, lip plumping and you feel that plumper tingle!
I am so happy that I now have my HD perfect color from Makeup Forever, and felt a whole lot prettier walking out of Sephora!! Let's hear it for playing with color!!

P.S. re the Beauty Blender Sponge

I forgot to tell you that your Beauty Blender sponge is recyclable by sending it to the company when you have finished using it, and they recycle the product for us, which is great and green!  This is important, because I know that people use the triangles and dispose of them after one use, which is truly sanitary and easy, but that is a lot of sponges personally being thrown out around the world!  With BB, you use it for months and then recycle!  A much better idea and a much more fun and fascinating application!  So fast, and you may never want to stop bouncing your BB sponge on your skin as it feels so good! 

I am a total minimalist most days but stippling BB on my skin is a great little massage to start the day, and it has been hours and my makeup looks as perfect as when I first applied it this morning.

Beauty News & Goodies! Plus news of The Makeup Show NYC!

Here is one of the new goodies I got yesterday at The Makeup Show put on yearly by The Powder Group over the course of two days every May here in NYC.  It was a fabulous show and so worth the price of admission because you had the opportunity to take classes with some of the top artists and pay extra for those hands on workshops, BUT, you had the opportunity to sit in on classes all day in two separate spaces on the Main floor PLUS special classes given by some of the top artists, whose names you have seen in the best fashion magazines, etc.  So I watched Charlie Green on Sunday and Joanna Schlip yesterday, and it is the greatest fun for me, as an artist for many years, to continually learn from other artists.  One that was awesome and fun to watch on the main floor both on Sunday & Monday was Kevin James Bennett from Makeup Forever!  He is just a load of laughs and fun and great knowledge and artistry!  Such beautiful work, and I have to say that I have fallen in love with all things Makeup Forever!  I watched a couple of seasons ago as their HD Foundation came out and have tried that myself a few times and think it is so lovely.  I watched as it was applied to the two different models faces as KJB did two seminars, and the application is gorgeous!  I purchased the HD Translucent loose powder from Makeup Forever as it is supposed to work on all skin tones, and I definitely needed loose translucent powder in my kit, especially as I must have it for my State Boards practical exam when I do makeup!  All I can say is you have to go by your local Sephora, who should have Makeup Forever there and try out the HD foundation, concealer, blush (gorge!) and if your skin isn't dry, the HD powder.  Even if your skin is a little dry, you would want to set your foundation for special events or if you get shine in the center portion of your face.  I tried it this morning and needed such a tiny amount to set my foundation, but I also was trying it out with another new product I purchased, which you can see above!

This is the BEAUTY BLENDER SPONGE!!  Now, I am brush crazy and bought more brushes for my kit, and I have so many, there are brushes that are still unused waiting for the day I use them, or sometimes gift them to lucky friends, etc.  I think brushes are invaluable, and although I purchased an airbrush machine a couple of years ago, I just couldn't get into it.  I even bought another set of airbrush foundations from Kett last season thinking I could use it in my machine, but it didn't flow through, so here I was with all the cute little bottles of foundation.  I learned that I could use the airbrush liquid foundations with a sponge applicator and suddenly heard of the Beauty Blender!  I don't know why I hadn't heard about this yet, but there I was running about the floor looking for this sponge!  I ran to Alcone's booth at the show and they had large bags of them, which I couldn't afford to buy, especially as I had never tried one before.  Then I ran to Naimies, a great beauty store in the Burbank area in L.A. that I have been to (they were at the show...I didn't have to run all the way to L.A. yesterday!!) I decided to purchase the one that came along with it's special Blender Cleanser, a vegetable and lavendar based sponge and brush cleanser.  

Well, today I poured 3 drops each of 2 different airbrush water based liquid foundations to custom blend for myself in my little egg shaped blending dish...unfortunately, I think I wasted some product by using a taklon concealer brush to blend the 2 colors together, but i could have used the remainder on the brush on my face at any point and still used the BB Sponge.  I have to say that so far I am in love with this sponge!  I started application in the living room, a few seconds walk from my bathroom and mirror and by the time I got there I was amazed at the subtle difference in my complexion for the better! 

Now, I must first explain that while I was mixing colors, I was soaking my BB Sponge in a little bowl of water, which expands your sponge to about twice its size.  You then gently (don't get your nails, if you have longer nails, into the sponge because you can tear it...it's latex free and very light and has pore-like little holes, so to speak, of varying size) squeeze the water out and roll it drier in a paper towel, which is very quick, so that no liquid squeezes out of the sponge and it is just plain damp.  Now I have always done this with my triangle sponges, so it was interesting to see what difference, if any, using an egg shaped sponge that felt foam like would make in application.  

As I said, I was amazed!  It took a couple of seconds of stippling, or bouncing the BB sponge on my skin to walk in to see a natural but more airbrushed looking face in the mirror!  Now, it doesn't look airbrushed because of the airbrush foundation.  I was pleasantly surprised that I could use foundations I had purchased and not waste them and a few drops did the trick for me, as I like my skin to show through, freckles and slight imperfections perhaps.  But I want my skin to look like skin, just more perfect, and sometimes I need a little more help than other times.  I figured that I would try out more products with the egg shaped BB sponge, as they say you can use it with cream blush, concealers, powders, etc.  The little pointed top of the egg gets in to all the tiny indented areas of the undereye, inner eye, nose, mouth, etc.  All you do is bounce away.  It is such fun and it doesn't streak at all because there are no hard edges.  I don't usually wear blush daily, and like certain cream or powder blush, but sometimes there is an uneven quality to the application on my skin.  I think that happens as we get a little older, drier, etc.  Gentle exfoliation would definitely help that issue!  Well, with the BB sponge, I applied another liquid foundation by Revlon to check on more coverage, then some of the HD translucent powder in the center of my face, and then some of two colors of Trish McEvoy's cream blush cause they were sitting right there in front of me.  All went on beautifully with the Beauty Blender Sponge!  And it was fast, easy and fun!  And for those of you who want to look airbrushed, don't want the expense or the bulk of having your own machine, and aren't big on buying good brushes and keeping them really clean, this is a great tool to purchase.  Not to say that you don't have to keep this sanitized!!  You definitely have to wash it every use, and that is why the Blender Cleanser is available for purchase along with the sponge.  It is lavendar scented and has a pump style dispersal of its' gel type cleanser which you dip your sponge into repeatedly until clean.  Of course, after dipping it you squeeze the cleanser in to the sponge and then rinse until clean under lukewarm water.  I found that it came really clean, and I did this twice, as I decided to add the other formulations of cream blush, concealer and translucent powder after I had originally washed out my sponge.  Both times I added a drop of Duane Reade's Apt. 5 brand of Ultra Diswashing soap to fully get out all traces of makeup, so I was a little perplexed that the special cleanser didn't seem to fully get out the minimal amount of makeup I used.  BUT, that wouldn't deter me from buying the sponge initially at least with the cleanser.  If you won't commit to cleansing your sponge, don't buy it because you will be adding bacteria to your lovely skin and the purpose of looking perfectly airbrushed will be lost on you as well as your adoring fans in life!  And the sponge is not inexpensive, but is supposed to last at least 3 months with proper usage and care, and I watched some videos and people have used it even longer.  Long nails seem to be an issue with tearing your sponge, so again, avoid anything but gentle handling of your BB Sponge...Also, I saw video on the Sonia Kashuk beauty blender sponge, which is blue, larger and shaped a little differently, but basically an egg with an hourglass figure!  It is less expensive, $10 approximately at Target compared with $34.95 for one sponge and the cleanser or $39.95 for two sponges and cleanser at http://www.sephora.com/.  You can also purchase just the sponge for about $20, so it seems like a set of two is the best deal.  Alcone in NYC and Naimies in L.A. (see. http://www.naimies.com/ ) also sell the Beauty Blender sponge.

What else can I tell you...it seems many many artists absolutely love Giorgio Armani's liquid foundation and say it is the BEST!!!  I have to try it, as I haven't yet gotten to, but still say Makeup Forever's HD foundation is marvelous and I am a big Eve Pearl fan and have to use my BB sponge with her foundation to see how it applies on my skin.  I will update you when I have used my sponge more than this one day!  There are just soooooooooo many lines that have sooooooooo many amazing products, and as I always tell you, play and learn and have fun with makeup.  It is almost foolish not to play.  Would you want your child or other children to not have the advantage of play?  Doesn't your inner child need as many fun outlets of play in life to express your spirit?  And don't you want your skin to speak it's truth and be absolutely it's best glowing breathing expression of your inner health and peace? 

Blessings and bliss and write to me with your questions!  Tell all your friends to read and learn as I hope you are enjoying my sharings with you.  And if you have special events i.e. weddings, proms, Bar Mitzvahs, etc., know that you can hire me to do the most beautiful enhancement of your glorious face!

Red Hot & Fabulous!!

Hi!  I have not written in a while, as I hope you have realized LOL!!  I truly was immersed in my studies and have graduated from my Esthetics course and took a few advanced certifications also, so I am on my way to finally getting my license as an Esthetician in N.Y.S.!!  BUT, I have to tell you that my true love is still doing makeup and most importantly enhancing the beauty I see in each of your faces when you are in my chair.  Along with eyebrow shaping and the fact that I am highly adept at relaxing my clients, leaving my chair with an increased confidence and a relaxed state of being is most important to me  for all of you, as I feel we all need that sense of calm. 

Today I want to tell you about a photography exhibit here in NYC in May, and here is the link:   http://thelipstickportraits.org/.  It is all about Red lips and the aesthetic power and meaning of wearing such a bold color.  Truly, if you are wearing red on your lips, that is the focus of your makeup application as you can see from the photo of one of my clients above, and you don't need much else if anything as far as makeup, so this makes it a great choice in these Hot summer months! And see how hot you can look!! 

If you are a porcelain skinned brunette or a blond with light skin, red lips are so stunning!  In the summer, of course, and all year round your sun protection factor is extremely important.  You can use a  tinted moisturizer like Laura Mercier's with SPF 20 as your moisturizer and foundation (http://www.lauramercier.com/store/product/productListing.jsp?catId=cat160012), as well as Revlon's Age Defying Spa Foundation SPF 18, which is mineral based.  I would definitely add an eye cream around the eyes and brows and on your upper lips, as these are all the thinnest skin (try HydroPeptides Eye Cream/Anti-Wrinkle Dark Circle Concentrate which has Peptides, Vitamin K & Pearls in it!  Fantastic for brightening the undereye area and it feels delicious!).  But if your skin isn't too dry and you tend to get moist and dewy in the heat of the summer, that should be enough under the tinted moisturizer to keep you looking put together and not greasy during these hot days.  Otherwise, add a light moisturizer under the foundation of your choice, but keep your skin looking like  healthy, moist, dewy and glowing reflection of your inner being!

If you are blessed with long, lush lashes that are dark, and beautiful brows, you needn't add a thing!  If not, brush a few coats of your favorite mascara (Covergirl has new LashFusion in their Lash Blast product line which lengthens and thickens and absolutely does not clump or flake!)  Curl your lashes if needed beforehand.  If you wish to add some eyeliner, do, as a cat eye or Audrey Hepburn look is fabulous with the red lip...add a little cream or powder blush, and DO NOT got the route of using lots of bronzer with this look....it truly doesn't go together! 

Add some brow color in pencil, powder or whatever product you feel enhances the density and shape of your brows if needed.

Lastly, to make application easier and last longer, I would suggest trying NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils which come in a variety of reds (http://www.narscosmetics.com/Velvet-Matte-Lip-Pencil-C26_makeup_7.aspx) i.e. Dragon Girl or Cruella, which I love, and other browner based or warm based reds.  You can line and fill in with these pencils and they stay on well.  You might also want to look for a lip stain in a red...Vincent Longo has a wonderful one in Baby Boo & Liquid Kiss (http://vincentlongo.com/content/original-lip-cheek-gel-stain), and you might find other formulations in red that you prefer.  I would suggest that using red is best on fuller lip shapes, and with the pencil, you can fill out your lip and correct any 'imperfections'.  As red is obviously a deeper tone, it will minimize thin lips, which look fuller and poutier with lighter tones and glossier textures as light enlarges and fills features out bringing them forward.  Dark colors on a thin lip will minimize and set back the feature...

I hope this a blissful day for all of you, and it is Mother's Day, so all of you Moms are most deserving of some calm and fun treatment and perhaps a gift of RED HOT color for the summer!!  Enjoy, and please feel free to add your comments, questions and/or ideas for future posts that you would like to read about...

And, the Oscar, Please!!

I am attaching a link to Sylecaster.com, a site on which I have done makeup for a few of the models, as they have a bevy of gorgeous photos of hair and makeup looks from the Oscars!  I always love more of an intense eye when you are dressed to kill, as the power of wearing a gown normally will drain the face, so you need more makeup to counteract that.  This is something important for brides to remember.  And an intense eye normally will be complemented by a softer lip tone, which is my favorite look. 

I also absolutely love, love, love Carey Mulligan's short pixie hair, as I have always been a fan of really short hair.  It is really a work of art to have your hair cut that short, and it shows off the face, and I always felt more feminine and sexy with really short hair.  Especially when it's done on such a feminine woman and complemented by the makeup and clothing! Can you see how the lip color complements the little buttons on her Prada gown?  Such fun!!!  Now to just re-program more men, who seem to be wired to love the long locks.  You have to be comfortable within your own beautiful skin, of course, and be confident with your own look.  But if you have the urge to go short, discuss it with your stylist, and go for it.  It's easy, quick and sassy!  And short hair makes you stand out from all the others....Michelle Williams and Winona Ryder and Natalie Portman look gorgous in really short pixie hair cuts, as well as actresses in the past, i.e. Audrey Hepburn, Jean Seberg & Mia Farrow (who won Frank Sinatra's heart in a short pixie do...), as well as Twiggy in the 60's!

Check out the looks in the link below, and I look forward to writing more to you soon.  It's been busy as always with school, and I am thinking of starting my own line of makeup and skincare for all you gorgeous women again, as I had a wonderful line at the end of the 90's....I want to be available to all of you out there for makeup & lessons as well as special event applications, as always, with something easy that you can do on an every day basis to enhance that beautiful face and protect it, keeping it young, plump and dewy looking! 

http://www.stylecaster.com/news/7775/academy-awards-2010-the-best-in-beauty

Great Buys in brushes and makeup by Eve Pearl

Here is a really great buy on excellent brushes from Eve Pearl including a brush case...I know I have mentioned this to you before, but your tools are as important to the look you are doing for yourself or your client as are the products you decide to use.  You will have every brush you need in this kit, and are saving an immense amount by buying them all together and getting a great brush case to house them as well. 

You will have the easiest time applying your powder blush with the fan brush, as I explained in a past post.  You won't even have to look in the mirror, especially if you are using one of Eve's blush trios....but you get a mirror with the compact anyway, so you will always have one at your finger tips! 

http://www.evepearl.com/products/Face/Face/Face/13_Piece_Brush_Set_with_Deluxe_Brush_Case.htm

If you have fair skin, get the Light trio, medium skin, Medium trio, and dark skin, the Dark trio....they have three tones including a bronzer tone, and you go over all three with the fan brush, apply from the outside angle of your cheekbone to the apple with the side of the fan brush quickly fanning back & forth...you can also adjust the color and use them separately, if you are creating a look that has one particular tone, perhaps cooler or warmer. Her eye brushes are great, and I love her eye shadow sets, which have 6 shadows in each set. They are beautiful, blending easier than any other shadows I have ever used & you can use one or more together on your brush to create new and blended tones. My favorite lip gloss duo is Baby Doll (cooler pink wtih gold) & Honey Bunny (warmer peachy pink), two of the sexiest and most useful every day & evening colors I have seen, and you can pull them apart and take one with you in the teeniest of evening bags. Perfect colors with the smoky eye or the soft pink look of the Spring season.  Pinks on the eyes, cheeks & lips were shows thru the fashion shows and are the look in the magazines for the spring season coming up.  You can add a beautiful dark brown eyeliner if you like and use pink on your lid, cheek and soft pink on the lip.  Just make sure your pink tones follow thru, whether cooler or warmer, so it is a more monochromatic look, very pretty!  I love PINK in all it's glorious tones!  Most people have some sort of pink undertone in their skin.  Look at your palm, your fingertips, and you may notice a bluer tone or a warmer tone.  This will help with the type of pink you choose.  As I taught you previously, pink with gold with POP green eyes so they look like emeralds!  A cooler tone pink will POP blue eyes also, so play and see what this new look of the Spring does for your gorgeous face! 


I know I have written to you before about this great line because my kit is filled with Eve's products, as they are made for all skins, the most sensitive skin, and are filled with Cosmenutrients, skincare for your skin, so you are taking care of your skin as well when you are wearing this makeup! Check out her great foundations and powders as well.

If you have any questions about application, or want me to write about any specific subject, don't hesitate in writing to me by comment or email.


I hope you are having the best day and wish you bliss, as always, and love your face! I do!


Coco

SimplyCoco Beauty: You may be allergic to your mineral powder makeup because of Bismuth

I just added a link to an article from Stylecaster.com which they published this week regarding the subject of mineral makeup....perhaps due to my post, but I thought it interesting for you to read....

SimplyCoco Beauty: You may be allergic to your mineral powder makeup because of Bismuth

Valentine's Day primer for your skin!

http://www.naturalingredient.org/Articles/real_truth.html
http://www.cosmeticscop.com/ingredient_dictionary.aspx?lid=498
http://www.swallowhealthydiet.com/pdfs/AubNatInt.pdf

Hi & Happy Valentine's Day!!  This day and weekend of love is one I want to have last all year long, especially as you, my readers,  see yourselves with love.  And that starts with beautiful, clear, healthy, smooth & moist skin.  Your skin should be healthy, meaning its' Acid Mantle is a PH of 5.5 for most individuals, and your collagen & elastin (plump, juicy and elastic) is in great condition.  Your sebum is important, and it keeps your epidermis healthy by secreting through your follicles, which you don't want to have build up and become clogged with comedones, acne, which can come from different sources, including your over doing it sometimes, over exfoliating, using the wrong products for your type of skin & condition.  Your skin type is yours always, but your skin's condition can change due to many reasons including hormones, the seasons, your diet, etc.  Your Acid Mantle is your protective armor.  Your skin is the largest organ and keeps out sooooo many micoorganisms so you stay healthy, and it needs the proper hydration, exfoliation, and of course, cleansing, toning & moisturizing and SUNSCREEN. 

I have been studying this in my Aesthetics classes, and now Chemistry is making so much sense to me as part of our every day lives.  I have attached a few links above if you, like I, now have great interest in checking out the products you are using.  Anyone, (and I always knew this) can have individual sensitivities.  People who have Fibromyalgia have to be very concerned with knowing what they are putting on their skin as far as skincare and makeup, as we all ingest quite a lot each year from what we use daily, weekly, repeatedly.... 

The first link with the article Real Truth is a fantastic read.  It pares chemistry down to its' basics in this article and is extremely fascinating to read.  I think you will all get so much out of this. 

The other two links are two cosmetic ingredient dictionaries that I found online that really look quite good, and I have used them this past week in my study of ingredients, especially breaking down one of my products to see how the top 10 descending ingredients are broken down.  What are they, what do they do--as an ingredient and to us possibly.  Then, decide if you want to use it or not...

Because it is so cold outside, and I get extremely dry skin in the winter on my body, I was using a very light seemingly natural oil from Neutrogena, their Light Sesame Oil.  Now for most people, this product would probably be fantastic, and I applied it while I was still damp from the shower.  My skin became so soft, but I also started to get strange red marks, open, itchy & crusty....Sesame oil can cause contact irritant dermatitis!  And it did on me.  So I stopped it, and now am using a more pure Shea Butter cream from The Body Shop, so I think I will be okay with that.

I know many of you look at your labels when you food shop, and I hope you will get interested in looking at your labels on your skincare and cosmetics, and decide for yourself what you will and will not allow on your skin.  Be as savvy as possible...it's like going to the Doctor....you know yourself better than anyone else and can tell when something is going on, and you have to be proactiv in recognizing changes.  Something like an ingredient that is going in your skin/on your skin for years can be doing something to your coding inside...that is what chemists are trying to replicate and get deeper in to in order to make products "anti-aging"....

I am not saying to be afraid of everything you use in your daily life...just as with food, water, etc. make wiser choices by being more informed.  Certain ingredients that may sound toxic as written by one source and perhaps not another,  are used in such small quantities, but some of us are more sensitive and finely tuned than others, and what will affect one person may never affect another....or we may never know.

I hope you will enjoy getting smarter about what you use, and still have fun with your makeup!  I want you to live a long and joy filled life, and that includes looking and feeling your best and showing the world who you are by how you present your face to the world.  That, like your skin's condition, can change, but whenever your spirit demands it.

Warmest wishes for a love filled and bliss filled Valentine's Day!!

You may be allergic to your mineral powder makeup because of Bismuth

bismuth oxychloride. The standard primary ingredient (I believe it is the 2nd ingredient listed in Bare Escentuals Mineral Powder foundations, etc.)  included in most powders that are referred to as “mineral makeup.” The claim for bismuth oxychloride is that it is all-natural and better for skin than talc. In fact, in many ways talc is a more natural, unadulterated, pure ingredient than bismuth oxychloride. Bismuth oxychloride, which seldom occurs in nature, is manufactured by combining bismuth, a by-product of lead and copper metal refining, with chloride (chlorine compound) and water. It’s used in cosmetics because it has a distinct shimmery, pearlescent appearance and a fine white powder texture that adheres well to skin. Bismuth oxychloride is heavier than talc. Pure bismuth is a naturally occurring, grayish-white powder. It and its derivatives are used as skin protectives, thickeners, and absorbent agents. Bismuth oxychloride was permanently listed by the FDA as a coloring agent in 1977 and as a synthetic ingredient (Source: The International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, Eleventh Edition, 2006).

Brides & gowns & makeup, What Fun!!!!!

Before you call me for your bridal makeup, here is a great article on Stylecaster.com that talks about the new launch of bridal dresses from Net A Porter for all of us busy busy busy women!  One of the things I love about doing brides is the amazing variety of gowns that are available, and I adore seeing my bride in her gown after I finish doing her makeup.  It's the culmination of the whole plan of hair, makeup and gown and then you are ready to rock, no matter what the day brings, because I believe it is going to be exactly as it is supposed to be.  Can't control everything....but you planned well and have to let go.

http://www.stylecaster.com/news/7334/net-a-porter-launches-online-bridal-boutique
 

Speaking of which, I am always on the search for the best and longest lasting foundations, and I happened to use Bare Escentuals on one of my brides, both on her consultation day and her wedding day, and this was summer & hot.  As you can see, she both looks beautiful, and she said that both days her makeup didn't need touch up and lasted all day into the night! 
 
There are so many great foundations out there now in a variety of price ranges, and besides mineral makeup in powder form, you can buy it in liquid form, very inexpensively from Neutrogena with brush applicator, and Revlon's Age-Defying Spa foundation SPF 18 (see my video showing this on a model) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR8cd3okxhI --as well I love Eve Pearl's HD foundation that comes in double color compacts and go on so beautifully.  You can bring your cheekbones out using the deeper tone and highlight areas with the lighter color, which should match at your jawline.  This is what I use in my professional kit. http://www.evepearl.com/ and see the foundation, moisturizing primer and you can get an online matching of your skin as well, but I think you can figure out your match pretty easily yourself...
   
Another amazing HD foundation is Makeup Forever's, which comes in a really full spectrum of colors, and you can find that at Sephora or at Makeup Forever's own boutiques.  I first saw it being applied on someone and they were filming the application on a giant HD tv, and it looked amazing, and I have tried it myself, and it goes on beautifully. 

MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Foundation, $40

TEMPTU RETOUCH Foundation, $47:  Here is another HD foundation easily applied with it's own brush by Temptu and you don't need a machine, just your own specific color.  Also available at Sephora, one of the greatest stores for playing and getting exactly what you need for your everyday look as well as your special event looks.  I loved working for them some years back at the Rockefeller Center store, because I could advise clients about what would be best for them in such a variety of lines, rather than one.  You can't always find every single thing in one line that you need, and it's the same with fashion.  It's more fun to mix and match designers and high & low.  Exactly the same way with makeup!
 
Have a fun Superbowl Sunday, hope you all are becoming my fans, and write to me if you have questions so I have ideas about what you are interested in or stumped by....
 
Hugs & bliss,
 
Coco

Meat Free Monday by Sir Paul McCartney on Gwyneth's blog

http://goop.com/?page=newsletter_vn&id=most_recent

Hi to my beautiful readers!  Part of being in skin (like Gwyneth Paltrow's, Jennifer Aniston's, etc.) is eating well, exercising and drinking water and sleeping enough hours to replenish your cells and keep them hydrated.  Part of doing that is to eat a majority of nutrient dense, water filled foods, i.e., fruits & vegetables.  Gwyneth Paltrow also has a blog, which I just read for the first time today, due to a lovely email from one of my fans and friends who turned me on to this (see the link above for GOOP).  On this installment, Sir Paul McCartney, my love since I was 16 and intended to be his wife ever since (LOL!!, but true!!) has written about vegetarianism and Meat Free Mondays, and I think it well worth reading.  He is so slim and healthy looking and rocks on at almost 68 years of age, I believe, so heed his advice if you will, but make wise choices for yourself.  I am also preaching to myself, because I do take good care and eat mostly raw, but right now with so many hours of school, and luckily getting to make up some of your gorgeous faces, get ready for tax season and many other commitments, I haven't been taking the best care of me and don't have the same time to exercise where I loved to take classes at the times I liked.  So the commitment goes both ways, me to you and vice versa.  Genetics helps but being good to yourself and this planet goes a long way to live an anti-aging life filled with the energy to enjoy every moment.  Believe in your journey, even when the journey is tough, have fun, dance, sing, laugh (they said 15 minutes a day of hearty laughter is worth hours of aerobics!!) and do it every day you can.  And, of course, laughter is the best medicine!

This is my beauty advice today...PLUS, I found a really cute little L'Oreal Bare Naturale gentle Lip Conditioner that comes in a variety of colors, costs under $10, and feels soooooooo smooth on the lips, and the applicator is shaped like a lipstick.  Since I am a pink girl, or peachy-pink, I chose Soft Bloom #110, a really pretty soft pinky-rose tone with a little golden shimmer.  This will fit in the tiniest bag or your pocket...

I also got to make up my teacher yesterday!  We used Carmindy's line for Sally Hansen and the eyeshadows come in trios, went on easily and were very pretty, the glosses were fun and pretty, and I also used a Neutrogena Mineral Sheers foundation color for her, which matched her light Olive complexion to perfection.  Blush was a cream blush from Carmindy's Sally Hansen line, and there was quite a variety of colors across the board from light and warm to pinky and plummy and very deep, as well as powder blush colors.  But I was really impressed, and you can't go wrong with great makeup at such inexpensive prices right there in your local drugstore! 

Have a wonderful night!!  Hopefully, I will hear from some of you, and get to write to you very soon with more finds and answers to any questions you may have...you know the old saying....Put a smile on your face....that's the most beautiful makeup you can wear!  It's sure to give you a glow like no other!

Grammy Girls Look the Best!!

Wow....what a great Grammy show tonight.  Sorry I didn't get to post much this week, but I have to say for the first time I thought the Grammy artists came to the show looking way better in their gowns than the other Award Shows so far for the most part...not all, and there were some great dresses at the other shows, but this one really was beautiful & still suited the young artists wearing them so well!  Here's a photo of my Lady Gaga look on one of my beautiful clients for Halloween.  I have another great shot I have to download for you.  Of course, this is extreme smoky eyes and lashes, and I used the L'Oreal HIP colors with their black & silver duo to do someof this look.  Suprisingly, L'Oreal posted a video showing their black liner inside the eye in answer to the question from Carrie about how the line never really stays inside the eyelid even with waterproof pencil, to which I responded about the tear ducts needing to keep water flowing and your eyes moist, so that's a difficult spot to have liner stay all day and/or night without reapplication.  It's okay if it smears some, cause it just adds to the smoky look, makes it more sooty, and it really doesn't have to be perfect.

Have a great week, I wrote my mission statement today, and the part that my friends loved the most was that I so enjoy writing to you all and want you to really see the face in the mirror as gorgeous and step out each day with confidence.  Seeing your beauty isn't at all difficult for me, and it shouldn't be difficult for you either.  Again, have fun and see your beauty the way other people see it!

Bliss for the week! 

These are a few of my favorite things!!

Happy morning to you all! This is the time of the day when you have to decide what can I do to enhance my beauty that will last me pretty much all day....here are a few of my favorite things, and you need to pick and choose amongst them according to your budget, cause there are always great recessionista products in the drugstores, as I believe I mentioned previously, and there are mid to higher end products that will work for you.

Assuming you have all cleansed your face, and added moisturizer and SPF (important for every single day of your life, as the damaging rays get thru even when cloudy, even when driving, as many of you know because you might have more pigment on one side of your face than the other...)here are some of my favorite cleansers and moisturizers: I love gentle, so Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel is fabulous & you need about a dime size to cleanse your whole face after moistening your face with warm (not hot, not cold) water. Another one I really like, especially for those nights you may be tired, or mornings, is CVS' own brand of cleansing & makeup remover towelettes which are texturized to deep clean and remove impurities. I like the ones that come in the blue & white packaging, $4.99 for 30!! These have chamomile, which is calming, as well as Vitamin E & Triple Teas for antioxidants. It feels good and you are exfoliating somewhat at the same time, and being good to yourself, because there is no way you should go to sleep with makeup on your skin....Also in CVS, there is a line called Dr. Dover and I have tried his Cell 2 Cell moisturizers & eye cream, and they work very nicely. There is one for day with SPF and one for night to prevent wrinkles, which I really liked ($19.99). More on the moisture front: I have been using as of late Kiehl's Abyssine Lotion with SPF 15, which has amazing ingredients from the magma of the ocean floor and is very gentle. They also have a moisturizer without SPF that is organically gathered and 100% Natural Origin from the ACAI Berry from the Amazon, and you can look on the Kiehl's website and see the various products in the two lines, i.e. serums, and the exact prices, which are not high, and they have a wonderful video about how the Acai Moisturizer is made. Study your ingredients. I know most of you are probably very conscious of what you are putting on your skin. These two moisturizers cost about $44 each, which is not bad at all, and you need about 3-4 drops/pumps to do your face & neck.

Okay, now say you are a new Mom and barely have two minutes to yourself, or can't even look in a mirror or splash your face with warm water!! While you watch the baby, sit down for a moment, use one of those towlettes, you don't need to rinse unless you are irritated somehow without rinsing it off, and apply (only if you are in a warm climate or have really oily skin) a tinted moisturizer like Laura Mercier's, which comes in Oil free and in moisturized & has SPF 20. If your skin is a little to the drier side, I would add a teeny bit of eye cream under your eye (don't go right near your lashline...could be too irritating) & you can use the eye cream on your top lip area, as those areas have thinner skin than the rest of our faces (favorite eye cream...La Mer Eye Concentrate, gentle and great!! worth the money!). So one minute or less and you have cleansed, and take a little bit of your tinted moisturizer (another good one is from LORAC with SPF 30...great!!) & spread it gently on forehead, cheeks & chin and even under eyes, and you have evened out your skin. You may or may not need a clean little disposable sponge to even out edges and pat under your eyes and by brows, as you don't want it going in your brow hairs, etc., but that should have taken a minute or two. This will work for any busy woman, and we all know who we are!! All of us! I am attaching a few links for you to see me talk about some recessionista products that I acually used on models for Stylecaster.com, one of which is a Revlon Antiaging foundation with SPF 18, I believe, that has it's own brush and comes in about 8-10 colors, and is wonderful also, and only about $14.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR8cd3okxhI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uY1ZWKvf5w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vneL3F9D4Jk

Also shown are two other videos showing other fabulous Revlon products amongst others, like Korres Lip Butter ($9) and the gorgeous Crystalline Laura Mercier loose powder I have mentioned in other posts, which I use for highlighting areas on the eyes and cheekbones....

Okay, now if you have any extra time in the morning, take your favorite mascara (I love Korres Provitamin B5 & Rice Bran or the Covergirl Lash Blast mascaras, either the original for volume or the new lenthening one, which I haven't yet tried on myself, but given as a gift...) and really wiggle your mascara brush in to your top lashes for one or two coats. This will make you look like your eye color has brightened and popped, and if you wiggled it in well, it will make you look like you even have eyeliner on. Because your pupil is black and the rim of the eye is charcoal to black, a black mascara will totally do the most for the eye on a daily basis. Then you can add some eyeliner, if you have time, some lip butter or gloss (Korres Cherry Oil glosses are gorgeous as well as the lip butters and oh so good for your lips!!) and a little blush. Your blush should look like it is coming from you, and my favorites are Eve Pearl's powder trios (she has great powders as well as cream blush colors) which are so easy to apply with her fan brush...you just go across all three colors with your fan brush, and softly apply on your cheekbones with a slightly angled application from the outside to inside of your cheekbones. Again, I can do this without looking in a mirror if needed, it is that easy. Also, I love cream blush, and Eve has great ones, as well as Kevyn Aucoin's Pink and Peach colored cream blush, which you can do with your fingers, and you need so little, quick, easy, no brush needed!

Well, that's the basics for today....have fun, love yourself every day, play & enhance, and if you have a special event, please feel free to contact me for that special makeup application! Enjoy your day!!

You can do anything!!

I did two makeup applications this weekend, and hope to have some pics up for you soon, but just was so excited to see the first of the award shows, the Golden Globes, and see the trends in makeup, dresses, hair....I thought most everyone looked glowy and beautiful, and women like Meryl Streep looked elegant, as always, as well as glowing! Well, I would be glowing too if I won an award for Acting! or Makeup, for that matter! Sorry I didn't write much this week. I am going to Esthetics School full time for my license as an Esthetician, and then....who knows what path I will skip down?? I surely love enhancing the beauty of my clients, so this will be added fun for them to experience my calming touch in a new light.

Bliss & look yourself in the eye, and tell yourself how much you love you!! You are worth it, no fear, you can do anything!!

Coco

P.S. I needed that myself!!!

The Bridal Eye a la Audrey Hepburn on my beautiful brunette bride in the first two photos

How to do the makeup on the brunette bride at the top....as I mentioned, I always start with the eyes. As I want the makeup to last all day & night, I normally begin with a primer for the lids, and my favorite is Laura Mercier's Eye Essential base in Peach. If you know anything about the color wheel, you will know that peach and blue are complimentary, and therefore, peach will hide blue, so veins on the lids will disappear. A little of this product goes a long way. On this particular bride, I began to line the eyes with a black pencil, preferably with some waterproof or water resistant capacity, as I try and make everything around the eyes as waterproof as possible for brides and their bridal parties in case of any tears of joy! I then take a small pointed smudge brush like Lorac 101(and now starts the importance of having all the right tools; there is no way you are going to do a beautiful makeup artistry on yourself or anyone else if you don't have a proper set of tools. I can, and have collected tons of different types of brushes for all sorts of application techniques. Pick a line and develop your set. Again, I will say that Eve Pearl (http://evepearl.com/) has a great set, and it is not too expensive. She has had some great promotions on it, and you get a black brush case also when you purchase the whole set, or start out collecting one or a few at a time from any line you like. Sephora also carries excellent brushes in their line and you have choices amongst the many artist lines there. Carefully smooth and blend the liner out from a thin to full line, which makes the eye look so Audrey Hepburn-like. I then added a light color on the lid with a medium fluff brush (which you can keep to blend the edges of your whole look, or keep a clean brush just for that purpose, took a medium tone and blended it with a larger smudger brush in the outer V of the eye & in to the crease softly. I then took the smudge brush and kept filling out the outer fullness of the liner until I achieved the Audrey-like proportions that I envisioned on this bride's eyes using a darker shadow, i.e. a smoky black. You must keep blending your colors. This is most important and also why you need the proper tools, and once I achieved that, I added a highlight color to the brow bone, and then to the inner corner of the eye, as I like to add light in that little area where we all seem to have darkness going on. My favorite highlight is Laura Mercier's Crystalline, a loose powder mineral shadow in a pale pink that is gorgeous on the eye or the top of the cheekbone to highlight. I then added individual lashes, and I use a combination of short and medium lengths, especially on my clients that have longer lashes, so it looks really very lush and natural. I haven't seen anyone else do it this way, so if you want to get in touch with me for a lesson, a group lesson for friends, or just have it done sometime with your makeup application, please get in touch with me. After the lashes dry, I blend them together with some mascara (you have read about my faves in prior posts, usually Covergirl's Lash Blast in Very Black) & now line under the eye, or not, depending on the look and the client, as they may love that, or not. You can line with the liquid liner and do all this by going over the line with any shadow colors you like, and under the eye line very thinly and go over/under with a softer highlight color, i.e. gold, or something to bring out the eye color. Don't forget to look for those flecks of color in your eyes. Lastly, before the rest of your makeup, take some moisturizer/primer or gentle eyemakeup remover and wipe away the fallout that will undoubtedly have happened from your shadows and you are ready to apply the remainder of your makeup to that gorgeous clean and primed face!

Okay, sending much bliss to all my readers, and there will be more to come on smoky eyes, foundations, blush, lips, etc. Hope you all will become my followers, and keep asking questions that you would like to have answered.

Natural looks are always the bomb when it comes to your guy!

Top Ten Makeup Turnoffs for Men: (response to Stylecaster.com article, which you can copy in to your browser to see in full...see bottom of this post)

I agree totally...the natural look is always in, and skin should look like skin even when you are wearing some foundation, bronzer, blush, as all of these beauties are wearing along with eyemakeup, especially mascara and liner, which work together to make your lashes look fuller. Mascara makes you look like you have liner on and liner makes it look like you have fuller lashes, and guys just want to kiss a soft natural lip without feeling like they are going to get a ton of color on them. I have always been told that I am all about the eyes, and men always love the makeup I do, even when the eye is stronger for the evening. But take care of your skin, so you can show that pretty face glowing through a sheer foundation, and you know that all those kisses from your man makes your lips poutier naturally! Enhance that gorgeous face, don't hide behind makeup! It is true that men who love us see us as beauties at our most natural, so just love your face!!

Posted January 6 2010 22:56 by Coco Paladino

Read more: http://www.stylecaster.com/news/6997/beauty-tips-top-10-make-up-turn-offs-for-men-plus-our-favorite-natural-celeb-looks#ixzz0btbWLjav

Stylecaster.com issued an article re splurging/cutting back on your wedding day

See the following response to an article on Stylecaster.com, a site on which I have made up many models... regarding saving on having your bridal look done at the counter, with which I strongly disagree, especially as an artist who loves to enhance my brides: http://www.stylecaster.com/news/6978/wedding-planning-where-to-save-vs.-where-to-splurge

Eyes are the window of the Soul

Happy New Year to all my readers!!  A decade in to the 21st Century, and makeup comes full circle with many looks from the 60's on through to the looks that are considered au courant.  When you watch the movie "NINE", you will see the Bardot style eye on Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren's famously made up eyes with crease defined and eyeliner as well as lashes.  The actresses all look so very gorgeous, and makeup was, and is, such fun, and there were so many looks to try---those mentioned as well as Twiggy's eyes with three sets of full lashes layered one on top of another, and drawn lashes below or individual lashes glued on the lower lash line.  Don't forget, experimentation allows you to see yourself in other lights, find your best look(s), create new visions of yourself, and it washes off!!  What easier way to reinvent yourself than to try new colors and looks?  This is a subject I will keep expounding upon in following posts, as well as some explanation of the bridal eye seen on my first bride (two photos) that is very Audrey Hepburn-like...see the image below of a very beautiful lined eye balanced with a gorgeous red lip, although we could have made this look much more 60's with a pale lip a la Brigette Bardot.  Either way, it is one of my favorite looks to do.  You must practice lining your eyes with a sharpenend pencil (Revlon has a great waterproof one in their Colorstay line that comes with a tiny sharpener at the end...Eve Pearl has her Black Pearl liquid liner with felt tip that is waterproof and a fantastic base to layer shadow(s) over to change the color of your eyeline, and it is very well priced and flows beautifully (see http://evepearl.com/ ).   Lastly I also love the black liquid liner pen from Le Metier de Beaute, which is priced a bit higher, but also stays on so well, and you can layer over it as well.  Le Metier is sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Fred Segal's as well as the John Barrett Salon in New York's Bergdorf Goodman store at Fifth Ave. & 57th Street.  So from recessionista priced liners to higher end priced liner, practice makes perfect.  The line should be started by the inner corner of your lash line, graduates thin to fuller and lifts on the outer end with the wing.  You would draw the line in to the inner corner depending upon whether your eyes are wide set or normal distance apart, and the wing should give your eyes a beautiful lift.  Do not forget to buy yourself the cosmetic Q tips with at least one pointy end, which you can dip in some non-oily eyemakeup remover (Klorane is the most gentle, I find) and correct any mistakes.  Your Q tips are an artist's friend!  In the photo below, I also added beautiful individual eyelashes in the inimitable way I like to do them, and they stay on so well, I have clients who wear them for days to a week, sometimes more.  I will post more on the eyes, as clients and other artists always tell me that I am all about the eyes, but that is because they are the window of the soul, take the most time and dictate the rest of the look to me.

I hope this first day of 2010 has been a blissful and peaceful one for you all.