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...