Blush: Apples vs. Bones

Where exactly does one put blush? Shown here, I stick to a coral shade applied to where my cheek bones stick out the farthest.  Super makeup artist James Vincent notes that if you’re using red/pink shades, put it more towards the front of the face so it gives you a flushed, ski bunny effect.

For an all-inclusive tutorial that I adhere to religiously, Mr. Wayne Goss gives an incredible and definitive list of blush placement options here.

Not really a blush girl myself, my favorite powders are from NARS in Orgasm and Gaiety, and my favorite creams are from NARS and Make Up For Ever because of their consistency, blendability, and longevity.

Makeup-Free Day (Mostly)

I recently worked 16 days in a row.  When I had that 17^th day off, I had so much catching up to do that I didn’t even take a sip of water, so I certainly wasn’t focused on putting on makeup.  Still, the act of applying makeup is almost soothing for me, so I wanted to do a little something.  Thankfully, since I’ve started using Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Glow Pads on my face to camouflage my ghostly pallor, I didn’t need to apply anything else to my skin. Only a little concealer, bronzer, brows, eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, and setting spray were used.  It took maybe five minutes to apply, but it was enough time to take a breath before tackling my day.

Smoky Eye Cheat

I recently went from my daytime eye – one shadow over the entire eye with a warm brown shadow in the crease – to a nighttime look for a performance by Shaping Sound (If you’re not familiar, Travis Wall (“So You Think You Can Dance”) gathered up his uber-talented buddies and formed an extraordinary dance company.  You can see them in Carrie Underwood’s “Something in the Water” video.). To fake a smoky eye on the fly, all I did was add a MAC pressed pigment  in Deeply Dashing over the lid.  Boom.

And, just because I totally geeked out, here’s me with Travis Wall and Jamie Goodwin.  No big deal…

I know you seen me on the video. (True.)

TBT to Lil Kim’s “Crush On You”…aka the jam…anyway… I was recently asked how Electra Lane’s personal video makeup lesson service works.  Let me explain.

How often to you search and search on YouTube for a particular tutorial only to a) not find exactly what you want, and/or b) be so confused by the ultra-advanced techniques, and/or c) feel like you must purchase hundreds of dollars of products and tools that you’ll likely never use again?  With ELn’s video makeup lesson, you get a YouTube-style tutorial to access at your leisure, as many times as you want, and personalized for you: your look, your face, your budget.

On my current video channel I show you what I do and what products/tools I use to achieve a look, but not necessarily how I do it.  If you’re a newbie who, for example, wants to learn an everyday, wear-to-work look, I’ll show which brush to get, how to hold it, how much product to load on the brush, where to place the brush on your face, and so on.

Check out my Vimeo page, and email me at jessica@electralane.com if this service interests you.

Birthday Makeup - Part III

Since we’re finishing this birthday look today, here’s the grainy, back-of-the-cab photo from my birthday:

Yes that's a seatbelt...safety first...and we were having too much fun to stop and take photos of the makeup, and I didn’t remember until right before we got to the show…I know that’s not very blogger-like, but I feel like real life supersedes the one on-screen.

Since we've already covered eyes and skin, all we have left is the color: here is the video showing how to finish the look!

Products Used:

Highligher: MAC Prep + Prime Highlighter in Light Boost

Nose Contour: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Skin Perfecting Micro-Powder in Dark

Luminizer: RMS Living Luminizer

Blush: Bobbi Brown Blush in Pale Pink

Lip Liner: MAC Lip Pencil in Subculture

Lipstick: Armani Rouge d’Armani Beige 100

Set Spray: Urban Decay All Nighter

Also, I'd like to say happy Veterans Day and THANK YOU to all those who honorably served!