Make The Most of Your Makeup: Eyeshadow Pigments

Eyeshadow pigments are loose eyeshadow powders ranging in texture and finish, from matte and very finely milled to shimmer or glittery. Pigments are that cosmetic we all like to look at and collect because they are so pretty and enthralling. Sad thing is when reaching for eyeshadow on an everyday basis pigments lose the battle to pressed eyeshadows. A big reason is pressed shadows are easier to work with and less messy.

Let's take a second to consider the word 'pigment', it simply means colour. Therefore it is a simply a cosmetic colour in a powder form. I am sure you can see why this is an excellent multitasking makeup product. Pigments can be used in a number of ways here are my personal favorites.

1. Wet eyeshadow application. Rub your eyeshadow brush on a face wipe to dampen it then apply the pigment to your eyeshadow look with that brush. This works with pigments that have shimmer to intensify the finish and make it even more shimmery.
2. Add a small amount of shimmery golden or bronze pigment to body lotion to create a beautiful bronzed highlight on your skin. This is perfect for summertime outings; it adds a healthy glow.
3. Amp up your gloss or lipstick. You can create your own lipgloss by adding your desired pigment to clear gloss. You can also pat pigment over lipstick to mattify it, or add dimension.
4. Highlight. Who wouldn't want glowing gorgeous Jennifer Lopez skin? Pigments make excellent highlighters on the tops of the cheekbones! Tip: Be extra light handed and use a small fluffy blending brush for precise but soft beautiful application.

Writing this post has definitely inspired me to start playing with my eyeshadow pigments again. Follow my Instagram ways I use pigments more this season!

What are your favorite pigments Beauties? You know I want to know!

Xoxo

Dee

Make The Most of Your Makeup: Concealer

I used to say quite often the only thing I need for a certainty in the morning are 'the two C's'; Coffee and Concealer. This product is another must have in your personal makeup kit. It wields the power to not only make you look alive in the morning by hiding that under eye darkness. Concealer can be used to spot concealer acne scars, pimples or hyper-pigmentation. For those of you who are not big on wearing a full foundation application everyday; concealer in places where you need it and a light dust of translucent powder to set it can go a very long way to make you have that fresh faced appearance with very minimal effort and time. However there are a couple simple ways you can use your concealer to get that extra oomph out of its application!

1. Apply it to your eyelids to neutralize darkness and conceal veins. We use concealer under the eyes to hide that darkness, but what about on the eyelid? By using concealer there it balances the look and also gives an instant eye brightening effect. You can choose to just blend it out and set with powder or you can do this as a priming step before your eye shadow look. Tip: Use a small amount and blend well.
2. Use it as a makeup sharpener. With concealer and a trusty synthetic angled brush; you are equipped to trace along your winged liner to make it appear even more sharp and fierce. Also use it in this way to clean up bold lipstick looks; this makes the lipstick appear more defined and prevents the colour from bleeding outside of those lines and looking messy. Tip: Set lightly and carefully with translucent powder, this will make sure that concealer does not budge.
3. Use it to neutralize highly pigmented lips. Want your lip colour to pop however your lips are very pigmented naturally (coloured)? Dab a very small amount of concealer on your lips and blend out with a fluffy brush. Now you have a neutral canvas to layer that lip colour over and really make it pop!

What concealers do you like to use and how do you like to use them?

XOXO

Dee

Make the Most of Your Makeup: Lip Liner

The unsung hero in many a makeup bag. I have to confess, in the early part of my makeup wearing life I have been guilty of overlooking lip liner. I was used to just swiping on my lipstick or gloss and hitting the road. However embracing this product and playing around with it has made me love it so much...ok ok basically I cannot do my makeup without it. They not only help with the longevity of your lipstick or lip gloss; they create a more defined, neat shape to your lip look while also allowing your lip colour to wear down evenly.

Must Haves:-

1) A nude/neutral lip liner. This will go with every lipstick and gloss you have. A must have to define     the lips and also help lip products to stay longer without necessarily adding colour.

2) A brown lip liner. The perfect brown for you will vary depending on your complexion. By the way     no matter how dark you are unless you are pairing it with a black lipstick, Black lip liner is NOT        AN OPTION particularly black UNBLENDED lip liner! (pet peeve confession).

Here are some ways to get the most out of your lip liners.

1) For those lipstick shades that you thought were to bright, light, unflattering....Do not throw them         out or give them away. Try lining your lips with a brown lip liner and blending it out, then                   applying that lipstick over it. You may be surprised at the outcome. Brown helps to tone down             bright colours and add depth to lipstick or lip gloss that may be to light for your complexion. 

2) Long wear lip colour on a budget. A result of the formula of most lip liners is that most of them are     long wearing. If you want a long wearing lip colour; try filling in your whole lip with the liner for a     matte, long wearing lip look.

3) Manipulate lipsticks. Use those gorgeous colourful lip liners to turn your lipsticks or glosses into       other shades. Mix and match; for example use a purple lip liner with a pink lipstick to create your       own custom shade. Endless fun can be had by using your lip liners in this way!

If you Beauties have any lip looks you have done with lip liner only or mixing and matching tag us on instagram! We would love to see!

xoxo

Dee

Make the Most of Your Makeup: Cream & Powder Foundation Part 2

Too Dark 

I always say complexion makeup is the glue that holds your makeup look together; it is the anchor. No matter how fierce your eyeshadow or winged liner, how banging your brow game is or how gorgeous your lipstick; if your foundation is a wreck the makeup look is done for. Correct color matching is crucial to having the appearance of a beautiful, healthy complexion. However have no fear, if you have foundation in your beauty arsenal that is too dark you can still make use of it. Here are my tips on ways you can use your foundation that maybe to dark for you.

1. Contour. If you have cream to powder foundation that is too dark use it to contour (add shadows to places you want to appear farther away), this gives the effect appearing for sculpted and slimmer. You can apply this on the temples, under the cheeks and on the jawline. Be sure to blend this out thoroughly or you will have the appearance of dark lines on your face. Not acceptable!
2. Bronze. For powder foundations that maybe a little too dark and if they are of a warm undertone you can use them as a bronzer. Take a big powder brush and lightly sweep the foundation over the cheeks and temples before using your blush. Doing this adds some warmth to your complexion much like if you were basking in the sun for a couple hours.

BONUS: If you read last week's article this is probably obvious...Keep your liquid foundations that may be a shade too dark to mix with foundations you may purchase that are too light!

Thank you so much for all the positive feedback on this series! I am very excited to keep bringing these articles to you every Monday. Keep this suggestions coming Beauties! What products would you like to see featured in this series?

Xoxo

Dee

Make the Most of Your Makeup: Cream & Powder Foundation Part 1

Too Light

Every time someone schedules a one on one makeup class the most uttered sentence is “I have foundation but I'm pretty sure it's too light for me.” This is a growing problem because we have more drugstores, pharmacies and hair stores selling foundations that have no testers; forcing the consumer to resort to guessing their correct shade. With so many variables like bad lighting and oxidization (foundation becoming darker after application as a result of oxygen or air exposure); somewhere along the line you are bound to pick up a shade that is to light or to dark. Here are two of my favorite things to do with cream and powder foundation products I buy that are too light.

1. Highlight. Use the cream or powder foundation on areas of the face that you want to draw light to. For example the under eye area, chin, forehead down the middle of the nose. This draws light to these areas. The bonus of using them in this way is that they are matte (non shimmery) so
2. Eyeshadow. I use powder foundations that are a tad too light as an eyeshadow. It is matte and pigmented; so for those days when time is against you or you just want to look fresh a beautiful, pack some of that powder on your eyelids over a primer. Doing this will result in a balanced, fresh, natural makeup look.
   BONUS: Have you guessed it? Liquid foundations that are a tad too light need to be kept to mix with liquid foundations that are to dark.

There you have it folks! My first installment of the Make the Most of Your Makeup post. Part 2 will feature my tips for the foundations that are to dark.

Let me know which cosmetic product you would like to see in this series!

XOXO

Dee!

Make the Most of Your Makeup!

Welcome to my series on how to get the most out of your cosmetics! You are not alone; we all know you have a few products in your makeup bag that you may love but they are just not your perfect shade, you don't know how to use it or you are not getting the most out of using it. This series will help you get the most out of makeup you already own and teach you how to use those products in a multitasking fashion!

Articles in this series will be released every Monday! Here is where you Beauties come in; let me know what cosmetic that products you would like to learn ways to maximize on!

Xoxo

Dee

It's Giveaway Time!!!!

What better way to show you Beauties how much I love you? Welcome to my first giveaway of 2015! Watch the video to see how you can win some of my favorite products.

Open to Barbados only.

To Enter:
1) Subscribe to my blog by entering your email address in the section 'Follow by Email' on the right side of the screen.

2) Follow me on Instagram.

3) Share this video! (commenting is optional)

Links to all social media are listed below.

**Winner to be chosen on April 27th 2015


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