STARLETT SKIN- The Ultimate Foundation, skin type and care guide!

Do you covet the pearly skin of the old time starlets and the celebrities of today? Take a deep breath as I'll guide you through the different skin types and what foundations to use with it to turn any dull face into a blank canvas. (No retouching required!)

What do you want your foundation to do for you?

Foundations have different kinds of coverage depending on how much powder it contains. It is there for vital to choose the correct type according to your needs and skin type.

LIQUID FOUNDATION

May contain a lot or a little powder. It is easy to use with you fingers, a sponge or a foundation brush


Mac Studio fix fluid NC45..


COMPACT CREAM FOUNDATION

Often contains a lot of powder and will therefore give much coverage. Best used with a moist sponge.

 Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Sponge-On Cream Makeup

POWDER FOUNDATION

Contains more powder than liquids. Will give a quick and even coverage, but may also clog pores. Thorough facial cleansing after use is highly necessary.

Shu uemura Powder Foundation

TINTED DAY CREAM

Moisture cream with added tint. This thin and light cream will not cover much, but evens out skin tones.




Loreal Age Perfect Pro Calcium Radiance Perfector Sheer tint Moisturizer (what a name!!)
WHAT SKIN TYPE ARE YOU?

The perfect foundation must also go well with your skin type. The most common skin types are oily, dry and combination skin.

OILY SKIN

Facial treatment

First of all, do not try to dry out an oily skin! This will fool it into producing more oil. An oily skin needs a good moisturizer that does not contain any grease or oil ingredient. Use an exfoliater 1-2 times per week to get rid of dead skin cells. An oily skin has trouble doing this on its own and the dead skin cells will therefore get pulled back into the pores and clog them up more.

Foundation choices

Use a product that contains a fair amount of powder that will matte down shiny skin and will let the foundation colour stay on longer. If you do not wish for a lot of coverage, try using a Tinted Moisturizer and finish up with a translucent powder to get that shine away. If you’re really having problem with getting your foundation to stay put, try a matting primer underneath. 

Body shop matte it The primer will both matt down and pull the foundation closer to the skin.

DRY SKIN

Facial treatment

A dry skin obviously needs a lot of moisture in forms of creams, but if your skin is flaking off you also need a fat ingredient to allow the skin to bind the moisture. To exfoliate a dry skin is a big help, but remember to use a product for dry or sensitive skin and maximum 1 time per week. By doing so the dead skin cells will be removed instead of stealing moisture from the healthy skin.

Foundation choices

Use products that DOESN’t contain a lot of powder. There are many liquid foundations that are made especially for dry skin, but I.D. Bare Minerals polwer foundationworks wonders on a dry skin- just remember to blend the polwer well in the lid to make it melt completely.

 


COMBINATION SKIN

Facial treatment

Remember to treat the different parts of your skin in an accurate way as a combination skin often will have dry cheeks and a more oily t-zone. If so, apply a slightly greasier moisturizer to the cheeks and use your normal moisturizer over the rest. In general the most important thing for a combination skin is that is gets a good cleansing and treatment routine.

Foundation choices

A combination skin will stand most of the different foundation types. If some parts of your skin are extra dry or oily, simply use the advices for these skin types to these areas.



WHAT SKIN TONE ARE YOU?

This is where the magic is! Who haven’t bought tons of foundations that have a perfect consistence and coverage, but will just not match the rest of your body’s’ skin colour? The trick is to find the undertone to your skin colour. Disregard freckles or sporadic shades of red that may be due to heat or other skin conditions. The undertone to your skin colour is the colour you want for you foundation, regardless if it dark or light.

The most common undertone is yellow, but there are also those rear red tones. This occurs often to the very pale (for instant red heads) or to those of a very dark colour (for instant some African skin) When you have found your correct undertone, all that is left is to get the correct shade of light or dark. A foundation cream is always best tried on between your jaw and your neck, and will nearly disappear when the colour fits perfect.
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HOW TO PRIME YOUR SKIN



 Lancome Make-up la Base
To make a foundation stay on even and for the entire day it is important to make a good base. A primer will enhance the skin and allow it to accept the foundation better

The easiest way to prime is to simply cleanse the skin and apply moisturizer. Let it dry inn for 10 minutes and follow with the foundation.

The best way is to exfoliate your skin 1-2 times per week, cleanse your skin and apply moisturiser followed by a foundation primer. This will even out the surface of your skin and let the foundation get closer and therefore stay on longer.

HOW TO APPLY


Mac foundation brush. 190 fra Mac
Foundation can be applied by the use of your fingers, a sponge or a foundation brush

Common facts of the tree:

Work evenly and quick with the product. Don’t let it dry in on one side of your face before you start with the other side.

Don’t let any foundation get caught in you hair line or eyebrows if you want to avoid orange streaks.

Don’t forget your neck! Use a thinner portion and let it fade towards your chest.

If you are using you FINGERS, remember to wash them free form dirt and oils. Apply small dots of foundation to your forehead, nose, chin and cheek and smear on like a moisturizer.

If you are using a SPUNGE apply the foundation with quick press and lift motions. Start along the jaw and work your way over the face.

A FOUNDATION BRUSH is an increasable aid that will save you both time and product. The brush almost works like a paint brush across the face. Remember to allow you final strokes to have a downwards direction to make facial hairs stay put.

Concealer


A concealer is similar to a foundation, but contains often more powder and is therefore more covering. It is therefore not meant to be used all over the face, but only to parts with need of extra attention. Common places are under the eyes, around the nose, the chin and to acne areas. The colour of your concealer should be the exact same tone as your foundation, only ½ tone lighter. Pat it gently and thin into your skin with your finger. If you smear the concealer to much, it will just move back and forth over your skin. Remember to even out the edges so that is blends with the foundation.

Compact Concealer: Contains more powder and gives the most coverage


Liquid Concealer: Contains less powder, but will still give a good coverage. Great for dry skin.




Highlighter Pen: A highlighter pen is meant to lighten without giving a lot of coverage. It creates an illuminating effect on the face that is any starlets’’ best friend. Try it over your cheek bone, the middle of your forehead, down your nose bone and right above your upper lip. Tips! Blend a highlighter pen with you concealer to make the concealer lighter!


POWDER

You should always follow up a foundation with a brush of powder. The powder does give a matting effect, but the foremost reason to use it is to seal in the foundation and make it last all dat. Powders come in both loose and compact forms.

Coloured powder gives a little more coverage and visibility.

Translucent powder is colourless and thin and will therefore appear more natural.


Mac Blot Powder loose is a translucent loose powder



 Chanel Mat Lumier is a compact and tinted powder


WHY DO YOU FEEL PALE WITH THE CORRECT FOUNDATION COLOUR?

Many do feel a bit pale when they find the perfect foundation colour. This is because the foundation neutralizes any colour interruptions you previously were used to seeing, such as red cheeks. In stead of switching to a darker foundation, remember that this is just a first step in a make up process and as soon as little miss blush comes along with the rest of the make-up bag gang, there will be plenty of colour to go around!.

• Tips:


1. The skin colour changes between summer and winter. Invest in two foundations that are suited to your undertone, but one shade lighter and one shade darker. Mix them together to always have the perfect foundation for you!


2. Apply some foundation into your moisturizer to create you own Tinted moisturizer. It won’t cover a lot, but give your face a more even colour and glow.


3. Never test a foundation on your hand. The skin type and colour is not the same as your face!

Celebrity Makeup: MILEY CYRUS

Miley Cyrus is truly such a sweet and talented girl. As she is getting older now she is venturing out and testing new looks both in makeup and clothing and she is absolutely gorgeous and stunning. But to be honest, she looks the best right now in this type of look because she is still young and have a long life of growing up so she shouldn´t rush into celebrity makeup looks that are too sexy for her.

So the great trick behind this look is that it lets Miley stay innocent yet strong. Notice how her arms and décolletage has been made up in the same tone as her face and with a hint of shine to give her that healthy glow.

When it comes to the makeup, the focus is definitely on the eyes, but again without being too over the top. The typical young makeup look is always to focus on the eyelashes and the mascara used with it.

The face is made flawless without looking too covered; a job that any mineral based foundation would easily do. The cheeks are given a young and fresh look by using pure pink, and the eyebrows are firmly shaped and colored.

The eyes barely have any eye shadow, just a light, matt and cold pink in the inner eye corner to open the area up. The effect of massive eyelashes is given by using cream eyeliner along the upper eyelid to make the lashes look filler and the eyelid look darker without actually using any eye shadow to do so. The brown eyeliner used along the inner eye rim is an important step to get a subtle and sultry gaze and to finish it all off- on comes the mascara. If you always have to use tons of mascara to create this celebrity makeup look, try switching to false lashes and less mascara.

Makeup tip and tutorial on how to: Sexy party makeup using blue metallic eye shadow

A metallic-smoked blue eye is always a sure thing when it comes to sexy party makeup! Denim have been all over the chart clothing wise for the last two seasons so it´s about time the durable, strong and comfortable vibe from the denim material finds it way into your makeup routines.

A clear view
Some may associate blue eye shadow with makeup from the 1980s gone horribly wrong but, luckily, many of the top designers showed us how to make the look sexy and modern. Designers Derek Lamb, Jason Wu and Diane von Furstenberg let their models down the runway with the hottest make up tip of the season. The reason for why the blue eye shadow is all the rage again is simply because when applied correctly, it is one of the most flattering colors any woman can frame her eyes with. It works wonders for tired and red eyes as it gives the illusion of a clearer gaze. It also suits most hair colors, skin colors and eye colors, which only leaves us with the task of picking the right shade of blue.
If you have a tanned or dark skin color, you should always pick an aquamarine or blue-green eye shadow. For a lighter skin tone, you’re better off using cool colors like Cobalt.
If you really want a great party makeup, you should choose your best suited tone in a metallic texture as seen on the runway at Balenciaga.



The secret makeup tip on how to make the perfect blue and smoky eye!

Applying Eye Makeup: The blue and smoky eye is such a great variation from the original black smoky eye because it makes it more playful and fresh. You don´t have to use a clear or strong shade of blue: more often than not, the most becoming blue colors are those with a speck of brown in them to make the color more deep and demure. If you really want the look to be similar to the trends from the runway, make sure you choose the metallic textured eye shadows.

• Apply a lighter shade of blue from your eyelash line and up to your global. Use a clean brush to soften the edges upwards and outwards. Remember to use the same shadow under your eyes and connect the eye shadows on the inner and outer corners of the eyes.
• Use a black eyeliner pencil and draw an intense line around the entire eye, following the lash line. Soften the outer edges of the eyeliner using a clean, small brush. Make sure the eyeliner is 100% intense between the eyelashes and fill in your inner eye rims for that sultry gaze.
• Complete the look with a dark and metallic blue eye shadow from the eyelashes over the eyeliner and up to the global, making sure that you stop right before you first color does. Finish it all off with tons of mascara.

Good products to use:


















Makeup Tip

Some runway tricks are simply better left to the runway. So even though a lot of the designers did show this technique used all the way up and into the eyebrows, it doesn´t mean we have to (or should) do the same. That is, frankly speaking, just too hard to pull off!
Lancôme eye shadow in the color Garment, Revlon in the color Venetian Blue, Yves Saint Laurent in the color Mogador Blue, Nars Duo in the colors Burn It Blue, Maybelline triple set.

Keep the rest to a minimal

Sexy eye makeup demands a lot of attention, so there is no reason to try an upstage it by applying tons of make up to your lips or cheeks. Your skin should definitely be perfectly covered and with a healthy shine, but leave the lips nude or peachy. You can always give your cheeks a lift with a darker tone under the cheek bone, but a peachy color is also suitable. The most important makeup tip you can apply to the smoky blue eye is to make sure the area under your eyes are immaculately covered. If not, you might end up looking like a panda bear

shopshopshop

Shopping guide for the average woman

When it comes to shopping, it really is wise to have some guidlines in the back of your head before entering the chaos.

I might just speak for my self, but there is an absolute rush to shopping, and you don´t even realize it until you come home with 5 bags filled with things you can´t even remember what is.

I would imagine it feels kind of like gambling- we´re not sure we can afford it, or where we would wear it, but I still want it!!

So here are 5 of my top shopping tips that allows you to still shop, but slightly smarter.

1

SKINCARE

Buy your skincare from a skincare therapist. Why? Because if your car breaks down, you don´t take it to the gas station do you? no- if you want your skin done right, you have to go to the brands that specialize in skin treatment and improvement and not it flashy bottles, Hollywood ads and high-end names.

MAKEUP

2
Makeup

  When you’re looking for an eye shadow, there’s a very easy trick you can do to make sure the eye shadow will stay on and last you for at least a year. Simply rub the eye shadow on your fingertip, apply to the back of your hand. If the color comes out as intense and in the same shade as you see in the box, the eye shadow should be good. Cheaper eye shadows will tend to look a shade lighter on your hand. This means you will end up using a lot more product to get the effect you wanted.

3

SALE

Don´t buy on sale. If you think about it, of all the items you have bought during the big sales throughout the years, do you end up using that much? When we go on sale, we are just on a mission to get SOMETHING. Of course, sometimes we do bargains, but seriously- The big summer and Christmas sales are really just emptying our pockets instead of saving up for some descent statement peaces you will cherish for years.

4

HAIR

Invest in hair products. Again, if you want to take care of and improve your hair, you must go to the expert. Even thought the professional hair products are a little more expensive, you use less product to get the desired treatment and your hair will grow better.

5

NEWSET TRENDS

When you’re looking for the next seasons wardrobe, try to look out the classics that we see come back over and over. These will obviously last you longer, and you can invest in them with an easy heart. (Fall 2010: Cape, trench coat, color camel, leopard, 60´s sweaters, knit) But of course, don´t forget the fun, extreme statement pieces, but buy them as cheap as possible, because chances are you´ll wear them to bits the next 4 months, then put them away for the next statement trend.

COLOR ME TANNED!

Every Monday I will introduce a favorite beauty product of mine and today I am starting with the Face Tan.

As a rather pale red head, even though I’m not all that bothered by it, I can still see the benefits of a little color come summer. Now, my body I can get up to sort of a golden red tan with my SPF 15, but my face I will always keep sun blocked with SPF 50 to shun those nasty sun damaged wrinkles. But this tends to result in a rather color less mask, keeping my head detached from my body.

It must be said: I think most self tanner are dreadful. They usually end up in an orange looking color only intended for mandarins and various other fruits. Gradual tanners I like, but sometimes a girl needs a little instant effect. I have tried, written about and gathered test panels of blue eyes friends in my days to find one that actually works in a satisfying i.e. no orange streaks in sight, way. And I am happy to say, that my favorite by far is the Garnier Ambre Solaire Face No Trace Bronzer Self Tanning Spray. Easy to use, and can only be messed up if you over exaggerate the usage.

How to:

Spray lightly over a clean face, move the can from side to side starting at your forehead and continue spraying down to your chest. This way your neck, upper arms and chest will get some color as well. For my skin I choose the lightest tone. You can do two rounds if you already have some color, but trust the product to do its job and apply more the following day if you still want a darker shade. The color will start to show after an hour and be complete after about 8. It dries in 10 minutes, so it’s perfect before bedtime and I have even put it on over light make-up and gone out the house without having any problems with that- just a gradual glow growing on me during the day.

How to pack you makeup bag for any holiday!

Ok people, when packing up for a fab holiday on the Seychelles, in Paris or road tripping from LA to Las Vegas, there are a couple of thing they have in common. You should pack chic, sleek and practical. Makeup for holiday should be the same as your outfits. "Sure-thing" basics surrounded by a FEW funky variables. Here is 5 of my top 10 list on products to take with you on ANY holiday:

1. Illuminating lotion for face and body.

Estee Lauder Spotlight Skin tone Perfector

- The absolutely fab thing about the illuminating lotion is that when you only have 5 seconds to get up and out of the hotel, plane, cabana or trailer- a quick wipe of it will make your face 10 times fresher without putting any makeup on and of course it's hydrating as well. Winn-Winn situation, no?

2. Concealer with SPF 30

Dermablend Quick Fix concealer spf 30

- Regardless if you are in the city or on the beach during summer or winter, one thing we often do more while on vacation is spend time outside. With all the things to see, time spent gazing up in the sky and on the sun; those crow’s feet are growing bigger around your eyes by the second. So cover up with both SPF and tint for that healthy and sleek look.

3. WONDER POWDER FROM MAKEUP STORE

Makeup Store Wonderpowder

As a reader of this blog, you will quickly catch on to my passion for wonder powder from makeup store. I don't really even know how to describe it properly as it simply must be experienced; however, the most important thing to know when using it on vacation is that it will give you an incredibly healthy shine without looking sweaty, build on color and cover up minor flaws without foundation. Other than this, is amazing to use over foundation to help it set without drying it out.

4. A very gooood mascara in all ways.

bareMinerales Flawless Definition

Yes- we want full, long, thick, black luscious eyelashes ALL the time! But, it's easier said than done. When on vacation, running around from shopping, museum or zoos during the day and fancy dinners at night, you need mascara that stays on, but is easily removed when wanted. It should also give you thick lashes, but not necessarily be made for long ones. Why? Mascaras used to build up length takes longer time to apply than the volume/thickness ones. When on vacation, you really don't want to waste your time on mascara.

5. The perfect blusher

Lancôme Peach Blush

The great thing about blushers is that they can be used to so many things if the color is right. For a vacation blusher you should always pick a peachy tone with gold spots so you can use it in your apple cheek, but also slightly over forehead for a bronzing effect and on your eyelids for a wonderful eye shadow tone. For the even more creative, you should blend it into you color free lip-gloss for a perfect flesh shade.

- follow the blog for the next 5 products and instructions, and remember: and comments with makeup and fashion questions will be answered :)

Questions about makeup and fashion are WELCOME here!

I just wanted to mentione that because this page is still new (4 days) but had an amazing numbers of visit already, I will answer ALL questions regarding makeup and fashion for the next month. My background is as an international makeup artist and stylist, along with lifestyle and fashion journalist and makeup teacher. I am always honest and straight forward, and would never give you a makeup tip that actually only works on photoshoot with retouch available! ;) However, for you professionals out there, new or professionals looking for new inspiration- feel free to shoot any questions for shoot/set/live makeup as well.

SO COMMENT AWAY WITH QUESTIONS WONDERED!

MAKEUP TRENDS- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!

Lancome artliner

When it comes to keeping up with makeup trends, it may sometimes be quite confusing trying to keep up with all of the changes each season. It’s a lot of fun constantly changing your look, but it’s also exhausting. That’s why it’s good to know that there are some makeup trends that never go out of style.

Chanel lipstick

In beauty & fashion journalism there is a lot of talk about ‘right and wrong’ when it comes to makeup trens and hair styles as well as clothing. But sometimes, those ‘right and wrongs’ are merely used to spice up an article more than it actually influences the real life fashion. But what is the real life fashion? In my opinion, it’s the styles and looks that we as consumers, fashion lovers or even haters go on to use after the hype of fashion weeks and September issues have passed. Every year we see several so called fashion hits that might be getting their 15 minutes of fame in enthusiastic fashion articles, but the consumers are never really sold when it comes to placing it on their own body (see 1950’s trend of 2010).

It’s the same when it comes to makeup trends, it doesn’t always work out in real life fashion and beauty. We do however have those classic makeup trends that will never be ‘wrong’. They might not be mentioned every season as a fashion hit, because that would be seen as mundane journalism, but if you do some research you will see them pop back in the magazines with a trippel season interval.

So I give to you, the Makeup Trends of ALL SEASONS!

1.        Smokey eye in black, purple, brown or green tones

2.        Kat eye shape in dark and Smokey or green tones to resemble the 1940’s original.

3.        Red or pink lips

4.        Illuminant skin

5.        The Marilyn Monroe eyeliner

6.        Earth tones

7.        1950’s eyebrows

8.         Shiny light-toned eyelid + taupe colored global

9.        Matt skin with sculptured bone structure.

10.     Peachy cheeks

So feel free to apply these looks at any time and with any style for the rest of your seasons to come.

MAC eyeshadows in Dazzlelight and brown

MAKEUP TECHNIQUES

SCULPTING A FACE USING HIGHLIGHTS AND LOW LIGHTS

There´s nothing more amazing in the world of makeup than when someone completely nails the makeup technique of sculpting a face. On the other hand, a perfectly sculpted face made by using highlights and lowlights doesn´t actually show as it is perfectly blended and harmonized with the original skin. There are several areas and different purposes for why one would use this technique, but there is a universal system to it that will improve on any facial structure and shape.

START WITH A BLANC CANVAS

To make the sculpted look as perfect as possible, you must always start with a flawless foundation application. It is also possible to do the shading and sculpting using different toned foundations, but it is easier and time saving to use powder products. After applying a perfect matching foundation to the whole of your face and down your throat, finish off with an illuminating powder to set the foundation and to create a light play over your face.

MAKE A FRAME

Start the sculpting process by applying a matt or illuminating powder, blush or sun-powder in a shade of brown. The tone should be about 1 tone darker than your own skin. A red toned product will make this technique come out as sunburned, and we don´t want that! The powder you choose should be places along the hairline of your forehead, down to under your cheekbones and along your jaw. If you look at yourself in the mirror, the movement that you should be making while applying this step is that of the number 3. By applying the powder under your jaw and fading it down your throat, it will make that lovely double chin disappear.

STRAIGHTEN THE NOSE

The magic behind this step is that it will make a crocked nose look straighter, a big nose look smaller and a “normal” nose look amazing. Use the same powder as before, but with a smaller brush. Be very careful with the amount of product you use- a little goes a long way. You are now going to make a new wall for your nose by using the beginning of your eyebrow to measure up the line you will apply from by your eye corner and down until right before your nose wing. To finish the step off, apply a shiny beige, pink or gold highlighter or eye shadow along the bridge of your nose. You will see the effect immediately.

HIGHLIGHT THE REST

All that is left now is to pull out the best features of the face which is most often on the raised spots such as under your eyebrow, over you lip along the cupids bow, over your cheek bones and in the middle of your forehead.

DURING EVERY STEP, REMEMBER TO BLEND WELL AND LET THERE BE NO EDGES EXCEPT FOR THE INNER LINE OF THE NOSE CORRECTION.