This was something new: I was invited recently to check out the exclusive Caravan Styling Studio, which is discreetly tucked away on the 2nd floor of the luxurious Carlton Hotel.

Their services are mainly reserved for celebrities, musicians, editors, and bloggers (hi!) to come together with designers and photographers to be styled and made up for events and special red carpet appearances. I went last week just to see what they were about and when I met Valerie Star, she asked me if I wanted my nails done.

read more…

Years before she was even engaged, my friend Sarah Khan would always tell me that she wants me to do her makeup for her wedding. It started out as just a small thing where I would do her makeup just for a night out in New York City, while on vacation to Italy or Miami, or to attend another friend’s nuptials. I thought by the time her wedding came around — seven years later — she would forget all about it. Negative. She had asked me well in advance if I’d be game to do her makeup for at least one of her wedding events and I obliged…for her bridal shower, and her mendhi day (a Indian custom the day before her actual wedding).

The makeup is traditionally a lot lighter on this day than on the wedding day. We had planned to do a trial run before her big day which never happened since I was not in the city for even one weekend for the month preceding her move back to Boston. When the day finally came, I asked her how she envisioned her makeup to look and my only instructions were “make me look hot.” Clearly that wasn’t hard to do. She always trusts me with her makeup and that made me feel a bit more comfortable with diving right in. Being given free reign though, I decided to keep her looking fresh and dewy with light, shimmery eyes. Her outfit was elaborate enough, and I thought it would balance everything to keep it mostly neutral so her own natural beauty would shine through. Here’s how I got her look:

Face: I began by massaging in Olay Regenerist cream on her face. Then I used Lise Watier’s Portfolio and blended some of the purple under her eyes and across her nose to brighten that area. Then I used a mix of Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer and Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Concealer around her eyes and nose just to even out some darker/red areas. Next I wet a BeautyBlender sponge with water and dabbed on Clinique Pore Refining Solutions Instant Perfecting Makeup.


Cheeks: Sarah has really fair skin and she didn’t want to be washed out in photos, so I used a few things to sculpt her face. First, I used Make Up For Ever’s Sculpting Kit in the neutral brown to swipe on the outer corners of her forehead, under her cheekbones and jawline (in a ‘3′ motion) using their double ended sculpting brush. Then I went over it with Laura Geller’s Air Whipped Bronzer just under her cheekbones and jawline and blended it in. Next I used Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Bronze Powder in Soft Radiance to give her a little more color on her cheeks. I added just a touch of L’Oreal’s Magic Smooth Souffle blush in Cherubic on the apples of her cheeks and blended it in. To give her a little bit of a dewy sheen, I finished off using Nars Illuminator in Orgasm on her cheekbones. I LOVE this product — a little goes a long way and it doesn’t show up streaky or messy.

Eye shadow: I started with Make Up For Forever Aqua Cream in Gold to cover her lids. Then I defined them more by adding Taupe from the same collection and a brown IT Cosmetics shadow from their Luxe Eyeshadow palette to the crease of her eyes and blended it in. The Aqua Creams are waterproof and you don’t need a primer for them. They’ll stay put all night. Then I highlighted her brow bones with Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream in Snow. I went over the lid again with a shimmery pink from the same IT Cosmetics palette to give it a little more dimension, and finished off by dabbing just a little more of the gold to the center of her lid.


Eye liner: I used Laura Geller’s InkWell Waterproof Gel liner in Black to rim her upper lashline, and inside her waterline. Then I used InkWell in Burgundy to line right outside her lower lashline. I thought the burgundy would just mix it up a little and play off the colors in her dress, without making her eyes overly intense (wanted her to save that for her wedding the next night). These liners, by the way, did not budge at all all night! I just wrote about them HERE.


Mascara: I used Lancome’s Hypnose Star (my current go-to mascara) on her upper lashes, and Benefit’s They’re Real! on her lower lashes (I used a small travel size of this mascara which made it easier to use sparingly on her lower lashes). I used these awesome Lash Cards to make sure none of the mascara got onto her lids as I was applying. I didn’t even have to curl her lashes, or add falsies — the mascara was intense enough and I didn’t want to overkill.

Brows: I used Joey Healy’s brow shadow in Raven and his Duo Brow Brush to just fill in her already amazing brows a little more.

Lips: I just used a rose-color lip liner to liner her lips, and NYX Butter Gloss in Eclair.


Finish: Lastly, I spritzed her face with a few pumps of MAC Fix+ to set her makeup.

All mendhi photos by Bharat Parmar/www.parmarphoto.com

x
Shy
“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Oh, long-distance love in the 21st century . As you coordinate your Valentine’s Day Skype-dates (I mean, I’m assuming that’s what you’re doing, right?), I thought it’d be nice to get some tips from the pros on how to look dolled up even with the (sometimes) unflattering computer glare. Appropriately, celebrity makeup artist Pati Dubroff, who glams up stars such as Kate Bosworth, Charlize Theron, Megan Fox, and Eva Mendes, shared her tried-and-true makeup tips with you just in time for V-Day:

Here’s the breakdown again (with some of *my own* product recommendations!):
· First and foremost, find good lighting and a nice background
· Prep the skin: for those with oily skin, go for a matte primer (like Mally Evercolor Poreless Face Defender) , and for dry skin, try a radiant primer or tinted moisturizer (Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer or Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer)
· Brighten under the eyes and spot conceal where needed (like Bare Escentuals Well-Rested Face & Eye Brightener and Correcting Concealer)
· For creme blush, try CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush; For tinted lip balm, my current favorites are Burt’s Bees or Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment
· For romantic eyes, use a deep-colored eye pencil and smudge at lashline (Currently obsessed with Anastasia Covet Waterproof Eyeliners)
· Curl lashes and apply multiple coats of mascara (like Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes!)

What are your Skype-date makeup essentials?

x
Shy
“Like” Beauty and the Feast on Facebook
Follow Beauty and the Feast on Twitter

Any of you remember the “no ‘poo movement” I wrote about way back when? That’s short for no shampoo, just FYI. I asked you guys to weigh in on how long you’d go between shampoos. Now, experts are saying the less you shampoo, the better. In fact, if you can hold out to once a week, that’s ideal according to SoCal hairstylist Tera Rae Stephens. Here’s why:

- Washing more than you should actually throws off your body’s chemical balance and deprives your hair of the necessary oils it needs to stay healthy
- It actually dries out your hair by stripping the hair of moisture
- Washing too much gets you back to the salon chair more often (hence, more money) by fading your hair color

Think you can’t last a week? Here are some of Tera’s tips:

- Use a dry shampoo. Section hair into 4 inch pieces, spray the dry shampoo where it’s most oily (usually in the front), then run your fingers through your hair. TRY: Oribe Dry Shampoo, $19.50.

read more…

Emily Blunt always keeps it fresh and gorgeous, and her red carpet look at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Looper was no exception. Her makeup artist Jenn Streicher dishes on how to get her ethereal glow:

SKIN

Jenn began by using SK-II Skin Signature Cream and La Mer The Eye Concentrate. She then primed the complexion with Hourglass No. 28 Primer Serum, and followed with Hourglass Veil Fluid Makeup in shade No. 1.5 Nude. Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer was utilized in two different shades. Jenn used Fair, a light shade, around the nose and as a highlighter, and Pearl, a slightly darker shade, under the eyes.

CHEEKS

Jenn applied Hourglass Superficial Waterproof Bronzer all over the complexion to create a radiant glow. She then used the bronze shade from Hourglass Illume Crème-to-Powder Bronzer Duo in Sunset to contour the cheeks and jaw line. The blush shade from Illume was dabbed onto the cheekbones, over which was layered Hourglass Aura Sheer Cheek Stain in Petal, a peachy pink tone, on the apples of the cheeks.

EYES

read more…

Taylor Swift wanted her red carpet look to be inspired by her new album, Red, so makeup artist Lorrie Turk obliged (and beautifully so!). She gave us tips on how to get her look:

FACE

CoverGirl NatureLuxe Silk Foundation was buffed in with a damp sponge, leaving a dewy even finish. CoverGirl Fresh Complexion Under-Eye Concealer was lightly patted on with a fingertip to brighten up the area under her eyes. Since her eyes and lips were strong, we wanted just a hint of color on her cheeks. I dusted CoverGirl Classic Color Blush in Soft Mink lightly along her cheekbones.

EYES

read more…