Look: Amour De Jeunesse (French Beauty, Part Two)

Bonjour à tous!

Before, I gave you guys the lowdown on how to dress up the face a la Parisian gamine. Now, I'm going to help you explore the nighttime tricks a young woman in Paris might employ to take down the town.  I recently read an article from Marie Claire that gave me the inspiration for this look (if you want to peep it, here's the link: Marie Claire - Foreign Beauty Report: Paris). Again, the key to this look is effortlessness. But this is embodied in a different light in this look. Eyes are enhanced more strongly, but with a soft focus lens as opposed to a crisp high-definition one. Smudging again is what's important in creating this look. Lips now have some power here, called attention to by the swipe of a bold red.  Skin is still glowing, quite possibly not blotted or wiped down from the day.  You see the woman for what she is as opposed to what she wants to be. Her wild yet chic streak shines through, and it's something any woman can learn to embody with a few simple products.

Eyes: MAC Lingering Brow Pencil, RMS Beauty Living Luminizer (or any soft neutral eye shadow), Korres Eye Liner in 1, YSL Faux Cils in Burgundy

Lips: MAC Russian Red

Cheeks: MAC Instant Chic Blush, MAC Bronze Bronzer

Skin: RMS Beauty Un-Cover Up Foundation in 33

How to do this (and more pictures) after the jump (and it's really simple too):

Look: Daytime in the City of Light

Bonjour à tous! :)

So I kinda have an obsession (or two) to confess: next to Italian culture, I am sick over French women and their sense of beauty.  From Juliette Binoche to Brigitte Bardot to Catherine Deneuve, I am fascinated by the way these effortless women carry themselves. I come from a strong Latino cultural background (my family hails from three different Latin American countries) that has its own vision of what is beautiful (in a nutshell: many Latinas might as well be married to makeup :P (though not all share this view)).  However, despite growing up with this specific mindset, I've always been intrigued by the minimalist yet glamourous way French actresses and women present themselves to the world. The initial spark of interest might come more from movies than anything else, but it has compelled me to do a little research into how the everyday woman in Paris might look while carrying out her daily routine. I've done almost everything short of going to Paris myself and watching the locals (which I'm DYING to do). The tutorial I'm going to be teaching you how to do today will show you what beauty look a woman from the City of Light would choose to wear for her daily rituals. There is an overall emphasis on natural beauty. Foundation is used minimally, as well as all color cosmetics. The idea is to enhance what's naturally there, not transform it.

Eyes: MAC Taupe Brow Pencil, MAC Cream Colour Base in Rubenesque, Korres Eye Liner in 1, YSL Faux Cils Mascara in Burgundy

Lips: Eve Pearl Climax Lipstick

Cheeks: MAC Instant Chic Blush, MAC Bronze Bronzer

Skin: RMS Beauty Un-Cover Up Foundation in 33

Here's your step-by-step process on looking très chic:

How to Do Winged Liner

So this post is devoted to those of you who love the cat eye but are quite unsure on how to achieve this look. It is best worn on nights out, and can a little more time than your usual liner look to do. If you're a newbie to this, it's best to not do this in a rush. With a bit of practice, however, you can achieve a very sexy look within a matter of minutes or even seconds (if you become that skilled, which is possible). Here are a couple of tips to follow when daring to go all out with your liner:

1. If you're starting out, be aware of the type of liner formula you use. When I started out, I used liquid. It was a challenge to say the least, especially with the awkward and sometimes small brushes the containers came with. It took time to master it. And then, a bit too late (lol), I discovered gel liner. I can honestly say that MAC Fluidline changed my life and would've been a million times easier to have used in the beginning. This type of liner glides on smoothly and doesn't dry as quickly, so you can maneuver the line in case you mess up a bit. Use a stiff liner or even a brow brush to apply to eyes.
2. If gel is even a challenge for you, you can still achieve this look with pencil liner. I wouldn't recommend a kohl liner for this; however, you would have to use a highly pigmented longwear liner so that the line doesn't smudge after you've worn it for an hour or so. Urban Decay's 24/7 Zero liner is a good bet if you want to go for classic black. It's longwear; plus it goes on very well. 
3. Make sure you have your mascara on and brows done for this, especially for more dramatic use of winged liner. Otherwise, the look will seem incomplete.

Here's a process to easily achieving the look:

1. Use a lighted mirror, like those Conair ones that are lit from the sides. Sit at a vanity or your dining room table. Tilt the mirror up so that you're looking down into it slightly. Rest your elbow on the table.
2. Create the wing first. Draw a small elongated triangle (base should start at the line) about a quarter of an inch long that extends your natural lash line. This will end up looking like you flicked your brush up quickly at the ends, creating a bolder look.
3. Draw three thin short dashes on your upper lashline: one on the inner corner, one above the pupil, and one on the outer corner. Carefully join them together. Keep the line thin at first. Go over the original line. This time, make the line thicker as you go out towards the wing. The line should not be thicker than the wing itself. If this does happen, adjust the wing. 
4. If you make a mistake, dab some waterproof eye makeup remover (I like MAC Cleanse Off Oil actually because it takes off any formula you put on your face and eyes) onto a Q-Tip and run it along the messed up wing/line. I like using Eye Tees by Fran Wilson to correct mistakes with liner because they have a different tip on each end: a flat, rounded tip and a pointed, precise tip. I use the precise tip to fix both wing and line. Be careful not to overload the cotton tip with remover, or else you might end up making the line run and/or have the formula run down your face. Not awesome and quite annoying either way.
5. Duplicate the process of lining with the other eye. Clean up the line if mistakes are made.

Alternate method at the jump (one which I have used personally many times):

I'm Back ;)

Hi everyone!

Hope you all have been well. So after a hiatus off of this blogger business (sorry about that!), I can say that I'm back for action! If you follow me on Twitter (@romanesquebty), you will see that I've previewed a few looks that I'll be doing tutorials for. Some will be everyday. Others, borderline-drag dramatic. But if you're like me, it's all fun to do! So stay tuned, and check out my next look, which I'll be posting very shortly.

Kisses!

Nicki Minaj's Barbie Inspired Look from the 2010 American Music Awards

Hello again!

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was awesome! Now it's back to business for everyone. Well, at least it is for me.  I feel that I've been doing way too many low impact makeup looks, so here's a more dramatic one courtesy of Miss Nicki Minaj, rapper extraordinaire and, most of all, extreme beauty trendsetter. We've seen this Trinidadian bombshell rock a series of looks, from rainbow hair to her signature pink lips.  This look I'm featuring is one similar to what she did for the 2010 American Music Awards. She donned her usual pink lips this time, with a candy colored eye (green lids, light purple creases, and sky blue under eye liner). She sported falsies as always (you can do this if you wish; I chose to leave them out), and some thick liquid liner, which keeps the eyes from looking too bright. It comes together quite nicely on her. Mine is a little stronger looking in terms of color (for the eyes, I mean), but I keep true to the color scheme and use of liner.

Here's what I did:

A good word of advice when doing a more dramatic eye look that involves a great deal of shadow: do the eyes first. Whatever fallout comes can be more easily cleaned up. Prime eyes, then apply highlighting base. I used MAC Bare Study Cream Colour Base. The sky blue liner that I applied on the bottom lash line is from Korres. The green eyeshadow I foiled (added water to make the color more intense) and put on my lids only. The color is from Sephora (part of the Clubbing in Tokyo palette).  The light purple I then applied to my creases, and is from Sephora as well (from the Shopping in Milan palette). 

For a winged look, liquid liner can be hard to maneuver if you're not used to working with it. Gel or pencil liner is best because they are easier to control. I used MAC Blitz and Glitz Fluidline, which is a black gel liner with gold pearl. Apply it with a stiff liner brush and flick liner up at the ends. A brow brush would even be fine since the bristles are stiff enough to lend control. Just make sure to wash it before using it on brows.  On brows, I used my trusty MAC Lingering Eye Brows pencil

Even out skin with concealer and foundation, then apply a light pink blush. I used Utterly Chic by MAC. Then apply a light purplish-pink lipstick, which is Minaj's trademark shade. Nicki Minaj and MAC just collaborated on this particular shade. Called Pink Friday, it has already sold out the first day featured. It's only going to be sold a select number of Fridays, and it's probably going to sell out each and every time, so your best bet is to find a dupe. One that looks very much like this shade is Saint Germain by MAC. I combined MAC Angel lipstick with a Hemp Organics lipstick named Purple Haze for my look. It's not as in-your-face as Pink Friday or Saint Germain for sure. It's a more natural take on the pink lip Minaj likes to use.

More pictures after the jump:

Taylor Swift Inspired Look (from the December 2010 Cover of Allure Magazine)

Hello all!

So I just received the December issue of Allure in the mail, and I can't get over how beautiful Taylor Swift looks on the cover. (I would provide pictures, but copyright laws hinder my ambitions.) Naturally very pretty, Swift is made even more so by the smoldering bronze eye, flushed cheeks, and natural pink lips created by makeup artist Gucci Westman.  I recreated the look using MAC, Tarte, Korres, ybf, and Sephora products, as I will show you below. (I will say that the pinks did wash out a bit in the pictures, but I think that had more to do with the lighting than anything else. I'm not a fan of flash, because that usually further washes out color, so I'm going to find a brighter place to do all pictures for other posts.)

Use minimal makeup on the skin. I only used a bit of concealer around the face and under eyes to even everything out. For the cheeks, I used MAC Gentle Mineralize Blush. You could use any mauve or raspberry blush to achieve the same effect if you're fair. Medium girls would have to go a little deeper, possibly a little more red or plum depending on your undertones. Try Love Thing or Breezy if you fall under this category or even if you're darker skinned, since MAC blushes have very high pigmentation and show up well on all skintones.

Even out the skin of the eyes with concealer. You can also use an eye base beneath every you apply (a really good one I've used is Prime Time Eyelid Primer by Bare Escentuals; Laura Gellar Eye Spackle is another one that gets great reviews), especially if you're prone to oily lids.  Apply bronze shadow from upper lash line to crease. Make sure you blend out the crease and also apply a little shadow on the lower lash line as well. I used the bronze shade on the top right corner from my Sephora Color Play palette (Coffee in New York). A very similar bronze shadow is Tempting by MAC. (Camp by Bare Escentuals also comes to mind.) Smudge a small amount of black pencil liner into both upper and lower lash lines. The original look called for liquid liner but really any kohl pencil would do, especially since you would be smudging it. It is best for this purpose. Highlight brows with a white gold/champagne shadow. Follow with mascara on the top lashes.

For lips, I used Go Go Goji gloss from Tarte. It's quite pigmented, so a little actually does go a long way. Wished it showed up a little more, but it was that perfect flushed pink.

Hope you all enjoy it! After the jump, a couple of more shots:

What Are You Thankful For?

Hello! Thought I should take some time to wish everyone in the States a Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm here at my own place celebrating with my own family (still a tad sick from this flu bug I caught recently, but enjoying nonetheless). This time is popular for Americans to celebrate what they are thankful for in their lives. Really, this is something that should be celebrated all year round; nevertheless, I would like to highlight some of the things that I myself am thankful for.

In terms of my personal life, I am thankful for:

1. My family, since they have been a source of strength and love for me especially this past year.
2. My mother, who even after surgery (she actually had a major procedure done just last week) tried to take care of me when I got sick.
3. My dad, who has been helping both me and my mom get better.
4. My friends, who keep me smiling and laughing and who are there to just listen to me when things get tough at times.
5. On a related note, all of my friends and colleagues who have at some point helped me in my professional endeavors. You guys are the best!
6. My uncle, who also has a vast talent of making me laugh nonstop.
7. Organizers and address books, since all my supplies and business contact information would otherwise be in a state of total disarray.
8. Especially right around now, throat lozenges.
9. Warm showers.
10. Hot tea.

And here's five of the beauty products I'm thankful for, and just really could not be without:

1. Korres Face Primer:  Makes everything go on smooth.
2. MAC 217 Brush: Can't blend anything without this.
3. MAC Prep and Prime Lip Primer: For ANYTHING that you need to stay on for an extended period of time through eating, this is perfect.
4. Sephora Professionnel Brushes: MAC brushes are usually considered top of the line brushes, and I do own some. But these are not bad either. I use these constantly.
5. Korres Ginger & Vitamins Foundation: Pigmentation is wonderful and the formula is not heavy or greasy.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! Salud!