Looks For 4-Eyed Beautys

Hello Everyone!

A common complaint out there is, "what's the point of doing a cute eye look, when I am just going to put my glasses on anyway?". Well being a victim of four-eyes pretty much my entire life, I think I can help with this. Now when Kaci brought this to my attention, I didn't think I really did anything all that different than i would if I were wearing contacts. But then I started paying a little more attention and sure enough I was doing things differently without even realizing it.

First, off if your make-up showing is something that is really important to you start with what kind of frames you are wearing. 

Personally I prefer plastic frames which of course block most of my face. But if plastic is for you, try to choose a clear or light color frame. If you like black, like me, you can choose a larger or rounded lens to show off those baby blues.

Larger Lens Black Frame, I actually just got these!

Clear Frames

If you dig the metal frames or no no frames, its not as big of a deal. For metal frames I would just stay away from anything rectangular, since it will cut across the center of your lid.

If your make-up is whats important these are NOT for you.

Now for the fun part. If your fed-up with your eyes forget about them. Spring time is right around the corner, try some winged eyeliner and a bright pink lip.

Sorry my liner is not winged because I have droopy eyes, but you get the point :). I have MAC White Frost all over my lid and under brow with Sorme SmearProof Liner and Benefit badGAL lashes, Lips are Covergirl Blast Flipstick in Pucker(both sides)

Want something a little more sultry? Draw as much attention to your lash line as possible, since that's the part you can see the best. Try thick smudgy liner and natural looking false lashes (for added thickness not length) or a dark violet or emerald green around your lashes and blended into the crease with a lighter shade.


Glasses can be sexy and cute, don't think because you are working the nerdy chic on a daily basis that make-up isn't worth your time. 


Your Four-Eyed Friend
-The Artist

Back to Basics - Picking out Foundation

Hello There!


We have all fallen victim to this, wearing the wrong color foundation. For me it usually happens in the summer, I don't realize how much sun I have gotten and all of a sudden my face is lighter than everything else and I look like ghost. For most people they simply don't know how to pick the correct shade or the undertone is wrong and you turn orange. For information on understanding your skin tone check out this Back to Basic. 


There are basically three types of foundation: powder, liquid and gel/cream. Typically coverage is as follows Powder is Sheer, Liquid is Medium, Creme is Full. Of course there are exceptions like tinted moisturizer which usually is packaged like liquid foundation.


OK now you know your skin tone and what type of coverage you want its time to  find your perfect match. If your shopping at the drugstore unfortunately its just a guessing game. The best thing to do is go to Sephora or a department store so that you can test the colors. Find a brand, type and finish you like, then swatch them along your jaw bone (Try using a cotton swab or a cosmetic sponge). Your looking for the color that disappears into your skin.

 Brush Vs. Sponge?

Some people think that you should only use foundation brush's and others are pro sponge. So how do you choose? My best advice is to try both and use whatever your most comfortable with and you feel gives the best result for your skin. 


Brush's are the greener choice since you wash and reuse them the same way you would any of your cosmetic brushes. I like to use a brush because you have more control over where your product is going and the result is more full coverage than a sponge since it doesn't soak up your foundation.


Sponges are convenient since they are disposable and are my applicator of choice when applying foundation to a client. Most people don't know this but you can use sponges two ways wet or dry. By wetting the sponge you cause it to soak up the vehicle in the product (The ingredient that delivers the pigment to your face, usually an oil) this gives you a color only deposit to you face. 


Do you still have questions on how to pick out foundation or application? Let us know!


Until next time! -The Artist

Back To Basics - Know Your Skin Tone

Hello Lovelys!

Here at the The Artist and The Addict we wanted to do a series of Beauty Basics, some you may already know. But if you feel like a wreck, you're a trainee or feel like you just can't seem to get something right, hopefully you will find some useful information here.

Understanding your skin tone!

Before you just dive into whatever look you saw on Gossip Girl you need to first take a hard look in the mirror and understand what is happening on that beautiful face of yours. 


Why does skin tone matter? Whenever you are choosing what colors to use on your face, hair or what to wear, having a better understanding of whats going on underneath will aid you in not picking things that are going to wash you out or make you look crazy. 

Skin tone can be divided into two categories: Ruddy and Olive aka Red and Green. This distinction is easy to identify. If you are looking in the mirror and you have a lot of redness on your face, it is most likely due to irritation or sensitive skin. A true Ruddy skin tone is almost always a natural red head and is only 1% of the human population all others are Olive.

Olive skin is much more complex then Ruddy as it can have many sub undertones and many different shades. However you can break them up into two groups: warm and cool. Warm undertones are yellow or orange, while cool undertones are blue or violet. This can sometimes be difficult to figure out, there are a lot of different ways determine if you are warm or cool. Check out these tests at The Beauty Department.

A basic rule to stick to when choosing color is to pick colors with the same undertones as your skin. Warm tones look great in golds, oranges, yellows and bright red-oranges. Cool tones will benefit from wearing silvers and beautiful jewel shades (purple, blue and green). 

Now that you know and understand your skin tone and undertones you will be able to apply this knowledge to future Back to Basics. Coming soon will be a B2B on how to pick foundation for your skin tone.

-The Artist