A Look for the Holidays – Lesson by a Hollywood Makeup Artist

I will be taking a little blogging break, so I would like to leave you with this idea for a new look for the holiday season.

A stroke of luck hit one day when I was traveling back to LA from NYC.

I was bumped to first class and had the luxury of finding my seat next to a Hollywood makeup artist.

I immediately discovered her talent when I took one glance at her amazing eye shadow. That one compliment made the next five hours fly by.

For most of the flight she gave me makeup tips, wrote down products I should try, and then invited me to her studio for a full makeup application and lesson.

She worked with Bobbi Brown for 10 years, and two years ago, ran with her own talents and branded herself in Hollywood.

Here are some of the products she suggested with instructions below on how to apply them:

Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow in “Cement” - $22 

 

Bobbi Brown Mica Sparkling Eyeshadow - $35

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer - $42

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - $30

Bobbi Brown Tinted Eye Brightener - $38

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick - $38

Bobbi Brown Blush (Pale Pink) - $22

To create a fun, everyday look for the holiday season:

1. First begin with a clean face.
2. Start with your eyes, so if any shadow falls on your face, you can easily clean it up before applying your moisturizer/foundation
3. Begin with the inner corner of your eye towards your nose, and apply the Long Wear Cream Shadow with an eyeshadow brush.  (I personally use the brushes from NARS, but there are many good brushes out there).     
4. Once you completely cover your eyelid, take your ring finger and pat the Mica glimmering shadow lightly.  Coat the eyelid with one layer of sparkle. 
5. Apply mascara (To be honest, I’ve tried a ton of mascaras, and I find Dior, Chanel and Mac to be my favorite.  However, I’ve also have tried Revlon and other CVS brands, and they have been great too.  I think it just depends how much you want to spend and how much patience you have with your eyelashes). 
6. Wash your hands well to ensure the makeup is completely off and you will not smudge any on your face.
7. Now we begin the application of the tinted moisturizer.  During the day, I use this instead of foundation.  Not only does this mask any imperfections, but it also has been good to my skin and lets it “breathe.”  I put a dime sized dot on each cheek, my forehead, chin and nose, and run it in from the inside out to the neckline.  Blend as much as you can.
8. Next I take a dime sized dot of Primer on my pointer finger, and rub it on all of my fingertips so it is as evenly distributed as possible.
9. I then apply it all over my face using my fingertips only.  The Primer helps to keep the moisturizer tightly locked onto your face all day.
10. Wash your hands again and with the applicator, rub the tinted eye brightener under your eyes to lighten any darkness.  Use your ring fingers to blend this in on both sides by lightly dabbing the concealer.
11. Now take a blush brush and cover the bristles with all of the colors on the shimmer brick (I personally use “Nude,” but you need to select whatever block looks best for your skin tone).  Begin with your forehead, and lightly brush the color out and down the perimeter of your face and bring it in right above the cheekbone, and without lifting the brush, bring it back out to the perimeter and down to your chin.  So you will be making a “3” on both sides of your face.  The key to this product is to create color where natural sunlight would hit your face.  These are the accents that usually get the most color. 
12. To finish off this look, grab another blush brush (or wipe this one off with a tissue), and generously cover it with blush (I use “Pale Pink”).  Now, smile, and dab the brush onto the apple of your cheeks (while you’re smiling). 

If you have any questions, the Bobbi Brown website actually has an artist that you can speak with 24/7 (www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com).

I give many thanks to my wonderful airline for the upgrade!

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!!