It is December......Dedicated to all busy MOMs!!!

Hi all,

This is the first day of December and in the Nigerian fashion I wish you all a happy month.... This is the festive season and everyone has to look their best including us busy moms. Right now I am growing my brows out so i can get it threaded and looking it best for Christmas.

It really can be tough having a thousand and one things to do and yet still have time for makeup application. I personally feel your pain. .

I don't go around wearing a full face of foundation everyday. This is what i have in my Makeup bag

1. MAC studio finish concealer -- This is to help even out my skin tone, i have gotten some dark spots since after my pregnancy. They have faded out and since i am not a fan of bleaching my skin i will wait till they fade naturally but for now, my concealer will do the work. I use the concealer around my mouth, under my eyes, the corners of my nose.

2. For pressed powder I use either MAC mineralize skinfinish natural (Dark) or Make-up Designory mineral powder - I use my powder brush and apply it all over my face. Also used to set the concealer.

3. Brown brow pencil

4. Mascara

5. Lip pencil and Lipstick - If you looking for lasting colour on your lips then a lipstick is a must-have in your bag. If you want to go the extra mile and look glam at all times then find the perfect red or pink lipstick for your skin tone.

People always see me and think i am fully made up and i am so sure it is my red lipstick that keeps the glam going.

Lipstick, Mascara, Pressed powder and concealer

If you are too worried about red being too bright you can use a red lip pencil all over your lips and then use a brown lipstick on top like the pic above.

plus my eyes lined,  blush and lipstick

Another way to add a little extra glam on your face could be to use a black pencil to line your eyes. Please when lining the lower side of your eyes try and stay in the inner rim and you can use a cotton bud to clean out any pencil smudges.

I have also added some blush and changed the lipstick colour. I used a red lip liner and a very bright pink lipstick .

Lip liner and clear lip gloss

Here i used red lip liner all over my mouth and then clear lip gloss.I feel my lips are already full so i am not really a fan of lip glosses.

Final tips to keep this five mins face fresh.

* Invest on blotting paper. if you are sweating first use facial tissue and dab on your skin to gently soak up the sweat then finish off with your blotting paper to remove the shine. That way you don't have to keep powdering more product on your face.

* if you use lipstick instead of lip gloss you will probably need to reapply your lipstick only after lunch (wink) instead of every 1 hour.

* Red Lipstick = Instant Glam mom ( tried and tested)......

Wishing all busy moms a glamorous month. Enjoy the festive period.

Feel free to drop comments 

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Look for Sacred artistry competition for October

Hey everyone. The time has come again for the Sacred Artistry competition and the theme was Halloween. Immediately i saw this i knew i was going to be doing a zombie like look and i was fascinated by Tim Burton's corpse bride. After some trial and error as well as tips from you tube videos i set on my adventure.


Just in case you have not watched this cartoon here is a pic of the original corpse bride.

Th original corpse bride

I really enjoyed this movie.



Well i did change a few things since as you can see the bride has a blueish tinge to her and i could not go blue as i am dark skinned. i hope you like my own version. My version actually scares me more than the original. LOL. i would have loved to show a breakdown of the steps but as i was working on myself i was more intent on getting the finished look.

My Version of corpse bride

For the base i used Sacha liquid foundation in Perfect caramel (5 shades lighter than my own complexion) ad dusted it with MUD loose powder (white) to get the ashy tone. I also used Sacha concealer to block out my eyebrows and rub all over my lips to get the dull look you see in the picture.

For a tutorial i watched i saw the lady use UHU glue stick to get these patches that look like rotting skin but i was just too lazy to start searching for that. Instead of the glue stick i decided to mash white bar soap and just stick it on my face till it dried.

While waiting for it to dry i used a white eyeliner for the lower rim of my eyes to make them appear larger and black eye shadow all over the eye. After which i used liquid liner to make the spikes around my eyes, eye brow and stitches all over me.

The soap patches were now dry and i used a brown face paint to paint all over the soap. Then i used a red face paint to just give the appearance of dried blood and make the rotting face more realistic.

Not yet satisfied with the look i finally decided to use some black face paint on my lips to make the lips appear even more cracked.

This is my entry for the Sacred Artistry competition and i hope you like it.

YAY!!! I won...

Feel free to drop comments.

My beauty blender is HERE!!!!!!

So i have my beauty blender finally!! YAYYYY!!!!! Thanks to Kike fellow makeup artist and friend who traveled to the UK and got it at the Guru Makeup Emporium. I can't get beauty blender in Nigeria yet but hopefully soon that will be a thing of the past..i would love to distribute this sponges here.

excerpts from the website
"Now you can look like a movie star without the pricey services of a major make up artist. Introducing Beautyblender, the ultimate make up sponge applicator. Invented by top Hollywood make up artist Rea Ann Silva, Beautyblender has been created to leave you with a professional finish and a flawless complexion. Silva knows that the key to a perfect face is simple: a perfect blend. So forget your fingers or sharp-edged triangular sponges, these application methods waste make up and can leave visible streaks.

Beautyblender’s patent-pending elliptical shape makes application foolproof by allowing you to access hard-to-reach areas with stunning ease. Its suede texture is sensual to the touch and its unique curves fit the contours of your face, leaving your make up dazzling and undetectable. Beautyblender is latex free, non-allergenic and odor free."

The beauty blender wet

I decided to use the beauty blender wet because i was using MUD cream foundation which can be too oily for our weather. To apply foundation with the beauty blender you have to use the stipple method. This means to just dab it on your face instead of swiping. That way you place the foundation exactly where you want it. 

So here i am stippling with my beauty blender and i can actually see that it does not have streaks which means that application time is much shorter than normal since i don't have to go back and blend away lines.

I also used less makeup than normal. At the end of the application i really felt like i did not have any foundation on, i just felt like my skin was flawless. All the hard to reach areas like my nose etc were just too easy.....

Let me say i am looking forward to using it on my clients and i will be ordering more....

Before

After

I was going for the natural look to showcase the beauty blender sponge.

Face

MUD cream foundation GY2

Sacha loose powder (Perfect bronze)

Sleek contour kit (Dark)

Sleek blush (Flushed)

Eyes 

Light brown and dark brown (Sacha eyeshadow)

Lashes

Lips 

LA girl lip palette in LP8 Passion

Brows

Ardell brow powder in mink

eyes lowered

my side view showing my blush

Beauty blender is a must have for all makeup artists. It cut down my application time and i love the flawless finish. Looking forward to the client i will be using this on. 

For more on beauty blender check www.beautyblender.net

Oops i almost forgot to mention the cleanser which cleans the sponge beautifully and has the best fragrance EVER!!!


Free free to drop comments

Afro / Twist outs Chic

I decided to go natural for a second time around this time last year. I had been natural before but at that time i did not make any effort to try and understand my hair. Now after years of relaxer abuse and stunted growth i said NO MORE.  I could not go for the BC (Big Chop) so i decided to trim the relaxed parts of my hair little by little and invested in braids and locs. Last weekend i finally had a full head of natural curls and i decided to do the twist out.

Decided to go black on white

One thing i learnt this time around is to co-wash my hair. which means when i am ready to wash my hair i should condition the hair first before using shampoo. i can say after obeying this rule my hair did not have any tangles. i also found out using my fingers to comb through while washing instead of a comb was better for me. Now i can say i have very soft and manageable hair especially with olive oil and shea butter in the mix.

That is how long my hair is when stretched

i have very curly hair that shrinks and making twists is the best way to reduce the shrinkage. i also sleep with  silk hair nets and in the morning i spritz with water and finger comb. i am been getting a lot of glances from strangers lately and i have no idea whether they love the hair or just love the bold attitude for carrying natural hair around town. i love my hair. i don't panic when it gets wets and it defies gravity and wind.

with my eyes lowered

For today i decided to enjoy making myself up for my new hairdo. After moisturising,i used Black opal cream foundation in perfect bronze and black walnut and set it with Sacha loose powder in Perfect bronze. for my brows, a pencil to fill in the sparse areas.I used my Sacha eye palette for my eyes. A deep orange with brown for my lid, brown for my crease and outer corner and a very light brown for my brow bone. Lipstick was from the LA girl sunset palette. MUD cream mascara for my lashes.

Just me in my twist outs

Me me me, loving my new hair.

I really love my new hair do and i know as it gets longer it may not defy gravity but for now i will enjoy each passing day.


Feel free to drop any comments....