Primers and bases are often swirled into a big misunderstood cosmetic milkshake, meaning their individualities sometimes get lost and hard to identify. To be honest, at the end of the day both primers and bases can do the same things for your eyeshadow, but not always because “technically” they’re not the same, despite being referred to as such. Most eyeshadow primers or bases will specifically point out if they prevent creasing, smudging, loss of wear, etc. If a product doesn’t state these things, then don’t expect it to.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRIMERS AND BASES?

An eyeshadow primer’s main intentions are to prep the eye for whatever is to come, and to help prevent the natural oils of your eyelids to break down your eyeshadow throughout the day. They also help give you a smooth surface to apply your shadow while intensifying their vibrancy and pigmentation, also helping them to be more blendable. Primers can also help neutralize the color of your lids so that discolorations don’t show thru the shadow, basically giving you the benefits of a light-weight concealer.

As for bases, you can use just about anything moist or sticky and get great color pay-off (even a primer). Bases are the products used to help intensify an eyeshadow by helping it stick to your eye — but not all of them “prime” the eye. You can use concealer, moisturizers, paint pots, cream eyeshadows, gel liners, eye pencils — anything emollient to use as a base and usually end up pleased with the results. However, bases don’t always have the same ingredients as primers to help prevent creasing — but several companies have combined both base and primer to give you a little more protection.

For example, MAC paint pots can be used to prime and base the eye by giving you a shield against oil while also giving you a neutral or colorful base to help intensify your eyeshadow. Paint pots don’t crease or break down on me at all and that’s why I love using them, but they don’t work for everyone.

I USE A PRIMER/BASE, BUT MY EYESHADOW STILL CREASES

If you’ve ever used a primer or base and your eyeshadow still creased it can be a few reasons why…

• 1. It’s not enough protection for your oily lid
• 2. You applied too much
• 3. You applied too little
• 4. Your eyeshadow may not be the best quality — remember, great pigmentation doesn’t always mean great quality
• 5. In the worst case, you may be allergic to the ingredients in a primer or base and totally unable to use them at all

Lots of people tend to go overboard when applying either a primer or a base. I’ve seen many girls on Youtube using heavy amounts of any given primer/base and complain later that their eyeshadow is caking up or creasing. The key is to find the right amount for your individual eyelid. You basically want to get enough just to give a super thin barrier between your oily lid and your eyeshadow. If you apply a basic primer (which tends to turn out transparent or sheer for the most part) and you can still see a heavy cast of it before applying your shadow, you’ve probably used too much. Same with bases, you only need enough to provide that thin barrier — anything more will just cause build up and cause your eyeshadow to shift and look a hot mess. Using NYX Jumbo Eye pencils as a base is really popular, and for the most part it does work — but don’t expect it to prevent creasing on your oily lids because it wont. It’s only going to help intensify your eyeshadow. Some people can get away with using just a NYX Jumbo pencil alone and experience zero creasing, again it depends on your specific eyelid situation.

If you have super oily lids, you may benefit by using two products for your eyes. Try using a primer such as UDPP or TFSI and a base, such as a MAC paint pot — which will not break down the primer you just applied. Using two products that will end up nullifying each other won’t always help. Don’t use an super oily product on top of a primer designed to block oil, because then your primer will fail — always check the ingredients. You just want to beef up your primer by using a second base (with similar ingredients) to give you the most protection.

I personally don’t have the oiliest lids, but they do get a little sheen after a long day. If I wear a cheap eyeshadow without a base, it’ll start to crease on me and the color will fade. If I wear a more pricey eyeshadow without a base (such as MAC, NARS, MUFE), I wont get creasing or dull color pay-off at all. So yes, your eyeshadows play a big part in all of this too. If you’re using a cheap product without a good primer/base, expect cheap results.

In the event you find that you’re allergic to an ingredient in a primer and/or base, find out what it is that you’re allergic to and seek a product that doesn’t have that ingredient. Lots of primers/bases use silica, which some people are allergic to — however this is one of the main ingredients that help prevent/soak up oil so that your shadows don’t crease.

WHICH PRIMERS/BASES SHOULD I TRY?

More and more cosmetic companies are pumping out primers/bases into the market, so it’s easy to be overwhelmed for feel the need to try them all. Here are some great ones that may be easier to get a hold of:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion (often referred to as UDPP), and now comes in several different shades and finishes
• Too Faced Shadow Insurance (often referred to as TFSI)
• NARS Smudge-proof Eyeshadow Base
• LORAC Behind The Scenes Eye Primer
• MAC paint pots or MAC paints
• And a ton of others…

Overall, primers and bases can casually be called the same thing in general. There are technical differences between the two, but nobody is going to shoot you if you refer to a primer as base or vice-versa, it’s not that serious. You can get the same results from either one, but it varies from person to person. Not everything will work for everyone — and you should go into each product with neutral expectations so that you don’t come out feeling disappointed if it doesn’t work for you. If you find that primers don’t work well enough alone, try combining it with a base (again, of similar ingredients) — just try different things until you’re happy.

I hope that all of this makes sense — let me know if you’re lost by now lol. Feel free to share which primers/bases you like to use, I’d love to know!

-Stay beautiful

You can’t tell me anything, I know I look good!

My pearly whites!

I am too sexy for my socks

Nope, my sh*t don’t stink at all!

Such a sexy b*tch!

Oh yes, darling!

Oh those mascara spots? that’s just there for decoration

LMAO!!!!1 Yes, I really just did that…

Ok but seriously. Let’s go thru each infraction that makes this look an official “hot ass mess”. This post isn’t to deter you from being a rebel or having a mind of your own and doing your makeup however you want. This is for people who are looking for advice and tips on what to do and what NOT to do. I’m all for individuality, do you. But for those who wanna know why certain things aren’t acceptable, this is for you.

I think at some point in our lives we were guilty of a few of these things, even to this day. Nobody is perfect, makeup isn’t meant to be perfect by any means. We’re all trying to learn though, right?

10 MAKEUP NO-NO’S

• 1. The super strong, super sharp boxy eyebrows. They never look natural and they can make you look like a man. Unless you’re doing a drag look, try to avoid this. Fill in your brows according to their natural growth. Use a color close to your natural brow color and use a light hand. Remember this folks, your eyebrows will make or break your entire look. If they’re not right, the whole look is ruined.
• 2. Overdosing on a highlight color for your brow-bone area. Oh boy, do see how heavy that highlight is? I’ve seen girls actually do this and they think it’s cute but it’s not. Your brow-bone highlight should never be this frosty and out there.
• 3. Un-blended eyeshadow. I can’t even begin to tell you how many girls I’ve seen walking around with strips, literally strips of color. They don’t blend them, they don’t even attempt to. They just pile bands of color on top of each other, or they’ll wear one color alone and it just looks terrible. No matter if you’re using one color or five colors, always blend your eyeshadow.
• 4. Messy mascara. We all make mascara messes (I know I do), but clean it up as much as you can. Don’t try to tell us you were going for that “leopard look” because I know damn well that’s a lie. Also, try to avoid adding 20 coats of mascara if you can.
• 5. Over-contouring. See how the sides of my nose are just doing the most? Yea, try to avoid that. Also, my cheeks…under my bright ass blush, there’s a heavy harsh line of a contour color that just shouldn’t be there. Blending is key folks!
• 6. Which brings us to the bright ass blush. Dude, chill on the blush! You only need a tiny bit for everyday wear. The Raggedy Ann look just isn’t it.
• 7. Stark white eyeliner on your water-line. It doesn’t look natural. Try using a shade warm enough for your skin tone like a creamy beige, tan or wheat color
• 8. Fake moles. I mean really, are we still doing that??
• 9. Lipstick on the teeth. Use the finger-pop method or take a piece of tissue or paper and put the corner of it inside of your lips and press down to remove the inner part of the lipstick that would otherwise rub off on your teeth and make you look ridiculous in the process.
• 10. Last but not least….STOP. LINING. YOUR. LIPS. WITH. BLACK. OR. BROWN. LINER!!!!!!!! This is the ugliest and most common makeup no-no I’ve seen done multiple times by numerous women. Lining your lips should never be too obvious. Blend the liner out folks! It’s not hard, just smush your lips together until you don’t see a harsh line anymore. Then apply your lip color and blend so that everything comes together. Your lips should not look like a puckered booty-hole.

Ya’ll have NO idea how hard I was laughing in between each picture. A true mess, I swear.

Do you guys have any makeup no-no’s of your own you’d like to share? Post them below!

-Stay beautiful (and avoid everything I did in those pictures LOL!)

Black lip gloss. Yup — I said black.

WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH A BLACK LIP GLOSS??

Calm down, I know you’re scared…but a good black lip gloss will take a shade of lipstick that is far too bright and tone it down into something totally wearable. If it’s a red, pink, coral, purple, or even neutral — you can customize it so that it fits better for you. A good black lip gloss can transform those lipsticks that don’t quite work for you into some of your favorite and most used shades. You can also deepen colors just for fun to see what colors you come up with. It’s a total kit essential in my book!

For this post I’m using MAC’s Blackware Glimmerglass (from the Style Black collection from ’09). NYX also makes a black gloss, and so does YSL and quite a few other cosmetic companies — so please don’t feel like you have to have this one in particular (you might be able to find it at your local CCO’s). I will say though, this is one of the better black glosses I’ve come across. As a matter of fact, the Glimmerglass products are gorgeous and very practical as they can subtly deepen a color or even be worn alone. They’re all beautifully sheer, and sometimes sheer is good.

Here’s an example…

Bling Black, Blackfire, Blackware Glimmerglasses — gorgeous ways to dim your lipstick down a few notches…

Bling Black, Blackfire, Blackware Glimmerglasses — gorgeous ways to dim your lipstick down a few notches…

MAC Impassioned lipstick alone and with Blackware Glimmerglass on top

MAC Impassioned lipstick alone and with Blackware Glimmerglass on top

MAC Impassioned lipstick alone and with Blackware Glimmerglass on top

MAC Impassioned lipstick alone and with Blackware Glimmerglass on top

My lipstick is still very bright, but its super wearable because of the black lip gloss.

It’s a shame that Glimmerglasses were limited edition and discontinued, because I think that a great black gloss is a staple in everyone’s bucket of beauty products. The NYX formula isn’t nearly the same as the MAC one, it’s more opaque and a bit thicker in consistency because you can wear it alone. I’ve heard that the YSL one also can get a bit streaky and settle into fine lines when worn alone. Even with the look I’m wearing above, I just lightly dabbed the gloss across my entire bottom lip, blended and BOOM! For typical use, you’d only need a tiny amount, but you can really push your colors over the edge by applying more and more — it’s truly up to you how much you.

The hand-swatches above are an example of you can dramatically change the color of a lipstick by slathering the Glimmerglass on top. I applied it pretty heavily just to show you it’s magic. I love it because it doesn’t make your colors look black, but it really deepens them into a more tolerable shade. It’s nice and creamy, smooth and glides on like a dream. They feel nothing like a Dazzleglass, they’re not sticky at all. You could also wear this alone if you ever wanna deepen your natural lip pigmentation. When MAC came out with the Style Black collection last year, they also had some other Glimmerglass shades, which also give you the same effect but with a bit of sparkle. I really wish they made these products permanent — but MAC just adores giving us something fabulous then taking it away. Jerks.

If you can find a really nice and smooth black lipgloss, buy it! It’s not just for goth girls, it can really alter a color for you and it’s fun to play with. Don’t be afraid of it if you see it. Same principle applies to a white lip gloss.

Anyhoo, I’m heading out to CVS to pick up a couple of mascaras to review for you guys. See you soon

**If you hurry now, you can buy the YSL Pure Lip Gloss in Black on ACW right now!!

-Stay beautiful

I’ve used so many different cleansers to deep clean my brushes — super oil stripping facial cleansers (yes, girl..I said facial cleansers lol), regular shampoo, baby shampoo, you name it, I’ve tried it. They all gave me okay results, but the true test for me was “What’s gonna clean the crap out of my Too Faced Kabuki?”, because that thing there…sadly didn’t get cleaned as often as it should this past month or so (I know, I know). So you can imagine by the end of maybe 2-3 weeks, it’s filthy. The synthetic bristles start to stick together if you don’t clean it often enough, and I admit to totally slacking on that one brush alone. It got so bad that just pulling the sleeve up and down was hard as hell to do. Never ever do what I did and never let your brushes get THAT dirty. It’s amazing I haven’t broken out because of it, seriously. I was being lazy and kept putting it off, but never again!!!

So how did I clean my disgustingly gross kabuki? I used this incredibly wonderful stuff here..

Yes. Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Creamy Aloe Shampoo. Mmhmmm…

This is seriously, hands down the best product to clean a disgusting brush that I’ve come across thus far. I’ve been using it for the past several months and it’s the poo! This will remove the nasty oils that build up in your brushes over time, and clean it with ease. Not only that, it leaves them incredibly soft and conditioned. This stuff removes calcium build-up from your hair, so of course it’s gonna bless your brushes. It costs around $6.95 a bottle and is simply amazing with cosmetic brushes, I swear…I love it.

For some dumb reason, I didn’t think to even make this post until I was in the middle of cleaning my brushes. So I didn’t get to take a pic of how gross my kabuki was beforehand, you’ll just have to take my word for it. I had used my Pantene shampoo on my kabuki before, but it left this…kinda filmy residue and I didn’t like it. This stuff here doesn’t.

My dirty MAC 217 brush

ewwwww

My sorta dirty MAC 217 after adding just a tiny drizzle of the shampoo

My no longer dirty MAC 217 brush, soaped up and ready to be rinsed clean

My super squeaky clean, yet soft MAC 217 brush lookin’ fresh as all get out! *poplock*

My incredibly clean, no longer disgusting Too Faced Kabuki brush

Awww yea! Look how deeply it cleaned my brush (not that you could see the before, but trust me, it was nasty in there)

HOW I DEEP CLEAN MY BRUSHES

• 1. Hold the brush pointing down and wet it up under the faucet. I use super warm/almost hot water, but you don’t have to. Use whatever is comfortable for you.
• 2. Squeeze a small amount of shampoo (about the size of a sunflower seed out of the shell) into the palm of your hand for eye brushes, and the size of a skittle or dime for larger face brushes.
• 3. With your brush still pointing down or at an angle that won’t allow water to run up into the ferrule, GENTLY swirl the bristles into the shampoo to create a lather. Be aware that you may not develop a lather the first time because your brush is probably that dirty. Wash it anyway for a few seconds, then rinse.
• 4. Repeat step 3 until the water runs clean. Do not scrape your brush back and forth into your hand, use very gentle but firm strokes. You may notice a tiny bit of shedding depending on which brush you’re cleaning. That’s fine. If it’s a ton of shedding, you may wanna buy better brushes lol.
• 5. Rinse thoroughly!
• 6. You can use those “brush guards” if you want, but I just take a normal piece of tissue (usually one sheet and tear it into pieces) and wrap it around your brushes so they keep their shape.
• 7. Lay your brushes on a flat surface to dry

That’s it! When I clean my larger brushes, I tend to let them dry pointing down at an angle just because I’m a spaz about water possibly ruining my brushes and loosening the glue that holds them in place. I paid too much money to have my brushes fall apart. You should spot clean your brushes in between uses, but deep clean every 1-2 weeks. Don’t do what I did this past month and a half and let your kabuki get down and dirty like a bunch of hookers in Vegas.

TIPS ON SPOT CLEANING

I also recommend the MAC Brush Cleanser for spot cleaning. It’s super concentrated, so you can actually pour a little in a small spray bottle from the Dollar Store and add water to it to stretch out the life of the cleanser. I am still on the same bottle of brush cleanser for over a year now because I keep adding water to it in a separate container and it cleans just as effectively. I promise it works, it’s like adding water to Pine-Sol (I’ll let you figure that one out).

IF YOUR BRUSHES BECOME STAINED

…because let’s face it, some products will stain your brushes. Try to fix it as soon as possible by adding a bit of oil-based makeup remover to the bristles and let it soak for a few minutes, then wash as you normally would (repeat if you need to). I stained the heck out of my MAC 187 brush with Revlon’s Colorstay Foundation, and added a bit of Lancome Bi-facil makeup remover and it’s perfectly white again. The oil-based removers that break up the makeup on your face can do the same for your brushes

How do you guys clean your brushes? I’d love to know

-Stay beautiful (and keep your brushes clean!)

EYES

• MAC Rubenesque paint pot as a base over entire lid
• MAC Straw Harvest eyeshadow on the lid
• Facefront Sweet Soil eyeshadow midway thru the crease
• NYX Black eyeshadow to smoke out the outer corner of the eye and deepen the Sweet Soil
• MAC Blacktrack fluidline on upper lashline (not winged out)
• Urban Decay 24/7 Zero pencil in upper and lower waterline, only going 2/3 inward on the lower lashline
• MAC Zoom Lash mascara on tops and bottoms of lashes

FACE

• Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Caramel 400
• Facefront Fully Baked Bronzer to contour
• Rock & Republic blush in Immoral on cheeks

LIPS

*moisturize with your favorite balm, I used Rosebud Salve

• MAC Go For It cremesheen lipstick
• MAC Ban This! lipglass

Isn’t Ban This! pretty over Go For It? I love that combo. You can use any colors you want for this look, you don’t have to use the exact same stuff I used. Any base color close enough to your skin-tone but just a shade or two lighter will work for the lid, and anything dark will go great in your crease and outer-v. This was a great look for my insane Saturday, and applying it on top of the paint pot only helped it last longer. If you’re into bold lip colors, I highly recommend Go For It with Ban This! over it. It’s a gorgeous combination that I feel anyone with guts can get away with. Remember, just because you want to wear a neutral eye look doesn’t mean it has to look boring

-Stay beautiful

An MSF can be used for several different things, but the most popular use is as a finishing/highlight powder. You have your regular “shimmery” Skinfinishes ($28) and your Skinfinish Naturals ($26 – about eight shades). The naturals are the ones that are basically used to set/seal the makeup because they’re matte. Or you could use them to give you sheer/light coverage in place of foundation. If you’re one of those (lucky) people who wanna leave the house quickly and don’t need a ton of coverage, the Skinfinish Naturals work amazingly well for that purpose.

The “shimmery” Skinfinishes are perfect for adding a bit of sheen or highlight to areas of the face and body. You can take a fluffy brush, lightly tap it into the product and apply it any desired area to achieve a sexy glow. Because I only use my “shimmery” Skinfinishes for highlighting purposes, I won’t be running low on any of them for a while. These babies are very pigmented and a little goes a long way. Most of them don’t have any chunks of glitter, but a few of them do (like Gold Spill and Northern Light). If you have wide open pores or lots of fine lines/wrinkles on your face, you want to avoid anything too shimmery or glittery — it will just make your pores look like pools everyone should jump into and play Marco Polo — no bueno.

Without further ado, here’s my collection of MSF’s plus swatches. Enjoy

MAC MSF’s: Sunny by Nature, Gold Deposit, Comfort, Shooting Star, Global Glow, Warmed

MAC MSF’s: Global Glow, Warmed, Brunette, Northern Light, Petticoat

MAC MSF’s: Light Flush, Perfect Topping, Gold Spill, So Ceylon, Glissade

MAC MSF’s: Glissade, Shimpagne, Dark/Natural & Shimmer, Deep Dark

I don’t have every MSF released by MAC, and to be honest there’s only one I truly want and pray MAC releases again so I can buy it and that’s Metal Rock. Google it, it’s gorgeous. I had the “coveted” Pleasureflush MSF (another one people crazily pay upwards of $90 for) but it did nothing for me so I sold it.

Many MSF’s have really pretty veining of different colors running thru them which makes them all unique. No two MSF’s are alike. Some people get ones with tons of veining, some don’t. They’re baked and very soft to the touch, and perfect for touch ups, setting your foundation, low-coverage and/or highlighting. These are absolutely beautiful and despite me having a lot, you don’t need a lot. These are considered collectors items for lots of MAC freaks because of how rare some of them are, and how hard most of them are to find. I just checked the MAC website and as of now, there are only three MSF’s available…womp. Check your local CCO’s if you wanna find some of these, they might be available.

I hope this post was helpful for reference and for those wanting to see MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes on darker skin. Do you guys have any of these? Do you have Metal Rock? If you do, I ENVY YOU!!!

-Stay beautiful

These are great because they create a pigmented barrier between your oily lid situation and your eyeshadow, and keep the eyeshadow lasting longer than Bob Dole. What does that mean? Little to no creasing! If you have extremely oily lids, I’m not sure if these will work for you…maybe you can layer some UDPP and a paintpot? Not sure, but try whatever works for you.

I store mine in a tray I got from Ikea called Anordna Mest (now only comes in white)

Row 1: Painterly, Bare Study, Soft Ochre, Girl Friendly, Artifact, Delft, Rollickin’, Electro Sky
Row 2: Rubenesque, Indianwood, Coral Crepe, Quite Natural, Greenstroke, Otherworldly, Pharaoh, Moss Scape

Paint Pots come in four finishes: Pearl, Cream, Frost and Satin. I can’t remember what all of these finishes are, so I’ll try my best lol.

*No Flash from right to left: Painterly (cream), Bare Study (frost), Soft Ochre (cream), Girl Friendly (cream)

*No flash from right to left: Rubenesque (frost), Indianwood (frost), Coral Crepe (satin)

*No flash from right to left: Coral Crepe (satin), Quite Natural (cream), Artifact (frost)

*With flash from right to left: Painterly (cream), Bare Study (frost), Soft Ochre (cream), Girl Friendly (cream), Rubenesque (frost), Indianwood (frost)

*With flash from right to left: Soft Ochre (cream), Girl Friendly (cream), Rubenesque (frost), Indianwood (frost), Coral Crepe (satin), Quite Natural (cream), Artifact (frost)

*No flash from right to left: Electro Sky (cream), Delft (frost), Rollickin’ (frost), Otherworldly (cream)

*No flash from top to bottom: Moss Scape (frost), Greenstroke (frost), Otherworldly (cream)

*No flash from top to bottom: Pharaoh (cream), Moss Scape (frost), Greenstroke (frost)

*With flash from left to right: Electro Sky (cream), Delft (frost), Rollickin’ (frost), Otherworldly (cream), Greenstroke (frost), Moss Scape (frost), Pharaoh (cream)

Pretty, right? They’re also long lasting but kind of a beeyotch to remove. Coincidentally, you might need an oil-based makeup remover to get it off easily. You could use an oil-free makeup remover…it just might take you a while. While swatching these just now, I removed them with a regular oil-free makeup remover wipe and I had to scrub the crap outta my arm, now it’s raw. See what I go thru for you guys?

Some of the colors on my arm are no longer available because they were “limited edition” (MAC is good for doing that crap) or discontinued, but you might be able to find some at CCO’s. It’s worth a look *shrug*. The sad news is that they literally just discontinued Delft paint pot like within the last month or so. Why MAC, why???

APPLICATION AND REMOVAL

• Best applied with a clean finger over the lid or with a clean brush (such as a MAC 242 or 217).
• Best removed with an oil-based makeup remover or wipe.

Anyhoo, I hope this post was helpful for those of you looking to buy paint pots and curious about how they look on darker skin, how pigmented they are, etc. These can be applied as sheer or as opaque as you want. My swatches are pretty opaque just to show you how much color pay-off you can get.

Availability: MAC Cosmetics (including counters and stores)

NYX makes really great, creamy lipsticks for embarrassingly low prices. If you’re afraid of red, but wanna get your feet wet and try a few colors without spending $14+ on a single lipstick, I recommend trying the following…

• NYX Lips “Snow White” lipstick – comparable to MAC’s Dubonnet lipstick, just a bit more red, Dubonnet is slightly browner.
• NYX “Chaos” Round lipstick – a brighter version of MAC’s So Scarlet lipstick. So Scarlet is a tad deeper.

• Chaos is a creamy blue-based red with very subtle fuchsia sheen. If you look close enough you can see super tiny sparkles, but this doesn’t translate onto your lips as gritty or anything (I promise you won’t feel what you may see). It’s just what gives the lipstick it’s character. This one also has lots of sheen to it upon application but like Snow White, that sheen will eventually fade and you’ll have a gorgeous red matte stain on your lips.

• Snow White is a really pretty semi-matte deep red color, that I find to be very neutral and forgiving. It’s slightly more red and a tad brighter than MAC’s Dubonnet (which is very warm), but at the end of the day they’re in the same boat. I feel that anyone warm or cool toned can definitely rock this color and look amazing in it. It’s warm without being too warm for cooler skin-tones. It’s semi-matte because it’s a totally flat color but has a nice sheen to it when first applied. After a while, the sheen does wear off and you’re left with a nice stain.

I didn’t find either one of the NYX lipsticks to be overly drying, and both had really good staying power. To prevent the crustiest lips in the world, I always balm my lips up before applying lipstick. Let the balm soak into your lips for about ten minutes, wipe away any excess with your finger (tissue will dry it out), and then apply. However, they will transfer pretty easily, so avoid kissing anyone with these. Both are super creamy and smooth and incredibly opaque — they are not sheer at all.

Whenever I wear red lipstick, I really don’t like to put anything else on my face that will distract you from my already bright ass lip. This isn’t necessarily a “rule”, but it’s a factor you should consider. I also don’t do bright pink blush with a red lip because that’s automatically gonna have me looking like a clown and give me that “obvious” look I can’t stand. I usually rock a bright bold red lip with golden skin, eyeliner, neutral eyeshadow (if I have time) and tons of mascara. However, red lipstick can look FIERCE with sexy smokey eyes.

RED FLAG

When you first apply red lipstick, it can be a little daunting. Your initial reaction may be “Whoa!” and you may very well hate it. I hated red lipstick when I first tried it years back, but that was because I was trying the wrong reds, and I wasn’t used to it at all. Such a stark change can be a turn-off at first and freak you out. Not every red is created equal. You have a selection of warm, yellow, cool, and neutral reds. Play around with them all to find one that suits you best. Don’t automatically think that just because you’re warm-toned you can’t wear a cool red, or vice versa. Buy a red that works for you, and try it a few times and you might grow to love them like I did. It takes getting used to for lots of people. The only red lipstick I personally stay away from are yellow-toned reds that make the teeth look more yellow. Neutral, warm and cool reds? I’m all for those.

OVERALL

These aren’t the only red lipsticks made by NYX, but they’re two of my favorites. Since they’re so cheap, you can afford to buy several different red colors and figure out what works and what doesn’t. I’m warm/olive-toned, but I’m clearly wearing both of these colors. If I can wear these, I think you guys should at least try it…they’re both cheaper than a value meal, so what do you have to lose? I wanted to show these two beautiful and inexpensive red lipsticks to you guys who are afraid of red, but need that extra push to go ahead and just play around with bolder colors.

Stop being afraid and relax…it’s just makeup

Availability: NYX Cosmetics, ULTA Beauty, Cherry Culture

-Stay beautiful

WHAT IS A SETTING POWDER and WHAT DOES IT DO?

A setting powder is basically a loose or compact sheer-to-medium coverage powder that “sets” your foundation or other base makeup so that it lasts longer throughout the day. It adheres to any damp and/or sticky part of the foundation and creates somewhat of a seal. If you used a liquid foundation alone, you can usually feel a “damp” feeling on your face (unless it’s a matte formula). You can combat this by using a loose setting powder. It can also help remove excess shine.

WHY SHOULD I USE A SETTING POWDER?

It’s really beneficial for people with oilier skin-types to use a setting powder so that the oils in their skin don’t break down their makeup to the point where it’s sliding and/or disappearing from their face. The setting powder can seriously help delay the process and save you from touching up so frequently.

WHICH SETTING POWDER SHOULD I USE?

Oh man…this question has so many answers. It really depends on your skin-type and what ingredients you’re allergic to, and what your goal is. For someone like me with an overall oily skin problem, I go for ones that reduce shine with oil-absorbing ingredients, set the makeup, and are translucent. A popular setting powder such as Make Up For Ever’s HD Microfinish Powder ($30) is known to help reduce shine and mattify the skin and is completely colorless. There are also setting powders that help reduce the appearance of pores and fine lines, such as Laura Mercier’s Translucent Setting Powder. You just have to know what your ailment is, and find one that will help rectify those issues the most. Read the labels! You don’t have to spend a fortune (unless you want to) to get a decent powder, but overtime you may find that cheaper brands aren’t cutting it for you. I’m not saying expensive ones are the end-all/be-all, but most of them cost a lot for good reason — they work!

HOW SHOULD I APPLY A SETTING POWDER?

If it’s a loose powder you should definitely use some sort of fluffy brush to apply it. The reason you want to use a fluffy brush is because it will lightly disperse the product onto your face without concentrating too much of it in one area. Make sure you use a light hand when picking the powder up, though. You only need the slightest amount (I put a lot on the brush just to show you what it looks like). If you happen to pick up as much as I did, shake off the excess. Once you start buffing it in, it should disappear into your skin and set you look. If you’re using a pressed setting powder, you can still use a brush, but you may find that a powder puff pad will work better. Use a light hand with these as well, and just dab it along the areas where you want your makeup to be “set”, or absorb any excess oil.

SETTING POWDERS I’M CURRENTLY USING:

Ben Nye Banana Visage Powder (around $7 on eBay) – Very inexpensive, mattifies my face but doesn’t leave me looking dead, doesn’t have any ingredients that I’m allergic to. My oily skin loves this stuff because it literally lasts all day for me. I’ve heard of it not working for some people, but for the price, I think you can afford to try it out. You get a TON of product, too.

Urban Decay De-slick Mattifying Powder ($30) – Portable and convenient. Works very well on my oily skin and removes shine completely. It does have a weird medicinal scent to it, but once you apply it you don’t smell it anymore.

MAC Blot Powder ($22) – Right now I have the loose version (which doesn’t seem to be available anymore), but they have a pressed version that looks to be just as convenient as the UD De-slick. Comes in five shades and controls oil and sets foundation.

Jemma Kidd Gossamer Finish Ultra Sheer Translucent Powder ($28) – Talc free, doesn’t clog pores, sets the makeup and reduces shine.

Jemma Kidd Bio-Mineral Perfecting Powder ($40)- This powder is pretty light and pigmented so I have to use a fluffy brush with this one, but I love it. It has gold and bio-active minerals that help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark and Deep Dark ($26) – This might be my favorite only because I can use it as either a setting powder or fake it as a foundation. It’s kinda like a pressed version of a loose powder foundation anyway. Coverage is low, but for me it’s perfect for a quick “fresh” look w/o using gobs of liquid foundation.

Lorac Face Powder in P3 Dark ($4.99 on SALE from $28) – This is an overall basic face powder that sets the makeup and evens your skin tone. It actually conditions the face too because it has Jojoba Oil in it somehow. I can feel how conditioning it is when I dust it on. If you’re interested in a higher-end powder for cheap, pick this up while it’s on sale. The color is pretty translucent and should suit any skin-tone.

HOW TO TELL YOU’VE USED TOO MUCH POWDER

• If your face has a “white cast” to it, you probably OD’d on the powder. Relax, boo…a little is all you need.
• If your makeup starts to look powdery and cakey, you’ve probably used too much.
• If you can SEE the powder you’ve just applied — no ma’am

A little goes a long way!

If you don’t use a setting powder and would like to start but would rather try a cheaper brand…check out your local drugstore. Maybelline, L’Oreal, Covergirl, NYC, Milani, they all make some sort of loose powder that helps set your makeup. Once you master that, you may want to use a better powder and then you’ll have to shell out a few more bucks. It’s not absolutely necessary, but for some people it may be worth it.

I hope that helps and answers some newbie questions for ya. If there’s anything I missed, feel free to ask

Be sure to check out my Bronzer 101 post if you missed it!

-Stay beautiful

For this tutorial, I’m using my NARS 9947 palette. I’m using only three colors from this palette: Night Flight (lid), Surabaya (crease), and Kilimanjaro (highlight). These particular shadows are very pigmented, and you can easily overdo it, so please use a light hand.

STEP 1

I’ve already applied my moisturizer and foundation. Now it’s time to prime the eyelid. I’m using Urban Decay’s Primer Potion. This will prevent your eyeshadow from creasing and separating (if you have oily lids). If you don’t have oily lids and don’t have problems with your eyeshadow creasing, you can absolutely skip this step. Apply a small amount to the lid using the wand.

Blend the UDPP with your finger all over the lid and up to the browbone.

This is how it should look once you’re done:

If you see a super thick white cast when you’re done, you simply used way too much.

STEP 2

Take an eyeshadow brush (I’m using the MAC 239 shader brush) and pick up the color Night Flight. Tap off any excess from the brush so you minimize fall-out. Pat the color on the lower part of your entire lid. Stay below the crease!

It will look like this once you open your eye:

STEP 3

Take a firm yet fluffy blending brush (I’m using a MAC 217 blending brush) and pick up the color Surabaya on the tip of the brush, and blend that color into the crease on top of Night Flight.

See how it’s just kinda sitting on top and doesn’t quite look right? Use windshield-wiper (back and forth) motions until it’s blended nicely. Blending is what makes it seamless and less harsh.

See how it’s starting to come together? This is what we’re going for. What you don’t want to do is blend both shades together SO MUCH that they lose their identity and turn into just one color. You’re only blending the edges of both colors together so they connect into a smooth transition. Notice how you can still see the dark blue and the brown? Perfect. You shouldn’t have just a blob of dark blue or brown on your lid at this point, otherwise you’d look like you just have a black eye, and that’s no bueno.

Now our shadows are blended! We still have a few more things to do before this is finished.

STEP 4

Grab a fluffy blending brush (I’m using the MAC 224) and blend out the very top of the brown Surabaya shadow so there’s no harsh line. Make sure you use soft windshield-wiper motions for this, so you don’t take away too much color.

STEP 5

With the same brush used for Step 4, pick up a tiny bit of Kilimanjaro on the tip of the brush and apply to the browbone. You’re concentrating the Kilimanjaro to the browbone, but whatever is left you can softly blend on top of the Surabaya, just to meet those colors together so you don’t have any gaps.

Highlight is done!

STEP 6

We wanna darken up the upper lashline a tad, or at least I do. Take a pointy liner brush (I’m using the MAC 209) and draw a thin and opaque line using your favorite gel-liner across your entire lid. I’m using the new black gel-liner from Physicians Formula, which can be found at most drugstores. It’s awesome! It has a slight shimmer to it, you may or may not be able to see it, but it’s still a great gel-liner. Make sure you don’t wing this liner out too far, you’re only going from the tear-duct, to the outer corner of the eye.

STEP 7

Line your lower-lashline/waterline using your favorite black eyeliner. Connect the liner from the upper-lashline on the outside corner, to the lower lashline on the outside corner, so that there are no gaps. I used the new Milani Liquif’Eye pencil in black, and then set it with NYX black eyeshadow so that it wouldn’t run down my face all buckwild throughout the day. I used my MAC 219 pencil brush to pick up the black eyeshadow and pat it on top of the black pencil and softly smudged it across my entire lower-lashline.

STEP 8

Do the mascara thang. I’m using Lancome Hypnose mascara. Use whatever you have. Apply 2 coats, more or less if you’d prefer. I like to apply mascara to my upper and lower lashes, but do whatever you’re more comfortable with.

WE’RE DONE!!

At this point you’re done with the eyes, so add your favorite blush, bronzer, and lip color and we’re done! I used NARS’ Taj Mahal blush, Facefront’s Fully Baked bronzer, and MAC’s Siss lipstick with Gold Dust lipglass on top. Because this wasn’t a full face tutorial, I’ll just focus on the eyes.

FACE:

• Revlon Colorstay foundation in Caramel 400
• FaceFront Cosmetics Half Baked Bronzer
• NARS Taj Mahal blush

EYES:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• NARS Night Flight e/s
• NARS Surabaya e/s
• NARS Kilimanjaro e/s
• Physicians Formula black gel-liner
• Milani Liquif’Eye black e/l
• Lancome Hypnose Mascara

LIPS:

• NYX lip liner in brown
• MAC Siss lipstick
• MAC Gold Dust lipglass

For those of you who don’t have the colors that I used, please do not worry. There are so many makeup companies who make similar colors and hell, you could use different ones — totally different and less expensive ones. Use what you have. This was just to show you the technique of how to achieve one of MANY smokey-eye looks.

As always, I’m here for you, so if you have any questions leave them below and I’ll try my best to answer them for you

-Stay beautiful