winter make up tips

As a special holiday gift,  I asked my friend Jean-François to do one of his fantastic makeup tutorials showcasing some winter trends!  I’m a huge fan of his Youtube tutorials and I hope you all are as thrilled as I am to have him join us for this issue of FORA!
In addition, I’ve included a list of essentials that I believe are a MUST in creating your best makeup looks (outside of the makeup colors themselves!)  Holiday season is THE BEST time to cash in on fantastic deals and sets for less at department and drug stores… so you can look naughty OR nice!
Clean, Prepped Skin I can never stress the importance of taking care of your skin enough.  It’s the canvas for every look… with or without makeup! If your skin doesn’t look good, neither will your makeup. Cleanse, Exfoliate, and Moisturize morning and night and you will see a huge difference.  Skincare lines I like are Dermalogica, Clean & Clear, Clarins, and MAC.
Makeup Brushes
Ok, let’s face it.  Those little spongetip applicators that come with the eyeshadow are just… meh.  Ideally, get the best brushes you can afford.  With proper care,  brushes can last you for years!  (I love MAC Cosmetics brushes-they have great sets on sale around the holiday season!! Many drug stores have some decent brushes as well!)  You probably need around 5 or 6 brushes to have what you need to do your whole face:    -powder/blush brush ( a medium size, not too huge)
-small angle brush (for eyeliner and brows)
- medium flat brush (for applying eyeshadows)
-medium teardrop-shaped brush (for blending eyeshadows and doing a crease)
-a lip brush OR a small stiff brush for applying concealer
Eyeshadow Base
Eyeshadow base keeps your eyeshadow on with no creasing or fading for over 12 hours.  I’m not joking!!  It can be worn alone or under powder eyeshadows.
I’d suggest MAC Paints in ‘Bare Canvas’ for lighter/medium skintones and MAC Paint in ‘Bamboom’ for darker skintones.  (The base should be a bit lighter than your skintone, or match it exactly-not darker).  I also like NARS eyeshadow base, and Cover FX Eye Prep.
Mascara
Seriously, why waste time doing your makeup when in an hour you have messy mascara smudges?  Unless you are *actually* going for that Courtney Love/Marilyn Manson look, get a good mascara.  Waterproof doesn’t necessarily mean smudge-proof; if you have oily skin, waterproof may smudge. (they are water-proof, NOT oil-proof.  Oil is what you remove waterproof products with).   Some brands that work well for me are Covergirl Lash Blast, L’Oreal Telescopic Mascara, and Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara.
Peach/Warm Toned Concealer
You may need help choosing your perfect shade, but your concealer should be slightly more peachy and not *too* much lighter than your own skin.  Peachy/warm concealer tones under the eyes help your skin look bright and hide dark circles.  Concealer that is too yellow under the eyes can look ashy.  I like MAC concealers, Cover FX concealer, and the Lise Watier Portfolio Concealer Wheels.
If you have the essentials, you will be able to create hundreds of makeup looks and just pick up one or two colour trends every season!  Now, ready…set…. MAKEUP!!!

How To Accentuate Your Brown Eyes

Looking for the perfect eye makeup for brown eyes? You're in the right place! Find the perfect brown eyeshadow,brown eyes eyeliner, and many other eye makeup colors for your eyes! Bring out your natural beauty with a touch of makeup for brown eyes! Make them sparkle!

Fabulous makeup for brown eyes!

Eyeshadows For Brown Eyes 

Makeup for Brown Eyes

The following color palette are the perfect eyeshadow makeup for brown eyes!

Different Tones of Metallic:
Metallic in gold, bronze, browns and pinks help brown eyes stand out in the most attractive way.

Neutral Colors for Brown Eyes:
If you want to achieve a natural look for brown eyes, you can try eyeshadows in neutral colors such as browns, taupes, peaches, etc. When selecting eyeliner, you can go with dark browns for a natural look and black for a more intense look.

Deep shades of blue and brown, plum, blue gray, vanilla, gold, shades of violet and purple, nutmeg would be the best choice for brown eyes.

How To Apply Eye Shadow For Different Eye Shapes 

Makeup for Brown Eyes

This chart shows how to apply eyeshadow makeup for many different eye shapes!

Eyeliner For Brown Eyes 

Eyeliner Makeup for Brown Eyes

The best color eyeliners for brown eyes are different tones of brown, golden browns, bronze, black, deep navy blue, and dark grays.

Types of Colored Eyeliners for Brown Eyes

There are many types of best eyeliner for brown eyes available in the market. Each type of eyeliner offers a different texture and look to your brown eyes. You can try experimenting with some of the types of colored eyeliners for brown eyes, till you settle down with the best eyeliner.
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Pencil: One of the easiest and less messy eyeliners to use is a pencil eyeliner. You do not need a brush to apply and have no fear of smudging. Just sharpen your pencil and you are ready to apply a sharp colored eyeliner to your eyes.
Liquid Eyeliner: This is one of the most commonly used eyeliner types. You need to apply it using a brush. Make sure you use a eyeliner with the thinnest brush to give a well defined and thin line on your eyes. There are two types of liquid eyeliners, one that is in a small bottle and the other is a felt-tip liquid eyeliner that has the simple application as that of a pencil eyeliner and the precision of the liquid liner.

Applying Eyeshadow: Tips and tricks

Eye shadow is perhaps the most beloved cosmetic of creative makeup artists. Since eyes is the most important focal point of the face, the eye makeup techniques and choice of colors for eyeshadow should suit the shape and color of your eyes. The most important trick to keep in mind is that the light colors highlight the spots while dark colors tame them down. The first step in applying the eyeshadow is to apply a neutral concealer that matches your skin tone on the eyelid and then sweep the lightest shade over the entire area from the lash line to the brow line to create the smudge resistant base. Apply the medium shade on the lower lid and blend it into your base shade. A third color can also be added along the lash line and outer corner of the eyes as an accent to create the depth in eyes. The other tips that you can use are:

• 1. Blondes with blue eyes should opt for browns and taupes while those with green eyes can go for soft mauves and lilacs.
• 2. Blue eyeshadow should only be worn only if you either have fair skin, black or platinum hair and brown or gray eyes or very dark skin.
• 3. Don't match your shadow with your eyes or your clothes so that attention remains with your eyes and not your makeup!
• 4. Emphasizing the inner corner of the eyes to make them look closer to each other. This can be done by applying a neutral base color over the whole eye and then dust a medium color on the inner half of the eyelid and blend it outward. You can then use eyeliner to line the lid from the inner corner of the eye to the middle and blend it outward.
• 5. For day makeup, base color and mascara are the only things you need to wear for eyes.
• 6. High quality powder eyeshadows can be used wet for heavier application by dampening your applicator a little.
• 7. Lighter shadows help the bigger while darker shades make them look smaller. For bigger eyes, sweep a light shade over lid and darker shade on the outer corner of the lid and the crease. Outline the eyes using the eyeliner on the outer side of upper and lower lids while tapering a bit on the outside the eye to elongate it. Dab a white or cream shadow in the middle of the brow bone as a last step.
• 8. Neutral shades like browns and beiges look natural while brighter shades like blue and green look dramatic and artificial.
• 9. On mature skin and puffy eyelids, avoid using iridescent, frosted, light colors and white eyeshadows and opt for soft matte colors instead.
• 10. Only use cream eyeshadows that do not cause creasing upon application and should be coordinated with powder shadows that are to be used on top of them. They should be applied using fingertips.
• 11. Sweep a light or medium-tone shade on the lid and slightly darker shade above the eye crease to downplay the brow bone. Eyeliner should be thick in the middle of the eye and tapering at both ends. Add light highlighter to brow bone.
• 12. To add definition to your eyelids, apply a medium-toned shade across the lid and brow bone and dust the under brow area with a light highlighter shade. Use a very fine pencil liner of natural color to line the upper and lower lash lines.
• 13. To glamorize eyes for night outs, add shimmer to highlight your eyes.
• 14. To lift up tired eyes extend the color from the outer corner of the lid upwards to give them a feline shape. A light highlighter on the brow bone without the eyeliner brightens up the eyes. Concentrate mascara on the inner corner of the eye.
• 15. To make them look wider apart, keep the inside corners of the eyes lighter than the outer edges. Apply concealer one shade lighter than your skin at the inner corner of the lids and the sides of your nose and blend it well. Use a matte medium to dark eyeshadow and stroke it outward and slightly upward from middle of the lid to its outer half. Use the eyeliner a bit in from the inner corner of the eye and make the line tapering up and out a bit past the outer corner of the eyes.