The Best Damn Foundation Period!

My all time favorite foundation for any project I do is the Black Opal cream stick. I can't use it on everyone but I use it whenever I can, trust me. I feel very strongly about choosing the right foundations because they can make or break your look. I'm not a huge fan of liquid foundation at all for photo shoots, videos, or movies because it takes way too long to build and even then it's not always enough coverage. HD foundations are great but super expensive! I need to have at least 10 skin colors on hand at any given time when doing a job with multiple clients. At over $40 each HD is not my first choice, the Black Opal cream stick comes in at about $9 and it's really high quality makeup. I don't always know what ethnicity I'll be dealing with so the more options the better. Although I've done a few celebrities I'm not the personal MUA of any of them so I still need to budget it out honey! Black Opal cream sticks provide an insane amount of coverage using very little - one stick last for at least 2 months. The beauty of this stick for me is that is goes on so well with a wet sponge (my favorite way to apply foundation)and looks so natural!

Although Black Opal markets their products to African American women, I can use the lighter shades on some of my clients of other ethnicities and it's a great match. I've used it on Caucasian, Latina, and Asian women and it looks great. You can also use it to contour and it works beautifully. Black Opal is super accessible too, you can find the products at your local drug store. Go get some you'll thank me later.

Pucker Up There's A New Gloss In Town

So coming from a former Lancome Juicy Tubes addict this may sound a little crazy but I have converted to L'Oreal's Colour Riche Le Gloss line. I've been using Juicy Tubes for years but one day I noticed on the bottom of the box it said manufactured by L'Oreal. What? I'm buying this expensive department store brand and it's manufactured by the same brand you get a CVS? So of course I had to see what the difference was between to two.


I went to my local drug store a few days later and sought out some L'Oreal lip gloss. Typically I can't stand drug store lip gloss because in my experience it's been too thin and either rubs off quickly (cough Cover Girl) or runs down your lip when you body heat warms it up (cough Revlon), so I wasn't very optimistic about a new product they just launched called Le Gloss. I picked a color that I thought was really pretty called Really Rose (because in my opinion you can never have too much pink) and brought it home to put up to the test. First off I was already impressed with the elegant shape of the tube and the slanted tip for smoother application, but when I smelled the product I wanted to eat it - it smells like cake! For the moment of truth I applied some to my mouth and the consistency was perfect. The best part was the color was a lot more pigmented than the Lancome Juicy Tubes which goes on pretty sheer and it tastes good too. My lips looked great and the color spread evenly. I asked for pink and Le Gloss gave me pink - long lasting, cupcake smelling pink no less. I am officially converted. I love Lancome but the L'Oreal Colour Riche Le Gloss is a much better product in my opinion. Since then I've gone back to CVS when they had the buy one get one 50% off sales on all the L'Oreal products and stocked up honey! Try it you'll love it, I promise.


 

Mary Kay Eye Primer

So my next recommendation may be a little controversial, but I stand by it nonetheless. I really like the Mary Kay Eye Primer! I discovered this while doing makeup for the Emerging Trends show during Boston Fashion Week. Mary Kay was the sponsor for the show and urged us to integrate products from their collection as much as possible during our makeup application. At first I was very leery thinking "Is this a joke? No Makeup Artist carries Mary Kay in their kit it's crap!", which was a very ignorant reaction I must say. After much persuasion from other Makeup Artists there that said they swear by the eye primer I gave in and tried it. To my surprise the primer worked great and held the shadows in place. I then offered my sincerest apologies to the fine folks at Mary Kay, ate a lot of crow, and asked if I could take a few home with me.

Since then I've gone from thinking Mary Kay was an embarrassing product to own, to proudly having it as an integral part of my kit and urging you to try it.

NARS Nail Polish

My new favorite nail polish color of the moment would have to be Poker Face by NARS. It's a gorgeous attention getting light purple that I always get compliments on. It catches the light so beautifully and is sure to make you feel like the diva you are. It's a little pricey coming in at aound $16 per bottle but it lasts a really long time and it's hella pigmented. I didn't experience any chipping or bubbling which is a great thing because too many polishes disappoint. I highly recommend this color to anyone who wants to jazz up their fingers you'll love it. It's only around for the holiday season so stock up ( I bought 7 bottles - don't judge me!).