DO IT RIGHT! BLUSH EDITION

POST + PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY NADINE, GRAPHIC DESIGN BY EUNICE CHUN

For years I've concentrated blush only on the cheeks. But as I've evolved and grown as a makeup artist, through studying my work on the red carpet, magazines and television appearances as well as working on every skin tone and face shape out there, I've learned that a real actual flush doesn't just occur on the cheeks. And a lot of the time if we only blush the cheek, it can come across a little clown-y or stripe-y. So try this technique and create the illusion of a healthy glow as opposed to the "hey everyone, I'm wearing blush" look! Here's how:

TOOLS:

• Your Favorite Cream Blush - I used my daily go-to cream blush, Tarte Cheek Stain in Tipsy.
• Angled Natural-Bristled Blush Brush - I used the Laura Mercier Angled Cheek Contour Brush.
• Your Favorite Powder Blush - I used Too Faced Full Bloom Ultra Flush Blush.
• Round-tip Natural-Bristled Blush Brush - I used NARS Yachiyo Brush #27 because it's been my favorite powder brush for years now.

STEPS:

1. Dip the Angled Brush into the Cream Blush simply by gently pressing the bristles into the pot. The more pressure you apply, the more product you pick up obviously, so don't press too hard!
2. Blot the brush onto the back of your hand 3 times before you go anywhere near your face! Please don't skip this step.
3. Smile in the mirror (you don't have to smile with teeth) so your apples "pop" forward. Stamp the brush onto the top half of each apple. Don't sweep the brush as that will move any foundation or concealer you applied underneath it. Just press/stamp it.
4. Continue the stamping process (without loading it up with more product) as you move towards your temple and end above the brow bone. By the time you get there, you'll notice the intensity is less than it was where you started at the apple. This is perfect.
5. Next we're going to layer the powder blush over the cream blush to set it. Dip the Yachiyo Brush into the Powder Blush.
6. Give it a quick tap on the back of your hand then again smile in the mirror to pop out the apples.
7. Start at the top half of the apple and tap it on top. Continue with light taps as you work your way along the cheekbone to the temple and across the area above the brow bone.

PARTY MAKEUP INSPIRATION

Tutorial + Photography by Amy Nadine, Graphic Design by Eunice Chun

Looking for something fun and different to try this weekend? Why not add a little highlight to your cat eye by calling upon its twin counterpart! You might remember when I did this look on Lauren Conrad back on the red carpet back in 2011 from our Double Liner Story... anyway, it's much more wearable than you might think and it shows you're confidently willing to take chances! Here's how:

TOOLS:

• A Black Gel Liner Pencil
• A White Matte Kohl Pencil
• A Light Rose Gold Powder Eye Shadow
• A Gold Shimmer Cream Eye Shadow
• An Angled Contour Shadow Brush
• An Angled Liner Brush
• A Small Smudge Brush
• Your Favorite Mascara

STEPS:

1. Sweep the dusty opal shadow all over the lid, concentrating on the crease with the shadow brush.
2. Trace the white pencil along the lash line and continue up and outward toward the end of the brow like you typically draw a cat eye.
3. Perfect the tip of the wing with an angled liner brush by dragging the line out a millimeter longer so it's really sharp. If needed, use a Precision Q-tip to clean up any "bobbles" in the line.
4. Now trace the lash line with the black kohl pencil as you would a typical cat eye, copying the shape of the white liner.
5. Again perfect the wing tip and any bobbles with the liner brush or Q-tip. **If you want to really make it dramatic, go back over the black line with a black liquid liner.
6. Rim the inner waterline with the black kohl liner.
7. Smudge the gold shimmer shadow along the lower lash line.
8. Apply two coats of mascara to the upper lash line.
9. Apply two coats of mascara to the lower lash line.

RED LIPS REMASTERED

Post + Photography by Amy Nadine, Graphic Design by Eunice Chun

By now you've checked out my Best Red Lip Shade For Every Skin Tone Tutorial as well as my Making Red Lips Last Tutorial. Well, this delicious look gets its inspiration from shiny cherries, red apples and juicy pomegranates... and was spotted on the 2013 A/W Kenneth Cole runway. It's a gorgeous twist on the standard red lip, brought to life with added dimensions and a glossy finish. Here's how:

TOOLS:

• Classic Red Lip Pencil - I used MAC Lip Pencil's Redd because it has been a staple in my kit for years.
• Berry-Colored Lip Pencil - I used Laura Mercier Lip Pencil's Crushed Berry because it's the perfect berry color and is super blendable.
• Clear Lip Gloss - I'm obsessed with Burt's Bees Super Shiny Sheer Glosses because they're not goopy or so thick that you feel like a bug flying by would get stuck in them!

STEPS:

1. Line the upper and bottom perimeters with the red lip pencil, leaving the corners bare (as demonstrated above).
2. Fill in the areas under and above the perimeters, still leaving the corners bare.
3. Fill in both corners with the berry-colored pencil.
4. Use the clear lip gloss to blend and bring everything to life.

KITCHEN BEAUTICIAN

Post by Carissa Ferreri, Photography by Amy Nadine, Graphic Design by Eunice Chun

Our guest blogger Carissa Ferreri is back with this little genius alternative for healthy brows and lashes! Take it away Carissa!

You might have heard of Castor Oil used as a remedy to help cure all sorts of ailments. But did you know that this wonder oil also promotes eyelash growth?! Say What!?! Move over expensive, doctor prescribed, chemical hair stimulators! Castor oil is one of the best kept secrets in the world of natural beauty. Taken from the bean of the Castor plant, this oil is rich in ricinoleic acid (omega-9 fatty acid), which exerts powerful therapeutic effects. It will help your eyelashes to grow thick and long, and can keep them from breaking. It can also help you grow new eyebrow hair in bare areas that might have been over-tweezed. And it's super cheap! Yes, it really is a wonder oil!

I have incorporated the topical use of Castor Oil into my nightly routine for quite sometime now. I notice that with consistent use, my eyelashes and eyebrows have grown longer and thicker!

STEPS:

1. After washing your face and applying all your anti-wrinkle goodies, it's time to apply the Castor oil to your lashes. I discovered an empty mascara tool at a beauty supply store and it works perfectly! (You can use your finger or Q-tip as well. However, this makes for easy and perfect application).If using the empty mascara tube, simply pour your Castor oil into the bottle. Using this tiny funnel from a craft store makes for easy clean up and no spillage.
2. Gently apply the Castor oil soaked mascara wand to the tips of your brows like you normally would an eyebrow gel.
   
3. Then dip the wand back in the tube to load it back up with more product and apply it to your lashes like you would with mascara. Unfortunately, your eye lashes don't have chia pet qualities, and will take a few weeks with consistent use of the castor oil to see some results. Don't fret, you are conditioning your lashes and making them healthy and strong!

TOP TBD TOE-NAIL POLISH TRUTHS

photos, post + design by Kristin Ess, sponsored by Sole Society

A-HA MOMENT:

While matching your toe nail polish to your sandal color is fine, notice how wearing a nude color lets all the focus go to the shoe and almost even elongated her leg by not breaking it up and distracting it with the red polish. We never would have thought it would make that much of a difference but seeing the two choices side-by-side made it so clear!

ACCESSORIZE IT WITH A CLASHING COLOR:

Add yet another element to a gorgeous shoe but pairing it with a contrasting color pop. It really brings the shoe to life and is almost like giving you a whole new pair of heels with each different polish pairing!

REMEMBER THIS WHEN PAINTING YOUR NAILS BEFORE PUTTING ON CLOSED-TIP SHOES:

During the colder months we wear boots a lot more often. Suggested wait time for putting on boots after you paint your toe nails- 8-12 hours for flat boots with socks and 24 hours for boots with heels. You want to wait longer with heeled boots because the pressure on your toes is much greater. The incline can cause the polish to “slide” or “push”.

The polishes that we used are Le Metier de Beaute’s Nail Lacquer in Red Hot Tango (red), Tussled Toulle (nude) and Paris (hot pink), a favorite brand of ours because it’s made without formaldehyde, toluene and dibutyl phthalate (DPB) . The chic heels photographed above are, from top to bottom, the Isla in Cranberry, the Calypso in Cobalt and the Sabine in Platinum, all from Sole Society, an exclusive brand that we just discovered and have quickly become obsessed with!

Sole Society is free to join, shoes start at $49.95 and there is never any obligation to buy. And our TBD readers get $20 off their first pair with our exclusive coupon code: TBD20! Done and done!

INCOGNITO EYE DEFINITION

top photos: getty images/tutorial photos + post by amy nadine/graphic design by eunice chun

Your boyfriend says he likes you better without makeup… you’re meeting your friends to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity… you’re headed to a study group with class mates… all occasions when you don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard! But the problem is you’re not used to seeing yourself without a lot of makeup on and somehow you’ve forgotten that you’re pretty without it. Don’t fret! I get it. I swear my eyes look beady and washed out without eyeliner. But I love the look of just mascara, especially when I want to look effortless, have all the attention go to my lashes or paired with a bright lip. So this is where tightlining comes in. It’s the sister technique to rimming your bottom waterline, but this time you are pressing a gel liner into your upper lashline from directly below it for the ultimate definition, like I had the pleasure of doing on each of the red carpet looks above for Emmy Rossum, Kate Bosworth, Mia Wasikowska and Brittany Snow. It’s particularly great when you don’t want to lose any of your upper lid surface area, but still want to frame your eyes. Here’s how:

TOOLS:

• Black Gel Liner — I used MAC Fluidline Gel Liner in Black Track because it doesn’t burn your eyes, has incredible intensity and lasts longer than other ones of tried.
• Flat Eyeliner Brush — I used Laura Mercier’s Flat Eyeliner Brush because it’s the perfect thickness and stiffness.

STEPS:

1. Dip the edge of the brush into the gel pot to load it up on both sides.
2. Reach your opposite hand around, up and over your head to gently lift your upper lid upwards. Then with your other hand, start at the outer corner of the upper waterline and press the brush right up into the roots of the lashes.
3. Continue stamping it across the lash line until you’ve reached the inner corner.
4. Add a coat of mascara and you’re good to go.

PINCH ME!

post + photos by amy nadine, graphic design by eunice chun

Yes there are a bunch of different methods for curling your lashes. In makeup school I learned to pinch once at the base, walk it out halfway and pinch again, then again a quarter way out. Believe me I’ve tried them all… have even tried spoons and heated curlers. And I’m sure you have your own techniques too (do share!). But today I am simply sharing this one because it is a game changer. Hear my voice in your head, sister: if you only pinch with the curler upright, you’re only doing it halfway! You have to then also pinch with the curler inverted. Trust me on this. It’s one of the biggest secrets I can share.

You’ll need:

A lash curler obviously! This one from MAC is my personal favorite as it gives the strongest pinch or try my favorite more budget-friendly choice.

Steps:

1. Insert your lashes into the opened curler and line it up right at your lashline, but not too close that you pinch the skin.
2. Pinch at the lashline; mostly to grab hold, not to make a crimp.
3. With that holding, rotate your wrist so that your thumb stays mostly in the same place and acts as the pivot point while your pinkie finger goes from being around your chin area all the way up towards your forehead.
4. Now that the curler is inverted, give your lashes a proper upside-down pinch for about 5 seconds. Really squeeze it as tightly as you can (without pulling of course).
5. Rotate your hand back to the starting position and carefully open the curler then slide it away from your lashes.
6. The most important step: tweet us before and after pictures! Or tag them #thebeautydepartment on Instagram!
7. Then you add a coat of mascara and bat your lashes at all the cuties out there.

BEAUTICIAN MAGICIAN: A LIP ILLUSION

photos + post by amy nadine, graphic design by eunice chun

I love this super quick little tip for a fuller lip! Not only because it tricks the eye into seeing a more voluminous lip, but also because it’s so, so pretty and makes me happy! Here’s how to pull it off:

TOOLS

• Highlighting powder: You can use a frosted eye shadow or blush, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s lighter than the lipstick. I used Trish McEvoy’s Highlights Blush from my kit but it seems to be discontinued {sorry!} and this one is the closest match I could find. I love using a frosted pale pink paired with a red, fuchsia or even with a vamp lip color!
• Your favorite lip color: I used this lovely matte pencil on Carissa above, but you can use any color in any form as long as not metallic and it’s darker than the highlighting powder.

STEPS

1. Apply the lip color all over. You can use a lip brush for more precision or apply directly with the pencil or from the lipstick tube.
2. Dip your finger into the highlighting powder.
3. Slightly open your mouth and “stamp” your finger directly in the center of both your top and bottom lips.

You can go back with the lip color around the edges of the powder to make the stamp smaller if need be {I did}.