Honestly, it hasn’t been me always pushing for the red lip and soft cheek color you’ve seen me do for so many of my clients… although I do love the look. I mean, look how gorgeous Sarah Silverman was when sporting the matte, intensely bright, yet sheer pop of color I chose for her. Olivia Munn’s smile was overwhelmingly beautiful when I painted it a bold blue red with a hint of creamy shine. Then there’s Selena Gomez who I gave a number of intensely pigmented creamy layers of matte orange-red crayon, and then topped them with a strategically placed highlight color in the middle of her bottom lip and just under her cupids bow that kept her radiant as she smiled, talked, and sang her heart out.  Nope, it’s by far the most frequently requested look for red carpet events by the beautiful women who will be wearing them.

I can’t tell you how many inquiries I get from you wonderful folks who follow my blog/facebook/twitter/instagram, as well as from beauty editors at all of our favorite magazines and blogs, asking me to share which products I use for the perfect red lip of all finishes and intensities. With that said, I feel that the time has come for me to give you a quick run down of some of my current favorite red lip products. Red lips can be the thing that takes your look from au natural to va va voom, and your confidence level from blah to bold.

These are things I’ve learned that i’d like to pass along to you that will help you make the most of your painted lips:

1. Always make sure you’ve exfoliated your lips, especially the inside part of your bottom one. The best time to do it during or after a warm shower, and the best way to do it is to use a soft toothbrush, a soft washcloth, a makeup wipe, or even the pad of your finger (really only works when you’ve been in the shower for a bit). Gentle little circles, and never harder than you’d scrub an overripe tomato.
2. Use a lip liner if you want a more precise edge, if your lipstick tends to bleed into the lines around your lips, or if you’re a lip licker and your color tends to fade quickly. The harder wax formula of a liner will help your lipstick stick around longer. I haven’t found any lip liners in the green beauty world that are intensely red (if you know of some, please let me know!), and my go-to’s are always usually Cherry and Brick, from MAC.
3. Once you’ve finished applying your color, place a q-tip between your lips, with the tip of the swab side touching your front teeth, parallel to the floor. Form a kiss shape with your lips around the qtip and gently drag it out of your mouth, allowing it to pass along the inner parts of your lips, to remove any excess color that would otherwise have set up camp on your teeth. (aack!)
4.  Bring the lipstick with you, along with a tinted lip balm, or even just a regular old clear lip balm. In case you don’t have a chance (or the interest) to check your lipstick every so often, re-moisturizing with a corresponding shade of tinted lip balm can help keep the color even and crack-free.

Ok, so which products can you turn to if you want to recreate the above looks that I did?

On Sarah:

A light application, applied with your finger, of OCC lip tar, in NSFW, and into your purse slide a  Rose tinted lip balm from Burt’s Bees for touch ups.

On Olivia:

A number of good thick swipes of Ilia’s Wild Child lipstick and top it with Ilia’s Crimson and Clover tinted lip conditioner.

On Selena:

There’s a lot going on in a lip color like this. I love to mix and blend and create depth by using different shades and textures, but you could certainly create a similar look with fewer products   From BITE beauty, a thick swipe or two of the crayon called Poppy as your base, a light tapping of Bite Beauty’s Pomegranate crayon along your lips, and finish by pressing either a lip brush, or your finger, coated with Red Apple Lipstick in Sunkissed (a bright orange) into the center of your bottom lip, and along the under side of your cupids bow for a little highlighty gleam action. If you didn’t want to go the green products route, you’ll find a similar color lipstick from MAC called Ruby Woo.

There is no wrong time to wear a lip color that makes you feel good, and no matter what size your lips are, how ‘bad’ you are at makeup, or because you’ve never done it before, you should try out a red lip at least once in your life. Find one that YOU like and then parade around in front of family, friends, and strangers, and see what kind of reaction you get. So listen, if you decide to rock an intense red lip to the thanksgiving dinner table tomorrow night, just remember:  you can check the status of your application by angling your knife just-so, as you’re cutting the veggies on your plate, and no one will be the wiser.

Kisses!

This image was taken the first time I worked with Olivia a few months ago. I’d always admired how great her makeup looks on the red carpet, and always thought she was one of the most beautiful actresses around. Olivia definitely knows how she looks her best – from the shape of the eyeshadow, to the angle of the eyeliner, and the placement of contour and cheek color. She shared with me that she’s worked with a fantastic makeup artist in Los Angeles for many years, and from the pictures she’s shown me from the events where she’s done her own makeup, it’s obvious that she, herself, seriously knows how to paint her own face – and put on false eyelashes better than anyone else I’ve ever known!

Before I tell you how to recreate this makeup look for yourself, I want to share with you this story:

Recently I arrived at Olivia’s hotel room to do her makeup for a TV show appearance. Before taking a seat in front of me, she reached into her purse and pulled out small bag containing a bottle of nail polish and a bottle of polish remover she’d just picked up at Whole Foods.  I was so excited (as only a green makeup artist can be) by what I saw.  Of all the options she had between the equally as close in proximity drug store, mainstream grocery store, and beauty supply shop, she made it a point to spend her dollars on nail products that are made by companies that have made a concerted effort to be as toxin-free as possible. The color was a killer shade of red, and the remover worked extremely well to remove the polish she started out wearing.  It’s the little purchases like this that say a lot. Companies that attempt to do better for the environment and for their consumers need our support.

Just one more reason why I’m so stoked to work with Olivia. Plus she personally makes the rounds to say thank you, and shakes the hand of every single person that had even the smallest roll on whatever photo or video shoot she’s working on. Who does that?! Olivia does, and it makes everyone feel *so* good.

Okay, back to telling you how you can make your own face glowy and bronzed:

FACE:

• I favored a really dewy complexion for this glowy look. I started with a tiny bit of La Bella Figura’s Rainforest Hydration Treatment and thoroughly massaged it into her face and neck. A little goes a long way to intensely hydrating skin. I waited about 20 minutes until it had fully absorbed to begin perfecting her skin, which works out well since I always start with eye makeup first.
• Once I finished her eyes, I used Vapour Organic Beauty’s Atmosphere Luminous Foundation Stick, applied with a small foundation brush, and worked it into the areas in need, patting it into place with a damp – but not at all wet to the touch – beauty blender sponge.
• I started building the bronzed glow by first laying down a layer of cream highlighter from RMS beauty (living luminizer) on the areas of her face that I wanted to reflect the most light in front of the paparazzi: the bridge of her nose, her cheekbones and her cupids bow.
• It wasn’t until I was nearly finished with the rest of her makeup, that I went back and mixed two colorful shades of Vapour cream cheek stick color in Torch and Courtesean  on my small, fluffy brush, and swirled them around the apples of her cheeks, just to give a brightness to her face.
• Then I went to work with my favorite Dr. Hauschka powder bronzer, placing it onto her skin with a large, fluffy, super soft powder brush. The trick when powdering on top of cream is to make sure the cream has set as much as it can, and then place the powder color on top with a large brush. If you buff it too much you run the risk of smearing the cream below and creating streaks.
• To finish her cheeks, I went back with a matte brown bronzer called Mauna Lao, from Alima Pure to add more definition to her cheekbones, and I softly placed the powder underneath them with a small eyeshadow blender brush, to really make them pop.

ON HER EYES:

• I love Kjaer Weis’ eyeshadows and use them all the time. Here I placed ‘Charmed’ under her eye, and then over her entire lid, blending it upwards for a sheer application from crease to brow. Then I used my same Dr. Hauschka’s matte bronzer with a fluffy eyeshadow blending brush to create a little depth in her crease, particularly towards the outer edge.
• It’s no secret that I love some serious lashes, so I curled the heck out of hers, and then applied 400 coats of covergirl lash blast, in very black (and a few individual fake lashes from Ardell for a little extra depth)
• I filled in her brows with a deep brown brow pencil

ON HER LIPS

• I used my favorite layering technique (some say I layer too much, making it impossible to afford to recreate what I’ve done, but I think it’s important to have a full lip wardrobe, and fun to make your own color), starting with a layer of Ilia’s Come Undone nude crayon, and topped it with Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss in Ocean Sunrise, and finally, tapped a bit of Burt’s Bees Lip Shine in Wink onto the middle of her bottom lip.

Et voila.

Thanks to Glamour magazine for calling Oliva’s look out in July’s issue as a beautiful way to bronze!

Just look at that face! Gorgeous!

Every year the iconic designer, Diane Von Furstenberg, throws an awards event to provide recipients with the exposure and resources needed to extend their critical efforts on behalf of women’s causes. Four individuals are honored who have displayed leadership, strength, and courage in their commitment to their causes, and this year, the beautiful Olivia Wilde was a presenter. I’m always happy to get clients ready for a red carpet event, but when it’s for a cause that’s so near and dear to my heart, it makes it all the better for me.

When I got to Olivia’s apartment about two hours before she had to leave for the event, she showed me the gorgeous black pants suit she and her stylists had chosen, and said: “I don’t know, I was thinking we should play up my eyes”.  On my way to her place I’d been looking at photos of her from previous red carpet events -which I do before meeting with every client – to see which looks I liked her in the most. Olivia usually goes for a dramatic black liquid cat-eye or a rounded, very intense dark smokey eye, and in the moment she said “let’s play up my eyes”, what felt like 500 images of fun things I could do flooded my head. As her hairstylist began running mousse through her hair, I stood staring at the shadows and liners I’d laid out on her dining room table, trying to decide which colors to swirl around her eyes, and in what shape.

I knew I needed a minute to come to a decision, so I did what I usually do, and started with a face oil massage to get her circulation going, and to zone out on her face while she had her eyes closed. Within seconds it came to me, and I saw the completed look in my head, even before the oil had time to absorb.

The glowing skin is ultimately courtesy of Olivia’s genes, of course, but I also always give a lot of credit to the base layer of hydration I lay down before I draw and paint on the skin, and in this case, Lina Hanson Global Face Serum made for a truly glowing-from-within look. Plus, the aromatherapy this oil provides to my clients (and to me) during the face massage has made it a mainstay in my kit (and my medicine chest). The scent is incredible, and the viscosity is perfect.

As for her beautiful eyes: I used three simple products:

1. a pale, sheer shimmery slate gray,
2. a medium dark matte smokey graphite gray, and
3. a black creamy eyeliner.

First I mapped out the overall shape I wanted using the pale gray. On top of that I precisely placed the medium/dark matte gray along the crease and outward, extending slightly up from the outer corner of her eye, and then I blended the hell out of it so there would be no apparent edge between the two shades. Then I went in with a black liner and thoroughly applied it on the inner rim of top and bottom lid, as well as dotted in between lashes. To complete the look I smudged it into the lash line on both bottom and top lid using a smudge brush.

I really love how this look turned out… and it’s just like I saw it in my head during the face oil massage!

One final note: since everyone always wants to know the answers to these two questions about my clients,  I will tell you: Olivia is incredibly nice, and super beautiful in person without a lick of makeup.

Susan is one of those women who is constantly busy doing interesting things, with interesting people, for interesting causes. I always learn something about the humanitarian efforts around town and around the world when I see her. I can’t say I’ve learned how to be a great ping pong player since I’ve known her, but I have tried my hand at it while at her well-known ping pong club, Spin.

One thing I have learned (through some trial and error, I’ll admit) is to use about 80% cream makeup products on Susan, relying on powder only for eyeshadow – which is always blended well and smeared along the edge with my finger or a q-tip -and the teeniest little bit of translucent powder on her T-zone to set her foundation. This months’ Allure Magazine has a great article complete with makeup tips and tricks from makeup artists on how to look your most youthful, which aren’t really applicable to the youngest models with whom I work, but for anyone in their very late twenties on up, I think these are some good rules to follow.  I see Susan again next week and I’ll try to do a different look on her and blog about it soon, complete with a product shopping list. Did I mention that my mom and Susan bear a striking resemblance to one another?

This is what I used on Susan in the picture above:

Darphin Organic Jasmine Aromatic Care Oil (Smells delicious!)

Darphin Predermine Densifying Anti-Wrinkle Cream for Normal Skin (seals in the oil I just applied)

(I allow the above to settle into the skin for a few minutes before starting the foundation)

 Armani Face Fabric Foundation, SPF 12, This stuff will not settle into fine lines. I apply it very sparingly  – starting in the middle of her face and tapering off the further I get from the center – first with Armani’s natural bristle foundation brush, and then lightly tapped into perfect submission with the Beauty Blender, a perfectly textured and shaped sponge (that was just thoroughly soaked and squeezed dry in a towel)

MAC eyeliner in Teddy – one of the best in brown/black/gold (smudge-able and long wearing). Drawn along both top and bottom lashes and dotted inside the lash line, and then smudged with a thin synthetic brush to create no hard edges.

Lancome Color Design Quad Eye Shadow in Showstopper Style (this is the best set of shadows I’ve found that works well on so many different skin tones). I generally don’t use the lightest shimmery shadow in this quad (four different eyeshadow colors in one palette) on women over 45, as the highlight in the corner of the eye often looks overdone. Instead I use the tan shimmer all over her lid but not above the crease, as well as very softly under the bottom lashes before the liner, smudged with a q-tip.

Lancome Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow Smooth Hold Matte in Mochaccino, which is a soft taupe-brown, which I use lightly along the outer edge of the lashes and gently fade towards the outer corner of her lid

Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara in Very Black – enough to seriously coat the upper lashes

Kjaer Weis Cream Blush in Blossoming (one of the most incredible all natural  – 95% organic – makeup lines on the market. added bonus: beautiful refillable containers) I like to apply with a soft synthetic brush and then blend with the sponge in small taps.

Laura Mercier Lip Liner in Baby Lips – I first line her lips, and then fill them in with the pencil to help the color stay longer and appear more intensely.

Laura Mercier Creme Lip Colour in Tea Rose

Dr. Haushka Lip Balm in a pot, applied on top for a little added shine without any of the stickiness or reflectiveness sometimes inherent in lipgloss.

I’m new to working with this beauty. I loved how other makeup artists painted her up for last year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards and for the Golden Globes, and I wanted to make sure the makeup I gave her held up to their  high level of artistry. So far this week none of the public appearances I’ve readied her for have been quite so glamorous, but I work from the mindset that no matter what my client is going out to do, they’re going to walk out that door looking incredible.

This makeup look is from an event the Mad Men cast attended last night, and it’s pretty simple: liquid and gel black liner, lots of mascara, a perfectly flushed cheek and a pink/rosey lip bring a soft edge of femininity to this look that’s complete with slicked back hair, a boxy-shouldered Helmut Lang blazer and grey leather skinny pants.

What’s most stand out to me is just how radiant her complexion is – she’s neither shiny nor matte – and appears to glow from within. Granted, the lighting was pretty great in this photo, which isn’t always the case in these kinds of ‘okay, line up celebrities, we’re going to take a million pictures of you at this event now’ photos, and sometimes I’m devastated by the way a makeup look that appeared flawless in person looks in some of the red carpet images I see the following day. However, with January, a large part of that comes from the beauty she has within – I can tell you that with certainty – but just in case you were wondering, here’s what I used to get her skin to reflect that inner radiance:

Tata Harper 100% Natural Hydrating Floral Essence: This spray smells incredible and is infused with scents straight out of a flower garden… the one at Tata’s farm in Vermont! The scent of jasmine, tangerine and grapefruit add to the intoxicating aroma, and the hyaluronic acid (don’t be scared of the word acid – this kind of acid is really beneficial!) make it great for retaining moisture. It’s good for use on your entire body as well as your hair, and I often spritz it all over myself instead of/in addition to wearing perfumed oil.

Tata Harper Replenishing Nutrient: This really light, super fragrant blend of oils is one of my top favorites of all time. I have yet to encounter someone who doesn’t love it. I won’t go into all the good stuff it imparts in your skin here – I’ll save that for another post, but for now, just know that oils like this are rare (one of my other three favorite face oils right now is one from Kahina Giving Beauty ,and I used it on her today and her skin loved it, as well). When you use a face oil, just like when you use as a serum, make sure you take the time to really – but gently – massage it into your skin. Try to forget they’re your own hands and pretend you’re getting a spa treatment!

Tata Harper Reparative Moisturizer: Once the Replenishing Nutrient Oil had been absorbed, I gently added a little touch of this light, fragrant lotion to January’s skin to hold in all the moisture.

One thing that I love about Tata’s line is that she uses no preservatives, so there are no nasty extra’s you don’t need getting in the way of all the good stuff. What that does mean, however, is that you MUST abide by the use-by date on any product that has an emulsifier in it – i.e. the moisturizers and serums. That means enjoy using your products every day and don’t be stingy and think you can make a bottle last longer than advised- your face won’t benefit nearly as much!

Now I acknowledge that this isn’t a skincare line for someone who’s on a tight budget, but it’s definitely one of the best – and i don’t just mean that it’s one of the best on the natural beauty market – i mean it’s one of the very best on the skin care market as a whole, with Tata overseeing everything that goes in to her products (read her story here), and also, it’s your face – something you present to the world every single day, and the skin on your face goes through a whole heck of a lot with all the talking, laughing, yawning, crying, and sneezing we do, let alone all of the harsh elements it comes in contact with, and the way we don’t always eat or drink what we should (regardless of what products you slather yourself with, if you don’t eat or drink healthfully, your skin will likely show it). Don’t worry, though, there are less expensive lines that are working hard to compete, and I’ll post about some of them in future entries. I promise!

Now back to January: Don’t you agree – she’s glowing?