‘I want my makeup to feel light, look glowy and sheer, and basically, just make me look like the best version of myself’.

Unless I’m doing makeup for an editorial, 90% of the time this is what I hear from the person I’m about to make up.  It’s come to be my favorite kind of makeup look to create, in large part because I love watching my clients reaction when I’m finished. Who doesn’t like to make people feel good about themselves? It may be a superficial ‘feel good’ at first, but it seeps in. I watch moods change, frown lines soften, and interactions with others become lighter and more at ease.  Makeup really is transformative, and it doesn’t need to be heavy anywhere on your face, contrary to the heavy eye and brow makeup and pancake face with highlights and lowlights and contour and strobe trend that just won’t seem to go away.

This is what I used for this light and glowing makeup on the beautiful Anna-Christina Schwartz:

Skin:

May Lindstrom Jasmine Garden Facial Mist– the scent is incredible and I use it as much for the aromatherapy for myself, as I do for my clients.

Biossance ‘The Revitalizer’ – a super light squalene moisturizer that’s good for all skin types.

Kjaer Weis Foundation – I use a fluffy eyeshadow brush to gently buff the cream into skin – the smallest amount around her nose, on her forehead, and around her eyes, patting it in with a damp beauty blender.

RMS Living Luminizer – not a surprise, I love to use this coconut oil based highlighter on the cheekbones, along the bridge of the nose, and the cupids bow.
Eyes:

I lined her eyes gently with cream shadow sticks from Ilia Beauty, in a gold/brown called ‘Age of Consent’, and a bit more heavily with ‘You Spin Me Round’ – a dark gray/black shade. I blended them in with a cotton swab so they melted into the lash line – both top and bottom.

Ilia Polka Dots and Moonbeams luminizer – I press this more dense, less emollient (than the living luminizer from RMS) highlighter into the inner corner of eyes to draw attention and make eyes dazzle even more.

I always curl the lashes at least once, focusing on getting that outer corner UP! It really makes eyes stand out. Two or three coats of a very black mascara on top, and one slight coat on the bottom lashes finishes the look.

Brows: Eco Brow in ‘Sharon’ lightly filled in her brows, and I used a cotton swab to ensure no hard edges. I brushed her brows up and held them in place with a little liquid (non-aresol) hairspray from Rahua on a spoolie brush.

Cheeks:

I usually use cream products that I swirl on the apples of the cheeks, but for this look I experimented by mixing a powder blush with a powder bronzer. For this I used ‘Blushing Rose’ and ‘Soft Terracotta’ from Dr. Hauschka and a medium sized fluffy brush.

Lips:

Gressa Skin ‘Bare’ Lip Boost over a bit of balm from R.L Linden. 

It’s always a real learning experience for me when model Angela Highsmith sits in my makeup chair.  Early on we discovered our shared passion for all things natural, and my respect for her body of knowledge grows every time we spend a day on set together.

At some point she told me that she brews up a tea for her daughter (this youthful beauty is a mom to a 10 year old) from an herb called Skullcap to ‘help chill her out before school’, and then went on to tell me about her herb garden and all the concoctions she makes to treat cuts and bruises from what she has growing in her own back yard. I recently introduced skullcap tea into my repertoire of ways to chill myself out and get ready for bed… and it actually does the trick!

Her knowledge of making her own medicines doesn’t stop there: she treats a variety of sensitive skin issues with oils, salves, and cold creams made with her own two hands, and a wealth of information she received during the many classes she’s taken at the New York Open Center, and in one-on-one sessions with herbologists.

When I asked her how she became interested in herbs, and the world of natural beauty products, she told me that she’d been interested in natural healing ever since she was a little girl, and that she used to make believe she was a Native American living off the land, with only what she found in her yard to eat, and to survive. As she’s gotten older, she explained, the natural products she uses become more and more natural: from using store-bought products with naturally derived ingredients, to focusing on searching out organic and edible products for skin and hair, to now making a good number of what she and her family uses, all by herself.  Very crafty and smart of you, Angela! Can I come over one day and see your garden?

On the day of this photo shoot I created a naturally glowing look with the following products – and even the most discerning green beauty aficionado would approve:

1.     Amala cocoa bean face oil massaged into Angela’s sensitive skin

2.     Vapour Organic Beauty liquid foundation used sparingly, starting from the center of the face, and blending outward

3.     Mineral Fusion concealer under her eyes very sparingly

4.     RMS cream eyeshadow in ‘Seduce’ on just her lids, applied with my fingers

5.     Onto curled lashes I applied a few coats of Honey Bee Gardens mascara in black

6.     Dr Hauschka bronzing powder swirled along her temples and across her cheekbones

7.     Burt’s Bees lip shimmer in Watermelon topped with a light coat of Burt’s Bees lipgloss in Spring Splendor

We both loved this fresh, gorgeous look (with just a pop of lip color) so much, that I thought to take a photo of her at the end of the day after she’d changed back into her street clothes. Can you believe this shot was captured at the end of an 8-hour day on set? Just beautiful, Angela, just beautiful!

I remember when I first met NYC-based makeup artist, Rose Marie Swift, the brain and heart behind  RMS Beauty. It was at an intimate talk put on by the Environmental Working Group, geared towards makeup artists,  to educate us about their skin deep database (a site that rates cosmetics for safety based on their ingredients, and is truly wonderful, groundbreaking…and should be used as just one tool with which to determine the safety of the products you use).

I sat as close as I could to Rose Marie so I could hear everything she said. I was really impressed by all she added to the conversation, and by the really to-the-point, smart questions she asked. Of course I went home and read up on her online, and soon after, went to a party (I can’t remember if it was the launch of her line?) she hosted at which I got to play with all the fun little coconut-oil based, rich and creamy, densely pigmented pots of color. I was hooked, and since then, have turned many of my clients and my friends on to them.

RMS recently launched two new colors that I LOVE. The day I got them I used the gold on Christy Turlington’s eyes, and have been having fun experimenting with the truly unique and beautiful gray/dark brown/blackish cream eyeshadow pictured on the left. It’s great for a smudgy, unstructured smokey eye. I also love the purple and brown eyeshadows that have a great reflective quality. With all of these you can choose to use your finger or a brush to apply, and Rose Marie assures me – a serious germs-in-my-makeup-ophobe that due to the absence of water, and the coconut oil base, and with the presence of vitamin E and other essential oils, bacteria is unlikely to grow within the product. I still choose to use super clean fingers (and often a super clean brush) for application, but I see others using fingers straight into the container.

I’ve been wearing RMS cheek colors in modest and smile for quite some time and I love them. A creamy cheek color or highlighter on a well-moisturized face is my favorite look. I’m not big on glitter, and I’ve not been disappointed by any of these shades, as even the shimmery ones have small enough particles of what makes them shimmer, that you really don’t see them, you just see a luminous effect.

One last thing: I’m always a fan of a cream cheek and eye. Cream products are easy to apply and kind of fool-proof if you blend well (remember: no hard edges!). Plus they allow healthy skin to continue to glow. It’s my go-to for women of color, in particular, as I’m often disappointed by powder products that can look chalky and not as intensely pigmented as they do in the package, once applied to dark skin tones.

The only drawback to cream products that I’ve found is that on most people, the color will fade more quickly than you may like. I’ve found this to be very true for pretty much all cream cosmetics that go the natural ingredient route. The good thing about RMS Beauty is that it’s actually super good for your skin, so reapplying during the day adds hydration and glow to your face and will never look cakey or dry.

RMS beauty just launched on QVC. I’m so happy for Rose Marie for all of her success. She’s a clearinghouse of knowledge about all things in the ‘green’ beauty world. I’m anxiously awaiting a new lip color that’s in the works. It’s super good.

WHAT’S IN THOSE LITTLE POTS?
Minerals that make the color, the best organic coconut oil, organic cocoa butter, organic shea butter, organic bees wax, organic jojoba oil, organic castor seed oil, organic argan oil, sunflower oil, propolis, non-GMO vitamin E, organic rosemary extract, Centella, organic vanilla

Checkout her faq section and scroll down to the question about preservatives to educate yourself about the options she uses, and how and where to store your RMS for best results. While you’re on her site, spend some time reading everything she’s written – it’s all really informative.

WHY GLASS CONTAINERS?
They’re fully recyclable and it’s important to RMS to avoid plastic packaging which she says has been shown to leach into the products they encase.

WILL THEY MAKE ME BREAK OUT?
It’s not likely, but those of us with super sensitive skin never know about these things. I have incredibly sensitive, acne prone skin, as do so many of my clients, and I’ve never had a breakout from an RMS cheek or eye color, nor have I heard from any of my friends or clients that they have. It’s generally synthetic oils that make faces break out, and luckily this product contains organic virgin coconut oil that has antibacterial properties to protect skin, jojoba oil that’s most like skin’s natural oil, and the organic argan oil and cocoa butter are unlikely to cause an outbreak. That’s saying a lot.

note: the candle is just a cute addition to the photo, and not a part of RMS Beauty packaging. I figured you knew that, but thought I should include a disclaimer, just in case.