The Makeup Master

Happy Friday Everyone!

3 years ago I started working in a little boutique in Atlanta, Ga called "BethAnn's." It is an image boutique that carries everything from wild accessories to classic staple pieces...jewelry, handbags, belts, wraps and the list goes on. I had always been a fan of the boutique and BethAnn (think Meryl Streep meets fairy godmother), but became determined to work there because she also started her own makeup line.

The line is called "BethAnn" and although I am partial to the stuff- it is seriously some of the best product I have ever put on my face. Whenever I am using her bronzing powder regularly, I have found that it not only gives me great, natural color but also repairs blemishes! Once you know a little bit about the sage herself, you know why her products are so incredible. BethAnn was a model in the 1970's as well as an image consultant. She established her own line of cosmetics in 1980 and has been a makeup artist with her product since.

If you're from the Atlanta area I am sure you have heard of her name and talent...she has worked with many-a-face. Her style is very real and natural, and she applies her talent with the belief that wearing makeup is about personality. For her appointments, she insists that one come wearing a white blouse and a clean face. She likes to spend time talking and getting to know her clientele (usually with a glass of wine too ;) and then she will start the application. It is the perfect way to spend an afternoon in spa ambiance for glamorous results. I personally believe that because of her method and talent, BethAnn's clients always leave her studio with a fresh face of makeup high lighting their natural beauty and glow of personality.

Her makeup studio is a separate room inside of her boutique and all of her product can be found here too! You can check out her website for pictures of the store and inventory (www.bethannstyle.com), follow her blog for styling advice and makeup tips (www.bethannstyle.blogspot.com), or search for her page on FaceBook. I am currently back at the store, working for the summer and our next big project is a YouTube channel where we can post tutorial videos and interviews with the guru! If you are living in Atlanta, please come check out her store (47 Irby Ave. Atlanta, Ga 30305)... I promise you will be intrigued!


She did Hyatt's, my youngest sister, makeup for her prom. What a beaute!

Look, I'm Blushing!

Hello Lovelies! I hope everyone is enjoying the warm spring weather and a post spring break TAN!! I think that blush is one of the most important components of face makeup, so I decided that I should share a little info about the process...

First, when choosing a blush, a good rule of thumb is to pick a tone that matches the color of your cheeks after you exercise. This will be natural and give your face a nice pop of color. Swirl a clean blush brush in the compact and tap the handle against your wrist to shake off excess product. Smile, and start applying the color to the apples of your cheeks, then suck in your cheeks (make a fish face) and make brush strokes, spreading the blush up the cheek bone towards your temples. Go back over the blush line, making small, quick strokes downward to blend the product and avoid that 80's cheek-stripe look. Make sure that the brightest spot of color is on the apples of your cheeks.

After applying my blush color, I use a second brush with Lancome's blush in Miel Glace, which is a light, high-lighting color with a slight shimmer. I apply just one little swipe to each temple. This will help to brighten up your face! Also, if I am at the beach and have a lot of natural color on my face- I will only dust some of the high lighter color on my cheeks and temples to really enhance the natural glow.

Make sure that any liquid products you are using (moisturizer, self-tanner, foundation, etc.) are dry before you apply your blush, or any other powder medium, to prevent streaking or uneven application!

Happy Blushing and Enjoy!

Tired Eyes... NO More

Hello Everyone! So, it has been one of those weeks for me where my teachers have PILED on the work... tests, quizzes, papers, etc. and after 4 nights of late studying, I've started wearing the evidence. Luckily, I have some easy makeup tricks to help hide those dark-droopy-I really need to be sleeping right now- eyes!

First, when doing your morning beauty routine, wash your face with some type of exfoliating/ invigorating wash (Many drug store brands, like Clean&Clear make great morning washes). You should not exfoliate your face daily, but once or twice a week will help rid your face of dry, dead skin and expose a fresh layer. Wash your face with warm water and then finish with a splash of cold water, helping to close up your pores and wake you up!
Second, MOISTURIZE! Be sure and use a great moisturizer with SPF, and when applying around the eyes, DO NOT RUB (this pulls on your skin+lids making them sag even more). Instead, use your 3rd and 4th fingers, together, to PAT moisturizer ALL around the eye area. Next, choose an under eye concealer that is right for you. I use Lancome's Maquicomplet in Camee (this product should be 1-2 tones lighter than your face foundation color). Give the area a good swipe of the concealer, and use your concealer brush (looks like a flat paint brush) to spread the product out over the area. I go under my eye, across my brow bone, and in my inner eye (next to the the bridge of my nose) by turning the brush on its side and using the tip. Then, I use Lancome's Maquicomplet in Correcteur to give the inside and outside creases of my eye a tiny dot. Using your concealer brush again (preferably a smaller one if you have it) and gently spread this product in the creases. Next, I use Bobbi Brown's Eye Blender Brush along with her eye shadow in "Bone" and apply the light high lighter color ALLLL over. I go under the eye, eye lid, brow bone and creases. This color is great because it high lights the eye area without using a shimmer (I don't really like to wear sparkly eye color to school or in the morning). Finally, I curl my lashes with Revlon's eyelash curler (available at the drug store). Curling your lashes gives them a lift and makes your eyes look bigger, wider and more awake! BE CAREFUL WHEN DOING THIS STEP and do it VERY slowly so that you don't pinch your lid. I give the curler a good squeeze and count to ten for each eye. It's important to do this step BEFORE you apply mascara because if you have dry product on your lashes and then curl them, THEY WILL BREAK!! After I have curled my lashes, I use Lancome's Definicils mascara in Deep Black. This mascara, in particular, is good for the morning because it wears well all day without chipping and separates the lashes making them look longer.
The greatest cure for dark circles and tired eyes is certainly sleep, hydration and nutritious foods, but these tricks are great for those days when coffee is the only thing keeping you awake!
**This process is a great prep for any normal eye makeup routine and is a great pick-me-up for those who travel often!

Enjoy and please feel free to comment and share your fav beauty secrets!

SPRING into PINK!

Hi everyone! Welcome to all of the new members and thanks for the feedback... I hope you're all enjoying the posts and experimenting with the tans ;)

So, on the color front, the fashion forecast for Spring 2010 is HOT pink, orange, and fun foamy shades of blue and green! With such a vibrant palette for our closets, it would only be fair to give our makeup bags a color punch too!! For the lips, I have started rocking MAKE UP FOR EVER'S Lipstick in shade 203 (the second stripe on the arm below) which is an AWESOME hot pink. I originally bought it to wear with an outfit over the holidays but the color seems to be popping up everywhere now! Good purchase??.... I think so! Any fun pink shades will be great with your spring wardrobe and a pretty way to welcome warmer weather. Light ballerina shades (try NARS lipstick in "Cruising")will work great throughout the day (or even night time with soft eye makeup) and I also like a more purple-magenta esque color as well (this looks awesome with a "going out" face and will REALLY make your teeth look white). When I started experimenting with these colors, I discovered that when I used just a regular "pinkish" lip stick and blended it with some of my darker shades- the results were fabulous!! Use the top of your hand or the underside of your forearm and you can either apply the lipstick directly on or use a lip brush.... you will create your own little palette of COLORFUL SPRING PINKS! This is also a great way to be a Recessionista and find new colors with your old stuff! Please look back to my post about dark lipstick for some fool-proof lipstick application tips.

These are some different shades of pink that I came up with!!

FAKE-A-TAN

It's always this time every year that my skin gets so pale, I can literally see my veins...I am a ghost! However, tanning beds and sunbathing are TERRIBLE for your skin, so I thought that I would share some great secrets on how to fake that tan and sport a healthy glow for the winter.


First and foremost, remember that although most of us do look better with some color, it is still the middle of January and over-the-top unseasonable color is worse than looking like a ghost so DON'T OVER DO IT!
Before I start my makeup routine, I wash my face and moisturize + SPF (this is EXTRA important this time of year as the cold weather and wind will chap your skin)! I give my skin a minute to absorb the cream and then I apply benefit's Talk to the Tan cream. I squeeze a dime size dollop on my finger tips and rub this all over my face like a lotion. This product is so awesome because it is super light, easy to apply evenly and does not shimmer; however, it will stain your finger tips so be sure to wash your hands with warm, soapy water right after you apply it! I use this product year round so depending on how much natural color I have, I will spread some on my neck and chest as well. This product is so amazing because it gives you great color but does not stain your skin or leave lines and finger marks like other self tanning products. After I have applied this base I use a large, soft bronzer brush and dust Bobbi Brown's Bronzing Powder (Medium 2) across my T-Zone (forehead + nose) and lightly on my cheeks. When you are applying bronzing powder, think of the places on your face where the sun most naturally tans... this will help you achieve the best color without looking like a cake-face! Afterwards, I always take a tissue and lightly wipe down my jaw line to get rid of any lines and blend the color from my face to neck. This is a great 2-step process for the winter because you can do as much or as little as you want depending on your natural tones. Talk to someone at the makeup counter when buying bronzing products and make sure that you are using the correct color- you don't want to look orange or too dark!


**Sun is the most damaging element for your skin and the quickest way to a wrinkley face. Always moisturize with SPF protection, no matter what time of year it is... a year without sunscreen is the same as a week of tanning at the beach! It is always better to fake your tan than burn your skin.

There are soooo many awesome self-tanning products out there, experiment with them and let me know your fav suntan secrets!

Pretty Finger Nails!!!

Hey Everybody!

So, I don't know about you all, but I LOVE to do my nails. I think it's such a quick and easy way to look polished and pretty!

There are so many awesome colors out right now and similar to all things fashion- Anything Goes! I love the turqouise color, "Jade," by Chanel... I think it really pops. I also love Lancome's "Midnight Glam" (part of their fall 2009 "Declaring Indigo" collection). It is a beautiful DEEP blue with a slight shimmer... perfect for fall. Over the past year, I also found myself testing out some gray hues for the nails and I really liked those as well. OPI makes two great shades, "Metro Chic" and "You Don't Know Jacques" if you are looking to try. AND if you don't feel confident about rocking a crazy nail, any of the classics are ALWAYS sophisticated and fashionable: Red, French Pink or Buffed!

Now to the good stuff... have any of you tested the OPI Espana collection?? I spent this past spring semester studying in Barcelona so I thought that might be the reason for my obsession, but I don't think that's the case. The colors are truly stunning!


The TRUE Colors de Espana!

• "Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow"
• "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenese"
• "Give Me Moor!"
• "Pamplona Purple"
• "Ate Berries in the Canaries"
• "Pink Flamenco"
• "Conquistadorable Color"
• "Bullish on OPI"
• "Barefoot in Barcelona"
• "Can You Tapas This?"
• "Manicurist of Seville"
• "No Spain No Gain"
  

Check these out, pick your paint and PLEASE let me know how it goes... Enjoy!

Great Little Beauty Buys...

Hola Bonitas!

I hope everyone is playing around with the dark lipstick and LOVING it! So I don't know about you all, but whenever I stop in Target, RiteAid, CVS etc. for shampoo and vitamins, I ALWAYS end up leaving with a cart full of things I just couldn't resist. I decided that it would be fun to share some of my great little finds with all of you on this blog! These are not expensive or complex, but just cool products that are fun to play with at home.

My most recent find was the Goody ColourCollection MINI BOBBY PINS!!! They are so cute! These pins are about half the length of the normal bobby pin but they are just as easy to use. They are perfect for bangs, up-dos or fly-aways because they are smaller and easier to conceal. They are also great for all of those trendy hair styles with the braid or little twist down the side of the head with a pony tail in the back. I like to do my hair with exposed bobby pins like an accessory, but I often find that when I use the normal pins, they will jut out and stick up off my head (this is not cute), but its not a problem with the great mini bobby pin. The ColourCollection is awesome because Goody has made all of the accessories in great blonde, brown and black shades to blend with natural hair colors. They come with 26 pieces in a pack and you can find them on the shelf among all of the other pins and bows.

*Tip*

If you are using the bobby pins as an accessory (like we saw alllll over the runway in Spring '09) buy the color pin that will stand out in your hair.

If you have dark hair, buy the blonde pins.

If you have blonde hair, buy the dark pins.

Enjoy!

PS- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment and share your personal beauty finds!

Welcome to "Makeup As Muse"

Hello and welcome to my new blog! My name is Hannah, I am 21 years old, and I have always wanted to start my own makeup line. I have started this blog to stay connected to the ever-changing cosmetic world as well as all of the people out there who love makeup as much as me! I will spill some great secrets and share my thoughts about new products, collections and trends. Please feel free to comment and enjoy!