"Out of the Blue" Makeup & Style

Hey beauties! It's 7-something AM in LA, but I'm still on NY time. I'm feeling a little woozy from the traveling, but I'm ecstatic over the anticipation of the events to come in the next few weeks. I'm starting my day in clear and sunny downtown LA where Lee and I will be for the next few days for the NYX Face Awards 2014 and then for some downtime with friends. On Monday, we'll be flying straight to Vegas for the upcoming Vegas Nay Stardust Tour, where we will be participating as featured guests. I will be sharing a separate post on that in a couple of days, but in the meantime, you can click on the link to get the scoop.

My Itinerary:
Aug 22-25: Los Angeles NYX Face Awards 2014
Aug 26 - Sep 3: Las Vegas Vegas Nay Stardust Tour

For today's makeup / style post, I've prepared one of my favorite looks: a vibrant blue smokey eye using all NYX Cosmetics! This look is more wearable than you may think and goes perfectly with a dressed up chambray shirt.

Read more for outfit & makeup deets

Fashion & Beauty: Spring Sunset Style

Bonjour my beauties!! Sunny Days are here again and I'm all about reflecting the rays with my makeup and wardrobe. Today's look is built around my favorite color -- yellow -- and is featuring all NYX Cosmetics, being that it was my head-to-toe look for the NYX Imats after party this past weekend. 

Read more for outfit & makeup deets!

"Qualiffordable" Makeup

Salut old friends and new!!!

If you've been here before, you may recall a post I published a few days ago about my favorite affordable skin and dental care products. The post was received so well by all of you--I got e-mails, texts, messages on facebook and twitter, not to mention all the comments from both guys and girls!! I was so thrilled and delighted to answer your questions and concerns that I decided to make a post to address the most frequently asked question: 'What are my favorite affordable makeup brands and products? Here's a very color coordinated preview pic, so go ahead and check out the rest of the post :)))

Read more for pix, reviews, info & raves of my favorite "QUALIFFORDABLE" cosmetic brands!

Valentina for Valentine's

Happy Birthday Babushka and Happy Valentine's Day Friends!!!

My Grandma, named Valentina, turns 80 today :))) Wowzers!!! Gosh I miss my Ba, she is too far from me living in Russia and I so wish that it was not the case...  If we were together right now, we'd be having her homemade wine... mmm. So, in honor of all the lovers and all the cupid's children like my Ba, let's enjoy this beautiful occasion and bring a little love to our lives.

bisous,

Maryam Maquillage

Everyday Smokey

Salut mes cheries!!!

Happy Wednesday, hope you're all still warm and healthy. I'm feeling a bit scratchy in my throat, so I'm drinking hot tea with lemon and gargling with warm water and baking soda... yummy :/ Tonight, I'm making myself a special concoction, which I learned from my Russky bff: 1/3 honey, 1/3 lemon and 1/3 vodka. If you're feeling like you're about to catch something, try this "cocktail"-- it works better than Theraflu. My throat is always super sensitive and I'm constantly battling with it... my bf thinks it's stress related as I am about to start my final school semester. Whatever it is, I gotta nip it at the bud, so I'm keeping positive and happy while trying to stay warm.

Today, I wanted to show you guys my makeup look from this Sunday... it was a simple, everyday mini-smoky eye paired with pinkish nude lips and rosy cheeks. I wore the look to a kiddie party and would recommend it for any informal or formal daytime occasion. Basically, this is a super easy look to achieve and anybody, even a beginner, can recreate it on themselves. Hope you enjoy!!

bisous,

Maryam Maquillage

P. S. Please vote in my POLL on the right sidebar :))

ABOUT THE LOOK: In the winter, I like to use warm shades on my eyes and cheeks, even if it's for every day. For the face, I used my typical makeup routine: Laura Mercier mineral foundation primer (the best primer for mineral makeup ever), Lancome Maquicomplet concealer in medium bisque under my eyes, around the nose and on any blemishes, and my Bare Minerals matte foundation in golden medium. I also swept some Benefit Hoola bronzer across my forehead, nose and cheeks. 

Tip: To fake a tan, apply your bronzer to areas where you would normally highlight: across the forehead, down the nose and on top of the cheekbones. You can use shimmery bronzer if you want, but I still prefer matte for the winter. 

EYES: For the eyes, you will need just 3 eyeshadows: a matte chocolate brown, a lighter matte soft brown or tan (couple shades darker than your natural skin tone), and a frosty pink or nude color. You'll also need a brown eyeliner and black mascara. You'll need 2-3 brushes--smudge brush, contour fluffy brush, and an angled fluffy brush (optional). For pictures and detailed descriptions of these brushes go to my post Fabuleyes.

1. Line the bottom waterline with the brown liner. I used Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in whiskey because it's waterproof once it sets.
2. Extend the line outside of the waterline, creating an outer wing and line the outer half of your upper lash line. Don't line under the eye.
3. Take your smudge brush and a matte chocolate brown shadow and smudge the top liner and the wing your just created. Smudge it up and out and also inwards toward the center of the lid. I used Too Faced eyeshadow duo in Sexpresso. 
4. Take the remaining color on the brush (do not add more shadow) and line very gently under the lower lash line, stopping halfway in.
5. Take a fluffy dome-shaped (contour) brush and apply the medium brown color following the contour of your eye socket. Use windshield wiper motions and make sure to tap off the excess color from the brush. This look is about soft smokiness, so there can't be any harsh lines. 
6. Take the smudge brush and a little more dark brown and go over the upper lash line once more, then repeat step 5. I do these two steps about 3 times until I achieve the smokiness that I like.
7. Take an angled fluffy brush or just clean your dome brush and apply a frosty nude color to your brow bone and to the rest of your lid (inner two thirds). I used the color Peach Fuzz (a peachy nude with gold glitters) from the same Too Faced eyeshadow duo. These eyeshadows are absolutely fantastic, I love this duo for everyday.
8. Curl your eyelashes and apply two coats of Black Mascara. My favorite is L'Oreal Voluminous in Carbon Black. I dare not spend over $5 on mascara, ever...

I used Ardell half lashes to complete the look, but you obviously don't have to. I like these lashes because they give me an extra cat eye lift. I use Duo lash glue in dark tone, that way you don't have to conceal it :)) My eyebrows are filled in ever so slightly, only in areas where my brows are sparse. I use a gray eyeshadow to fill them in because my brows are black and then I brush it out with a spoolie.

I look really weird in this pic because the camera angle distorted my features. My nostrils are super flared... yikes!!! No me gusta... but the lip color came out very true to life ;)

Anyways, I added some pink blush on the apples of my cheeks to warm them up and sprayed some MAC Fix + on my face to settle the makeup. On my lips, I'm wearing NYX lipliner in Natural--my everyday go to lipliner--and NYX lipgloss in Beige. I don't know why it's called Beige, it's really a muted pink, but whatevs... Also, I'm really not crazy about the smell of this lipgloss, it smells like cheap fake cherry and I just can't stand it... the colors and the quality of NYX glosses are awesome, but the smell could definitely be upgraded. Alrightie, short blog, let me know what you think, and PLEASE VOTE IN MY POLL on the TOP RIGHT sidebar. Merci a tous!!!

Femme Fatale

Hi darlings!!!


Merci beaucoup for all your positive and helpful feedback, y'all rock!!!


As some of you may know, today is a very special day for me, so you'll excuse me for keeping it short and sweet :)) Makeup look of the day: Femme Fatale or Maria the Maneater... hehe


Enjoy & bisous,


Maryam Maquillage




ABOUT THIS LOOK: Wear this for any special occasion like a birthday, a night out, a party, or a date. With this look, you'll keep heads turning all night long ladies. They love it mean and mysterious lol ;)

Tip/Warning: Dark lids look best on monolids (asian eyes--like mine :) or light non-asian eyes. Sorry for the poor description but its the best way I could put it... Stay away from this look if you have large lids or deeply set eyes aka sunken eyes--dark shadows will only make your eyes look more sunken, which can add up to 10 years of age. Trust me on this one ;)

TO ACHIEVE THIS LOOK: Start by priming your lids with Urban Decay primer potion or any primer of your choice. Wait at least 30 seconds for the product to settle and apply a second, more sticky base for the shadow to stick. My favorite black base is NYX jumbo eye pencil in black bean, a creamy and highly pigmented jumbo eye pencil. Apply the color all over your lid, staying under the crease, and avoiding the inner third of the eye lid. Blend the product with your finger to make sure it's smooth and even. 

Next, take a flat shader brush and apply an iridescent pinky color right on your brow bone (under the brow) and in the inner corner of the eye. I used the color Virgin from the Urban Decay Naked palette, which is my favorite makeup palette of all time by faaaaaar and hands dooooown lol. I'll do a separate entry on this palette because it is just sooo fabulous. 

Take a fluffy dome-shaped brush, and apply the color Buck (a matte color that is 2 to 3 shades darker than your skin tone) to the soft part of your eye lid using a windshield wiper motion (follow the groove of the eye socket). Next, take the same brush and apply a shimmery dark silver/pewter color (Gunmetal from the Urban Decay palette) directly beneath the skin tone color. Take the flat shader brush used before and apply a black shimmery shadow onto the lid (Creep from the palette), staying under the crease and blending with the pewter color very gently. Remember to apply this color with a patting motion so that it sticks on to the base and doesn't fall under the eye. Take a black eyeliner pencil and line the entire waterline (top and bottom), as well as under and above the lash line. The palette comes with a double-sided pencil in black (zero) and brown (whiskey) and happens to be my all-time favorite pencil eyeliner. Seal the liner below the lash line with the black shadow and finish with 2 coats of black mascara. The eye should look something like this:

Finish your face with your typical routine, mine being Bare Minerals matte foundation in Golden Medium and Lancome maquicomplet concealer in medium bisque, just under the eye and around the nose. With a heavy eye look, keep the lips super simple--either lightly lined or nude. I used NYX lipliner in natural as always, and put chapstick under and over the lipliner for extra moisture. 

CHEERS!!! SALUT!!! SANTE!!! SAHA!!! NA ZDOROVIE!!!