Moody Blues + DIY French

Salut mes cheries :))

This is me, today... Candidly moving my hair from my face and showing off my fresh French. I like this pic, because it perfectly describes my mood today--a bit anxious and a bit moody... don't worry, I won't take it out on you :))

It was a gloomy, warm Monday in NYC, and as it's coming to a close, I'd like to end it on a positive note. I'll share with you my makeup of the day and I'll walk you through my do-it-yourself French manicure. Hope you enjoy :)))

bisous,

Maryam Maquillage

The Purrfect Cat-Eye

Salut les filles :))

After a two day hiatus, I'm back with a very simple and classic look: the Cat-eye. Forget what you've heard, I'm setting the record straight--Cat eyeliner flatters every single eye shape and is extremely wearable. This look is great for beginners and masters alike and can be as simple or as dramatic as your heart desires. It also happens to be my go-to makeup look for every day and is my favorite easy "glam-me-up". So, if you haven't already tried it, I will walk you through it and together we shall embrace the power of the meow!!! Without further adieu, I present to you the Cat-eye, purrfect for every day--school, work, play, whatever. Enjoy!!!

bisous,

Maryam Maquillage

THE LOOK: To achieve the Cat eye is easiest with a gel or cream liner, though the look is often enhanced with eyeshadow. For the sake of simplicity, I'll focus just on the liner for today's post :)) The "Cat" qualities of this look have to do with the angle that the eyeliner wing extends outwards and the precision of the line. If you look at the eyes of the kitty in my pictures, his bottom "lashline" goes up at a 45 degree angle, so basically, in recreating this look, we're trying to "lift" the outer corners of our eyes up to 45 degrees. Sounds easy?? it is :))

Degree of DRAMA: Here are some celebrity examples of how the cat eye look can range in terms of drama. Like I said, this look is extremely versatile and can be kept at its minimum or taken to the maximum :)))

The Quintessential Cat Eye:
Adding some drama to every day makeup

The Classic Cat Eye: A bit more drama fo' yo' mama

The Mama Drama of Cat Eyes:
Bold, Graphic, and Fierce!!!

I love all three looks, but my favorite look for every day is the Quintessential, worn by Angie... I wear this cat style liner practically every day, pairing it with nude lips and a coat of mascara over my lashes... or sometimes nothing at all!! The quintessential cat eye is the easiest to achieve and I'm gonna show you how to recreate it!!!

Excuse my sleepy eyes, this was before my coffee. 

THE TOOLS: Black cream or gel liner and an angled liner brush. As always, I use my Clinique cream liner in True Black. It comes with a tiny brush, but I don't recommend using it for application... I use it for touchups only. For beginners, you might also need a gray or light brown pencil or shadow, just for guiding.

THE STEPS: Because my lids are super oily, I use a dab of Primer Potion even for an eyeliner application. I put two dots--one on the outer corner and another on the middle of my top lash line and spread it across and under the eye with my finger. If your lids are normal to dry, you can go ahead and skip this preliminary step.

1. With your gray or light brown pencil or shadow, draw a light thin line from the middle of your bottom lash line to the outer corner and extending the line at the same angle. If your bottom lash line does not naturally curve up, this is where you will have to fake the angle :)
2. Take some black liner onto your brush (not too much--this look is buildable) and trace or "sharpen" just the outer wing you drew with the pencil. Keep the line fine, and stop about 3-8 mm from the outer corner. My outer wing is usually about 5 mm, but yours can be longer if your eyes are bigger.
3. Take some more color on your brush and draw a very thin line from the center of your top lash line to the start of your outer wing. If you're using a fine brush, you can just dab the color into your lashes. 
4. The line has to be thinnest in the center of your eye (at the start of the eyeliner) and gradually get thicker towards the wing. If you're not comfortable drawing it freehand, take an index card (or an envelope--put those bills to good use!!) and place it slightly above your lash line, connecting the center to the edge of the outer wing. Fill it in and you're done!!!

Add some mascara to your top lashes :))

Rim the bottom waterline with a nude or beige pencil

Take a cotton swap and clean the line if you have to

Again, before coffee...

After coffee and blowout, wearing my new favorite vest, hand-made by my mama, with all the love in her mama heart ♥♥♥

LOVE YA MAMA!!!

From Office to Happy Hour

Salut mes cheries ;)))

Happy Saturday!!! Since we're all very happy to not be working, I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about office appropriate or everyday makeup suitable for a professional environment. Though working environments differ immensely, there are generally some restrictions across all industries about the type of makeup we wear to work, with the key feature being professionalism. Needless to say, "peacocky" makeup would not work for the office, however, neither would a completely bare face, especially if you've had several margaritas the night before. Office makeup should:

1. Make you look awake and alert
2. Be clean and last all day
3. Can be easily transformed from day to evening

For this entry, I have a 2 for 1, so let me know which look you like best :))

bisous,

Maryam Maquillage

LOOK #1: This look can easily go from day to night because its focus is on clean lines, contrast and simplicity. Start with a clean face and make sure to care for your particular skin type accordingly. My skin is combination, it tends to be oily in the center of the face and dry on the sides. Typically I moisturize my entire face, focusing more on the dry areas and use a mattifying primer on the oily areas. 

Tip: My favorite facial primer is Laura Mercier mineral foundation primer because it does exactly what it promises. It mattifies my face, minimizes my pores and prevents my makeup from settling into pores and fine lines. This product isn't cheap, but it's well worth the price and should be a staple in any working girl's makeup bag. 

After priming and moisturizing the face, use a kabuki brush to apply mineral foundation all over the face, concentrating on problem areas: acne, uneven skin tone, or redness. I'm a big advocate of Bare Minerals matte foundation because it is the only facial makeup that has actually improved my skin after prolonged use. As I mentioned in previous entries, my color is Golden Medium, though I sometimes mix in their bronzer to deepen the color, depending on the season. Use light concealer where you need it--under the eyes, around the nose, etc. 

Tip: Starting with you face first helps to make sure you don't overdue the eyes and lips as doing so would be problematic for the office. Clean and healthy looking skin is the most important part in this makeup look, so if you're pressed for time, focus on the skin, the rest can be done on your way to work, just not on the subway lol.

After finishing the face, fill in your eyebrows if you need to. Since my eyebrows are very black, I usually fill in just the ends, where the hairs tend to be more sparse. Remember, the eyebrows frame the face, so neglecting them would be a terrible mistake ;) Make sure you keep them neat and do not, I repeat DO NOT over-pluck the middle. There is nothing more unflattering than an empty gap between the brows. It looks awfully unnatural. You should be able to fit two fingers between the brows, any more than that and you run the risk of looking like a vampire. On the other hand, I may be biased because in my eastern culture, closely set eyebrows on a woman are considered a powerful talisman. In fact, some Central Asian women are considered more beautiful if they have a unibrow. I personally like to keep Americanized, but with a hint of exotica :) 

Back to the eyes: start by applying Urban Decay primer potion and letting it settle for about 30 seconds. For this look, you will need just two contrasting eyeshadow colors, a light and dark one. Make sure both shadows are matte. Start by patting on the light shadow (lavender, pale pink, peach or beige would all work) all over your lid, going slightly above the crease.

Tip for smaller eyes: To create a wide eyed look, place your darker crease shadow slightly above your natural crease. As you can see, my crease is practically invisible, so placing the shadow directly on the line would close up my eyes even more. Applying the darker shadow above the line gives the illusion of a bigger eye and works great to reverse sleeplessness and de-puff puffy eyes. :)

Apply the crease color (warm brown, plum, or gray-brown) with a dome shaped fluffy brush, using windshield wiper motion and concentrating the color on the outer corner. Darkening the outer corner gives the eye a classic 50's cat eye, looks great on everyone and works for the office.

Take the same dark shadow and line underneath the eye, along the lashline, stopping halfway. Finish the eye look by lining the top lashline with black or dark brown liquid or gel liner and coat your lashes with mascara of the same color as the eyeliner. 

Keep your lips office appropriate, pale pink or pinky beige. I used NYX lipliner in natural, filled in the entire lip and applied Make Up Forever Rouge artist Intense lipstick in number 32, a pale pink satin color. 

LOOK #2: Follow the same guidelines for face, eyebrows and priming the eyes. This look is not about making yourself look awake and professional, rather it is about making the most of your work appropriate makeup and looking fabulous while doing so. Then again, it's another variation on office makeup that can also work for after work. 

In this look, the eyeshadows are brighter while the lips are more neutral. Take a slightly shimmery lavender or purple shadow and apply all over the lid, blending it well around the edges to prevent harsh lines. Take a brown shadow and apply it with a fluffy dome brush to the outer corners of the eyes, using circular motions. Try to sweep the brown up and away from the eye, toward the corner of the eyebrow.

Tip: Wipe off the dome brush and use it as an eraser to soften the edges of the brown shadow while blending it inwards with the shimmery purple. A clean brush will blend the existing color better and is a good way to erase some of the eye shadow if you put on too much.

Next, line the the outer corner of the top and bottom lash lines with a brown eyeliner, connecting them and creating a slight wing pointed toward the edge of the eyebrow, following the eye shadow. Finish the look with 1 coat of mascara.

Keep the lips nude or beige. I used NYX lipliner in Natural and MAC amplified lipstick in Warm Me Up. Tip: MAC lipsticks come in 9 or 10 formulas, but my favorite is amplified because simply put, it's the best for your money. The color shows up on the lips as it looks in the tube, the formula is creamy, moisturizing and long lasting. Blotting your lips on a paper towel will remove the excess color, giving your lips a beautiful stained finish. Thumbs up for MAC amplified lipsticks!!!