Neutrals on the Edge

Bonjour mes belles!!

In today's post, I'm featuring a wearable, every day makeup and nails ensemble perfect for any occasion: work, school, weekend, whatever. I wear neutrals more often than I wear brights, so I wanted to showcase a few tiny nuances that take classic makeup and manicures from boring to special. Here's a preview:

Read more for info:

"No Makeup" Makeup made 4 CHILLIN'

Bonjour mes amis,

Question: How many of you prefer natural makeup over dramatic makeup? 

Confession: I DO... *

*For every day, that is :)))

Every day does not mean school, work or shopping--these are all responsibilities that we wish weren't a part of our daily lives--hence, we want to look our best when are trying to achieve, accomplish and earn so that we can do the things we really like to do. What I'm taking about is something we New Yorkers like to refer to as CHILLIN'... We go to school and work, we run errands and pay our bills, we hustle and bustle, so that we can ultimately just chill. One can chill in front of the TV with a glass of wine or on a beach with a stack of magazines and a piña colada or simply sober on a nature trail, so whatever tickles your fancy, you can chill anyway you like!! For my chill occasions, I like to be simple: "no makeup" makeup, natural hair, my sweats and my smile :))) Off I go!

Read more to see my makeup breakdown!

Primrose & Proper

Salut mes amis,

Happy Wednesday and may all your tasks be completed smoothly and swiftly. I say that because I have a week full of responsibilities lined up for myself, so I want to take today by storm. Sometimes, writing it out or saying it out loud helps me with my procrastination :)) Anyway, my post of the day is featuring my second installment of using non-Urban Decay cosmetics and is dedicated to the one and only Clinique. This brand is very near and dear to my heart as it was one of the very first makeup brands I ever experimented with. My mom used to get those free gifts and pass them over to me and thinking about that makes me smile from ear to ear :D

Read more for reviews, descriptions, pix and lipstick tips :)

small eyes BIGGER ʘ‿ʘ

Bonjour cheries!!!

Hope you're finding yourselves happy and healthy on this gloomy Monday! Sorry for my brief hiatus, I started a new summer schedule and had to implement some different time management strategies. It's all good, I'm back and I've got lots of cool beauty stories to share. I say "cool" because last week has been a sauna up in NYC, and I had to find new ways of wearing makeup while keeping it "cool" in the heat wave. I don't know about you, but as much as I love bright maquillage, there's just no room for it in the summer oven... it all just melts, runs, and leaves me feeling like a sad clown. Don't get me wrong, if I really need my makeup to stay, I'll spray some Fix + and off I go. However, I think you'll all agree that in the summer months, it is better to let our skin breathe instead of clogging the pores with fix sprays and such. So, how do we maximize our features and appearance while steering clear of heavy cosmetic products?

Let's focus on one (or two) features at a time. Today's post is dedicated to the eyes, and I'm going to share with you my makeup trick to creating the appearance of larger eyes without the help of eyeshadows. So, let's make our small eyes BIGGER ʘ‿ʘ yaaayyy!!!

Read on b/c I can't walk around with bulging Betty Boop eyes all day ʘ‿ʘ

Rainy Day Makeup Fix

Salut les filles :)

How many of you are from the NY/NJ area and are sick and tired of the humid grayness we've been experiencing? ::Raises hand:: This weather is cute for 2 days and 2 days only... any longer than that, it makes me want to chop off my frizzy hair and curl up under my sheets until its all over. Unfortunately, I can't afford to curl up and lemons must be turned into lemonade :) Anyway, here's my makeup attempt to brighten up a very gray rainy day...
P. S. it worked!

Read more for pix & info

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!!!

Natural is beautiful: the "No makeup" Makeup

I'm sure many of you are not as thrilled about the idea of plastering your faces with products as I tend to be, and firmly hold to the notion that less is more, and more is vulgar. You may be surprised to learn that I happen to subscribe to the same belief. Less is, in fact, more, especially when it comes to every day makeup. I absolutely do not support young girls wearing a heavy mask of foundation, nor do I believe in makeup being used as a veil. On the contrary, I think makeup is meant to highlight and bring attention to one's naturally beautiful and unique features. Of course, it took me a while to come to this realization, as I most certainly have used makeup as a hiding tool and wish I hadn't started 'using' as early as I did. So I admit it, I have abused makeup and was an addict for a long time.

My relationship with makeup began at the tender age of 13, when I got my first taste of pubescent zits. I shiver at the thought of those oil-based powders and concealers, which only made my skin more and more acne-prone (Thank God for Proactiv!) It quickly grew into a passion for transformation when I started experimenting with styles, ranging from gothic to gangsta' to schoolgirl, inspired by Fairuza Balk (The Craft), Left Eye, Buffy and others. Oh how I wanted to be Buffy... at times I even thought I was the fourth member of the TLC... anyway, I regressed. By the time I was in high school, I was the go-to girl for make-up--I experimented on all of my friends and take full credit for planting the seed of their current obsessions. I even taught my friends how to "shop" for make-up... but that's a story for another entry.

Back to being natural. Bottom line--I should not have been shopping or experimenting or plastering my face like it was a dry wall... I was fresh faced and should have probably kept it fresh, at least until 16. Why don't we ever listen to our mothers and years later wish we did? On a positive note, makeup technology and formulas have come a looong way since my high school days and I secretly can't wait to experiment on my little sister when she's of age. If she starts at 13 like I did, I'm OK with her using light eyeliner and perhaps some lipgloss, as well as grooming her brows. At 15, she can pile on the mascara and start using mineral foundation. After 16, it's all game on special occasions and by 18, she's free to choose.

It is important, however, to remember that people get used to seeing you in makeup and it's good and necessary to remind those around you, as well as yourself, that you are beautiful underneath it all. So, my thought for the day is to change it up, go natural, go bare, go free and be free :)

Bisous,


Maryam Maquillage

ABOUT THE LOOK:

So, although this is a natural look, I am wearing some makeup. I skipped my typical foundation primer and went with a mattifying moisturizer with SPF 15 from Proactiv. I find that with this product, skin doesn't really need much else as far as moisturizing, priming and protecting. It's a great all-in-one, non-comedogenic (does not clog pores) hydrating lotion that also primes and preps your face for the day. I used my favorite Bare Minerals matte mineral foundation just over my T-zone and a little under the eyes and mixed it with warmth (Bare Minerals' bronzing powder).

On my eyes, I'm wearing just 1 coat of mascara on both top and bottom lashes and the slightest amount of pale pink eyeshadow that I dotted on with my finger just to the center of my lid.

My lips are lined and filled in slightly with Mauve lipliner by Jordana.

This look took me about 2 minutes to complete, and the effect is natural but awake (hence the pj's). Oh yeah, I also brushed my eyebrows with a spoolie and applied some hair wax to keep the brows in place. I have to do that because my eyebrow hairs are very coarse. You can obviously skip this step.

EXAMPLES OF NATURAL MAKEUP:

The focus is on glowing youthful skin and the models' natural gorgeous features--cheekbones, lips, and eyes.

MOI--SANS MAQUILLAGE (ZERO MAKEUP)

Super Ellen in this one

'Eastern block', as my girl Jo would say. "Khan!"

I ate so much, my head exploded...

TIPS AND TRICKS: 

☺ Proactiv Oil Free Moisture with SPF 15. Forego their other stuff, but this one's a keeper. Go to your local mall, find a proactiv kiosk, and purchase it this way, otherwise you'll need a contract for the entire system.

☺ Natural does not mean makeup-less. If you love makeup like I do, keep it simple on those au natural days. A little mascara and concealer (just on the problem areas) go a long way. 

☺ Choosing a good bronzer can really transform you from looking like you're barely there to healthy and well-rested. I prefer a matte bronzer, like Benefit's Hoola, but also like mixing in Bare Minerals' Warmth with my every-day foundation for a subtle glow.

☺