Literature Couture

(image via newsgrist.typepad.com)

I’ve had some requests for a post on makeup removers, and I remembered that I wrote one almost a year ago. Here’s the link for your information and delectation: Remove Makeup this-a-way!

(image credit: penciljammers.com)

Taiki Group, a cosmetics packaging company, has developed EcoG+, an anti-microbial resin. When combined with a mascara formula, the resin is shown to decrease microbial contamination at statistically significant levels. What does this mean for the consumer? A reduction in the amount of additional preservatives needed to keep your mascara clean and uncontaminated. Sounds like a win to me…

Want to know about the nose behind White Linen and Lancome Tresor, among other blockbuster fragrances? Check out this short film whose subject is American perfumer Sophia Grojsman:

(image credit: gorgeousshop.co.uk)

1. Sketch under brows and smudge. This visually lifts the brow and makes the eyes look more defined.
2. Fake being awake: run the pencil around the lower waterline of the eye.
3. Make eyes appear wider by dotting the liner in the inner corners of the eyes and smudging.
4. Trace out a complicated eye liner look before going over it with black or dark liner. It’s much easier to erase mistakes with this “tracing” pencil than with black liquid liner.
5. Own an eyeshadow that’s too dark? Line the entire lid with the white liner, then apply the shadow over the liner; the white undertone of the liner will help correct the darkness of the shadow.
6. If you tweeze your own brows, comb them with a spooley, then draw white liner over them to create the brow shape you want. Tweeze hairs that aren’t covered with the liner.
7. Run lightly down the bridge of the nose and smudge to create the illusion of a narrower proboscis.
8. No time for a French manicure? Fill in the tips of nails in an emergency-nail situation.
9. Smudge some of the liner above the center of your lips (in the Cupid’s bow) to make lips look fuller.
10. If your pencil is a kajal or soft liner, hold it perpendicular to the lashes. Run the liner through the lashes, and poof! Instant white mascara.

(image via http://mwsu-bio101.ning.com)

Cosmetic chemists have been doing some major fieldwork with plants lately. Here are some developments I think sound especially cool (all info is sourced from GCI Magazine, June 2012 issue):

• Sederma labs is marketing Legance, a ginger-derived compound that reduced inflammation and water retention while boosting circulation in the legs area.
• Ashland Specialty Ingredients is working on a yeast and soy compound to help preserve telomere caps, which could help prevent some signs of aging.
• Mibelle Biochemistry has introduced PoreAway, a pore-tightening compound based on a tree resin found in Greece.
• Alban Muller has derived a pure molecule from wintergreen that works as well or better than traditional salicylic acid formulations to get rid of acne.
• ProVital group has launched an algae-based compound that promises to lend shine to extremely damaged hair.

Check out the blog immediately!

(image credit: http://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/)

This tutorial was inspired by early 1970s facelifts, a Dead Kennedys album, and “trout pout.” Materials

• wax stick for brows (I used Kryolan Eyebrow Plastic)
• heavy cream foundation (I used MAC Moistureblend foundation in NC15)
• cream concealer (I used Sheer Cover duo concealer in light/medium)
• translucent powder (I used MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microfinish Powder )
• bronzer (I used Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights Baked Stardust

  

  )
• brown gel eyeliner (I used Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Chocolate Shimmer Ink)
• false eyelashes
• eyelash glue (I used Duo Lash Adhesive in Dark Tone

  

  )
• nude lip pencil (I used MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Lip Pencil in Nude Beige 1C

  

  )

  

• red lipstick (I used NYX Round Case Lipstick Lip Cream in 511 Chaos

  

  )

Tools

• spoolie
• lip brush
• pointed liner brush
• powder brush
• powder puff

Directions

1. Take the spoolie and comb brows in the opposite direction they normally grow (you’re brushing them towards your nose):

   

2. Warm the brow wax by holding over a light or hairdryer. Touch the wax with a finger to make sure it’s not too hot or it will burn you.
3. Run the wax stick from the outside of the brow towards your nose, in the opposite direction of the natural hair growth:

   

4. Position the wax stick at the start of the brow. Run the wax in the direction of the hairs’ growth:

   

5. Once the brow hairs are completely covered with wax, load up your index finger with cream foundation:

   

6. PAT (don’t rub) the foundation over the brows. It may take several coats:

   

7. Repeat step 6 using concealer.
8. Load up a powder puff with translucent powder. Gently powder brows.
9. Use fingers to smooth cream foundation over face and neck. Don’t worry about using primer or blending the foundation well; we want the skin to look as fake as possible.
10. Load up the powder brush with bronzing powder. Run the brush over the entire face and neck. Yes, it’s going to look awful, but that’s the look we’re trying to create:

    

11. Use the pointed liner brush to remove some of the brown gel liner from its container. Warm the liner on the back of your non-dominant hand.
12. Use the same liner brush to draw exaggerated, wide triangular brows halfway up your forehead (early facelift technology resulted in brow creep):

    

13. Apply lash glue to the bands of the false lashes. These particular false lashes are actually five or six pairs of old, gummed-up lashes I glued together.
14. Apply the lashes. Don’t worry about them looking good; just slap ‘em on:

    

15. Take the lip pencil and draw a “V” on top of your philtrum (the skin between your nose and lips):

    

16. Using the “V” as a guide, draw in the rest of the upper lip. Color in the exaggerated upper lip and the normal bottom lip with the liner:

    

17. Take a lip brush and load it up with red lipstick. Trace the lipstick over the lipliner:

    

18. Add a wig cap and wig.

More pictures of the final look:

For those who are wary of putting anything on their skin they can’t pronounce, a new company called Yume Blush has the answer. Their body butter/lotion/massage oil is vegan, completely edible. and safe for all skin types. It comes in the following scents/flavors:

• apple raspberry
• pineapple orange
• coconut lime
• chocolate raspberry
• lavender lemon
• lavender honey
• orange vanilla

They also make custom flavors upon request. Yume Blush is available at Whole Foods and online at www.yumeblush.com.

This tutorial was inspired by the idea of a zombie hunter who, after several successful battles, was bitten and is beginning to turn. Materials

• Yellow and green base (I used Skin Illustrator)
• Yellow concealer (I used NYX Cosmetics Concealer Wand in Yellow

  

  )
• Matte purple cream eyeshadow (I used Clinique Lid Smoothie in Currant Affair

  

  )
• Olive cream eyeshadow (I used Clinique Clinique Lid Smoothie in Cute-Cumber

  

  )
• Rigid Collodion (scarring liquid) (I used Mehron Rigid Collodion/Scarring Liquid)
• lip color eraser (I used MAC Lip Erase)
• purple, plum, or red pencil eyeliner (I used YBL Plum Noir)
• scab paste (I used Ben Nye Fresh Scab )
• brown lipstick (I used MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Intense #16 )
• rose-tinted lipgloss

  Tools

• makeup removing wipes (Note: Since you’re using your fingertips to apply multiple products during this tutorial, it’s essential to keep makeup removing/cleansing wipes handy. Use them before every application of product that involves your hands.)
• foundation brush
• clean container

Directions

1. If using a Skin Illustrator palette, pour the activator into a clean container.
2. Dip the foundation brush into the activator:

   

3. Mix with the yellow base:

   

4. Apply to face and neck by pressing the brush against the skin and quickly releasing. This motion will distribute the base unevenly, giving the skin a rough texture:

   

5. Repeat the process with the green base. Make sure to avoid eyes and mucus membranes when using Skin Illustrator!
6. Dot yellow concealer around entire periocular area:

   

7. Pat gently to blend concealer with skin.
8. Take the purple cream shadow and dot it over the entire periocular area.
9. Blend shadow with fingertips:

   

10. Take the olive cream shadow and dot it along the side of the face:

    

11. Use your fingertips to blend the shadow back towards your hairline:

    

12. Use the brush included in the scarring liquid to paint a freehand scar along your cheek (I also applied some across the middle of my nose to make it look as if it had been broken and poorly reset):

    

13. Allow the scarring liquid to dry.
14. Pat lip color eraser onto lips:

    

15. Line the lower waterline very heavily with the purple/red pencil liner:

    

16. Use your fingertips to dab scab paste onto the nose, mouth and chin:

    

17. Dab brown lipstick on the areas of the lips not covered by scab paste:

    

18. Top the brown lipstick with a pink or rose gloss.
19. Add a wig.

More pictures of the final look:

(image via etsy.com)

(Note: I’m kind of sleep-deprived and thought this would be amusing. None of these blogs actually exist…although they should!)

1. Cthulhu Perms (www.lovecraft-salon.com)
2. Rick Santorum’s Drag Race (www.sweater_vest.com)
3. Roadkill Cosmetics (www.ukillituuseit.com)
4. Natural Beauty in Jersey City (youtube.com/whaddayalookinat)
5. Mall Bangs Live (vimeo.com/desperatlyseekingsusaninaflockofseagulls)
6. Geriatric Gynoplasty Daily (www.oldnotdead.com)
7. Smallpox is Beautiful (www.no_vaccine_kids.com)
8. Survivalist Makeover Service (URL blocked)
9. Interregnum Style (www.paintaninchthick.com)
10. Avon Attacks! (www.cosmeticcommandos.com)

This tutorial is designed to help you fake wide, doll-like eyes. There are three major strategies I used to get this effect: circle lens; pearl eyeshadow to bring light to the eye area; and careful placement of false lashes. Materials

• circle lens (I got mine from honeycolor.com)
• saline solution
• foundation primer (I used NYX Studio Perfect Primer in Lavender

  

  )
• foundation (I used Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation)
• liquid luminizer (I used NARS Luminizer in Copacabana)
• luminizing or brightening concealer (I used Stila Brighten and Correct Concealer in Fair

  

  )
• powder (I used MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microfinish Powder

  

  )
• brow pencil (I used Anastasia Brow Wiz in Ash Blonde

  

  )
• opalescent eyeshadow primer (I used NYX Cosmetics Eye Shadow Base in White Pearl

  

  )
• false demi-lashes or half-lashes (I used Ardell Accents Lashes Pair # 305 )
• lash glue (I used Revlon Precision Lash Adhesive)
• shimmering pale pink eyeshadow (I used NYX Pearl Mania shadow in Pearl

  

  )
• shimmering beige eyeshadow (I used Bootycall from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette

  

  )
• shimmering white eyeshadow (I used MAKE UP FOR EVER Diamond Shadow in Diamond White 301

  

  )
• black pencil eyeliner (I used NARS Larger Than Life Long Wear Eyeliner)
• black liquid liner (I used Mehron Detailz in Black)
• black volumizing mascara (I used Eyeko Skinny Brush Mascara )

  

Tools

• foundation brush
• foundation sponge
• concealer brush
• powder brush
• tweezers
• fluffy brush
• spooley
• lash curler

Directions

1. Insert circle lens
2. Apply primer to face and neck.
3. Mix foundation and luminizer on the back of your hand to warm them:

   

4. Use a foundation brush to apply foundation to face and neck.
5. Pat foundation with the sponge to create a natural, skin-like texture:

   

6. Dot luminizing concealer under eyes:

   

7. Pat with fingertips to blend concealer.
8. Lightly dust powder over the foundation:

   

9. Take the brow pencil and fill in brows. Thicker brows with a low arch indicate youthfulness, which is the look we want here:

   

10. Dip the concealer brush into the eye primer:

    

11. Brush the primer from lashline to browbone:

    

12. Remove the demi-lashes from the case with tweezers and apply a thin strip of glue:

    

13. Position the lashes at the outside corners of the eyes and press to adhere:

    

14. Curl the lashes to fuse the false and real ones:

    

15. Use the black liquid liner to trace over the lashline and disguise the band of the false lashes. You want a line that begins very thin at the inside of the eye and thickens as it reaches the outer corner:

    

16. Dip the shadow brush into the pink shadow:

    

17. Dust this shadow from lashline to browbone:

    

18. Repeat this process with the champagne eyeshadow.
19. Dip the shadow brush into the shimmering white shadow:

    

20. Dot this shadow on the inside corners of the eyes. This creates the visual illusion of wide-set eyes:

    

21. Line the upper waterline with the black pencil liner:

    

22. Apply 2-3 thin coats of a volumizing mascara, leaving time for the mascara to dry between coats:

    

Many of you who read beauty blogs are probably aware that Urban Decay has decided to sell its products in China. This new step for the company means that their products will likely be tested on animals by the Chinese government before they are allowed in the country. There’s been quite the furor in the blog-o-verse about this decision. For those of you who only buy Leaping Bunny or other cruelty-free certified products, I’ve put together a dupe list so you can replace your UD products once you run out of what you currently own.

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So, I’ve loving Butter London Nail Polish in Knackered

so much I decided to wear it for another week. To mix things up a little, I also added Zoya Nail Polish in Trixie

to the obverse side of the nail:

Urban Decay has decided to sell its products in China, where animal testing of cosmetics is required. Leaping Bunny, PETA, and other cruelty-free certification boards have removed UD from their lists of approved cosmetic brands. I make a point on this blog of using products that have not been tested on animals. Until UD becomes a 100% cruelty-free company again, I won’t be purchasing any of its products. However, I already own a great deal of UD makeup purchased before their decision to allow animal testing on their products. I will continue to use these products in tutorials until I hit pan on them. I feel an obligation to not waste the makeup I already own. If you see UD products mentioned in future tutorials, please be aware these products were purchased before the company’s decision to enter the Chinese market. I’ll post dupes for shades so you don’t have to buy UD products to replicate any of my looks. And, if Urban Decay goes back to its non-animal testing policy, I’ll happily announce it on this blog.  

(image via beautifulwithbrains.com)

Acne is a problem, especially in the summer, when oil production seems to ramp up exponentially. Here are some unusual but likely culprits that are making your breakouts worse:

1. Your cell phone: Cell phones are smushed up against our faces when taking calls, which means oil, dirt, and more get plastered onto your face whenever you lift that device to your ear. Nix this problem by using alcohol wipes to clean your phone every other day or so.
2. Your pillowcase: You sweat while you sleep; it’s just a given. Your face is in contact with your pillow all night, which means every time you go to bed you’re putting your skin next to last night’s sebum, sweat, and oil. Change pillowcases every other day.
3. Your sunglasses: The same issue with cell phones applies to sunglasses. Clean ‘em regularly, especially the bridge piece that goes over your nose and the stems that go over your ears.
4. Skipping sunscreen: I know the mantra…”sunscreen breaks me out!” Consider this myth busted. There are a slew of non-comedogenic  (won’t clog your pores) options out there. Beyond the whole cancer thing (enough of a reason to slather on the SPF), skipping sun protection may worsen breakouts by making them redder and more obvious. Buy a mineral-based powder sunblock if you must, but never leave the house without sun protection!
5. Allergies: if you notice a correlation between eating a specific food or using a specific ingredient and breaking out, see a doctor for an allergy test.
6. Your summer job: If you’re handling lots of cleaning supplies, they may contain ingredients that cause your skin to erupt.
7. The swimming pool: Overexposure to chlorine (especially if you’re handling the stuff or doing pool maintenance) can cause something called chloracne. Make sure to clean your skin after your dip in the pool.
8. Your hair products: styling products with oils and other comedogenic ingredients can occlude pores and keep them from shedding sebum plugs. The result is a breakout. Use a facial tissue as a skin guard when applying styling products to minimize contact between the hair product and skin.
9. Fights with your best friend/parents/significant other: Stress can cause flare-ups and breakouts.
10. Your acne treatment: Using multiple acne treatments or usingone product too often may dry out skin too much and inflame it, thus setting you up for another round of breakouts. Always read the manufacturer’s directions and use accordingly. If none of the OTC treatments seem to work, consult a dermatologist for more specialized help and prescription-strength treatments.

Who wants to mess with a flat iron/hair dryer/ etc. when it’s 90 degrees outside? Check out these videos to learn how to create cute styles sans heat:

Michelle Phan: Paper Bag Curlers
Beauty by Drann: No Heat Beach Waves
Boredom Rocks28: Sock Curling Tutorial
Bambiieyz: No-Heat Straightening
Oakoscar100: De-Frizz Hair Without Heat

Have you tried any of these methods? Were they successful or not? Let me know in the comments section!

(image via gtbarbers.blogspot.com)

To create this luscious, tropically scented, moisturizing scrub, you’ll need the following: 6 oz. (1/2 can) coconut milk1 cup dessicated (dried) coconut1 cup sugar in the raw1/2 c. virgin coconut oil (you need this type of oil so the scrub will suds.) Just combine all the ingredients in a clean container and mix. Keep in a cool, dry place and use within a week.

For the past few seasons, there’s been a nostalgic feel in the air. Designers have taken inspiration in everything from The Great Gatsby to Desperately Seeking Susan. If you’re looking to try on a vintage makeup look, the good news is that you don’t have to deal with the vagaries of vintage product formulations. Contemporary makeup allows you to recreate the look and feel of your favorite decade without the hassle of the cakey, streaky, frustrating products of old. This series of posts is designed to help you choose products and perfect techniques integral to a vintage look. Today, we’re taking inspiration from the 1960s. It’s remarkably easy to obtain a 60s mod look with these tips, tricks, and products:

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