Glow Beauty

While traditional makeup has been around for centuries, mineral makeup (like Bare Minerals) and airbrush makeup (like Luminess Air) have become the talk of the entertainment industry recently. These new forms of makeup offer promises of easier and quicker application while increasing your overall beauty. Do either of them live up to the hype? When comparing airbrush makeup and mineral makeup, which is best for you?

Mineral makeup gained popularity when environmental groups brought to light the chemicals found in traditional makeup brands. Anything mineral-based or organic in nature appeals to huge crowd, so the popularity of more natural makeup is not surprising. Bare Minerals is the most well known of the companies offering mineral makeup due to their heavy infomercial marketing campaigns.

While mineral makeup is quick to apply and feels light on the skin, it does not offer heavy coverage. While that may be a benefit to some, those with age spots, acne, or other skin imperfections may not be pleased with its results. Powdered based, those with dry skin may run into flaky appearances as well. Depending on the brand you choose, mineral makeup can also have an issue with staying power throughout the day. On the plus side, it is less expensive that many professional makeup brands and is easy to travel with.

Airbrush makeup consists of specialized formula of makeup that is thinly sprayed on the face or body by a wand and compressed air. When applied, if offers the same a flawless finish often seen in magazine spreads. Like Bare Minerals, Luminess Air has a strong television presence via infomercials and home shopping channels.

While not perfect, airbrush makeup offers many positive features. When applied, the makeup has amazing staying power, often lasting 16-24 hours. It will not rub on clothes or anything else for that matter. Depending on the brand you use, you can easily mix eye shadow or blush colors, giving you an unlimited number of unique shades of makeup. On the downside, the start-up costs for equipment can be costly. Also, if your face becomes moist (whether from rain, sweat, or other sources of water), the makeup can become streaky and once airbrushed makeup streaks, it is difficult (if not impossible) to touch up.

Our final verdict? If you can afford an airbrush makeup kit, we highly recommend it. After a little bit of practice, you will soon be able to apply professional looking makeup every day of the week!

Hair salon Hoboken

Time and time again, as a former professional NYC dancer, I witnessed attractive young girls poorly put on tons of makeup before performances. In my 10 years of dancing I saw how, well, ugly, bad backstage makeup skills can get! Makeup can help create the best possible version of ourselves. As a makeup artist I learned how to emphasize our best aspects with makeup.

This is my list of Top 10 Performance Makeup Mistakes in no particular order.

1) MISTAKE: Lack of Eyebrows! WHY? When there are no eyebrows we lose the emotional expression of the face.

FIX IT: In order to create a more natural look then an eyebrow pencil use a pressed mineral eye shadow powder. Use a color that either matches or is slightly darker than your own hair color. To accentuate and frame the eyes use an angled eyeliner makeup brush to fill in the natural shape of the eyebrows.

2) MISTAKE: On the inside of the lower lash line using a black pencil eyeliner. WHY? This is a great makeup method for fashion shows, print ads, TV, and in person but not for performances on stage. During a stage performance it makes eyes look smaller.

FIX IT: A WHITE Highlighter Pencil on the outside corner of the eyes and on the inside lower lash line will make eyes look bigger and brighter.

3) MISTAKE: Applying black liner under the eye and in to the far inner corner of the eye. WHY? It gives the eye a very round appearance, you want more of an almond shape. It can sometimes give the look of being “cross-eyed” to the dancer.

FIX IT: In order to achieve the more desirable shape use a darker brown eye shadow with an eyeliner brush as a liner under the eye. Start under the pupil and brush out following the natural curve of the eye.

Do NOT join the upper lash liner and the lower lash liner. Not connecting these lines will give you the illusion that the whites of the eyes are very large.

4) MISTAKE: The darkest eye shadow contour color that is too close to the nose and too high on the crease of the eye (up to the eyebrows). WHY? It takes all of the emotion out of the eyes. It gives the look of big black holes. For the same reason the “Smokey-eyed look” does NOT work on stage performances.

FIX IT: Make sure the dark contour color stops before it nears the eyebrows. Apply the shadow with an eye shadow brush that is small and angled. When adding darker contour color to crease area of the eye focus on the outer half of the eye and do not bring the dark color too far in towards the nose.

5) MISTAKE: No foundation applied for stage performances. WHY? Wearing makeup without a foundation won’t stand up when you get sweaty. It will look blotchy and not touch-up well.

FIX IT: Creating a clean, matte surface for the makeup requires foundation. When choosing a foundation use a lightweight, mineral oil free/non-comedogenic, water resistant foundation. This will keep makeup looking smooth and clean all day long!

6) MISTAKE: Wearing false lashes that are either too big or too thick. WHY? Since stage lighting come down from the top, large lashes form a shadow under the eyes. This can make your eyes look closed, sleepy, or heavy.

FIX IT: If the lashes are a demi/half lash then they will not need to trimmed to fit the eye otherwise trim them to fit. Always trim from the outside edge. False lashes that are longer on the outer edge and get shorter as they go towards the inner eye are the best choice. Avoid oversized lashes and choose ones that concentrate on the outer third of the eye.

7) MISTAKE: Poor makeup color choices used for stage makeup. WHY? Just because we see a makeup color on TV, does not mean that it will work for a stage performance. On TV when makeup is done, colors can match outfits, be more understated and more “fashionable” in style. Our main purpose on stage is to make sure the facial expression and features can be seen and the dancer looks striking under severe stage lighting.

FIX IT: Wear neutral tones to bring out the innate beauty in the dancer’s face. Also there are neutral rose-toned lipsticks that look lovely. Bright red isn’t better! If bright red glaring lipstick has the audience is distracted from the performance then it is not serving its purpose.

8) MISTAKE: A sharp line for blush or too much blush. WHY? Too much blush or a sharp line can make performers look harsh or old.

FIX IT: Neutral rose toned or pink/peach toned colors. The other benefit is these colors will work on all skin tones – lightest to darkest. To create a soft line place your brush at the hair line and brush forward, blend upward around the apples of the cheeks. It is important to not allow blush to dip below the lip line.

9) MISTAKE: Using too much glitter. WHY? When you use glitter is on every part of your face, body, and costume it is very distracting to the audience and judges.

FIX IT: Pick one part that you will use glitter on. Use glitter in your hair, or use a shimmering white to highlight your cheekbones, or try a red glitter lip. The important part is to pick ONE part of the body not every part for your “glitter-fitti!

10) MISTAKE: Needing more makeup. WHY? Because of the strength of stage lights and the distance from the performer to the audience, the facial features tend to lose their dimension. Facial features “flatten” out when you don’t have enough makeup on.

FIX IT: Apply makeup so that it is dark enough to see your features without strain from the 8th-10th row. Stage lighting is makes it necessary to wear makeup if you a natural look on stage. Again, because you saw the look on a dancer on TV, does not mean it will work on the stage.

Hoboken hair salon

The difference between a brand ambassador and a spokesmodel in the cosmetics business can be a bit confusing and some people do use the terms interchangeably, but they are actually two very different roles. Just to confuse matters further, there is a saying in some circles that says that all spokesmodels are brand ambassadors, but not all brand ambassadors are spokesmodels.

Cosmetic line spokesmodel or makeup brand ambassador, both roles are vital to the success of a makeup brand and both can make or break a marketing campaign because, when a top cosmetics company chooses a new face for their makeup products, the face that they choose becomes the public image of the product. To clear up some of the confusion, here are the main differences between the two roles.

Brand Ambassadors

The most common definition of a brand ambassador is somebody that who is hired to create a positive image of brand to increase brand awareness and improve sales. A brand ambassador will be someone who is completely immersed in the brand’s image and who knows the brand’s products inside out. Today, a person in this role is usually someone who has an established online presence and who is prepared to utilise that online presence to promote the brand.

A makeup brand ambassador will have shared values with the image of the company, become the face of the makeup brand and have a good knowledge of the makeup line of that company as well as other beauty products that the company may sell under the same brand name.

In this role, a person becomes very closely linked to the product they are promoting and will be willing and able to make personal recommendations to their followers. Of course, this close-knit relationship between an ambassador and the brand can backfire sometimes, if the chosen ambassador does something that negatively reflects on the image that the company is attempting to portray.

Spokesmodel

The role of a spokesmodel, whether it is for a French cosmetics giant or a lesser known makeup brand, is a combination of model, being the face of the makeup brand and, to a lesser extent, being an ambassador for the cosmetics company

These days, many cosmetics brands look for their next spokesmodel to be a person who already has had some public exposure, such as a singer or a model.

In the world of top cosmetics brands, a spokesmodel might be called upon to model the makeup, give tutorials on how to apply the makeup, appear in advertisements and in videos, make personal appearances and be a spokesperson and advocate for the cosmetics. They need, therefore, to be comfortable with modelling, having their photograph taken, and be comfortable being in the limelight, as they may be asked to speak at public events to reinforce the connection between the face and the product.

Some of the more famous spokesmodels for cosmetics products have included; Cindy Crawford for Revlon, Jacklyn Smith for Max Factor and, more recently, Georgia May Jagger for Rimmel London, but the term can also be applied to models who are not yet major celebrities in their own right but who have been chosen to become the next face of a top cosmetics brand.

hair salon hoboken nj

The aim of makeup brushes is to make you beautiful. The unfortunate thing is that there are some scratchy brushes that cause facial abrasions when you use them. If you have a scratchy brush, you shouldn’t dispose it-you should soften it. Here are some of the ways of softening it:

How To Make Makeup Brushes Soft

There are many ways of softening the brushes. The most effective ways include:

Rinsing: you should rinse the brushes thoroughly with lukewarm tap water. You should run through the brush bristles with your fingers to ensure that all the bristles are exposed to water. You should massage away the caked-on makeup until bristles are perfectly clean.

Washing: after rinsing the brushes you should now wash them. For ideal results you should wash them under a steady stream of warm water. When washing them you should apply foaming facial cleanser into the bristles to give the bristles a perfect look. Once you are through with the cleaning you should rinse the bristles thoroughly to prevent them from clumping together.

After washing you should dry the brushes by putting them outside so that they can dry completely before putting them back into the bag. You should ensure that the brushes are completely dry to prevent them from smelling like a wet dog. To avoid damaging the bristles you should put the brushes flat on the ground.

Other Maintenance Tips

In addition to cleaning the makeup brushes, there are other maintenance tips that you need to put into consideration to ensure that your brushes last for a long time. These tips include:

Keep them standing: after applying makeup you should place your brushes standing up. You should also separate your brushes between uses. This means that you shouldn’t use the same brush for all of your makeup needs.

To ensure that the brushes stay soft for a long time and at the same time last for long, you should take good care of them. Even with the greatest care it’s inevitable for the brushes to get old. You should be keen and be quick to note when your brushes are old and replace them as soon as possible.

When buying new brushes you should be keen and ensure that they are of high quality. For ideal results you should do plenty of research and ensure that you are buying from a reputable store. When making your purchase you should note that different brushes are ideal for different functions.

best hair salon hoboken

The following article will help you discover how to apply makeup in the evening. Applying makeup in the evening is different to applying makeup for the daytime. With evening makeup you can have a more dramatic look so you don’t get lost amongst the candlelight.

Your face can speak a thousand words, if you dress it right. The next time you are getting ready for an evening function, here are some top tips on how to apply your makeup to suit an evening function:

1. Make sure you use your eyeliner correctly. Eyeliner is much easier when using a pencil. Choose the right pencil shade for your and make sure it is sharp. Make sure the tip of the pencil is a smooth and pointy finish to make it easier to apply. Keep the skin tight and hold the eyeliner with a steady hand and start from the outside corner of the eye following the lash line. Don’t go on the eyelid too much follow the eyelash hair. Remember you can always add more so start with a small sharp line and add more later if you wish. Once you have finished put on lots of mascara on the eyelashes. If you use false eyelashes, add these at the end of application.

2. Choose the right eyeshadow color. Decide whether you suit cool shades such as light blue, light pink or yellow or dark shades such as brown, deep blue, red. Choose a color that suits your skin type and clothing. A hot shade and trend for eyeshadow is purple. If you are not that bold, you can settle for shades of pink, brown or beige depending on your skin tone. Metallic colors like gold and silver are also perfect for evenings.

3. Another great trend for the evening is a smoky eye. To achieve a smokey eye look you can use any color shade. The rule is to start with the deepest shade on the eyelid till the crease and gradually go lighter as you go up your eye crease. Use the brightest shade of the same color on the inner eye corner in shape of a question mark. The darkest color also goes below your lower eyelashes.

4. Keep the lip color simple. If you decide to have dramatic eyes make sure your lips are soft and vice versa. Be sure to choose a color that suits your eyeshadow and clothing. You can mix shades of gloss or lipstick to get your desired shade. Apply lip liner first, followed by lipstick, followed by lip gloss to ensure your lip color lasts all night!

5. Dramatic eyebrow is another makeup tip for the evening. High fashion designers such as Nina Ricci and Prada are embracing a dramatic eyebrow look. The rest of the foundation is kept nude with a bit of concealer and shimmer to the cheeks. Your eyebrows should be 2 shades darker than your hair color. Use a brow pencil to contour your eyebrows.

The rule of dramatic eye makeup is that you keep the other part of your face neutral. Use a lipstick that is as close to your natural lip color as possible. A slight touch of blush on the cheeks and you are ready for your evening function.

Hair salon Hoboken