Monthly Archives: May 2012

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A Lovely Beauty Idea To Steal From Wes Anderson’s New Movie

There are so many things to love about Moonrise Kingdom, the hilarious new film directed by Wes Anderson. But the thing that really stood out to me, besides the witty dialogue and amazing cast, is the blue eye shadow worn throughout the entire movie by Suzy Bishop, one of the lead characters.

Suzy, played by actress Kara Hayward, is a troubled twelve-year-old girl who has a habit of going “berserk” on people when she gets really mad. I won’t go into specifics because I don’t want to spoil it for you, but let’s just say the girl has a violent streak. To escape her dismal home and school life, she decides to run away with her quirky pen-pal/boyfriend and chaos ensues. Although Suzy’s life is kind of a mess, her makeup looks great–she wears bright blue eye shadow in almost every scene. The film is set in 1965 so the shadow looks really retro, kind of like something Diana Ross and the Surpremes would have worn.

I wish I had a better photo of Suzy’s lids, but you’re gonna go see the movie anyway, right? You MUST. It’s so good. And when you do, you just might be inspired to give blue eye shadow a try. I know I am! I found some pretty blue options that’ll help you copy Suzy’s look. They’re a bit brighter than hers, but I think that makes them more 2012. Check ‘em out:

Yves Saint Laurent Ombres 5 Lumières – 5 Colour Harmony For Eyes in 5 Riviera ($58)

Maybelline EyeStudio Color Tattoo 24 Hour Cream Gel Shadow in Tenacious Teal ($6.99)

NARS Duo Cream Eye Shadow in Burn It Blue ($34)

Do you like these colors? Think you’ll experiment with blue shadow soon? And if you’ve seen Moonrise Sunshine, let me know what you thought in the comments section. I can’t get the movie outta my head!

 

 

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Proof That Gabrielle Union Is As Cool As You Think She Is

Me and Gabrielle. This is what her skin looks like with zero retouching. Perfect.

Guys, what can I say: It’s been a hectic couple of weeks, hence, my absence from this blog. But, I’m back! In between all of the super-busy moments, a few cool things happened. For example, I went to a Neutrogena event and I got to meet Gabrielle Union, who I love. Gab (that’s what I call her now because we’re besties in my head) had some funny things to say about beauty. Here’s the scoop:

During our chat, I asked Gabrielle what beauty advice she would go back and give to her 25-year-old self and she immediately responded with five hilarious nuggets of wisdom:

1. “Less! Put it down. Stop. Don’t.”

2. “You are not qualified. Put those tweezers down. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

3. “Leaving the relaxer on your head is not going to make it any better; it’s going to give you lesions.”

4. “That Janet Jackson ‘Black Cat’ haircut works for Janet, not for you.”

5. “Stop drawing on that mole.”

Ha! How can you not adore this woman? BTW, she looks gorgeous in person; a true natural beauty. Can you believe she’s turning 40 this fall? She hasn’t aged a day since Bring It On. As for her advice, sadly, I can relate to #5.  But the most important thing I would tell the 25-year-old me is “Yes, you do need to wear sunscreen every day!” I’m good about applying it now, but I have a little bit of sun damage near my temples.

So, now I’ll ask you the same question: If you could go back five or ten years, what beauty advice would you pass on to the younger version of yourself? Don’t hold back!

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My Friend Made Her Own iPhone Case (You’ll Never Guess What She Used!)

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Tricialee, is known for being an iPhone case hoarder. I swear, every time I see her, she has a new one. So, I guess it was only a matter of time before she started creating her own. Take a look at the brilliant design idea she came up with.

Tricialee, who owns two nail salons in Brooklyn, covered her iPhone with a bunch of different Minx nail appliqués to make one cool, quilt-like pattern. It’s obviously not a protective case, but it’s definitely cute! It’s also a great way to make use of any leftover nail art stickers you might have laying around—the packs usually include extras. Minx strips are only sold to pros, but here are a few fun patterns you could buy if you want to D.I.Y.:

Nail Bliss Bling Nails in Heart U ($5.99 for a pack of 18)

 

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Kitty, Kitty ($9.99 for a pack of 16)

O.P.I. Pure Lacquer Nail Apps in Girly Glam ($11.95 for a pack of 16)

Kiss Nail Dress in Peplum ($6.99 for a pack of 28)

 

I like the mix of different designs on Tricia’s phone, but you would still get an eye-catching effect with just one pattern all over. Think you’ll copy her idea?

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The “Can I Touch Your Hair?” Issue Makes Its Way Into Primetime TV

I’ve been hearing good things about ABC’s new show Don’t Trust The B—- In Apt 23 so I decided to watch it last night. I expected it to be funny–and it was. But I didn’t expect to see an all too familiar hair issue depicted so hilariously in a scene involving a black male character with an Afro. The episode is worth watching for that moment alone.

People need to keep their hands off of Mark's hair!

In the scene, one of the main characters, June, brings her friend and fellow coffee shop employee, Mark, with her to the Korean church she’s been attending. After the service, June and Mark hang around to talk with the pastor. A few minutes later, June leaves and Pastor Jin says to Mark: “Can I touch your hair? You look like Obama.”

To which Mark replies: “Uhhhh…I have to go the bathroom.” And abruptly walks away. I cracked up.

When this happens in real life, it’s frustrating and offensive. But when it’s portrayed in a tongue-in-cheek way on a sitcom, you have to admit, it’s pretty funny. I would love to know whose idea it was to include that dialogue in the script–was it the writers or the actor, Eric André, who is also a comedian? Either way, it was spot on.

Black women (and I guess men, too!) with Afros and locs have to put up with random requests like Pastor Jin’s from strangers all the time. It’s maddening. This subject came up at a panel discussion about black beauty that I went to on Sunday. One attendee with big, curly hair spoke about how awkward it can be trying to figure out out how to respond in those situations. You could avoid it altogether like Mark did or you could be blunt like Thembi Ford, who wrote an essay for Clutch Magazine in March called “No, You May Not Touch My Hair. No, I Do Not Feel Guilty About It.”

At the event, a fashion designer on the panel suggested someone make a t-shirt that says “Don’t Touch My Hair!”  I could have used a shirt like that when I was a child. I endured a lot of unwelcome hair-touching because I was too young to know how to deal. (You can read about what I went through here.) No one has tried to pet my hair in years, but I just got braids, so who knows. Maybe I should brace myself for the inevitable.

Has anyone ever asked you if they could touch your hair? What did you say? How did you feel? Has this ever happened to someone you know? Go ahead, blab  in the comments section below. 

 

 

 

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It’s Official: Super-Dark Lipstick Is Now A Big Trend (No, Really. It Happened Overnight!)

Remember the girl with the cool black lipstick that I blogged about a few day ago? Well, she was on to something because dark lips were all over the red carpet at the Met Ball last night.

It’s crazy how many stars stepped out with dark, dark lips. It’s almost like every makeup artist ran of out red or something. The colors ranged from a deep wine shade on Lana Del Rey and Jessica Alba, to Kate Bosworth’s and Camilla Belle’s almost black lip color.

Kate wore NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Vogal, a pretty daring move for someone with her light hair and complexion. But it worked! I wonder what made so many makeup pros decided to give their celebs such a vampy lip look in the middle of spring. I don’t know, but I’m onboard. Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go rifle through my makeup stash to see if I can find a dark shade to rock this week. Has this sudden trend convinced you, too?

 

 

 

 

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Do You Mix Your Makeup To Get The Perfect Shade? (Thandie Newton Does!)

I just got around to reading the May issue of People StyleWatch (I usually wait until I have time to devour it all in one sitting) and I saw an interesting beauty tip from Thandie Newton. It seems she has trouble finding a good foundation color for her skin tone, too.

Thandie told People StyleWatch: “I tap turmeric grains into my tinted moisturizer, foundation and bronzer to match the yellow undertones in my skin.”

How’s that for creativity? I usually mix my makeup with other beauty products—I would have never thought to add a spice to adjust the color. In addition to being genius, her tip reminds me that it’s not just brown-skinned women who have trouble finding makeup that matches. People with very yellow undertones or super-fair skin struggle a lot as well. And even if you have face makeup that works for you, sometimes it’s nice to combine it with other things just to get a different texture. Like adding liquid bronzer to foundation for a glow or blending foundation with moisturizer to make it more sheer.

How do you remix your makeup? Do you do it for fun or out of necessity? Share your best tips in the comments section. 

 

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Spotted! Black Lipstick In Real Life (And It Looked GOOD!)

Black lipstick is one of those things you see at a store or on the runway and wonder “Who the hell would wear that?”  Well, I found someone—and no, she’s not a goth girl.

Her name is Devanie, she’s 18-years-old and I hereby declare her the new poster child for daring makeup. I saw Devanie on the street when I was out scouting girls for my Makeup.com column. I just had to ask her about her lips because I rarely see such beauty boldness outside the pages of a magazine. It turns out that it’s not actually lipstick she’s wearing—it’s a mix of black eye shadow and clear gloss. When I approached her, she was so nonchalant about it, like she had no clue that anyone would bat an eyelash about her wearing a black lip color in broad daylight. Love that!

I’m not going to pretend that I’ll suddenly have the nerve to try black lipstick anytime soon, but if you’re up for it, here a few options.

Illamasqua Lipstick in Pristine ($22)

Urban Decay Lipstick in Oil Slick ($22)

Milani Color Perfect Lipstick in Black Cherry ($5.49). If you have light skin, try this one–it’s really dark, but less intense than black.

Are you feeling Devanie’s lipstick? What’s the most daring beauty look you’ve ever tried?

 

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You Never Forget Your First (Sign Of Aging)

Despite what celebrities will have you believe, aging is normal.

There comes a time in every young woman’s life when she notices that her skin is acting…different. Nothing major, but enough to sound a tiny alarm inside her brain. Like the sheet marks that used to disappear in minutes, now hang out on your face for hours. Or maybe you used to pride yourself on never looking tired (or hungover). But lately, when you only get four hours of sleep, it shows. Sound familiar? Take a deep breath and calm down–something really good can come out of this.

Discovering your first sign of aging can be the kick in the pants you need in order to revamp your skincare habits for the better. In other countries like France or Japan, women are trained on proper skin care at a young age and they stick with a consistent routine throughout their lives. Here in the states, we tend to be more reactive–we’re all about fixing problems instead of preventing them in the first place.

For example, I recently met with Adriana Altuve, an Olay research and development expert who has spent a lot of time observing women’s beauty rituals around the world. She told me that there are seven (yes, seven!) steps in the typical Japanese woman’s daily skincare regimen. Think that’s extreme? Adriana told me she met a woman in Japan who splashes her face with water 40 times before she even washes it to make sure her skin gets enough hydration. Now I’m not saying you gotta do all that. I’m just suggesting that we could all stand to learn a lesson from ladies overseas: Put in some work each day and you’ll have less to panic about later on. Your first sign of aging is the perfect motivation.

My conversation with Adriana (and the new faint-but-definitely-there parenthesis lines around my mouth) inspired me to stop being so lazy. I’ve even added two products to my routine that are making a huge difference.  One of them is RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream, which I apply under my night moisturizer. I realize the product is probably more appropriate for an older lady, but I figure it can’t hurt to use it now. And my skin definitely looks smoother since I started using it a few weeks ago.

The other product I’m into right now is Dermalogica Precleanse, an oil-based product that feels amazing on my skin. I used to just do a quick swipe with a makeup remover wipe at night and hop into bed. Now I use this before my face wash and my skin doesn’t have that tight, dry feeling I get sometimes when I use a foaming cleanser. After I wash, I apply my retinol cream and my night moisturizer on top and I’m done. I still have to force myself to do it–old bad habits die hard–but I can see the payoff when I wake up in the morning. And I’m sure when I’m 60, I’ll be glad I spent those extra few minutes on my skin.

What’s up with your face—have you noticed any signs that you’re not 19-years-old anymore? Or are you still getting carded? Let me know the deal in the comments section and include your product picks!

 

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Made In My Shade: Burberry Sheer Luminous Foundation

Oh, how I love it when a cosmetics company has the good sense to make foundation shades for dark skin tones. Today I’m all excited about the beautiful new brown colors from Burberry. Hooray! A brand that gets it!

Burberry just added four additional shades of liquid foundation, concealer and powder foundation to their Burberry Skin and Glow line to “meet the needs of the universal Burberry customer,” according to the press release. (Did you hear that, other beauty companies?) The lack of foundation shades for brown complexions continues to boggle my mind (same goes for BB creams), so news like this gives me hope.

I tried the Sheer Luminous Foundation in Trench No. 12 ($52) and it blends into my skin perfectly. If you’re a brown-skinned woman, you know that is such a good feeling. BTW, if you don’t like wearing powder over your base, you’ll like this formula—the finish is just matte enough. Interested? You can get it here. And expect more of these Made In My Shade posts on a regular basis. I will not stop blabbing about this issue until there’s nothing more to complain about!

On a positive note, what foundation is currently working for you?

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