Delicious Dewy Skin!

Konnichiwa, It's Claire, only recently returned from my ancestral land of Japan!
I figured it was about time for another makeup post!

I have recently been training with professional makeup artist:

Shannon Rasheed of Celestine Agency,

and she has been teaching me so much, its incredible how much of an art makeup really can be, and how much of an asset it is to fashion.

Speaking of which...for the past few seasons, dewy skin has been all over the runways,

from Anna Sui to Lanvin to Zuhair Murad to Versace to Alexander Wang

and especially Marc Jacobs.

It is usually combined with a matte red toned lip and a pale wash on the eye.

However, this look doesn't translate very easily into everyday life.

While a bright lip can be fun once in a while,

it is time-consuming, difficult to apply!

What I have for you here is a much softer, approachable dewy look.

-BEFORE doing your makeup,

always make sure that your face is exfoliated,

your lips moisturized,

and your eyebrows plucked to perfection.

-First, wipe your face with a makeup removing wipe.

This is to ensure that you have a nice clean pallate to apply to.

-Put a Nickel sized drop of a medium coverage liquid foundation on the back of your hand and add about two small drops of moisturizer into it. Mix it up well using your makeup brush and don't wipe the excess off of the brush. Instead buff it into your face in circular motions. Go all the way past the jawline, you don't want a nasty makeup line!

I used my Mac 188 foundation brush here

You could also use a shorter foundation brush like this awesome armani one

(SUPER EXPENSIVE THOUGH!)

here

-Blending some pinky blush into the apples of the cheeks and then a little bit towards the nose,

and down just over the hollows of her cheeks.

Make sure that the edges are blended well into the rest of the skin.

Otherwise it looks like war paint.

-Now for the DEW.

Dab a highlighter gently onto the tops of the cheek bones,

down a little over closest to the hairline,

onto the bridge of the nose, and just over the browbone.

Use a concealer brush to add some just onto the cusp of the cupids bow (the top of the lip)

and the inside corners of your eyes.

-For the lip, a faint fleshtoned stain works well, or a colored lip balm.

voila~

here is my version

the importance of being earnest

it recently occurred to me that fashion is 2% what and 200% how.  (yes, i did fail my precal final, how did you know?!)

in other words, what you wear is not as important as HOW you wear it.  

take Coco Chanel, rocking her basic LBD.  you have got to wear the clothes, not let the clothes wear you.  even if you look like a damn fool.  

think for a moment about people wearing tights as pants.  this is a look that i personally have come to despise, perhaps only because of the WAY that most people wear it, that is, they wear it like they are wearing tights as pants.  once in a while i will see someone and suddenly, those tights aren't tights at all, but PANTS.  and they look GOOD.  

YOU make people believe that you are a ferocious queen of style.

I leave you with an inspirational image:

yes that is nicholas cage and cher. see what i mean about working it?!!