MyBeautyMatch

Krizia from www.myBeautyMatch.com reveals Norman Sands’ 18 steps to creating the perfect face

Norman created a face chart for Leighton Meester, actress and Gossip Girl star, who is fast becoming one of Hollywood’s “It Girls”. Norman was responsible for giving Leighton a perfect fresh-faced look for her front-row seat at the 3.1 Phillip Lim show during New York City’s recent Fashion Week events.

I had the opportunity to interview Norman a few weeks ago (just before NY Fashion Week), and not only is he one of the most approachable Celebrity makeup artists I’ve come across, he’s also one of the most dedicated and passionate about his craft.

Personally, I think that Norman created the perfect face for Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester (all the makeup used is NARS Cosmetics). Here are all the steps he used to create Leighton’s fresh-face.

18 steps to the perfect red carpet makeup From Norman Sand:

1) After bonding over mutual our love of good skincare, I prepped her skin with Mud Mask for about 10 minutes to make her beautiful skin even more flawless.

2) I used Balancing Toning Lotion to remove the mask, soften the skin and prep the skin for moisture.

3) I mixed Aqua Gel Hydrator with Brightening Serum to give the skin instant hydration and radiance.

4) Aqua Gel is a secret weapon used for photo shoots and during Fashion Week as it is 87% water with Aloe and Grape Seed Oil.  It soothes, plumps and hydrates tired and overworked skin.  The Brightening Serum is a lightweight moisturizer with a pearlescent finish that instantly lights up any complexion.

5) I then applied Firming Foundation in Punjab under the eyes and around the nose with clean fingertips.

6) I also applied the Multiple Bronzer in Tuomota to the cheeks and temples to warm up the complexion.

7) I buffed St. Tropez Powder Foundation into the skin with the NARS Botan brush to set the complexion and bring luster back to avoid a powdery look.

I highlighted her cheeks and the center of her face with the Multiple in Maldives to give a pink-champagne glow.

9) I set the cheeks with Luster blush and then added golden-ethereal finish using the Yachiyo brush #27.

10) For her eyes, I used bright shimmering in Cyprus Single Eyeshadow. I used a sheer bronze as a base and I also smudged it under the bottom lashes.

11) I blended Blondie Single Shadow in the bridge of the eye to give a slight contour and I used the shimmering lilac side of Elsa Duo Eyeshadow on the lid to give the lids a pop.

12) I used damp #2 Push Brush mixturing Single Eyeshadow in China Blue and Bali to line the eye.

13) The eye look was finished with Kaliste Eyeliner Pencil (a true teal) in the inner rim to set off Leighton’s honey colored eyes.

14) I applied two coats of Bamboo Waterproof mascara (a pure brown). This coated the lashes without making the lashes look clumpy.

15) The lips were moisturized with Sabrina Lip Treatment with SPF 20 to give the lips a sheer melon shimmer pout.  Fantasia Lipliner Pencil is one of my favorites because it creates a barely-there-peach when you don’t want to see the lipliner color.

16) I topped off the lips with the Giza/Boogie Nights Gloss Duo (a sheer nectar and metallic raspberry).

17) Final touches:  I blended Super Orgasm blush on the apples of the cheeks.  I then added Luster blush under the browbone (by adding a bit of the blush color it gives the eye a brightening lift).

18) I also used Brightening Serum on her arms and legs for a moisturizing healthy glow.

I’ll admit that might be a lot of steps for the average woman and since you don’t have to walk the carpets of New York fashion week every single day of your life, I’m sure that if you take this face-chart to your nearest NARS Cosmetic counter a beauty expert can help you find the 5-minute face version to this. You’ll also want to take a look at the NARS Cosmetic Fall 2008 collection because the colors are superb!

Krizia from www.myBeautyMatch.com on Tim Gunn beauty and style advice!

Season one of Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style might be over, but thanks to re-runs there are still many great beauty tricks to learn from the older episodes. I have to be honest and state that I absolutely love Tim Gunn’s show! I personally think that every single woman should actually watch the show because there is so much to learn.

I was recently watching an episode where Tim and his co-host Veronica Webb transform Karen Vito from a woman who dressed with little elegance into a sophisticated 41-year old mother of one.

Other than the fact that Karen was still trying to recapture, or should I say hold on to her youth, by dressing with clothes that is one or two sizes two small, she also had is all wrong when it came to makeup and hair style.

It’s funny because for the first half of the show Karen was so concerned with not being transformed into an “old lady”, but she didn’t understand that her clothing options and her makeup were making her look dated.

The first thing you notice about Karen is that she wears too much jewelry, she shows too much cleavage, she wears way too much makeup and her hair is far too long and it has no shape.

Trust me, I’m a huge advocate of long hair one women as they age, if it suits them. You might remember my tribute to the women of Desperate Housewives. That said, shapeless hair will drag your face down and make you look warn out and old.

Karen committed a number of beauty sins:

* her hair made her look like a rocker chick from the 80s (and she’s a hairdresser by profession) br/>

* she wore very dark purple lipstick

* she contoured her eyes with dark black eyeliner that boxes her eyes and made them look smaller

* she must have been a sun worshipper because her forehead was line with depth wrinkles

Veronica Webb enlisted the help of Mark Garrison (makeup artist) and Vincent Longo (hair stylist) to give Karen a more polished look.

The results where dazzling!

Here’s what Mark Garrison did:

* he tones down the makeup and softened the colours Karen used to chose

* he focused on applying makeup on Karen’s top lid to avoid that boxed-up look

* he used purple shades to accentuate her brown eyes

* he applied a reddish-brown lipstick that brightened her face

Here’s what Vincent Longo did to take Karen from 80s rocker chick to contemporary sophisticate:

* he cut off all of Karen’s dead ends

* he changed the color of her highlights from a blond to a copper shade

* he blow dried her hair to give her a more polished and tamed look

Karen was trapped in an image that used to work for her, but it stopped working and she didn’t realize it. She was looking like a caricature when she thought she looked sexy. Tim Gunn (and his experts) transformed this woman who used to look a bit trashy into a sophisticated woman. I know it’s only new clothes, a little bit of makeup and some hair styling product, but the whole thing made Karen a much happier and confident person!