The Great Makeup Challenge

I'm very excited about The Great Makeup Challenge!  However, I need your help!  I need 365 days worth of makeup challenges, but I’m only so creative.

Bombard me with questions you want answered, ideas you want to see me execute, or just plain challenges to my makeup skills!  Email Me or post your questions! Bring on the ideas! Ask me questions! Follow along as I take on The Great Makeup Challenge!

Inspiration

For today’s makeup and styling, it was all about inspiration. After all, we are all inspired in different ways throughout the day. It is inspiration that motivates us in life, work, family, and, of course, makeup. For me, inspiration can come from anywhere: magazines, online, advertisements, simply a color of an item, an animal (mother nature has some great color palettes!), etc. Today, I was inspired by the attached Kate Spade ad in a magazine. A nod to retro, with all the brilliant colors and twists of modernity.

So here’s my challenge: find inspiration! Do something creative! Make it your own! And then, of course, share it with me!

The Mod Look

Lauren’s makeup tip of the day: The Mod Look! This involves a great winged eyeliner and bright red lips.

• Practice makes perfect when it comes to winged eyeliner, so take the time to try different shapes, sizes (of the wing itself), thickness, and even color! Less adventurous ladies may want to consider starting off with a soft brown or taupe to ease into the look.
  
• Check out the wing lines above. Gently mapping out lines with a soft eyeliner before execution can assist in getting the lines you want. A little makeup remover on a Q-Tip can assist in cleaning up and smears or unwanted strokes.
  
• Apply your highlighter along the top of the cheekbone from above the hollow As far as lip color, BE DARING. Matte lips look great with the look, or even a little sheen. However, super gloss can look a little to costume-like. Try bright pinks and reds, and even a stunning bright matte violet can help perk up your fall!

Tip: On a style note, girly frills and frocks can help soften the edge of the mod look. Offset the hard lines with soft ones for a pretty, flirty effect.  Don’t be afraid to be playful, though!  I’ll toughen the girly look with a boxy blazer and knee-high riding boots. It gives a wink to femininity with a smirk of toughness.
Have fun and be inspired!!

Highlight away!

Today’s makeup tip of the day is twofold:

• Place a dot of highlighter on the cupid’s bow of the mouth, and it will make the area pop more, increasing the impact of your pout; and
  
• If you’re a chronic coffee drinker (ME) or in general have teeth that are not perfectly white, opt for a lip color with blue tones (whether it be red, fuchsia, etc). The blue tones will help balance out the yellow in your teeth, giving the effect of whiter teeth instantly!

Try it out, and have fun!

Contouring Cheekbones

Lauren’s makeup tip of the day: Contouring Cheekbones!

• Suck in your cheeks.  Using an angled brush, blend your contour shade (if you’re new to this, use powder one shade darker than your skin instead of bronzer) under the cheekbone from the hairline to the hollow of the cheeks halfway down your cheekbone.
  
• Apply your highlighter along the top of the cheekbone from above the hollow to the temple.
  
• With a soft brush, apply your blush to the apples of your cheeks only.

Tip: I find the most natural blending once all are applied occurs with gentle finger blending. This will keep you from looking like you stepped out of a music video from the 1980’s. The goal is that it doesn’t look like you contoured at all.

Practice, practice, practice! Have fun!