Laura Mercier love

As a little treat, my American surprised me with a few Laura Mercier products. I had never encountered these here in SA, and I have to say I am officially a MASSIVE fan. 

My first try was the foundation primer in Radiance Bronze. It has a lovely bronzed look and when applied, gives an "inner glow". The texture is not greasy at all and it has been the only primer thus far that has actually bonded with the particular foundation I use on my clients (as ironic as that sounds).

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer- Radiance Bronze

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer -Radiance Bronze 

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Radiance Bronze -Close up glow effect on hand

I have the little sample version of the translucent setting powder, which is super. I love to have it in my make-up travel kit- the size is so perfect for touch ups! It has a more yellow tinge to it which leaves a great tone and compliments that inner glow look.

Laura Mercier Setting Powder ( Pic borrowed from Sephora.com)

I also have a highlighting powder compact and a contour shade compact. AMAZING! The highlighter is like SILK, glitter-free and light pearl in colour. Perfect for making cheekbones gloriously prominent and beauty editorial worthy. I cannot rave enough about this product. 

Laura Mercier Highlighter (Pic borrowed from Sephora.com)

The bronzer shade I have is so perfect for light- medium skin tones, doesn't look dirty on the face, and is shimmer-free, which is key for more natural looking contour.

(well used) Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Bronze -03

Thanks to the staff at Sephora somewhere in Texas for guiding my cowboy through his first Sephora journey. I can't wait to try some more products from the Laura Mercier range on my next trip to the USA!

Products available from:
www.sephora.com
www.lauramercier.com

xoxo B xoxo

The Nakeds

I recently acquired a foreign boyfriend. American. The out-doorsy Texan kind. An absolutely wonderful man- generous, kind, caring and ever so patient. Surprisingly also the sort of man that I can trust to accompany me into a Sephora, and know he won't complain too much about spending a week camping in there, comparing hand swatches and debating quality and prices with me. I'm not the only one girls, we all know the struggle...

Anyhoo, on his trip over to South Africa, he asked if he could bring anything over for me from the great land of the free. Naturally I put in an order to break the bank as we rarely have this sort of opportunity offered to us artists over here at the forgotten end of the planet.

Yes, my man went cosmetics shopping for me, *gasp* babysat my eye shadows for over 30 hours of flight time, and I can now claim to be the proud owner of not one, not two, but THREE Urban Decay Naked palettes straight from Sephora. My days of YouTube and Insta-envy are over. Well, for now.

Urban Decay Naked 1,2,3

Having never tried the brand or an original product, I wasn't sure how to decide between the 3. 

I did a TON of research on which was the most versatile palette. Now I can tell for myself, and I feel an obligation to let the world know that the Naked 2 is the one to get if one must make a choice. As a make-up artist in a country with the most diverse skin tones, cultures, tastes and textures in the world, I can see the value in this particular range of shades. I also love the very black shade in this one, it's a strong pigment. Tease is a good matte crease colour, and Snakebite pigment is superb- it shows up a lot darker than it looks in the palette.

Naked 2

You'll notice there's a colour missing in  my Naked 2. The little metal containers had not been stuck to the palette container properly and it fell out as I opened it. Ironically it's the only one that has broken, and the shade is called BUSTED. 

If you have the extra cash and have blue or green eyes, get the Naked 3. The shades in 3 will make those eyes POP like crazy. .

Naked 3

Naked 1 is super for natural girls who love a basic, easy to wear look. I especially love Darkhorse, Naked and Buck. Virgin is a great brow bone highlighter.

I love these palettes for bridal looks, everyday wear and evening wear. The lasting power of the pigments is not as good as some professional products I am used to, but I think they are definitely worth having in your personal make-up kit.

Below is a look I created with the Buck, Tease and black shades on Monica, one of my lovely brides, and then a look on myself using BUSTED which is of course no longer part of my collection. ;)

xoxo B xoxo

The Fresh

Fashion week. Haute couture. Full of looks that are completely beyond anything any normal person would care to pull off. The truth is, however, that these high fashion looks set the trend for the commercial realm and we all land up following suite in watered down forms, regardless of how we feel about the initial show. Keeping up with the times is thus quite necessary, however fickle it may seem.

New make-up trends were showcased recently, and it seems that the powers that be have decided that barely-there fresh faced make-up is the new on-point.
We have seen glowing natural skin, often with no foundation at all. (Seen at Marc Jacobs- strange choice as they have their own makeup range to promote). Freckles- which are one of my favourite beauty features- also showed face. Eyeshadows were in fleshy tones like neutural browns and pinks, creating natural shadows more than being very present.

Michael Kors

Marc Jacobs

I suppose it was to be expected. There has been season after season of bright, bold trends. Glitter masks, berry lips, purple eyes, thick blackened brows. Fashion always moves to the complete opposite of whatever has been on trend in order to make a a strong impact.

Fresh faced looks can make those of us with less than perfect skin want to cringe. Don't be fooled though. No make-up makeup can take just as much work as a full face with perfectly painted brows. How does one look glamorous and follow trend?

- Make sure you have your skincare routine down to an art.  Cleanse. Tone. Moisturize. Mask. Facial.. whatever it takes.
- Invest in a sheer tinted moisturizer that will let those freckles show through while evening out your skin tone. Try a BB or CC cream.

- If you want the coverage use a moisture-rich foundation and forego the setting powder,

- or conceal only in necessary areas in a concealer shade matching your exact skintone, blend out slightly and then use a tinted moisturizer over that.
- Avoid powder as this will dull the glow.
- Use a cream blusher

- Curl your eyelashes for extra impact without the mascara layers.

- Find a sheer tinted lip gloss or lip balm in a light peach, brown, pink or berry shade.

- Avoid the eye and lip liner.
- Comb your eyebrows into a neat shape.
- Don't fill them in, or use a light dusting of powder in the same shade as your natural hair.
- Invest in an illuminating cream. Focus placing this on the same areas you would place your highlighter in a contouring situation. (See my previous blog post).

MAC Strobe Liquid Lotion

Smashbox

Glow by Dr Brandt, Ruby Crystal

MAC Strobe Cream

- Remember to use SPF. Many foundations have SPF in them, and you may not be in the routine of sunscreen application.

I can't fathom a world with no make-up, but here are my easy to achieve, wearable versions of these looks.

Fresh Pinks

Fresh Earths

xoxo B xoxo

Contouring the Masses.

Contouring. The play on light. You can make your face look thinner, nose look narrower, chin look more shapely. Its magic really. Made famous by celebs like Kim Kardashian, we all want to know the secret. The tutorials are all over instagram and pinterest, but it seems so time consuming! It is.

The truth is that real make-up artists (I mean the kind that make a living out of putting make-up on people's faces other than their own) can, but rarely do contour to the extent that these online artists do. Some clients need or want it and I have covered the techniques in my workshops but honestly, its not necessary. 

We artists generally use these techniques for what's known in the industry as "corrective make-up". Someone has a seriously wide face, manly features, skew nose or a receded chin then sure, it's used. Not for every day or even photographic make-up looks is it used to the nth degree- as shown on the artist youtube videos. So please ladies, don't sweat over trying to master the art. Its a fad and the chances are your face is perfectly fine the way it is.

If, however, you want to try the technique in a quick and plausible way, here is a quick cheat-it method.

Golden Rule : Remember that dark recedes the area visually and light brings the area forward. 

1.Dust a matt/ shimmer-free bronzer along the hollows of your cheeks, temples and sides of your nose. I run this shade along the hairline on the forehead too if this is a large area.

 Add some to your cleavage if you want weapons of mass distraction.

2.Dust a highlight coloured shimmer with a different brush on your upper cheekbones toward the temple, bridge of your nose and lips including your cupid's bow. Also add some to the brow bone (under the eyebrows) and inner eye corners ONLY if your eyes aren't far apart! 

I don't bother with the chin unless it's recessed as most people actually feel their chins are too prominent already.

Add some highlight to your collar bones.

Make sure it's light and well blended all over!

Done!

If you struggle with finding the right shades, try for something in a couple of shades darker than your own skin tone- not too orange -and a highlighter that's not too white.

Practice, practice practice!

xoxo B xoxo

Lasting Lips

BOLD LIPS. We have seen the trend all over the red carpets and ramps this year. Amazing!

OOOOH!
We buy!
We try!

We fail.

Red lips bleeding out, bright pinks transferring to clothes and rich berry shades fading to patchy baby pink. The eternal problem we encounter when wearing those notice-me bright or dark colours:  HOW do we get them to STAY!!? There are ways. I'm not even going to try and spice this up... it's quite a process.

There is some helpful product knowledge we need first apply during the purchase stage of our quest for the everlasting.

1. Frosted lipsticks last longer than the moisture-rich variety. They can, however, dry your lips out.
2. Glossing over your colour will lessen the staying power.
3. Matt, non-frosted lipsticks do come in made-to-last inexpensive varieties, which can be great. Shop around.
4. Invest in a lip liner pencil the same shade as your lipstick.
5. The last all day, set with a glue-type gloss products are amazing and really do last all day. They also tend to peel off and don't layer well for touch ups. This can give the impression of some strange skin problem. Choice is yours.
6. Highlighter powder (used for eyes and cheeks) can help staying power and also give the illusion of fuller lips.
7. Following on 6, powder sets cream.
8. Lip "stains" are a great option for mess-free colour.

My favourite long last products:

Wet 'n Wild is finally here in SA. Available exclusively at Clicks. www.clicks.co.za

 These Mega Last lipsticks are fantastic and really last for hours.

 Tube looks like this -Available in fantastic red, orange and berry shades.

...And also available is a rich gloss variety. "Megalast"

And their "Balm Stain"

I also like Revlon "Just Bitten Kissable". A fantastic lip stain that never needs touch-ups.

If you're willing to spend a little more, MAC has a great variety in their "Prolongwear" range.

The secret process. 

The order in which products are layered can help. This is what works for me:

1. Apply primer and then foundation to your face AND lips. Many people avoid the lip area.
2. Powder (preferably translucent) over it to set.
3. Line lips with a pencil in your chosen lip shade.
4. Fill the lips in with the liner.(ie: colour in the lip area.)
5. Apply your lipstick.
6. Blot with a tissue
7. Powder to set. Hold 1 ply of blotting tissue to your lips and dab the powder over the area.
-If you apply the powder directly to the lipstick without the tissue for even more staying power:
8. apply more lipstick and blot again.
-For fuller lips and extra-extra stay:
9. Using your finger, apply the before mentioned highlighter powder using a dab and roll motion from the cupid's bow outwards to the corners of the lips. Top and bottom.

Remember to check there are no lipstick stains on your teeth and GOOD LUCK!

xoxo B xoxo

Bianca le Grange - Keuses

I finally have a link for the music video I did with Bianca Le Grange. Enjoy!
Make-up by me (plus a little cameo appearance ;) BRONWYN KAYE Make-Up Artist
Production by Wicus Studios
Bianca Le Grange, Keuses

COVERGIRL! ♥

I am so blessed to have been offered this opportunity. Thank you to the team at Get It magazine for the cover and article on me and my make-up business. Www.getitonline.co.za and thank you Paulo Toureiro for taking my photographs!

Www.bronwynkaye.wix.com/make-up

xoxo B xoxo

The Professional Look

The common eyeshadow palette. Some of the colours may seem pointless if you don't know what they are used for. Medium shades can be fantastic blending tools. This is a wonderful illustration on how to use the various shades found in most pharmacy brand eyeshadows.

1. The Highlighter : lashes to lid

2. The Medium-Dark : blend over the outer half of lid, lashes to crease.

3. Dark : apply in a C/V-shape on outside of the eyelid, keeping to natural crease lines and blending harsh lines.

4. Light-Medium: blend into the entire crease.

Finish off with liner and mascara! Intensify by using a darker dark and a lighter highlighter.

xoxo B xoxo

Which Red is Right for Me?

Good question. And you are right in being cautious with which shade of red you buy.
You need to work out what your skin undertone is. Either cool (pink to blueish-red), warm (yellow to olive) or neutral (not obviously cool or warm).

Um ...awesome.

Don't panic.
Look on the inside of your wrist. If your veins look more blue you are likely a cool undertone. If your veins look more green then you probably are a warm undertone.

Now match your shade's undertone to your own. Fair skin/cool undertones should stick with something that's not too orange or warm in its undertone. Neutral or warmer tones can go for a shade that has more blue in the colour mixture if they want lips to pop or orange undertones if they want a more harmonious look.

NB: not all light skin is blue undertoned and not all dark is warm. Very dark skin is usually a warm undertone, unless for example an Ethiopian or Nigerian skin is usually cool/blue.

Good Luck!

xoo B xoxo

Eyeliner. It gets us all.

Love

Complimenting Your Eyes

What are the best shades to bring out the colour of your eyes? Colours on the opposite side of the colour are complimentary. Have a look at the colour wheel if you aren't familiar with what fits where.

Blue eyes should try green, orange and brown. Brown eyes suit pink, blue, purple and blue-green. For green eyes go with terracotta, mauve and dusty pink. One can use different shades together, and for an easy to blend look, try choosing analogous colours. These are shades next to each other on the colour wheel.

These are a guideline, of course, and there will be some variation depending on your skin tone too, but why not give these a try!?

xoxo B xoxo