Sorry to everyone for my absence on the site. I am ready to share my #4 favorite makeup product. Knowing the best make up is great, but what about getting it all off? Vancouver makeup artist number 4 favorite product is Lancome Bi- Facil eye makeup remover.
The reason I choose this product as my favorite makeup remover is because it works so well at getting all your makeup off. One of my biggest pet peeves as a makeup artist is makeup removers that make a big mess. Lancome Bi-Facil remover gets it all off with very little pulling or tugging at the skin. Since the skin around your eyes is so sensitive, it is important to be as gentle as possible while taking off your eye makeup. A little of this remover goes a long way, so you don’t have to use a lot to get your face clean. I find that it is really gentle on the skin and eyes and I have yet to heard of anyone who has had a reaction to it. It runs for about $30 a bottle.
There is a down side to such a efficient remover, and it is the fact that it is so oily. It can be annoying to have to wash your face after having just washed your face. When you use this remover to get your makeup off you then have to use a lot of water to get the remover off. Unfortunately if you are wearing eyelash extensions the oil from this remover will actually remove your extensions as well. Another down side for some may be the price. You may be thinking “There must be another remover that is just as good and not so pricey.” I am sorry to say–there isn’t. I have found one that is a close second though.
For those of you looking for something a little less pricey but almost as efficient you may wanna try the Marcelle oil based makeup remover, that runs for about $15.
I hope you found this information useful and remember I love to hear your feedback.
Once I had the beard properly fitted on Sarah, I could secure it down with a special adhesive and I cut the beard down to an appropriate length and shape for her face.
It wasn’t too long into the transformation before Sarah was shocked to see how different she was starting to look. After her eyebrows were drawn in to give her a more masculine look, she gasped and said, “I look like my brother.” Jonathan quickly took a picture of her reaction. 
Soon after, Trish Ay, our guest hairstylist started slicking back Sarah’s beautiful long blonde hair and pinned it back so it wouldn’t be noticable. Since light colored beards usually don’t grow in just one color, I decided to make the beard look more natural by coloring in parts of the hair. Sarah was really starting to look like a man, but I felt her skin still looked too youthful and beautiful. So in order to age her and give her rougher look, I added some age spots and wrinkles, then darken around her eyes to make them look sunken in and less feminine. 
Meanwhile our very talented costume stylist, Sara Rakhshandeh was busy picking out the perfect costumes for our model. Unfortunately our model’s body just wasn’t masculine enough, so Sara Rakhshandeh realized that the one thing this man was missing was broad shoulders. This was no problem as our costume stylist improvised by stuffing some socks for padding under her shirt. Once the Sarah changed into her costume and a few accessories were added– the difference was shocking. Ms. Smyth had turned into to Mr. Smyth. 
First our celebrity costume stylist Sara picked out the costumes for Sarah. Then, came hair and makeup. I always start by prepping the skin, so that I have a clear canvas to work with. I prefer using a foundation brush to apply the base because sponges tend to soak up the makeup and are not very enviromentally friendly. In this case I used Bed Head #2 fat-free (cream base) and Estee Lauder #2 concealer under the eyes.
We had a time crunch, so as usual we double-teamed on the hair and makeup. Sarah just sat back and watched herself transform. Trish put black and purple extensions in Sarah’s hair to give her some length and some edge. I chose to do a dark black heavy smokey eye on Sarah give her that dramatic cat-eye effect. After about one hour of makeup, back-combing, teasing, hair extensions and lashes….Voila… Sarah looked like a whole new girl.
For Sarah’s smokey eye I used Elizabeth Arden “Smoke” on Sarah’s eyelids and Mac “Carbon” around the entire frame of her eyes. I lined the rim of her eyes with Lancome “black coal” liner and applied false lashes. To counterbalance Sarah’s dramatic eyes I chose to give her a pale lip with Revlon “Nude” lipstick and a clear gloss to finish the look. 
A very common question that I get asked is, what mascara is the best? The answer is not as easy as you think. There are many great mascaras out there, but depending on your eyelashes you would need 
a different kind of mascara wand. I notice that fat thick mascara wands work best with short thin lashes and thin mascara wands are best for just getting a little length or light colored lashes. 
I had a really hard time narrowing down #5 to just one mascara, but I have chosen the one that I had used on myself for years before I got my eyelash extensions. My favorite mascara and the one I use on others most often is the L’Oreal Voluminous mascara. This one beats all other mascaras mainly because of the cost. It can be found at most drug 
stores for less than $10 as appose the my second favorite mascara, Lancome Definicils, which goes for $30 a tube. L’Oreal Voluminous mascara is so creamy and goes on very smooth. My favorite color in this mascara is the carbon black, because I think in most cases the darker the better. This mascara can be applied on with just one coat for a natural look or you can apply a couple of coats for a more dramatic look. 
If you guys are anything like me then you may be very curious about what the Botox process entails. I know that some of you may have a lot of questions or concerns but do not have to time to go talk to your doctor about them. 
I know that #6 is long overdue, but with wedding season approaching I have been too overwhelmed for the list. Enough waiting, here is Vancouver makeup artist number #6th most favorite product. This product is so popular, I have yet to meet another professional makeup artist that does not have it in their makeup kit. Working as a makeup artist in the Vancouver film industry, one of my favorite products….. is blush. I believe every girl can benefit from a little blush. I know a lot of women stay away from it because they are not sure what color is right for them, but Nars‘ ”orgasm” (that’s actually the name of the color) seems to work for almost anyone.
The reason why Nars is known for their blush products is because of their strong pigment content and ease of application. I believe this shade is such a hit because of this combination. As a makeup artist whenever I am picking out a blush for a actor or bride, I choose from two basic colors–either pink or peach, depending on the look we’re going for, and the client’s skin tone. I very rarely use plums or other colors. Nars’ orgasm is a perfect blend of pink and peach! It also has a little bit of shimmer to help you highlight your cheekbones. 
We decided for our first shoot with Sarah we would go back to the 1920’s. The first step in transformation is picking out a few costumes for Sara, which were donated by celebrity costume stylist Sara Rakhshandeh. Once the costumes, accessories and shoes were all carefully chosen, we started the next step in the transformation–Hair and makeup. First, we started by prepping the skin and hair.
Jonathan and I had a very clear vision of how we thought this 1920’s girl should look. What could be more 1920’s than the classic finger wave hair style? Trish Ay was the hair stylist and she had a big job ahead of her, since the finger wave may be one of the hardest hairstyles to achieve. All the while, Jonathan was snapping pictures for all of you to be able to see and enjoy the step by step process as we enjoyed every moment of it. Here is a great photo of the beginning stage of the finger wave. 
We originally decided to use Sarah as our muse because of her simple and classic beauty, but realized how much easier it is to work with someone who is so professional. We had a time crunch and had to get things moving, so Trish and I double teamed hair and makeup to get things moving. Sarah was a trooper and just sat back as an observer, just quietly watching herself being transformed. Jonathan was still busy taking pictures for our readers to be able to follow.
Now it was time for a few test shots by Jonathan, but Sarah was a bit nervous on how to pose since she is an actress and not a professional model. We had to bring in an expert on this kind of thing, so to show Sarah how to pose we brought a visitor. It was Sofia, Jonathan’s adorable little girl and Sofia showed Sarah how it’s done. Take a look at this. 
My recent post about bags under the eyes has brought up some very good questions from a reader. The question was, “ What product do you recommend for dark circles under the eye? How does one choose the right shade? And, do you have tips on how to get rid of those? I did try putting cucumber on both eyes once but I find it really cumbersome.” 
circles we get. One of the major reasons cucumber is suggested is because a cold cucumber can help reduce bruising. Ice works much the same way. Have you ever seen those gel eye masks in the drugstores? Well that is what they are for, to reduce swelling and bruising in the sinus area. If you have heavy bruising I would suggest the eye patches over the cucumber. Both make a minimal difference in day to day sinus bruising, but can work wonders when we have excessive bruising from allergies, colds, etc.
As for finding the perfect shade and color for a concealer, there is definitely some tricks. Lets start with the shade. Depending on what time of the year it is, winter or summer, you would be picking a different color concealer. I always recommend buying one shade in the winter and another one in the summer. When choosing a concealer, pick up all the ones that are close to your skin color. If the only options are either a shade darker than you or a shade lighter than you, you should always go with lighter. Just a note the color the woman is wearing on the left, would be considered too light for her.
Now, the real trick comes with the undertone. Just because the shade is right for you doesn’t mean it’s going to cover those circles. Depending on what color you dark circles are, you will pick a different undertone. What I mean by this is, in order to cover the circles under your eyes, you have to use the opposite color on the color wheel to cancel the dark circles out. For example if your circles are blue in color you want and hint of orange in your concealer. If you have purple colored circles, then you would use a concealer with a hint of yellow and so on. You can bookmark this page and use this color wheel as a reference.
