Beauty Blog

One of the biggest makeup trends in 2008 is Gothic Chic. Soft Gothic makeup is making its rounds in the runway and on the streets. Women sporting dark nails, dark eyeliner and dark lips have been spotted everywhere even in lingerie stores. Gothic Fashion is hip too. Fashion designers are coming up with ‘Leulla’ inspired outfits. But when it comes to Goth, it is really the makeup that stands out. Here are a few areas where you can introduce a bit of gothic chic into your everyday face wear.

EYE LINER – Look for black liners to make you mysterious and brooding. Go for a liquid eye liner instead of a pencil. The liquid lined would give you a darker line. If you have smaller eyes, stay away from the black liner. Look for chocolate and plum or navy liners instead. You should also follow the same sensibility when it comes to eye shadows.

NAILS – Navy was big on the runway a few months ago. The navy Chanel nail polish sold out everywhere. If you want to go gothic chic, try painting your tips in navy. If you can’t find navy go for classic black. Dark Plums are great too. You could also try a pinkish shade to change it up a bit.

FACE – Go for a lighter base if you want to achieve that pale Goth look. Don’t go overboard though. You want to look pale-like and not like a sheet of paper.

LIPS – You should also go for a darker lip. If you can pull off a black lips – go ahead. If you are afraid too, try something in cranberry or dark red.

Travelling can be very distressing for the girl who always needs her beauty products. She might end up bringing too much or worse – bringing too little. Here are a few beauty tips that will help make things easier for the girl on the go.

Tinted Moisturizer – Instead of bringing along tubes and cakes of foundation, it is much better to take along a container or two of tinted moisturiser. Not only will it keep your skin moisturised during cold weather, it will also give you the coverage you need.

Forget the Mascara – Don’t even think of bringing along this beauty product (unless it’s waterproof), especially if you are traveling to a hot and humid place where female nightwear is definitely not a requirement. The weather may not be right for non-waterproof mascara. Plus, you may not have enough time or the right lighting to apply it. You could only end up with raccoon eyes.

Go With Your Wave – When travelling, you may find that you don’t have time to straighten your hair. In case like these, the best thing to do is to go with your natural wave. Don’t attempt to straighten wavy or curly hair on a time crunch. What you can do instead is to apply an anti-frizz serum to keep your locks glossy and smooth.

Some women struggle to find the right makeup, have the wrong haircut, buy and wear the wrong clothes, perhaps because they weren’t born with good taste or perhaps because they just don’t care. But looking good isn’t purely superficial, people have a natural desire to do things that themselves feel good.

Self pampering has brought success and opportunities to some, from a professional capacity to finding that special someone. Some people want to be rich, successful, well travelled and some people long for beauty, power and freedom.

Michelle Phieffer started off as a cashier, but not everyone can aspire to be the next superstar. And that’s a good thing too, life would be boring if everyone were beautiful with white teeth and gorgeous hair. Perfection would be boring, and even the most beautiful people get old like everyone else.

Beauty is work and a way of life for many. Stay out of the sun, attend the odd makeup class, drink lots of water, eat fruit, yoghurt, veg, exercise for 30 mins a day, moisturise morning and night, find a great stylist, don’t smoke, or drink too much, but above all be happy, and your beauty will shine through!

Marilyn Monroes sweeping eyelashes help create her seductive stare, and she is the master of the sideways gaze, but according to David Givens who has written a book on Love Signals, when a woman gazes at someone she is attracted to , her lids will involuntarily droop, creating the bedroom eyes look. Monroe would wear thick fake eyelashes and red lips - classic and simple. To get the look use fake eyelashes that get gradually longer towards the tip, or without using falsies, coat the lashes in mascara and apply an extra coat towards the corners.

Twiggy, was another to obtain the iconic-eye look. She was effortlessly seductive and yet innocent at the same time. Her longer, separated eyelashes, according to Givens make an adults face appear more in proportion with a babies, adding sweetness and youth to her appearance. To obtain her wide eyed look, use false lashes that are wider in the centre, which will give the effect of the eyes looking more open. Apply a shorter set of lashes to the bottom to complete the look.

To get the look without false eyelashes, choose a mascara that offers extra length but not volume. Whilst avoiding tarantula lashes, hold the mascara wand vertically and allow the lashes to clump together slightly.

Hit musical ‘Wicked’ has it’s Australian debut on Saturday, with the help of International makeup supervisor Joseph Dulude. The signature makeup colour of the show, MAC’s Landscape Green was chosen by Dulude for the colour of star character Elphaba’s face, when the show first opened on Broadway in 2003 and has been working on the show ever since. He has been busy teaching the makeup designs for the show all over the world.

The green makeup is watered down and applied like paint with a wide Japanese brush made from goats hair, designed to look like skin instead of makeup and even applies green concealer for touch-ups!

Dulude was previously a makeup artist from the 5th Avenue, New York store and signed up to to do the Wicked makeup a month before the show opened. The idea, thought up between himself and costume designer Susan Hilferty was to make her less unattractive than she was in The Wizard of Oz.

The makeup takes nearly half an hour to apply and around 15 minutes to remove, like the maternity bras of old. Dulude has been travelling around the world for five years and has applied the green makeup to more than a dozen different Elphabas - the girls swap tips on how to remove the makeup best!

Ever get big, frizzy, pouffy hair during the summer months??! Too much humidity and too much sea water, chlorine and sun damage can cause hair to become dry and like wire wool! The best way to avoid the poodle look is to start by shampooing and conditioning, and then apply an anti-frizz cream to damp hair. If you have wavy or curly hair, use a curl enhancing mousse or gel and finish with an anti-frizz sealant or a spritz of humidity-proff hairspray.

For your face, think about using an SPF moisturiser which has a touch of self-tanner or a tinted moisturiser with SPF. For oily skin use a pressed powder to control but try and keep makeup to a minimum, to achieve a light, fresh, summer look.

Don’t forget to use SPF protection on your lips, by layering SPF balm on top of or underneath your lip colour, or choose a lip gloss or lipstick that has a built in sunscreen.

Go bold with your eye colour, and be up to date with one of this summer’s hottest trends - brights. Try shades of blue, purple, green or metallic shades. There are tonnes of new long-wear mascara’s on the market now, that will withstand the humidity, oily lids and perspiration. Stay put eyeliner will give you that finishing touch that will have a big impact.

Your number one item on your to-do list is not likely to be washing your make-up brushes, and neither are other beauty chores, like clearing out your make-up bag. But experts recommend a fortnightly routine to clean your make-up brushes to get rid of all the germs, dirt and other nasties that get clogged up in your brushes.

Your blusher brush, foundation brush or sponge, eye shadow and lip brushes need washing regularly with a mild shampoo. Leave your brushes to soak in a sink full of water and a little shampoo for approx two minutes and then gently rub the bristles, taking care not to scrub them. Most make-up brushes are fragile, so handle them carefully. Then squeeze the excess water down the brush. Then empty the water from the sink and refill, leaving the brushes to soak for a further 30 mins.

Pat the brushes/applicators dry with a towel, and leave them to air dry, without rubbing them.

Start this new beauty routine today, keeping your make-up brushes and applicators clean and hygienic and it just might make a difference to your skin!

Beauty Salons are booming thanks to girls as young as six wanting facials and manicures. A brand new child-only salon called Tantrum has opened on London’s King’s Road which

offers Fantasie beauty treatments, hair styling and make-up to children under the age of 10.

Child beauty has become big business. Research has shown that six out of ten girls

aged seven to ten wore lipstick and two out five wore eye shadow or mascara. These days you can even get high heels for babies, diet pills, breast implants, facelifts and padded bra all aimed at seven year olds.

Grooming has certainly changed around children. Children aged 6 or 7 are aspiring to be a lot more grown-up than they are, trying to be more like 12 or 13 year olds. Allowing childre

n to be pampered in this way can be a dilemma for parents and salon owners alike - on the one hand not wanting their children to grow up too fast but at the same time wanting their children to fit in with their peers and be the coolest girl in school.

Many salons offer mum and daughter days and pamper parties for children, which appear to

be attracting more and more children to have beauty treatments done. We are still a few steps behind the US though - across the pond beauty treatments are common place for children as young as two and has been considered normal by many parents for several years.

MAC Cosmetics are involved in the 46664 Concert being held to honour Nelson Mandela turning 90, taking place in Hyde Park on 27th June 2008.
Mandela, one of the world’s most loved leaders, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and freedom icon will be celebrating his birthday (which actually takes place later this year) with some of the world’s most powerful figures.
MAC’s involvement is to provide on hand make-up services during the concert, by which proceeds will go to raise money and awareness on the impact of AIDs and the prevention of HIV. Amy Winehouse, Queen + Paul Rogers, Annie Lennox, Simple Minds, Leona Lewis, The Sugarbabes, Razorlight and many more are all there to perform, and will have their makeup done by the ultimate MAC team.

MAC have come up with some festival essentials, so that come rain or shine the guests will stay looking impeccable! MAC wipes, MAC Splashproof Mascara in Blacksplash and MAC tinted lip colour in spf 15 is great for sun protection.
MAC Cosmetics actively works in the world of music and film and the market leader in makeup. MAC is often found at fashion shows, celeb events and photo shoots around the world!