TheMakeupGirl

Celebrity Makeup: Kim Kardashian's Gunmetal Smokey Eyes...

Fall is right around the corner and I for one am SO happy!!  I love fall AND fall makeup.  This fall we are seeing more browns and grays and gunmetal, smokey silver eyes are back for fall in a BIG way. I showed you back in 2006 how to get the look with a great video by Tricia Sawyer (LOVE her!) and now the trend is back but instead of silver, it's gone more grayish....a little smuttier if you will!!

Kim Kardashian made this look popular over the past year and say what you will about her, but her shameless self promotion and makeup are KILLING IT.  She looks amazing.  Here are some product picks to help you get the look on your own...

Bare Escentuals Rocker Eye Kit

NARS shadow Duo in Paris

MAC Shadows in Carbon or Knight Divine

NARS Powder Blush in Orgasm

Finally lips....everyone wants to know what Kim uses and she actually blogged about her whole makeup routine INCLUDING products and colors that she uses here.  She uses NARS gloss in Turkish Delight BUT remember to stick with a shade that is good for YOUR coloring.  If your skin is darker I would go with NARS Stolen Kisses or if you are pale, try NARS Orgasm.

This is a GREAT look for evening and here is a GREAT tutorial to get you started.

Stay Pretty!!

photo courtesy of Frappelattes

Beauty Evolution: Jada Pinkett-Smith....

One actress whose style and beauty game I admire is Jada Pinkett-Smith...she is always rocking something nobody else has and her hair is looking fierce these days.  Now...she may be a bit on the avant-garde side of fashion and beauty for some folks but there is one thing you cannot deny about her and that is her absolutely flawlessly GAWGUS skin.

Check out Ms. Jada's beauty Evolution over at Glam...

Read Pretty!!

Get The Look: MAC's Sr. Artist Romero Does Keri Hilson for MTV's TRL...

Hey girlies!  I have some insider tips for you!!  MAC's Sr. Artist Romero was with Timbaland protege Keri Hilson yesterday when she made the rounds to support her new CD on MTV's TRL and BET's 106 &Park.

Romero’s “how to get the look”:

"Pump up lashes top and bottom with 2 coats of prep and prime mascara
Then add one heavy winter coat of Plushlash mascara in Plushblack.
I then add the #7 lashes which I cut into fine pieces and place on the top lashes!
The skin was primed with Prep + Prime Skin and polished with a sheer coat of Moistureblend Foundation that is highlighted with Moisturelush Eye Cream and contoured Matte Bronzer!
Shadows were pumped up with Creme de Violet used as a liner/shadow under eye while Saddle and Black Tied shadows frames the eye!"

She looks gorgeous...I am going to give this look a try this weekend!

Stay Pretty!!

Celebrity Makeup: Rihanna at the BET Awards...

I am so sick of everyone hating on Rihanna!  Nobody gets her...they really don't (check out the comments over at Just Jared).  People just don't understand, they are just not ready.  She is on this whole other level - her style is funky, avant garde and VERY 80's.  The dress she was wearing during her performance (which she killed by the way) was an Alexander McQueen couture gown that reminded me of this.  Hey I had a crinoline too back in the day!!! Keep ALL of YOUR CLOTHES ladies everything always comes back.

Now onto the makeup - I was talking to Julia on the phone the other night and she explained to me that I HAD to see it (I normally skip the BET awards because it is so chock full of foolery) so I caught the re-run last night and while there was plenty of foolery (Hello???  T-Pain please go sit down someplace...bahhh) it was worth it to see the look which was in a word SICK. The shadow can only be described as "pigment layered on top of pigment" (Thanks JuJu...LOL) Most young celebrities her age are definitely NOT interested in wearing $50,000 couture gowns. 

Now this is definitely not a look for everyday but if you appreciate makeup artistry like I do...it was very nice to see.

Stay Pretty!!

photo courtesy of Just Jared

I Knew It!!

Ha! Remember yesterday when I said that the older ladies at the Grammys were giving the young girls a run for the money??  Well here is proof....makeup artist and all around amazing man Billy B. blogged yesterday on his MySpace that he "had the honor or doing Tina Turner's makeup for her performance with Beyonce.."

I knew it!!  The way he described the experience was nothing short of breathtaking, it was literally a dream come true for him because the late great Kevyn Aucoin has always been his inspiration and had worked with Tina as her personal makeup artist right up until his death.  Billy writes, "It is absolutely surreal on so many levels for me. First and foremost to follow in the Legendary footsteps of the great Kevyn Aucoin.
When I walked into the room with Miss Turner, she was most warm kind and generous woman.
I introduced myself and she took out a tour book photographed by Herb Ritts (you know the photos)
She turned to one photo she loved and she said this is the way I like to look."  Then Billy said they talked and shared stories and he created an amazing look for her.

"Meeting Tina, doing her makeup, and being validated by her liking it is a feeling I cant describe.
I hope you liked it  Kevyn........"

How amazing..amazing..amazing is that??  I had heard a rumor that he was doing Cher's tour and I was thinking Sunday night that was his handiwork!  Wow...just wow. Tina looked amazing but knowing Billy did it and had that wonderful connection made it extra special.

Check out Ben from We Love Beauty's chat with Billy about the whole experience...

Stay Pretty!!

Red Carpet Beauty: 2008 Grammy Awards...

Okay first of all, Tina Turner are you kidding me????  68 years old and still doing it. She looked amazing...as did Cher minus the big red wig (yuck!) Skin looking gorgeous and flawless as ever.  I heard Billy B was doing Cher's makeup for her tour so you KNOW she will be looking flawless.

Anyway, I am definitely thinking that the older ladies (and by older I mean 50 and up people...) totally out shined and out foxed the young stars this year because honestly...I didn't know who half those people were walking the red carpet - did you??  The usual suspects were there but it was all so ho hum...Beyonce finally cut her weave to a respectable length but it is still so so blond!  What happened to that dark  look she was rocking last week??  Carrie Underwood looked nice but the hair made me thing of the Playboy Mansion, Keyshia Cole finally got rid of the blond hair blah blah blah.  I just was very uninspired with the whole thing

Another interesting thing is that half the people that I thought looked great were just there at the show, they weren't musicians or spouses of musicians - they just came out to party.  Weird.

So my picks (In no particular order) for best looks this year are:

Alicia Keys - I loved the rosey pink lips with that navy dress and totally simple Marilyn Monroe eyes.
Beyonce - I love the makeup, hate the hair...she has her makeup look down, nice and bronzey
Fergie - I know people are always giving her grief for how she looks but she got it right this time.  Very simple and elegant
Rihanna - GORGEOUS!!  Sparkly eyes and pink lips
Natalie Cole - AMAZING...no words she just looked hot and miss thang is in her 50's
Natasha Bedingfield - This is a different look for her and I liked it!  Very old Hollywood
Roselyn Sanchez - Smokey eyes and almost natural looking lips...very nice
Taylor Swift - She is only 18 people but she sure looks  grown!  Icy blue liner near the tear ducts made her eyes pop the rest of the look was smokey and gorgeous.

Who were your favorites??

Stay Pretty!

 

Red Carpet Beauty: Best of The SAG Awards 2008...

Above are my picks for best hair and makeup.  I was on the phone with Julia last night and we were both so excited about seeing a red carpet!!  You don't really know what you have until it's gone - right??  I MISSED seeing all the gowns and the makeup and the mis-steps...and if you didn't see it - TRUST me there were some.

But all in all - everyone looked gorgeous and excited.  They were ready to be out.  Some of of the men had "strike beards" which I thought was funny.  For the most part everyone kept it simple and classy.  There were a few themes I noticed - lot sand lots of nude earthy colors for makeup.  Some went the way of red...but not many.  Ellen Page looked so pretty and classic, Cate Blanchett, always a crowd pleaser looked amazing.  And I just LOVE America Fererra, she always looks great.  And Angelina just looked insane....she looked happy and glowing (maybe she is pregnant huh?)

I am so so looking forward to the Oscars if they can pull it off.  There has never NOT been an Oscars ceremony people.  The studios need to get off their behinds and just give the writers what they want.  It's already been 6 weeks (can you believe that?)

Stay Pretty!!

Damn - Demi Looks Good...

Okay I know what you are gonna say, "If I had that much money I would look good too...sniff" but my thing about her is that even if she has had nips and tucks wherever, her SKIN looks AMAZING and there are only a few things you can do about that if it's not up to par.  Her skin has always been amazing, even back in her GH days.  You can't fake good skin...you just can't.  There is only so much you can do - the rest is genetics.

The photo of her on the left is from NY Fashion Week - dazzling honey.  Her age on IMDB is listed as almost 45 but I think she has got to be nearer to 50.  Nothing wrong with that - look at her!!  She almost looks better than she did 16 years ago in the Planet Hollywood heyday.

No doubt, Moore has been pretty candid about her obsession with her body and the way it looks.  I remember her telling one of the late night TV hosts that she still biked 5-10 miles while 8 months pregnant (ouch..)  No matter, Tiff and I always joke that somebody tied her skin in a knot at the base of her spine and put their foot in her back to pull it tight like a corset...more power to you girl.  I'd do it too, if someone told me I was going to get fired from my multi-million dollar job unless I looked a certain way, you bet your booty I would.

So hats off to you Mrs. Kutcher - you are happy, you have your young husband and gorgeous skin.  Shake the haters off sweetie because we all know they wish they could.

Stay Pretty!!

Awww Helll Naw!!: Lauryn Hill Please Come Back To Us...

Lauryn Hill has been performing around lately and the reviews are mixed.  Some say she sounds on point and focused while others say she is still a few cards short of a full deck.  This lovely and accomplished woman who brought us a brilliant solo debut The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, is looking a little less than lovely these days.

I understand stage makeup and that you need to wear more when you are on stage but this much and this bright....no no no Ms. Lauryn.  I prefer the polished confident and sexy look of yesterday.  I am not really sure what is going on with her but I am going to need her to get it together because we need more brilliant singer songwriters like her.

I am hoping that she is going through some kind of phase and that the music will speak for itself.  But for now...not pretty.

Red Carpet Beauty: The Oscars...

I was so happy that my picks won, The Departed (if you haven't seen it yet - you must), Forrest Whitaker and Jennfer Hudson (more on that in a minute...) What did you think??  Overall...I thought the fashions were very BLAH.  Of course I have my 6 picks, but there were some definite whattheheckareyouthinking moments.  One of them being Jennifer Hudson!  I was so disappointed...I was expecting her to look flawless, especially given the fact that she has been doing great so far.  That Judy Jetson jacket had me scratching my head.  Her makeup was great but you couldn't even think about how pretty she looked or how great it was that she won for that outfit she had on.  The next faux pas was Rachel Weisz, that necklace was way too busy for such an ornate dress...her makeup was beautiful though and her skin looked amazing.

Now onto what I liked....Jada Pinkett-Smith was perfect as usual.  She always takes risks with color and that always pays off with her.  Her makeup and hair was simple - she just looked pretty.  Kate Winslet had soft makeup that complimented her ivory skintone and the dress was amazing.  Cate Blanchett did not disappoint in a gorgeous smokey topaz Armani Prive gown and smoldering eyes.  Jennifer Lopez kept her hair soft for a change and her dress, although it was different was an incredible creation.  Beyonce's makeup and hair was on point (thank goodness - after that Grammys mess I was hoping she would bounce back!) I didn't really care for her dress though - that minty color was a little too pale on her skin.  Lastly, Gwenyth Paltrow looked AMAZING in that Zac Posen gown and her understated makeup and red lips put the icing on the cake.

I have to say though, my favorite dress of the night was Penelope Cruz in that blush colored strapless Versace.  What were your favorites of the night??

Pretty is as Pretty Does...

Ocsar Countdown!!

Don't forget to watch tonight, the red carpet coverage starts at 6pm EST.  I will be back tomorrow with all of my picks for best dressed and best makeup!!  I can't wait to see everything!  I love Ellen DeGeneres, so happy she is hosting tonight.  It should be a welcome departure from the Anna and Britney soaked past few weeks...

I have my pate, olives, cheese, dips and wonderful pinot noir ready to go.  Nothing like some yummy snacks for an awards show!

See you tomorrow!!

Stay Pretty!!

Red Carpet Beauty: 49th Annual Grammy Awards...

The Grammy awards are always fun to watch.  There are always some decided hits and misses as far as beauty goes on these shows.  But the best thing about it is that people usually take more risks when it comes to hair and makeup.  Sometimes those risks are good and sometimes they are decidedly bad (um...Beyonce that hair HAS to go...what is that???). 

My favorites of the night are pictured at left.  Christina Aguilera to me just really nailed it.  Her makeup was soft and not overpowering.  For once, someone convinced her to ditch the red lipstick and go with a softer nude look and boy did it look smashing!  Her dress the hair and makeup all screamed "old Hollywood" to me.  This is a far cry from the dirrty xtina of yesteryear! Well done girl. 

Scarlett Johanssen looked smashing as usual with a simple bronzey smokey eye and long loose waves.  PInk was just fierce (you can't see it in this photo, but her dress was crazy...) she did the classic angular, punky smokey eye and a faux hawk which looked so great on her because she was dressed properly for the occasion, but she still threw her personality in the mix, it was still Pink which was FAB.  Newcomer Corrine Bailey Rae did a great job of keeping it simple and pretty, I kind of wish that she did a little more with her makeup than what we normally see, but overall she looked beautiful.  Petra Nemcova sparkled in a gold dress, smokey eyes and loose long waves for her hair, she looked so happy which makes all the difference in the world.  Ciara is sporting more grown up looks these days, she looked fab in a minidress, long loose hair and minimal makeup with dark shadow that accented her gorgeous eyes.

Check out more photos and videos of the night at Faded Youth.

Stay Pretty!!

Red Carpet Beauty: SAG Awards...

I love it when they get it right!!!!  I didn't see one hair out of place last night!  The dresses were lovely and the makeup was on point.  The SAG awards are awards given from actor's peers, you have to be a member of the Screen Actors Guild to vote.  So many actors and actresses consider this to be one of the most meaningful awards of the season. They pulled out all the stops - everyone looked so elegant, even Golden Globe offender Vanessa L. Williams showed up with sleek shoulder grazing hair. 

Even though I thought everyone looked great overall, I did have my favorites.  I loved that women that don't fit that "hollywood stereotype" like America Ferrera, Sara Ramirez and Jennifer Hudson looked INCREDIBLE.

Helen Mirren looked amazing - she was just radiant.  Cate Blanchett dazzled in a gold dress with smokey eyes.

But let's talk about Jada Pinkett and that SKIN!   Her skin was smooth as chocolate and she looked flawless.  The hot pink color of her dress looked great on her skin and her makeup was just subtle enough.

Another favorite of mine had to be Mariska Hargitay.  She is looking more and more like her mother (screen legend Jayne Mansfield) every DAY.  Throw a blond wig on her and she would be her spitting image.  Her makeup was flawless and the dress was very very flattering.  Plus, she just looked happy which to me is the best beauty accessory...hands down.

Bravo ladies!!

Photos:  Faded Youth

Dear God: Please Let Me Look This Good When I am 66...

Okay...I know, I know.  Raquel has been ahem "freshened" but dammit...I don't care.  There are PLENTY of ladies out there that have been "freshened" that don't look this good...seriously.  At any rate...I went out to see the MAC Raquel Icon collection up close and of course I loooove it.  My picks for the collection (which I am now in possession of...lol) are:

Amazon Eyes Palette One word GAWGUS.  I liked both of the palettes but I favor this one because of the plum shade...I will get more use out of this one.

Lipstick  I love all the colors with the exception of Vegas Volt...too orangey for me.  Picked up Legendary and Screen Queen.

Lip Glass ANY of them...seriously any but I got Adventuresome and Vital Spark.

Powder Blush Love love love the peachy one called Goddess.

So if you haven't seen it yet...run and take a look it's FAB.  Next up on my radar is MAC Barbie..can't wait for that one.

Stay Pretty!!

Best & Worst: Golden Globes Awards...

Okay...like many of you, I was watching at home last night and I must say - there weren't too many slip-ups.  But the ones that I did see were doosies!!  Now, here's my thing...if you are being paid millions of dollars to entertain the public at large, then you gosh darn better show up looking like perfection when you go to these awards shindigs.  Now is NOT the time to experiment with that new hairpiece, wig, weave or whatever.  Nor is it the time to try a new beauty service (hellooo remember that episode of Sex in the City and that chemical peel??)  Just keep it simple and elegant.

Here are my picks for best hair and makeup...

Jennifer Lopez...no surprise here she is pretty much on point most of the time.  Here she does a subtle smokey eye with a 60's inspired up-do and a off the shoulder gown...Classic.

Another favorite is Salma Hayek who just gets more gorgeous as she gets older.  She always plays up her features and sticks to a basic smoldering smokey eye formula.  Her hair was in soft waves  and she wore a white gown with lots of wrap detail.

Jennifer Hudson just sparkled with rich deep burgundy lips and a shimmery eye - perfect red carpet debut!!

Angelina Jolie looked amazing with her trademark cat eyed look and simple updo.

Honorable mention goes to Hillary Swank for that gorgeous diamond hair accessory (50 diamonds in all!) and Jessica Biel for managing to look like she just woke up looking super sexy and tan and threw something on before hopping in the limo.