How to Achieve Kim K's under eye concealer + My Foundation+Concealer Routine

Sorry for the lack of posts, once again got busy with work. I hope this post makes up for it :)

Anyways, I decided to make this post since I know a lot of ladies out there face the same issue DARK CIRCLES boo!!

I have deep dark circles, and out of all my mom's beautiful features I had to inherit her dark circles. 

Any concealer that claims to cover the darkest of circles I've tried! And I've learned, after years of experience, the secret behind concealing dark circles is layering. I wish I was like those bitches who are lucky enough to use YSL touche eclat and are set to go.

Let's get started. Before applying anything wash your face.

Moisturizer and Base

First off start with a moisturizer, base, and under eye cream. I start with Mac's Comfort Cream followed by MAC's Fast Response eye cream then Gino McCray Base (which I got from Thailand). Then gently pat your face with a tissue paper.

 (Note: These product are not part of my Morning and Night skin care routine)

This is how my eyes look with no make-up obviously!

Dark circles :(

Concealer Step 1

Second, apply a corrector. Since I have purple under eye circles I have to use something with pink undertones to cancel the darkness.

This step is very important for people with dark circles.
Bobbi Brown's corrector in Dark Bisque is the best I've used.

Foundation

Then Apply your foundation. My Holly Grail foundation is Chanel Matte Lumiere in 30 Beige (used to use 40 Beige but it's a tad dark on me 30 is a better match). I'm also loving Chanel's Perfection Lumiere in 30 Beige + 20 Beige (20 is too light I just use a dot on each side to balance it out since Perfection Lumiere tends to oxidize)

Mini review: I'm in LOVE with Sigma's F80 Flat Kabuki brush. It's beyond amazing. Foundation wise it works better than the beauty blender since it gives more coverage whilst the Beauty Blender absorbs a lot of product, but that doesn't mean I love my beauty blender any less! I just can't live without both of them now :) 

Concealer Step 2

After the foundation using my Bobbi Brown cream shadow brush I apply my all time favorite concealer that works best for me, Clé de Peau in Ocre. I used to use Bobbi Brown's concealer, the thing is it's too creamy for my liking. 
Clé de Peau's concealer works great for me it covers up my dark circles and I'm quite satisfied with it.

Concealer Step 3

 Now to achieve the "Kim Kardashian effect" can be a bit tricky but this trick seems to work out for plus covering my dark circles.
I know this may sound crazy but you got to mix and pair several concealers sometimes to achieve a certain result, that's one of the things I learned at beauty school.
As I said previously stated the secret to covering dark circles is layering.
Using my Makeup Forever 6N brush I use 3 shades of Makeup Forever full cover concealer paired with Makeup Forever's lift concealer. You can see the exact amount + shades I use in the pictures above. I Blend the concealer with my Beauty Blender.
Obviously this is lighter than my skin tone but for it to give that light effect similar to Kim Kardashian you have to go lighter just under the eye. Don't worry It won't look too light or too obvious.

Under eye Powder

My all time Holy Grail under eye powder is Laura Mercier's Secret Brightening powder. I can't stress enough how AHHHmazing this powder is. It brightens the area without giving you the panda effect, which I was afraid it might since a lot of brightening/translucent powders do. I use a powder puff to set the powder.
I remove the excess powder after the second step. If you need more powder I either use my Sigma face tapered brush F25 or my Bobbi Brown Eye Blending Brush.

Face Powder

I recently started using Chanel's Poudre Universelle Libre in 30 Natural after reading great reviews and I'm quite pleased with it. I used to use Bobbi Brown's Face powder in Yellow Pale1 which I still love and use. Both powders are great, can't pick one over the other. I use my Sigma face tapered brush F25 to set  my foundation.

Eyebrows

After applying the powder I draw my brows. I fill in my Brows using MAC's eyeshadow Cork then draw the shape using MAC's Brow pencil in Spiked. I've been using Spiked for years and it's the best brow pencil I've used and I've tried plenty.

(Another tip Cork is one of my favorite eye shadows to define the crease)

Another brow powder which I've used for years, I recently switched to Cork, is Shiseido's Makeup and eyebrow and eyeliner compact. This is one of the best powders out there and it sometimes can be hard to find. Everyone I recommend this product to loves it.

The brush I use to fill my eyebrows with is Bobbi Brown's eye definer brush which I forgot to photograph.

After I draw my eyebrows on I brush it upwards with a spoolie brush to soften the edges and make it more natural then I brush it upwards with a transparent brow gel, which I forgot to photograph as well.

Contouring+Blush

  

My all time favorite bronzer for contouring is Benifet's Hoola. I use it in the hollow of my cheeks, my forehead, chin, neck, and jaw line. Super Fab. I use the best brush for contouring Mac 100, a must have have been using it over a year now.

My current Favorite Blush in Nar Deep throat, Nars comes up with the craziest names! It's a subtle shimmery baby pink.

Final Look

In the Below Pictures I used MAC's latest Highlighter in How Beautiful.

Hope you like the final result.

Should you require further information don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment :)

Miley Cyrus Dedicates 'Liberty Walk' to Occupy Wall Street Protestors

DIY Nail Trend: Matte + Shiny French Manicure

I had to blog about this since it's one of my favorite nail trends. Ysl recently launched a nail duo polish inspired by the tuxedo jacket one matte and one shiny black polish.

As you all know I get my nails done once a week and I absolutely love playing around with nail polish.

I actually had this done and tweeted over a year ago. Here's how you can have it done.

First: Apply any black nail polish you own.

Second: apply a coat of Essie's Matte about you. I love this polish.

Last, apply any top coat on the tips of your nails to give it the shiny French tip effect.

You can try this method on any nail polish and you'll get fabulous results. Hope you guys like it xx

Nicki Minaj & Ricky Martin for MAC Viva Glam

Nicki Minaj and Ricky Martin in the M·A·C Viva Glam 2012 campaign visual shot by David LaChapelle.
Every cent of Ricky and Nicki’s Viva Glam products, on-counter February 2012, goes to support the M·A·C AIDS Fund.

My make-up removal routine

First and for most Eid Mubarak to all my fellow Muslims out there. Hope you had a blessed one.
I'd like to apologies for the lack of posts, I got caught up with several things specially with Eid getting closer.

Moving on to the main subject. As a make-up artist I obviously love my make-up, but I can't stress enough on how important it is to remove your make-up before going to bed! Let's face it if you don't have great skin it's going to show through even when attempting to cover it with make-up!
I'm quite anal when it comes to removing make-up. I'd never go to bed with make-up on regardless of how tired I am I'd still wash my face before going to bed.

I've been following this routine for quite some time now and these products work best for me.
I basically love all these products, but you can skip several steps if you don't wish to go through them all.

  

First things first, I wipe my make-up off using Mac's wet wipes. This works the best for me, I used so many and I love Mac's the most. They can also be used gently on the eyes.

These don't irritate my skin but, results differ from one skin to the other. So test them out first.

They come in two sizes, regular and Bulk. I usually go for the Bulk since the regulars don't last long.

I DON'T rely much on wipes since they only remove the make-up on the surface of your skin!

I love L'oreal's gentle eyes and lips make-up remover. This thing is amazing. I've been using it for years now and it works as good, if not better, than any high end eye make-up remover. I apply a small amount on a flat cotton pad and gently press it on my lashes, place it for a couple of seconds for the cleanser to dissolve the mascara then start wiping it off. If I have any lipstick left this product removes it all.

I also use the excess product left on the cotton pad to wipe my face and it removes all the foundation and anything left off my skin. 

I recently bought this and  I'm loving Shiffa's product I'll be doing some more reviews on this brand.
I actually didn't really want to buy this but the sales person seemed quite passionate about it so I decided to give it a try.

Personally I hate lotions, since I have an oily complexion I hate the greasy texture they leave.

But, I found this product totally different just like the SA mentioned it doesn't leave the skin greasy and it actually wipes off any excess oil! This is a great product and it does remove all the excess make-up.

It is also said to cleanse balance and uplift your skin.

What I do is I take two squirts from this and massage it on my face along with the eyes. I wet a flat cotton pad and wipe the product off my face. It removes whatever is left on.

You can skip this step since the next step will suffice on it's own. It simply does the same work.

 I love dry oil. I actually always use Bobbi Brown's cleansing oil, when I ran out I decided to give Make-up forever Extreme Cleanser dry oil a try. Both work fine, but I like Bobbi Brown's more, no reason to be honest.

Once again anything with the word oil/lotion,.. I stay away from  since I have extremely oily skin.

What dry oil really does is remove any make-up left on the skin while also keeping the skin nourished.

I massage two or three squirts on my face for about a minute or two, then wash it off with water. When dry oil is washed with water it turns white and the texture changes into something watery rather than oily!

After I wash my face from the dry oil, I use Johnson's face and eye make-up wash. I massage it all over my face then wash it off.

What I hate about this product is the container when opening the lid the product pours out since it's kind of liquidy and the hole where the product comes out is quite big!

You can also skip this step if you want

Last but not least. I use Pond's perfect Matte cleansing foam to wash off any product left on my skin to make it ready for my skin care regime.

This product I LOVE. Whenever I want to wash my face this is the product I use. It's amazing for oily skin since it washes off any excess oil.

I've been using this for months and it's the best I've used.

As you can see, I don't really use high end products since these drug store products work as good if not better. Hope you found this post useful xx

Scarred and Bruised!!

Once again, it's all make-up!!

I'm loving FX make-up and I enjoy doing it soo much. This is my second attempt this time going for something a bit more challenging.

I practiced on myself and my brother was kind enough to let me try it on him, since it didn't invovle anything girly!

This is fun for Halloween and I hope it was good enough to fool you.

Check out my ripped nails FX make-up here.

Happy Halloween my Lovies xx