So recently I got in the studio with a great team and we decided to do a floral shoot.
I'm also an amateur florist and love fresh flowers. So when the photographer asked me to style the shoot, I was super-happy!
By the way, we used fresh flowers like Heliconias and Gingers. The models couldn't believe they were fresh flowers becauseof how they looked and felt!
I'm going to give a shout out to some Maybelline eyeshadows which worked great without any primer, smooth and blendable. I grabbed some MAC, Nixie and MUFE eyeshadows and lipsticks. It's great to have a kit that one can rely on.
Check out the full spread, now on Bella Naija, "Vintage Floral".
The whole world seems to be crazy about mattes- matte lipstick, matte eyeshadow, matte face, mathematics... (wait, that's not right...) I love the trend and I think it works well in our hot, humid weather. And if you have a matte lip stain, you have half a makeup kit in your purse. To achieve this, you'll need the following: A matte lip stain, an eyebrow pencil in medium brown, some black mascara, matte face powder, an eyepencil in any colour and a baby. Yes. A baby. First, put the baby down. This will immediately give you a panic attack and a headache and a time limit of 15 minutes, because the baby will start howling. Apply your makeup normally and then use your fingers to dab on he matte lip stain on your lips and cheeks. And your face is made up pretty! Now pick the baby up, because your neighbours don't deserve that noise in their lives.
Run, flee, run for your lives my darlings, bath with salt water, no! bath with salt water with a page from the Book of Psalms dissolved in it and a strand of a rat's hair. Add a dash of anointing oil from that dude who told you he was a prophetic minister of good tidings. Whatever you do, DO NOT APPLY LOGIC TO YOUR PANIC.
And I will now stop being sarcastic.
Yes, due to the sheer willful ignorance and foolishness of my people (you all knew there was an outbreak for months in West Africa, you did nothing and took no precautions...shame on you.), the dreaded viral fever is here. How does it affect you as a makeup maven? Well, here are some things you can do to keep safe
Don't share your makeup. Seriously, treat your sister as a potential infected victim. Eyeliner is the fastest way to transfer body fluids from one person to another via makeup. Also, are you getting married soon and hiring a makeup artist? Nne, buy your own eyeliner and give her to use on you. A corpse bride is not what that dude wedding you bargained for.
Don't share your razor blade Some of you will whip out your razor to give your friend Yinka once she complains of stray brow hairs. If you love Yinka, you will buy a pack of razors and give her a new one. My sister once asked me for my razor blade, when I refused her, she asked me if I thought she had HIV. I looked her in the eye and said "yes". One day, we'll be friends again. Besides, "tush" babes use TWEEZERS.
Wash your hands often and look good: in these perilious times, you should look even more stunning. MAC lipstick in Lady Danger is so nice, you should swipe some on before going to the hospital to see the very goodlooking, single, has-a-british-accent Consultant Virologist to enquire about more Ebola facts. (yes, he took me out to lunch later).
Hand Sanitiser has become pricier than bleaching cream, so here's how to make some: Buy Methylated Spirit (Isopropyl Alcohol) 70% or more, add a little glycerin, ce fini
Avoid crowded areas and bathe after coming from those places. Slather on some Sweet Almond oil on your face (fights wrinkles beautifully!) and stay beautiful. If the US drug ZMapp makes everyone zombies, you wanna be a pretty zombie. Amirite?
Jokes apart, please stay safe and be cautious. Some crazy people will still invade your space and insist on touching you (someone I don't really know just touched my shoulder, as by-force greeting. Luckily my shirt had short sleeves. But still!).
Yep, I've been sniffing pink nail polish, how did you guess?? Lool.
It is close to Easter and you know what that means: Party time! Now I know you've gotten all your funky ankara styles sewn, you've done all your shopping (well done on NOT buying those clear stripper 6" heels, your mother would be so proud of you!), and you've perfected your dance steps, but there's one little thing you may have just forgotten.
Have you mastered your dark, smouldering, smokey eye?
Meet our Dark Arts model,Chioma!
I decided to give her a wearable smokey eye, something not too dramatic. I added a dash of unexpected lime-green to the inner corners of her eyes, to make her look awake. Here are some products I used:
MAC eyeliner, Paula Dorf primer, Maybelline brow pencil, Ben Nye loose powder, Revlon Matte lipstick, NYX lipgloss, MAC eyeshadow, Bobbi Brown eyeshadows
The smokey was made of a black eyeshadow (Bobbi Brown), a matte gray eyeshadow (Bobbi Brown) and the lime-green eyeshadow from MAC (it was a limited edition shadow called Sweet and Punchy).
That's the only Spanish I know (that, counting 1-10 and "No, I'm not interested, just buy me a drink please". Don't ask me why I know that). Recently, I found myself out of breathe when climbing stairs and generally tired. So my doctor told me to add some aerobics to my lifestyle. Yep, he said "go and exercise, you're getting fat". Gorilla -__-
I tried jogging (got so bored and all the dust), skipping (does this jumping up and down give me wrinkles?), bicycle-riding (aarghh, I just fell off), swimming (mehn, the other chicks at the pool look so hot in their skimpy bikinis, shame caught me). Nothing was really working and my waistline was expanding. So my friend Win-Win invited me to go latin-dancing with her (dances like salsa, merengue, bachata, kizomba). I believe my first thoughts when I got there was:
"na wa for una, your ancestors didn't do this, they were content with Atilogwu, waddya mean I have to do turns in high heels, do I wear heels normally, una don marry sef, abegi I can't whip mah hair sexily like Shakira, it's natural, guy your finger will tangle inside if you attempt to run it through mah afro, I don't even understand dis music, wetin be dis craze, ehh?"
I kept an open mind, and I'm glad I did. Omo, you should see me, and now I wear hot outfits and heels every Thursday night. Even my sarcastic sister has started thanking God for my new lease on life.
So it got me wondering: "what type of makeup will last on my face during such exertion?"
Here are a few tried and tested products I think will make the grade:
Eyes: Revlon Colorstay eyeliner, Make Up For Ever Aqua Black eyeliner, Milani Liquif'eye metallic eyeliner (my new favourite), Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner, Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hr cream shadow (my other new favourite. Maybelline Great Lash mascara amd Make Up For Ever mascara.
Lips: pretty much anything that has a lot of pigment and will pop and draw attention to your lips when you're doing a slow back-arch to the floor. Try Maybelline Colorsensational lipstick in Neon Red, MAC matte lipstick in Lady Danger, Sleek pout paint in Pinkini or Port Red, MAC lipstick in Ruby Woo (combine this with Zaron lip pencil in Red for a killer), Flormar Lipsticks, Black Up Jumbo lippencil (lip-pencil and lipstick combined in one), Julie Hewett Icons lipsticks (these are to die for).
from left: Laura Mercier oil-free primer, Julie Hewett lipstick, Black Up jumbo lippencil, Flormar lipstick, Maybelline Colorsensational lipstick, Sleep pout paint, MAC lipstick, Zaron lippencil, Maybelline 24-hr cream shadows, Bobbi Brown gel liner, MUFE Aqua eyes liner, Milani Liquif'eye liner, Maybelline Great Lash and Colossal Volume mascaras, Bodyography primer
I'll pretty much leave off powder, it can get gross having that sweat roll into thickly applied powder. Instead, why not opt for a matifying primer and Clean and Clear Blotting sheets, to keep the oil off, and you'll need some face tissues, to dab sweat off. There is a foundation that does hold up pretty well under these conditions, but it'll be my little secret for now (wink).
If you know you've got a hot night out, feel free to rock any of these. Salsa happens on Thursdays and Saturdays at Piccolo Mondo, Idejo street, VI. and there are salsa classes tuesdays and wednesdays. Just ask.
And if you're a married couple, grab your man and go learn Kizomba, a hot new Angolan dance, all I can say is ABEG NO DULL, GO LEARN IT GURL. In 9 months' time, come back with your testimony.
Happy holidays, seasons greetings, spare a thought for the cow, goats and chickens that are not going to see the New Year. I decided to grab a willing model and plaster her face. Meet Kachy:
Face prep: Embroylisse Lait-creme concentrate, Vichy Thermale Purete, The Body Shop Vitamin E toner, Aquaphor
Brands used: Black Opal cream stick foundation, Estee Lauder Sugar Honey lipstick, MAC blush, NYX lipgloss, Bobbi Brown eyeshadows, Face Atelier eyepencil, Maybelline Colossal Volume mascara, Nixie cream blush.
Sorry for the poor picture quality. I do hope you like this, and feel free to rock this for the holidays.
I had the pleasure of working backstage at Africa Magic's Viewer Choice Awards ceremony, 2013. It was also the 10th anniversary of Africa Magic's presence on the continent. I worked on some people including Lawrence Maleka, comedian A.Y, but my favourite personality to work on was the lovely actress Ireti Doyle
She is such a stunning lady, I had to tell her so.
The secret to her red lips was MAC lipstick in Port Red. Sadly, it's a limited edition lipstick, but I'll give you a description: it's a cool-toned red, with some slight sheen to it. I went with MAC eyeshadows in All that Glitters and Embark. Her lashes were Ardell lashes in 110. She looked lovely and was such a delight.
Dear blog readers, the universe attacked me and I had some very weird accidents. But I'll live, thankfully.
I grabbed my sister-in-law and decided to give her a quickie. I meant quick makeover, perverts.
Face prep: Vichy Thermale Cleansing water, Dickinsons Witch Hazel, Laura Mercier oil free foundation primer, Aquaphor, The Body Shop Vitamin E eye cream.
Face: Make Up For Ever HD foundation, Milani secret cover concealer, Zaron pressed powder
Eyes: Nouba eyeshadows, MAC eyeshadow in All that Glitters and Estee Lauder eyeshadow in Russet,MAC eyepencil in Smoulder, Maybelline Collosal Volume mascara, Davis eyepencil
Cheeks: La Femme blush palette
Lips: Eversheen pencil and Milani lipstick in Bellatini.
It's a very wearable look which will fit any skintone.
Sorry guys, have been immersed in so much work recently. But I will finish this up today.
There is a lot of fake everything on the market nowadays. You have NO idea how bad it is. So if you must buy stuff, do yourself a favour, shop from these places. I've been to them an can assure you they're all perfectly safe.
Black Up retail stores (malls in Lagos)
Sleek Studio (Awolowo road, Ikoyi and Apapa, those are their main branches, for me)
MAC cosmetics store (Ikeja mall)
Gifty's Daughter (Toyin street, Ikeja and Port Harcourt)
House of Tara (sold at most stores in Lagos, HQ is Lekki Phase 1)
Makeup Designory (MUD) studio (Lekki Phase 1, Lagos)
If you notice, I didn't mention any stores in Trade Fair or Balogun. I've shopped there before and I've bought fakes (as have several people I know). I have a few stores I go to there, but only to buy products I'm 99.9% sure of I can spot a fake. I certainly won't buy a brand like Mary Kay from there.
Also, I'm deliberately not mentioning stores in the malls (you know those ones that sell a bit of everything, bah?). I've seen a lot of fake MAC sold at full price there or N400 cheaper than in the MAC store. Don't fall for it, buy only if you're absolutely sure. Remember, MAC is produced in laboratories in the US, but mostly in Europe, their brushes are made in Japan and France. It will say country of origin on the body. And all the companies I listed above, sell brands that MUST conform to the same standard and look of the package. So if you want Iman pressed powder in Clay Medium, and you see it in Clay Medium Tan, and the seller says "madam na the new one made in Spain", just drop it and walk away.
For you, dear readers, I'm going to find out a trustworthy dealer of popular affordable brands like Mary Kay. I can honestly tell you the wholesale dealer of Milani products is in Trade Fair, once you enter their main gate and look up and left, you'll spot them.
I'd love to get more stores around Nigeria, so if you know authentic, honest dealers, let me know and I'll look into them.
So, we've kinda established the fact that it's pretty hard to figure out what's real and what's fake. However, all hope is not lost (dramatic music should be played whilst reading this blog post btw). I put heads together with a lot of clever people and we came up with some guidelines, titled:
HOW NOT TO BUY FAKE MAKEUP
Step 1: Check the price. We are Nigerians, ladies and gentlemen, we love money. So if we buy something to sell, we want to make a profit. If a pressed powder costs N2,500 to import into the country, there's no way an average Nigerian will sell it for N900 in the market. For the price to be that MUCH lower that actual sale price, it's either of 2 things: the powder is defective/expired, or it's fake. No matter how much the seller bought it on sale or wholesale, shipping and overheads MUST be added to the price, abi?
Step 2: Check how your product looks like. Take a look at the picture below, the upper one is real MAC (lip-pencil in Currant) and the lower one is fake MAC (no name, has a number).
Original products usually have embossed or engraved lettering on them (the logo is either raised on the surface or scratched in, either way you can FEEL it when you touch it), fake products usually just have the name of the product written on it, (and the lettering on the fake will be peeling). No company will wake up and change its logo. Even the package of the Iman I posted, the original had a computer bar on the back of the pack, the fake had nothing on it. If the logo looks different, walk away.
Step 3: Check the name. MAC names its products: Lady Danger, Ruby Woo, Woodwinked, Raizin. So if you see a product with a MAC logo and no name, it's probably fake. Same with Sleek, all their collections have names, a quick Google search will tell you if what you have in your hand was made by the company, if you can't find it online, it doesn't exist.
These are your best steps in avoiding fakes. In my next and final post on this subject, I'll talk about the feel of fake products and places I trust to shop. So keep reading and feel free to share this post with your friends.
I walked
into a store in Adeniran Ogunsanya mall and asked for their cosmetic products. They showed me some MAC stuff, priced at N2,500 and upwards. I laughed and removed myself from the shop without making a purchase.
All the MAC they had was fake.
Welcome to buying fake cosmetics world. It is has become exhausting trying to find makeup that isn't fake: I've bought fake MAC, fake Iman, fake Mary Kay, it has become ridiculous. The fakes are so well-done you ca't spot the difference, in particular Mary Kay and Iman. Here are images to prove my point:
Left or right, which do you think is fake? Can you tell?
Here they are from the front.
In both pictures, the one on the right is original, the other is fake. It is easy to be deceived, unless you know what to look out for.
I'm not trying to be a snob, there's nothing wrong with affordable cosmetics. But I like knowing what ingredients are in the products I'm using on my face, and my clients' faces. I've seen fake cosmetics burn the skin (nasty stuff). And if I'm gonna pay for stuff, I'd like to know what I'm buying is the real deal, the real McCoy, the real Slim Shady. And I'm out of metaphors with that sentence.
In my next post, I will talk about how you can identify real from fake.
Yes, I'm baccccckkk!
How y'all doing? Did you miss me? Probably not. Neither did my mother.
So! We were gonna discuss eyeshadows, innit? Eyeshadows come in 3 different textures, matte, sheen and frost.Let's take a closer look at sheen and frost finishes, shall we?
A selection of my golden-toned eyeshadows. From clockwise: Too Faced e/s, Paula Dorf, Nouba, Bobbi Brown, Nouba again, Urban Decay, MAC, Yaby, Ushas, Stila palette and one last Urban Decay.
I swatched a few out of these, just to show the difference in texture.
In general, if you have mature skin, or you want to wear gold in a soft manner that doesn't scream lots of makeup, go for the brands I listed as sheen (sh), as they're prettier and more forgiving. But if you want eyes that pop from a mile away or it's nighttime and you're out to play, go for the heavier golds listed as frosts (all the ones to the right. See how they look like bling. I did a shoot on these and there's an article with a how-to. Will let you know once it's out.
By the way, you can buy almost all these eyeshadows in Nigeria, that Stila palette (which is original), is on sale for N 1,000. And I know MAC has lots like Goldmine and more, so check out their stores.
A while back, I worked on some dancers for D'banj's "Don't Tell Me Nonsense", with some other makeup artists. It was a really long shoot, lasted till almost midnight on the first day.
Lips were Revlon lipstick in "Love that Red" + MAC Ruby Woo for dancer on the left, and Milani Hot flash lipgloss in Fuschia for the model on the right.
Check out the video below.
Hey bellas. How is this rainy weather treating y'all? Please do NOT say "Weather for 2", your mates in other countries are seeing this type of weather and thinking of planting crops and making money. You're dreaming of something else. Mschewwwwwww. LOL.
I thought I'd share some interesting work I did last year. I was going for a colour splash concept.
When it comes to creative makeup, there are rules to follow. You've got to be super-creative, research everything, tell a story. It's a good time to try out new techniques and play with colour and texture. Don't just throw your entire kit at the model and call it a day, crazy lashes does not make work creative.
I really love this picture, the photographer Hakeem Salaam is one of the best in Nigeria (he's shot every major job out there) and the model, Comfort, 16 and incredibly talented.
A client asked me a question recently during a consultation.
"How do I make my red lipstick stay on long?"
Well, great question, simple answer. Layer it. Start by using a red pencil all over the mouth, after you've defined your lip outline, then colour it in (like how you colour in stuff when you were a child). Apply your lipstick over that and I guarantee it'll last longer and fade evenly. Because it will fade no matter what, and I don't like lipstick sealers, they are too drying. So this will ensure it fades and leaves some colour behind.
This was a model for a fashion show in New York. I know we used MAC lip pencil in Redd and Cherry, then covered with MAC lipstick in Russian Red. Other red lipsticks I like are NYX red, Revlon lipsticks in red (all shades, these are beautiful), Jordana matte red lipstick, NYX lip pencil in Hot Red and Zaron lip pencil in red is one of the best lip pencils I've ever used.
Hello there, back with another blog post title from a band I really like, The Killers.
Eyeliner is an amazing product and it's probably the first piece of makeup everyone steals from their Mummy's handbag as a child. But some out there can be super-annoying: hard, don't release colour well, don't have a smooth texture, expensive for what you're getting, blah blah...
I mean, seriously, Life is tough already. My eyeliner shouldn't be.
I've tried out a few brands, and decided to put all my black eyeliners to the test of long-lasting longevity. I wanted to know, which would last through a crying session of "OMG, Bez Idakula the singer is engaged, I thought I'd meet him one day and we'd get married and have natural-haired babies who play guitar and paint watercolours, mah life izzz overrrrrr"
MAC pencil in Smoulder, Rimmel eyeliner pencil, Face Atelier Powder pencil, Zaron Khol Kajal, MAC waterproof pencil in Engraved, Bobbi Brown gel liner, MUFE Aqua black cream liner
Swatches of all the liner
And swatches of all the liners after I washed my hand with soap and water lightly
I'm not going to make a decision or tell you what I think, I just wanted to show you how they acted under circumstances like water (a sweaty bride or client on a hot day or just any gal with oily skin, take note).
So, as per eyeliner, what's in Your wallet?
Editor's note: We at Naijapretty and Noredia Mua wish Bez congratulations and a happy married life.
I haven't received the final images from this shoot but thought I'd do a breakdown on it, as a few people asked. The model had a lovely bone structure but really dark under eyes, the type that almost nothing but clever lighting can take care of, after concealing.
I prepped the skin with some skincare and Paula Dorf normal to dry skin primer. I used Make Up For Ever HD foundation and concealer palette. Bronzer was Iman bronzing powders and highlighter was Revlon skinlights and Iman bronzer, a few MAC pigments and Paula Dorf eyeshadow. Contour was by my favourite duos from Bobbi Brown, but Sleek contour palette works just as well. Her lips were a blend of Revlon Love that Red, a Max Factor red and OCC NSFW in the middle, topped with gloss. Her brows were not finished here (I was rushing) but I used Tara eyebrow pencils.
Paula Dorf used to be sold at Kuddy Cosmetics and let me know if you need the Revlon, there's a private seller. Sadly, most of the shimmer on her cheekbones didn't show due to my crappy camera.
We continue our look at brushes, and today, we look at foundation brushes.
So, as you can see, these all have different shapes and materials. I sound like a school teacher, abi?
What I want us to focus on is the shape. The white haired one (shu Uemura) is gorgeous for blending, but too small to go over the entire face (unless I have all the time in the world and feel like exercising my wrists); the flat shaped, regular looking ones (like the Smashbox brush, red handle and the Bobbi Brown, yellow handle) do a decent job, but they're placement brushes, not blenders. A lot of people will shoot me for this, but I' not a huge fan of the MAC 187 (the duo-fibre one), in fact I only just learnt how to use it end of last year. It does blend well, and has multiple uses.The Adesign has that amazing pointed shape to get into tiny corners around the face, but it's quite thick and I keep it for cream foundation.
So who's my bestest brush? Why, the Real Techniques Core brush (orange handle).
I use it to blend (and it does that beautifully) and gosh, does this lay powder nicely as well. Just right. If this brush was a dude, he would be described as husband material, no cheating no pimples lives in 1004. #Gbam.
This is just my opinion, and I have seen one of my Oga at the top use her fingers to create perfection with foundation (her name is B....sshusssshhh don't tell her!), but for us who don't have her levels of experience, we can start from here.
Bridal makeup is supposed to bring out the
loveliness of a woman, committing to a man in front of witnesses, about her
love for him. Soft, pretty, sweet, demure, those are words we think of when we
see a bride in our eyes. That usually translates to nude colours, browns and
pinks, with some grey.
But what to do when your bride wants soft
but not those colours exactly?
Enter our model, the lovely Chioma. Chioma was just recovering from an illness
which stressed out her skin, and we were going for yellow and warm, she likes
pink and purple and certainly didn’t want to wear yellow eyeshadow.
For her base, I used Black Opal Cream stick
foundation, I like the texture of this when I’m dealing with dry skin that’s
not so smooth, it can be greasy on others. I went with a pink eyeshadow on her
eyes, with a purple eyeshadow in her crease (a blend of MAC 'Beautiful Iris' and Make Up For
Ever '162'). Chioma has gorgeous brows, so I brushed them up and filled in
sparsely with Tara Orekelewa’s eyebrow pencil. I left her blush and lipstick in
the same family shade of pinkish-brown-orange. I deliberately went for that
because her skin was washed out of colour by her recent illness, so I wanted to
warm it up a little. No lashes, just 2 coats of mascara and eyeliner on the top
(any liquid eyeliner will suffice, but in this case it was my kit staple Make
Up For Ever Aqua Black, which will hold up through tears of “I do”, “My ex-bf
is soo upset right now”, “OMG I’m married” and “Will I ever eat my mum’s soup
again”.
By the way brides, you don’t always need
lashes. So many times, I see lashes that are too big, applied on a bride. It actually
makes your eyes look smaller and cast a shadow in pictures. Not always cute.
Opt for more natural lashes or rock your God-given ones. Your groom likes the
latter best.
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