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.
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.
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.
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.
