I love Makeup Stains. They are very versatile and can really save the day in a pinch. Sadly, not many of them are popular, especially for dark skin. I remember jumping on the (pricey) Benetint wagon years ago.
A proper lip and cheek tint is very liquid and transparent in texture. Most times, that doesn't translate well in dark skin (I could be wrong though).
Most of us are very familiar with liquid lipsticks, they're quite the rage. But did you know you could make them duplicate as a lip and cheek stain? Yup! It's not something I would do daily but if you've ever found yourself attending an event and rushing and forgettinf makeup items, start thinking of ways to make few items count.
You have to get the right colour and consistency. I've tried a few but I really like BMpro Liquid lipstick (rrp N4500) and the affordable Classic liquid lipstick (rrp N500) comes a distant 2nd. Jioney was a streaky, uneven-drying mess for me (why do people like it??).
Dab a few drops of your liquid stain on your cheeks and really blend it out before it sets and dries. Use the same colour on your lips and voila, a pretty flush on both lips and cheeks and no having to guess which blush matches what.
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!).
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.
Hey guys. Light, Love and Sunshine is here again (had some issues, let me warn you, do NOT watch an eclipse in a bowl of water and run down steps in heels. You WILL regret both those actions).
Drugstore retail giant, Maybelline, has come officially to Nigeria! Woohoo, because they are makers of one of the world's most iconic mascaras, Maybelline Great Lash mascara. Maybelline sponsored the just-concluded Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2013, and yours truly worked backstage with the team, and it was great.
The company also kindly shared goodies with the team, so I got to do some brand catch-up:
I played with it first thing next morning (hey, forgive my makeup mistakes, I was 3/4 asleep) and here's how it came out:
I used the Color Tattoo cream eyeliners on my eyes, Colossal Volume mascara on my lashes, Color Sensational lipsticks in Red and Neon Red on my lips, Eyebrow pencil in dark brown and Pressed Powder in Mocha to contour subtly.
Their Color Tattoo creamliners are PHENOMENAL. I mean, if those liners were a dude, they would be a tall, dark-skinned looker who went to an ivy league university abroad and has a great job in Nigeria and has no commitment issues and thinks you're beautiful after you've woken up from sleeping in a room with no AC. Yup, that good. The Color Tattoo liners last a full 24-hours, models would come back the next day and still have them on, I had to use some cleanser to take it off and they are soooo smooth to apply.
The Color sensational lipsticks are a creamy dream, first swipe give you see-through glossy colour, second swipe full-on power.
Their mascaras, well, you probably own one already, because y'all are Divas.
Check out the line, go shopping and have a Maybelline day!
