follow your dreams: September 2012

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Finding Your Flawless Foundation Match

When it comes to shopping for face makeup, there's really one "rule" to abide by: The color should match the face or neck as close as possible. Easier said than done, right? The future does seem bright as game-changing, skin-matching devices launch. But before that kind of technology goes global, foundation matching is still relatively trial-and-error—research, test, repeat. Hopefully, these basic guidelines will help you find your complexion's holy grail.

STEP 1: CHOOSE IN TRIPLES

First things first—you should never purchase a full size bottle of foundation without testing a sample. Luckily, makeup counters are quite generous, so take advantage of the samples. Always test three colors in each foundation range you want to try. Why? Because looks are most always deceiving in the bottle.
Use a sharp eye and some hand-swatching to discover what you believe will be the closest shade match. Then, ask for samples of the two surrounding colors to take home as well. Test all three on your skin—the shade that disappears into your complexion is usually the best fit.

STEP 2: APPLY AS USUAL

From there, apply your chosen foundation sample over any primer, moisturizer, or sunscreen you normally wear. You need to assess how the color performs with an already established skin care routine. If the texture or durability just doesn't feel right, something has to go.

STEP 3: LOOK AT THE LIGHT

Department store lighting is the worst for makeup shopping (seriously—how have the makeup counters not addressed this yet?!). Always look at a foundation swatch in natural light. The color should blend seamlessly depending on the season, and it's the only way to tell if you've got a contender.

STEP 4: GIVE IT TIME

Like copper transforming into patina, foundation has the tendency to darken over the day in a chemical reaction called oxidation. It happens with a lot of formulas—the color you think is a perfect match in the morning may turn a nasty shade of tangerine come lunch time. Always wear your sample for an entire day before committing to a full size.

The Eye Has to Travel: Diana Vreeland's Lasting Legacy on Fashion and Beauty

Looking good is something that anyone can learn to bring out in themselves—it just takes courage, confidence and a little bit of daring. And you can thank one individual for proliferating this open-armed approach to appearance, Ms. Diana Vreeland.

The legendary editor of Harper's BAZAAR and Vogue in the 1960s and '70s, and esteemed exhibition consultant to the Costume Institute, Vreeland is about to enjoy a much deserved canonization in culture. A new documentary, The Eye Has To Travel, directed by her granddaughter-in-law Lisa Immordino Vreeland, is being released on the 21st, and with it, a new-found appreciation for the woman who modernized fashion and made looking good a statement of the self.
Vreeland mobilized the fashion world like no one before her. Her work at Harper's and Vogue would have made Miranda Priestley shrivel into a ball. She wrestled the cosmetics and garment industry out of its safe and elitist aristocratic shell, and electrified it with bold cover concepts (often shot by her friend Richard Avedon) and editorial spreads. She was one of the first editors to recognize the '60s youth movement (coining the term “youthquake”), and put Twiggy and Mick Jagger in her magazine. She even advised Jackie Kennedy on how to dress for the inauguration.
“By her fearless questioning of all assumptions, and rejection of all formulaic approaches she made US Vogue a beacon followed by all who believe that there is more to fashion than an endless trail of rip-offs,” writes columnist Colin McDowell, “By her example she gave people the courage to dare.”
The woman was always working. Even in the bathroom. Visionaire obtained permission to publish almost 150 of memos that Vreeland dictated—as the editor of Vogue at the time—while in her bathroom. When you think about it, there's no more perfect place to consider the subject of appearance. Dated from 1966 to 1972, the memos cover topics ranging from the use of freckles to the genius of Halston. Here's an excerpt from one dated December 9, 1966, about pearls:

I am extremely disappointed to see that we have used practically no pearls at all in the past few issues...I speak of this very often - and as soon as I stop speaking the pearls disappear.

Nothing gives the luxury of pearls. Please keep them in mind.

To Vreeland, fashion and beauty was not just decoration or drapery, it was a statement, a language, an energy. It was something everyone could harness.
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, in select theaters
September 21, 2012.

Finding Your Confidence on Camera

Speaking with confidence and charisma on camera can seem like a cakewalk to some, but it takes more behind the scenes prep than you think. Even pros have a difficult time delivering information in a small time frame or mastering their lines with ease. “You’re talking to a camera, not the camera, and there is no audience to make you feel nervous as if you’re on stage,” notes Hollywood choreographer and performance coach JoAnn Jansen, who has mentored cast and crew for films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Take the Lead, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Blockbuster production or beauty vlog, being in front of a lens requires comfort, courage, and character.
Before you press play, determine what kind of persona you want to present and how you will showcase it. Jansen says to think of the camera as a piece of glass with a personality. Perform with the camera and not to the camera, and speak with it as if you’re talking to your closest friend. Jansen suggests these exercises to help relax and prepare yourself for recording:

1. Know Thyself

To film well, you have to look at yourself objectively. Before you record, put your nose up to a mirror and stare at your reflection for five minutes—look deep inside. Look at all your strengths and flaws, and take yourself in.

2. Knowledge is Power

Write down what you’re going to talk about and go over it repeatedly so you understand what you’re going to say. You’re selling your expertise—no one is going to listen and trust you if you’re not educated about what you’re presenting.

3. Connect Authentically

Practice speaking in front of the self mirror; be self-observant. Limit facial expressions unless they are genuine and meaningful to you. Your eyes connect you to the viewer, and the more distractions there are, the less information they’ll take in. They’re more likely to close the window on your video from touching your hair too much, blinking excessively, and fidgeting.

4. Practice and Progress

Film yourself, watch the clip, and see if you’re happy at the end. If you find imperfections, record it again and be mindful of the mistakes you’re making. “In the end, you’ve gotta work at it,” says Jansen. “For me, coaching is rehearsing, and the more you put into it, the better you’ll be at it.”

For The Love of Lip Gloss

Gloss. Lacquer. Varnish. No matter what the package reads, it holds a special place in all of our makeup bags and our cosmetic collections. We buy it by the tube and by the pot. We’ve dabbed, brushed, sponged, and coated our precious pouts with it through the decades.
We stuck it out through the sticky formulas of our youth. We remember the mistake we made sporting our favorite shade on a windy day, only to spend the afternoon peeling our hair free from the stuff. Though we were humiliated at the time, lip gloss—that didn’t stop us from loving you.
We remember fondly our first teenage make out sessions. Recollections of lip gloss flavored like cherry and bubblegum linger longer than our crush—what was his name? We gave up on those relationships years ago, but we just can’t bear to throw out those half-used tubes of fruity nostalgia from high school.
We’ve gone through pots of gloss in every color of the rainbow. We’ve gone to great lengths to achieve the perfect glassy red lips, piling on coats and coats of liquid shine pigment while visions of Marilyn danced in our heads. We popped our gloss to Lil’ Mama, and plumped our pouts with every variety of shellac imaginable. Our lips never looked as full as Angelina’s, but we sure did keep the gloss business afloat with our attempts.

We’ve survived the nude trend, the clear trend, the pearl shine trend, the glitter trend. We even remember our very first foray into lip gloss land with a jar of Vaseline we snuck from our mother’s medicine cabinet—we felt so grown up with our slick and shiny new look. In our adulthood, we’ve relied on our color-of-the-moment to scope out which glass was ours at the cocktail party—a sparkly tangerine lip print never lies.
No matter what the trend reports are telling us, we know lip gloss will always remain a staple in our makeup stash, for whether crystal clear or flamingo pink, swimming with glitter or a subtle sheen, peppermint scented or watermelon flavored—whatever the mood, any day is good enough to gloss.

What Germs May Come: How to Stop Bacterial Breakouts

Good skin starts with proper diet, a habitual fitness routine, and a genetically blessed hand of hormonal cards, but basic beauty hygiene plays a huge role in the external health of your complexion too. We've covered the gamut of sanitation, but decided a shorter, more concise list of the basics was necessary. For skin's sake, keep it clean!

VIRAL PHONES

Germs don't play favorites, and whether you're toting a sleek smartphone or the Nokia of yesteryear, bacteria is building up on your mobile as you speak. The area around the microphone is particularly nasty, but nothing a daily antibacterial cloth wipe down won't fix.

SINGLE-CELLED SHADES

Like our cellular friends, sunglasses harbor a lot of skin buildup and sweat around the bridge of the nose, and the mere fact of a physical item pressed to your skin is a recipe for clogged pores and blackheads. As above, be sure to give your glasses a daily spritz of lens cleaner, or wash with soap and water.

BACTERIAL BLENDERS

Your favorite brush holds pigment, but an unwashed, unloved tool also harbors a lot of oil debris. Are once-a-week-brush-washing sessions too much to ask for? Same goes for hair and cleansing brushes—your scalp is just as susceptible as the skin on your face.

LIVING LINENS

Come bedtime, a dirty pillowcase is a blanket of bacteria waiting to snuggle right into your face; not sweet dreams by any standards. Keep a laundered backup in the wings and change your set (and your sheets!) every one or two weeks. It's that easy.

MICROBIAL MAKEUP TESTERS

Do we even have to broach the subject of beauty's bona fide petri dish? Avoid using cosmetic testers altogether if you can, but if you simply must, stick to applicators, keep it to the back of your hand, and spritz the area with rubbing alcohol immediately after. Keep your at-home skin regimen just as hygienic by using a plastic spatula—not your fingers—to scoop out creams. Which leads us to the worst one of them all...

DIGITS OF DOOM

We're subconsciously touching our face all day—at the office, in the car, or playing in front of the mirror. Guess what—your hands also come in contact with everything else too, most notably that public door knob. Do you really need thousands of random stranger's microbial waste near your face? Stash away a pocket sanitizer and try to minimize your finger-to-face habit.

Bright Eyes: The Right Colored Mascara for Your Lashes

Come spring we were all abuzz about colored mascara after it made a splash on the runways at Stella McCartney. Pat McGrath did it again at the Dior Couture show with a neon lash and shadow combo that can only be described as "truly outrageous!" Though McGrath achieved the saturated lash colors with loose shadow, loads of makeup companies are now following suit creating quality candy colored mascaras that make rainbow lashes a snap, and with September’s neutral palette, it’s a more subtle way to bring color into your look.
Of course, colored lashes are not a new trend. We all remember our tubes of neon Hard Candy mascara, worn diligently in the mid ‘90s with our crop tops and magnetic piercings. And let's not forget Barbie's electric blue lashes and matching eye liner she sported frequently throughout the 1980's. History is prone to repeat itself—and trends are no exception—but we're happy to see this one in particular come back in a modern and versatile way.
Even if you aren't ready to brave a hot pink eye just yet, we are convinced there's a colored mascara look out there for you! Follow along this handy color chart and find your match.

BLUE

Blue on the eyes is always a safe bet when experimenting with a little color. The hue is versatile enough that most anyone can find a shade that will suit them. Inglot's line of Color Play Mascaras give us options with both a dark and a bright blue for either a subtle effect or a full on statement eye. If you have blonde hair, a subtle blue lash can be more flattering than a black one. Looks like Barbie was onto something!

PURPLE

Purple mascara has a habit of looking bolder on the brush than it does on your lashes, so don't let the sight of it turn you into a shrinking violet. Make no mistake, purple is strong, but it's also flattering on most skin tones. Redheads have the ability to rock an edgy purple eye like no one else can, but if you're not ready for full on Dior-inspired eyes, a flash of the color on your lashes enhanced with a thin stroke of purple eye liner will deepen brown eyes and bring out the green tones in hazel eyes. Swipe on Make Up Forever Smoky Lash in Purple for a sultry look, or turn up the volume with Mac Zoom Lash in Plum Reserve.

GREEN

Though Blondie gave green lashes a bad rap in their song "Rip Her To Shreds" we are convinced we can turn its reputation around. The color was popular at Dior, worn with complimentary outfits in shades of red and pink. Green lashes are not for the faint of heart, but the color brings out warm brown and violet tones in eyes beautifully. If only Elizabeth Taylor had gotten a hold of a tube! Nouba from Italy has created a variety of green shades in their Colorlash line from teal to lime.

RED/FUCHSIA

Probably the most unusual color in the mascara world but surely the most memorable eye look at Dior. Red is a color we like to avoid around our eye area, but it’s a force to be reckoned with when done right. This is one hue that needs to be worn bold—or not worn at all. Pair several coats of red like Urban Decay Big Fatty Colored Mascara in Black Cherry with a matching eye shadow or liner, but don't blend your red. Instead keep shadow edges on the lid crisp for a modern look visible from a mile away. If your eyes are blue, hot colored lashes will make their icy tones pop, proving that the “red-eye” look can be flattering after all.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Happy 78th Birthday Sophia Loren

Sophia Loren, OMRI (English: /sə'fiə lə'ɹɛn/, Italian: [so'fi:a lo'rɛn]; born Sofia Villani Scicolone on 20 September 1934) is an Italian actress.
Loren is widely recognized as the most awarded Italian actress. She was the first actress of the talkie era to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance, for her portrayal of Cesira in Vittorio De Sica's Two Women. Her other awards include one Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Laurel Award. In 1995 she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievements, one of many such awards.
Her films include: Houseboat (1958), El Cid (1961), Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), Marriage Italian-Style (1964), and A Special Day (1977). In later years she has appeared in American blockbusters such as Grumpier Old Men (1995), and Nine (2009). In 1994 she starred in Robert Altman's Prêt-à-Porter (film), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination the same year. She has also achieved critical and commercial success in TV movies such as Courage (1986).