All Kinds of Highlighting!

You want a quick and easy face lift? 

Facial contouring is the way to go and it's super easy!

This post is dedicated to highlighting technique.

What is a highlighter? A highlighter is any product that is lighter than your natural skin tone. A highlighter can have a matte, pearl or shimmer finish. Why should you use a highlighter? A highlighter is used to create an optical illusion. When placed next to a dark color it changes the face structure. When used alone, it adds a fresh, reflective and dewy quality to the skin. The best places to highlight are under the eyebrows, the bridge of the nose, on either side of the nose and under the chin. 

The looks I love the best are more natural. I'm not a huge fan of a heavily made up face for everyday. It ends up looking scary after a few hours and it's really hard to do well if you are new to it. 

Tarte is one of my favorite brands to buy. Above is their translucent powder. If you don't have a translucent powder go and buy one right now! It's one of the most important products in my makeup kit. Translucent powder is traditionally used to set makeup but it's a great highlighter too. Dust a little bit on the bridge of your nose, under your chin and on either side of your nostril before applying your foundation for a little bit of brightness. (This is best done after a primer.)

The Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights is a fantastic highlighting palette. These powders are used after you apply your foundation. This palette offers something for every part of your year. 

If you prefer a liquid to work with, Sun Beam by Benefit is a great product. I mix a tiny drop into my moisturizer or my foundation for a soft simple summer face.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

So You Want to Color Your Own Hair................

I'm not like other stylists. I love it when you color your own hair.Here are the reasons why:

1. I'm super busy, and it's one more thing I don't have to do.
2. It gives me something to look at and criticize/laugh at in my head.
3. I make a lot of money when I help you fix something particularly terrible.
4. It makes me feel really good to help you out.

I know. I am a terrible and wonderful person at the same time.

In all seriousness though, I really don't mind it when people color their own hair. Sometimes it's just a necessity. It's kind of like doing your own home improvement projects. Sometimes you watch a video on YouTube about tiling your own bathroom and it looks so easy you decide to try it yourself. Sometimes this works out and you pat yourself on the back for saving money. Sometimes you just have to call a professional because you accidentally knock a hole in your wall and a bunch of asbestos falls into your tub. You just have to recognize when you're in over your head. (HA!)

There really is so much more to hair color than filling up a bottle and pouring it on your head. Maybe this is why so many stylists resent box color. We journey through a very special level of purgatory called beauty school to get where we are. (How many of you college students could survive pedicures on ninety year old ladies with toenails thicker than the Wall of China for eight hours a day?) After beauty school purgatory we go straight into indentured servitude. This is called being an assistant. (You just hope to get a master who won't beat you too much.)

The point is- we know stuff. Some of us are really smart and know lots of stuff (me).

Next time I will tell you how to know if you are in over your head (HA!).

Mary