One question everyone seems to ask is: What kind of Brush Cleaner should I use for my makeup brushes?  It’s a legitimate question.  I mean you could spend a fortune trying all the ones out there on the market.

There are definitely good cleaners out there on the market, cleaners that will remove the makeup, sanitize and condition your brushes without ruining them.  But then there are others that have a high level of Isopropyl Alcohol in them which can ruin any brush by drying out the cuticles and causing them to fray.

MAC Cosmetics has a decent one, though it doesn’t dry as quickly as they promise and even Sephora’s Daily Brush Cleaner is good.  But if I had to choose one out of all of them it would be Cinema Secrets Professional Brush Cleaner.  It’s blue and smells like yellow cake, breaks down makeup & oils like magic and conditions your brushes at the same time.  Simply love this stuff!

None of these brushes however are quick dry, so use sparingly when cleaning your brushes on the job.

Now, if you are on a tight budget and even $13 (Cinema Secrets Professional Brush Cleaner 4oz Bottle is $13) seems like a little too much to spend, you can get your brushes sparkly clean and conditioned for pennies with a little product I like to call Dawn Dish Soap.

Yes, you heard me right!  Dawn Dish Soap is a miracle cleaner.  Its gentle formula will quickly break down the oils in the brush without stripping them and ruining them.  Works great with synthetic as well as natural hair brushes.

If you’re using the Dawn Dish Soap method you can give your natural hair brushes a nice deep conditioning treatment by using your hair conditioner.  I know, sounds funny to hear me telling you to use dish soap and hair conditioner but it’s true.  They work great for those of us on a more restrained budget.

Well I hope this gives you some food for thought and an idea of what you should be using to clean your makeup brushes.

Method Makeup Academy, Sacramento’s Makeup School

So, the questions are, how much, where & what color.  Yep, that pretty much describes how most of us feel about blush.  Well, here’s a few pointers that might help.

1. Blush is pink or peachy.  Bronzers are not blush, though they can definitely be used as blush if you like that bronzy look.
2. Choose a blush that matches your undertone. Which means if you have a warmer more yellow undertone choose a more peachy blush.  If you have a cool, bright pinky undertone, choose a true pink with a blue undertone.
3. Blush should be applied in a lazy J motion.  This means the heaviest part will be on the apples of your cheeks with a sweeping motion back along the actual cheek bone to the hair line.  I call this the Nike Swoosh movement if that better illustrates what I mean.
4. Blush goes on the curve of the cheek bone, NOT under it and NOT above it.
5. Don’t be shy.  Blush adds life and a healthy youthful glow to your face.

So, we all hope this helps!  Have fun!

Method Makeup Academy, Sacramento’s Makeup School

Does your black eye shadow always seem to look gray or worse blue-ish on you every time you apply it?  You love that smoky eyed look that everyone else seems to always be able to rock, but the black is just not your friend?

You’ve tried every brand, from MAC to Maybelline and still you can’t get your black to stay black.

Well, here’s two tricks that’ll keep your black as dark as you want it to be.

Option One:  This one costs money so if you are on a tight budget like the rest of us, skip ahead to Option Two.  Now, because I know you are still reading this, here’s the first tip.  You can purchase a good cream eye shadow of a light or nude tone.  Apply this to your whole lid, then apply the black eye shadow.  The lighter color should help the black to really pop.  But, if you’re budget demands you save your pennies and dimes, or you’re tired of buying yet another piece of makeup, try:

Option Two:  This one is simple, easy and works every time.  Apply your highlighter as you normally would, then wherever you plan to apply the black eye shadow, lightly apply a neutral medium to light brown.  Then pack your black shadow over the brown and blend out.  The soft neutral brown will cancel out any affect the black eye shadow has on your skin tone and will keep the black true, dark and fabulous to smoke out and get a sexy cat eye.

Now you have no reason to be afraid of black, get out there, grab your brushes and have fun!

Method Makeup Academy, Sacramento’s Makeup School

So, you’re getting enough sleep and still you have dark circles under your eyes and on your eye lids? It’s frustrating, makes you look like you’re always tired and it makes you feel old. So what do you do?

Ok, first are you really getting enough sleep? Second, is it just dark circles or have you got a matched set of luggage going as well?

If you got a carry-on hanging out under each eye, start each morning with a cold compress over your eyes. You can make a cold compress by using Mint Tea Bags dampened with chilled water and held over your eyes for 10 minutes. This will shrink the capillaries in your skin and reduce the swelling.

Another option to reduce swelling is by taking dry spoons frozen for an hour and cupped over your eyes for 5 minutes (DO NOT use wet spoons frozen or you will lose your eye lashes!!).

Third option is using a dab of Preparation H under your eyes for 15 minutes (Caution this is a medicated product and should not be used if you suffer from Thyroid issues/disease). All of these will work wonders for your eye luggage.

As for the dark circles for a quick fix you want to use a good orange color corrector. My preferred brand choice is the Dark Circle Concealor by NYX Cosmetics, Medium. It runs about $6 over the counter and works wonders. This shade works for most skin colors if applied sparingly.

A small note here, Color Correctors are NOT concealers. They are not supposed to be applied heavily, their purpose is to neutralize the undertone of your dark circles so when you do apply your foundation and concealer the bluish/bruised tone of the dark circles will not bleed through giving your eyes a dark/bruised appearance.

There are many shades of color correctors out there, but for dark circles you want orange. Why? Because Orange is opposite of Blue on the color wheel and basically colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel will neutralize each other.

To apply you can use your finger tips and apply lightly and blend out, or use a small concealer brush and apply lightly with gentle sweeping motions that move down and away from your eye.

Now after you’ve applied you color corrector lightly and well blended you can go ahead and apply your concealer as usual. Now, should you still feel that you are a little dark under the eyes you can choose to use a concealer about a ½ shade lighter than your skin, this will help further brighten your under eye. But I should note that too light of a shade can make you look like a reverse raccoon so use your discretion.

Using the tips of your fingers lightly dab this on. You don’t have to do it heavy and completely get rid of every trace of shadow you got going on. It’s just one step to the whole process.

Second, apply your liquid foundation over your whole face and under your eyes and over your eye lids like you normally would. Apply your powder, being careful to apply underneath your eyes, this will give a smoothness and help cover up the last vestiges of under eye shadow.

This four step process should remove any trace of dark shadows. Remember, it’s a building up process so you don’t have to be heavy handed with your products as this will just make you look like you are wearing a mask. So take your time, build up each layer carefully and blend out well and you will be dark circle free!

Method Makeup Academy, Sacramento’s Makeup School

Tired of the morning lag?  Tired of downing cups of coffee, which, in spite of it’s great taste, has some rather unpleasant side effects?  First, it can make you jittery and wired, can give you a gross crash when it wears off.  It is very addicting, ask any coffee drinker what happens on the morning they skip their daily dose.  Headaches that will make you want to weep!

So what is our alternative for the caffeine junky in us all?

Well you know the old adage “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away”?  Well eat an apple a day and say good bye to coffee!

The natural sugars in the apple with give you a healthy boost of energy with out the addicting side effects of coffee.  There is no fast acting sugar rush, since in the process of eating the apple the fructose (natural simple sugar) is introduced to your blood stream at a nice even pace.  No nasty sugar rush like candy or even like coffee can.

So, no addiction, no nasty let down once the initial caffeine rush is over and best of all, no nasty yellow teeth!

Method Makeup Academy, Sacramento’s Makeup School

1. Use waterproof mascara.  It won’t smear or run beneath your eyes by the end of the day like most regular, non waterproof mascara will.I prefer NYX Doll Eye Waterproof Mascara (Retail $9.50), it’s a nylon base, so be aware of this just in case you have allergies.
2. Red Lipstick with a blue undertone will make your teeth appear whiter.  Blue counter–acts yellow and will give the illusion of brighter, whiter teeth.There are of course some provisos on this, if you have very warm toned skin, a blue toned red is going to look ‘off’.  So, here’s what you want to do:  Use a warm tone red on the outer part of your lips, this will blend and compliment your skin tone, then on the inner part of your lips nearest to your teeth, use a cool toned red.  This is going to make your teeth look whiter.
3. Set your foundation with powder.  Powder over your foundation will help it stay all day.  It will absorb the natural oils and moisture in your skin prolonging the wear of your makeup.Now, don’t just fluff it on, set it by pressing it gently into your skin.  Make sure that your foundation is blended well into your skin, as too much moisture will make the powder look thick and cakey.
4. Light before dark.  Apply your light shadows first, then the dark, as this will keep the light from being muddy.
5. Lift your Brow.  When applying your eye liner, lift up your eyebrow to get a flat line.  Doing so will tighten up the skin on your lid for smooth application without any “skips”.
6. Clean your brushes.  Clean brushes will apply your makeup more quickly and cleanly.  A clean brushwill also keep your colors bright and true.  So wash your personal brushes at least twice a month. (Also, ew!  Who wants dirty brushes?  All those ugly bacteria running around…..)
7. Don’t Powder your eyelids.  Leaving your eyelids moist from your liquid foundation or cream concealer will make your eye shadows wear longer.  The moisture will “grab” the shadow and make it stay.
8. Use blush LIGHTLY.  Blush adds healthy color to a face, giving the impression of youth, life and health, but it is NOT a contour!  It should be applied lightly onto the apples of your cheeks (Where the actual cheek bone is) and not beneath the cheek bone where your contour goes.
9. Blend.  Blend, blend, blend your eye shadows.  Un-blended shadows can leave hard lines and make your eye shadow appear unfinished.Blending your colors leaves a beautiful gradation which gives a finished, polished look.
10. Do your eyebrows.  Even if you have naturally dark brows, adding a little bit of powder or pencil to them will help define and finish off your face.Choose a shade 1-2 shades lighter than your head hair and use lightly just to add conformity to your brows.

Method Makeup Academy, Sacramento’s Makeup School

What you need:

Black Eye Shadow – M.A.C. Cosmetics Carbon $16 or NYX Nude Matte Shadow Stripped $4.50 (Both of of these shadows are amazing.  They are TRUE blacks, none of that bluish tinted crap you find in other brands.  I can’t say which I love more, though my VISA prefers the NYX.  I must admit I lean more toward NYX over MAC as NYX is Cruelty Free.  MAC, though amazing, tests on Animals so they lose my vote when I have a choice between their product and another good brand.)

Highlighter Shadow – Chimera Cosmetics Gold on White $18 (If you want a golden undertone) or NYX Cosmetics Hot Singles Shadows Vixen (for a nude undertone) or Whipped Cream (for a bright white) $4.50

Black Liquid Eye Liner – Wet & Wild H20 Ultra Black 881 $3.99 (Easily Found at Wal-mart) or if you prefer Gel Chimera Cosmetics Black Gel Liner $15

Mascara – NYX Doll Eye Water Proof Black Mascara $9.50

Rounded Eye Shadow Brush

Medium Firm Blending Brush

1.  With a light tapping motion, place the highlightshadow. Place the highlight directly under the eyebrow on the brow bone.Work from the inside corner of the eye, toward the arch of the brow, stopping at the outside edge of the brow.
2. Apply the highlight shadow over the entire lid, leaving the crease empty.
3. Choose a medium-sized eye shadow brush for the shadow portion of the application. Press black shadow into the outer edge of the crease.  DO NOT take it past your pupil towards the inner part of your eye.
4. Blend out into the crease softening the edgewith a medium firm blending brush.
5. Using an angled liner brush apply the Liquid Eye liner to the upper lid. On yourself make sure you lift your brow high to give a smoother application and line. Start at the outside edge of the eye and feather in towards the inside corner of the eye. Eye liner application is best done in fluid, consistent strokes.
6. Holding the wand horizontally, apply mascara from underneath the upper lashes, working from the base of the lashes to the tips. Apply evenly from the tear duct to the outer corner.
7. Re-load the wand and apply mascara to the lower lashes, working from the base to the tips. If thicker lashes are desired, apply a second coat of mascara.
8. The smokey eye requires a stronger brow then a more natural eye. Using an angled brush, use a shadow that is the same toneas your hair, choosing a color that is one shade lighter than your hair. Using the angled brush start filling in your brow with small upward, hair like flicks, working your way towards your arch. At the arch continue filling in the brow using longer more fluid motions down the length of the brow’s tail.

And there you have it!  A true smokey eye. (Note of Caution:  Not ALL eyes look good with a Smokey eye, not ALL people can pull off a solid black.  If you think that might be you, choose a dark brown as base crease and then softly blend in some black.)

Method Makeup, Sacramento’s Makeup School