Hello hello hello!


Gosh, June went by so fast that I hardly noticed that I haven't posted much for the month! I have been busy running around Metro Manila for shoots and weddings that I haven't had the chance to post some tips for you!

Not to worry, I will be back on track once July comes. Thanks for the continued support!

Text by Sabs Hernandez

A lot of morenas have asked me if smoky eyes would suit them, and the answer is YES! Anyone can pull off the smoky eye as long as you choose the right colors and application techniques!

The "smoky eyes" look refers to a variety of eye shadow styles that both make the eyes look more deeply set, and create a dark but soft frame around them. Most morenas already have naturally well defined eyes, so we don't need to darken the eye socket so much as to create a soft, but deep frame for them. To do this, we should use artistic contrast.

For morenas with a cool complexion (like Angie on the picture), a glittery black adds a bit deeper shadow without looking sooty. This black should be somewhat sheer, but a quality brand of powder that you can use a watercolor technique to line the eyes.

Mildly metallic dark silver is a good median color, but for contrast, a lavender or somewhat rosy purple is best. What we're going to do is to use the median color as the balance between them in some places, but the light purple will make the black look darker without having to add more eyeshadow.


♥ First, lay down your colors. Line your upper lid with a somewhat narrow line of the darkest color. Add a thicker streak in the fold of the lid. Put some of the medium color in the middle of your lid. Then another narrow line of the lightest color just above and mildly overlapping the narrow darker line. Then dot the outer arc under your brow with the lightest color.

♥ Now soften it up by blending the shadow on the upper lid outwards from the center. Smear the lightest and darkest colored line horizontally. You just want to soften them.

The dark shadow at the fold should be blended upwards into the arc of your eye sockets, and the lightest colored shadow under your brow should be blended around and somewhat inwards. You want the shadowy part and the highlight to seem to fade into one another.

♥ Now open your eye to check how it looks. Some people with puffier eyes may be tempted to add more dark shadow right away, but be careful about this. What you may actually need here is a little more of the lightest color blended under your brow for contrast.

♥ Now, moisten a narrow eyeshadow brush with distilled water, and dip it into the darkest color. Make a well defined line across the edge of the upper and lower eyelids. Remember that if you have small eyes, you should only line the lower lid 1/3 to 1/2 of the way.

♥ Let the watercolored line dry completely, and then using a regular spongy eyeshadow brush, soften the line using small outward strokes.

♥ For more impact, you can add a little of the lightest color, or a more apricot color just under the lower liner.

With warm complexions, you want to stick with earthy, natural colors for the smoky eye look. Black and silvery colors end up looking far too flat. The basic steps are about the same for both cool and warm complexions though.




PHOTO CREDITS
Hair and Makeup: Sabs Hernandez for Lancôme Paris
Photographer: Filrobes
Model: Angie Sandel
Accessories by: OLEIC

CREDITS
Makeup: Sabs Hernandez for Lancôme Paris
Hair: Vianney Guese for L'Oreal Paris Studio Line
Photographer: Charles Lu
Styling: Alyanna Martinez

What: Neutral colour, nudes and pale pinks on the lips. Shiny supple skin!

Seen on: On the runways of Oscar del la Renta, Anna Suit, Versace, Fendi and many more.

How to wear it: As with the runway looks, nude lips can complement the all-over fresh-faced natural look or sex-kitten smoky eyes.

PHOTO CREDITS

Photo1: Makeup by Sabs Hernandez for Lancôme Paris
Hair by: Ogie Rayel for Khiel's Stylist Series
Photographer: Marc Nicdao

Photo 2: From Google photo library

BRIDAL TIPS

♥ A beautiful wedding day look starts with the right cleanser and moisturizer for your skin's needs; follow with a great hydrating cream for your eye area. Allow 5-10 minutes for the moisturizers to get fully absorbed by your skin.

♥ Lighten undereye circles with a creamy concealer and even out your skin tone with a foundation that matches your skin in natural light. Set with loose powder for a polished look that lasts, and yet gives you that dewy and supple look.

♥ Warm up your skin by sweeping on a bronzer powder with a bronzing brush. If your skin is exceptionally fair, skip the bronzer.

♥ Define your eyebrows using a product that you are already used to that's toned to your hair color. If you have a product to set your eyebrows, add a thin layer just enough to keep your eyebrow hairs in place the entire night.

♥ Use a white colored eyeshadow as an all over shadow base and highlighter on brow bone; choose BONE or VANILLA for darker skin (Like Angie here). Apply medium eyeshadow shades like sable, old rose, or taupe on your lid (from lash line to crease). If you want a more dramatic look, add shimmer shadow on top of your entire eye area in champagne or beige.

♥ For a long-lasting eye liner, line your eyes with an ultra-thin brush by wetting the tip and dipping it in charcoal, navy, or dark brown eyeshadow. Brush your lashes to brush off excess powder and other products before curling your lashes and finishing with 2 coats of mascara.

♥ Dust blush on the apples of your cheeks, blending up towards the hairline, then downwards to soften. Add a pop of brighter blush in the same color family just on the apples of the cheeks. For a pretty glow, dust on shimmer. There are a lot of brands now that offer shimmer brick compacts.

♥ Brighten your normal lip shade with a neutral shade of pencil, and apply a bright color on top! In Angie's case, I used a bright peach-orange color to match with the apricot blush I applied on her cheeks. Blot and re-apply. To make your lipstick really last, repeat this step 2-3 times. Finish with gloss for added shine.






PHOTO CREDITS
Hair and Makeup: Sabs Hernandez for Lancôme Paris
Photographer: Filrobes
Model: Angie Sandel
Accessories by: OLEIC

It's party time, ladies!

So play with all that glitz, glamour and sparkle you have been craving for and give in to opulence and the fairy-like shimmer dreams. Here are some tips and ticks to use, next time you do makeup for the party:

• Light base, foundation and cover assists you in highlighting your lips and eyes and also keeps you fresh all through the sweaty dance numbers.

• For a good base, wash you face with warm water and massage it with a tinted oil-free moisturizer mixed with illuminating products such as highlighters or shimmer dust available in the market. Let it set by brushing loose powder lightly on it.

• Skin illuminators are great at hiding skin imperfections and dark circles and give you a radiant glow.

• Smokey eyes are great for evening parties and make you look sexy and sensual at the same time. You are not limited to using gray or black. On Iya, I kept the smoky eye look light by using lilac and sparkly silver and loaded up on mascara instead!

• For more informal parties, you may use subtle play of colors; daytime makeup looks and may add a little eye shimmer or minty green as an accent. Omit the luminous makeup and may try a blend of pale pink and green shades.

• Remember, your personality and confidence matters more than you looks, so try the makeup only if you are comfortable with it.

• Rubbing ice on your skin for 5 to 10 minutes before applying makeup helps your makeup to last longer.

• Golden, bronze and silver liners add festive touches to your makeup instantly.

• For office parties, sheer use of blush can make you look dressy and yet polished.

• Pearly brown, gray and pink lip colors look classy and subtle at the same time.

PHOTO CREDITS
Photographed by: Raymund Isaac
Hair and Makeup by Sabs Hernandez for Lancôme Paris
Shot in Portfolio Studio

The siren songs of the spring makeup collections are hard to resist. But think twice before sticking your finger into the lip gloss or eye shadow at the cosmetics counter.

There could be more lurking there than the latest shade of plum. Bacteria, including staph and E. coli, were uncovered in a two-year study of makeup counter samples conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Brooks, a biological sciences professor at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. "Every single time, we found E. coli. That was the one that was most repulsive to all of us," says Brooks, pointing out that this likely means the makeup was tried by someone who didn't wash their hands after using the rest room.

The study, completed last spring, was a class project for Brooks' students, who sampled and cultured cosmetic testers in 20 department stores and pharmacies. Bacterial contamination was found in every sampling, and at a higher rate on weekends, when the stores are busier. "There isn't a whole lot of health risk here. The only one I can really think of, and it's a real possibility, is bacterial conjunctivitis.

Also, any of these bacteria can cause acne," says Brooks. "It's just kind of the ick factor. I don't want this on my skin." Dr. Stuart Bender, chief of dermatology at Norwalk Hospital and assistant clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, agrees that the risk of contracting an infection from contaminated makeup testers is low. "The most dangerous thing at the cosmetics counter is the sticker shock of what it costs," he says.

Bender says he typically sees patients with irritations or allergic reactions to cosmetics, but can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he's treated a patient for an infection caused by makeup in his 40 years of practicing. Prevention magazine, which wrote about Brooks' study in its April edition, found a makeup sales associate who contracted a nasty case of conjunctivitis, she believed, from using a makeup sample.

"Theoretically, almost anything that a tester had before you (sampled the makeup) can contaminate the makeup," says Amy O'Connor, deputy editor at Prevention. "Retailers who put these testers out are not to blame. They make every effort to keep these clean." Brooks agrees. "We as the consumer need to be a little more vigilant because the stores are doing what they can. The general population needs to educate itself," she says.

So how can you safely try cosmetics? Use common sense.

* Wash your hands with soap and water before and after using a makeup tester, or use a hand sanitizer.

* Try products on your hand, not your face, then hold your hand up to your face to see how the color looks. "Avoid the eyes and mouth at all costs," says Brooks. Says O'Connor: "Makeup is really expensive. It's very tempting to use the testers, but don't assume they are safe. Ask the salespeople for help."

* Bender recommends making sure that makeup artists put on a fresh pair of disposable gloves each time they help a customer, and use a cotton-tipped disposable applicator when applying products.

* Indeed, Dr. Robin Evans, a Stamford dermatologist, insists that makeup counter staff take steps to clean the makeup, and spray brushes or use a Q-Tip to apply products when she tests cosmetics. "The lips and eyes are much more of an issue than the cheeks," Evans says. "Obviously, the risk is there." She adds that she is unable to say how often people contract infections from contaminated makeup, but "I would say that of real significance are people whose immune systems are compromised. Maybe they should be staying wary."

* Some makeup artists undergo mandatory training, learning procedures such as sanitizing lipsticks by dipping them in alcohol and wiping them off; wiping the top layer off powdered cosmetics; sharpening eye pencils between uses; and encouraging customers to test the products on their hands instead of their faces. The applicators in lip glosses, mascaras or other products in tubes are removed; clients who want to test them use disposable applicators that have been designed to mimic the package's design. Brushes are washed after each use and deep-cleaned nightly.

* In addition, makeup artists must wash their hands before completing a customer makeover, and use disposable applicators to apply the various products.

* Makeup brushes should be deep-cleaned each night, and lipsticks are sanitized in alcohol and wiped clean before a customer tries them. Customers are also urged to use disposable applicators when testing skin-care products. Katharina Gross, a beauty adviser at Douglas Cosmetics, acknowledges how tempting it is to try new colors: "A lot of times when women come in to a place like this, it's like a candy store." Still, Gross is amazed by the number of customers who will put the products on their faces using their hands -- or smear a lip gloss on the back of their hand, but then take it from there and apply it to their lips. "They're like petri dishes," Gross says of the testers, "but there's only so much you can do."

Brooks is not allowed to say which companies' products she tested, but acknowledges that the study's findings had quite an impact on her and her students. "There is one student who is going on to medical school in fall, who loves makeup, who said, 'I will never put anything on my face again,' " she says.







Photos taken from Google photo library