Shine Control excitement!!

So, I have found Mecca. Well not really, but close. I was working on a job yesterday and tried a new HD powder from Youngblood. So amazingly light and sheer that you couldn't even tell the woman had powder on!! That is my kind of makeup. Great for daily, mere mortal use as well because it mattes skin without that heavy cakey look and feel. Exactly what you want your powder to be!!
Beautiful, flawless skin.....simply!

luscious,long-lasting lips

Luscious, long-lasting lips. Say that 5 times fast!! When I'm working with a client and I don't have time to constantly touch up their lips I take a nude or natural lip pencil and cover their whole lip with it. When using a color like this, if you want to create fuller lips just over draw the lip slightly especially from the peak of the top lip to the outside corner. While gently keeping your mouth closed. Once that's done, I just take a nice pretty gloss and fill in the center or pucker spot. That adds dimension and depth.
Voila, beautiful full long lasting lips.!!

Dreaded Dark Circles

I get asked about this problem often. It seems so many woman are afflicted with dark circles. For many people it is unfortunately hereditary. There are however things that can be done to minimize the appearance. Using an eye cream with retinol and vitamin K can help because many people who have dark circles have a deficiency of vitamin K in their diet. Philosophy makes an eye cream that actually works. Also, as I've talked about in an earlier post, we MUST all wear concealer!! The most important cosmetic you can own!!! Choosing a color that is slightly warm(having a tinge of orange)will counteract the blue hue under the eyes. Look at the mirror, tip your chin down slightly, now you'll see where to apply the bulk of your product. Then blend up towards the eye and voila! No more darkness!!
Remember putting the concentration of the product where it's needed most and blending out keeps you looking the most natural.
Keeping it Simple!

puffy eyes

So an old friend was asking the other day what to do with puffy eyes. I get this question a lot. The answer is the old fashioned cool cucumber trick!! Take sliced cucumber and place them on your eyes for 10 minutes. Lay back and relax and that should help. When I am on set doing someones makeup and they need help I use Cliniques All About Eyes. That helps the puffyness and dryness. Now if that doesn't work and you are extremely desperate Preparation H does work. Yes, you read correctly. Please only use this in moderation!!!

Working with small set eyes

I was working with a client the other day getting her ready for the Golden Globes. She is a very beautiful, mature woman with lovely skin and stunning green eyes. However her eyes are on the smaller side so I suggested we line them with a thin pencil. I used dark green instead of black to keep it softer. We then applied a light beige all over her lid and used lots of mascara to really give the illusion of opening the eye. By keeping the lid color light and simple, the eyes will appear larger and if your eyes are closer together make sure to pull that lid color to the inner corners of the eyes. If you want to get a little more dramatic apply individual lashes to the outer corners of the eyes as a final touch.
Simple, but truly magical!

cutting down on time

There are many tricks us experts use to cut down on time(shhhh) getting people ready for an event or photo shoot. One is only do what is truly needed. If a person has beautiful skin I will use concealer and blend out to even out skin tone instead of applying foundation which can be truly time consuming. The other is using a tinted moisturizer to balance skin tone and hydrate skin.
Philosophy make a fantastic one which also provides sun protection called supernatural. Check it out. You'd be amazed at the results!! It's also great under foundation, if you insist.

Beauty tip for a busy mom!!

So, Philosophy makes these great 3- in- 1 shampoo, body wash and bubble bath which are great for getting kids bathed in one easy fun step. My kids don't even know what's hit them!!
Check them out. They come in great, tasty flavors. By the way, you can use them too!

What happens on a photo shoot

So working on a photo shoot may seem glamorous. Have you ever wondered how we get that soft glowing skin? Simple. Try using johnson and johnson baby oil gel right out of the shower. Add's shimmer and smooth without that greasy feeling of plain oil.

another MAC product

So I am indeed endorsing MAC this week. Believe it or not because they kinda lost favor with me for some time. Anyway, they have two beautiful new products that create a light, airy feel but are super easy to accomplish. The first is their mineralize skin finish powder that is beautifully illuminating in day and night and evens out skin color by deflecting light with just one sweep of your powder brush.
The other is their warm and cozy shadestick. It's a creamy eye pencil that you use all over your eyelid to create highlight and illumination. So easy you could use it in your car on your way to work(I'm not endorsing putting makeup on in the car, I'm just saying it's that easy.)
Keeping it simple always,
Dedra

LA Times article

Read an article on the in the Times yesterday about skin care. It said that drugstore products are just as good as the more expensive department store brands or private skin care labels. I don't know about that. I love my philosophy and Sonya Dakar products. Anyone have an opinion?
Try Sonya Dakar blue mask. Totally purifies, heals and hydrates. Not sure Oil of Olay can even compete!!

New Inspiration

Check out mac cosmetics. Right now they are doing some beautiful creme shadow pots and sticks that make illuminating eyes super simple!

Welcome Back!!

Happy New Year everyone!!
Hoping everyone has a promising and fruitful year with tons of beauty!! We can be inspired by so many sources, our friends and family, nature, art. We sometimes just need to step outside of the familiar to find it. I get so much inspiration for my work from color and photographs. It always makes me want to try something new. If you are feeling at a standstill with your products and don't know what to do, try visiting the bookstore and browsing through magazines. There are always tons on beautiful colors and pictures to view. You can get tons of ideas of things to try!!
Always remember, keep it simple and try one thing at a time!

holiday shine

So while the holiday's are a crazy time for everyone, it seems our skin can be the worst. Between the cold outside, the heat indoors, and all of the yummy treats and stress sometimes breakouts occur. The most important thing to remember is don't pick. Keep your skin really clean and moisturize daily. Also, applying a omega oil to your skin at night can keep it ultra hydrated. Try Philosophy's When Hope is Not Enough 3.6.9 serum. Cheers!

starting again

to all my blogger buddies, I'm proud to announce I'm writing again. Just been bombarded for advice so I feel so compelled....
Anyway, was told earlier today about a makeup artist who was good, meticulous but took a painfully long time doing someone's makeup (like over 2 hours). Wow, totally unnecessary!! I say "keep it simple." Find a few good products that work for you and stick to them. If you need more drama then add more color but keep it simple in terms of what you're using. Always remember-less is more!
Aaahhh...glad to be back!

Clarisonic

So for all of you exfoliating junkies I want to turn you on to the Clarisonic.  My latest obsession.  It is a skin cleansing brush.  The bristles actually move 300 times per second! Unbelievable!!  It is actually taking exfoliation and cleansing to a whole different level. By moving that fast the brush is actually opening and closing the pores at a very fast rate to pull dirt, makeup and dead skin out of the pores.  It makes your skin 6 TIMES cleaner and therefore your products work 61 percent better!! chaching!!!  Check it out at http:www.clarisonic.com.

Foundation

So, I'm not a big foundation person because I truly believe the natural skin is more beautiful than anything out of a bottle but if you need or want to wear it here is what I suggest.  Make sure you use the right color for your skin.  Seems simple,  right?  You'd be surprised.    Let me tell you how to match it.    Look at your face in the mirror.  Usually the center of your face is the darkest so I generally like to match to that.  Take either the nose or the center part of the cheek and match to that.  Then when you apply your foundation, start your application in the center as well and blend out so the least amount of the product hits the outside of the face. Takes away the "line on the chin" look that is so attractive!

the importance of eye cream

So I was thinking this morning as I was going through my morning ritual of potions and lotions, how important eye cream really is. I also wish that I had been told that at a very early age.....like 7. When the skin is so beautifully full of collagen and not a wrinkle is to be found anywhere. But alas, when I was growing up nobody even used sunscreen let alone eye cream. So now I am burdened with lovely crows feet or more eloquently put, laugh lines. Not that they bother me so much but as you already know, you can't cover them up with makeup. You can "diminish the appearance" of them and "buff them out" but once you own them, they're yours forever. So here's the thing, eye cream. Now and forever. The skin around the eye is more delicate and needs special attention. Sometimes it is darker and sometimes it is puffy. Sometimes, and most times, it is dehydrated and if you want to wear concealer(as you now know is so important) you definitely need to wear eye cream under it so the pigment won't "grab". Philosophy even came out with one for all eye needs called "eye hope" that is absolutely fab and doesn't require hope-it truly works. How simple is that?! It has two anti aging ingredients to stop more problems arising. Again, what's going on under your makeup is just as important as what's going on on top!

smokey evening eyes

If you want to create a little drama on your eyes for evening, think of using a smudgy eye liner to form a nice smokey look.  Take a dark black or even blue or purple liner and rim your eye.  Blend from the base of the eyelid up.  Using the smudgy point of the liner smudge out the lower lashline.  If you take your pointer and middle finger and pull the outside  corner of the eye apart, you can really extend the color out and up for added effect.  Remember to always prep your eye with either a primer or foundation and powder for lasting effect.  Add some shimmer to the brow bone to catch the light and that's it, gorgeous, sexy eyes!

how to make pretty eyes?

So, you want to learn how to do your eyes?  Lot's of women ask me this question.  I can give you some really easy quick tips.

First, take a look at your eyes in the mirror.  Do they look close together or far apart?  If you have wide spaced eyes, you want to put the DARKER shade of color in the inside corner of the eyelid.  If you have more close space eyes you want to put your LIGHTER  shade of color in the inside corner.

It's a term we use in the business called "highlighting and contouring".  It helps give the illusion that you want to create.

After you apply your darker/lighter shade of color then use the opposite color on the rest of the eye.   You can line your lash line with a dark shadow or eye pencil to pop the eye more and  that's it.  Apply mascara always and Voila!

Keeping it simple will always create a beautiful, clean eye.

skincare

ok, let's talk a bit about what is going on underneath that makeup that you are learning how to do.  that should really be our jumping off point.  it is definitely the most important element to your makeup application.  if your skin isn't well hydrated and polished, it won't matter how much you do or spend.  i recommend using an exfoliant twice a week to remove dead skin cells (yuck!) and using a retinol product every night.  then making sure you moisturize and apply sunscreen during the day.  Philosophy makes 2 products that i love that have dramatically changed my skin. They make a great daily exfoliating wash so your washing and exfoliating at the same time. How great is that for us busy women?  The crystals are small enough that they won't tear the skin but active enough to buff fine lines. The other product is their "help me" retinol cream for night.  Talk about resurfacing!!  Then moisturize and wait a couple of minutes before applying any makeup.  If you take care of your skin you'll be surprised at how little makeup you actually need.  Remember, beautiful, natural skin is prettier than anything out of a bottle!