Sunday, October 17, 2010

SHERRY BLOSSOM BEAUTY

 

So I've finally arrived! Blog World! LOL

A little background on me. My name is Sherry. I'm a budding freelance makeup artist and makeup/beauty blogger. I've always been a writer more specifically a poet. I never thought this is what I would wind up doing for the world to see but here I am! I've never been happier.

First I'm not a makeup expert, guru, fashionista or the greatest there ever was. I'm a regular person that just loves makeup and being a makeup artist. I am an "everyday woman". That's what I'm shaping this blog around and that's what type of service I'm providing as a makeup artist. Let me explain, an "everyday woman" is all of you. Working women, homemakers, mothers, married women, single women, young women, old women, urban/city women, suburban women, college student women, women who drive, women who take the bus/train, local women, all shapes, colors and sized women. I'm here for you because I am just like you. There isnt anything so extraordinary about me. I'm not super rich, famous or even super popular. That's what I love! I can relate to all of you as blog followers, bloggers yourselfs or even clients!

I remember when I first grew a love for makeup and how it felt so overwhelming. I would google and youtube different things and would be bamboozled by products, brand names, websites, articles, photos, reviews, blogs, videos, comments and stories from different places and people. I would feel disconnected like maybe I was in way over my head. I couldn't even afford most of the things I liked and forget being able to afford a makeup artist to do my makeup for me! It was then that I wished there was someone out there like me, someone who understood that everyday women want to look and feel beautiful as well. That's when I decided I would become that woman! The above quotes summarizes it all, I can make you up flawlessly and beautifully ,but if you don't feel it within nothing else will matter. I'm here to help you not only feel great and beautiful on the inside but the outside. I genuinely care about each and every supporter, fan or client. You all help make me who I am and I thank you!

So guess what this is all for you! We are going to have fun! Ask me any questions and I'll answer, if I don't have an answer I will find it for you and post it expeditiously. Email me or leave a comment and I'll write back. Offer suggestions or even insight on anything dealing with beauty or even women as a whole. We learn something new everyday and I want to learn from all of you. I can't wait! Let's get started!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Tutorial- How to fill in your brows

Hello Makeup Friends,
This tutorial was specifically requested by blog reader Patty. She wants to know how to fill in her brows and make them look fuller, but natural.
If you do research on the internet, you will notice that each makeup artist has their own technique for this and if you have already learned a way that works for you, then by all means don't change it on my account.
This is just the way that I have learned to do it and after many years and many different faces, I find that this gives the most natural results. WARNING this is a very detailed and long post with lots of information, so grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.

Products Used:
Inglot customized brow palette, a brow/liner brush, and a spooly brush.
See more on this post by clicking "Read More" below!

The key to great brows is having the rights product. I prefer to use powders to fill in the eyebrows, I have found that used correctly, they provide the most natural results. Powders also give you the flexibility of mixing the colors to find the correct shade. 

Although Brow pencils are very popular,  I don't recommend using them to fill in your brows, because they tend to make the brows look too harsh and even if done correctly it tends to be very artificial looking and noticeable. 

No matter the condition of the client's eyebrows, I have never had to resort to using a pencil. Look through my Before and Afters page and you will see examples of eyebrow transformations all done with powder.

My favorite Brow Product is from Inglot, but unfortunately, Inglot is a pro brand that is not available in Florida. Now, since most of my readers are not Pro Makeup Artist, I don't think you will need a product of that caliber. Don't you worry, I have included here some more affordable products to achieve great results at home. I never recommend anything I have not tried, so rest assured that all of these have my seal of approval.


(Click on the names to go to each site)
The NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder is only $6.

The Coastal Scents Brow Tones Palette only $9.95
For those of you willing to spend more money, the Benefit Brow Zings are a great investment and I highly recommend them:
Benefit Brow Zings $30

Now that you have the tools, lets get this started. 
Click on Read More to read tips and step by step instructions.






Color selection:
You always want to use a powder color that is lighter than your brow hair color. 
  • Even if you have black hair, you NEVER want to use black on your brows. 
  • If you have blonde hair, use a light ash brown with a green undertone. Please no yellows! Natural redheads usually fall under the Blonde category when it comes to brows, they just need to use a color with a hint of orange. I said a HINT, don't go buy an orange eyeshadow and put it on your brows :)
  •  Brunettes have it easy, there are lots of browns available and as long as you follow my go lighter rule you will easily find your color.
  • Artificial redheads are a little bit trickier, the truth is that no one has naturally bright red eyebrows, so if you color your hair red, then stick to warm browns for your brows with maybe a slight red undertone.
  • TIP: You can use any matte eyeshadow as a brow filler.
Application:
Always begin with groomed  and brushed brows. Pluck away any stray hairs.

  • Now dip the brow brush on the brow powder color that most resembles your natural brow color making sure you follow the guidelines I wrote above. 
  • Remember you can use more than two colors. 
  • TIP: Always dip the brush on the lighter color first and then on the darker one. Why? Because the last color you dipped into will be the first color to go on the actual brow. In this case you want the lighter color to go on top of the darker to blend it well, so when dipping you do the opposite. Get it?
  • Now start applying the color on the center of the brow using short horizontal strokes following the direction of the hair growth. Do this softly and kind of like if you were drawing little hairs. 
  • Continue filling in the rest of the brow following this technique, and don't be afraid to go slightly outside the line in order to shape and arch the brow.
The brow to the right has been started and you can begin to see the difference. 
  • When you reach the tail part of your brow, use only the very thin tip of the brush and softly apply the color.
  • Now grab the spooly brush and brush your eye brow using short strokes following the hair growth. This will blend in the brow powder with the hairs and give you a more natural look.

All done!

  • TIP: If you want your brows to stay in place for a long time, spray the spooly brush with Hair Spray and brush it onto your eyebrows. Trust me, this works better than any brow gel.
For those of you that want a more dramatic look, you can fill in the brows and keep going outside the area where the hairs grow creating any shape you desire, but you might want to reserve this for only special occasions and night time. The key is to blend it all together with the spooly brush and use the application technique I described. 

Here is an example of the same eyebrows, over filled to create a thick, dramatic brow.
Big difference. Super dramatic.
I hope you learned a lot from this tutorial and remember that practice makes perfect so Practice, Practice, Practice until you get it right.

Jaday :)

Monday, October 4, 2010

Tutorial- Daytime look for Fall using UD Book of Shadows Vol III

As promised, here is a super easy and fun daytime look that you can wear with confidence. It was a spur of the moment look inspired by the nice sunny day with clear blue skies.

 Scroll down for full instructions.
This picture was taken in natural sunlight, no flash, to show you how it truly looked in person.
See more on this post by clicking "Read More" below!


Again, no flash.
Now here are the pictures taken inside with flash so that you can see the details:







I used the Book of Shadows Vol. III, but you can substitute with your own eyeshadows.


Here are the Instructions in less than 10 steps:


1. Apply the UD Primer Potion all over your eyelid. This will ensure that your eyeshadow will stay put throughout the whole day.
2. Apply the color MAUI WOWIE ( a gold with a hint of green) all over  your lid stopping under the crease.
3. Now with a Crease brush, apply a mix of the colors HAIGHT (a dark teal) and RADIUM (a bright blue) just on the outside V of the crease making sure to softly blend it into the rest of the crease.
4. Now apply the color SMOG ( or a coppery brown) on the rest of the crease above the blue color. As always, make sure you blend it all really well.
5. I used the Urban Decay liner in the color Bourbon to softly line the upper lid and the outer half under my waterline (lash line,) but you could just use the same brown eyeshadow that you used on your crease or any Coppery Brown eyeliner you may have.
6. I then used a mixture of the two blue colors to line the inner half under my lash line.
7. Apply mascara and a natural pink lip gloss and you are good to go out and enjoy a Sunny Day!


Don't be intimidated by the long instructions. I promise the whole things takes maximum 5 minutes to do. It took me longer to write the instructions than it did to actually apply my makeup.


I hope you have fun creating your own version of this look and I really want you to try it, because it is simple to do, but the results are fresh and fun!


JADAY

Review- Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol III

It's no secret that Urban Decay is one of my favorite makeup brands for personal use. I especially love when they come out with their Book of Shadows  because I find that they are such a bargain. I started purchasing them back when the first one came out and I fell in love.

Here are some pictures of the new one:

Clearly they went with a NYC theme.

Check out the adorable NYC pop up with little lights.

See more on this post by clicking "Read More" below!


And here are the eyeshadows.


The kit comes with 16 eyeshadows, 2 eyeliners (Zero- black and Random-purple) and with the original Primer Potion all for the price of $54 which saves you lots of money since typically each individual UD eyeshadow is $17, so you do the math.

Now for my Review:
I have to say this is certainly a must have! You can create so many looks with this. From Natural, to Smokey, to Colorful. 

The eyeshadows themselves are super pigmented and creamy and a little definitely goes a long way. Instead of listing my favorite colors I'm going to just say that my least Favorite is Midnight Cowboy Rides Again. That color is so glittery and has so much fallout that I honestly hate it, but they manage to include it in all their Palettes. Oh well! Other than that, the rest of the colors are winners in my book.

The eyeliners from Urban Decay are my favorite to use on the lid since they have a lot of staying power. Random is one of my favorite Eye Liner colors and I use it all the time, so I was glad to see that they included one in this Palette. 



So here is where you can get your own:

Remember this is a limited edition product, so I would hurry up and get it before it runs out.

Stay tuned for some easy makeup looks I have created using this Palette to show you how versatile it is. 


Coming Up

Hello Makeup Friends,


I just wanted to let you know that I have been busy working the makeup magic, but I still found time to create some fun looks coming up for you this week.

Here is a little preview of what's "cooking:"

*A full in depth review of a very popular makeup palette that just came out. ( I will give you a hint, this it the third volume.)

*A fun and easy day-time fall look with instructions for you to try it at home.

*A dramatic night-time fall look for all you daring divas out there!

* As requested by a reader- A detailed tutorial on how to properly fill in your brows to make them look fuller in a natural way.

As always, this blog is for all of you to learn more about makeup and I love to share all of my tips, ideas, and knowledge with you. As long as you are being creative and having fun with your makeup, I'm happy to help. :) Nothing brings me more pleasure than helping you get inspired to try new things and teaching you how to bring out your natural beauty with your makeup.
Don't forget that you can always email me with any suggestions for new tutorials that you might want to see on the blog. Also, if you tried one of the looks I have posted, feel free to email it to me and I will gladly post it on the blog, don't be shy :)

Stay tuned,

Jaday

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Country Singer- Jackie Arredondo

During the MFA event I had the opportunity to do the makeup for country singer Jackie Arredondo. I'm sure most of you have heard her hit single "Someone Like You."
Jackie  is also known for training famous singer Thalia and collaborating with Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Paulina Rubio, and many more. She was also the vocal instructor for popular spanish TV shows "Protagonistas de la Musica," "Protagonistas de Novela," and "Voces de America."


See more on this post by clicking "Read More" below!

Posted by Picasa

Here is the music video for her new song:

Thank you Jackie for allowing me to do your makeup. You are very sweet and I wish you the best with your new album.

Jaday

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Fall 2010- Lancome

This look is the first of a series of fall looks. This time I decided to use the Lancome Fall 2010 look for inspiration:


I did the look on the right.
See more on this post by clicking "Read More" below!

Now here is my take on it:





Close up of the eyes:




Makeup Used: