Make-Up Shake Up!

It’s a scene familiar to women all over the world: it’s Saturday night and you’re off for a rip-roaring night on the town. You’ve got your fab new outfit , your hair looks great but your make-up, well, that’s another story. Try as you might it just isn’t working; copying those looks in the mags leaves you looking like a drag queen.

Well, that’s where the fantastic website Temptalia might be able to help. As well as being a fabulous blog with all the latest news and info on the best beauty products, this website has a great tutorial section (http://www.temptalia.com/category/tutorials/) where readers can learn how to recreate professional make-up looks. From smokey eyes to flouro colour, there’s a step-by-step guide for everyone. Complete with easy instructions and pictures of how each stage should look, these instructions are completely dummy proof. Most of the make-up used is from the MAC collection, but there’s nothing to stop you using similar colours from different brands, so go get clicking and let spider-eyes and blotchy concealer become a thing of the past!

Image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

I'm So Pretty

While Bostonians may not be the flashiest of citizens, they are certainly meticulous, making well-groomed brows a must-have. And when one mentions brows in Beantown, she’s immediately rewarded with the name Julie Michaud. Michaud’s studio, perched on the fifth floor on the fancier end of Newbury Street, is a well-appointed, peaceful, pastel fantasy. Visiting is akin to primping among friends in a dreamy boudoir. Devoid of pretense and full of fun, not to mention skill, Michaud and staff are expert in cleaning you up and turning you loose ever-so-prettier than before.

Clients beg for her secrets and eager to share, Michaud developed her own line of cosmetics, which are now available online. This summer she launched a few new products, my favorites being her Pretty Pen Mineral Illuminator and Pretty Potion Mineral Sheer Veil.

The Pretty Pen comes in three shades of matte formulations, as well as a Peach Glow, which has an underlying oh-so subtle shimmer. I use the Pretty Pen as an under eye concealer. The pen design – a brush tip on one end and push button on the other – is ingenious, allowing you to paint on as much or as little makeup as you need, in just the right spots. (By the way, many makeup artists were trained in the fine arts, often as painters. You make the connection.) When I need a little extra lift, or just feel like shining, I add some Peach Glow around my eyes’ outer edges.

When feeling particularly flirty, I break out the Pretty Potion Mineral Sheer Veil. It’s light and translucent, so you can layer it right over your foundation. This formula is dew in a bottle. You can use it to highlight your brow bones and cheekbones or even sweep it over your chest.

After these two creations, I’ve taken a true shine to Michaud.