Trend: Skin is In

I say it all the time: better skin means better makeup.  Since the purpose of makeup is to enhance our natural features, the goal is to wear as little makeup as possible.  And this fall, it looks like the makeup trend is dewy, lush skin. The key to achieving this look is exfoliation and moisture, so get with a trusted professional if you need help creating a skin care routine.  Also, remember diet plays a huge role in how our skin behaves.

Since most of the country is still thawing out, the one product that helps when the weather is so dry my skin is literally peeling off is the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Overnight Hydrating Mask, and I use it all year on any dry spots or just for a moisture boost.

Another product that isn’t necessarily skincare, but is good for your skin, is the RMS Living Luminizer.  It gives that ever-so-subtle highlight displayed on the Fall 2015 runways.  When my face has some color, I can get away with just this and sunscreen.

Wayne Goss

One thing that the best makeup artists have in common is that they tell you all of their secrets.  And they're happy to do it.  I think many people keep knowledge to themselves in fear that someone will upstage them, but the best artists know that what you send out you usually receive tenfold.  Think: Kevyn Aucoin. Enter Wayne Goss.  He's a brilliant makeup artist who plays by his own rules and makes makeup approachable.  I found his YouTube channel some time ago, and he never ceases to provide excellent content.  Please check out both of his channels, GossMakeupArtist and GossMakeupChat, for a real education.

Here are my top three favorite videos:

1. Celebrity Makeup Tips

2. Smokey Eye for Hooded Lids

3. Makeup Mistakes

Photo Credit: Google Images

Valentine's Eyes and Cheeks

There are so many great examples of Valentine's makeup, but since many of my favorites seem to focus on pink or red lips, I created a couple of looks that highlight the eyes and cheeks. Whether you're going out for a romantic date or, like me, having a movie marathon with family, pizza, champagne, and cupcakes, both looks are quite wearable (aka no fake lashes) and require little makeup elsewhere.

The first look is inspired by Cara D. (tan and perfect bone structure optional, clearly):

1: Primer, tinted moisturizer, concealer where necessary

2: Set face and eyelids with powder

3: Apply a dark shade of shadow underneath lower lash line and in crease (MAC Embark)

4: Tap a slightly lighter shadow in the same color family onto lid (MAC Folie); using a windshield-wiper motion, blend both shadows together with a clean brush, then line eyes

5: Mascara, fill in/set brows, and add a little bronzer to cheek hollows and perimeter of face

6: Add a little concealer to lips, then lightly line with a neutral pencil so they don't disappear

This second look is freakishly easy, but it made my husband do a double-take since I rarely wear blush (visit this post for ideas on what colors look best and where exactly to put said blush):

1: Primer and foundation/tinted moisturizer/whatever you use; set face and lids with powder

2: Add a bit of bronzer or light brown shadow to eye crease; line eyes

3. Brows, mascara, and a neutral lip (or concealer trick mentioned above)

4: Tap on tons of bright blush that works with your skin tone.  NYX Cosmetics offers several wonderful options at great prices!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

Eye M Glam (and you are, too)

Eye M Glam (available at Giella) is a powder highlighter that delivers the perfect glow: it's not sparkly, it doesn't look like you have oily skin, and you don't look like a disco ball.  In fact, depending on your skin color, it might not even look like you have a highlighter on unless the light hits your skin - which is exactly what a highlighter should be. All I'm wearing is tinted moisturizer and a little liquid bronzer:

And now with a gentle sweep of Eye M Glam on my cheekbone:

As you can see, it's not an earth-shattering difference, but this highlighter definitely brings light to the face:

Happy Twenty Fifteen

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with spending time with loved ones and eating lots of good food.

At Electra Lane, we’re busy finding ways to make you feel as beautiful as you are by helping you master your beauty resolutions.  My personal goals include a renewed focus on skincare as well as streamlining my makeup routine, so here are a few things I picked up over the holidays to help me achieve those goals.

Just before Thanksgiving, I purchased Urban Decay’s Naked on the Run palette.

Thinking it would be a great travel palette, I found I wanted more variety and it ended up being too bulky with my other items.  Where this palette fits best into my routine is for touch-ups: it’s perfect for adding some color to your features throughout the day when all you have time for in the morning is tinted moisturizer, concealer, and mascara.

It’s probably psychological but RIGHT after turning 30, I noticed some things drooping changing on my face, specifically around my eyes.  I switched from my Kate Somerville exfoliator to a gentler version and added a retinol-infusing eye mask to my weekly at-home facial.

For a little, no pun intended, fun, I purchased these adorable, limited-edition Charlotte Tilbury mini lipsticks.  As a huge fan of trying something before committing to it, this was a great introduction into the K.I.S.S.I.N.G. lipsticks.  And they fit into the tiniest clutch.