Designer Bags

Samantha, my friend from high school, is sweet enough to follow me on Instagram (@electralane), and asked for tips on how to cover under-eye bags. Here's the bad news: short of fillers or surgery - to either tighten that area, or remove fat pads, then get rid of excess skin - there is no perfect coverage option.  More bad news: because it's a texture problem, even the best concealer can't flatten ripples.

BUT there is good news.  With a few skincare fixes and strategically placed concealer, we can at least trick the mirror into showing us a flatter, brighter area.  In no particular order, here's how:

1.  Never, ever, ever tug or pull at the delicate skin around the eye. Ever. Once it stretches, it doesn't go back.

2. Put a cold compress over your eyes to restrict blood vessels and reduce swelling. This is only temporary, but helps especially in the morning hours.

3. If you have allergies, talk to your doctor about getting on an anti-histamine.

4.  Drink lots of water (I shoot for two litres a day) because it pushes out the bad stuff and keeps everything moving.

5. Use a really hydrating eye cream at night to plump that area in a good way.  My favorite is Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado.  A little goes a long way, and the jar lasts a very long time.

6. If you really want to pull out the big guns, a brightening eye cream during the day is a huge help.  Also by Kiehl's, I love their Eye Alert because it doesn't cake under makeup.

7. An eye mask delivers lots of good things AND tightens.  I use these on my brides.

8. When it comes to concealer, the best way to cover is to use a concealer + brightener combo: the concealer goes all over, and the brightener goes in the inner corner and the ridge between the eye bag and cheek bone.  Click HERE for the video demonstration where I use the MAC Prep + Prime Highliter pen and brush number 287 with Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer (which lasts for-ev-er).

Let's Talk About Zits, Baby

We all hate pimples, and we all get them, so let's learn to cover them up properly.  Since the actual covering of the spot takes quiet a bit of time, let's look at why we get zits and how to hopefully diminish them in the first place. First, skin has to be taken care of from the inside out.  Drinking water and tea over sodas, juice, alcohol, and sugary coffee beverages will go a long way to keeping skin clear and looking bright (unless you're detoxing, in which case you might actually break out for a bit, and that's totally normal.  More on that HERE.)

Next, skin needs daily cleansing, moisture, sun protection, and at least weekly exfoliation.

Once all the bases have been covered and breakouts are still happening, they're more than likely hormone-related, so figure out what you're triggers are.  For me, it's sugar (especially lactose, aka delicious dairy products), so I try to really exercise moderation in that area.

Now - we have a pimple, for whatever reason, and we want to cover it.  I demonstrate how to do that in THIS video on my Vimeo channel (www.vimeo.com/electralane), and here are products and steps mentioned:

1. Mario Badescu Drying Lotion

2. NYX Cosmetics green concealer sick

3. e.l.f. Cosmetics Concealer Brush

4. Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (cream concealer); NYX Cosmetics FULL Coverage Concealer

5. Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray

Steps:

1. Clean and moisturize face

2. Use a primer to smoothe skin, then top with your base

3. Warm up some green concealer and apply directly to the pimple

4. Cover the pimple with cream concealer

5. Set with a little powder and/or setting spray

Babes In Arms

Since this Sunday is Mother's Day, I wanted to do a special post just for the baby mamas.  I'm not a mom, but many of my friends are, and I feel like moms, specifically of young children, are highly underrepresented on the YouTube makeup tutorial scene. Moms I've spoken with say they simply do not have time to do makeup that has 87 steps using 53 tools and $350 worth of makeup.  But you do deserve to feel pretty, even if covered in various bodily fluids, so I want to show you a look that can practically be performed one-handed.

It's not a drastic transformation, but it's a little warmed up and brighter than a bare face.  Products used include a tinted moisturizer, concealer, brow pencil, bronzer stick (or blush if you prefer), shadow stick, mascara, lip gloss, and setting spray.  Click HERE for the video, and have a wonderful Mother's Day!

P.S. Since I don't have kids and my street cred might be in question, please check out Cara of Maskcara - she has a five-ish year old and a baby, and this recent post is awesome.

Mad Props

If you don't know about Kandee Johnson, you should.  Even if you're not into her incredible impersonations and cream foundations, you can still learn so much from her.  And she's really perky, so I tend to watch her videos while I'm on the elliptical for an energy boost. I recently watched THIS video where she shows how to do skin makeup - meaning everything but eyes, brows, lashes, and lips.  It's almost 20 minutes, but she goes through everything step-by-step using drug store AND high end versions of each product.

Normally I only do this many layers of makeup for brides or special events, so I'll work on and post a fast(er) version of great skin in the weeks to come.  She makes a great point: even the best smokey eye or crazy lip color won't look as good if there are several skin imperfections.  If you focus and spend time on skin, then a little brow gel, mascara, and a swipe of gloss goes much, much farther.

Also, I apologize, I accidentally erased several photos from this website.  I'll go back and add as many as I can, but I just wanted you to know that I know, and I'm sorry, and I'm on it!

{Photo courtesy of KandeeJ.com via Google Images}

Night Owl

Sometimes you just need to attend happy hour.  And if I'm not mistaken, the whole point of happy hour is to get happy.  For me, I'm happier when my mascara isn't flaking down my face and it looks like I haven't slept in days - which, if my daily makeup has dried out throughout the day, is exactly what I look like. Enter transformation makeup.  It's not exactly day-to-night, because the look is relatively the same, and it's not quite a touch-up because it's more extensive than that.  However you utilize this tutorial, I hope it makes you happy (and for more than an hour).  Click HERE for the video.

Last week I showed you how I do my every day makeup (left) and the photo on the right is the refreshed look: