START WITH A BLANC CANVAS
To make the sculpted look as perfect as possible, you must always start with a flawless foundation application. It is also possible to do the shading and sculpting using different toned foundations, but it is easier and time saving to use powder products. After applying a perfect matching foundation to the whole of your face and down your throat, finish off with an illuminating powder to set the foundation and to create a light play over your face.

MAKE A FRAME
Start the sculpting process by applying a matt or illuminating powder, blush or sun-powder in a shade of brown. The tone should be about 1 tone darker than your own skin. A red toned product will make this technique come out as sunburned, and we don´t want that! The powder you choose should be places along the hairline of your forehead, down to under your cheekbones and along your jaw. If you look at yourself in the mirror, the movement that you should be making while applying this step is that of the number 3. By applying the powder under your jaw and fading it down your throat, it will make that lovely double chin disappear.

STRAIGHTEN THE NOSE
The magic behind this step is that it will make a crocked nose look straighter, a big nose look smaller and a “normal” nose look amazing. Use the same powder as before, but with a smaller brush. Be very careful with the amount of product you use- a little goes a long way. You are now going to make a new wall for your nose by using the beginning of your eyebrow to measure up the line you will apply from by your eye corner and down until right before your nose wing. To finish the step off, apply a shiny beige, pink or gold highlighter or eye shadow along the bridge of your nose. You will see the effect immediately. Eye makeup techniques.

HIGHLIGHT THE REST
All that is left now is to pull out the best features of the face which is most often on the raised spots such as under your eyebrow, over you lip along the cupids bow, over your cheek bones and in the middle of your forehead. Party make up tips.

DURING EVERY STEP, REMEMBER TO BLEND WELL AND LET THERE BE NO EDGES EXCEPT FOR THE INNER LINE OF THE NOSE CORRECTION.

The life of a fashion and makeup model can take its toll on the skin. Not only does it have to stand the agony of applying and removing tons of different makeup products during one day, but even worse is the stress factor that comes with constant travelling, time management during a shoot and not to mention the hectic backstage- life during fashion week. But still, as a makeup artist it is vital that a fashion or makeup models´ skin looks their best for any job, so how can they possibly make this happen? – And if the guiding lines the fashion and makeup models live by works, would they not do absolutely wonders for us mere mortal girls? Here are the BEST 5 TIPS I have picked up from several fashion and makeup models during my time working with them.

• ONLY WEAR MAKEUP WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
  When your skin is constantly exposed to heavy makeup and cleansing products, you really need to pick your battles when it comes to wearing makeup in private. But on the other side it is actually very refreshing to only wear makeup privately to those special occasions as the transformation will be bigger and you will feel more extraordinary in addition to letting your skin breath in the meantime. A great and classic fashion and makeup models trick is to only focus on one facial feature like just a red lip, just defined and darkened eyebrows or just smoky eyes.
• STICK TO YOUR CLEANSING AND MOISTURIZING ROUTINES
  It´s the simplest thing to do, yet so many of skip the sacred morning and night cleansing + moisturizing routine. But I promise you, if you use a professional skin care branded cleanser, moisturizer and eye cream every morning and night along with an exfoliater once a week, your skin will always look it´s best.
• LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
  Your body knows when it needs sleep, water and food so there is no use in fighting it as your body will fight you back. We must never forget that one of the primary purposes of the skin itself is to give us a signal if something is wrong internally i.e. your skin will look sick on the outside if it is not healthy on the inside. Go to sleep at a reasonable time and take an afternoon nap if needed, drink water throughout the day and eat when you´re hungry. It doesn´t get any clearer then that!
• YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
  It´s not rocket science to figure out that fashion and makeup models have to watch what they eat, but much like an athlete it´s all about awareness when it comes to your diet and what the different food groups will do to you. It is never ok to cut out eating. Doing so will actually stress your skin and hair out and turn them into a dry and discolored disaster, but to be careful with fried food and carbohydrates is a nutrition rule we all can benefit from.
• BEWARE OF CIGARETTES AND POLLUTION
  The greatest enemy a fashion and makeup model has regarding their skin is definitely cigarettes and pollution. The fumes coming from a cigarette you smoke yourself or from someone sitting next to you will damage your skin- there is no question or doubt about that fact. If you smoke yourself it will firstly affect your lip and eye area with wrinkles, but it will also mess with your natural moisture level. Pollution from cities, clubbing and not to mention air planes can be prevented by using protection spray regularly. The best thing is to clean and moisturize your face immediately after returning home from a city walk or trip.

Fashion Makeup look # 4: “The innocent and the extravagant”

If there is one designer we can always count on to deliver sexy, sensual and strong women strutting confidently down the runway, it is definitely Roberto Cavalli. Even though his clothes demonstrated a slightly younger feel then usual and the loosely tossed hair did the same, the fashion makeup was 100 % grown up glamour. By all means, it’s a fashion makeup look that will suit most ages, but what it demonstrates is a woman who knows the tricks on how to play up an important feature with using very little; the eyes. The eyes are absolutely the key secret to this glamorous fashion makeup look and you don’t need much either! As long as you have eye shadows in the tones of coffee, taupe and strong gold pared up with a black eyeliner and a lush mascara, you’re all set! Apply the black eye liner along the whole of your eyelash line, preferably ending with a flick towards the ears at the outer edges. Keep the inner eye corners dazzling with gold, the rest of the lid soaked in taupe and in a feline shape, while the coffee color reinforces the intensity along the global, outer corners and under the eyes. Finish it all off with tons of black eyeliner on the inner eye rims and mascara. The skin needs to be super even, but still as natural as possible. This is best achieved by working with a stippling foundation brush and a water based foundation such as MACs Face + Body Foundation. Work the foundation up carefully and thinly until desired coverage is met. Finish up with a translucent setting powder and then a stroke of Wonder Powder from Makeup Store for a perfect illuminated face. The lips and eyebrows from this fashion makeup look can actually cope with most colors and shapes, so you don’t have to stick to the nude lips and ungroomed dark eyebrows if you don’t want to.

The fashion shows that gained the most attention during fashion week back in February 2010 (showing design for fall/winter 2010/2011) was Givenchy, Michael Kors, Chloé, Roberto Cavalli and Diane von Furstenberg. During this series of 5 articles, we will show you the most important trades of the fashion makeup look in hand and teach you how to transfer any extreme fashion makeup look into a night on the town look.

Fashion Makeup look # 1: “Makeup is for everyone!”

Michael Kors called in the world renowned makeup up artist (or painter as many calls him) Dick Page. The look is undoubtedly a classic, but it has simple and easy tricks that will spice up an otherwise demure and innocent look. The clue is to keep everything as peachy-orange as possible according to your own skin tone (you don´t want to end up looking like a Christmas orange either). The skin must of course be flawless and luminous, and the lips should be effortlessly nude. Leave the brows a bit messy, but defined by color. The secret is in the eye makeup; the same peachy-orange used on the cheeks takes up most of the space of the eye lid to make any eye color pop, but at the outer edges both on the top and lower lid there is a metallic blue smoke effect which brings this delicate look into a sultry evening fashion makeup.

Fashion Makeup look # 2: “Turn those reds upside down”

Givenchy gave us an amazing runway show for this season, and his play on classic lines, street lady-like, Goth and mountain prints really accumulated into a different yet perfectly directed fashion collection for fall/winter 2010/2011.

Backstage was the queen of all that is makeup, Pat McGrath. The designer of Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci had given her very direct requests on how the makeup should be, and of course she delivered with perfection to a tee.

As a fashion makeup look this design is absolutely amazing because it crosses between the fine line of beauty and ugly without falling over to either side. The bold, red, glossy and glittery lips are subtle enough not to steel attention from the beaded accessories, yet at the same time it gives you that magical feeling of something new and different. This is absolutely the perfect lip for any Christmas and New Year’s party this winter. When it comes to the skin, it was kept nude and pale, which also bows well with the fashion make up trends for this season. There is no problem in trying the same technique at home, as long as you never go more than ½ shade lighter then you actually are. Taking a closer look at the eyes, this is the part that will need some tweaking for most of us to feel comfortable. Any red tone is very hot for the eyes this year, and it does actually make your own eye color very intense and seducing. However, it can also make you look a bit sick as this is what we normally connect with red circled eyes. But there are of course tricks to get around this flaw. As long as you pare up your red tone with something dark brown, black or dark blue- the contrast of this second color will quiet down the impact of the red. Use it in a shape of an eyeliner, well marked eye brows, tons of mascara and/or eye shadow in the global and on the lower eye lid.

Fashion Makeup look # 5: “The lady is a vamp”

Diane von Furstenberg- fashions first lady and responsible for the wrap around dress. This is the lady that screams comfortable yet sexy, and organized yet vampy. Obviously, the fashion makeup displayed for fall/winter 2010/2011 had nothing less than that exact same description. The pale yet healthy skin and the slightly shaded bone stricter gives that “I have perfect skin but I don’t really care” look. Again, the definite key features to this fashion makeup are those extreme eyes. Those metallic denim-blue colored big eyes are definitely not for everyone, but a version of it should be easy enough to pull off. It’s all about fitting the size of the shape into your own features. Most will be able to use the exact same colors all over the lid and under the eyes, ending up in a fairly flat line along the global. Keep the tone of blue lighter around the inner eye corners, and gradually darker towards the outer edges. It’s absolutely crucial that the textures of the eye shadows are metallic. This will make this fashion makeup look pop in a funky way instead of just heaving your eyes down as a matt eye shadow would do. Use a black eyeliner pencil or of a liquid sort if preferred along the eyelash line from the outer edges of your eyes, but thin it out and fade it out when you get to the middle of your eyelash line. This will prevent the eyeliner from making your eyes look smaller which is very important with this type of fashion makeup. The lips should be kept nude, and the eyebrows are better of fairly groomed and naturally colored.

Fashion Makeup look # 3: “The pretty side of the 70s”

Relying on Coffee, Taupe and Caramel pigments master makeup artist Charlotte Tillsburry helped designer Hannah MacGibbon to vamp up the classic 70s Chloé girl into a more sophisticated and glossy gal. For this look to work, it´s not enough to through on the color scheme mentioned and head out to a beige colored world. It is essential to use a lot of shading and contrasting techniques in order to not end up looking like a spotty camel. Apply foundation in the exact skin tone that you are and set with a translucent prep+prime powder from MAC to get a satin mat finish. Use shades in brown, beige and coffee tones under cheek bones, up over the temple and continue carefully along the hairline to create a perfectly sizzled face and bone structure. For the eyes a deep metal blue eye shadow is carefully brushed along the upper and lower eyelid. The shape should not be too edgy, but definitely makeup an illusion of a cat eye movement. In this fashion makeup look makeup artist Charlotte Tillsburry chose not to use any eyeliner on the inner eye rim, but for a sultrier and define look a dark brown or black pencil is very suitable. The lips should never be nude with this look as it will make for a very bland statement, but freckle toned lipstick like the one from MAC bearing the same name is the absolute perfect color. The eyebrows are left fairly light and ungroomed, but an opposite look with shaped and defined eyebrows will also work excellent with this fashion make up look from Chloé. This look is definitely easy, quick and beautiful as long the few guidelines of color and countering is met.

There are tons of different brands, types and textures out there to choose from when it comes to eye makeup brushes, and it can be difficult to know exactly what to look for. You also have to keep in mind that many expert recommendations are based on what the artist prefers. However, there are certain guidelines regarding the textures, craftsmanship and hair-type of the eye makeup brushes that can be applied to any brand or purpose while shopping for your own eye makeup brushes. In the end, the tools you choose to use for your most attention drawing features i.e. your eyes, must not only be high in quality, but also be in tune with the movement of your hands and the surface of your eyelids.

Craftsmanship
The most important thing to look and ask for when you are browsing the different professional make up brushes at varied brands is the craftsmanship of the brush. In general handmade brushes tend to last longer because the shaft sticks better to the metal plate between the handle and the brush hairs.

Authentic hair vs. synthetic hair
Eyes makeup brushes made from authentic hair are most often from goats, pony, donkey or sable. It’s difficult to say if authentic or synthetic brushes are better as they are used for separate purpose. However, one thing which is for sure is that authentic hair eye makeup brushes are best used on dry products while synthetic hair eye makeup brushes are best used on moist or liquid products. If you use a synthetic hair brush on a classic style dry eye shadow, the brush will have trouble ‘picking’ up the product and will cause a lot of eye shadow to drizzle down your cheek. On the other hand, if you use an authentic hair brush to apply liquid eyeliner, the brush will suck up an excessive amount of product and will struggle to release it on the eyelid.

The Cut
It’s easy to forget to look at the cut of the hairs, but this little detail is very important when it comes to application. Flat and straight-cut brushes are great for symmetrical lines, placing of eye shadow on to a large area and also to get to that area underneath the lower lids’ eyelash line. A fluffy and round-cut brush is great for blending colors together while on the eyelid and to soften out the outer edges of a hard eye shadow line. Eye makeup brushes cut on an angle, whether if it´s of a hard texture or of a fluffy texture will make it easier to place the brush along the global to create a perfect eye shape.

The Eyeliner Brush
The perfect eyeliner brush should always be hand made out of synthetic hairs. The two standard cuts are thin and short or cut on an angle, thin and short (much like an eyebrow brush). None is proven better than the other as it comes down to personal technique, but personally I prefer the thin and short cut for when I am making a simple eyeliner without a big angle or flick on the side, while I will use the cut on an angle, thin and short if I am making a classic 1950s eyeliner a lá Marilyn Monroe.

Don’t forget maintenance!
Once you have chosen your eye makeup brushes you still need to treat them with care to make them last as long as possible, but also to achieve a perfect eye makeup result on every use. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to get your brushes clean as regular shampoo and water will do the trick. Apply a little bit of shampoo on to the hairs and carefully rub in the same direction as the hairs. Rinse out with water in the same way and leave to dry on a towel. Be careful to never get water or shampoo further up the handle as it will influence the glue holding the handle together. Do this at least once a month, but preferably once a week if you use your brushes every day.

A clear view
Some may associate blue eye shadow with makeup from the 1980s gone horribly wrong but, luckily, many of the top designers showed us how to make the look sexy and modern. Designers Derek Lamb, Jason Wu and Diane von Furstenberg let their models down the runway with the hottest make up tip of the season. The reason for why the blue eye shadow is all the rage again is simply because when applied correctly, it is one of the most flattering colors any woman can frame her eyes with. It works wonders for tired and red eyes as it gives the illusion of a clearer gaze. It also suits most hair colors, skin colors and eye colors, which only leaves us with the task of picking the right shade of blue.

If you have a tanned or dark skin color, you should always pick an aquamarine or blue-green eye shadow. For a lighter skin tone, you’re better off using cool colors like Cobalt.

If you really want a great party makeup, you should choose your best suited tone in a metallic texture as seen on the runway at Balenciaga.

The secret makeup tip on how to make the perfect blue and smoky eye!
Applying Eye Makeup: The blue and smoky eye is such a great variation from the original black smoky eye because it makes it more playful and fresh. You don´t have to use a clear or strong shade of blue: more often than not, the most becoming blue colors are those with a speck of brown in them to make the color more deep and demure. If you really want the look to be similar to the trends from the runway, make sure you choose the metallic textured eye shadows.

• Apply a lighter shade of blue from your eyelash line and up to your global. Use a clean brush to soften the edges upwards and outwards. Remember to use the same shadow under your eyes and connect the eye shadows on the inner and outer corners of the eyes.
• Use a black eyeliner pencil and draw an intense line around the entire eye, following the lash line. Soften the outer edges of the eyeliner using a clean, small brush. Make sure the eyeliner is 100% intense between the eyelashes and fill in your inner eye rims for that sultry gaze.
• Complete the look with a dark and metallic blue eye shadow from the eyelashes over the eyeliner and up to the global, making sure that you stop right before you first color does. Finish it all off with tons of mascara.

Makeup Tip
Some runway tricks are simply better left to the runway. So even though a lot of the designers did show this technique used all the way up and into the eyebrows, it doesn´t mean we have to (or should) do the same. That is, frankly speaking, just too hard to pull off!

Lancôme eye shadow in the color Garment, Revlon in the color Venetian Blue, Yves Saint Laurent in the color Mogador Blue, Nars Duo in the colors Burn It Blue, Maybelline triple set.

Keep the rest to a minimal
Sexy eye makeup demands a lot of attention, so there is no reason to try an upstage it by applying tons of make up to your lips or cheeks. Your skin should definitely be perfectly covered and with a healthy shine, but leave the lips nude or peachy. You can always give your cheeks a lift with a darker tone under the cheek bone, but a peachy color is also suitable. The most important makeup tip you can apply to the smoky blue eye is to make sure the area under your eyes are immaculately covered. If not, you might end up looking like a panda bear.

You will never achieve the desired makeup look if you don´t keep your skin in check. It´s easy to skip, but skincare is one of the real treatments we can do ourselves at home to change the future of our skin. No matter what skin type you have, there are three rituals we all will benefit from.

• Use a facial cleanser in the morning to shed dead skin cells and oils that the skin so kindly tried to remove during the night, and repeat the ritual in the evening so that the air pollution and makeup products that came in contact with your skin during the day, don´t get to spend all night digging further in to it.
• Exfoliating. If you don´t already exfoliate your skin, you surely have heard of it. It comes in the shape of a scrub or as a peeling and it will renew your skin in a way no other easy home potion can do. It is vital to keep dry skin moist and oily skin dry.
• Moisturize everything! Moisturizers comes in different shapes, but it is so important that you find a moisturizer that suits you instead of just opting for the `Normal skin-type` products (normal skin basically doesn’t exist, by the way) or skipping on it all together. It will keep your skin in check as it gets older, maintaining elasticity so that it won´t come hanging down your neck and an eye cream will actually hold the crows feet away for long time.

MAKEUP TIP # 2

When you’re looking for an eye shadow, there’s a very easy trick you can do to make sure the eye shadow will stay on and last you for minimum a year. While in the store, simply rub the eye shadow tester on your fingertip and apply it to the back of your hand. If the color comes out as intense and in the same shade as you see in the box, the eye shadow is good. Cheaper eye shadows will tend to look a shade lighter on your hand. This means you will end up using a lot more product to get the effect you wanted.

MAKEUP TIP # 3

If you use a liquid foundation, it should always be followed by a powder. Without the powder- as foundation contains water; it will evaporate during the day. This is why so many feel like they look spotty in the afternoon. A loose and transparent powder will give the most natural look.

MAKEUP TIP # 4

Never limit yourself to one makeup look. It´s important to experiment and vary your makeup routines as it will make a bigger ´wow-effect´. Don´t be afraid to go without makeup either, this is going to allow you to see the difference and which aspects you actually cherish about your own makeup.

MAKEUP TIP # 5

Keep your brushes clean! This will save you from a lot of unwanted bacteria contaminating your skin. Use shampoo or a disinfecting alcohol solution once a month.

MAKEUP TIP # 6

Know your colors:

Red brings out Green and vice versa

Blue brings out Orange and vice versa

Yellow brings out Purple and vice versa

So if you have blond hair, you will be well suited in purple colors, and if you have blue eyes they will come out even stronger if you use a bronze color (bronze contains orange).

If you have green eyes, they will look clearer with burgundy eye shadow or red lips, and if you have red hair you will always look great in the color green.

These simple steps are perhaps the most important tool we use as makeup artist and stylists when we are mapping out which colors to use in makeup and clothing.

MAKEUP TIP # 7

Dare to use red lips at least once in your life. It´s all about finding the right color, and if the color contains a good portion of blue, your teeth will look whiter!

MAKEUP TIP # 8

Always soften out any edges you make with colors. The most common flaw girls do is to leave the edges of the eye shadow, blush and foundation with a sharp line. This will draw attention and will also give an appearance of something being false or too much.

MAKEUP TIP # 9

Use a shiny eye shadow without glitter in a tone lighter than your own skin tone over cheek bones, along the nose bone, just over the lip on the cupids bow and in the inner corners of your eyes to always get that healthy and fresh look to any makeup.