Shaking the Tree

In honor of the amazing Sandra Bullock and her Best Actress win at the Oscars, but mostly about her fuscia red lips, were gonna talk lipstick today.  Man she looked good last night!  I saw some stunning classic old Hollywood makeup on the red carpet.  I must admit, it is my favorite. I have to mention my good bud Jessica at Jessica B. Photography asked for a tip on purchasing red lip stick. As we all know, red can be a deceptive color and difficult to purchase. Red comes in shades of orange, pinks and blue. I should know I carry 5 shades of red in mykit and sometimes I'll mix in a bit of the above just to make the color work on my subject. This is where beauty advisors at the mall come in. But first thing is first! You need to be in control of the purchase.. Don't be mesmerized by the sale's girl's makeup mastery.   And counter hop, every line's colors are going to be different, so be prepared to tell the truth and be opinionated. Yes, they will hate you ...

Remember all those awesome Runway Looks I told you about. Boy did I have fun doing them on this beautiful flawless model. She looked amazing. Actually, she'd look amazing in a gunny sack..   Now that it has hit the stands, I can share the Spring Fashion Shoot with you via Luxury Las Vegas Magazine. These were my faves of the bunch.  Now I you know you all wanna go out and buy orange eyeshadow and tomato red lipstick for spring right?  Just kidding. I myself find breaking the makeup routine difficult.  Especially as I age.  Yesterday, we were going out on a date, so I decided to try a new makeup look on myself.  I used a product on my eyelids that I love to use at work and never use at home.  It was a disaster, it looked aweful.  Now tell me why is it I have trouble with makeup???  I'll tell you..  My face isnt young and flawless anymore.  In fact I have very crepe-y eyelids, due to a bout with psoriasis in 2000 that was a...

BLOG ROCK GIVEAWAY, Free Blog Design Baby!! Only 2 days left check it!! So I have a few secrets up my sleeve when it comes to skin care. This one really is totally old school but still applies and something that is so important but so forgotten as well. One thing I learned back in the day working at a cosmetic counter was that women want to fix skin problems with makeup... They'd come and say things like "I need a new foundation, my skin is flaky " or "My foundation is making me really oily, can you suggest a new one" or "My foundation is turning orange, I need a new one." or "My foundation is separating and coming off, I need a different one." So people, "I know this much is true" , you cant fix your skin problems with makeup... The same questions would come up regarding moisturizers and skin treatments. "It's not working." "My skin is breaking out in pimples." etc. etc. When I was in training I...

You may want to shut off the music ---> And on a sidenote SUPER SMOOCHES to Sassy Chica for this award. Awards are so fun. They validate my rising blogging time on the computer when I could be doing other things like cleaning the kitchen, doing the laundry, picking up dog doo in the back yard. But Awards totally justify ignoring these things, don't you agree? Thanks for the LOVE Sassy and the justification. But the thing with awards is, there are rules. Which is a good thing, rules make it official. So I must blog officially... right? The rules for this award are very simple...see for yourself 1. Post award on your blog, thank the person who awarded you and link back to their blog. 2. Pass the award to 15 newly found or favorite blogs you feel are worthy of the Best Blog Title. (be sure to let the awarded blogger know you have awarded them this lovely honor) My picks are... in no "official" order... Bliss Luv Ur Kids Housewife Savant Whispering Writer This Mama Ro...

So when it comes to smokey eyes time after time I see almost as much smoke under the eye as on the lid. Making the poor girl look as if she has already been out all night before she stepped out of her bathroom. Well when it comes to a clean looking smokey eye, you need to take precaution. Even Oprah has advice on this... I believe Kevin Aucoin had this same advice as well. Apply loose powder under the eye over your foundation and concealer to protect it. When your done blacking out.. swish the dirty powder away with a fan brush. My question is how many of us actually have a fan brush in our makeup bag? Here's my favorite..  It definitely works getting the excess powder off, but if your like me and have lovely lines under your eyes, 9 times out of 10 that excess powder over-sets your concealer and then its cakey . While I don't entirely disagree with this method, (great for Halloween ) I like my way better. It's so genius, you will not believe it! Do your...

OKAY how silly was that? I could have dressed up for the occasion, ya think? Also, I think I sound just like those silly teenagers, I'm just too old to act like that. Anywhoo here are my favorite backcombing products I'd like to share with you. Warning I'm a bit old school... Shaper, oh yes what I like to call glorified Aqua Net! I recommend regular Shaper for backcombing, works great the only thing is, if you breathe too much of it your nose hairs stick together and break off. As I said in the vlog, this is one of my new faves, Elnett. You can find it at Target for around $15. What I like about it is that you can comb through it easily if you need to, and I've yet to see flaky build up. And this my friends is what I have deemed the proper backcomb. I buy mine at Sally's beauty supply. They also have them as a full comb without the parting tip, and they're only a few bucks. With this particular style of comb, I find there is less breakage than there is...

Alright already, you've forced me into it, my audience demands makeup tips and tricks. My friends here in Bloggerland have dropped hints more than once on my big toe about sharing makeup advice. My arm is twisted and I'm shouting "Uncle!" I'll start with the eyes. (model, my bud Diane Boyle, former ballerina and mother of two, makeup and hair by moi) So do you ever put eyeshadow on and it just disappears? I see this all the time when newbie models come to the set. I can tell they've put something on their lids, but its all faded and the translucent color has creased into yucky lines. Two things girls and Adam Lambert boys - Eyeshadow Base and Quality Eyeshadow! I use an eyeshadow base (of sorts) on every model in my chair (not to be confused with foundation on the eyes). I prefer to use two different products. For a shiny sparkly look on firm eyelids sans wrinkles (I'm just gonna be blunt people) I like Christian Dior's Eye Show cream shadow ...

visit my site www.maryrc.com So I've been asked more than once... "What is your favorite makeup?" This is not an easy question to answer. If I had not taken my vow to NEVER sell makeup again, perhaps it would be an easy shout out. After working at a makeup counter by shear circumstance, my experience showed me that one product is not for everyone. I became the worst Beauty Advisor because I liked to tell the truth, and that doesnt help your paycheck. Be wary of "Counter Girlz and MAC bots" they have quotas and sales goals to meet. What they don't tell you is that God made us different in so many ways, including our body chemistry and style. I find myself saying the following time and time again... "My first rule of makeup is... There are no rules. If you can slap it on in 5 minutes or less and feel ready for the day, then baby you look marvelous. It's all about confidence and how you carry yourself." "What works great for me, may...