It's all in the Makeup Blog

Mineral Makeup explained

2012-02-22T16:54:49Z

Want to switch up your foundation routine but not sure whether to go mineral or not? Don't worry, you're not alone. Many people are confused as to what the fuss about mineral makeup is all about. This might help clear up some confusion:

Mineral Makeup IS-
More natural than most makeup. Mineral makeup companies tend to leave out nasty chemicals like parabens, dyes and fragrances that can leech toxins into skin and cause irritation.

Mineral Makeup IS NOT-
Completely toxin free. In fact, makeup can claim to be mineral even if it has only a small percentage of minerals in it.

All makeup contains minerals, it's up to you as the consumer to know what you are choosing when you are at the makeup counter. If you are really concerned about what you are putting on your skin, there are a bunch of really great natural/organic makeup companies out there carrying some amazing products. Check out your local Whole Foods or health store.

Also there is a great website called Skin Deep where you can type in pretty much any ingredient and it will tell you how harmful that chemical is to you. A great tool for those of you who are more aware of the negative affects of toxic chemicals around us.

Valentine's Day Makeup Tutorial

2012-02-11T21:53:09Z

Get the perfect look for your Valentine's Day date night with this tutorial. It's also a breakdown of the look I wore in my My brush recommendations video Happy Valentine's everyone

How to build a basic brush set

2012-02-04T16:34:25Z

I've said this time and time again, your makeup brushes are your most important tools when it comes to applying your makeup. I put together a list of the most important brushes you need for when you start to build your brush collection. Happy Superbowl weekend everyone!

5 different ways to use Eyeshadow Pigments

2012-02-02T17:55:43Z

I am a sucker for eyeshadow pigments. They just look so beautiful in their little jars, with such rich vibrant colors that are so pleasing to the eye. I'm sure a lot of you are like me too, and end up purchasing theses giant jars of eyeshadow pigment that will probably last you the rest of your life. Well I'm here to tell you not to have buyer's remorse, there are so many different things you can do with your pigments!

1. Obviously use it on your eyes. That's a no-brainer, but one tip to remember is to use a dense brush to apply it and pat it onto the eye. Otherwise it will go flying everywhere and end up all over your face which isn't very pleasant.

2. Use it wet and apply it as eyeliner. Place a drop of water on your finger, dip your eyeliner brush into the water first and then the pigment and it will glide right on and give you a more intense effect.

3. Mix a little into your foundation and use it as blush. This will give you a creamy blush consistency and some peach/pink pigments look gorgeous on the cheeks!

4. Grab a clear lipgloss, mix some pigment into it and voila! You have yourself a custom made lipgloss, just for you.

5. My fav thing to do with pigments- mix it into a clear nail polish and apply to nails. You can come up with some of the nicest looking colors this way.

But most importantly, be creative, after all you have so much in those jars, you might as well think outside the box!

Chanel goes Bollywood

2012-01-27T14:19:21Z

Western fashion has often, at times, borrowed from eastern influence. However, no collection has reflected this more than the Pre-fall 2012 show from Chanel. As Karl Lagerfeld put it, this was his interpretation of Paris meets India. How exciting is it to see so much of our fashion being celebrated on such an international stage! Here a few pics from the show. Once I saw it I knew I had to share it with all of you.

Even the makeup was used to make the models look more Indian.

What do you guys think about this collection?

Top 5 Makeup Books

2012-01-26T14:00:05Z

Whether you're new to makeup or not, a great place to pick up new techniques and find inspiration for looks is in makeup books. Back when my love affair with makeup first started, there were no blogs or YouTube videos. All we had were books. I remember purchasing my first Kevyn Aucoin book and reading it in entirety from beginning to end in 1 hour. There is just so much you can learn from these pro artists. On top of that there are a ton of fun transformations to look at. Most of all I love them because they are written by artists that have worked over 20 years to master their craft. Here is my list of the Top 5 makeup books:

Kevyn Aucoin- Making Faces. Every makeup artist's bible. Amazing transformations and tons of great inspiration in this one.

Kevyn Aucoin- Face Forward. More stunning transformations and inspiration and cool celeb transformations as well.

Bobbi Brown- Makeup Manual. This book in particular is great for beginners.

Scott Barnes- About Face. I love this book when I am stuck with a particular technique or I want to challenge myself.

Jemma Kidd- Makeup Master Class. Tons of great tips in here.

What's your fav makeup book?

Top 5 Hair Tools every girl should have

2012-01-19T13:57:37Z

The first most often overlooked place to start when it comes to recreating any fab hairstyle is your tools. Just like makeup brushes, investing in the right hair tools will help you come close to achieving almost any look. I've compiled a list of the top 5 hair tools every girl needs:

1. Flat iron. This is probably the most obvious one but to really get the results you want you have to invest in quality. A high quality flat iron will take less time to straighten your hair, resulting in less heat exposure to your delicate strands. Brands like Chi & GHD make great irons.

2. Hair dryer. When it comes to a hair dryer, finding one that cuts your drying time in half is like finding the holy grail. Celebrity hair stylist, Harry Josh recommends the FHI Nano Salon Pro 2000 Blow Dryer. Plus using the nozzle attachment will help direct air flow, resulting in less time spent drying your hair!

3. A 3/4" curling iron. The smaller barrel will allow you to do things like wrap hair around the barrel without using the clip, giving a tight yet loose wave. Check out my Bohemian Waves Hair Tutorial on how to get this look.

4. A 1 1/2" curling iron. This will give you those giant waves you see on celebs like Kim Kardashian. Hot Tools makes some of the greatest curling irons on the market.

5. Velco Rollers. If you love watching shows like Top Model, you will know that any time they're getting ready for a shoot, their hair is up in rollers. Velco rollers will give your hair the bend and the volume to achieve most hair styles. Hair spray hair right after you blowdry, set in rollers and remove after 1/2 hour. That will give your hair enough time to set while you do other things like your makeup.

What are your fav hair tools?

Best dressed at the 2012 Golden Globes

2012-01-16T20:25:49Z

Last night's Golden Globes awards show saw some of the best dresses we've seen on a red carpet in a really really long time. Pretty much everyone looked amazing!! It was so hard to narrow down the best dresses to just 5, but I did my best and here they are:

Sofia Vergara. Absolutely stunning.

Kate Beckinsale looked gorgeous as always, and off white seemed to be the hot color of the evening.

Reese Witherspoon in the most daring choice we've seen her make in a long time, and it totally worked!

Selma Hayek. Such a unique choice, and I give her points for best hair of the night too.

Elle MacPherson. The gown says it all.

What were your favs of the evening?

Freida Pinto Makeup Tutorial

2012-01-13T16:32:43Z

Okay so if you don't know by now who Freida Pinto is (and trust me you do) she's the beautiful actress from Slumdog Millionaire. She was just in the movie Immortals, and her makeup was absolutely stunning in it and so easy to recreate. Here's the tutorial:

Best dressed at the 2012 Peoples Choice Awards

2012-01-12T12:54:09Z

The looks at the Peoples Choice Awards last night were sort of all over the place. We saw everything from formal gowns, to casual dresses, to a little rocker edge. Here are my top picks for best looks at the 2012 show:

Lea Michele. I know this girl is always on my list, but can you blame me? She has a knack for getting it right!

Host, Kaley Cuoco. This is just one of the many gorgeous gowns she had on last night. She looked amazing in everything.

Demi Lovato. Okay this color was stunning on her. And her hair and makeup, simply beautiful!

Julianne Hough. Being the girlfriend of Ryan Seacrest, do you expect to see her anywhere else than the best dressed lists? This girl has got that amazing dancer body and killer smile. She could make a garbage bag look good.

Okay I know this probably won't make the other best dressed lists, but I have a soft spot for the "Pretty Little Liars" girls and I think Ashley Benson totally owned up to the "pretty" title.

The best Concealer

2012-01-11T13:32:15Z

There are so many different makeup brands and so many different makeup products out there that choosing something as simple as a concealer can get a little confusing. I thought I'd make it simple for you and fill you in on what my absolute favorite concealer is.

Cle de Peau Beaute concealer. Cle de Peau is a high end makeup company owned by the same people who make Shiseido cosmetics. Now I'm gonna warn you, this concealer stick isn't cheap ($70 USD), but if you have dark circles like me, you will be amazed at how well it covers and you will wonder what you ever did before it.

The trick to using this concealer is to pick it up with your finger, warm it by rubbing it with the same finger on the opposite hand and then patting it onto the dark circles. Set it with a powder and you are good to go.

Give it a try!

How to get a job at MAC

2012-01-04T14:57:56Z

This is something I have been asked so many times, so I thought I'd post a video giving some tips on how to get a job at MAC. I worked there for 6 years and had some great experiences and learnt a lot from a ton of very talented artists. If you plan on applying, I wish you the best of luck!!

5 Beauty resolutions for 2012

2012-01-02T14:03:12Z

Happy New Year to you all!! The start of a new year always brings the inevitable resolutions we make whether it be to lose weight, spend more time with family or finish that project that has been dragging out forever. So it got me thinking, if we made beauty resolutions what would they be? I came up with the top 5 commitments for 2012 that we should all make when it comes to our beauty regimen:

1. Wash your makeup off before you go to bed. This is probably one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Our pores open up when we sleep and makeup or dirt left on will be absorbed into our skin. Yucky.

2. Use an eye cream. People tend to forget that the skin around our eyes is thinner than our face, so you need a specific formulation for this delicate area.

3. Clean your brushes! I will never stop stressing the importance of this often neglected practice. The oils in your face transfer to your brush and bacteria can grow there if left uncleaned. It takes only 5 minutes, no excuses!!

4. Load up on antioxidants. You can get tons of this stuff in your fruits and vegetables, and you know what they say about beauty, it starts from within.

5. Try something new. Whether it be playing with bolder lip colors, experimenting with shadows or even trying different mascaras, do something a little out of your comfort zone. You never know what you will end up loving!

Most importantly, commit to taking better care of yourself. If we were all good to ourselves, we would all be good to each other and there would be less pain and suffering in this world. Here's to a happy 2012!

NARS Rodarte Makeup Tutorial

2011-12-28T22:36:02Z

So I've been away for the past month, traveling to Europe and India (I love traveling almost as much as I love makeup..and fashion..and all things girly!). Unfortunately I wasn't able to blog or post any vids while I was gone, but I'm back now and here is my first tutorial! I wrote an article for the "Ramp to Reality" series in the upcoming issue of Anokhi Magazine, here's the video for it.

It's perfect for New Years Eve!

Don't forget to grab a copy of the mag at your local book store. Missed you guys

The International Make-up Artist Trade Show

2011-11-16T17:37:02Z

The IMATS show was held this past weekend in Toronto at the Toronto Congress Centre and was it ever packed! So many people came out to see all the different exhibitors and attend the various seminars. I always love coming out to IMATS to see what's new on the market and pick up some tips from the experts. And of course to SHOP!! I picked up some more Crown brushes which I LOVE, some Velour mink lashes, and Naked cosmetics shadows to mention a few things. Here are some pics from the event.

The crazy IMATS floor, this is just a tiny glimpse into just how busy it really was! You should've seen the lineup around the NYX booth!

Watching an airbrush demo at the Temptu booth.

One of the founders of Velour lashes, Mabel and myself. So glad I got to meet these ladies, they're so sweet and guess what- they're Toronto natives!!

Melissa Gibson, senior artist from MAC doing her thing on stage. I always love watching her teach, she is a pro and I am so fortunate to have been able to work along side her backstage at fashion shows.

Watching amazing artist Roshar recreate a runway look. He is so awesome, funny and unbelievably down to earth.

Bohemain Waves Hair Tutorial

2011-11-11T18:00:11Z

My 2nd hair tutorial is up! It's on how to get those really pretty, soft, bohemian style waves we all love so much. It's definitely more casual and has a nice beachy feel to it

3 Outfits, 1 day

2011-11-10T15:41:24Z

This past weekend was super busy for us. We had a wedding ceremony to attend, a baby shower and a wedding reception all in 1 day!! We were a little exhausted by the end of it, but it was definitely a ton of fun. I changed my outfits 3 times!! This can be pretty challenging cause you have to adapt your makeup to suit each outfit, so what I did was created a good base of foundation/concealer and a neutral eye makeup. I used a face primer, eye primer and setting powder so that I wouldn't have to do all of my makeup all over again each time. All I changed was the lips and cheeks to suit each outfit. Here are the different looks and the colors I used:

Outift 1

Makeup:
Lips-MAC Angel lipstick, Whirl lipliner and She Boom (limited) lipgloss
Blush- MAC Pink Swoon

Outfit 2

Makeup:
Lips- Illamasqua Obey lipstick (my new fav!), MAC Soar lipliner and Ample Pink plushglass
Blush- MAC Melba

Outfit 3

Makeup:
Eyes- MAC #7 lashes cut in 1/2, applied to outer 1/2 of eye, black eyeliner applied to the inner rim of eyes
Lips- MAC Dubonnet lipstick and Brick lipliner
Blush- a little MAC Harmony blended onto the previous blush

Here's a pic of my cousin Daman (can somebody say Movember), his awesome wife Charan and I at the shower..can't wait till my niece is born!!

Best dressed at the 2011 MTV EMA's

2011-11-08T18:26:52Z

Sunday night's European MTV music awards was a show that I was definitely excited to watch, not just because of the good music, but because of the international fashion that was on display on the red carpet. It's always fun to see how people from other parts of the world like to express themselves through fashion! Here are my fav looks:

Selena Gomez. She changed outfits a gazillion times during the show and she rocked every single one!

Hayden Panettiere. It's been a while since Heroes was on TV, but this star was as hot as ever.

British girl group, From Above. I'm not too familiar with this group, but I love their style!

Ok, normally I wouldn't put a male on my best dressed list, but come on, Bruno Mars killed it! I love the whole old school feel. And isn't true that it takes a real man to wear pink?

Jasmina & Gil's fairytale wedding

2011-11-02T14:26:06Z

This past weekend was a monumental occasion for us as my good friend Jasmina finally got to wed the man of her dreams, Gil. They are the most amazing couple I have ever met! Their relationship is truly inspirational and for so many different reasons. While being a strong unit together, they maintain their independence. They don't expect each other to change, but rather accept the other for who they are. They work hard to communicate effectively and have so much respect for the other. You have to see them talk about each other, it brings tears to your eyes! If one day I was fortunate enough to have even 10% of what they have, I'd be so lucky. Jasmina & Gil, I wish you a lifetime of wedded bliss! Love you guys

Here are some pics from all the festivities:

Me getting my henna did. I love henna, it is probably one of my fav parts of Indian weddings!

My cousin Monique (who is married to Jasmina's brother) & Jasmina at her Chura ceremony. The bride has to keep the bangles on for 45 days and for those 45 days she isn't allowed to do any housework! Pretty sweet deal.

The couple after they made their rounds. They have to walk around our holy book 4 times and after the 4th round they are married.

The 1st dance

My friends Kevin & Martyna and I at the reception.

And the rest of the night will remain in our fuzzy memories..lol

MAC Holiday Collections 2011

2011-10-31T16:55:26Z

MAC is out again with their holiday collections, this time using winter and snowflakes as their theme. Some of their kits even come with mini snow globe lids with silver sparkles in them! Kinda fun..My faves from this collection:

The Warm eye palette. I love all of the colors in this kit, especially the mustard/gold shade, Gaelic gold.

Source: temptalia.com

The Sultry Iced delight lip bag. The lipstick in this kit, I love winter, is the real catch here.

Source: neutrakris.com

All of the brush kits. We have been saying it for years, MAC needs to focus on a better pairing of brushes in their holiday kits, and they finally did it. This is a great Christmas gift IMO!

As for the Iced delights eye bags, I'm not a big fan of lustre textured eyeshadows (with the exception of Retrospeck), but all of the colors are gorgeous so I would say test them all out on your hand before you buy.

Have you picked any of these kits up yet?