Fabulous Finds Friday

Any make-up artist will stress to you the importance of good brushes. Though they're often an investment- good brushes, when properly cared for can easily last a decade. Every now & then you find a brush that you adore- as I do this obnoxiously orange limited edition brush that I received in a Bare Escentuals kit a while back. I love it so much, I almost had a panic attack when I misplaced it following a recent off site event. It's almost like a dense kabuki brush, but made for the eyes. Luckily whilst shopping at Target, I stumled upon this version. I know I'm not alone in the fact that I seriously just went in for toilet paper & left having spent about $100!

The brush alone would have cost me $9.99, but there was a collection with three that was only $24.99- so I justified it to myself & of course scooped it up. I love the brush because it almost does all the work for you in terms of blending. Its bristles are densely packed and the size fits perfectly in the crease of the eye. All you need to do is a simple windshield wiper motion for near foolproof contouring!

The trio is completed with an overall face brush & shadow brush. A friend of mine, who's also a professional make-up artist has a set from Sonia Kashuk from before she launched at Target. I literally have brush envy it is so stunning. However, Sonia's collection for Target is well made & the brushes look like artwork with their sculptural silhouettes. Their shape is practical though, they fit the curve of your hand for more comfortable use. Two thumbs up.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Make-up {Tool} Must Have Monday

Alright so I know I have tweeted my adoration for this pink egg shaped make-up sponge, but I realized over the weekend that I have never done a feature post about it. When working last weekend on a mammoth bridal party, I realized that the Beauty Blender is still relatively unknown - & I must change that. I know, I know- how much joy can an odd shaped facial sponge bring? But I'm telling you- every member of the bridal party oohhed & ahhed when I used it on them and said how nice it felt on their face. The other make-up artist I brought along to assist me had never used one & was begging to take the one I had brought for her to use home. I aquiessed- I'm not a monster.

So you've probably seen this tool when ever you've watched a celebrity having their make-up done, such as on a recent episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians where Mario was working his magic on Kim.

But here is the thing- if you don't know how to use it, you won't love it. I had picked up a Beauty Blender 2 years ago & didn't read the super easy instructions( of course!) and thought "Eh..."

But all you do is WET it, squeeze out the excess water & stipple your foundation on - then you will fall in love! This is what I do every morning- I put several dollops of foundation all over my face, then literally connect the dots with a quick dabbing motion. Sure it's pricey at @$20, but it is worth every penny!!

I use the pointy end of the Beauty Blender to take product up right underneath the eye, as well as the corners of the nose. Once you get the hang of it, you won't know how you lived without it. The entire La Papillon Beauty Team hearts it {Jodi simply states 'obsessed' with Lindsay coming in with it being a 'foundation blending no brainer!'} So just to spread the love- I'll be giving one away this week for one of you Beauties to try! You can Tweet and Facebook the contest for extra entries & just leave your total tally number in the comments section. Good luck- I hope you soon will know the love of a Beauty Blender! xo

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Fabulous Finds Friday

It's no secret that I think Miss Mally Roncol is about the cutest thing out there. When I met her{seriously it was like meeting my idol she's so talented} she was just as warm & bubbly as she is on TV. My go to mascara for the last three years is Mally's Volumizing Mascara- it. is. da. bomb. Plain & simple- you can just keep layering & layering the product until you have Bambi lashes. When Mally puts together a Today's Special Value kit & my beloved mascara is in it- that's all the justification I need to scoop it up! This puppy is already ordered & on it's way to me! Since fall wedding season is upon, I'm eager to try her new long wearing lunches from her Face Defender collection. I will report back to you Beauties- have a great weekend!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Custom Lipgloss

So Partner in Crime offered to make me a custom lipgloss the last time I popped by to say hi at her work. I know right, friendship has its benefits! I decided to build off of a classic lipgloss that I love- Mark's Pro Gloss in Splashy. The clear jar to the right was the lipgloss base to which we added pigments, flavors, etc...
The second step was to match my original gloss to a color chart. From finding the closest match, there is a color formula or equation for mixing pigments.
Adding peach pigments to the base, the jar on the counter contained loose mica.
Yup, I would be making custom glosses non stop like a mad scientist, if I had a gloss bar like this! Seriously, I already have a drawer of nothing but lipglosses in my office at work alone.

I picked Pink Champagne as my custom flavor for a nice pick me up when I can't be drinking actual champagne at work!

The mixed concoction is then gently microwaved for a few seconds to liquify it & enable it to be easily poured into a standard gloss container with doefoot applicator. Voila- here's the final product swatched! I wanted a little bit more of a peach pop of color than my original gloss & of course Partner in Crime couldn't help but add a little shimmer. Divine. If you are local to Baltimore, you can pop in here for your own or if you're dying to have your gloss or lip color matched check out Three Custom Color Specialists.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Beautiful Bride

I have the privilege of working with a lot of brides on their big day, often they become friends along the way. Such is the case with this past weekend's bride. Heidi made the most exquisite bride, because she is beautiful both inside & out! We wanted to enhance her peaches & cream complexion, with the main focus being on her eyes.

I love it when a bride says she want to go for it- in this case she really wanted to play up her eyes. Paul & Joe's Eye Gloss #2 put the spotlight on her gorgeous blue peepers with Ardell strip lashes & classic cake liner kicking things up that extra notch.

The dress, which she found in Chicago had the most luxe vintage feel, as if it were straight out of Great Gatsby.

The bride ready to head to the church- she was stunning!

The bouquet smelled heavenly due to jasmine.

Our table seatings were attached on the bride's new last initial.

Partner in Crime & I at the ceremony.
Some of her fabulous bridesmaids complete with soft, natural make-up. The bride let her bridesmaids chose whatever black dress they wanted- I love that idea because everyone's shape is so different!

Stealing a moment with the bride to reapply gloss!

The groom & yours truly on the dance floor!

Her delicious cake filled with fresh strawberries & cream.

Here the bride is in her second dress working it on the white runway, with her bridesmaids bringing up the rear! This bride loves a dance runway- if you remember, she had a pink one at her Girls' Night Out Party .

All of the guests received a french vanilla sweet treat encrusted with gold sanding sugar from Tres Bon Bons that featured a letterpress tag.

There were so many amazingly thoughtful touches & details throughout the wedding, they're too many to mention! As guests received their cars from valet- this sweet farewell adieu hung from my rear view mirror. I was so honored to be a part of her big day, from start to finish!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Fabulous Finds Friday

Run, do not walk to scoop these up girleens! Maybelline's Limited Edition blushes are to die for. I, of course, couldn't resist picking 2 up when I spotted them in Rite Aid!

When I pull this Bobbi Brown blush in Pale Pink (left)out of my kit, clients get a smidge nervous. It does look a bit obnoxious, but it gives the most gorgeous cool toned rosy glow to my brides. They are always won over & it's obvious I love it, as I've hit pan. When I spotted Pressworthy Pink, I did a little dance due to how similar a shade it is while being a steal at $9 vs. Bobbi Brown's at $24! The pink is almost an exact match, with the Maybelline version pulling a little bit more pigmented than Bobbi Brown's.
Here Pressworthy Pink is on the apples of my cheeks, with a little dollop of Stage Glow on either side of my nose to get a little bit of that 'Mandy Moore' dewy cheek look. I've been using Stage Glow all over as a highlighter, as well as an overall shadow. Love them! Grab them while you can.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Files from the Brow Whisperer

Oh how I love "Brow Virgins" my Beauties. Clients who have never gotten their brows done, seriously -never! It's a blank canvas for moi to get my hands on! As you can see towards the ends of this client's brows, they are rather featherly & sparse.

What a difference a little waxing can make! Compared to the picture above, look how much stronger her 'tail' looks with some grooming. This is often a concern with those with rather weak brows. But I promise girleens, it pulls them together by establishing your shape!

A quick tutorial on softly filling in her brows to give them a little bit of definition & she was on her way to beginning the school year with a great, confident start!

Peace. Love. Brow Whisperer. M

Make-Up Monday

Now I definitely use some funky tools when I'm on location for make-up, but I don't know if I could rock these glasses out like Hourglass Cosmetics' Artistic Director Gina Brooke does! I would look like a total tool sporting those, but she looks rather bad ass- in a make-up is my b*tch sort of way. I mean, would you look at the skin finish on her model? Delish!


For Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Gina created the look below for Imitation of Christ's
Spring 2012 runway show using Hourglass cult faves, as well as soon to be launched innovations. {Spotted? The Aura Lip Stain in Flush, which always goes with me on vacay!}

What am I dying to get my hands on? The Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation, perfect for oily skin like mine. The anti- aging formulation promises flawless matte coverage{I am swooning from this photo} without the need for touch ups- I can't wait to put it to the test when it launches in 2012!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

We Will Never Forget

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Behind The Scenes at WBAL

So bright & early this past Sunday morning, our Diva of Dermatology, Dr. Noelle Sherber & yours truly were featured in a segment on Baltimore's WBAL TV focusing on erasing the sins of the summer from your skin. Here we are before going on air joined by our fabulous Marketing Maven, Quinn. We were all rocking out some serious concealer as we had to get up at 5:00AM- have I mentioned what a joy I am to be around in the early morning hours?
Here we are getting ready for the segment, with my necklace doing something wonky. Note: when you see yourself on tv all you ever notice is what's wrong!

Here I am talking about home care & professional options for treating hyperpigmentation after a summer of worshipping the sun. I joke that I have no idea what I said(ha ha!), because the cameras are robots & I was so focused on where I was supposed to be looking. However, in case you missed our informative awesomeness- I'll go over tips & tricks for 'fall'ing back in love with your skin as we head into the cooler seasons the rest of the week.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Lip Fusion Conditioning Stick SPF15

Lately I've been noticing some freckles on my lips- not just above{which is already incredibly annoying, as what gal wants pigment on their upper lip...} but on my actual lip! When you think about it, I stress to my clients the importance of applying SPF daily, but we often neglect our poor pucker! When I contemplate the drawers{ahem, yes drawers} of lipgloss I have, I would bet that only about 5% of them contain SPF! All that beloved shine, escpecially during summer months, is the equivilant of applying baby oil to your lips- reflection wise.
Enter my new weapon against any more spots being spotted- LipFusion's Conditioning Stick SPF 15. It feels like butter on hydration wise, while providing protection. A dose of Fusion's AmpliFat technology plumps without any irritation- as I always say the one thing I want bigger on my body is my lips! Here I am sporting Buff, a super soft nude, that I actually have paired at night with a smokey eye, as well. It's an essential to have in your make-up bag!
Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

*Sample gifted for review