A/W13-14 Make-up Trend: Dark, Sultry Lips

Remember the late 90s, when we all used to experiment with dark reds and browns on our lips? Well, it seems that dark lips are making a comeback.  The AW13 catwalk shows were awash with red wine stained lips.

Backstage at Phillip Lim AW13 Show

Zac Posen AW13

 

But rather than being perfectly lined and even in colour, the newest trend is to give the lips a stained effect with the colour strongest towards the centre of the lips, fading towards the lip line. The lip often has a matte finish.

Antonio Marras AW13

 

I love wearing dark lipsticks and I have been experimenting with rich, dark reds and browns in my recent shoots. Here is a photo from a shoot I did with photographer, Terri Lee Shield, recently.  To achieve this lip colour, I applied one of my favourite matte lipsticks, M.A.C. Ruby Woo, and then deepened the colour with plum and even black lipsticks and lip pencils.

Hair and Make-up by Donna Harris (The Make-up Darling)

 

On my shoot yesterday, I decided to go for a matte brown lip on the model and so used M.A.C. Chestnut Lip Pencil all over the lip.

Hair and make-up by Donna Harris ( The Make-up Darling).

 

 

 

Here are a few of my favourite dark lip colours:

 

 

From top to bottom:

 

·         Dawn Crème Lipstick by Make up Store (black)

·         Black Cherry Lipstick by Revlon (deep plum)

·         Nightmoth Lip Pencil by M.A.C.  (deep purple/plum)

·         Fever Liqui-Gel Stain by Beaute (dark red)

·         Hermetic Intense Lip Gloss by Illamasqua (deep wine red)

·         Control Lipstick by Kevyn Aucoin (raisin/brown)

·         Havanna Glossy Lipstick by Make Up Store (plum/brown)

·         Chestnut Lip Pencil by M.A.C. (deep brown)

 

 

My Guide to Bridal Make-up

Since the wedding season is upon us, I thought I’d write a blog post about what I think are important things to consider when doing bridal make-up, whether it’s your own make-up you are doing or a client’s. 



Hair and make-up by Donna Harris

A wedding day is a special and exciting day for all involved. When preparing for a wedding, most women spend months planning, choosing the right dress, the perfect shoes and the right colour schemes.  In the same way, I think it’s important for the bride-to-be to put some thought into how she wants to look on her big day. If you plan to do your own make-up for your wedding it is important to practise applying your make-up. If you are having a make-up artist do your make-up, it’s important to book a trial.  A good make-up artist will give you a consultation to find out the style and themes (e.g. traditional, vintage, classic, glamorous) of your wedding and how you’d like to look.  

Most brides want to look like a more polished version of themselves, rather than looking ‘made up’.  It’s about bringing out their inner confidence so that they are able to walk down the aisle with pride, feeling her most beautiful.

Make-up by Donna Harris

 

There is a lot to consider when doing bridal make-up. For starters, the make-up must last throughout the day and look good in different lights (indoors and outdoors) and on different mediums (e.g. in professional and amateur photography and video). The time of day of the wedding will also affect make-up choices.  The way the sunlight changes throughout the day can influence the way make-up appears in photos, and therefore influence product choices. For example, a dewy foundation and shimmery eyeshadows will look too shiny and reflective when photographed in midday sunshine. Likewise, for an evening wedding there will be a lot of flash photography, which can flatten everything out in the photograph, so it is important to use the make-up to contour and add definition to the face.

The most important tip I can give about doing bridal make-up is to not be too quick to follow trends. When you look back on photographs from your wedding in years to come, you don’t want to look dated but timelessly beautiful.

Make-up by Donna Harris

 

Here is a list of some of my favourite products to use on brides:

1.       Dior Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Make-up: this foundation gives a light to medium coverage with a lovely, slightly dewy finish that looks like real skin.

2.       A la Carte Shine Illuminator Primer & Glow Enhancer: this is a lovely, light primer that leaves the skin looking soft and naturally healthy without giving too much shine that some highlighters can give. It also smells amazing!

3.       Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream: this is a great product to use on the lips to ensure that they stay moisturised and kissable throughout your wedding day!

4.        Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush: I love using this watercolour blushes because they give a really natural finish.

5.       Laura Mercier Pressed Setting Powder: this is a great powder to set your make-up and leave you shine-free throughout the day.  If you do have particularly oily skin, I recommend also considering buying some blotting sheets, such as MAC Blot Film to remove excess oil.  You can give these to the Chief Bridesmaid to hang on to throughout the day and she can be on ‘excess oil alert’!

I hope some of you have found this blog post informative and helpful.  To those of you getting married this year; huge congratulations and best wishes. Any brides that would like my help looking fabulous for their big day please have a look at my website: www.donnaharris.co.uk

 

Make-up by Donna Harris

 

 

Real Skin Care

Firstly, I’d like to apologise to my regular readers for my long absence.  I wanted to change the types of things I wrote about on The Make-up Darling as I realised it might be quite boring for readers to repeatedly hear about what I’m up to and I also felt like I was alienating a whole audience that weren’t budding MUAs but just interested in make-up and cosmetics.  I know there are a lot of blogs out there that give reviews on the my  myriad of products on the market, and I don’t want to just become another product reviewer but I do think some people may find it interesting to know which products I use, both personally and in my kit.

I have decided to write this blog post about my personal skincare routine.  Skincare has become really important to me in recent months, since I developed a severe case of atopic eczema towards the end of last year. The eczema covered large areas of my body, but most distressingly, it covered most of my face, neck and scalp too! The eczema was even around my eyes and made them swell.  The eczema was itchy and darkened to the point where my face was a completely different shade to my neck and body. Some days, even washing my face with water was too painful, and putting make-up on was near impossible. Even brushing my hair was painful and I began to lose hair at my temples where the eczema was particularly bad. I became so depressed that most days I didn’t even want to be seen in public and wondered whether I would be able to continue being a make-up artist: after all, people expect professional make-up artists to look a certain way and I felt like I looked like a monster.

I always thought I cared for my skin well. I washed my face morning and night with a good facial cleanser, and used a toner and moisturiser. I always thought my skin was really oily, and often used quite strong cleansers and toners, and oil-free moisturizers to try and combat this.  It wasn’t until I became a make-up artist that I considered that my skin might actually be severely dehydrated and that my facial skin was producing excess oil in order to try and hydrate itself.  When the eczema flared up, my skin suddenly changed type and became visibly dry. It was the first time that I actually missed my oily face!

After months of dermatologist’s appointment, allergy tests, blood tests, creams and lotions- both prescribed and bought on a whim or recommendation- I learnt that I really have to listen and look at my skin.  Now, rather than just using any old moisturizer on my face, I really look at my skin every day. If it is looking particularly dry or starting to feel like a flare up may be happening I use completely different products to I do when my skin is looking a bit more oily or congested.  I am also now obsessed with facemasks! Whereas at one time a facemask used to be a something I did to treat myself, normally accompanied by a large glass of wine and a chick flick, now I slap on a facemask at least once a week. 

My skincare products
 

The picture above shows all the products I regularly use in my skincare routine. I’m not going to lie- my skincare routine takes a few minutes longer than it used to (on average it takes about ten minutes; maybe a little longer if I’m wearing heavy eye make-up or using a facemask), but it’s so worth it to have clearer, eczema-free skin.  It’s an ongoing process and I’m always trying new things, but here are a few of my star products that I think have helped me (Please note: I have bought all of these products myself and have not been paid to endorse them- so it really is my personal opinion that I’m giving):

1.       Cetaphil Cleanser:  Cetaphil cleanser is a really mild cleanser, especially formatted for sensitive and dry skin. It’s great because it removes dirt, make-up and impurities without drying out the skin.  Loads of MUAs swear by it because you can use it on anyone without worrying that they’ll be allergic to it. I can use this even when I have a flare up and it doesn’t irritate it any further.

 

 

2.       Pixi Glow Tonic and Vitamin Liquid: on days when I feel my skin is not so sensitive and in need of a bit of mild exfoliation, I use Pixi Glow Tonic to remove dead skin cells and then the Vitamin Liquid serum to brighten the skin.  As a result of the eczema I had a lot of hyper-pigmentation and I think these two products have help to combat it.

 

 

3.       Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rose Water: I love this facial spray.  I use this when my skin is feeling dry or sensitive as a toner.  I spray it on and then immediately apply a moisturizer or oil to lock in as much moisture as possible.  I have a couple of Mario Badescu products and think they could fast become one of my favourite skincare brands.

 

 

4.       Baobab Body Oil: Although this is a body oil, I actually use this on my face. I love this oil and think it’s really helped to smooth the skin and get rid of some of the discolouration.  It’s made from the seeds of the African baobab superfruit and is full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.  It is a little bit pricey but totally worth it and I am tempted to start using it on my whole body.

 

5.       Facemasks: It’s hard for me to choose just one facemask as I am always using different ones, depending on the state of my skin.  Dior’s Hydra Life Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask  is more like an extra moisturiser as you don’t have to watch it off and I use this when my skin is looking a bit dry and in need of a bit of plumping.  I use Korres Wild Rose Instant Brightening Mask to help fade dark marks. Recently, I’ve started trying Lush’s facemasks.  I like the fact that they have all natural ingredients as I’m trying to stay away from parabens and harsh chemicals even though tests have shown that I am not allergic to anything.

 

I know that there are lots of factors that contribute to healthy skin, including diet, lifestyle and exercise but for me, self-analysing my skin and picking products to suit seems to be helping a lot. I think it is definitely worth a try if you are suffering from any skin complaints.