-Lansinoh nipple cream is the #1 best heavy lip balm I’ve ever used. And that’s saying a lot. Since subjecting myself to the acne medication Accutane as a teenager, I’ve tried anything emollient that won’t kill you on my chronically dry lips. Lansinoh is the shit! It’s 100% lanolin, a wax sheep produce to keep their wool nice and dry. It’s taken out of the wool when the hair is processed into textiles by squeezing it between rollers.

-I didn’t get stretch marks. I think it’s genetics or maybe diet, but everyone asks what moisturizer I use, so even though I don’t think it has anything to with it, I will pass along the suggestion. It’s 100% raw, organic shea butter straight outta Africa. I bought it at a local farmers market type deal, but here’s where to get it on the vender’s website Organic Beauty and Cultural Products. I’ve been smearing it all over the place from my face to my toes.

-This Pregnancy Tea by Traditional Medicinals 2-3 times a day will magically, joyously, rid you of restless leg syndrome. For months I thrashed and ached at night and then I started drinking the tea completely unrelated and it just disappeared. When I didn’t drink the tea, it came back. I have no idea how/what ingredient makes this happen. I do know it’s not the red raspberry ingredient because I’ve tried that on it’s own without the same effect.

Such is the walk-o-shame. It is a right of passage; a sacred moment of independent womanhood marked by swollen feet shoved back into ungrateful stilettos and a defining decision of whether or not to put the undies back on. Some may see the person they leave in the morning again and again forever, and others may walk this walk so many times they have it down to a routine.

If you’re part of the latter camp, please let me know any walk-o-shame beauty tips I may have left out here. Of course, being prepared could be seen as being extra slutty, but I don’t think so. People pack extra underwear to go on vacation…why? Do they often soil themselves? Exactly. You never know.

-If you have a big enough bag, throw in a pair of flip-flops. These will come in handy on the way home regardless of what day or time. If it is morning, put the shoes in a shopping bag.

-Pack these items in your clutch or wristlet: Travel moisturizer, chap stick or lip gloss, comb, and concealer. Do wash your face or at least splash it and add the moisturizer in the morning before combing the bodily fluids out of your hair and dabbing concealer under your eyes. If you have a lipstick with you, you can tap your finger on it to get a touch of pink for your cheeks too. All together you should get some health, radiance, and dignity back into your look without carrying much.

-See if you can barrow or keep an old hoodie or jacket. You might be able to pull it off like a casual ensemble, especially if you have the flip-flops with you.

-Make sure your phone is fully charged before you go out. You might need to call a cab, or any assortment of services. The worst would be to look like a meth-crazed hooker AND have to ask a stranger to use their phone.

-And for inner beauty, be a feminist and throw a condom into the secret compartment of your bag too.

This chick’s almost there. It’s a great shot to show the importance of getting those heels in a bag. Knot that shirt in front and stow the heels (lose the weird chain belt thing too), and she’d be pretty straight.

I saw him at the service and he looked tragic and handsome. Pale and grief-stricken. Yes, just like Edward Cullen. My quasi-friend, on the other hand, looked bizarre. Not because she was dead. That wasn’t the weird part. The weird part was her makeup. I still can’t shake that pale pink lipstick out of my head. She never wore makeup, had her hair dyed in more ‘punkish’ hues and sported a ton of rings and bracelets every day. Definitely not the Barbie-pink lipstick type. Since then I’ve wondered how that happened.

What does go on with mortuary makeup? I dug around a little to get the low-down.

-It’s like special effects makeup and beauty makeup in one because often reconstruction needs to be done first. Even if the person didn’t die from physical trauma, an autopsy might have removed or altered bits.

-You can’t use the same products because those made for the living are designed to work with the heat from the body. For cold skin the makeup needs to be non-thermogenic.

-Mortuary makeup artists work from pictures supplied by loved ones of the deceased. I wonder which photo my husband would choose for me? Maybe it’s a good idea to set one aside along with the organ donation preference and such.

-The mortuary makeup artist will most probably also style the hair of the deceased and dress them.

-To become a mortuary makeup artist you will want to be trained in both makeup and mortuary science to some degree. I’m finding conflicting info here so I’d contact a bunch of funeral homes in your area to find out their requirements if you’re interested. Seems some require cosmetology licensees and others don’t, etc..

-How much mortuary makeup artists make seems to vary too. Starting salary is around $27,000 with the mean around $42,000 and the top around $80,000.

-Often those with other titles will also do the makeup, such as the Embalmer or Mortician. This probably plays a part with the salary range. Mo skills, mo money.

Emily is a rare bird. We waited tables together at a place called Galaxy Diner, a restaurant right next to Irving Plaza in NYC, and became good friends for a minute there. We were working together when she waited on one of her favorite authors of all time. She didn’t know it until he handed her his credit card with his name on it. You could tell the writer, whose name I can’t remember (sorry), was not use to cute blond waitresses gushing over him. Emily was always making people’s day like that. She’d have flowers with her for a friend who was in a play opening that night or some hand-crafted item for someone’s birthday. She was (and obviously is) a ridiculously hard worker. She worked at the Galaxy restaurant, an upscale furniture showroom in Soho, AND bartended at a Lower East Side bar. When I needed cash she’d hook me up with her jobs too. I cocktailed at the bar (I think it was called Sixes and Eights), and tended bar for her showroom’s party. For my birthday she gave me three amazing vintage clutches that I still use AND brought tons of booze over. What a gal.

I’m not sure how we lost touch, but I am pretty sure it was my fault. No one of her coolness level could be blamed for such a thing – plus I never gave her awesome clutches. But as I sit here, pissed at my cable company for inexplicably going out of service when the show aired last night, I am so freakin proud of Emily. To me she is a reminder, an inspiration if you will, that there is something to that being a good person thing. That if you stick to who you are, and give people kindnesses, and work hard at finding a way to love what you’re doing…. Amazing things can happen. Maybe not like getting your own TV show amazing, but things to make life even better. Good job winning Design Star, Emily. I’m totally going to watch your show and use as many of your design tips as my condo will accommodate.

Not the best pic, but here we are:

]]> http://www.makefacebeauty.com/getting-gorgeous-emily-henderson-wins-design-star-with-her-cute-karma/feed/ 0 http://www.makefacebeauty.com/the-goods-nylon-tvs-beauty-mark/ http://www.makefacebeauty.com/the-goods-nylon-tvs-beauty-mark/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:34:13 +0000 Sally http://www.makefacebeauty.com/?p=726 Every person, place, or thing has a YouTube channel these days. I find a lot of the beauty ones, especially from brands or magazines, to be super pretty and professional but kind of boring.  One that’s not boring, but is instead candid and refreshing with good music, is Nylon TV’s Beauty Mark. They even tell you what the music is so you can find it.

Here’s an interview with Tokodoki founder Simone Legno.

I interned at Nylon Magazine circa 2001, but I’m not sure I was of much use except for fielding weekly calls from photographer and Beatle daughter Mary McCartney wondering where her editorial payment of roughly $200 was. I remember her words ‘It’s the principle.’ I wonder if she ever got paid.

Not so much. Nicole wanted a ‘natural’ look and, like many clients requesting this look, loved pictures that actually have much more makeup detail than they think. I find that most brides love the end look even though it requires more makeup than they anticipated they would like, but Nicole was one of the few who wanted the look without the makeup.

I know exactly what she’s feeling. In the magazine pics, the makeup seems as though it’s being magically emitted from the skin in the form iridescent color secretions or something. In real life, however, yes you have to use shimmer to make shimmer, and yes you must wear blush for your wedding (at least a slight flush).

The thing is, brides and ladies who dress up at least once in a while, you’ve got that dress on. The event will be much documented with photographs. Possibly for frames that will adorn your house for a lifetime. You can’t have a face, no matter how beautiful, that looks like it’s hanging out at a Saturday afternoon drum circle/pig roast.

If you feel that the makeup you have planned for a special event is too much, take some pictures with your outfit and makeup on together. Makeup shows less in pictures, as I’m sure you know. If you’re having a trial done for the makeup, try and schedule it for the day of your engagement photos so you get a great idea of how you’ll look. Focus on the particular aspects of magazine pics you like. Is it the brown eye shadow in particular? Maybe you really want the brown shadow and none of the shimmer in the same picture.

At the end of the day it is about feeling like the prettiest version of your self. If, after experimenting, you still feel like no-makeup natural is the only natural, at least moisturize and pinch those cheeks!

Some practitioners would say that women in Islam shouldn’t wear makeup except for their man or solely around other women folk. But all the ones I’ve known here in the states love to accentuate their exotic beauty whether old or young. In fact, I recently attended an Iranian wedding and every woman there was beautifully made up for the occasion from Grandma to blushing bride. So there.

Here are some tips for staying beautiful through the month of Ramadan:

1. Obviously you need an under-eye concealer. Check out the previous post Exquisite Every Day: Eye Circles of Death for my favorites and a how-to on picking the perfect shade.

2. In addition to using blush to create rosy cheeks, dust a bit of the leftover powder on your brush just under your eyes/on upper cheekbones as well. That’s a tip to brighten up that area and look more awake.

3. Your lips may be getting chapped from the lack of liquid intake. My current balm fav is Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer. It’s perfect for Ramadan too because it adds color almost like a stain for a subtle, pretty look in keeping with your mellow mood.

4. To keep the skin nourished and emollient, try a basic oil like DermaE Vitamin E Oil at night. It won’t clog your pores and will help the skin maintain happy tissue.

5. For late-night dinners with friends and family add a touch of shimmer shadow to your eyelids (shimmer not glitter, ladies). Choose a warm pink or gold to look the healthiest and glowiest like NAR’s Cypress or Cairo.

Follow these easy beauty tips for Ramadan and, much like doing vaginal muscle exercises at your desk, no one will know you’re busy absolving your sins all day.

Here’s your tools. I’m using the Andrea lashes here, but really I prefer Duralash or Mac has a great set that comes in all different lengths. Like 90% of people should get the short size.

1. Curl and apply mascara to your natural lashes.

2. Put a dap of glue where you feel you can comfortably dip into it. I like to use my left hand. My rock looks pretty conceited here.

3. Use the tweezers to pull off a lash from it’s base.

4. Dip the base into the glue so that just the tip is coated. Let it chill for a few seconds while turning the tweezers in your hand so that the lashes line up with your lash line. Just like keeping your eye on the ball, keep your eye on a spot amongst your natural lashes where you want the lashes to go and touch them in delicately.

5. Repeat with the next lash moving inward. You may want trim the lashes or use a smaller size as you move in. Trimming is a skilled process using tiny cuticle scissors to trim each strand individually so that they aren’t straight across. If you have smaller eyes, placing the longest lashes in the center of the eye will help it appear larger.

6. When the glue dries you should have a nice and natural lash line. Individual lashes look good even without other makeup. Granted you’ve put them on right.

Keeping in touch with the basic elements of the planet keep us calmer, more grounded, and better able to radiate that beauty from within to be and look exactly how we want. Last night a summer storm rained down outside and the sound felt so nice. I slept the best I have in weeks and woke up ready to (happily) get some shit done.

Earth: Eat food that grew from it! Fresh foods filled with tasty nutrients grow happy, pretty people. Take some time to ride out of the city or take a stroll through your local forest every once and a while to tap into the smells and sounds of the Earth too.

Air: Take a couple minutes to learn to breath deep into the lungs. Put a hand on your tummy and practice inhaling and exhaling until your feel the rise and fall of the breath on your tummy, not your chest. Open a window once in a while and let the fresh air blow through those fluorescent-light grown fake plastic weeds in your brain. Chill at a park while feeling the breeze blow over your skin or ride a bike to feel the wind through your hair.

Water: Drink it. Soda and other bottled substances are just fine in moderation, but the majority of your hydration should come from water. Water is also such a calming element to enjoy, from taking a bath or swim to buying one of those trickle fountain things. Water is my favorite element and it’s kind of cheating, but I downloaded some of those creek, ocean, and rain sounds to listen to at night for when it’s not really raining.

Fire: Keeping in touch with the elements of the planet should light a fire under your ass to make you want to be the person you feel you were meant to be! But in addition to that, lighting a candle for dinner or sitting by the fire place in the winter are really nice ways to bring fire (safely) into your daily experience.

A great way to jam-pack all the elements into a weekend is to go camping this late summer or early fall. From beaches to mountainous creeks, there’s tons of camping locals all over the country for a quick, fun, cheap, and sometimes exciting mini-break.

First of course must be the RED lip. Classic Marilyn Monroe and current Gwen Stefani:

Next is the romantic deep BROWN or maroon. Classic flapper and current Rachel Weisz

A sexpot look that’s stood the test of time is the pale lip. Classic Bridget Bordot and current Kim Kardashian

A current trend is the bright pink lip. Classic Debbie Harry and current Rihanna

Let’s wrap up with the natural lip. Classic Sandra Dee as Gidget and current Iman