Samantha Lennon Blog of Makeup & Beauty: September 2009

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

In Italy on my Honeymoon....

I will return on the 5th of October.

Until then, :)

Samantha Lennon

www.samanthalennon.com

Sunday, September 20, 2009

The Green Movement.

Using the same glittering sage shadow on four models with different skin tones, Shiseido Artistic Director Dick Page shows that anyone can go green.

This is such a gorgeous color.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Korres Pomegranate Cleansing Wipes.

Korres offers a full range of natural skincare formulations. The first product that U jused and fell in love with them was their Pomegranate makeupup removing wipes. They are gentle yet effective at removing makeup, cleansing and toning the skin leaving it refreshed.

This is some information on them:

• Oil free formula that provides effective cleansing with no greasy residue

• Pomegranate extract ,rich in tannins and polyphenols, diminishes pore size and neutralizes free radical damage

• Vitamin E, a potent anti-oxidant, defends skin against free radical damage while also providing moisture

They smell AMAZING. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Seriously, I don't know what I would do without them. I actually want to have one in a zip lock bag and take it out and sniff it every once in a while. I greaduated from the MAC wipes to these.

http://www.korresusa.com/product/5251/cleansing-wipes/skincare/category/cleansers

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Another one of my favorite makeup artists...Vanessa Petra Alexandra Evelyn

I just saw some of her work today, and I felt a tear approaching. Seriously! It's like, when I see her work, I just feel like I get it. It's so obvious to me that she is incredibly observant of every aspect of her surroundings. You can see how she can work amazing in a team or as the focus all by herself.

I have had the pleasure of meeting this woman a few times (unfortunately never assisting). Either way, seeing her work inspires me uncontrollably and I thought if you did not know about her, you should!

By the way, she is most known for her "Wet Brow". She is truly one of the most talented brow shaper's that I have ever seen.

Here is her website:

http://www.petraalexandra.com/

Note: The second and third photo are not retouched at all. Flawless!

Black.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Shaping Your Eyebrows

Since I just posted a blog about preserving your brows, I realized I have not written about first creating your shape.

Here are a few tips below:

EYEBROW SHAPING
1. Achieving Your Perfect Brow Shape
To figure out where your eyebrow should start -

Brush brows into place using clean mascara spooley.
hold the brush upright with the fine angled side at the top.
Place the handle along the side of your nose and line it up with the inner corner of your eye. The top brush should be at the begining of your brow line. Use this technique and then mark the tip of your brow at the spot with a dot of brow pencil.

To find your arch - tilt the brush so that the handle crosses the center of your iris. Again, use the tip of the brush to mark the spot with a dot of brow powder.

To find where your brow should end - tilt the brush further towards the outer corner of your eye. When it lines up with the outer corner, place another dot of brow pencil so you know where it ends.

2. Trimming and Shaping Brow Hairs

With a clean mascara spooly, brush brow hairs up following your natural growth. Teeeze out hair in excess areas. (Tip: I like to create the shape first with my brow powder and pencil and then take hair from around it. This way I have the shape that I want and don't take any hair off that should have been left there." Then take a pair of safety scissors to trim stray hairs. I use MAC's safety Scissors. Next, using slant tweezers, tweeze the hairs outside the brow line.

3. For A Soft Look

Place Primer Potion from Urban Decay on your brow area, and Dust either an eyebrow powder or an eyeshadow that matches your brows. You will need a semi thick short angled brush.

4. For a Defined Look
Proceed with the above for the Softer Look, except end with an eyebrow pencil to define the brow by connecting all hairs together to be defined. Fill in lightly with powder all around
to blend.

Shaping your brows and preserving them for the day.

I have a healthy obsession with eyebrows. Everyone who knows me knows that. I will shape anybodies eyebrows if they let me. I have my grooming kit on me at all times since I also do this at my part time job.

The debate has always stood. "Powder or Pencil"? I myself will always add a little of both. While I do love naturally worn eyebrows with no powder and/or pencil, I think a little enhancement goes a long way.

I used to only use a dark brown powder. I found that the only way the powder would stay on was if you either applied lotion or foundation to the eyebrow area first. It just never stuck well without the proper base. Even if you have oily skin, I saw that the foundation and the oil were making the powder look somewhat cakey.

I then went into the pencil faze but I found that with the pencil, it looked a little heavy and overdone, even with the attempt at the lightest strokes. The problem was really finding the perfect base and a balance of BOTH pencil and powder. Powder to fill in the gaps, and the pencil to define.

After years, I recently discovered Urban Decay's primer potion. After I put on my tinted moisturizer, I would wipe my eyebrows with a cotton ball to remove any product that might have been on the hair. I then take the primer potion, wipe the product onto the tip of my finger (you should never double dip with the wand, the potion will get dirty if you put the actual applicator onto the skin) and put all in and around my eyebrow. This should be a very small amount. The primer potion to my knowledge was made as an eyeshadow base. Well, I just so happen to use a medium-dark brown eyeshadow. It mattifies the skin around the eye, conditions it, and sets the perfect base for the shadow in the brow. If you have any spareness in your brow, or bald spot, then this trick is just for you.

I finish off the brow by connecting the hairs under the brow in the way that they are growing. This makes the shape more defined and connects the hairs perfectly. I also like to elongate the end of the brow.

Photo is of my finished brow :) Good luck!