Corinna B February 5, 2018

Product Spotlight Milk Blur Sticks

Have you tried the Milk Makeup Blur Sticks? Do you want to create a smooth, matte finish to your makeup while minimizing your pores? I think that is pretty much all of us, right? I’m pretty excited about these products and you to know about them too.

Last week I was honored to be one of 10 bloggers invited to a Bubbly and Brunch business event that was sponsored by Sephora. I love mimosas, I love getting to meet other bloggers and I love getting a big gift bag from Sephora!

The event itself gives brands a chance to meet one on one with bloggers, make some connections, and see if you might be a good fit for some business collaborations. I love getting to meet people face to face, and frankly I just love chatting with everyone!

Anyway, this is not a sponsored post, but I wanted to tell you about these Milk Makeup Blur Sticks that were in my gift bag from Sephora.

I hadn’t actually tried these prior to last week, but I think they are pretty fabulous. Blur sticks can either be used as a pre makeup mattifier, to prep the skin and get it ready for makeup, or you can wear it alone on bare skin.

What Is A Blur Stick?

I received both the original Blur Stick and the Luminous Blur Stick.

The Original Blur Stick acts like the best selfie filter you have ever used. It minimizes the appearance of pores, fine lines and imperfections with its blurring microsphere technology. When used to prep the skin under makeup the Blur Stick makes foundation glide on smoothly and leaves you with a matte finish.

If you tend to get shiny, or if your forehead seems to look shiny in photos (mine always does!) you will love this. Blurring technology diffuses light and stops it from bouncing off your face, giving you that lovely filtered look. Unlike other mattifiers it gives your skin a soft finish rather than a dried out, dead matte look. You skin still looks alive.

I like it under makeup but I also like it on its own. I have good skin, but without makeup on it often looks shiny. Today I am wearing the Blur Stick by itself and it not only makes my skin look nice (and not shiny) but it also doesn’t feel like there is anything on my skin. I love it!

The other Blur Stick I received was the Luminous Blur Stick.

The Luminous Blur Stick works like the original to filter your skin, minimize fine lines and pores, but it has a golden pearl infusion that makes the skin glow. As the warmer months approach and we start seeing more skin again the Luminous Blur Stick is a lovely way to highlight your shoulders and collar bones and make the skin look radiant.

If you have a combination skin you can mattify your T zone with the original Blur Stick and add some glow to your cheeks with the Luminous Blur Stick.

If you are getting married the original Blur Stick is a fantastic pre makeup product to keep your skin looking soft filtered!

How Do You Use A Blur Stick?

Blur Sticks are really easy to use. Once your skin care has soaked in you literally just draw the blur stick across your forehead, cheeks, nose and chin and then buff it out with a duo fiber brush, a makeup sponge, or your fingers! This product is designed to be like a veil over your skin, so keep your application sheer.

If you have dry skin make sure you moisturize well before using your Blur Stick. If you make dry skin look more matte it can end up making it look even drier. If you are well moisturized before using your Blur Stick you will achieve that gorgeous soft focus finish.

If your skin has a rough surface be sure to exfoliate it first.

RELATED POST: MY PERSONAL SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

Some other interesting things about the Milk Blur Sticks:

Both types of Blur Stick are oil free and silicone free. I actually use silicone based foundations, so cosmetic silicones don’t bother me, but I know that they do bother some people.

The Luminous Blur Stick is also Vegan, Cruelty free and Gluten free.

The Original Blur Stick is also Vegan, Cruelty free, and Gluten free, but is Talc free, Soy free and non comedogenic too.

You can find Milk Blur Sticks online here at Sephora.com (affiliate links)

Here are some tutorial videos for Blur Stick and for Luminous Blur Stick.

Corinna B August 23, 2017

4 HUGE Wedding Makeup Mistakes You Need To Avoid

I have worked with more than 500 brides in my career as a makeup artist. Unless I am traveling I am working on weddings almost every weekend of the year. Making brides look and feel their absolute most gorgeous version of themselves on their big day is one of the favorite aspects of my career.

image by Melissa Jill Photography

Along the way I have heard these same four wedding myths (that lead to major wedding makeup mistakes) over and over again. Whether you are engaged and thinking about your wedding makeup, or whether you just like picturing yourself walking down the aisle, keep these wedding makeup tips in mind. Also remember that they don’t just apply to the bride, but also to everyone in your wedding party.

This post contains affiliate links.

Four Wedding Makeup Myths, Debunked

1.) “You need to do your makeup heavier for pictures”

No. Actually you don’t.

There are so many foundation options now that give you flawless coverage, but can be applied super sheer, creating the illusion of gorgeous, perfect skin. Which after all is the goal with foundation anyway.

Cheeks should glow and look fresh, not like great stripes of war paint, and eyes should be enhanced, not overkilled.

A face full of thick, heavy makeup looks hideous, and as the night moves on it looks progressively worse.

Beautifully applied makeup photographs beautifully.

You should also remember that your wedding photography will be digital and your videography will be HD. Both have exquisite clarity, so heavy handed makeup can end up making you look like a drag queen.

Look like the most gorgeous version of yourself on your wedding day

2.) “You can’t wear sunscreen on your wedding day”

Yes you can.

You couldn’t pay me to go even one day without sunscreen! There are definitely formulations that leave the skin feeling slimy, and there are formulations that flare or flashback white with flash photography, but there are plenty of others that work perfectly, giving you sun protection all day long.

Look for an SPF product with broad spectrum protection (protects against UVA and UVB rays) that doesn’t have titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Both of these ingredients have a whiteness to them and cause flashback when photographed.

Kiehls Super Fluid UV Defense SPF 50 is a sheer formula that protects you from 90% of the sun’s damaging (aging) rays, and stops you from burning. It feels as light as air on the skin. Kiehl’s Super Fluid UV Defense is available online here at Sephora

Skinceuticals Sheer Physical UV Defense SPF 50
This facial SPF has state of the art technology to keep you completely protected. The formula is super sheer, paraben free, and is ideal for all skin types, even the most sensitive. It also plays beautifully with makeup, and Doesn’t flare with flash photography.

Neutrogena Dry Touch With Helioplex SPF 100. This has been my facial SPF product for years. Helioplex is the active ingredient giving you broad spectrum protection, and it doesn’t flare under lights. I use it for photoshoots, on film, television, commercials – everything! It has a dry finish, so makeup glides on over it but doesn’t slide back off. neutrogena dry Touch With Helioplex is available online at Target.com

3.)” You have to use colors and styles that are in fashion”

Nope. Not true.

The goal here isn’t to make you look like a fashion victim – it’s to make you look like the most gorgeous version of you. Your wedding day makeup should be timeless and beautiful. When you look at those pictures on your wall 10 years from now you don’t want to be haunted by colors that make no sense or that have dated, statement brows that now look silly

( instagram eyebrows are the worst offenders!), you want to see yourself looking radiant and lovely and timeless.

It always comes back to you looking like the very best version of you. Also remember that your makeup can’t be fighting for attention with your dress. When you walk down that aisle you have to look lovely in total, with everything working in harmony. Your dress, hair, flowers and makeup have to all be telling the one same story, not fighting each other.

4.) “You need to wear big false lashes”

I am all about lashes. I love them to death. But there are many things to take into consideration when selecting lashes for your wedding day, one of which being the light that you will be photographed in. Most brides have their wedding pictures shot outdoors in natural light. If you have a bright sunny day a big strip of lashes or a dense strip of lashes will act like an awning poking out over your upper eyelids, casting a huge shadow below. Light will grab hold of the black strip and make you look like you are squinting in all your pictures.

A good makeup artist will not be married to one lash, but will have an assortment of lashes with her, and select the right one for that day.

I adore strip lashes, but often use individual lashes in my brides as I can accentuate the lashline without collapsing the eye. When I do weddings where we are going to use strip lashes I make sure the size works with the light outside and that they sweep beautifully to the outer corner instead of pointing straight out in front, creating the dreaded awning.

5 Juicy Tips For Buying Lipgloss ~ Bridal Beauty Tip #30

5 Tips For Buying Lip Gloss For Your Wedding

image via designsnext.com

Are you planning on wearing a colored lip gloss on your wedding day? A shimmery, juicy lip always looks fresh and inviting.

The problem is not all lip glosses are created equal – even major brand, expensive lip glosses can be troublesome, so I recommend test driving your lip gloss for a day before committing to it for your wedding. You will find that almost all lip glosses look great for the first few minutes, but after a while plenty of them can look or feel awful.

So in the interest of keeping your lips looking luscious all day and night, here are 5 things to look for when choosing a lip gloss for your wedding:

1. Does It Turn Tacky?

Most lipglosses will glide on super smooth and look gorgeous. In the beginning. But after they’ve worn in for a while many often get sticky and tacky and ball up on the lip. This is not a winning look for your wedding!

2. Is It Too Slippery?

Is your lip gloss slip sliding around the outsides of your lips? A lip gloss that has migrated outside the lip line can make you look like you just finished eating a plate of chicken wings. Light reflects off the shiny surface making it look even worse in pictures!

3. Is It Super Drying?

Some lip glosses really dry the lips out, leading to painful cracking and chapping. As your lips start to feel dry you add more gloss thinking it will soothe them, which ends up making the problem worse and keeping it in a perpetual cycle of dry, sore lips.

4. Is It Too Glossy?