How to properly cover a pimple...

We've all been there... we wake up in the morning to find a massive red zit on our faces! And of course, as luck has it, it's usually on a very important day.
Wedding, a party, a date, picture day!
         
With something so common (everyone breaks out!) it's important to know how to properly take care of covering this issue. Many try to overcompensate by using LOTS of product. This is only going to attract more attention to the blemish.
More Makeup = More Staring
That's no good!     

So here are some tips for covering that baby the RIGHT way.

1. Treat it don't Pop it!

If you can, do your best to keep your paws off! The less you touch it, the better off you'll be. So if you're waking up to this, and you're on the way out, be sure to start by cleaning your hands and your skin. Then if you have a leave on treatment, apply it before makeup and after your moisturizer.
YES.
You will need to moisturize. Your skin needs to be hydrated regardless of your skin type.

2. Use as little product as possible!

One of the tricks of makeup is, Less is More.
And it's so true.
If you plan to wear a full face of makeup, start with your foundation to cover what you can. Then go in with your lightweight concealer. Take a very thin, flat concealer brush and gently dip into your concealer. I highly suggest a creamy concealer-- nothing too chalky or hard or cakey. I love Nars Radiant Creamy Concealers!

Gently, using the tip of your brush, create little X's over the pimple. Do this several times in different directions (so the X's overlap), until covered.

3. Set it!

With a very lightweight powder, take a little on a fluffy brush (an eyeshadow brush works well) and gently tap some powder on top to set the makeup. If you've done it right, it should be covered without calling attention, and if you need a little extra concealer, it shouldn't be a problem to gently tap a little extra on after powder. 

So easy! Just remember to not get frustrated, and as always, it's usually never as noticeable to others as you may think! These things are always bigger in our own eyes ;)

Another tip to help, depending on where your blemish is, try to accentuate the feature that is not close by.
For example:
 Say you have a zit on your chin. You probably don't want to wear bright red lips that day as it will...
A) accentuate any redness you may have in that area
and
B) attract others eyes to that part of your face.
So it'd be best to play up your eyes that day. Go for a winged liner or some shadows. You want to make sure your focal point is directed away from the blemish :)

Hope this helps! Be sure to keep this in mind the next time you're mid freak out when you find that annoying pimple :) You can cover it!

Brush Basics

I know that some of you are confused when it comes to makeup brushes. After all, there are SO many of them! While all of them have their purpose, you obviously don't need 100 different types of brushes to accomplish your look.

This post will highlight brush basics, i.e.; types of bristles, uses, etc. I will also compose a list of my bare minimum basic brushes that I think you need to accomplish different looks!

First thing's first, let's start with the basics...

Synthetic VS Natural Hair

Both types of brushes have their purpose and it's important to know so you can get the best results!

Synthetic Bristles:

Synthetic Brush bristles are made of a blend of nylon, acrylic or polyester filaments. These brushes are generally best used for Creams and liquids because they don't absorb too much of the product and they are so easy to clean!

Think...

Foundations

Concealers

Cream shadows

Cream Blush

Lipsticks/glosses

Gel/Liquid liners

Natural Bristles:

Natural Hair brushes are made up of squirrel, pony, and/or badger hair. Each have different textures-- Squirrel is very soft while badger is more firm-- These are great for powder products as they pick up and hold the fine powders very well, making it easy to transfer.

Think...

Eye shadows

Blushes
Bronzers

Setting powders

Creating a brush set

I will tell you, MAC cosmetics has 36 different brushes! So I understand the dilemma of trying to pick out the brushes you need. Here is a quick low maintenance guide of brushes...
*For the sake of ease-- I just plucked photo samples of the brushes from MAC's website here. There are LOTS of great companies that make brushes, this was just easiest for me to grab photos :)*

Shadow brush: Having a flat shadow brush is great for packing on shadows.

Having one tightly bound brush is great to pack on color beneath the brow, or on the lid.

*TIP* Natural hair brushes that are tightly bound, hold pigment really well-making it ideal for packing on product, while natural hair brushes that are loosely bound, don't hold as much color and are better for blending.

Blending brush: You need a blending brush! This one is really important-- As Peg from Edward Scissorhands would say, "You must blend and blend and blend!" Blending is key! To create a fluid, more natural look, blending colors and shadows together is so important!

Angle Hair Brush: This brush is SO useful! I use it to apply eye liner, create a smokey look, fill in my brows-- It's so good!

Big Powder Brush: To set your makeup with a powder, you'll need a fluffy brush! This is great for applying a light dusting of powder, or if you apply setting powder with a sponge/puff, using a fluffy brush to tap away excess is perfect for preventing a super cakey look.

Blush Brush: If you have a decent sized powder brush-- not monstrous- you can probably use that also as a blush brush--see rounded blush brush below--But, if you have a few extra $$$ I suggest buying an actual blush brush. I prefer a fluffy domed shape brush.

*TIP* Layering blush in soft light layers is better than packing it on. It's always easier to add than to take away!

Foundation Brush: There are a lot of ways to apply foundation-- hands, sponge, kabuki brush, dome foundation brush.. the list goes on! So this brush is only necessary if you prefer to apply your foundation with a brush.
Foundation brushes are typically synthetic so they don't absorb too much of the product. I often use a standard flat foundation brush to apply the foundation, and then buff it in with a damp sponge.

Concealer Brush: A smaller version of the foundation brush. Another synthetic brush that is often small enough to get in tight places-- under the eyes, around the nose-- If I'm not using my fingers, I use this brush.

Lip Brush: A lip brush is essential for creating flawless, show stopping lips! I think a lip brush is especially important if you are playing with bold lip colors, because if you are, you really need to make sure they are drawn on perfectly.

Here are a few brush sets that I think are pretty close to ideal in a range of prices :) 

Most Expensive to Least expensive

Too Faced Sephora $65

Sephora Brush Set for $39

Essence of Beauty sold at CVS for $10

Eco Tools 6 piece brush set for $12.99

EcoTools 6 piece Eye set for $7.99

**Combine the two Eco Tools sets for a full face 12 piece set at $20!**

I think cleaning brushes is EXTREMELY important!
I will create a full separate post on how to properly clean your brushes.

In the meantime, I do have an older post that lightly touches on how to clean your brushes and how to make your own spray cleaner for between uses.
Check it out HERE.

I hope this guide was helpful and that it gives you a good understanding of what these basic brushes do!

XOXO JEN