Meet my friend Christi of Christi Reynolds Makeup Artistry! With over 17 years of experience in the beauty industry, she is the definition of a pro! Her skill and expertise have helped me both personally and professionally…in fact, Christi is the makeup artist I hired to do my makeup for my wedding 6 years ago! (See! EVERYONE needs to hire a professional makeup artist for their big day!)

I love Christi’s style of artistry…with a focus on complexion and a fresh aesthetic, her artistry really lets the person shine! I’m so thrilled she is sharing some of her must-have products with all of us! Here we go…

1. Elf eyelid primer: “This sheer formula doesn’t interfere with the color or texture of your shadows…use it and nothing will budge!

2. Benefit’s High Beam and Benetint: “I love to mix them together! Looks good on every skin tone and gives a natural healthy flush. Instant red carpet glow!”

3. MAC Mineralize Skin Finish: “I love this powders beautiful coverage, it’s not too much, and provides subtle luminosity! Great for setting foundation.”

4. Clarins Beauty Flash Balm: “Love it! I reach for this when I know that my skin needs that wide awake, fresh, just had a facial look! Instantly snaps my skin back from looking dehydrated.”

5. Lingering MAC brow pencil: “This is super precise so you can mimic the natural shape of the brow hairs.”

Christi sums up her beauty philosophy well,”I like to make-up, not make over. I like to correct, define, and enhance…enhance…not create! There’s a difference.”

So Cheers to Correcting, Defining, and Enhancing,

Skin care is by far the most important thing when it comes to beauty. Someone once told me that makeup is who you want to be, but skin care is who you are. As of late the trend is for skin to actually look like skin…and while foundation does wonders, doesn’t it make more sense to invest the time, money, and care into your complexion? You only have one face!

Honestly, my skin care routine changes depending on the season, what’s given to me, and what my budget is…but here are the things I’ve been using over the last 3-4 months. I should note that all of these products have lasted me a minimum of 3-4 months, some even as long as a year goes by before its time to replenish!

 

 

 

 

1. La Mer The Eye Balm Intense: $165 of pure decadence. My eyes feel so smooth and moisturized with this! Tackles puffiness, lines, wrinkles, and clarity.It’s like gold (and is priced like it too!) so I only use it at night…I only have about 3 more nights left of this. Yikes!

2. Chanel Ultra Correction Lift Fluid: $150 Has SPF 15 and a great lightweight texture. Moisturizing and reparative. I use this during the day under my foundation.

3. Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream: $46 This is my daytime eye cream. The perfect level of hydration without messing with my concealer.

4. Ahava Essential Day Moisturizer: $39 Says its for normal to dry skin. I’m oily though and this feels rich to me, so I use it at night.

5.Clean and Clear Antibacterial Face Wash: $4 Gives me that squeaky clean feeling I love and kills all the nasty breakout causing yuck on my face.

6. Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock: $12 Want to stave off wrinkles and pigmentation? Then be religious about using sun protection! Almost all signs of aging are due to environmental damage…remember that!!

7. Clinique All About Eyes Serum: $28 Eye puffiness is the bane of my existence. This rollerball of cool soothing depuffing goodness is my lifeline!

8. Facial Wipes: $1 I get these at the Dollar Store! They have basic ingredients and help remove my makeup so that my face wash and other skin care really gets to do its job!

9. ELF Zit Zapper: $1 Every morning and night any blemishes or pores that give me trouble get a dose of this! Salicylic acid and tea tree oil dry out and soothe the problem spots! There are a lot of more expensive blemish treatments out there, skip them! This has the same active ingredients.

10. Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant: $50 Mix this rice based powder with a little water to make a paste or add to your facewash for gentle exfoliating action! I keep mine in the shower. This product has totally changed my skin I love it!

What skin care are you crazy about right now?

Cheers to Skin that Looks Good, Feels Good, and IS GOOD!

 

 

Here are some of the things that have been in my shopping cart as of late…mostly July and August. Some of these things I’ve been buying for years, others I just discovered! The prices vary greatly…honestly I use what I like and what works, sometimes that means combining expensive and affordable! Whatever works

Ardell Individual Lashes: a long time fave of mine! I wear these everyday and use them on all my brides! They look so plush but are believable at the same time! I had someone ask me the other day if I had started using Latisse. I prefer to adhere these with Dark Tone Duo glue. You can find these for under $5 at Target. I mostly use the “short” length.

ELF Liquid Lipstick in Perfected Pink: only $1 at Target! Glossy finish, but not sticky! Love how smooth it is…and this shade works for everyone!!!!

 

Dior Airflash: $65 at Nordstrom. Pricey yes. But perfection has to cost something! This is literally photoshop for your face. Looks lovely by itself and is lighter than air. Or buff it on top of your liquid makeup for that extra perfect doll-like pore-less look! When I want my skin to look immaculate this airbrush like spray foundation is my go-to. Started using this 5 years ago and it was love at first sight!

Rimmel 8 hour wear Kate Moss Lipstick: around $4 at Target. I know, I know, I keep brining this formula up but I REALLY love it! Wears so long and feels great. Shade #8 is a pinky mauve. Good bridal shade.

Urban Decay Primer Potion: Usually $18 at Sephora. I tried this originally when I purchased my first Naked palette and I really like it. Helps shadow go on smooth and wear longer. I snagged mine on sale at Nordstrom Rack for $8!

Jordana Easyshine #10 Fresh Melon: $1.25 at drugstores (I snagged mine at my local Savemart grocery!). Feels great, smells yummy, and looks so lovely! What a deal!

Rimmel 8 hour wear Kate Moss Lipstick: around $4 at Target. Yep another shade I love in this collection. A true nude. Perfect to pair with a dramatic eye. Be light handed when applying though so as to not erase your mouth completely!

Total cost of my shopping cart? Around $90…granted the foundation is around two-thirds of that so all in all 7 items for that much is not too shabby! Have you tried any of these products? Tell me your thoughts!

Cheers to Pricey Foundations, Cheap Lippys, and Using What Works for You,

The warmer weather proves that summer is almost here. And while it is exciting to bust out the sandals and summer dresses that were ignored during the winter…it’s fun to add something new to the routine! Here are the things that were in Ashley’s (Polish and Pout’s Lead Stylist) shopping cart this week!

  

 

 

1. Easyshine Glossy Lip Color by Jordana: creamy sheer color and only $1…need I say more?

2. ELF Bronzer: skip the sun damage and bronze it up baby!

3. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear nail polish in Twisted Pink: its all about bright colors right now! That neon tank top too much? A bright polish is a great way to ease into the trend!

4. ELF Eye Liner in Black: rock the graphic (aka bold) eyeliner trend for only $1

5. Sally Hansen Insta-Dry polish in Snappy Sorbet: the perfect summery coral!

6. Remington Hair Clips: these bobbys come in a variety of fun colors and are only $2.50 a pack! Use as a cute way to pin back those bangs or be daring and follow the new trend of showing your bobby pins when you put your hair up!!

Love Ashley’s picks!! I’m thinking that I definitely will go buy those colorful bobby pins ASAP!! Do you think you might give your summer look a boost with these items? It won’t do too much damage to your wallet…Plus, if you’re like me and not feeling “ready” yet for bikini season, I’ll let you in on a secret: beauty products always fit 😉

Cheers to Warmer Weather, Bright Colors, and Things that Fit,

Saturday I had the pleasure of working at the MAC counter…that day was so busy and full of Halloween makeovers! So much fun! The theme for the day was Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the dead) so we all wore  sugar skull masks (and by wore, I mean our faces were painted that way!)…

So today in honor of Halloween I thought I’d show you pics of what I looked like that day!

One half dramatic smokey eye and contouring and the other half the mask…

For the mask side I used my MUFE flash pallette and fluidline in blacktrack from MAC…the shapes are super straitforward so give it a try its a cinch! Make sure you black out the eyesocket and the nose…then fill in with as much or as little design and color…lots of flourishes and dots!

Trick: I used individual lashes on my “beauty” side, a double layer! This gave me an extra plush lashlline while still looking believable…sometimes lash strips can look very vegas-costumey (which is what you want sometimes so thats ok too!)…a double layer of individuals is more red-carpet!

Treat: The gloss I used on my beauty side is from ELF…its their hypershine gloss in Flirt.  At only $1 I’d say thats a huge treat! Love that stuff!

Tonight, alas I am sick so I will be home curled up with a blanket and some soup…no dressing up or fun for me.  So I am glad that I had the chance to do some crazy makeup on Saturday! What are you doing/dressing up as for Halloween?

 

Cheers to Tricks, Treats, and halloween,

Ahhhh blush…I love blush…in fact I think its my favorite makeup items in general!  I mean, if you’re looking for one quick thing you can do to kick up your look, refresh your complexion, add life to your face, or just look pretty in general, blush is your answer!!!

I love blush so much that I am totally guilty of over-using it on myself.  Most days I’m like “I need MORE blush!” and I have to tell myself to calm-the-heck-down so I don’t look like I joined the circus!  Just kidding…but for reals!

Blush can be intimidating though…I feel like many people seem confused over what shade is best or where exactly to place it .  Then there are always questions like how do I make it last? What formulas are the best? Well, fear not and listen up…here is the skinny on blush!

lydiaphotography.com

Okay so first, a disclaimer: I hate “rules” when it comes to makeup.  They are just counterintuitive for me…and anytime someone starts a piece of beauty advice with “Always…” or “Never…” just plug your ears and run for the hills! That being said, here are a few things about blush that I have learned along the way…

1. Pick a shade that compliments your skin tone: This point could get complicated so let’s boil it down to the age-old saying that opposites attract!  I love how a blue (or cool as some people call it) undertoned blush pops on skin with yellow undertones (think pinks, roses etc)…and I think that if you have pinky-cool undertoned skin that you are best off using a yellow undertoned blush.  Rosy complexions look best with peachy, golden or brown bronzey based blushes…a true pink just tends to make you look pink all over.  Lobster much? Not sure what your undertone is?  Ask a local makeup counter (or me if we run into each other!). So FYI, I have more of an “olive” tone, and I get pretty yellow when I pale-out in the winter…and I love all blushes…peaches? Yes! Hot pink? Double yes! I think olive skin can get away with most any shade…So ultimately, pick a shade that YOU love!

2. Placement…Ugh I almost don’t want to include this because there are SO many opinion on this…for the most part though, start at the high point of your cheek bone or the “apple” of your cheek and sweep back.  Try to avoid getting too close the nose so you don’t look like Raggedy Ann (anyone remember who that is??) On a rounder face I like to start a smidge further back than normal since the closer the nose, the rounder I think it can make a face look.

3. Formula? Ah that my dear is a matter of opinion!  Oh you want mine, you say? Well if you insist…Since I am a blush lover to the core I prefer anything that is super pigmented.  NARS is one of my favorite brands, one light swipe and I am good to go!  But for others, a more user friendly formula is the way to go…try Dior or Laura Mercier.  If you’re on a budget try the ones from ELF they are great too!

4. How to get it to last: In makeup, longevity is partially based on formula, but also on technique and layering!  Try layering a liquid or cream blush underneath and setting it with a powder blush for ultimate wear! I love the tints from Benefit and I even use my MUFE flash palette for that as well!

lydiaphotography.com

 

A little less confused? I hope so! Now go perk up your day and throw on some blush!  You won’t regret it! 😉

Cheers to Peach, to Pink, and to things that make us blush,