Part Two: Medium Coverage Foundation

This is part two of a three part post. I was asked about what foundation is the best, although there is no exact answer (it depends what you are looking for from your foundation) here are some foundations I would suggest. Part two of my foundation posts consists of foundations that provide medium coverage. I tested foundations at Mac and Sephora, I found Mac had a wide range of colours and the price was slightly lower than many of the Sephora products.

I will begin with the foundations that provide the most coverage and end with the foundations that provide the least. At Sephora I tested the Clinique Superfit Make Up. This was closer to full coverage, but still had some sheerness and could be lightly applied. It had a matte finish. Priced at $26.50 CAD I would highly recommend this foundation.

The Laura Mercier Oil-Free Foundation has a medium to full coverage, dewy finish and is available in twelve shades. It is priced at $55.00 CAD (at Sephora), although it is a good foundation, I would suggested a lower priced foundation (such as the Clinique Superfit Make Up I just spoke about) over this foundation.

Other medium foundations that have fuller coverage (and are under $40.00 CAD) are Clinique Even Better Make Up: available in twelve colours and is $30.00 CAD at Sephora, Mac Pro Longwear: available in a wide range of colours and is $35.50 CAD, and Stella Illuminating Powder Foundation: a powder foundation (which I personally prefer over a liquid foundation) available in eight colours (making it slightly more difficult to perfectly match your skin tone) and priced at $37.00 CAD at Sephora.

Slightly higher priced medium plus foundations (ranging from $40.00-$50.00 CAD) are Stella Illuminating Liquid Foundation: Shimmer finish (excellent if you want a glowing effect) available in eight colours and priced at $50.00 CAD at Sephora, Lorac Natural Performance Foundation: Oil- Free, dewy finish, available in ten colours and priced at $47.00 at Sephora, and Make Up Forever HD Invisible Cover: Dewy finish, available in wide range of colours and price at $47.00 at Sephora.

The next three foundations provide the least coverage of the medium coverage foundations (remember I still have part three: light coverage foundations). First is the Laura Mercier Moisturizing Foundation: Matte Finish (excellent if you have dry skin and want a moisturizing foundation without a dewy finish) priced at $55.00 CAD at Sephora, Shiseido Stick Foundation: available in seven colours, I would suggest this foundation as a highlight (choose a colour slightly lighter that your skin tone) as it is a stick and you can apply it directly in areas you wish to highlight and then blend it out, it is priced at $42.00 at Sephora, and Korres Wild Rose Foundation: Oil-free with a shimmer (I would suggest this foundation over the Stella Illuminating Liquid Foundation for creating a glowing effect) and is priced at $39.00 CAD at Sephora.

Medium coverage foundations are good if you have good skin but sometimes have areas that you want to cover up (such as the famous pimple on class photo day). Medium coverage foundations provide enough coverage to cover flaws, but still let your natural skin come though. Apply lightly over entire face and then heavier in areas of difficulty.

Part three will be posted soon, so check back if you are looking for a foundation with light coverage. This will be the final post of my foundation testing, after that I encourage to go out and find the right foundation for you. Decide what type of coverage you need, the finish you want (dewy, matte or a shimmer)and the type of foundation you like to use best (cream, liquid or powder), finally go shopping! At the end of the light coverage post I will also include how to test the colour of your foundation to ensure it matches you skin tone.

Did you find this post helpful? Questions, comments, feedback? I would love to hear them! Please comment or email me for more specific questions at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com, or find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one).

Part One: Full Coverage Foundation

This is part one of a three part post. I was asked about what foundation is the best, although there is no exact answer (it depends what you are looking for from your foundation) here are some foundations I would suggest. Part one of my foundation posts consists of foundations that provide full coverage. I tested foundations at Mac and Sephora, I found Mac had a wide range of colours and the price was slightly lower than many of the Sephora products.

The foundation I found that had the best coverage (you could cover EVERYTHING) was Mac: Studio Tech. It is in a compact and I would suggest applying it with a brush or a sponge. I would also recommend that you use a loose powder after to set the foundation and avoid creasing. If you have "dewy" skin, I would also recommend carrying a pressed powder in your purse for touch ups through out the day. This foundation is marked at $35.50 CAD with a wide range of colours, well worth the price!

Other full coverage foundations from Mac are Select SPF 15 liquid foundation and Studio Fix Fluid liquid foundation. These have slightly less coverage than the Studio Tech, but still provide full coverage. I would recommend these if you do not necessarily want to have to apply powder, as it is less likely to crease (however I still suggest to always powder your foundation). Since these foundations are not as oily as the Studio Tech, there would be less need for touch ups through out the day. Both these products are priced at $31.00 CAD and come in wide range of colours.

Out of the Mac store and onto my Sephora finds. The lowest priced foundation with full coverage I found at Sephora was Clinique's Perfectly Real Make Up. It has a Matte Finish and comes in many shades. I would suggest this product, especially if your really do not want to use a powder to set the foundation. It was marked at $30.00 CAD at the Sephora location I was at, it is most likely available at other stores, possibly with a different price point.

The other matte finish foundation I found with full coverage was Lancome's Teint Idote Ultra. Priced at $50.00 (again price may vary depending where you are shopping), I would say this is a good foundation, but there are more cost efficient alternatives that easily compare in quality.

Foundations with full coverage and a dewy finish I found were Tarte: Recreate Foundation with Wrinkle Rewind Technology (priced at $48.00 CAD), NARS: Firming Foundation (priced at $55.00, with a wide range of colours) and Laura Mercier: Silk Creme (priced at $55.00, with ten colour choices). I would recommend any of these foundations I you are looking for the fresh dewy look. Since the Tarte foundation is priced the lowest I would assume it would be the most sensible choice, I personally like the Laura Mercier foundation the best.

Part two will be posted soon, so check back if you are looking for a foundation with medium coverage. If you are looking for foundation with light coverage, be sure to look for Part 3.

Did you find this post helpful? Questions, comments, feedback? I would love to hear them! Please comment or email me for more specific questions at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com, or find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one).

Stay tuned for more coverage on foundation! (Bad joke I know, but it just needed to be written)

Help for the Holidays

This holiday season, ensure you look your best at all the parties you attend. Whether you want you make up done for a special event, want help choosing the right eyeshadow palette or give personal instruction on how to apply the perfect smokey eye; I can help you with what you need.

Make up application: I will apply your make up for a special event. Single or group bookings available.

Personal Shopper: I will go with you to choose the right make up for you, anything from foundation, to lip stick... I can help fill your make up stocking, so Santa doesn't have too.

Make Up Lessons: I will give step by step instruction on how to properly apply your make up. Lessons are based on what you specifically would like to learn (for example if you want to learn how to apply foundation that looks as though you are not wearing make up, or a perfectly blended smokey eye). Personal and Group Lessons available.

What ever your make up needs this season, I would be happy to help. Email me at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com or find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one) for details, availability and pricing.

All I want for Christmas is for you to look and feel your best!

Happy Holidays!

The Right Red Lipstick

Many ladies I know tell me they want to wear red lip stick but feel that they cannot "pull it off". My answer is one: wear lip stick with confidence, it is a statement to make when you wear lip stick (wear it loud wear it proud). Two: choose the right red that best suits you. Here are some pointers on finding the right red.

The most important thing is finding a red that compliments your skin tone. If you have a cool skin tone (pinker undertones) then choosing a red with a cool undertone is best (more of a blueish red). If you have a warmer skin tone (more golden or orangeish undertones) choose a lip stick with a warmer undertone (even a browner tone of red).

If you are very very fair my suggestion is to stain the lips instead of having a fresh coat of lip stick (you can create a stain by putting on a coat of lip stick and blotting it off, do this a number of times to create a deep colour). If you have darker skin tones I would suggest to do the same. By staining the lips instead of having a bold fresh coat of lip stick, it will soften the look creating a less shocking effect.

For skin tones that are not super fair, or deliciously deep I suggest a strongly liner lip with a punchy red. Make sure to have a matching lip liner, that is very sharp and line the lips, then fill with the lip stick. Blot once to create a lasting stain, then reapply the lip stick for a fresh look.

Also, I enjoy a deep red for fair and darker skin tones. The combination of a dark deep red and staining the lips can be very seductive to light and dark skin tones. For skin tones in between I enjoy a bright punchy red, making the focus on those luscious lips.

The last piece of advice I would give on wearing red lip stick is to make that the "loudest" part of the make up application. Although it is possible to combine a smokey eye with a red lip, I would suggest to down play the eyes and create focus on the lips. I will usually wear minimal make up on the eyes and cheeks (for example just a winged eyeliner, thicker mascara light contour and blush with a little more emphasis on the highlight). By down playing parts of the other area on the face while still bringing them out (the heavy mascara and highlight) it will make the red lip stick stand out, while also subtly bringing out the rest of the face, creating a flawlessly beautiful face.

Questions, comments, feedback? I would love to hear it. Feel free to post a comment or for more specific question feel free to email me at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com or find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one).

My Love of Photoshoots

This post is not specifically about make up. I'm not going to explain how to apply anything, trend or products, I'm going to express why I love what I do.

My favourite way to spend a day is being in a studio doing make up for a photo shoot. I love that there are so many people working together doing what they do best with one common goal... an amazing photo. It is a team that works together and each person has something they know well to contribute, and when everyone involved is passionate about what they do it creates a mood that is indescribable.

A typical photo you see in a magazine is not just about a model putting on clothes and standing to take a picture, there are so many steps from start to finish. There is someone who designs that clothing that the model wears, a designer who designs the jewelry, and another designer who designs the shoes. After someone designs these items there is another person who makes them and chooses the fabric. There are people who take the items and put them together to create the look (a stylist). Usually there is an art director who thinks of the story and mood that they want for the photograph. There are make up and hair people who make the model look the way she does to tell the story the art director wants to tell. A model brings realism in the way they hold their body and the emotions the show in their face. There is the photographer who is there to capture the moment that brings everything together. After the photo is taken there is post production that perfects the photo to ensure the story has been told.

In a photo shoot there are tons of photos, wardrobe changes, different accessories, changes in hair styles or lip stick colours that happen before taking "the" photo. The process is as much a work of art as the final photo and I am so happy when I am part of the creation.

To me a photograph captures the best part of each person involved, the love and passion they put into their work. It is beautiful to see what passion looks like, and the ways people express it.

Trends Through the Decades

From the 1920s until the 1980s there were distinct make up trends each decade. There are most defiantly trends today, however they seem to change per season, not every ten years. Now make up trends are influenced on past trends and mixed and matched to create endless beauty effects.

In the 1920s women wore pale foundation with a very matte finish.  Blush was pink and rose tones and worn lightly and mainly on the apple of the cheek and blended out (creating an "embarrassed" blushing look). Eye shadows were dark neutral colours such as grey, black or plum. Eye shadow was applied to look smokey and create a down-turned eye to create a damsel in distress look. Brows were tweezed thin to be straight at an angle to look worried. Lips were small with a round Cupid's bow in a deep colour (usually a deep plum).

The 1930s was all about being a glamorous woman. Foundation was ivory to pink tones with pastel coloured powders in ivory, mauve, pink green and blue (very pale not electric blue or emerald green by any means). Blush was pale ivory to pink, but a warmed tone closer to reds burgundies even towards yellow (more of a warm gentle sun kissed look). Lips were full and sensual, in the early 30s lip stick was raspberry toned and later in the 30s woman began wearing bright red. Eyeshadow had two different looks, day wear was Vaseline on the eyelids for a glossy look with lots of mascara, in the evening woman wore light iridescent eyeshadow over the entire lid with darker defined creases. Eyes were lined with white liner on the bottom of the eye and heavy mascara was used. Mascara was used to create long thin lashes, not thickness.

Because of the war in the 1940s, women began working and fashion and make up became more masculine. Foundation was natural and lightly powdered. Women often wore only powder and no foundation (money was sparse so make up became a luxury item which meant women only had a select few items in their make up bags). Blush was pink and rose tones mainly on the apple of the cheek and blended toward the temples. Eyeshadow was muted natural colours and mascara was worn with emphasis to the outer lashes. Brows were natural but well groomed. Lips were full and soft with rounded upper lip, in deeper red colours.

After the war was over glamour became women's focus once again. The 1950s was all about the beautiful house wife. Foundation was peachy coloured and more lightly powdered. Blush was pink tones worn on the lower half of the cheek bones creating a defined cheekbone. Eye shadows were blue or white, natural but lighter than the skin colour and the crease was softly defined. Eyeliner was worn and woman began wearing winged eyeliner (not very obviously) and heavy mascara was worn. Lips were full and defined, coral was a popular lip colour. Eyebrows were thick and dark and perfectly shaped.

The 1960s had two distinct looks. There was the hippie flower child look that was free and spirited, very natural but a lot of times hippies painted flowers or peace signs on their face. The other look was the mod look with heavily contoured cheekbones, dark geometric eyes with lots of eyeliner and exaggerate difference between the highlight colour on the lid and contour colour in the crease. Mascara was worn on both the top and bottom lashes and false lashes were very common (on both the top and bottom lases). Lips were nude, pale pink, silvery and white were popular.

The 1970s began to take inspiration from a past decade, the 1920s. Eyeshadow was dark and smokey, slightly down turned (not as drastic as the 20s were). Heavy mascara was worn on both the top and bottom lashes. Eyes were heavily lined in black especially on the inner rim of the eyes. Eyebrows were thin and sometimes bleached. Lips were shaped like the 20s cupids bow but not as small. Dark plum, and dark brown were popular lip colours. As disco became popular, glitter was added to glamorize the look.

The 1980s did not have specific techniques as to where eyeshadow was applied, how the lips were to look or how thin to tweeze the brows. The 80s was about experimenting and trying to express yourself. Make up was every colour known to man, combined in outrageous combinations. The trend in the 80s was to have fun, and many people did.

Looking through pages of magazines it is clear fashion uses past trends to create a feel. Although there are specific trends every season make up is more about what makes you feel the most glamorous. By taking parts of each decades trend each person can apply make up based on what brings out their most beautiful features. Take the time to find what you think is most beautiful and apply it to work for you.

I would love to hear what your favourite decade is for make up, or what part of each decade you like most. Please share your thoughts, and if the way you apply your make up is influenced on trends for past decades.

Questions, Comments, Feedback? I would love to hear it. Please post or you can email me at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com and I will reply to the best of my ability. You can also find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one) or follow me on Twitter (Karleigh_J)

My Favourite Black Eye Pencil

There are many excellent eyeliners on the market but my personal favourite is Mac's Eye Kohl in Smolder (it is available in other shades). This pencil is creamy to put on and is easy to use in many different ways. Here are some of the ways I like to use this product:

• To line the tarsal plate (inside part) on bottom of the eyelid.
• Sometimes I rub the liner onto my hand then use a brush to apply a thin line on the top of the eyelid. This makes a softer line than if you use the pencil directly on your eye.
• apply a thick layer of liner as though I'm lining my eyes heavily, then smudge it out to create a base for a smokey eye (I then add eye shadow on top)- there will be a more detailed post about how I apply a smokey eye... and there will be pictures!

This liner has dense pigment meaning it is solid in colour, and it smudges very well. The only negative thing about this liner is that because it is so creamy it can smudge if you don't want it to... especially if you are out dancing the night away and become. A way to avoid smudging is to press a black eye shadow over top of the liner, it is kind of like you are powdering the liner the same way you powder your face after you put on foundation.

Take a look at MAC Eye Kohl in Smolder for yourself

Do you have questions, comments or feedback. I would love to hear it! If you have specific questions you can contact me directly at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com or find me on facebook Karleigh Johnstone (I'm the only one).

Stay beautiful!

A Way of Looking at Beauty

“We can learn to use makeup to emphasize our eyes or downplay a feature. But self-assurance involves learning to live with (and treasure) those fundamental things we can't change: the very features that make each of us beautiful and unlike anyone else.”
—  Bobbi Brown

I really like this quote. I believe part of being beautiful is being confident and comfortable with who you are. Make up can be an excellent way to outwardly show how much you care about yourself, since you take the time to look the best you can. If you feel good take the time to look good, and if you don't feel good, take extra time to look good and it may help you feel better.

Explaining Highlight and Contour

My post yesterday mentioned using highlight to achieve a fresh faced look. I had someone ask to explain what highlight is... here it goes:

The human face is 3D (shocking I know), so naturally when light hits our face there are areas that appear brighter and areas that become shadowed. This is natural highlight and contour. To emphasize what happens when light hits our face we can use make up to bring out our bone structure.

Highlight: typically a highlight colour should be 2 shades lighter than your natural skin tone. This of course is a general rule of thumb for the most natural look and you can use any shade lighter, as long as it is well blended. I personally use I white loose powder shimmer as my highlight, but I go slightly highlight crazy on my cheekbones.

Highlight is applied to areas of the face where the bone structure sticks out most. Areas such as the front of the nose, on your forehead between your eyebrows, on the edge of the jaw bone just before it curves onto your neck, and my personal favourite place to highlight... the top of the cheekbones.

Contour: a typical contour should also be about 2 shades from your skin tone, only darker instead of lighter. Contour is kind of the opposite of a highlight. It is applied to areas on the face where light naturally causes a shadow. I would not suggest to go a lot darker with a contour colour because it may look very obvious, or possibly like you have dirt smeared on your face.

The areas on the face that are most often contoured are the sides of the nose (to make the nose look thinner), in the temples, just underneath jawline where it curves at the neck, and under the cheekbones (the area that you suck in when making a face like a fish)

*One thing to know about highlight and contouring is making sure it is very well blended. when you put the make up on you brush remove the extra powder on a tissue and lightly dust the areas of the face to be contoured.

Now that I have explained the basics of what highlighting and contouring is supposed to achieve, here are some ideas of what products to use.

• Foundation that is 2 shades lighter.darker than your skin tone (after you apply your foundation apply the highlight and contour using the same type of foundation before you powder, this will be the most natural look).
• Pressed powders (if you have a palette of powders and want to get good use of them use the lighter and darker shades as your highlight and contour, this will be slightly more obvious but still very natural looking)
• Blushes, eye shadows, bronzer, shimmer powder, any thing else that will work (these products will create the most dramatic effect, just remember to blend blend blend!)

I hope that explains things so you now have a basic understanding of how highlight and contour works and are able to try and play around with it.

I would love to hear your comments, questions, results about this post. Have specific questions? Feel free to send me an email at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com, or find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one) and I will answer to the best of my ability.

5 Minute Fresh Face

Oh no, you've woken up rolled over and realized your alarm has not gone off and you only have 15 minutes to get ready. It has happened to me one two many times, and I'm sure it has happened to you.

Here is a way you can quickly make yourself look awake, and the best part is that it only takes 5 minutes, so you can still have time to put on clothes and brush your teeth before running out the door to your busy life.

For this quick application you only need 3 products: a powder foundation (I personally use Mac's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural- pressed), a highlight (can even be a white or light iridescent eyeshadow), and mascara (my personal favourite is Maybelline's Great Lash in Blackest Black).

To freshen the face, apply the powder foundation lightly to even skin tone and cover any slight imperfections or blemishes (I like the Mac Mineralize because it give a sheer coverage and lets the skin come through but when applied more heavily covers well). Once the skin looks flawless (or realistically close) apply the highlight modestly (or not so modestly depending on your preferred look) to the cheek bones. This will brighten your cheek bones and take the focus off the signs that you may not have gotten enough beauty rest. Finish off with a coat (or more) of mascara, this will open your eyes and make you look more awake (you may not feel more awake... that can be achieved by the numerous cups of coffee you consume... at least that works for me).

I hope this is helpful for those who want a quick and easy way to look put together and ready for a busy day.

Did this tip work for you? Try it and comment on how it went.
Have questions? I would love to answer them to the best of my ability, email me at karleigh@karleighjohnstone.com or find me on facebook (Karleigh Johnstone, I am the only one) and I will respond as quickly as possible.

Welcome!

Welcome to Karleigh Johnstone: Make Up Artist blog! The purpose of this blog is to educate and inform readers of make up trends, techniques, products and events. My intention is to "publish" what I know and learn about make up to further my career as a make up artist.

Please enjoy, learn and love make up as much as I do!

Karleigh Johnstone