Wishing all of you a great new year!

Should I not wear black mascara and black eyeliner if I have grayish blue eyes?

Sure why not.  But the shadow would look wonderful in violet!

Happy Happy Merry Merry :)

Holday Makeup

I would like to remind you that RED lipstick is always in for this season!  I am also seeing bright pink.  Go bright don't be scared, just don't go bright or shimmer on eye and you will look wonderful.

Happy Holidays!

How do I restore my MAC paint pots.

I just found a really good way!  You just need to put a couple of drops of Makeup Forever "Eye Seal" into the product and walla!  It is good as new.  I am told that this works for other products that are gel. The only thing is that it will now be waterproof.  Well, no biggy, you just take it off with MAC wipes.  More than likely other wipes will work as well.  If you don't want all of your product to be waterproof, then you can dig some out and mix it separately, but there isn't much point of that, as the product becomes virtually unusable when it is dried out.  Let me know how it goes.

latest shoot behind the scenes

2009 "The last 12 years"

Picture from the Party!

Didn't want you to miss these shoes! Men's shoes!

more images

Some of the images

Images from IFT

Internationsl Fashion Tour - the bows!

How can I loose weight.

Increase your protein and healthy carbs.  Potatoes, corn, olive oil, avocados and nuts, things like that have more calories but are healthy for you.  Cut out sugar and refined grains.  Eat whole grains and vegetables.  Smaller portions and exercise! This works.  It is not always easy or fun but bottom line, it works!

FYI  the new diet where you use pregnant woman proteins under your tongue and eat 500 calories a day for 30 days, may work to lessen your weight, but it is not healthy.  The proteins are too big to absorb into your blood stream and if you ingest them, they will be destroyed upon reaching your stomach acid. So the expensive meds are purely placebo.  You will loose weight on 500 calories a day, but it is not healthy and you will be burning muscle as well.  I just wanted to tell you what I know. 

How do I get my makeup to stay on all day?

Prep your skin will and use the right makeup for you and your purposes.  To keep your eye from smooshing, put a base coat on first.  I like MAC paint pots.  The complete answer is too huge to answer here.  Please contact me for any complicated questions, I would love to help!

What drugstore red lipstick is good for warm tone skin?

Ah, an interesting question.  Well, first off, drug store lipstick tones are just like any other lipstick tones, except they may not have quite as much pigment.  So the question about warm tone skin is the real issue.  I say use a warm tone lipstick.  But, it isn't always clear when pick out a shade because warm and cool are always relative in respect to another tone.  So I say if you like it, try it and worse case it won't look that great.  Many stores will let you return the lipstick if you don't like it.  Before you take it back, put it on a white 3x5 card and then you will have a record for another time of what you don't like. 

Another foundation tip!

I have been a bit remiss in posting, as I have been working a bunch.  But, it strikes me that you deserve an insiders tip!  Never, never make your face darker than your neck.  And...try doing the inside, as in the bridge of your nose, the center of your forehead, the front most part of your chin and maybe the checks closest to your nose...just a shade or half a shade lighter than the rest of your face.  This will open your face up and make you look awake and alive.  You might even look a bit younger.  Try it, you will thank me.

How come even the lightest colour foundation looks orange on me?

There is no such thing as the lightest colour foundation.  You mean…the lightest colour of the makeup line you are testing.  This makeup is too orange for you.  Your skin has pink tones.  Please don’t beat yourself up for not matching the stupid makeup! 

How do I test foundation colour at the store?

You want to put a somewhat thicker than normal swatch in a vertical line on your jaw bone, just before it becomes your neck.  This colour should sit there and dry, if necessary.  It should match your neck colour as best it can and almost disappear.  Then you know you have the right colour.  Go outside in the natural light if you need to before you buy.  Most lines will let you return it if you are not satisfied with the colour.  You can also take a tester home to play around with.

New fashions for spring

According to Marc Jacobs it is red, black, grey and green!  Wow!  And guess what?  Waist lines are back.  No more low rise...good riddance.  Those nice clean waistlines of the 50's are so back.

ask me!!!

Hey, ask me some questions to which you have always been wanting to know the answers.  I would love to hear from you!  Not sure how to do it here, will work on that but you can go to...  ibmel@ibmel.com   and get me there!  See you in the funny papers.

Fresh face...not makeup?

YES…if you can, by all means.  But…not many can.  Evening or night might require a more done look.

Which is better, liquid or powder foundation?

I like a silicone based foundation.  But my second choice is oil.  Liquid is drying and streaks and comes off easily.  Powder is powder, and unless it is a dual active powder, I think that it is not sufficient.  Powder is drying as well.  So if it is a dual active powder, it is not as natural and pretty and thin as silicone or oil based.

When using a foundation brush what direction should I brush?

Don’t use a brush.  It is wasteful and I don’t believe that you can get a foundation brush completely clean without some serious work.  Sponges are better.  Use one side one day and the other another day.  If you are careful, you can even use the small end on each side for a total of four applications per sponge.

What's better for skin - wearing less of a full cover foundation VS. wearing more of a medium cover foundation?

It doesn’t matter.  I would just the lightest you can to cover what you need covered.  You don’t have to use your foundation all over your face as heavy as the problem spots, quite the opposite.  Use it heavier only where you need it.  The key ladies is to get it ALL off at night and exfoliate frequently and moisturize well.

What about eyelash tinting?

Personally, I think it is barbaric.  Eyelashes fall out at an alarming rate.  Why not just use a mascara.  Again, my fav is Blinc.  Just make sure if your lashes are blonde, that you use a small fan brush or some other brush to get those roots right down to the lid. 

Red/pink eyeshadow stains my eyes.

Then…don’t use it!  Ha…Seriously, it may be the brand you are using.  But, I would just not use it.  There are lots of other colours out there!

What is the best concealer for dry skin?

To help you understand concealer, let’s talk about what it is.  Any makeup is made of vehicle and pigment.  A concealer is just a product with more pigment than other types of makeup.  Therefore these concealers will cover a pigment change.  So if you can use your foundation a bit heavier on that area it will look better than another product made form a different vehicle.  For dry skin, you will always do best with a crème.  Most Concealers are somewhat creamy but some more than others.  I like the MAC product Studio Finish Concealer.  But whatever you use, you must either mix it with a moisturizer or moisturize before hand.  When using this or any concealer, you will dig out some and put it on the back of your hand.  You want it to get warmer.  You then use a brush.  You pick up the least amount of product you can and then wipe some off on a clean part of your hand, then apply it as thinly as you can.  If you put the bulk of the concealer right on the darkest spot and then feather it outward thinner and thinner around the edges, this will help the area to look more natural.  A lot goes a long way.  You can cover a world of flaws with very, very little.  Then you must powder with a brush very lightly and with very little powder.  If you don’t this crème will move when you don’t want it to and it will settle in the nearest crease. 

What eyeliner does not smudge? I've tried everything?

I used to use MAC Blacktrack but I was recently talked into purchasing Makeup Forever Aqua Black.  Wow, I love it.  Try it, it doesn't move ever, especially if you prep your eye lid first.

Moisturizers with sun block

I normally use Kiehl's with spf15, have for many years.  But, somehow while I was on vacation, my Kiehl's went bad.  I was desperate so I went to the drug store and got EarthScience, almond-aloe moisturizer with spf 15.  It worked very well, and I was grateful to find a work around.  If ever you find yourself in my shoes, don't hesitate to look this one up!

Does anyone know of a good primer that hides pores?

I think that the best way to hide pores is to cleanse every morning and every night before moisturizing, without fail.  Exfoliate at least once a week if not twice and have a good professional facial once or twice a month.  If you want a moisturizer with SPF, I suggest Kiehl’s.  The skin on your face will get more and more beautiful and translucent.  Your pores over time will become smaller and smaller.  At some point this will be optimal and you will be left with the best you can do without.  Having said that, MAC has a wonderful new under eye primer.  Makeup Forever has a very good primer that works great for HD, you can’t really see any difference to the eye.  There are several others at Sophora, you just have to try them.  My experience is that either they are too heavy for everyday use or they can’t be seen with the naked eye.

Would cold creme interfer with my syrum and moisturizer?

I would think that it would.  I don’t know if you mean chemically but the best judge of that would be to ask the people who make your serum and moisturizer.  But in general, I am not sure why you are using cold crème, unless it is to take off your makeup.  I think that since cold crème is so heavy, it would be good to wash it off with your cleanser after you have removed all your makeup.  Most foundation should wash off with cleanser and warm water.  The eyes can be cleansed with makeup remover of cold crème, if you like.

What if no foudation works for me?

If you say so.  If it does then go for it girlfriend.  Just remember that the purpose of foundation is to even out the skin tone so that the pigment changes do not detract from your beauty.  You can then put the personality back into the face with makeup where you want it to make the corrections that you want to make.  I like to see a crème foundation thinly applied with moisturizer before I like a bare face, or a powdered face with minerals.  It always looks fresher and healthier and done.   I do like the MAC face and body or Visiora crème, again, mixed with moisturizer.

How can I get perfect brows?

Perfect eyebrows, in my opinion, start with a professional shaping them with tweezers and trimming with a scissors.  The shape is the most important thing.  Once you have a shape, the rest should be simple.  Some people don’t need anything more.  Others will be left with places that need to be filled in.  This I find is best done with a very thin, somewhat stiff, angle brush.  Blondes and light redheads should use a colour that is ½ to 1 shade darker and brunettes and dark redheads should use a shade ½ to 1 shade lighter.  Now, since most of us colour our hair, we may need some help with this.  I personally, being a medium to dark brown head naturally, am now a blonde with reddish streaks.  So I need not only lighter brows but redder.  So I have to bleach my brows and then use just a touch of light, light brown with a tich of red shadow, in mine.  This is not to say I cover my whole brow.  No! Never!  I just hit it with hair like strokes, here and there to fill in where needed and for colour.  You can’t even tell there is anything there!  Just natural brows that look perfect, if I have done it well.  One more tip.  If your brows and hair is black or close to it, use a light grey shadow and it will give you the effect you want without getting heavy. 

How long does it take to apply your makeup?

This depends on where you are going and how you want to present.  It also depends on your age, skin type and previous damage to the skin.  Prepping the skin and lip is the most important part of any makeup regime.  Once you have done that, if you are young, with good skin and your are going outside for a physical activity, you need very little, possibly a tiny bit of concealer, or not even that.  Throw on some lightly tinted gloss and off you go.  If you are more mature or your are going out at night, then you do more and it takes a bit more time.  You will find that you will soon find a look that you are comfortable in and that looks good on you and it will take you 15 min or so to apply. 

Many want to know how to get a natural looking foundation but still get coverage

The first step is always to prep the face.  The specifics of this depends on what you have to work with when you begin.  The first thing you must do is apply a conditioner to the lip.  Slather this on and let it soak in while you do the rest of your makeup.  If the lip is really chapped and abused by the weather or neglect, you must exfoliate as well.  Then you must make sure that the brows are tweezed, trimmed and shaped.  Any unwanted hair on the face that is noticeable, must be removed.  In case there is a problem whereby the skin is sloughing off, dull or hasn’t been given the attention that it deserves, you might want to exfoliate in certain areas or all over.  Moisturizing with a light, healthy, organic,  moisturizer, is always a good start.  If that soaks in rapidly, you can either do it again or use a heavier crème.  At this time, I usually use a professional airbrush.  If you don’t have that, I suggest a crème makeup that has a fair amount of pigment (Visiora is my favorite) be sponged on, while mixing it on the sponge with your moisturizer.  This foundation MUST be the exact colour of your neck.  This is a key to looking natural.  The mixture of the foundation and the crème will give you both the coverage and the natural look.  Make sure that the entire skin is covered smoothly and evenly.  Use a magnifying mirror if need be to make sure that the coverage is even.  The rest is up to you.  I wouldn’t use shimmer on the lid or pencil in the brow.  Too much blush will look unnatural, as well.

Does your mascara smudge over time?

Ladies, I found a tried and true mascara that will never smudge no matter what you do!  It is called "Blinc" and you can get it at Saphora.  It is the blackest black as well.  You won't be disappointed.