Tag: make up

How to Properly Care for Your Cosmetic Brushes



Professional makeup brushes are an investment. And, like any other investment, we want a great return. One of best ways to ensure that will happen is proper brush care. Did you realize that makeup build-up, especially foundation, makes your brushes feel scratchy? If you have sensitive skin, cleaning your brushes regularly will help them stay soft and lush. It is imperative you make a point to clean the accumulated gunk out of your brushes regularly. This is not only good hygeine (for you, your skin, etc.), but it keeps your brushes in good shape.

Wet the hairs under the faucet with tepid to warm water with the hairs pointing downwards – this will help prevent any water getting in to the ferrule (metal part) or down in to the handle for brushes that don’t have ferrules.

Using a mild shampoo, liquid hand soap or castile soap, squirt a little on your fingers and apply it to the hairs from ferrule to hair tips. Gently squeeze the hairs from ferrule to hair tips over and over adding a little water at a time. Rinse and repeat until the water runs clear. Make sure when you are rinsing to keep the brush hairs pointing down.

After your brushes have a good bath, brush them off a little on a clean paper towel and lay them to dry on their side on a paper towel or a regular towel. It is also a good idea to reshape the brush at this point in time to prevent splaying. Whatever shape your brushes are left in to dry is the same shape they will be when they are dry. You don’t want your contour brush looking like a tapered blush brush, do you? Similarly, if the shape is off, wetting/washing your brush will allow you to reshape a brush. Lay kabuki’s and any other stand-up brush on their side. Never leave them to dry brush hairs up in a brush holder. The water can run down in to the ferrule and loosen the glue holding the brush together over time.

On top of cleaning, conditioning your brush with a quality hair conditioner will help keep the bristles soft. It’s not something that needs to be done as often general washing, but it is a good idea to do it often enough–like once a month. Mostly, it depends on how often you use and wash your brushes.

Lastly, let brushes dry completely before using. Dry time will depend on size and brush density.

How Do You Come Up With Your Color Names?

Make up should make you feel good. Make up should make you look good. But above all else, make up should be FUN. And when someone asks you what lipstick color are you wearing, isn’t it more fun to say, “Seduction” instead of “Pink Mauve”?

Sometimes people have issues with our names. I’ve had customers take offense to our eye liner name Smoking Gun. The name has nothing to do with a weapon. Smoking Gun refers to evidence that is highly suggestive in favor of a particular hypothesis. There are also customers who won’t buy our Orange Mimosa or Strawberry Champagne lip balms because their names have alcohol connotations. And I once had a very angry lady call me complaining that the Brown Sugar eye liner she purchased did not match the brown sugar she had in her cupboard.

But how do we come up with those crazy color names? Is there a formula to it, a science? Nope, it’s nothing like that. Sometimes it’s as simple as looking at a color and calling it what it looks like. The shade Chrome in the Rock the Smokey Eye Shadow Palette just looks like chrome. Sometimes we will post the color on our Facebook page and ask customers what they would name it. Other times we all sit around and look at the color and make a list of names we think we should call it, and then pick the best name from that list. Sometimes I’ll be driving to work and think “Hmm…Bombshell would be a cool name for a lipstick.” And then there are times when the names we come up with have a story behind them. Some of the stories are happy, some are melancholy, but I think the coolest names are the ones that have a meaning. I’ll share a few.

San Francisco – I’m not a city person. But if I was ever going to live in a city, it would be San Francisco. I just love it there.

Camelot – I think my dad secretly wanted to be a performer. I remember him bouncing around the house when I was little, singing “Light My Fire” by the Doors at the top of his lungs. But one of my favorite memories of him is when he would act out and sing songs from the musical Camelot. He acted so serious, like he was Richard Burton himself up on a NY stage. Used to make me laugh and that’s how I want to remember him.

Valentine – This is a family name on mom’s side. It makes me think of my mom, my grandmother and how much I miss them. Also I just missed being born on Valentine’s Day by 4 hours.

Fairy Dust – Okay, there’s a part in the movie “The Bird Cage” where Nathan Lane is rehearsing for his show. He’s supposed to be a getting a perfect mythical creature to come to life, so he waves his hand, motioning like he’s sprinkling something and says “fairy dust, fairy dust, fairy dust…” You’d have to see the movie – it’s a funny scene and one of my favorite movies of all time.

Mocha Latte – my favorite coffee drink and one my close friends tease me about (because I get it decaf, non-fat, no foam, no whip, one pump…..)

Sunset Strip – Named after the famous street in Hollywood. Kinda straight forward, but I love Hollywood (also the name of one of our lip gloss shades)

Charisma – A song by the band KISS

Vanilla Pie – This is an actual pie that a family member used to make. I swear it was pure sugar, but tasted heavenly.

Orange Mimosa – The first time I was in the Napa Valley region of California, I took a hot air balloon ride. It was magical. When that was over, there was a breakfast buffet prepared for us. It was the first time I was introduced to the drink orange mimosa, and I was in love!

PS Pink – PS does not stand for Post Script in this case…we won’t say what it stands for LOL

Falon – Named after my precious kitten who sadly passed away last year. She came to us in very bad shape (she was missing an eye) but we nursed her back to health and she was a sweetheart who was full of life. Her handicap never kept her down. Sadly she had feline leukemia which cut her vibrant life very short. We only had her for three years, but I’ll never forget how special she was.

Abyss – Our little kitten Falon was black as night, and we believe she was part Abyssinian.

Kashmir – Named in honor of a friend’s beloved cat who also passed away last year. She was named after a Led Zeppelin song.

Innuendo – a line in a song by Guns & Roses

Be Cool…No Need for a Meltdown

Wicked Witch

“I’m melting!” screeched the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. No one wants to feel like that when they’re out in the sun wearing make-up. Try these tips to keep your face looking cool and fresh.

1. Start with a clean face. Make sure your skin is just washed and free of any oily residue from cleansers or moisturizers. The more pure the canvas, the more pure the finished work of art (you!).

2. Less is more. Skip the heavy foundation. Not only is the natural look preferred while you’re having fun outside, it also helps to prevent makeup from melting. Apply a light layer of our Pressed Powder Mineral Foundation on your complexion before applying the rest of your makeup. This acts as a barrier on your skin against the heat, making it harder for your makeup to melt off right away. I prefer to use our Kabuki Brush to apply the powder, as it yields a more even, flawless result.

3. Blot, blot away! Instead of attacking forehead sheen with a ton of powder, makeup artists first take away excess oil with blotting papers. And blot, don’t wipe. Wiping only smears your make up. I always have napkins or tissues on hand to blot away “the shinys”. If your skin is still a little shiny after blotting, follow up with a light dusting of pressed powder. This keeps skin from looking cakey.

4. Stay hydrated. A quick spritz of our Hydrosol Face & Body Mist goes a long way to refreshing and resetting your make-up, and it feels and smells great. Plus it’s 100% natural.

5. Stick it to the lips. Personally if I know I’m going to be outside for any length of time, I use our JobaColors Lip Liner all over my lips and follow up with a light coating of our Orange Mimosa Lip Balm. The lip liner seems to last longer on my lips, and the lip balm gives my lips a dewy appearance. If you prefer a lipstick, apply a light coating of foundation powder on your lips before applying your lipstick. The powder helps the lipstick adhere to your lips longer.

6. Keep it light. Color that is. Have you ever been embarrassed by your dark eye shadow melting, forming dark creases on your eyelids? With neutral eye shadows like the shades in our Cosmopolitan palette, this issue is easier to conceal. Lighter shades are still prone to melting but hiding it and fixing the problem will be more convenient for you.

7. No floating heads. Don’t neglect the rest of your body. That means making sure that arms, legs, and décolletage are smooth and glowing too. Avoid the “floating face effect” which is when your face is an entirely different color than the rest of you. Ensure that doesn’t happen by using less make up, and brushing a little bit of our Mineral Bronzer on your shoulders and chest.