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Celebrated makeup artist and cosmetics innovator, Scott Barnes, has just released his book – “About Face: Amazing Transformations Using The Secrets of the Top Celebrity Makeup Artist.”‘

Singer / actress, Jennifer Lopez, is featured on the cover, and in the book, Barnes gives makeovers to 20 different women including Lopez, Mariska Hargitay and Kim Kardashian. According to Barnes, the book’s message is most importantly about the power to transform yourself, and it’s also about beauty for purpose (as opposed to beauty for vanity sake).

Notably, the book is primarily concerned with technique. In it, Scott details his methods/techniques and transforms women of different ages with a wide variety of skin tones. The book’s photos are absolutely gorgeous, and it’s the sort of book that’s nice to just look at – coffee table book maybe! Check it out if you can, it is available on Amazon.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to look great. Here are some beauty must-haves for every woman / girl … and you don’t need to spend a lot of money!

- To look nice and fresh all day, a super-natural cheek color is definitely a good choice.

- A good foundation that can be used for light to medium coverage is a must. Remember that foundation can be used as a concealer as well.

- You must have mascara and eyeliner – to add a little drama.

- A nice gloss that can be worn with anything is another must-have.

- A bronzer (for those with fair to medium skin tones) is definitely another good thing to have on hand.

Stay beautiful!

Everyone wants healthy beautiful skin, right? Sure we do. In 2009, the trend for makeup is more focused on the benefits and ingredients of beauty products than ever before. So what women want this year, is makeup that is actually good for their skin, but also enhances their natural beauty.

Natural and organic elements in makeup are definitely key for 2009. This includes ingredients such as blue berries, goji berries and acai berries, to name a few – ingredients that are actually healthy for your skin. In addition to that, anti-aging ingredients have taken front and center as well. It’s a fact that we ladies love looking young and fresh. This ingredient is called Sirtuin – it helps to improve your skin and bring out a natural younger looking you; and who wouldn’t be pleased with that?

The makeup trends for 2009 also include soft colours and a flawless matte finish. Your makeup should be light. Eye makeup should be colourful but natural, and don’t forget gloss for your lips.

Now ladies here are some hot beauty tips for 2009:

• Minimal makeup – Try using light foundation that leaves your skin looking flawless. The key is to look as natural as possible while enhancing your beauty.

• Smokey Eyes – Metallic colours are definitely in. Silver, gold, bronze, and pastels. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

• Long Thick Lashes – Whether you go artificial or you enhance with eyelash curlers or mascara, long thick lashes are the way to go.

• Flushed Blush – Soft shades of pink or peach gives a natural tint to your cheeks.

• Thicker Eyebrows – Absolutely no fine lines, thicker natural looking brows are the trend for this year.

• Natural Lips – Nude lips are in, so use natural gloss and pale lipsticks like pinks and peaches for lush lips.

• Matte Finish – No shimmer and glimmer, natural is the way to go.

Eye Makeup Trends

For 2009, it is all about sheer and softness to define your beauty. NARS, MAC, Jill Stuart and Christian Dior are four top brands to check out for getting the look in 2009. They are releasing pastel collections which are softer on the eyes. Most makeup lines have also been promoting violet eyeliners. Apparently these eyeliners create the soft smokey effect we want and it is for all skin tones. So if you don’t like purple, start getting used to it because you will be seeing quite a bit of eye shadows and eyeliners in that shade this year. Also, Radiance from Mineralogie has a wonderful illuminating powder that is used to highlight under the eye and it helps to reduce the visibility of dark circles as well … and that is just fabulous!

Makeup Trends for the Face

Always remember to keep skin moisturized and hydrated because what we are trying to achieve is radiant, dewy skin. Ok, let’s talk about your ‘blush’. Ladies, keep your face glowing with sheer lightweight pinks, peaches and other pastels. Remember you are naturally beautiful so keep your makeup healthy and light in appearance.

Makeup Trends for the Lips

Christian Dior and Chanel have been enthused by pale, nude lip colour which goes fabulously with berry hues and gives you a sheer color finish. I encourage you to try out their makeup line for 2009. In addition you can mix your lip colours with your lip balm or gloss for more natural lush lips. So lip gloss is hot, glitter and sparkles are not.

Final Tips

Following these steps will be easy if you have the right tools to do so. With that in mind I would like to suggest you try Bare Naturale Gentle Mineral Makeup by L’Oreal. This is one of the best organic makeups available and is highly recommended for 2009 to achieve that perfect matte finish. It is gentle, mineral based, feels weightless on your skin and ofcourse it is healthy and enhances beauty. What more could you possibly want?

Camp Cosmetics is also a new company with a deluxe brand of beauty products to offer which are made from concentrated botanicals, which is also great for your skin. Check out their website at campcosmetics.com.

2009 Makeup Trends Recap

Now let’s recap, the biggest trends for 2009 are definitely smokey eyes, thick long lashes, nude lips with a hint of colour, and last but surely not least a flawless complexion. So what you will need for the perfect look in 2009 is eye brows powder, lip balm, metallic eye shadow, fake eye lashes, or if that is not to your liking pump those lashes up with lots of mascara, light blushes and ofcourse pastel lipsticks such as pinks, peaches and shades of purple.

I assure that these makeup trends will bring out your natural beauty and of course, try out cosmetics that are being made with natural, botanical or organic ingredients. After all, why not look great, have healthy skin and help the environment all at once. It’s a win-win situation don’t you think? Now, please remember that healthy, glowing skin says a lot about you. So with that in mind all that is really left to say is, ‘flawless skin is definitely in’. Keep up with the trends!

Coming this fall – Shiny Mama Cosmetics will launch their Precious Gems Collection. One featured product will be GLEAM ALL – a multipurpose double-ended shimmer glitter pencil … for that subtle glimmer in your eye. It will be available in two beautiful shades – Silver-Frost and Gold-Sunray.

The GLEAM ALL multipurpose pencil is very versatile, and you can go from Downtown Rock ‘n Roll, to the pure couture elegance of Paris’ fashion runways. It looks good on tanned Summer faces – from the sparkling beaches of Ibiza, Malibu and The Hampton’s to Winter Holiday parties worldwide.

You can use on the eyes, lips … whenever and wherever you need that extra punch of dazzle. Use it with your existing make up collection or alone.

SIDE NOTES:
- Comes with a pencil sharpener
- NOT MADE IN CHINA
- NO PARABENS
- CRUELTY FREE

Legendary catwalk make-up artist and all round beauty guru, Laura Mercier’s, top makeup tips for the Winter Season:

1. Invest in a black eye shadow. It covers all the new season trends, plus black can be as vampy or subtle as you like
2. For a subtle smoky grey eye that can be worn day or night, use a base white eye shadow over the lids before gradually layering on black
3. For a more intense eye, brush black shadow over your lids, focusing along your lash line. Then dot some white in the corner of your eye to open them up
4. No matter how skilled and confident you are with your makeup application, take your time and apply gradual layers until you get the right intensity
5. To get the in style “berry lips”, use a shiny longwear lip color. Use your finger for a smudged stain or a lip brush for full-on intense colour. For a sheer effect, use a lip balm underneath your lip colour, and for precision use a berry lipliner. The berry lips trend is versatile, so it can be worn in different ways depending on your mood
6. For flawless, glowing skin (instead of caked-on matte skin), use a tinted moisturiser to keep your skin looking fresh and clean, followed by a high-pigment pearlescent cream concealer over your lids. It will give you a glossy polished look, i.e. the very “fleshy” look that’s been all over the catwalks.
7. Use concealer around your cheekbones and brows to naturally highlight your face to look like you’ve just stepped off the runway

Source: ELLE Uk Magazine