the ultimate beauty secret

i have told you before about my girl-crushes / muses..... there are ones that i have short affairs with and some that will always inspire me and motivate me to boost my fabulous-ness.

one of them is michelle violy harper. if you know who i am talking about you might have recognized her influence on my make-up looks, from time to time. for everyone else.... here is a shreen-shot from a little instagram-conversation i had with here a whiiiile ago (that i was totally shiiiiiitting myself over, by there way)

anyway, why am i telling you about this, now? i was just on garance dores blog, and her last  post is a beauty minute with michelle..... where she says: 

"the most important things for beauty, aside from products is your happiness because that is what shows in your face. you can use as many products and as much makeup, but if you’re a miserable person, nothing is going to work. the other thing is stress......" 

and not i love michelle even more! because, that's exactly what i believe with all my "smile!" and "have fun!" stuff......

we are only human, right?

we all have (at least one) of the following: wrinkles... hair (in unwanted places)… no hair (in wanted places)… cellulite..... chipped nails........ and pimples(!). but, we aaaaare only human. (at least most of us...). well, ever since moving to new york my skin has been getting worse and worse. i figured out how to take care of my dry hands and this little product took care of the rest... but my face seems to be very sensitive to the new york air lack of sleep.....

my friend suzanne is a model, so i love talking to her about beauty…. eating right…. and exercise (among other less important things, of course….… like boys… and shopping. well, i take that back. why would i ever suggest that shopping is unimportant?). a while ago (which reminds me that i haven't seen her in waaaaay to long….) i also asked her about her beauty secret, when it comes to blemish-termination…..

by coincidence i just came across a video of her shareing her get-rid-of-pimples-overnight trick (and i thought i was the only one who she shared he beauty-secrets with.... jk.) instead of me trying to describe it.... just click here and have her (in all her lovely-ness) show you.

suzanne at the butchers daughter, i new york, march 2013… shoot by my

sorry for only having this (far-from-professionsal bogger and meanwhile quite old) instagram picture of her….. (but i doubt this is the last you will see of her gorgeous face……)


i would love to hear any little pimple-fighting tip you have. 

lash-secrets

here are finally my too-easy-to-be-true tips and techniques, to enhance whatever lashes you are working with….

to prep the lashes... every time i shower or wash my face i will use the towel and make sure to dry my lashes. "ok, crazy" you are thinking, but just the way you hair will pretty much stay the way it dried, so will your eyelashes. when they dry all stuck together and messed up then you will have a harder time to keep them from looking clumpy. it really is no big deal. i hold the towel against my eyes and blink onto it to separate the lashes (you could say that they get combed by the forte-loops of the towel) and at the same time they will go get lifted up.

i am not a friend of lash curlers. i don't like the shape they give that lashes and they are really bad for the hairs. if you want good lashes you have to treat them right and not pinch them between rubber and metal until they crease….



as far as the application goes.... it is very important that you start at the very roots of your lash-hairs. i don't really have very full lashes, so i have to make sure to not have too much skin peaking through, between them. i place the mascara coated wand at the roots and wiggle back and forth a bit. (here are so many little hairs that you don't want to miss). i pull the wand towards the tips, while i carefully close my eyes. this will give them a beautiful curve.

for a more intense look i will then close my eyes and only coat the tips with an additional layer. don't do this after the mascara has dried. and be careful to not over do it, because it is easy to get them too clumpy when you do this. if it does happen that there are a couple of hairs that don't want to separate….  don't try and comb them with the bristles of the wand (you will just end up adding more product...) instead, take a safety-pin and carefully(!) separate the individual hairs and remove the excess mascara, that caused the clumping. (no, i did not just advise you to bring a pointy object dangerously close to your eyeball.....)



when switching from one eye to the next, make sure to reapply mascara to the wand, by not only dipping it but litterly screw it all the way closed. it only makes since to start each eye with the equal amount of product on the wand. i don't ever pump the wand like a lot of ladies do. i don't understand the point….. and i imagine that this messes up the consistency of the product....

i will use the tip of the wand for the little hairs in the corners (i personally don't like it when the two lashrows connect on the outer corner. and also for the bottom lashes (after doing the wiggle-wiggle in the roots thing). before doing that just make sure to take off that little glob that usually happens on the tip of the bristles, when you pull the wand out.

now ladies, bat those lashes!


i would love to hear about your personalized mascara-techniques.

lash architect

finally. it is finally here, the post on my mascara. i get bunch of compliments on my eyelashes... and yes, i was blessed with a set of long lashes. and i realize nooo mascara will magically turn your lashes onto full feathery-bombastic-scandalous-telescopic-magnified-seductive-fluttery-millionized-plump-false-looking lashes..... or whatever creative promises those commercials tell you. i continue to be amazed and amazed by every new association the beauty industry comes up with.... ("high-heal"... "collagen"... "baby-doll"……?)



in my make-up-life i have tried a variety of mascaras. i even had a phase where i used a combination of  thee different mascaras….. crazy.

the one i have been using for quite some time now (and strongly recommend) is l'oreal paris, lash architect. i haven't seen it in the us…. which means that i always get a hand-full (when i visit my family in munich) …..and also a couple for my friends, who i have gotten hooked. the reason why i like it is because it gives me long lashes without being clumpy spider legs.

generally, i can say that mascara is one of the products that i do not feel like it it is worth buying a name-brand product. i am also very much a defender of the classic-wand. i don't like those crazy rubbery… spiky… curved... or any other kind of fancy-shmancy wands. they don't work for me. i will elaborate more why, in my next post... where i go more into detail of my specially developed application technique. uuuuuh… i know i am such a tease…... but like i said… this is preeeetty much as secret as my beauty-secret goes……

hashtaaaag nofakelashes

ok... i know... i have promised you this like a miiiillion times.... but tomorrow will be the day....when i finally give you a post on my mascara and eyelash-tricks. i will confess that i have been putting it off because i am about to reveal my absolute most secret beauty secrets.......

while you are waiting… my eyelashes captured via instagram...

luckily i have been blesses wish a good set of lashes, because i absolutely can noooot handle wearing falsies…… 

last time i did (new years eve of 2013)... i ended up pulling them off before midnight……

hope you are having a lash-fabulous weekend!

innovation… beauty secret

let me start this post off ith a little story...

one of my best friends, anna came to visit me in new york, a couple of weeks ago. and of course we had an amazing time! our days were filled with an endless amount of good-old-girly-shit.  and to make a long story short…. one of the effects that had, was her suitcase (very likely) being overweight. (but really, the weight limits nowadays are pretty much impossible…). well, she decided to leave all her shampoo, etc at my place. one of the products she left was nivea's in-dusch körperlotion. 

so i used it. and i have to say…. i love it!

i was skeptical (how on earth can that work?) ...but i was proven wrong. and for being someone who really does't usually use body lotion (it makes my clothes greasy…. gets stuck under my rings… and is just not a priority, in my beauty-routine. but let me tell you… not moisturizing during the dry-new-york-winter is really not an option) i am thankful for it and might actually be addicted. (thank god for the price!). it saves sooo much time, doesn't leave any greasy-ness, but super spoft moisturized skin. need any more reasons? …i don't think so.

the only problem…. nivea doesn't sell it in the us... yet.
aaaaah, another product i have to buy in bulk when i am in munich. along with my eyeshadow base and mascara (i know… i already promised you a post on that)

i can't do without… dust it

next to baxter, clay pomade my other almost-every-day beauty product is schwarzkopf, osis+, dust it, texture, mattifying powder. i have been using it for yeeeears. it is a white powder that texturizes the hair in a way that is very hard to describe…. it kind of makes the hair rough and dry-feeling. on the homepage it is described (among very appropriate adjectives) with  "natural feel"... which i will have to disagree with... because it essentially make it impossible to run your fingers through your hair. but it does absolutely not make the hair crispy and it is totally invisible on the hair. a nother reason why i love it… no matter how much you touch it, the rough texture will not lessen. (not like hair spray that does not really do anything once wind or hands messes it up.) the powder will work its magic until you wash it. (i also want to note that it keeps the shampoo from lathering properly, which is kinda strange at first…..) 

i put it on my roots for volume when i want that super-cool-swoosh. and truuust me, i do noooot naturally have volume. 

details on this make-up-look... here

it gives braided hair styles that fuzzy-touch......



don't have a tutorial for this make-up look (because it was pre-blog) but a similar thaaang... here


and it is a must for up-dos, because i have the kind of hair that (if i don't use dust it) will slip out of the pins and fall apart.

the story on this make-up… here

look at how it transforms rachel's beautiful sleek-asian-hair. 

can i get a "messy hair don't care"?

 

photos of rachel... by me

i can't do without… clay pomade

i really don't have the greatest, most special hair (that'd probably why i change it, so much....). it's not super thick, or shiny, nor does it have great texture.... but luckily, the beauty industry decided to help me out! …this time it was the men's beauty industry.

for the most amazing piece-y, textured, not-trying-too-hard, out-of-bed look, that i basically want eeeevery day... i use baxter of california, clay pomade, firm hold/matt finish, styling tonpomade. i take a peanut sized amount, melt it, by rubbing it between my fingers, and work it into (mainly) the tips of my hair. it is the savior to any bad hair day.

oh! and i totally believe in choosing make-up/nail polish by the name it was given…. this nail color is opi, alpine snow. i mean, come on… i got my nails done with this color, on the first snowy day in new york… and i often think about seeing the alps on my way home, when i still lived in munich…. so, when i read the name, this was an obvious choice. 

quick update

we have all been there.... u have a evening-thing and no time to re-do your whole make-up. a quick update will have to do.  these are my four simple steps, using easy-little tools (because …even though you wouldn't think so... i am not one of those girls, who always has an entire make-up kit (with brushes and all that stuff) in her purse.... i like traveling light.) so when i know that i'll need a update this is what i throw put in my purse.

shimmer...
i love using mac, mineralize skin finish. it gives the skin that sexy glow, without being sparkly.
i applied it to my cheek and brow bones ...with my fingers (because, like i promised, there is no big-ol'-brush-schlepping involved, in this make-up update)

black eyeliner...
because, i am already wearing mascara, i will only darken the waterlines

mascara...
applying mascara to already mascara-coated lashes can be tricky. it caaan result in "fliegenbeine" (which essentially means "fly legs", in german. in my opinion, the perfect description for no-more-than six-thick-black lashes.) so, i recommend only reapplying mascara, if the first layer wasn't too thick and the mascara wand is one of the more full and fluffy ones, not the rubbery spiky ones (...that i am generally not a fan of, anyway....)

last but not least...

red lipstick...
granted... it is not the most creative evening-look, but(!) it undeniably instantly adds glamour/sex/drama/cool to the look. the most-impact-low-maintenance lipstick is stila, stay all day, liquid lipstick. i have already raved about it, many times.... how it glides on easy as a gloss... while still giving the lips an intense coat of saturated color… it does not need other products like lipliners/primers/long-lasting-top-coats... and(!) will stay on through dinner and drinks.

foxy brown and dr. hauschka

last week i got my nail did. and when i say "did", i mean "diiiiid".  

i have always wanted long nails. an when i say "long", i mean "looooong-aaass nails"... ever since foxy brown in hot spot. man, i loved that video…. and her (ask my sis). in hindsight i would say it was a girls-crush. and watching it agin, just now, i gotta say… still love it.

anyway, i realize i am not the first person to get fake nails (even though it is totally exciting for me…… never thought i would actually have fake nails….. and as we know, i usually don't even get a pedi) but it brought me to talk to you, about hand care, and how hard it is to maintain nice hands and nails in the winter. i am really lazy with putting on hand cream, so i need one that is really good and effective. 

the one and only hand cream you will ever need is by dr. hauschka. i am not referring it because it is all natural… and they have "a mission"…  or because it is exclusive… and expensive. but because it immediately goes in your skin, and leaves it sooo much smoother (not just for half an hour). and most of all, it doesn't leave a greasy layer on your hands, that you feel every time you wash them. i hate that….

the nail polish is opi, hopelessly in love. 

bare...

i did this look at the end of last week. i was soooo tired had to get up waaaay to early. i felt like i needed some shimmer on my eyes, to brighten them up, and distract from the shadows… and swelling. putting ice cubes on them (while i was making my morning espresso) kind of took care of most of that….. (can i get a: "beauty secreeet!"?)

of course i didn't have time (after pushing snooze for an hour. not kidding…..) to do an elaborate higlight-blending-lining-shading-who-knows-what look. for moments like that, i use bare skin, bare minerals eye color by bare escentuals. (we get it…… it's bare) well. it iiiiiiis the perfect nude shimmer. really.

graphic shadows

(now if that's not not a poetic title... i don't know what is.....)
this is the look i originally had planed for the day i got make-up on my dress and had to improvise, do to running-out-of-time. (the stains luckily came out... incase you were wondering.....) it ended up being a good make-up to do on a saturday, though. because it is one of the  more time-intensive looks.... but is also very good for whatever spontaneous events you might come across on a saturday in new york....... and yes, it ended up being a day that tough me to never leave the house without a wallet / id. even if your just "running to the cafe you forgot your phone at"...... 

the look: matt skin, liquid liner and dark lips

skin: evening out the skin with foundation and matting it with powder. i molded my face very lightly, by using a darker brown on the hollows of my cheeks and a lighter shimmering pink on my cheeks.

brows: i defined with brown eyeshadow and brow gel.

eyes: i started with the darker color, a matte medium gray. creating a soft shadow by sweeping a light layer all over the eyelids, using more color on the outer v and crease, while blending it very well. the second step was brushing on the light pink, starting at the inner corner and letting it fade out at the middle of the lid. with an angled eyeliner brush and a liquid liner (that becomes paintable after adding water,) i drew a (smallish) cate-eye. mascara, especially on the top lash row.

lips: to get a very hard edge, i start by putting liquid concealer on the rim of my lips, and then drew the shape with mac, lip pencil in vino. (feel free to not follow your exaaact lip shape. i, for example, like a very pointy cupids bow...) the lipstick i used was mac, satin, media. 

[beauty secret: to make lipstick last longer i close my mouth on a tissue and reapply a second layer of the color. and i make sure to have well hydrated lips before i go for a heavy-lipstick day. (ideally) the night before, i like to exfoliate my lips and sleep with a thick layer of a lip moisturizer of some sort, so it can really soak in. applying balm or a conditioner right before the lipstick, will not help too much and will just make the lipstick crease and wear off faster.]


have fun