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Makeup Monday: Guest Blogger Nami’s Top 5 Beauty Go-To’s

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Happy Monday, beauties!

As a beauty & lifestyle blogger, you meet a lot of fun & fabulous folks.

You are always checking out new products, learning new tools & tricks and being introduced to other bloggers’ trade secrets. How much fun is that?!

My good friend, Nami M. Scott, who you guys should know by now, is one of my fashion & beauty icons. She’s also my photography, photoshop and writing icon. Okay, I’ll stop gushing.

While I wish I could have her petite stature and naturally caramel-hued skin (there I go gushing again), I have learned that I can try some of her beauty staples.

Here is Nami sharing her Top 5 Beauty Go-To’s.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

 

xoxo,
BF

Things I’ll Admit To: My Top 5 Beauty Go-To’s

So, there are things we say we can’t live without…significant others, family members, pets…some get poetic and talk about the ocean, Shakespeare, the sunrise.That’s great. These are all great things. I couldn’t agree more, but let’s take a minute to talk about the things I really can’t live without for fear of turning people into stone with my unadorned face. (Insert a hard wink here…I’m trying to be better about self-deprecating remarks.)Yes, I’m actually writing a beauty post. Weird, right? I didn’t think it was my thing, but I do feel the need to tell people about a few product that are my die-hard go-to’s. These are the products that, if discontinued, may completely derail my entire existence.

Photo by Nami M. Scott
These are what they look like! And, look, I’m pointing that them to let you know how awesome they are!

Here are some super-convenient links!

  • Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm (SPF 45)
  • Smashbox Limitless Liquid Liner (Waterproof)
  • Makeup Forever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector
  • Make-Up Forever Faux Lashes
  • Nars Pure Matte Lipstick (Carthage) / Nars Lipstick (Roman Holiday) / MAC Cremesheen Lipstick (Creme Cup)*

*Yeah, so I have 3 lipsticks! Big deal. I’m counting lipstick as one item here!!!

Ok, you have my list…my secrets have been exposed. The truth is, I don’t actually wake up looking like this. I know, I know. Hard to believe! Now to tell you why these items are so great. (a.k.a like a product review except I’ve been using some of these things for years…sooo, a product review looong overdue.)

Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm (SPF 45)

Close your eyes and imagine a world where having moisture, sheer coverage, and sun protection all exist in one product. Isn’t it the most beautiful thing? Now open your eyes and realized that it actually exists! Holy frijoles. I know. Amazing!

I live in Los Angeles, where the air is dry, so I’ll take all the moisture I can get. I layer this beauty balm over my daytime moisturizer for some extra facial love. It evens out my skin tone without covering up my freckles! Yay!

You can also layer it on for more coverage if you need!

Smashbox Limitless Liquid Liner (Waterproof)

This stuff is my jam. The liner pen is intensely precise, the liner is hyper-pigmented (it’s the blackest black that ever blacked in all of blacktown), and it stays on until you tell it not to. (Also known as “use make-up remover on it.”)

I sobbed on my father’s shoulder during my wedding (most crazy-emotional father-daughter dance award goes to Nami) and this liner didn’t budge…at all. My eyes were red, but my liner was perfect. Go team Liquid Liner!

I use it everyday to give myself a nice, thick line on my upper lash line with a flick at my outer corners for extra pizzazz. (I think we should all use pizzazz when we can because most things in life could be categorized as “pizzazzless”…if you can add pizzazz do it and do it with reckless abandon!)

Makeup Forever Waterproof Eyebrow Corrector 

I’ve mentioned this magic gel before in my earlier post (Mama Matsuo Musing #4: Brow Wow Wow) and I will continue to sing its praises. For someone who has very little in the way of eyebrows, this is just the thing. Use it with a hard bristled make-up brush (an angled one is best) and you get a product you can control with ease and that can be layered for more or less intensity.

Sometimes I go with a standard brow and sometimes I Audrey Hepburn the crap out of my brows and either way, they look great and natural. For those of you who don’t know what I mean, Audrey Hepburn used to draw in eyebrows that were much thicker than her real ones. This gives your face an overall more youthful look and, depending on how much you arch it, can also give you an instant facelift.

This brow gel will not go anywhere. For the record, I will say that since I have oily skin, on super oily days, I’ve touched a brow and had it fade a little…but, really, what do I expect? Oil removes most make-up. The bottom line is, if I don’t touch my eyebrows, they stay on all day and all night.

Make-Up Forever Faux Lashes

So, let me tell you a little tale. I once got eyelash extensions because I found this seemingly great Groupon deal. The extensions were amazing. I had the thickest eyelashes ever. They were like brooms stuck to my eyelids and I loooooovedit.

But there are a few cons about having them…

1) You can’t sleep on your face (which I’m known to do)
2) You can’t rub your eyes
3) You can’t wash make-up off your eyes properly (you have to go in with swabs & make-up remover and be really careful…so, in short, it’s like surgery.)
4) You might end up with an allergic reaction to the lash adhesive

I experienced all four of these things and ended up in a state where my contacts would fog up and I wouldn’t be able to see anything!

Cut to me at an optometrist’s office, finding out that the undersides of my eyelids were covered in tiny bumps from my allergic reaction which were releasing stuff that was fogging up my contacts. So, yes, it was a party…the worst kind of party…the kind of party where there are no goody bags, no cakes, no piñatas, and no one’s dancing. In fact, everyone is reading books and not talking to each other…and the books are in different languages…wait a second, I think I’m describing one of my horrible nightmares!

Anyway, I got those extensions removed…but what people don’t tell you is when you have extensions for a while, they destroy your eyelashes. So, when you finally decide that you’d rather deal with what you’ve got naturally instead of having eye pus fog up your contacts while you’re driving, causing you to pull over because you’re basically blind…well, you quickly discover that your natural lashes are so damaged that they are practically gone. (Refer to the earlier “party” I had mentioned.)

This observation came about right before I had to leave for Fashion Week in NYC. I had to be on-camera or dealing with Fashion Week patrons all day for an entire week and I had three eyelashes in total. It wasn’t gonna fly, so I went and bought myself some quality falsies.

I mastered the application in the next week, each morning before going to the tents at Lincoln Center and by the end of the week, I was basically waking up and throwing them on before running out the door. At the end of the day, I could pull them off, rub my eyes, wash all my make-up off, and face plant into my pillow! Absolutely fantastic!

The only problem now is this: I’m so obsessed with the fluttering, fawn-like look the falsies give me that I wear them EVERY SINGLE DAY! And the Makeup Forever brand of lashes, when taken care of properly, can last you weeks! Just be sure to remove all the adhesive each night and clean the lashes thoroughly with rubbing alcohol. Store them in their lash case and you’re good to go! I love, love, love, love them.

No more bald eyes for this girl!
(Sorry for the long lash story…”long lash”…get it? Oh, puns!)

Nars Pure Matte Lipstick (Carthage) / Nars Lipstick (Roman Holiday) / MAC Cremesheen Lipstick (Creme Cup)

Last, but certainly not least, I have my trio of go-to lipsticks. You know that book, Two Lipsticks and a Lover? (If not, read it. It’s a great book that I’ve read at least twice…a great way to get your inner French woman going.) Well, I’m part of the “Three Lipsticks and a Husband” school of thought. (Oooh, remind me to write a post about that.)

Here’s how I roll. Every day can be a sartorial adventure and in my mind, not every outfit goes with one type of lipstick. It’s just illogical. Much like if you’re wearing too much eye make-up and you wear a strong lip, you’ll end up looking like a clown, a harlot, or a harlot clown (riding your unicycle around the redlight district), I feel like the same goes for outfits and lip color.

If I’m wearing a strong color on my body, I probably won’t wear a strong color on my lip. It just doesn’t balance out…unless you’re on camera. Pale lipstick with make you look dead on camera, so just keep that in mind. However, on the day-to-day, pale lipstick is a nice way to look natural, but still have a little bit of color. (I would mention blush, by my list was only top 5, so I had to leave blush out.)

So, Nars Pure Matte Lipstick in Carthage for LBDs and super neutral outfits! Nars Lipstick in Roman Holiday for a splash of girliness (and it can go with loud colors or neutral outfits) and MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Creme Cup for crazier-colored outfits, a super natural look, or (if you layer it on) a great 60’s mod look. I’m such a sucker for London in the 60’s. Thick lashes, short haircuts, androgynous models, and pale lips. It’s one of my aesthetic obsessions!

……………………….
So, there you have it. My top 5 beauty choices of all time!
Hope you get to try them out, suggest them to friends, give them as gifts, or add them to your event goody bags! They’re sure to be a hit! xo!

 

BF Asks: What are YOUR top 5 beauty go-to’s?

 

In-My-Tub-Tuesday: Guest post by NamiMScott.com – Taking Care of your skin

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Happy Tuesday, BeautyFrosting beauties!
For In-My-Tub-Tuesday today, I’m thrilled today to share my favorite new blog with you:
NamiMScott.com

You may recognize Nami as my most-featured Whatcha’ Wearin’ Wednesday girl. While being one of the most stylish people I know (she’s a big style icon for me), she is also a ridiculously gifted writer, a talented illustrator & art designer, an amazing photographer, a beauty & hair expert and a good friend to boot. She’s also an amazing shoe shopping fairy godmother who helped me pick out some new shoes yesterday!

You might also recognize her from the interview she did with me for her blog, LAdies. Her sage advice has led me to referring to her as “Naminy Cricket”.

And now you can receive some of her sage advice too. Well, actually, this particular advice is courtesy of her mom, Mama Matsuo.

Enjoy! And then head on over to NamiMScott.com to see other musings this muse has going on! I love her to bits.

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Mama Matsuo Musing #2: The Skin You’re In

It’s time for another installment of “Mama Matsuo’s Musings” where I get to tell you about my chic Japanese mother’s sage advice. So, here we go…

I know what you’re thinking. “Duh.”It’s something we’re told to do all the time. Fashion magazines, health magazines, beauty blogs. Everyone is talking about skin. It’s our biggest organ and the one people see right away. What kind of idiot wouldn’t take a minute to give it a little TLC? No one’s an idiot. Life is crazy enough as is, so it’s understandable that doing all this extra self-care is the last thing on your list of priorities. (It’s probably somewhere between getting your tweezers sharpened & going through that stack of mail you’ve been meaning to organize – guilty as charged.)
But, seriously, skincare can take up precious hours of your day and you have to be diligent. None of that “I’m too tired to take my make-up off. I need to just sleep.” or the famous express washing of the face that’s basically you scrubbing at your face like it’s a washboard for 30 seconds and rinsing it off with the foolish assumption that you’ve rid your pores of all those youth-killing offenders.
I learned very early on, by watching my mother, that taking care of your skin is a process and one that, when you get into it, you can really enjoy and luxuriate in. And I’m not just talking about your face, folks. You need to take care of all the skin on your body. I mean, having a youthful face and a leathery beef-jerky-esque body would be a little disturbing, no? Yes. Yes, it would be disturbing. Don’t be that person who disturbs other people.
So, let’s start with the steps:
For your body:  

Dead Skin Demolition:

I didn’t pick this up from my mother, but she would approve. Dry brushing is basically a way to slough off dead skin pre-shower while your skin is still…dry. (Yes, it’s not a misnomer.) Using a brush, you gently brush the skin (see? really not a misnomer) in small strokes from toes to chest and fingers to chest. You want the brushing to always go towards the heart. Don’t know if this is an old wives tale, but I’m willing to keep with tradition. Think of it this way, scabs come off easier when they’re dry. Dead skin is the same. 

Here’s the Scrub:

I use a good ol’ exfoliating towel in the shower. The same kind of towel I’ve been using since I was about 5. They have them at Japanese markets. Just textured enough to catch any remaining dead skin, but not so textured that you come out of your shower looking like a burn victim. You want to get the dead skin off…NOT the live skin. That can stay. 

Hot & Steamy…and Moisturized:

Wait! Do not open the bathroom door just yet! Dry yourself off and let the steam hang out for a little while so you can properly moisturize your body. The minute you open that door, that loving steamy air is gone and in its place, mean, drying, cold, relentlessly harsh air that will steal your body’s moisture and NEVER GIVE IT BACK. Protect yourself from that situation by slathering on the moisturizer and locking that water into your skin before opening the door. Also, invest in a good body moisturizer. “Good” doesn’t mean expensive. “Good” means “works for my skin type.” I use LIERAC Hydrofilian Anti-Dessechement.

Something’s Afoot:

Oh, puns! How I love puns. I just want to say, don’t forget about your feet. We’re so busy standing on them that we forget to take care of them. Get a pumice rock and give your footsies a good exfoliating at least once a week. They’ll thank you. Trust me.

For your face: 
Remove the Excess:
Before you start getting into washing your face, remove all the extra gunk GENTLY. No using semi-decent make-up remover and then staring at your eyelashes a centimenter away from the mirror to neurotically pick off bits of waterproof mascara. I’m actually a big fan of straight-up jojoba oil (you can get it at your local natural foods shop). A tiny little puddle in your palm and a dip of your finger tip will melt through any type of make-up. So, use it to remove all the excess stuff first.  
No Express Lanes:
Remember that thing I was telling you about earlier? About scrubbing your face for 30 seconds and then calling it a wash? (MORE PUNS!) Don’t do it. First, get yourself a facewash that you love. (And not because it smells good, but because it works well for your skin.) If you have dry skin, consider a cleansing milk or cleansing oil. For oilier skin, consider a lathering kind. I use Shiseido’s White Lucent Brightening Cleansing Foam. I lather it up really well in my palm and then gently apply it to my face, keeping away from my eyes and massaging in small circles. I concentrate on my nose area because, girl, I’ve got some serious blackhead issues there. Do that for about a minute. Trust me. You want a real cleaning. Then I take a gentle swipe at my eye area (no heavy rubbing here, please) and rinse with lukewarm water. Soda Scrub (a Dub Dub):
So, I’m a wimp and chemical peels scare me. I don’t like melting things off my face and microdermabrasion always leave me looking like I stood in a windy desert for two hours (complete with particles lodged in my teeth & eyebrows.) So, I go the old fashion way with a little secret. I use baking soda as a facial scrub. Once a week, I gently rub it on my face before I wash it. Just put some in your palm, add a tiny bit of water to make it pasty (I know, it sounds lovely) and then start rubbing…just not too hard. The skin on your face is already a little thin, so don’t go having a massage party. It’s still abrasive. Then rinse and wash as usual. Trust me, your face will be porcelain smooth.It’s All or Nothin’:When it’s time to moisturize your face, don’t skimp. The worst is being all, “oh, this moisturizer is so expensive, I should just use half the amount I need. It’ll last longer that way.” Yeah, great. Your moisturizer will last twice as long, but will be half as effective. I, personally, need to slather it on at night. Partly because my face gets dry naturally and because I live in Los Angeles where there’s no such thing as humidity. I become, in essence, slightly shriveled.. Constant fans & air conditioning don’t help the cause, but further my downward spiral into dehydration, rendering me a more wrinkled, slim-jimmy version of myself. Not good. If you’re going to use moisturizer…use it. F’real. I’m a fan of Shiseido’s White Lucent Brightening Moisturizing Emulsion for night & Lierac Intiatic Fluid for day. (No giving me flack on not using SPF. That’ll come later down the list!)Eye Creams:If you’re prone to a crow’s foot or ten, consider an eye cream. I actually like crows feet. I feel like it’s a dignified and honest sign that someone has smiled a great deal in their lifetime. I probably need to use eye cream, but haven’t invested in one yet. If someone has a recommendation, I’m all ears. My mother is probably shaking her head right now. Yes, yes. I know. I need to get eye cream. Geez. OK!

For Your Skin Overall
You’ve Heard It All Before:
Ready for the obvious stuff now? Hey, eat healthy & keep hydrated! (Duh. Yes, I know, but it’s part of Mama Matsuo’s list, so I’m putting it in here.) Your skin is your body’s health billboard. Eat well, take your vitamins, and drink tons of water and you’ll become the Vegas of health in no time. Ok, you knew this already, so I can move on.
Enough of the Puff:
Don’t smoke. (Insert a long sigh here.) I’m guilty of this. I know, I know. Horrible. Dastardly. How could I? I actually quit for a year, but one trip to Paris did me in and I was sprinting to the Gare de Lyon by the evening of my first night, so badly did I was to have a cigarette with my cafe creme. I can beat myself up over it all day long, but the bottom line is that I know I need to quit and if you haven’t picked up the habit, then awesome. If you are smoking, make like me and promise yourself you’ll quit soon for the sake of yourself & everyone around you. Mama Matsuo is very displeased about this one.
(Don’t) Burn, Baby, Burn:
Sunscreen. Yes, you know that already too. I’m a big believer in BB cream. Coverage, extra moisture, and SPF (plus some other antioxidants & fun stuff depending on which one you try – I love Dr. Jart+’s Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45 PA+++) in one product. Perfect. Slap that on and you’ve evened your skintone, blocked out the sun’s rays, and given yourself a little extra protection from dryness. And I’m a fan of Aveeno’s Continuous Protection, SPF 70 sunblock for the rest of me (as much as I want that beef jerky body – that was a joke.)
Hot, Hot, Horrible:
Hey, I love a hot shower as much as the next person, but it turns out that that’s a baaaad move for anyone who wants to have hydrated skin. Hot water just strips away all the essential oils and leaves you parched. So, do yourself a favor and shower with lukewarm water. It’s just as good at rinsing away the soap, but it won’t rinse away your youth! (Yes, I know that was a bit dramatic, but I’m trying to make a point here.)
Aaaaaand I think that covers it. With enough practice, you’ll be able to do all of these things in your sleep. Or, at least, I hope you learn to because I still think that showering is such a waste of time. Why can’t I just have an auto-clean button and do other stuff in the meantime? (Are you getting a better idea of how neurotic I am yet?)
Anyway, why do I feel like this is such important advice? Because my mother, despite being in her mid-60’s, still looks like she has the skin of a 30 year old. I have to concentrate really hard on pointing out any wrinkles…even when she smiles! (Ok, ok, her Asian genetics help, but still…and, NO, she hasn’t had any work done.) So, for all of you out there who haven’t taken the time to take care of your skin, it’s ok. I’m not going to chide you, but I highly suggest you start as soon as you can.
I can’t promise that every time you take care of your skin you’ll feel like you’re in some sort of beauty advertisement (cue the background music & British female voice-over talking about the newest skin technology) and I definitely won’t promise that you’ll love every minute of it. (Between an extra few minutes of sleep & properly washing my face, I still would love to choose the former.)
In the end, however, you’ll be thankful you took the time when you’re 90 & people are cooing about how you don’t look a day over 70. Now, go forth & pamper yourself like you mean it!
***
Thanks Nami!!
xoxo,
BF
BF Asks: What sage beauty advice did your mom pass on to you that you have never forgotten?