Sunday, May 20, 2012

Toner

So this is a topic I've been wanting to post about for a while now. And I decided to now since I have been talking to a friend about toner.  The basic foundation to a good makeup application is good skin. One thing everyone should do before they put on makeup (or atleast twice a day) is cleansing their skin, toning their skin and moisturizing. Most women do cleanse and moisturize but they don't tone! In fact, most women don't even know that toner exists or what it is.

I will be honest, I did not know what toner was until I started cosmetology school and I just recently started using it.

(Image from Amazon.com)

This is the toner that I use. Olay oil minimizing toner. Let's start with the basics. Toner is basically like a cleanser. You use it after you cleanse your face. It picks up all of the extra dirt, makeup and oil that you missed when you washed your face. It also helps to close your pores so that extra dirt doesn't get in after washing. It preps your face for moisturizing as well. Over time it can make large pores smaller. If you have oily skin, it will take the oiliness away which also gives you less pimples.

Now how would you use toner? Simple. It depends on what type you get. It can be in a spray, on a wipe or in a bottle like the one above. If it's a spray, just spray it onto your face and you're good to go. If it's a wipe, wipe your face with it. If it's in a bottle, simply pour it onto a cloth or cotton ball and wipe your face with it. But do not wash toner off.

Most toners have alcohol in them so they might have a slight burn, but after you apply toner your skin will feel clean and refreshed. 

So toner isn't difficult and it will really help your skin. It also isn't expensive. Depending on the place you buy it and what brand you get, it could cost you $5 or less.

A few toners I recommend:

 
- Olay Oil Minimizing Toner (I personally use it) [Image from amazon.com]
 Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner, Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Formula
- Neutrogina Pore Refining Toner  [Image from amazon.com]
 http://cpub.s3.amazonaws.com/images/business/b_20120331204332000000
- Acne Free Acne Astringent Toner Pads (specially formulated for acne prone skin, It's in a wipe to make applying easy and quick when you're in a rush. It unclogs pores and helps prevent breakouts. One of my friends uses it and loves it) [Image from Consumr.com]




Prom!

Ok, so it's been a while since I've posted anything. Sorry! I haven't really had anything to share on here lately. I really need to get going on some reviews though. So this weekend was the senior prom in the town that I live in. I have a lot of really good friends that went. I did one of my best friends, Vicky's makeup. (The silvery looking stuff over her eyeliner is purple glitter eyeliner, it didn't pick up in the pictures very well)



So I've done Vicky's makeup before, when I was in cosmetology school I had her as a model. She is one of my favorite types of people to do makeup on. People that hardly ever wear makeup or just very little. It's so much fun to see them all made up. And a lot of times you get to educate them as you go along. If I do makeup on someone who doesn't know much about makeup I try to explain what I'm doing and give them some tips.

One thing that truly amazes me every time I do makeup is that some cheaper and drugstore brands have even BETTER products than the high end!!! For example, concealer. For personal use I use Hard Candy's Glamoflauge concealer. And this stuff is awesome! It's a heavy duty concealer (which I need for some redness in my face), it's heavy enough to cover tattoos. This stuff covers better than what I use with my kit (Sorme's stick concealers). And what really amazes me is you can get the Hard Candy concealer at Wal Mart for $6!! Where Sorme is harder to find and could cost you around $20 depending on where you buy it. Store brands, brands like E.L.F and NYX are really stepping it up. I don't use MAC, but I have heard from several people that many E.L.F products are comparable to MAC. So Expensive isn't ALWAYS better.

 (I felt the need to post more prom pictures, isn't she gorgeous?) I know I'm a little late here on the prom makeup tips, but I feel the need to cover some basic makeup tips and prom tips.

-For prom I wouldn't recommend wearing a lot of makeup or dark heavy makeup. Something simple yet pretty. Remember you're trying to look classy and elegant, not trashy. Plus, you don't want to be in the bathroom every 20 minutes re-applying the makeup that melted off while you were dancing.

- Don't match your eyeshadow to your dress. A basic rule of makeup application is not to match your eyeshadow to your outfit. Sometimes, yes it can be pulled off. But most of the time it doesn't look right. I recommend using a color that goes well with the color of your outfit, for example like I did for Vicky's makeup. Her dress is blue, I did purple eyeshadow.

-Most women still do not know how to put blush on correctly. Less is more. You want your blush to look natural and like a light flush.

- Also, don't just swirl it your blush around on the apples of your cheeks. Start at the apples and sweep your brush upwards towards your ears. Not straight back like a lot of people do. When you sweep it upwards, it gives your face a lift. (I've been contemplating making a video showing how to correctly apply blush)

-Blend, blend, blend! The biggest problem I see is lack of blending especially with blush. You do not want any harsh lines!

- Cleanse, tone moisturize. I could do an entire post on this. In fact, I will right after this one.

- Do NOT do a dramatic lip and a dramatic eye togeather. It's way too much! Just pick one. Do a bold dramatic lip and tone down your eyes or do a dramatic eye and down your lips.


So this turned into a "let's post Heather's makeup pet peeves" list. But, these are some things that women really need to know when putting on their makeup. I'm sure I could come up with a lot more, but I'll leave that for another day. I hope that you learned something from this post and that you enjoyed the makeup I did this weekend!

If anyone that reads this has any topics they want me to cover, either leave a comment or tweet me   (my twitter: @rainbow_vampire).