3 Fabulous Books For Girls Who Love Paris (and things Parisian)

I'm sitting on my couch, it's late at night and I've had one hell of a week. I've had editorial shoots, I've been teaching a pro makeup class, I've been doing the final prep for the next Glam Tour which takes off in a couple of days.
Yesterday I took a red eye (at 1:45 am) from Phoenix to Dallas to speak to a fabulous crowd at the Pinner's Conference Texas. I am the beauty director for a fantastic new magazine called Luca, ( I am super proud of this magazine!) and I was in Dallas with Luca speaking on one of my favorite subjects, beauty. It was great fun. I wish I could have stayed overnight, but my schedule is crazy at the moment, so I had to fly back last night at midnight. And this morning was up and working super early again.

With a few shell shocked minutes up my sleeve I've been clicking around Amazon.com looking for books for the trip ahead. I figured you might enjoy the books sitting in my shopping cart waiting for me to click and ship. I may double buy them actually, as each would make a fabulously chic gift and Christmas is on it's way.



Love Style Life  by Garance Dore
I covet Garance's life. It is so glamorous just as she is so glamorous. Her book is a best seller and her blog is legend. (GaranceDore.com)

Garance Dore

Thirty Chic Days: Practical inspiration for a beautiful life

I'm super excited about this one! Written by fellow Kiwi Fiona Ferris who you may know from her blog How To Be Chic, this book will feed your inner imaginary life in Paris. Even though I'm on my way back to Rome this will make a fab read on the plane!



How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are: Love, Style, and Bad Habits

Parisiennes are the epitome of chic cool n'est ce pas? And you and I can channel our inner Parisienne with the help of this book. I'm especially interested in the bad habits....


This post contains affiliate links. There is a chance that if you purchase one of these books I could be paid a few cents.

Throw And Go ~ 5 Minute Hairstyles For The Girl On The Run

I haven't really talked about it here on the blog until now, probably because I thought it was too good to be true, but I'm super excited to tell you I'm the new Beauty Director for Luca Magazine!!!

Luca is for girls aged 16 to 22 (and is read by girls from 12 to 26!). It has fabulous fashion, beauty, fitness and much, much more. If you could see me as I'm writing this I am smiling from ear to ear - I am so proud of this magazine, and so very proud to be a part of it!

Today I want to show you an editorial from the newest issue. 

The story is Throw and Go, quick yet chic hairstyle ideas for those mornings when you are running late and have to throw and go!

Photographed by Isaac Bailey

Hair by Andy Biggs

Makeup By Corinna Cooke

Get the low down on what Andy did and which products he used here

Check out the cover story with gorgeous Sadie Robertson here

Subscribe to Luca Magazine here

Follow Luca on Instagram here

 

Pinners Conference Texas

Are you going to the Pinner's Conference in Texas this weekend?? 

I am teaching a Beauty 101 class on Friday the 9th at 3 pm.
If you will be in the Dallas area come on down and make sure you come and say hi!

If you haven't bought your tickets yet, or if you are buying tickets for the Pinners Conference in Arizona in October use the code corinna and get 10% discount of the ticket price!

How To Choose Your Perfect Eye Shadow Colors

COMPLIMENTARY OPPOSITES - HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT COLOR EYESHADOW

Do you have trouble choosing eye shadows that make your eye color spark? 

Do your eye shadows feel dull and boring? Or maybe you've always wanted your eyes to look exciting but when you try the looks you see in tutorials it never looks fantastic on you?

The key to your eye shadow looking fantastic is to understand the art of complimentary opposites. This is color theory for your eyes.

In order to draw attention to your eyes and make your eye color stand out you should avoid colors that match your own eye color - blue eyes avoid blue shadow, brown eyes avoid dull browns, green eyes stay away from greens. But more than that you need to choose eye shadow colors that are opposite your eye color on the color wheel.

In a nutshell, here's what you need to do:

BLUE EYES

If you have blue eyes and put on a blue shadow, you don't know what to look at, so it detracts from the blue eye. If you put a bronzey, warm color on it will make your eyes look bluer. Oranges, golds and warm bronzes look fantastic on blue eyes.

warm bronzey eyeshadow sparks megan Fox's blue eyes

GREEN EYES

If you have green eyes use purples, burgundies, coppers, reds.
I often use red eye shadows paired with gold - it's one of my favorites. You get super drama without using a dark shadow (which can make an eye look small).

Green eyes, red eye shadow

BROWN EYES

Just play with color - everything will look good!

If you have a golden brown eye coppery shades and purple shades will bring out that gold. Greens won't.

image from Luca Magazine
photographed by Kelly Capelli
Makeup Corinna Cooke

In the image above I used warm coppers to bring out the golden tones in the model's brown eyes.

If you have warm brown eyes blues and purples will bring the color out, whereas browns will pull it back.

If you have deep deep brown eyes you can do anything, because the depth of that eye color will draw the viewer in.

Everything looks good on dark brown eyes

If you have multiple flecks in your eyes, which is quite common, such as blue eyes with gold flecks, look to the opposite on the color wheel, which is your coppers and your burgundies.

If you have green eyes with gold flecks try purples, coppers and burgundies.

HAZEL EYES

Hazels are a mix of colors. They are either green and brown or green and blue.

If you want to accent the blue, use copper tones. If you want to bring out the green angle more toward reds, burgundies and purples.

If you have green and brown hazels then you want to pull out the green, because it's the most exciting color. Red based eyeshadows will do that for you, as will burgundies and purples.

Rather than being consumed with the latest fashion fad in eye makeup I always look at what suits my eye shape best and then style it with shadows that bring out the color.

How To Choose The Perfect Blush For Your Skin Tone

Blush is such a gorgeous product. It breathes new life into your face and adds a little color to stop you from looking washed out.

image of Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Moon Beach

Choosing the right blush can feel a bit overwhelming though, so let's look at the rules of blush, and how to choose the right blush for your skin tone.

The Rules

Blush should never be confused with contour. Contour products are made up of black and grey and are designed to absorb light and create the subtle illusion of a shadow falling under the cheekbone, making the cheekbone look higher and the cheek look thinner.

Blush and bronzer are not interchangeable! Bronzer's job is to make you look like you've been out in the sun, giving you a sun-kissed glow.

Don't choose a blush that is deeper than the color you would naturally flush to. It will make your complexion look muddy and heavy. Blush is supposed to give you a little lift!

Color

The most important criteria when choosing a blush color is knowing your skin's undertone. 

Are you a cool tone - ivory/beige/pink or are you a warm tone - olive/ bronze/ebony? 

Jessica Chastain is a cool toned girl

If you are a cool tone then cooler, more blue based blushes will look best on you. If you are a warm toned girl then you need a warm based blush.

Jennifer Lopez is a warm toned girl

That nutmeg spice colored blush that looks stunning on an olive girl can look like a heavy brown smudge on a cool toned girl. If you have a cool skin tone but want to wear a more neutral blush a softer, pinky-red based buff or gentle beige-brown color can look beautiful.

The slightly blue based pink that is charming on a cool toned girl can sit up on top of an olive skin and look all wrong. If you have a warm skin tone but want a pink blush, choose a coral based pink instead of a blue based pink.

Tips

If you are using a blush with a shimmer or a sheen choose one with a gold based shimmer. 

Cream blushes help to keep your skin glowing.

Look for products that give sheer, buildable color.

Blushes I love:

Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Moon Beach 

Lipstick Queen Frog Prince Cream Blush
No - it's not green blush! It adapts to your personal pH and gives you your perfect cheek.

Nars Orgasm. It's been around for ages, no doubt because it's so fabulous.

How To Choose Your Perfect Foundation In 3 Easy Steps

Do you ever get overwhelmed at the thought of choosing a new foundation? 
Have you found yourself standing  in front of a wall of foundation bottles, all different colors and formulations and not known where to start?

Have you ever had buyer's remorse when you get home and find the pricey new bottle of foundation that you just bought doesn't look right?

Well rest easy - your perfect foundation is only 3 steps away!

How To Choose Your Perfect Foundation In 3 Easy Steps

STEP ONE

Know your skin type.
In order to get a flawless complexion you need to match your foundation to your skin type. If you have dry or maturing skin you need to avoid a matte finish or oil free foundation because it will make your skin look dry and old. Instead choose something more emollient and glowing such as a silicone based foundation.
If you have oily skin a glowy foundation can leave you looking far too juicy, so you may be better suited to a matte finish foundation.

STEP TWO

Choose your coverage.

image via makeupandbeauty.com

A word to the wise. Contrary to everything you see on the IG and You Tube your foundation should not look like a thick mask. It should be as sheer and lightweight as possible - it's job is to even you out a little and look like fresh glowing skin. Coverage should be based on what actually needs to be covered. Full coverage foundation is for skin that has extreme discoloration, scarring, melasma, etc. If you have perfect skin you need to look at a sheer coverage base, and if you fall in the middle you need to find a coverage in the middle. The key is to not go too thick or too opaque, and to always remember the goal is to create what looks like gorgeous skin.

STEP THREE

Choose the right undertone.
Either you are a warm toned girl or you are a cool toned girl.
No matter what they tell you on Instagram, cool toned girls need cool undertoned foundation, warm toned girls need foundation with warm undertones.
There are no exceptions.

A yellow or warm based foundation looks wrong on a cool skin. It leaves the complexion looking anything from flat to jaundiced.
A pink or cool based foundation makes a warm skin look ashy, grey and cold.

Lets break this down further, because so many people get this so wrong. Warm toned girls look more golden. Their skin ranges from yellow toned to golden honey tones, olives and deep sand tones. Warm toned girls typically tan really easily.

Jessica Alba has warm toned skin

Cool toned girls have ivory, pink and beige undertones. 

Bombshell Christina Hendricks has a cool skin tone

Still not sure? Try Charlotte Tilbury's Foundation Finder, a super simple way to figure it out!


If you get the undertone of your foundation wrong, your makeup will never look right.

If you're not sure if a foundation is cool or warm, hold the bottle against something that you know is. If you hold something pink next to the foundation you should be able to see that they either talk to each other or clash with each other.

You can't always trust the judgement of the person selling you the makeup. I recently had someone adamantly trying to tell me that a very yellow Makeup Forever stick foundation was the perfect shade for my cool skin tone. Not only could she not see that it looked completely crazy, but she told me the yellow base would cancel out the pink in my skin. Not so. It looked ridiculous!

5 Things Women With Perfect Skin Always Do

image by Eric Cassee

5 Things Women With Perfect Skin Always Do

We all know them – women with perfect, gorgeous, flawless skin.

They all live in different places and use different skin care products, so the answer isn’t a magic serum or lotion or potion. (Although I swear by all the lotions and potions that I use, and won’t trade in a single one of them!)

There are 5 things that women with perfect skin all do, and that no matter which skin care products you are using, if you’re not doing these 5 things you won’t make it to skin care perfection.

They Exercise

They all do some form of exercise regularly. (Not necessarily running marathons – you have to be super careful as an outdoor runner to keep your skin and yourself hydrated and to be saturated in facial SPF) Be it yoga or spin class or hiking or going to the gym, girls with perfect skin all move their bodies one way or another.

They Drink Lots Of Water

You can’t have perfect skin and be dehydrated. It’s a simple equation – great skin needs tons of water. Just for basic good health your body needs 8 glasses of water each day, great skin likes a little more.

Girls with perfect skin tend to shy away from high sugar drinks, avoid sodas, limit coffee and tea and only drink alcohol sparingly.

They Make Sleep A Priority

Image via davelackie.com

Without enough sleep you will never have perfect skin.

JLo, who is famous for her spectacular skin says she gets 10 hours sleep per night. I cannot even imagine what it must feel like to have the kind of support with home and children that enables you to just rack out each night for 10 hours! For those of us that fall into the mere mortal category 8 hours each night is the ideal for good health and for great skin.

They Eat Clean 

What you put into your body will be reflected on your skin.

Women with perfect skin tend to eat a pretty clean diet, most of the time. The occasional slice of pizza or drive through meal probably doesn’t hurt, but in general these women avoid those foods like the plague, opting instead for diets rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, quality fats (like avocado).

They Use The Right Cleanser

I can’t stress how important this is! Sensitive skin, dry skin, irritated skin so often are caused and exacerbated by using the wrong formula of cleanser. The wrong cleansers can strip the good oils from the skin, sometimes making the skin desperately make more oil, other times leaving it roughed up and dry. Women with perfect skin use cleansers that dissolve and remove makeup and cleanse away impurities and balance their skin.

My favorite cleanser is Memebox I'm Cleansing Oil, available online at Memebox.com