Elix Me Something Fabulous!

No matter how fabulous of a makeup job you have done on yourself, if the skin underneath is parched or dehydrated your makeup will never look great. In fact, it probably wont even look good.

So often you see girls wearing dual finish bases, or crushed mineral powder foundations, and their skin looks pulled and tight and powdery. This is because there isn't enough moisture in the skin, so the skin pulls it out of the makeup.
Even those of us wearing regular foundations suffer from dehydration. Apart from looking awful, it is also so very aging - not a combo any of us want!

Sometimes it seems like your skin is great one day, then parched the next, or maybe just certain areas are looking dry and or flaky. Adding more and more moisturizer in the morning isn't always the winning formula either. It can leave a greasy layer on the surface of the skin, and make your makeup slide away.

So whats a gal to do?

Get her hot self to Makeup Forever, that's what!

Makeup Forever has come out with an amazing new product called HD Elixer.






This product was designed to help Makeup Artists out when we're putting someone up on the big screen and dealing with skin dehydration issues. With the advent of HD filming the makeup equation changed considerably. Suddenly everything was magnified 6X, and every little detail showed up. Any little skin flaws suddenly became major glaring features, so a whole new technology with makeup was needed.

Makeup Forever is absolutely a Makeup Artist line, developed to meet professional Makeup Artists needs. The great benefit there is that if a product is created to meet our needs, then for the girl in the street it is off the charts brilliant! And any product that is designed for HD cameras looks completely amazing when seen on regular divas in everyday light.

HD Elixer both hydrates and firms the skin. You can use it by itself when you're not wearing any makeup, or wear it under your foundation for a beautifully smooth, even palette.

In the first 15 minutes it increases hydration by 520%! After 6 hours the skin is still more than 175% more hydrated. This translates to beautiful, flawless looking, firm skin. And we all want that!

I don't write about any product until I've used it extensively. I've had HD Elixir in my kit for several weeks now, and have been testing its performance every which way. I recently had to deal with a 14 hour flying day, which of course, dehydrates the living daylights out of your skin. I figured that would be the ultimate test of the product from the a consumer's point of view. Those of you that do much flying know that by the end of the day your skin, and makeup, can look completely beat up and exhausted. Throughout the day I kept checking my skin, right up until I got home at midnight, and wouldn't you know it - not only did my skin look great, but my makeup had held up beautifully too!

HD Elixir is fantastic for extreme situations, but also fabulous for every day.

I keep a bottle of the HD Elixir in my makeup kit, and another one at home for my personal use.

Check it out - you will love it too!

I Am Jessie James...

...well, actually, no I'm not - I'm CorinnaB....
But for those of you who haven't met her yet, its high time you get to know the real Jessie James



The reason I'm writing about her today is that finally, finally, after a crazy long wait, her debut album "Jessie James" is all set to drop Tuesday August 11th!

And you need to buy it.

Or download it.




Jessie's sound is a cool pop/country/rock fusion. And she is soooo good!
J.J is one of those tiny little things with a mighty, mighty, powerful voice. Reminds me of Christina Aguilera with a touch of Nashville added in.

I wanna wear my hair up in a mess/ cut off jeans / can you get with that?

She's been doing some pretty huge things already, and has built herself a massive following. The pop out player on her myspace page has had more than 7 million hits, and some of them weren't even me! You can actually hear the entire album on myspace.

You may know her song "Blue Jeans" from the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack, or you may know her current single "Wanted"





Put your lips on my mouth/ put your lips on my mouth/ put your lips on my.....


For the past year her song "Guilty" has been on my myspace profile. (You're on myspace? Cool - come friend me!) It's my favorite track on the album, but there are so many good ones in there!
Jessie wrote or co wrote every song on the record, working with the likes of Katy Perry, Jamey Johnson, and Kara Dioguardi.





So here's what you need to do:
Check out her myspace page
If you're on twitter, follow her @iamjessiejames
Facebook? Here's her page. Friend her, or become a fan.

The new album is here, so buy it or download it.

She's touring out there now, so if you go to a show she's opening for, or if you see her on her own, get on your feet and give her a lotta, lotta love!

Meanwhile,

I bite my lip not to scream your name/ oh baby! I feel everything/ but guilty.....

Oh yeah - that's my song!!!

xo

C

Happy Hour!

So last Saturday I met up with my gorgeous, glamorous makeup friend J'me for sushi at a cool place called Kabuki.

It was about a million degrees out, and I wanted something light, crisp and refreshing to drink, so our waiter recommended the Cucumber Mojito. I'd never had one before, but oh my! Talk about fabulicious!
It is now my new thing, and seeing as this week it feels like its 2 million degrees out, with humidity on top, I'm thinking this may just be the little gem to top off a little pool party.




Here's how you make a pitcher of Cucumber Mojitos:

You will need

3 cups of white rum
a big bunch of mint and some extra mint divided
2cucumbers sliced thinly (skin left on)
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of fresh lime juice
10 oz bottle of soda water or sparkling water

Combine the white rum, bunch of mint (torn up a roughly), and half the cucumber. Put them in a covered bowl and let them infuse overnight.

The next day strain this mixture thru a seive, and press out any rum that is soaked into the mint & cucumber. (Discard the mint & cucumber)
Pour the infused rum into a big pitcher.
Add the sugar and lime juice and stir til dissolved.
Add cubed ice, some of the remaining mint leaves and cucumber slices, then add in soda water and stir gently.

Serve in chilled tall glasses with ice, mint leaves and cucumber slices.

So delicious!

If you're not a cucumber lover, check out the Racing Fashionistas - they always have something fab for happy hour on Fridays!

Have a gorgeous weekend,

xo

C

These Lips Were Made For Kissin'!

Fabulous, kissable lips are the order of the day!

Throughout the warm (hot!) summer months you just can't beat a soft luscious lip gloss to keep you looking fresh and gorgeous.
You also can't beat a 20% discount on the luscious lip glosses!

Julie Hewett has beautiful new lip lush lip glosses about to arrive, and I want you to be the first to know about them.




Sophia, Bardot and Mimi are about to arrive, and Harlow is already here.

Then, of course, there's Chloe, the lip lush I've been talking about and wearing all summer long!



Love, love, love it!!!


To get the discount, (one any and all of her products) go to Julie's website www.JulieHewett.net
At the checkout enter the promotional code SUM20
This will get you, and all those you love, the full 20% discount as well as $4.95 on domestic shipping

Wedding Day Survival Kit

Summer is primo wedding season for pretty much everywhere (except Arizona!)
I am constantly getting asked about what items a gal should pack to keep the beauty going strong after the makeup artist has left, so I figure there's no time like the present to tackle this one!
It should be noted too, that this is ideal for any night out, and these items are standard in whichever handbag I'm trotting around town with.

If you are getting married, I highly recommend having a makeup artist get you ready. If you have a pro take care of your makeup, you will need very little in the way of touch ups.
I also emphatically recommend you get someone who uses airbrush. No ifs, buts or maybes.

But back to the kit...

1) Blotting papers.
You want to combat any shine that comes up with blotting papers. Sephora brand are great, MAC has good ones too. Don't ever wipe, just press onto the area and lift. This will help lift away any oiliness. If you keep adding powder your face will start to look overly made up and cakey.





2) Makeup Forever Duo Mat.
This is one of those powder/foundation combos, and in my opinion (and I always have one!) it is by far the best. Sometimes you need a little extra powder, and by using a dual product you are replacing any color that has wiped away.
Duo Mat has the best colors, a gorgeous natural finish to it, keeps you nicely matte. The packaging is very slimline and wont be bulky in your makeup bag. Put a triangle sponge in there too (get your makeup artist to give you one if you dont have them). If you get weepy, or need a repair job under the eyes etc, a slim pointed triangle sponge is key.



3) Lip liner.
You will need to be touching up your lips throughout the day. I love MAC lip liners and Julie Hewett lip liners. Your makeup artist can tell you which color you need so that you can buy it prior to the big day.






4) Lip Gloss
I love putting my brides in colored lip glosses, and there are some fabulous ones out there. Make sure you are using one that is not tacky or gooey (never a good look). I love MAC, Julie Hewett and Chanel for glosses. They have the best colors, last nicely, and dont ball up on the lip.
Definitely get a gloss that is on a wand. The application is so much easier, and there is less chance of you spilling it on your dress.





5) Plackers
There is nothing worse that talking to people with food stuck between your teeth!
After eating, a quick trip to the ladies room with a placker and you can make sure the teeth are looking beautiful! (most of us dont have the time or the space to be brushing out teeth all the time while we're out. And toothpaste really jacks with the taste of champagne...)





6) Listerine Breath Strips
Assume you have bad breath, and keep these on hand!
(Its a way better plan than assuming you dont!) Most brides get a pretty dry mouth on their wedding day. These will keep you fresh.
Absolutely do not chew gum, and breath mints will end up giving you icky breath anyway. Plus you can end up with little white flecks of altoid on your lips.


7) Neatly folded Kleenex.
Pre-fold a few kleenex and keep them flat in your bag. If you get weepy, slip a flat, folded kleenex under the lower lashes and press. Never, never wipe or use a bunched up kleenex. Chances are you'll just make a big old mess.

8) Eyedrops
For the brave only! These are in emergency only! If you've been crying, or have a fleck of something in your eye, slip a folded kleenex under your lower lashes, tip your head back and as you look away, drop one drop into the inner corner of your eye.
Close your eye, and keep it closed for a few seconds. You dont want tears rolling down your beautifully made up face!



9) Bobby pins for any mini hair repairs. You wont need many, but its a good idea to have them on hand.

10) Safety Pins
I keep a couple of small ones and a couple of medium/big ones. You never know when there's going to be an accidental rip, or a quick fix is needed. Better safe than sorry!

A quick last look in the mirror, and girlfriend, you are good to go!

xo

C

Brush Me Baby!

So I wanted to answer some of the questions you've been sending me about the CorinnaB brush line, and rather than do endless replies, I figured I'd just put it all here.

I decided back in the mid nineties that I wanted to do a makeup brush line. I also decided that anything I would put my name on had to be of extraordinary quality, so I set in motion a program that took years to complete.

I would get a given set of brushes, and then put it through its paces for months on end, both with my personal at-home use, and also being integrated into my kit. I kept finding that most brushes were OK for a couple of months, but past that point they would start breaking down, losing too many hairs, losing shape and texture, and ultimately they would wind up in the "no way Jose" pile.

Then there would be the brushes that held up OK in terms of not falling apart, but didn't pick up and transport product efficiently. I wanted something that would really smoothly glide product across the skin.
I was able to eliminate different hairs - I didn't want squirrel, I didn't want pony etc, but it took a great deal of time to find something that I really did want.
I eventually came across badger brushes. The hair met the quality standards I had set, and my little love affair began...

But finding the right hair for your brushes is just the very beginning. Next up you have to decide on the specific shapes you want for your brushes, based on what tasks you want them to perform. After that the density of the hair comes into play. A brush that is too densely packed will create a stripe across this skin, a brush that doesn't have sufficient hairs bound into the ferrule will splay out across the skin and leave you with no control of the product placement.



With badger hair there are four shavings per year, and each shaving yields a different type of hair. The mid-winter shave is the softest hair, the summer shave is the most course hair.
After I had fallen in and out of that equation a few times, I got the perfect brushes.

So long story short, it took forever and a day to get it exactly as I wanted it, then 12 months of really working the brushes hard, and seeing how they held up before I was ready to put my name on them and introduce them to the world.

They've been around for a couple of years now, and I am still using my original sets everyday.
Oh, and by the way, these brushes are manufactured right here in America!

You can read about the individual brushes on the website CorinnaB.com

I'll periodically talk about an individual brush here on the blog, and I show you the brushes at work in the youtube videos.

I hope this answers the bulk of your questions, but always feel free to ask me more!



Have a gorgeous day

xo

C

Meet the Crew

I keep talking to you about the people I work with, but haven't really introduced you yet.

I love that my career takes me to many different and exciting places, and I love that I am always doing something new and thrilling, but best of all I love the creative teams that in this line of work you wind up on.
When you are really lucky, and all the planets line up just right, you find yourself working as part of a super creative team of like minded souls. And when you get the right fit, you end up working over and over and over together.

So here is the absolute gorgeousness that is Will Zecco.



Will is the hair genius. Handsome buggar, isn't he? We have worked together as the hair and makeup team for almost 7 years. Not all, but by far most clients book us together. And it is always, always great fun!
Will makes me laugh til I cry.
He also knows all the right things to say to a girl. You can be having one of those days where you look like hell in a handbasket, and Will will make you feel beautiful. And then he will round out your day with the raunchiest jokes you have ever heard in your life!
Everywhere we go people think we're married, and I let them keep thinking it! (even though we actually bat on different teams...)
Life is definitely a lot more fun when Will is around.

Next up, meet Kelly Cappelli.




Kelly is the most amazing photographer ever!
She is from the Chicago area, and has a huge background in fashion. She has an unparalleled ability to paint stories with light and texture. I spend a lot of time standing behind her watching her shoot, and am always just bowled over by the images she comes up with. I am always wondering "how didn't I see that?"
Our clients have the added benefit that she does a huge amount of very high profile image enhancement work. Very famous people - actors, rockstars, professional speakers, athletes etc come to Studio5 to Kelly to change their look or their public image. Its pretty wild. (I would name-drop like crazy at this point, but its always confidential. Its cool though - trust me on this one!)
She can take an average person and guide them in how to move their body, and tell stories with their eyes, and get the absolute best out of them!
And quite apart from being a genius, she has also become one of my very closest friends.

And this gorgeous young thing is Lea. We shoot with Lea an enormous amount. You've seen her picture on my blog before, and you will be seeing a whole lot more of her too.
Lea is a brilliant model - just amazing to work with! She is also a recording artist with huge things happening in the music biz. She will become a household name, no question about it, and you will be able to say "I knew her way back when..."



Here we are after one of my video makeup tutorials. That was a really hilarious day. We all got the giggles really badly, and wound up having to do about a million takes. In fact we wound up having to use a take with us bursting out laughing at the end!




Lea can be doing a really physically demanding, intense shoot, but she still breaks into song every few minutes. To hear her sing click here.

So now you know the crew.
If you see one of us in an airport, keep looking, because the rest wont be too far away! We are always all over the map.(you'll know which one is me, I'll be the one in the high heels...)

Hope you're having a gorgeous day!

xo

C