Category: Makeup and Appearance

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General Makeup and Appearance

Makeup Monday: High End vs. Low End

YouTube Makeup Videos

You’ve heard the term Beauty Guru floating around the web.  You’ve probably seen lists of “Beauty Guru’s to Follow,” or articles on the “Best of Beauty on YouTube.” These days, these ladies and gentlemen are mentioned everywhere, in blogs, articles around the web, and even in mainstream fashion magazines!  You might already be totally hooked on some favorites and have subscribed to their YouTube channels. At their best, YouTube beauty gurus are fun, informative, and inspirational.  At worst, they are fake, cheesy, annoying, or simply tragically messy. 

High-End/Low End Makeup battles on YouTube.Today, I would like to draw your attention to a particular style of video that is popular amongst the beauty guru set – the department store vs. drugstore showdown.  

The mission of this style of video is to provide visible proof of these three beauty truths:

  1. Application technique is more important than makeup quality.   
  2. Good tools are essential, and are available at every price point.
  3. There are low end dupes for virtually every high end cosmetic product.

The formula for this style of video is pretty straight forward. A beauty guru will do the research to hunt down duplicate products in from both high-end and drugstore cosmetic lines.  They will then film themselves applying their makeup, so you can see the technique they use to create the final look.  The viewer has the opportunity to do a side-by-side comparison of the look, products, and technique, which they can then use to inform their purchasing decisions.

Here is a sampling from the many-many “High-end – Low-end,” “Department Store vs Drugstore,” or “Fancy vs Frugal” style videos available on YouTube today.  This collection of videos includes some of my favorite Guru’s in action, and is a great place to start if you’re interested in watching this style of video. 

Good luck in your hunt for the perfect products, tools and techniques to up your makeup game!

Dawn Devine ~ Davina
Jan. 18, 2016

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Emily Noel – One of the most well respected beauty guru’s for her professional presentation method and honest reviews, Emily lets you know the prices at the time of filming so you really get a sense of the real cost differences between both sides.  Although her look she creates is a day look, these same products can be effectively used to create a stage-worthy performance face.

Zebrena – If your coloring is more fiery, Florida based Zebrina is your gal.  She’s freckled redhead with bright blue eyes and a passion for makeup.  This tutorial takes a widely popular high-end eye shadow palette, the Urban Decay Naked Smokey, and takes it head-to-head with the much more affordable Makeup Revolution Iconic Smokey Palette.

Jasmine Hand – High End Glam Look from Australian Makeup Artist – They eye look she creates in this demonstration/tutorial could be easly amped up for stage belly dance wear.  Bonus, the drugstore products she uses are widely available in Australia, so my Aussie friends might get some great ideas for future purchases.

Michelle of ReadySetMakeup – This is a more bright and light makeup look from this exotic beauty.  Her primer/foundation routine is very similar to what I use and works. The drugstore products she uses are widely available in the US.

Shannon of Shaaanxo – This lovely New Zealand blonde bombshell presents a smokey eye “clubbing” look that would look great to wear to attend an event, or emphasized with brighter highlight, red lips, and bigger eyeliner for stage.

Angie of Hot and Flashy – Although a slightly different format than the rest on this list, what Angie brings to the table is a more mature point of view.  Middle aged skin has it’s set of challenges and issues, and this beauty guru is unafraid to get right to the heart of the issue.  

Categories
General Makeup and Appearance

Happy New Year – Website Changes and Plans for 2016

Hello Gang – Happy New Year!!!

This blog post kicks of a new series for 2016: Makeup Monday!

Throughout 2015, I have been working on the forthcoming book, Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage, I realized that my “makeup skills set” was better than I had pegged it. On a scale from one to ten, I always fancied that I was a good solid 4. However, it turns out, that all the classes I’ve taken with professional makeup artists, my experience in modeling, dance, and theater, and that my skills-set might actually be somewhere around a 7, or somewhere between B+ to A-.

As Sara, Poppy, Alisha and I developed the content, it became clear that only a FRACTION of our combined knowledge about makeup could fit in our designated pages. But rather than let that content disappear or hoard it to ourselves, we’ve decided to share the info via our blogs.

Thank you for your continued support of my publications and projects! I hope you find these makeup articles interesting and inspiring!

Happiest of New Years!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
January 4, 2015

BellyDance-Makeup-1 BellyDance-Makeup-2

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Makeup and Appearance Publications

The Magic of Black, White, and Grey

Poppy-MakeupFor the past six months, I’ve been using a makeup styling technique taught to me in a workshop by Sara Shrapnell, author of Teaching Belly Dance, and my co-author on the upcoming, Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage.  In this book, we are sharing our top tips for progressing your dance journey from the classroom to public performance.  (( Are you a dance teacher?  Check out Sara’s book over on amazon.com and be sure to visit Sara’s site here))

As belly dancers, we need to wear stage-worthy makeup. When it comes to the eyes, the goal is to be bigger, bolder, darker, and brighter than you would be in your daily life.  One way to achieve this effect is to lay down a good monochrome base layer of eye shadow using black, white, and mid-grey.  Your mission, is to have a perfectly perfected, eye look, that you can then quickly add color to at your event venue.

Left: Poppy Maya, international dance professional, has used this technique to create the look at left.  The black, white and grey base was topped with purple eyeshadow, and finished off with black liner and false eyelashes for maximum drama.

Of course, you might be asking, why would someone want to wait to add color until they got to their performance space?  Well, there are many answers to this question, but the most important three include:

• You don’t know what the lighting will be like.  Often, you don’t know until you arrive at your performance venue what the lighting will be like.  From harsh florescent, to dim pseudo-candle lit, bright stage spots, to flashing disco-ball spots, its a good idea to assess the lighting and apply that last pop of color to suit the conditions.

• You have a costume change.  If you are performing twice, you might want to start off performing with your monochrome look for your act 1, then change gears with a bright pop of color for performance 2.

• You have several costumes to choose from.  When you’re performing in a line-up with other dancers, it’s a good idea to pack one or even two backup costumes.  Why?  Well, if a line-up of 8 dancers has five in red, you might want to wear a different color to stand out from the crowd.  Alternately, you might taking a gauge of the audience and choose a costume based on their taste.

Of course, you might be totally familiar with your location, wearing one costume, and performing solo, in which case, adding color at home might be fine for you.  Using this monochrome base will help you modulate your color tones, forming a tonal base upon which to add the rest of your colors.  One single shade of eyeshadow, suddenly looks like three subtle – and perfectly matched – nuances.

The essential ingredient necessary for creating this look are a trio of white, black, and mid-grey eye shadows.  Many makeup companies have created trios, quads, and larger eyeshadow palettes that feature this particular combination of neutrals. You should select a product and formulation that suits your skin, your taste, and your pocket book.  We’ve already done some of the research for you, and have gathered together some of the best drugstore/discount shop brands that are useful for laying down the monochromatic base.

The complete directions for creating this makeup look is in the book “Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage,” and we are anticipating a holiday 2015 release.   But don’t wait for the book to come out to give this technique a try.  Pick up a smoky black, grey, and white shadow set and start experimenting.  If you feel like showing off, share your eye shadow experiments with us over on our FaceBook Group!

Dawn Devine ~ Davina
September, 25, 2015

 

Black and White Eyeshadows - Part 2

 

Black and White Eyeshadows – Part 2 by davinadevine featuring an eye shadow
Categories
General Makeup and Appearance

The Perfect Belly Dance Smile – Makeup Tips from Sara Shrapnell

International belly dance instructor and performer Sara Shrapnell, author of Teaching Belly Dance, now on amazon.com, recently taught a highly informative workshop on professional quality makeup application techniques for a polished and bulletproof performance face.   She went over the entire makeup application process, from primer to color.  Today, I would like to share her best tips for crafting the perfect belly dance smile.

BLOG-MakeupWorkshop
Front, From Left: Shalimar, Poppy Maya, Stacy • Back, From Left: Davina, Sidalia, Zemira, Sara Shrapnell

Perfect lips are one of the most essential components of the finished look of an entertainer.  While a lot of women just slather on a coat of lipstick before heading out of the house, a performer needs to spend a little bit more time and technique to create a lasting look.  It’s a multi-step process with several steps to develop depth, saturation, and intensity that will appear rich in any lighting situation and last through the entire show.

• Begin with Hydration, from the inside.  Your lips are one of the first places where dehydration will show.  Lip skin is especially delicate and drinking plenty of water will keep them from appearing flakey and dry.


• Exfoliate your lips. The morning before a big performance, exfoliate your lips.  Tips that came up during the course of the workshop included: Use a rough washcloth and facial cleanser to gently scrub away the top layer of skin.  Some ladies dedicate a toothbrush to serve as their lip exfoliator, apply a dab of moisturizer, soap, or petroleum jelly to the toothbrush and rub it into the lips to brush away flakes.  If you are a DIY type of gal, you can mix some cooking oil, (I prefer olive oil but others suggest coconut oil or grape seed oil,) with some ordinary sugar to make a paste to apply in a gentle circular motion to smooth the skin. Some dancers swear by using a base of honey  and sugar. Of course, there are many, many ready made facial exfoliators will also do the trick, just be sure to be extra gentle when using a scrub.   (Need more Lip Exfoliation techniques?  Check out this list of techniques over on The Gloss.)

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• Slather on the lip balm.  Using a lip balm on a daily basis to hydrate and condition the skin, will help the lips maintain their smooth and supple appearance. If you are a low-maintenance type of gal, you may want to select a balm with a tint to add an extra touch of color. There are many products to chose from, and ultimately, it’s not the balm you choose, but daily application that will keep your lips ultra smooth.

Hydration and balm should be regular parts of your daily beauty rituals.  Exfoliate as needed.  Prior to applying your makeup, make sure that your lips are immaculate clean, smooth and soft.

• Save the Lips for Last.  Apply your primer, foundation, concealer, highlighter and other contouring products to take your face to it’s most flawless look.


• Apply a Stain.  Stain sticks to lips beautifully, so you can use it to lay on a nice color foundation.  Even at the end of the day, when your lipstick has melted away, there will still be that kiss of color left on your lips from the initial application of stain.


• Use a lip liner.  Carefully and judicially apply your lipliner.  A slightly lifted cupid’s bow, or a deeper lower lip can becreated with lipliner.  However, don’t extend your lip lines too far beyond normal, or you might wind up with unbelievably exaggerated contours.   Once you have perfected your liner, fill in your entire lip.  Lip liner sticks to the stain which serves a base for the application of lipstick.


• Wait until you get there to your event to apply your lipstick.  With a lipliner base, you can leave the house with confidence, but leave the final decision on color until you get the venue.  Did you bring several costumes so you can choose the best outfit for the lighting situation, the background color, or to fit into a lineup better?

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• Find a signature red.  Nothing beats a glamorous red lipstick to complete your look.  Although it may take a bit of time and a financial investment, it’s worth it to really take the time to find the best color for you.  Most dancers amass a wardrobe of red lipsticks that work for different lighting situations and tonal variations to enhance different costumes.


• Use an oil-based product to clean your lips.  At the end of the night, it’s important to carefully clean your skin.  Performance makeup is thicker and heavier than the makeup worn by most for daily wear. Meticulous cleaning will help protect your skin from blemishes.  Remember that an oil based cleanser will wipe away the layers of makeup.

Two Bonus Lip Tips:  Practice your makeup application techniques. Always test drive your lipstick before taking it onto the stage.

Drugstore Lip Balms
Top Drugstore Reds
Categories
Belly Dance Makeup and Appearance

Makeup for Video – More is More!

Davina-LavendarAssiut-WebHere’s a little “Belly Dancer Life Lesson,” always wear more makeup than you think you need in performance!  I must admit, I use photo editing software to touch up my skin before I put images on the web. Generally, I reduce dark circles, clean up blemishes and whiten my teeth.  However, I’m keenly aware that I cannot go “to far” in the photo editing process or my still photos won’t match the video performances.

In order to look my absolute best in a performance video, I use makeup, much MORE makeup than I ordinarily use.  My goal is to create the illusion of an airbrushed look.  My philosophy is to address the problem areas that I focus on when I am performing “Digital Botox” using Photoshop.  So for myself, I use use makeup to conceal dark circles and blemishes, and wear costumes that draw the eye and accentuate my better features.

To create the best, most flawless look possible for my over 40 skin (with really dark circles under my eyes,) I use a multi-step process that begins with moisturizer and ends with powder.  The products and order that I apply them are included in the image below.  I encourage you to be fearless and unafraid to experiment with products and application techniques.  In my experience, I’ve found it’s far more important to practice and develop excellent makeup application skills than to spend a fortune on expensive products.  As you can see below, my array of beauty products includes both high-end and drugstore cosmetic brands.

Ultimately, if you perfect your base makeup, you will be able to apply any color cosmetics you desire to highlight your costume of the moment. In the long run, your photographers will appreciate having to do less work in the digital darkroom and you will have the benefit of a more unified appearance across various media.

So give it a try!  And good luck!
~ Davina

You Cannot Photoshop a Video
You Cannot Photoshop a Video by davinadevine featuring sheer makeup