Simply Glamorous; Gary's Guide to Gorgeous

Hello, welcome back to my final blog post, this is Ashley and today from the book Simply Glamorous by Gary Cockerill I am focusing on some of Gary's tips to gorgeous. I beleive these tips are very important to beginners and even to people who have been wearing make-up for a long time. 

There Are No Rules

"Individuality is the greatest gift we have and make-up is a great way to showcase this and exercise creativity and self-expression" (Cockerill 18). To me, make-up lets me show others my creativity and imagination. There are millions of make-up looks out in the world, ranging from eye looks to lip looks to the whole face. The way one shows to wear make-up gives off a sense of there personalty and can show how one feels about themselves. Personally I don't like to go to bold with my looks, this may show that I like the feeling of more natural make-up, and with me I have freckles so I must try my best to not completely cover those up because freckles are a made of me and they define something special about me. I like more natural looks on me like the one shown below, but of course like any girl, I like to go bold every now and then!

It's All about Balance

"When you're deciding what make-up look to apply, analyze the shape of your eyes and lips and decide which area you want to draw attention to... take your whole outfit into account, to ensure you look and feel gorgeous" (Cockerill 18).  I agree with this, especially when I decide to wear eye-shadow. Making sure your eye-shadow matches your outfit can be the key to tying it all together. Then, if you are wearing a more causal, relaxed outfit you would not want to go all out on the make-up, be careful not to lose that balance. For example the eye-shadow look below has a lot of pink pigment so this look would go best with more neutral colors, just to add some color and pop to the look.

Give Yourself Enough Time

Giving your self time includes the time that you will need to blend everything together. A look, in my opinion, is not complete if you have harsh lines all over your face. "Natural light and artificial light are very different, so make sure your make-up looks good in which ever you are going to be in" (Cockerill 18).  Personally for me I love doing my make-up in natural light because if it looks good in the natural light then it will look good in any light. Before school in the morning for me it is always dark outside so I am not able to open my blinds to get natural light, so I invested in a LED mirror, which gives you very nice white lighting. Here is the LED mirror that I do my make-up in every day:

Hygiene Is So Important

Cockerill emphasizes that it is very important to clean your make-up brushes regularly because it can carry more bacteria then a toilet, he also touches on how washing your hands before applying make-up and cleaning your brushes regularly is very important (Cockerill 19). When I go awhile without washing my brushes I notice my make-up starts going on more streaky, so regular brush cleaning is very important for both the application of the make-up and the sanitary part of it. Here is a great brush cleaner that I use from Sephora: 

This is the, Mini Citrus Brush Cleaner

Following these this can be very important, and according to them being called "guide to gorgeous" these can help you feel much more confident about your self, and ultimately improve your make-up techniques. 

What is your favorite skin care product? How long does it normally take you to complete a look?

Thank you for reading!

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.

Simply Glamorous: Barely There

Hi, this is Ashley, and welcome back to another one of my blogs! Today I am going to do a "Barely There Transformation" from the book Simply Glamorous by Gary Cockerill. "Everyone would like to wake-up in the morning and look amazing, but few people feel confident enough to go out with no make-up on at all" (Cockerill 42). I completely agree with the comment, I would love to wake up and just walk out the door, but to be completely honest I do not have the confidence to do that, I always need to put on some sort of make-up, and that's why I cant wait to share with you this wonderful "barely there" look.

Cockerill started off the look by cleansing, toning, and moisturizing (Cockerill 44).  Moisturizing is my favorite part because of how dry my skin gets, and the natural glow the moisturizer gives me.
I use the Ultra Facial moisturizer from Keils and a rose water spray from Mario Badescu for extra hydration:

I have a lot of visible pores so I like to use the prime with the PoreFessional Primer from Benefit. I focus on applying this to my nose and out from my nose, middle of forehead, and chin.

I chose to use concealer for my Barely There look, but be careful because Cockerill did also state that concealer is a heavier consistency and can settle into fine lines, which can be aging (Cockerill 44).

Since my skin is so young and healthy I did not seem to have a problem with this.  I then set the concealer with a loose powder.

Loose Setting Powder from Laura Mercier. I applied with a fluffy make-up brush

Next, to bring a glow to my skin I went in with a champagne highlight color, as Cockerill also did in his look.

I use the Becca highlighter

You then would also want to apply blush. "The key is to make sure you don't take the blush too close to the mouth, so lift the brush off the skin when you reach the apple and then add a little color to the apple itself" (Cockerill 44). This emphasizes on how important it is to know exactly where you want to apply certain products to your face. I sometimes have a hard time putting on my blush, but after reading this tip I feel much more confident!

The blush I use is "Girly" from Ulta

"Shimmering eye shadow has a brightening effect and is very easy to blend" (Cockerill 46). I would have to agree with this, even just using one shimmery color can make it look like you put so much more effort into your eyes the you really did!
I then finished this look with mascara, and if you so please you can add a color to your lips.
I decided not to do every step in the book, because of my fair skin I like to keep the colors minimized on this look, so that's why I decided not to add eye shadow under my eyelids, a gel eyeliner, or contour.
Here is the final natural look I like to apply to my face in everyday photos:

Thank you so much for coming back to read my blog, and again I hope you found something useful in what's stated above. I truly hope this is a look you want to try out:) Be sure to come back for my next and final blog!
Thank you!

How much make-up do you like to put on? Do you like more bold looks, or more simple, natural looks?

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.

Simply Glamorous: Correct and conceal

Hi, welcome back, this is Ashley and today I am focusing on the correcting and concealing part of ones make-up routine. Concealer for me has always been my go-to product. Most of the time I just put it all over my face how ever I feel like it with no structure, but after reading Gary Cockerills book Simply Glamorous, I now feel better about the kind of concealer I am applying and where I am applying that concealer. My skin also has a lot of discoloration and redness to it, so I find these correcting tips that I will discuss throughout this blog post, along with the concealer tips, very helpful:) I read in Cockerills book a question he is often asked, and that is "if theirs a difference between color correctors and concealers, and whether color correctors are really necessary," (Cockerill 30), his answer was "theirs a big difference and, yes, by incorporating color correctors into your make-up routine, you can not only cover up an area but neutralize it too, and ensure your make-up holds its color and disguises any flaws" (Cockerill 30). Although I like to incorporate these things into my make-up routine, I have always wondered those questions, and its very nice to know exactly why adding these two things, and applying them correctly is so important and useful.

Correct

There are various colors that you can apply to your face, all with different purposes. My personal favorite is green because it conceals redness, and is good for covering pimples according to Cockerill, and those two things are very present on my face which brings me to like the green color corrector very much. Along with green there is also lilac, " a pick-me up that brightens the skin and counteracts dull, sallow tones" (Cockerill 30). Something I like to use and i feel it does better then the lilac color especially for my skin is using a highlight (bright shimmery color) right above my cheek bone, and on the tip of my nose. Another color used for correcting is a peachy pink color, which brightens the area under your eyes (Cockerill 30). This will help with those bags we all get from stress or lack of sleep, so I find this color very useful.

Here you can see I chose to just apply the green corrector. I applied it to the parts that Cockerill suggested in the book (Cockerill 30), see the picture below that shows where Cockerill applies these color correctors. These are the main parts that my skin naturally has redness. 

(Cockerill 30) Here is the image that Cockerill included in his book. Here you can see where the green, lilac, and peachy pink colors were added to the face.

After I applied this color, I blended it together will a make-up brush then used my fingers to help soften down the edges so the green color wasn't so obvious.
Then you will want to go in and add concealer, like talked about below.

Conceal

The concealers I have are, stick concealers and liquid ones. Although I always do my make-up I have never really known which concealer should be used where. Reading this book has really given me insight to that, and I hope you take these tips to be useful, and I hope that my experience with them is beneficial. Cockerill states that stick concealers has a thicker consistency, and is good for blemishes and easy to apply directly on the area that needs it (Cockerill 31). This is very useful to know because I used to apply stick concealers under my eye, but now I know I shouldn't do that. Cockerill also states that liquid concealers is a multipurpose concealer and is easy to blend and apply, and gives a nice light coverage (Cockerill 31). I love liquid concealer because of how light and easy it is to apply.

Here is all the places I added concealer. I decided to go with the liquid concealer under neath my eyes, and then the stick concealer on all my blemishes.

After you add the concealer you will want to blend. I decided to not use any foundation in this look, so I just finished blending everything together, and finished the look off my adding a loose powder and mascara. 

Color correcting and applying concealer are very useful tricks to know how to apply properly when applying make-up, and I hope you can use my opinions I talked about, and Cockerill's professional opinion to create your best look possible. 

Have you ever experimented with color correcting? What kind of concealer out of the two I talked about (stick or liquid) do you prefer?


Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.

Simple Glamorous: Contour

Hi, this is Ashley and I'm back today with yet another blog post about make-up! I hope you all had a chance to try out my last posts tips. Today I am focusing on contour. "Contouring is the art of using light and dark to enhance certain features and play down others. It can be used to sculpt cheekbones, chisel jaws, hide double chins, slim down wide noses, and lower high foreheads" (Cockerill 56).

To create the colors and look seen below, I used the NYX Wonder Stick, and the Dream Illuminateur Correcteur

On the left is the, NYX Wonder Stick,and on the right is the, Dream Illuminateur Correcteur.

Shadow
1:First you want to create shadow. Apply the darker color under and in line with your cheekbones, (Cockerill) start at the hairline and push the color towards the center of your face. Personally this is a really easy step and its okay if you do not get it perfectly lined up with your cheek bone because once you blend you will not be able to see where your original line was.
2:Then you want to take the color from the bottom of your ear and along your jawline,"this helps create definition and soften a heavy jaw" (Cockerill 58). Honesty with this I recommend using very light product and not making this line to dark because it is very hard to blend there, and in good lighting you will be able to see the line and will not create a flawless look.
3:Then you want to sweep the color under your chin and down your neck, this helps to lift the jaw, disguising a double chin and creating a more youthful appearance (Cockerill 58).
"To soften the temples and minimize a high or wide forehead, apply the dark color from the end of the eyebrows all the around the hair line" (Cockerill 58). I do not have a high or wide forehead but I still apply shadow here and I really feel that it helps warm the face and complete the look.
4:After this you will want to move to a smaller brush to contour the nose, mouth, and eyes. Cockerill states that to slim the nose you would want to put the contour onto either side of the nose and down under the tip (Cockerill 58).
5:For mouth: Apply a little bit of the dark color underneath the lower lip and the center of your mouth, "this pushes the area back, making the lips appear to come forward and seem fuller" (Cockerill 58). I have tried this step but my face normally gets really dry around there, and I personally leave this step out of my daily routine.

In the top picture you can see the contour that is going down either side of my nose and under the tip (see step number 4).
In the bottom left picture you can see the contour talked about in step number 1.
In the bottom right picture you can see the contour along my jawline and down my neck, see steps 2 and 3). 

Leave the contour, and continue on with adding the light color as demonstrated and instructed below, wait until the final step to start blending all the harsh edges.

Light

"Apply the light colors to areas that you want to add light and draw the eye toward" (Cockerill 59). Cockerill states that is best to stand in natural light and look in a mirror, he states the parts of your face on which light falls naturally are the areas to highlight (Cockerill).

Apply a light color underneath the eyes to minimize dark circles, draw a triangle shape. Apply the color between the contour on your cheek and on your jawline. For me, applying the color underneath my eye does miracles and will hide the circles that are obviously shown from not getting enough sleep!

Then move and apply the color to the center of your chin and above your upper lip.

Finally apply the lighter color to the middle of your forehead and take it down to the center of your nose. Personally after reading these tips and then going to try them out for my own I noticed that I already have very fair skin so the light colors don't show up as well and make it harder to blend, so next time I would most likely just stick to the shadow and very minimal light, although I highly recommend at least putting the light color underneath your eyes!

Here you can see all the places I added the lighter color

Blend Blend Blend!

Here is a picture with the shadow and light all blended together,  I used a large foundation brush to blend all the harsh edges,

Blend all of the colors with a sponge or brush, trying to soften the edges and create a flawless look.


I personally truly do like the look that contour gives to the face, it truly does make a difference! Reading all the places on where to put the shadow and the light colors did draw a more flawless look to my face. I hope you will be able to find these tips as useful as I did, and be sure to check out my next post!

How into contour are you? Do you feel confident adding all these darker and lighter shades all over your face? Do you enjoy the look that darker and lighter colors gives to your face?

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.

Simply Glamorous: Eye shadow fundamentals

Hello, my name is Ashley, and recently I have been really into make up. Previously I have always done my make-up one basic way and never tried anything to fancy. I have been interested in learning new techniques and new ways to do my make up and that's when I got interested to buy a make-up techniques book. Today, more precisely I am working on the fundamentals of eye-shadow. This reflects on eye shape, eye and hair color, shimmers, matte, etc. After reading Gary Cockerill Simply Glamorous make up book, I have been introduced to the right techniques for different eye shapes, and the right colors to be applying due to eye and hair color. Here are some pictures of the look I created:

These are the colors I used to create the this look

As you can see there is shimmery pinks on my eyelids and hints of gold/brown in the upper crease. I was inspired to use these colors from Gary Cockerill,"Hazel eyes: Purples, rich gold, yellowy browns, dusty pinks, taupes... Red hair: Pinks, golds, greens, olives, black" (Cockerill 119). After reading this, I became much more clear on which colors to use on me to enhance my features. I really focused on the pinks as you can see in the picture.  Here are the colors for different eye colors, skin tones, and hair colors:

Also I was introduced to the eye shape I have. My eye shape is, "upturned, almond".  Knowing your eye shape will help you know where to apply the eye-shadow to give you the best look possible. Personally for me, according to Gary Cockerhill, with my eye shape I can apply eye shadow under the eyes. "The lower lids can sometimes be as pronounced as the top lids, which means you can put eye shadow under the eyes as well, for extra drama" (95). I decided to use this and it truly did complete the look. As you can see in the pictures below my eyes, I included a darker brown/gold color under the lash line.
Here are all the eye shapes that Cockerhill introduces:

This is the eye shapes Cockerill introduced

After reading these few pages from this book I already feel much more confident, and I hope this can a step to you being more confident in your skin! Knowing the right colors and where I should be applying these colors has made me much more confident to leave the house with eye shadow on. I hope you can include some of these tips the next time you are applying eye shadow. I also hope you can use the colors I used to create a look, especially if you have hazel eyes, like me. Also, looking at those pictures I included will help you significantly!

What colors do you think looks best on you? Are you an eye shadow kind of person? What is your eye shape?

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.