Brush School: Clean Those Brushes!

February 12, 2013

Kouturekiss - Brush School - How To Clean Those Brushes

Cleaning your makeup brushes on the regular should be the most important part of your beauty routine. A clean brush is essential for taking care of your skin when you apply makeup. If your brush is dirty, your face will be dirty. So clean your brushes! The process is not as tedious as you might think. This guide serves as a quick reference for cleaning up your brushes daily, with tips on the best bi-weekly deep cleaning. First, gather the brushes you need to clean, MAC Cosmetics Brush Cleaner and some paper towels.

  1. For round brushes (like a bronzer brush or blending brush): Apply brush cleaner directly to paper towel and twirl the top of a round brush in a circular motion on the cleaner soaked towel. You should see makeup come off the brush as you twirl it. Repeat this process until no more makeup is left behind on your towel. Lay brush out to dry over night.  (more…)

The Copper Smokey Eye For The Green Eyed Girl

January 4, 2013

Kouturekiss - The Copper Smokey Eye For The Green Eyed Girl

Colored shadows can be tricky to work with, but you can’t go wrong with shades of brown and copper since it works well with practically every skin tone and eye color. Browns are great for everyday wear since the natural shadows of your lids are a brownish red. Eyes are the first thing people notice; make them clean, defined, beautiful and not too distracting. You want people to notice you, not your heavy makeup so here’s a way to give your eyes that bit of pop it needs without being overdone. This is a great basic everyday look that can be changed up easily and worn for any occasion.

Step 1: Start with clean eyes and apply primer all over the lid up to your brow bone. Elf Primer is a great alternative to Urban Decay’s Primer Potion. For only 1 dollar compared to a 20 dollar primer, it’s a must have.
Step 2: Apply a red toned brown shadow all over the lid up to the crease with a wide blending brush. Mac’s Brown Script is matte and has great pigmentation with no fallout. (more…)

The Power of White Liner

October 30, 2012


White liner is never thought of as a secret weapon, but girls, let me tell you: if you want your eyes to look awake, large and open, using white eyeliner is just what you need. Lots of brands have white liner, NYC jumbo pencil in Milk is a great choice, as is the one I’m using by E.L.F. MAC has one (as well as flesh toned ones) and copious others. Using the daytime smokey eye as a template, as it is not quite as dramatic, adding the white liner includes a special flair:

  1. Carefully lay your finger under your eye. This is gentler than tugging your eyelid down which is harsh on the delicate area.
  2. Sweep the liner across your waterline, careful not to get any on your lashes. If you do, just add more mascara to mask the white.
  3. Do the same on the other eye, adding more mascara if necessary and say hello to a more wide awake appearance (perfect after those all nighters studying).

Enjoy!

Mastering The Red Lip (For Yellow Undertones)

October 2, 2012

Fall is finally here which means bold lips will definitely be taking front row in this season’s top trend. As the weather gets colder will start to see less light pinks and peachy tones and more deep tones. Burgundies, reds, plums and deep nudes are all part of this fall trend colors. Of course if you’re really daring you can go for those really dark vampy bold lips. In this tutorial, I’ll show all of you girls with yellow undertones how to apply a dark red lip color in six easy steps.

  1. Apply liquid foundation or concealer all around your lips. This will help with bleeding, and will help ensure an even tone when you apply lipliner. (more…)