Category: Face

Metallic Magic

Lauren C Brown 1 Comment

When it comes to summer beauty, it’s all about glow. Whether you prefer light or maximum coverage, you always want the light to hit your skin in the perfect way.

While you can perfectly highlight your face every day with Glow, sometimes, it’s fun to have a little extra sparkle with Metallics. Janey Jessen (janeyjessen.com) created the perfect dewy look for a night out with our Gold Metallic highlighter and gold eye shadow.

“I’m in love with the gold highlighter,” Janey shared. “It’s gorgeous! After using these products for a few months I have to say I’m completely hooked. I love the finish and how light it feels. I don’t really feel like I have makeup on most days.”

Janey prepped her look with our Porcelain primer, X-Out for her blemishes, and Eraser to even out her skin tone. She combined her foundation and concealer for complete perfection, before applying her blush, bronzer and eye shadow. When applying her gold highlighter, she made sure to hit all of the areas of her face that catch the light—nose, cheekbones, chin and forehead—and added subtle shimmer to her lipstick.

“In this tutorial I mostly focused on how to bring radiance through the foundation to give a natural glow, strategically placed strobing, and a pretty shimmery eyeshadow look. I’ve been digging rose gold lately so I used that palette as inspiration. This is definitely a look that can be worn for weddings, date nights, or a night out with the girls. You can also mattify it and wear it anytime! My favorite part of this whole look was using the gold highlighter on my bright pink lipstick. It definitely made the whole look pop and gave it a bit of attitude.”

You can mix in our Metallics with your foundation for a soft shimmer and overall glow. You can also use them to contour and highlight, as a fabulous eye shadow, or to make your lips look extra special like Janey.

Simple Ways to Prevent Acne

Lauren C Brown

We’ve talked about how to heal your acne, but now, let us take you through how to prevent it in the first place. Though there are several things you can, and should, do regularly to prevent acne and breakouts, they all boil down to three basic principles: hygiene, health and products. Throughout your skincare routine, be sure to check the labels. You always want products that are hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, and water-based (not oil) when possible. Avoid fragrances and irritants such as citric extracts, menthol and denatured alcohol.


Keep it Clean

  • Wash your face. Dermatologists suggest washing your face in the morning and before bed. While you’ve likely always heard to wash your face with hot water to open your pores, exposing your skin to extremes can cause irritation, excess dryness and blood vessel ruptures. Always wash and rinse your face with lukewarm water. If your skin runs dry, take care to select a cleanser and products that have moisturizer. Contrastingly, if you have oily skin, be sure to avoid overly moisturizing products.
  • Wash your hands. It’s important to avoid touching your face as much as possible, but when you have to do it—such as when washing your face or applying sunscreen or moisturizer—wash your hands first. Dirty hands can transfer bacteria, causing breakouts, irritation and possibly infection.
  • Moisturize. Ensuring your skin is properly hydrated is as important as making sure it’s not oily. Apply moisturizer after every face wash to avoid dryness and irritation. If you have oily skin, choose a gel-based moisturizer, which will provide hydration without overdoing it. If you have dry skin, use a cream-based moisturizer that will, by nature, be heavier and longer-lasting.
  • Exfoliate. You may have read blogs from women who talk about exfoliating as part of their daily ritual (we’ve seen our fair share), but over-exfoliating can irritate your skin, cause excess dryness and make your breakouts worse. You should exfoliate, at most, once a week, to remove dead skin and unclog pores.
  • Take it off. Removing your makeup at the end of the day is one of the most important steps of your skincare regimen. Sleeping in your makeup can clog your pores and worsen your breakouts. Even sleeping in mascara can cause little infections in your eye area. It’s important to wash your face after removing your makeup to remove all traces of makeup.
  • No touchy. As we said earlier, touching your face—with your hands, brushes, sponges or anything that could potentially harbor dirt or bacteria—can cause breakouts and infection. This especially means no popping your pimples, as the dirt from your fingers can get in the open sore and worsen the blemish.
  • Sleep clean. While you sleep, oils transfer from your face to your pillowcase, causing dirt, grime and dead skin to spread night after night and cause acne. Try washing your pillowcases once a week. If that’s not enough, wash it more frequently and switch the side of the pillow you use every night. If you don’t have time to wash it frequently, keep several pillowcases you can alternate.


Diet and Exercise

  • Protect your skin. You know you need to wear some kind of sunscreen daily. Do you do it? Probably not. But did you know wearing daily SPF not only helps protect against skin cancer, but can also prevent acne? Overexposure to the sun can exacerbate acne, redness and irritation.
  • Hydrate. Hydrate. Hydrate. Staying adequately hydrated throughout the day helps your body function better, increases your metabolism and clears up you skin. When you don’t get enough water, your body can build up toxins and excrete them through your skin. Drinking at least eight cups of water each day will help your body flush the toxins the way they’re supposed to. Think of it as a daily detox.
  • Eat healthy. Eating a balanced diet rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, zinc, vitamins and minerals helps prevent acne by keeping your skin healthy and functioning properly.
  • Avoid potential irritants. While modern scientists put much less stock in the idea that chocolate causes acne than scientists of the last century, certain foods can worsen your acne or cause breakouts. Every person is different, though. Try cutting out different potential risk foods—dairy, sugar, legumes, high-glycemic foods and wheat—from your diet to see what does and doesn’t work for your skin. Cut out each food (one at a time) for two weeks for the best analysis.
  • Get the patch. You know smoking and drinking are bad for your health, but they’re also bad for your complexion because the toxins in tobacco and alcohol can act as skin irritants or contribute to the unhealthy toxic excretion that happens when you’re not your healthiest you.
  • Lace up. Stress is a huge contributing factor to your acne. Putting on your sneakers and getting outside, up and moving can relieve stress and help acne. Even better, regular exercise will help your heart, overall health and mortality.
  • Catch your zzz’s. Just like exercise, proper sleep can help your body function better and reduce stress which, in turn, helps prevent acne. Each hour of sleep lost beyond your normal allotment can increase your stress level by up to 15%. Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night (9-10 if you’re younger than 18).

 
Finding the Right Products

  • Benzoyl Peroxide is a common ingredient in acne medication because it kills the bacteria that causes acne. Look for products with 2.5% benzoyl peroxide concentration; less won’t be as effective, and more can irritate the skin. It also removes dead skin to reveal brighter, rejuvenated skin.
  • Salicylic Acid also helps kill acne-causing bacteria. It causes the skin to shed more rapidly and promotes the growth of new skin. Apply small amounts to affected areas after you wash your face at night.
  • Tea Tree Oil is a natural home remedy that acts as an anti-inflammatory, making pimples less noticeable in size and redness. The oil is often concentrated, so be sure to dilute it with water before applying to affected areas with a cotton swab.
  • Airbrush Makeup is one of the best and simplest ways to prevent acne. Using airbrush makeup on a daily basis keeps your skin hygienic (no dirty hands or brushes touch your face), moisturizes your face (it’s water-based and so hydrates your skin), covers current blemishes without being heavy and improves skin texture. Check out these other benefits to airbrushing.

What are your tried-and-true methods to preventing acne?

Airbrush Away Your Acne

Lauren C Brown 1 Comment

It’s no secret that makeup can be bad for your skin. We know makeup can clog our pores, cause infections or even wrinkles, but we still apply it daily. Whether your style is natural or glam, there is a way to make your cosmetics work for your skin.

Airbrush.

Airbrush makeup has the daunting reputation of being a product used only by professionals or for special occasions. We argue that it’s for everyone. With light, water-based formulas ideal for any skin type, and an easy on/off button, an airbrush makeup system is perfect for everyday use, whether you’re young with acne-prone skin, mature with fine lines and wrinkles, or anything in between.

No dirty brushes. Raise your hand if you should be more diligent about cleaning your makeup brushes. Don’t worry. Our hands are raised, too. Most women don’t regularly clean their makeup brushes and sponges, which can transfer bacteria onto your skin, worsening your acne and even causing infections. With airbrush, you simply put a few drops of makeup into your stylus and let air do the work for you. There is no need to touch your face with dirty hands, brushes or sponges; it’s completely hygienic. Bonus: Because you’re never touching your face, you’re also never pulling on your face, so you won’t develop wrinkles from makeup application.

Your skin can breathe. If you have acne or even a minor breakout, chances are you also have a full face of makeup to conceal the blemishes. When you pile on makeup to cover up pimples, though, you’re only making it worse. Most makeups are oil-based and comedogenic (meaning they clog pores), so they block your current blemishes from breathing and healing, and clog your pores, causing more pimples. Airbrush makeups are lightweight and made with water, so they allow your skin to breathe while providing perfect coverage. You can use airbrush eraser, concealer, or just foundation to cover up your acne, and you’ll be left with a flawless finish that lets your skin heal itself.

Get flawless coverage. As mentioned above, you never have to sacrifice perfection for lightweight coverage. With airbrush makeup, you can apply as little or as much foundation as you want. You’ll always look flawless, and your skin will always be able to breathe.

No irritation. Luminess Air airbrush makeup contains no fragrances, citrus extracts, menthol or denatured alcohol, which are the most common skin irritants found in cosmetics. While you should always check your skincare and makeup products for ingredients you may be allergic to, you never have to worry about common irritants from us.

How to Heal Your Acne with 6 Easy Tips

Lauren C Brown

Acne can feel like the seventh circle of hell (and, probably the fifth, too). It’s painful. It’s embarrassing. And it never seems to go away.

Lucky for you, we have six tried-and-true methods to heal your skin for a clearer, more beautiful you.

Drink more. Water, that is. Water is paramount to your skin’s health, as it refreshes and revitalizes your entire body and helps it perform its functions better. Staying properly hydrated helps your body process and clean out toxins. Often, when our kidneys are overloaded with toxins, they’ll expel them through our skin. Drinking plenty of water helps flush them out.Experts recommend drinking half an ounce of water for every pound of your body weight. So, if you weigh 130 pounds, you should be drinking 65 ounces of water every day for adequate hydration.

Take it off. Always, always, always remove your makeup before bed. Sleeping in your makeup once in a while won’t necessarily cause a breakout, but it’s best to consistently be in the practice of taking it off first. Sleeping in your makeup can cause bacterial infections and clogged pores, making your acne worse. Wash your face after removing your makeup to ensure you get all of the concealer and foundation off.

Baby your skin. While acne can be exacerbated by a poor skincare regimen, it’s not caused by dirty skin. People who believe otherwise often end up over-washing their faces, or using harsh chemicals and treatments that only irritate the skin more. As important as it is to wash your face before bed and in the morning, it’s just as important to be gentle in your washing. Over-exfoliating can dry out your skin and cause “microcuts,” through which bacteria can enter and, again, worsen acne. For a gentler exfoliation than grainy scrubs, use a salicylic- or glycolic-acid cleanser. Start using one of these three times a week, alternating with your regular cleanser, and adjust depending on your skin’s reaction. Avoid getting a daily cleanser with fragrance or harsh soap. If you have dry skin, try a cleanser with shea or glycerin. If you have oily skin, try a foaming wash to help your skin feel cleaner.

Toss your brushes. Most women don’t clean their makeup brushes regularly or take any extra precautions to ensure their brushes and sponges are hygienic. They leave them in the bathroom, in the open air, etc. and never clean them. When you apply makeup with dirty hands, brushes or sponges, you’re transferring bacteria to your face which can clog pores and, sometimes, lead to infection. Using an airbrush system to apply your makeup means you never have to touch your face and make your acne worse. Just drop your makeup into the bowl of the stylus, pull the trigger, and let air do the application and blending work.

Check the label. There are many chemicals and factors in the ingredients of your skincare products that can actually irritate your skin more. Check the labels of skincare products for known irritants like essential oils, citrus extracts, menthol, denatured alcohol and, obviously, anything you might be allergic to. These can cause daily irritation that only lengthens the amount of time before your skin can heal and your breakout clear.

Check your makeup. Oftentimes, the relationships we create between acne and makeup is a vicious cycle. We have a little breakout, so we cover it up with oily, pore-clogging (comedogenic) makeup. The makeup makes our breakout worse, so we cover it with more caked-on heavy makeup. And the cycle continues. So, break the cycle. Using a water-based, non-comdedogenic airbrush foundation provides a light (yet acne-concealing) coverage that allows your skin to breathe and, therefore, heal.

Give Your Makeup Drawer a Spring Update

Lauren C Brown

With yesterday being the start of Spring, we’re operating under the gentle assumption that you’ve already broken out your sundresses, gingham, and sandals. But, have you updated your makeup drawer?

Winter was all about vamp lips and graphic eyeliner, but spring is a time for fresh. Fresh starts, fresh air, fresh looks. Go for a natural look this season with these quick (and affordable) replacements for your winter staples.

Replace your oxblood and chocolate lipsticks with a light pink lipgloss.

Diversion Lip Finisher – $24

Opt for natural shades of pinks and golds during the day. When you need to glam up, go for metallic instead of smoky.

Nude & Naughty Eyeshadow Palette – $30

We’ve been seeing heavy contouring for a while. We propose you go back to your roots with a more natural look. Blush is all you need.

Soft Rose Airbrush Blush – $9.99

How to Get Jennifer Lawrence’s Red Carpet Glamour

Lauren C Brown

Awards season is one of the biggest highlights of the year. The gowns! The shoes! The jewelry! (And, you know, the awards.) But most of all: The Beauty!

Jennifer Lawrence is one of our favorite starlets to watch glide (and sometimes stumble) down the red carpet. Her Dior Couture gowns never disappoint (marshmallow dress notwithstanding), and her next-level hair and beauty is always stunning.

At the 2016 Oscar’s, J-Law’s look was one for the books. She was stunning in a sheer, black lace gown with plunging neckline and cascading black feathers, landing her on ever Best Dressed list for the night. But, as always, her glamour continued with her hair and makeup. She opted for a pin-straight bob (so as not to overshadow the dress), and a soft but subtly sexy bronzed makeup look to complement the Dior gown.

Get the Look:

  1. Starting with our Silk foundation, apply light coverage to the entire face. One-to-two passes is plenty.
  2. Contour the hollows of your cheeks with foundation one shade darker than the rest of your face. (Starting at the temple, lightly apply the darker shade in a downward motion to your smile lines.)
  3. Use bronzer for your eye shadow. With 1-2 drops in the stylus, and holding the stylus close to your lid, apply the bronzer from the outer lid toward the inner in a gentle sweeping motion. (The motion is similar to using your traditional shadow brush.) Alternate eyes when applying, because the bronzer will darken as it dries. Alternating eyes will allow you to see the true color as you go. Layer the bronzer until you reach the desired shade.
  4. Take your favorite black liner (liquid, gel or pencil) and, starting from the center of your upper lash line, trace the eye toward the outer corner.
  5. Using a smudge-able eyeliner or dark shadow, trace the lower lash line from the outside toward the inner corner. Smudge as desired.
  6. With 2 drops of Glow in your stylus, gently highlight your inner eye area, high cheekbones, and just above your eyebrow.
  7. Finish with a brushed eyebrow (for a natural appearance) and pink gloss.
  8. Get ready to rock the red carpet!

Who was your favorite celebrity beauty look from the Oscars?

Get the Look: Oscar de la Renta

Lauren C Brown

Makeup minimalism transcended the spring/summer season to overwhelm the runways of New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2016. Models from Proenza Schouler to Anna Sui showed us how to rock a naked face, a graphic eyeliner and an overstated Audrey (thank you, Brandon Maxwell).

But, our favorite look of NYFW was the severe cat-eye at Oscar de la Renta.

To get the look:

  1. Start with a fresh, clean face and add a soft Glow. You’ll want to keep an understated face for the rest of this look.
  2. Draw a triangle with our Persuasion Eyeliner.
    • – Start halfway on your lash line and, extending toward the outside, draw halfway between the outer corner and your eyebrow.
    • – Finish the line by tracing the crease of your eyelid.
    • – Just inside of the outer corner of your eye, draw the bottom of the triangle and fill it in.
  3. Use Mascara just on the outer corners of the eye, where the eyeliner is. It’s effective and effortlessly sensual.
  4. Fill in your eyebrows with our new Brow Pencil to get confident, alluring brows. Using the brush, swipe up and  out.
  5. Finish with just a hint of Lip Finisher, so you don’t distract from your statement eyes.

Now, you’ve got the look. And when you got it, flaunt it!

5 Steps to a Naturally Flawless Complexion

Lauren C Brown 1 Comment

If you’re looking for a cream, lotion or wash to improve your complexion, your options are endless. But, if the thought of combing through thousands upon thousands of products to find the one perfect match for your skin is a little daunting, start with these five simple methods first.

1. Drink More Water

It’s no secret that water does great things for your body: energizes muscles, boosts your metabolism, and generally helps your body perform its functions better. But, it also can make you look younger and more vibrant, because a dehydrated state can make your skin look dry and wrinkled. Experts recommend drinking half an ounce of water for every pound of your body weight. So, if you weigh 130 pounds, you should be drinking 65 ounces of water every day for adequate hydration.

2. Get More Sleep

Good sleeping patterns are essential to overall skin health. Your skin uses periods of rest to restore and repair itself. Bedtime is when your proteins and melatonin are produced, and when other anti-aging activity occurs. Skin conditions and irritations are exacerbated when you’re sleep-deprived; that tired state can also accelerate skin aging. Sufficient sleep gives your body its best chance for optimal skin performance.

3. Wear Sunscreen

Sunscreen is arguably the most important component of your skincare arsenal. Regardless of the weather, sun exposure can cause skin damage. But, daily sunscreen application has been proven to prevent a multitude of skin cancers, including melanoma. If that’s not enough motivation, think of all the premature wrinkles, colored spots and weird textures you’re keeping off your face. For daily wear, try a moisturizer with a broad-spectrum sunscreen; it’ll feel less greasy and will smell less than a full-on sunscreen. Be sure to get at least SPF 15, but SPF 30 is recommended.

4. Get an Allergy Test

Dermatologists can test your skin to evaluate its response to the most common allergens. Once you know your irritants, you’ll be able to avoid the products that contain the fragrances, chemicals, etc. that could cause irritation or redness.

5. Keep it Clean

You know you shouldn’t sleep in your makeup, but you probably do anyway, at least on occasion. Remember that sleeping in your makeup can cause bacterial infections and clogged pores, and make your acne worse. As important as it is to wash your face before bed and in the morning, it’s just as important to be gentle in your washing. Over-exfoliating can dry out your skin and cause “microcuts,” through which bacteria can enter and, again, worsen acne. A couple of tips?

Wash your face after removing your makeup to ensure you get all of the concealer and foundation off.

For a gentler exfoliation than grainy scrubs, use a salicylic- or glycolic-acid cleanser. Start using one of these three times a week, alternating with your regular cleanser, and adjust depending on your skin’s reaction.

Avoid getting a daily cleanser with fragrance or harsh soap. If you have dry skin, try a cleanser with shea or glycerin. If you have oily skin, try a foaming wash to help your skin feel cleaner.

What Shape Magazine Thinks of Airbrush Makeup

Lauren C Brown

Earlier this month, Shape.com put our Luminess airbrush makeup system to the test for their research on beauty gadgets. Photo Editor Erica Meneses experimented with the system for the magazine’s story, “Do Fancy Beauty Gadgets Really Work?”

The verdict? An excited “Yes!”

After testing multiple products, Meneses found that the Epic 2 delivers natural-looking results easily (though she had her qualms at first). “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to apply the foundation or blush evenly on my face, but the machine took care of everything,” she said. “It didn’t take a lot to make my skin look smooth.”

Airbrushing for the First Time

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We get it. The idea of using an airbrush system to apply your makeup can be daunting if you’re not a professional. It’s surprisingly easier than you think. It may take one or two practice applications before you master the technique, but you can do it! Don’t believe us? Still on the fence? Take a gander at Beauty Vlogger FacesbyStacye’s first time using the Luminess Legend and see for yourself. (She even throws in some bonus tips she learned from experience.)