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Don’t think of cleaning as a chore, think of it as getting NEW makeup and tools. When your brushes and makeup are clean they not only protect your skin, they look and work like *new*.

Once you’ve gone through your makeup collection and sorted out what to toss, keep and giveaway you’re ready to clean your brushes, makeup and tools.

Step 2: The Clean

Girl, Wash Your Brushes

It’s just gross when you use dirty brushes… you’re taking built up product and bacteria and smashing them onto your skin. You clean your utensils don’t you? So, let’s get real about what you’re putting on your face.

I have about 200 brushes, so after every client I put the used brushes in the ‘dirty brush drawer’ in my kitchen (where normal people store pots and pans). I procrastinate washing brushes because it takes about an hour to clean all 200; however, it only takes a few minutes to wash your personal collection one a week and it makes a BIG difference in application.

There are many brush cleaners on the market that are great, but all you really need is: anti-bacterial dish soap, olive oil, running water and cloth or paper towels.

I highly recommend picking up a brush cleaning palette but you can use paper towels.

1. Layer two paper towels at the sink and squeeze a quarter size amount of brush cleaner or dish detergent and a penny size amount of olive oil a few inches apart.
2. Hold your brush with the ferrule pointing down and run under warm water or dip the tips into a cup of water. Avoid submerging into water as it will loosen up the glue that holds the bristles.
3. Dip the wet brush into the cleanser and gently swirl the over the brush cleanser palette or onto a clean paper towel.
4. Rinse the bristles and swirl over a clean spot of the paper towel.
5. If there is still pigment coming off, take a little more cleanser and repeat the process
6. Use a touch of olive olive with your cleanser to break up liquid foundation, concealer and highly pigmented colors.
7. Swirl, rinse, and repeat until the towel shows clean and set on edge of counter with the bristles hanging over the edge.

Check out this short tutorial by Nic at Real Techniques:

Palettes and Pencils and Lids, oh my!

Long before the Corona Virus slammed into 2019, makeup artists have been using rubbing alcohol (in a small spritz bottle) to sanitize everything in our cosmetic arsenal. We clean after every client but for your personal collection I recommend wiping down the items you use everyday when they look messy — product on the inside or outside of container.

• Wipe down the outside of cosmetic containers with a spritz of alcohol and a towel.
• Clean the mirror inside palettes and use a cotton swab to remove product from the nooks and crannies.
• Sharpen your pencils to sanitize (spritz with alcohol before sharpening for extra cleanliness and clean sharpener after)
• Remove lids and wipe off the excess liquids, cream and powder around the opening.
• Sanitize beauty sponges (throw out disposables) with warm water and anti-bacterial dish soap, bar soap or sponge cleanser. Massage soap into the sponge and rinse. Repeat until clean.
• Reshape and clean stick products: spritz top with alcohol then shave off the top layer onto a paper towel.
• Wipe down tweezers, eye lash curlers and other tools with rubbing alcohol.
• Machine or hand wash cosmetic bags and wipe down shelves, organizers, drawers and brush holders with rubbing alcohol.

Congratulations! Now you are ready for the fun final step… the Layout. The hardwork is over and now you can organize and add decorative flourishes that represent your personal style.

xoxo,
Lo

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We’ve all seen those immaculate makeup vanities on Pinterest, right? Wouldn’t it be nice to have all of your cosmetics clean, organized and within reach?

I understand that the task can be daunting, especially if you have drawers of products. So in an effort to make this as painless as possible I’m breaking down the process into easily digestible steps. Here’s the first step in how to organize your makeup:

Step 1: The Sort

What to Toss*

• The old stuff. Makeup degrades over time, loses it’s pigment and dries up (sounds lovely, right?) Most makeup products have expiration dates so look for the open cream jar icon, known as the PAO (or “Period After Opening”) symbol, which includes the number of months a product is safe to use after it has been unsealed.
• The last dregs. When you’re down to the stump of a liner or using a q-tip to dig out lip color, toss it. That goes for those palettes with one shade left in it, too — that color has faded over time anyway. Buy replacements and if you can’t find the exact color, embrace something new. It may end up to be a blessing in disguise.
• The products have gone off. Toss anything with a noticeable change in texture (drying, thinning, thickening or separating), pigment change or BAD odor.
• The tools that are falling apart. Torn sponges, broken or matted brushes (hello, Mom!) aren’t doing their job properly and have a host of bacteria… toss them.

Keep or Repurpose

• The flattering tones. Keep cosmetics that complement your skin tone and work with our skin type.
• The favorites. Keep products that suit your personal style.
• Clean brushes and sponges. Keep your tools clean with weekly washing and enjoy how clean they feel and look. I recommend using a cleansing palette for brushes, like Real Techniques Brush Cleansing Palette.
• Duplicates. Keep if you use them often and they are in good condition. Toss if you have more than two (unless it’s unopened).
• Bland or bright lipstick. If you don’t like the color for your lips try it on your cheeks as a cream blush.
• Broken lipstick. Purchase an empty lip palette and melt broken lipstick.
• Beautiful Containers. Clean pretty packaging and use them for art or storage.

Give Away

• The bad match. Foundation or concealer shades that don’t match your skin. Exception: if foundation is too dark, you can use a drop or two to customize your matching foundation if you get a tan or spray tan.
• The meh. Makeup that doesn’t look good on you or ‘give you joy’. This may sound obvious, but how many products do you never wear, but hold onto because it’s a good brand or was expensive. Ask your stylish friend for her honest opinion and if the consensus is still ‘meh’ give it away. Life is just too short.
• New and never-used products. Give yourself a deadline to give away the cosmetics that just aren’t for you, don’t just throw them back in the drawer and add to the clutter. Put them aside in a small shopping bag and remove them from the bathroom.

*If you’re having problems with what to toss, try selecting the products that you must-have. Once you’ve chosen your favorites it may be easier to lose their rest.

xoxo,
Lo

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Photoshoots used to be the domain of models and actors, but with the internet explosion, more and more people need (or want!) a beautiful professional photo. Whether you need a pro shot for your work or simply want to capture life’s milestones, you need to think like the pros and have your hair and makeup done professionally.

No model or actor does their own hair and makeup because they are well aware that it takes effort to look like yourself in a photo. A seasoned makeup artist looks at your face with and sees how the camera will read it, not the mirror, trust them, the photographer does. Additionally, you can get multiple hair and makeup looks which means more options to choose from.

How to look natural in photos

Even if you want a ‘no’ makeup look you need to wear makeup to avoid looking washed out, shiny and flat in photos. Light bouncing off of your skin/makeup changes the way you look and makeup looks much less dramatic in the photo.

Here’s my tips for natural photoshoot makeup:

• Apply foundation and powder. This isn’t about hiding your skin, you want a sheer coverage of product to absorb the light.
• Fill in your brows. Unless you have naturally thick brows, brows tend to disappear in photos.
• Wear Blush. Color on your cheeks will give your face dimension (it won’t look like a flat blob) and give you a radiant look.
• Eye liner and mascara. Apply a thin eyeliner on the TOP lash line. That will pull the focus up and won’t read as makeup.
• Lip color. Just like blush a creamy lip shade the same color of your lips or a little deeper will translate to a natural lip look in photos.

Photography: Stunning personal branding photos from Monika Broz

Hair and Makeup: Laura Nadeau of Lo & Co Makeup

xoxo,

Lo

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If someone is going to a salon for makeup services, especially for important events like weddings or photo shoots, will makeup artists provide some kind of trial to make sure the client is getting what he or she wants?

If it is an important situation, why wouldn’t you have a trial? It’s not fair to the makeup artist to expect her to a “perfect” job without a prior consult and trial. Conversely, if a MUA doesn’t offer a trial or contract, or have a price structure, run away – because they aren’t professional and they don’t do many weddings!

What sort of preparations does someone need to do before getting a professional makeup job?

Skip the facial – that can stir up breakouts, and foundation covers your skin anyway – and GROOM YOUR BROWS one to two days prior. I’m always amazed at how many people show up with crazy brows and I don’t have time to do a full brow session on a busy day. A little cleanup is expected, but some clients come in with three months of growth.

Clean, bare skin is great. However, if someone has makeup on, it’s nice to see how they apply it. Taking off loads of eye makeup will irritate the eye, but foundation generally wears off by the time someone sits in my chair and is easy to remove.

What are some makeup techniques that might make for a striking photograph if someone were shooting in black and white?

B&W photography needs depth and dimension to really pop. This is a great time to play up bone structure with facial contouring (not everyday, like the Kardashians!). Build up your natural features like brows and (fake) lashes, do a dramatic eyeliner, and define your lip with a lipstick. It won’t look like much makeup when photographed, which is kind of the point for a portrait.

How can a makeup artist compensate for the bright lights that are sometimes used during a photo shoot?

The brighter the light, the more diffused the makeup will look; so you need to make everything bolder, thicker or darker. This is tricky, because if you are used to doing makeup that looks good in natural light, you have a tendency to go too light.

Since I do a lot of bridal makeup that needs to look good in person and on-camera, I have to work on going bolder for photo shoot makeup, especially editorial looks; and I try to place the client/model in the lighting after a first layer of makeup, then see what I need to pump up. I will take a quick photo with my phone, or ideally have the photographer snap a shot. It is a photo shoot, so it only matters how the makeup translates on camera.

One also has to consider the lighting setup. What is the color temperature of the lights? Is the lighting from one source only? Is there a key light? These are what pros are for, since it takes years of experience to understand how makeup looks and reads under a variety of lights.

What are some makeup styles that are in right now that are hard to achieve – which could warrant a trip to the salon?

Contouring, false lashes and smokey eyes, and a cat or winged-out liner. It’s not only that they are difficult to do, but it is impossible to look at your own face from different angles and perspectives to see if the technique looks good.

You also offer on-site makeup and spray tan services. What are some situations where this could come in handy?

It’s wonderful for the client if they don’t have to travel, especially for weddings or photo shoots. However, a tight space that can get hot and stuffy doesn’t work. Spray tanning is great because you don’t have to move around with the tacky solution; but once again, you need proper air flow and decent lighting. I can bring lighting and I have a pop up tent for spray tanning, but not every artist does.

On-site is great if you have the right set up for makeup. Dark rooms with no windows are difficult. Natural lighting is the best; if it looks good in that scary light where you can see every pore, it will look good photographed. Also, always face the light (sit facing the window or light source).

For someone looking into getting into doing makeup professionally, how should they go about building a portfolio? What are the most essential skills to master?

I have taught a MUA class at a beauty school, and the biggest hurdle is trying to communicate that doing makeup is not about doing what you want to do on your own face. Sure, it’s important to hone your technique, but that comes with experience. What I can’t teach is how to listen to your client, art director, or photographer and decipher what they want. It is rare to be told to “do what you want” and it is a double-edged sword. People may not know what they want, but they always know what they DON’T want.

Also, the makeup industry doesn’t have much demand for new makeup artists. It’s difficult to make steady money doing makeup, and it takes someone who has a lot of hustle. You can’t make a living doing your friends’ and families’ makeup; this is a business. The hardest part is finding the people that want to find you. You have a website, great – but the internet is glutted with information, and it takes a lot of time, energy, and money to get noticed.

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