Make-up 101: Eye Color

I've posted information about skin care, which is a critical step in making sure your make-up looks flawless. The clearer the skin, the more likely you'll get the results you are looking for with your make-up. If you have a great skin care routine that works for you, awesome! I'm happy you found something. If you haven't found that great skin care routine yet, you should really give Mary Kay a try. If you hate it after you buy it, you can get your money back. It's the Mary Kay guarantee! And the Consultant you return the product to does lose money for your returns. So don't be shy.

We've talked about primers, foundations and brushes. Each of these has a purpose to create a flawless look. Now we are going to talk a little about eye colors.

Eye colors serve one of three purposes: highlighter, midtone and accent color.

Highlighters are the lightest shade you are using on a given day. This is the color that gives lift to your eyes. Highlighters are usually applied from the lid to the brow bone. Highlighters can have shimmer or have a matte finish. The use of shimmer would be a personal preference. My own personal opinion would be to tone down the shimmer on business looks (that doesn't mean eliminate shimmer, just in case you were wondering). The Highlighter can also be applied to the inside corner of the eye, near the nose. Highlighters that are close to your own natural skin tone are a perfect start, especially for a business look.

Midtones are often a neutral or earth tone that goes all over the eye lid. The Midtones are usually blended near the crease of the eye lid with the Highlighter shade. The same as Highlighters, Midtones can be shimmer or matte finish. Having just a Highlighter and Midtone is perfect for a business look.

Accent Colors are the pop of color. These are usually your vivid colors, Gold, Green, Silver, Blue, Purple and even Pink. The most common place to apply the Accent Color is from the outside corner of the eye through the crease. The color is blended with the Midtone and Highlighters. Often the Accent Colors are applied along the lower lash line as well, particularly in a night look. It is common, but not necessary to use an eyeliner in a similar shade to your Accent Color. Accent Colors also come in shimmer and matte finishes.

What's great about an Accent Color--you can start out with your regular Highlighter and Midtone for your business look. When work is done, touch up your first to Eye Colors and add your Accent Color. Now you are ready to go out. And you can change your Accent Color daily, but keep your Midtown and Highlighter. It's simple and quick to go from a day look to a night look. For easy application of an Accent Color, try the Mary Kay Eye Crease Brush.

Mary Kay has two types of Eye Colors, in addition to their purpose. Mary Kay Cream Eye Color ($13, plus tax). Comes in 5 shades. Mary Kay Cream Eye Colors work as a primer as well as an eye color, so you don't need a primer underneath the Cream Eye Colors. Cream Eye Colors wear for 10 hours. How can you beat that? These colors can be layered with other Cream Eye Colors or with the Mineral Eye Colors. The Cream Eye Colors also go on better if applied with a brush. Check out the Mary Kay Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush.

Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors ($6.50, plus tax). Each Mineral Eye Color comes in a metal square, made to fit in any of the Mary Kay Compacts. So you choose which colors you want in the compact and can change them as often as you'd like. Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colors come with vitamins A, C and E, so they are actually good for your skin. The Mineral Eye Colors are fade resistant and absorb excess oil as well. Eye Primer is recommended to help extend the wear of your Eye Color.

Finish your eye look with an Eyeliner ($12, plus tax). Mary Kay has seven shades in Eyeliner pencils and just Black in Liquid Eyeliner ($11, plus tax). Each of the Eyeliner pencils comes with a built in sharpener in the cap, wear for up to 8 hours and are smudge-proof and waterproof.

Top off your eye look with a Mascara. Again, I recommend Black/Brown and Brown shades of Mascara for the fairer ladies, those like Renee Zellweger or Nicole Kidman. The medium and darker skin tone ladies or fair ladies with dark hair should use Black Mascara. And of course, Black Mascara for all skin tones for the red carpet or night-on-the-town look.

Remember, at the end of the day, remove all of that great eye make up with Mary Kay's Oil-free Eye Make-up Remover. 

I hope this helps some of those ladies I've met who say they have "no idea what to do" with eye colors. I welcome pointers from the experts--ladies who apply eye color every day. Please feel free to chime in and share tips. I also welcome any questions, comments or product reviews. www.marykay.com/dmanor.

Take Care!

Mary Kay Tools: Brushes

We started talking about the great make-up items that Mary Kay has. Before I get into it too much, I thought I should talk about the tools before the make-up. You can have the best make-up in the world, but if you have terrible tools to use, store or apply your make-up, then there is really no point.

Mary Kay just updated their line of brushes. Great brushes are another of Hollywood's best kept secrets. Each brush serves a purpose and is made differently. So let's jump in!

Powder Brush ($16, plus tax). This brush is made of natural bristles. Anytime you are using a powder product, whether it is your foundation, check color, eye color or bronzer, you want a natural bristle brush. The natural bristles pick up the powder, but don't hold onto them when you are sweeping them onto your face. The Powder Brush is perfect for Loose Powder or Pressed Powder Foundations to help set your make-up. This brush is also great for bronzers to contour the face.

Mary Kay Powder Brush

Cheek Brush ($14, plus tax). Again, we have natural bristles. This brush is dome shaped so that it is easy to brush your cheek color or bronzer along the cheek bones or to highlight the apples of your cheeks.

Mary Kay Cheek Brush

Eye Color Brush ($10, plus tax). Natural bristle brush, which helps evenly apply Mary Kay Mineral Powder Eye Colors. This is great for color applied all over the eyelid and even up to the brow bone.

Mary Kay Eye Color Brush

Eye Crease Brush ($10, plus tax). Natural bristle brush and meant to do exactly what its name says, apply color to the crease of the eyes. This brush is also perfect for blending colors.

Mary Kay Eye Crease Brush

Eyeliner/Eyebrow Brush ($10, plus tax). Natural bristles, which are short, angled and firm, help define the brows and lashes. On the other end, a brush and a comb to tame brows.

Mary Kay Eyeliner/Eyebrow Brush

Mary Kay had a brush set, with a bag to hold all the brushes for $48, plus tax. Mary Kay has updated all of the brushes and the bag they come in. The new retail price is now $55. The great thing is, the new bag will hold any of the Mary Kay Compacts. The previous one was not big enough for the Compact Pro. Someone who uses all of the brushes in the set would most likely want the Compact Pro. Also, it was not possible to order the brushes separately. Now you can. So you don't need to buy the whole set if you just need a brush or two. You will, however, save $5 if you buy the whole set, plus get the bag (the bag does not sell separately). You get all 5 above mentioned brushes in the set.

Mary Kay Brush Collection

There are a few more brushes that are worth mentioning. The first is the Mary Kay Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush ($10, plus tax). This is the first brush made of synthetic bristles. Since we are talking about cream products, a brush with synthetic bristles is the best choice. Synthetic bristles do not absorb the products you are using. A natural bristle brush will. So, in the long run, you use less product with this brush. Perfect for applying Eye Primer, Cream Eye Color or Concealer. NOTE: A Primer is not necessary for the Cream Eye Colors, but is recommended for the Mineral Eye Colors. Also, it is recommended for hygiene purposes to dedicate one brush for each cream product.

Mary Kay Cream Eye Color/Concealer Brush

Mary Kay Eye Smudger Brush ($10, plus tax). Another natural bristle brush. This brush is perfect for smudging eye color along the lash line. It is also the brush recommended for the smoky affect in eye color.

Mary Kay Eye Smudger Brush

The last two brushes we will talk about are for foundation. So, the brush list is a little out of order, since you would use a foundation brush before you would use any of the rest of the brushes already mentioned. The first is the Mineral Foundation Brush ($10, plus tax). Again, natural bristles for the Mineral Powder Foundation. This brush is ideal to help slowly build your foundation until you get the desired coverage.


Mary Kay Mineral Powder Foundation Brush

Mary Kay Liquid Foundation Brush ($10, plus tax). Synthetic bristles, which are great for any of the Mary Kay liquid Foundations (Medium Coverage, Timewise or Tinted Moisturizer). These bristles, again won't absorb the Foundation, so you use less. As an added bonus, you don't add any extra oil from your skin when you apply your foundation with a brush.

Mary Kay Liquid Foundation Brush

I've had some people ask why they would spend nearly $100 on brushes. I agree, it is a rather large sum of money for brushes. Remember, the better the brush, the easier it will be to apply the product. Additionally, Mary Kay just debuted a new product to help clean the brushes, extend their use and protect your investment. Mary Kay Brush Cleaner ($10, plus tax) will help keep your brushes clean and ready to use.

Mary Kay Brush Cleaner

Again, I'd love to hear from you. Any comments, questions or product reviews are welcome. Again, my website is www.marykay.com/dmanor.

Take care!