The Makeup Mole

Buy Bioderma Crealine here

Without being all melodramatic, I don’t think I could function at work without this cleanser. It’s kind of a cult secret amongst makeup artists, so I hope I’m not going to be excommunicated for talking about it outside the hallowed portals of professional makeup artistry, but this really is the ultimate makeup remover.

It’s gentle enough to be used on people with sensitive skin and eyes yet takes off pretty much all makeup in one wipe. On the last show season I was working on the Australian model Myf Shepherd (who is such a rapidly rising star that she walked 62 shows over the international Fashion Weeks), and by London her skin was already feeling the burn from constant makeup changes and the skin-insulting properties of baby wipes.

So I told her what I tell all the girls who are sick of ripping their faces off with whatever happens to be backstage, and that is to get herself a bottle of Crealine remover next time she was in Paris so she wouldn’t get caught short again.

It comes in a clear bottle and looks like water, so you simply saturate a cotton pad, and one wipe later, your makeup is off. It removes eye makeup in one swipe, it doesn’t sting and it can be used on skin as well, leaving it feeling soft and hydrated, not taut and dry (even in winter).

The drawback? It’s French (so like lots of good stuff), you need to get it from French pharmacies and even then not all of them have it. I’ve spent many a trip to Paris figuring out which pharmacies do and which ones don’t. But it does last ages and it’s not expensive – about 15 Euros per bottle. I always have about 3 or 4 in stock so I know I will never run out (which is probably a little paranoid but you never know when there will be an apocalyptic makeup war that will wipe out all forms of skincare and color cosmetics, so I’m stockpiling NOW).

Although it’s fine for most waterproof makeup, one thing I would say is that if you wear a lot of extremely hardcore waterproof liners (like MAC Liquidlast), you need an oil makeup remover as well. Crealine will do the job eventually but you will be there for a while – however if you’re a Liquidlast lover you know you need something pretty potent to get it off as once on, that sucker does not move!

On a side note: not that you would do this because it would be really stupid, but don’t leave a bottle next to your bed after a night of heavy cocktail consumption, and right next to it a bottle of Evian (which it bears a more than passing resemblance to in the dark). Because if you were to wake up with a raging thirst in the middle of night, Crealine TASTES REALLY REALLY BAD. Don’t for the love of God go drinking it.

Don’t ask me how I know that.

You can buy 500ML bottles of Bioderma Crealine here in the Makeup Mole shop

Total excitement, we have our first celebrity beauty breakdowns! This is what Kay Montano used on the lovely actresses Toni Collette and Rosamund Pike on a shoot recently for a new Chanel sponsored coffee table book.

Rosamund Pike

Foundation – Chanel Vitalumiere in Clair 20
Concealer – Chanel Eclat Lumiere concealer in Beige Clair 20
Powder – Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder (just in T-zone)
Blush – Chanel Joues Contrast Blush in Rose Dust
Eyes

Mascara – Chanel Exceptionnel mascara in Smoky Black, and lots of it!
Lips – Nude Skincare lipbalm on lips

Toni Collette

Foundation – Chanel Vitalumiere in 30 Cendre (as Toni is quite tan at the moment)
Concealer - a mix of Bobbi Brown Eye Brightener in 3 and Clinique Airbrush in Medium.
Powder – Laura Mercier Loose Translucent powder brushed on T-zone. Blush – Chanel Orchid Rose Blush.
Eyes

• Chanel Le Crayon Khol in Ambre (brown) applied and smudged into and around top lashes followed by a subtle, wide smudge of Bronze Chanel eye pencil underneath.
• Ecriture De Chanel liquid eyeliner subtly applied on the root of the upper lashes.

Mascara – Chanel Exceptionnel Mascara in Black.
Lips – Bobbi Brown Blush lip pencil smudged in with Suvana Paw Paw & Honey lip balm.

NB The pictures of Toni and Rosamund are simply press pictures and NOT examples of the makeup that Kay created for each of them. To see that, you’ll have to wait until the new Chanel book comes out!

Major makeup artist Alex Box demonstrates how to do smoky eyes the Illamasqua way.

It was hard to choose which brand to look at first in an in-depth way because there are so many great ones, but I have chosen Illamasqua a)because it’s new, and b) because it’s ace.

It’s a UK brand (the first UK beauty brand to launch in 16 years!) that launched in November in Selfridges in London and has done so well that this week alone they have opened counters in Dublin, Newcastle and Glasgow. The next move is to open in the US, but until then our American cousins can buy from their internet site, (as of today!) at www.illamasqua.com.

One of the things I love about it is that it’s such an extensive range – 842 products, to be exact. The pigmentation is quite frankly unrivalled as the products have the heft of a theatrical product but amazing blendability – plus the color selection is extraordinary. If you are a fan of a MAC, you seriously need to check out Illamasqua. To my mind it’s what MAC used to be back in the day before when they first started – remember those rugby scrums on counter to get a Spice lipliner? Good times!

The line itself has been designed to go as far as you want to go with it. It has quite a gothic, sub-culture bent which lends itself to extreme makeup, so you know whatever you’re looking for you will find. The creative director is the amazing makeup artist Alex Box and she brings to the line her painterly approach and unique editorial eye. Alongside her work with Illamasqua  she can be found shooting magazines like Vogue, W and Visionaire with photographers like Karl Lagerfeld and Nick Knight, and doing shows for Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen, so she really knows what she is doing!

Her sensibility comes clearly through the line in her extensive use of color and the rich pigmentation. They have fabulous eyeshadows (and if you’re a bright eyeshadow fan, is this the place for YOU!), great blushes, amazing lashes, a nailpolish range designed by manicurist to the stars, Glenis Baptiste that will seriously rock your socks off, and matte lipsticks that are both creamy and dense, plus they come (apart from the normal stuff like red, pink, orange etc), in black, white, gold and silver. Makeup happiness found here!

The star product from their new Sirens collection for me would have to be the Liquid Gold, a shimmering gold crème. What I like about it is that it’s not too yellow, it’s more of a burnished color – none of that nasty Goldmember business!

The foundations and powders I have yet to try but what I do love about them is that the foundation comes in 21 shades from purest white to almost black, and I do love a line that recognizes that not everybody is the colour of a melted Barbie doll and has something for everyone.

The coverage on the foundations and powders is definitely on the fuller side as the range was designed to be a night-time, going out range. My style is generally more about seeing the texture of the skin, but when you are doing a very full makeup it is necessary since the style of Illamasqua makeup is almost reconstructive. It’s not about enhancing your natural prettiness as much as it is about creating a brand new face – whatever that fantasy face might be! For editorial work though the Rich Liquid foundation has better coverage than MAC Full Coverage foundation, and the Light Liquid is like a heavier version of MAC’s Face and Body (which I love). And a lot of the color products (like eyshadow, blush and lipstick) are matte, which is wonderful as you can always add shimmer but you can’t take it away. They do lovely shimmer pigments and creams which can be added to any of the makeup (including nailpolishes), but it’s nice to have a range that wasn’t designed with a disco ball in mind.

Basically it’s pretty much makeup nirvana!

Whilst I hate to kick a brand when it’s down (as of last week Stila was just brought back from the brink of receivership by a private equity firm who have bought it. It’s not been doing well since Estee Lauder sold it in 2006), and there are quite a few Stila products I like, this ain’t one of them.

 The Smudge Pots (in my humble opinion) are the worst of the current crop of gel eyeliners. And the reason I know? Because the good stuff (ie the Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner I posted about last week) is in my kit, which leaves the rubbish (ie Stila Smudge Pot), in my personal makeup bag. Isn’t there that saying that the cobbler has no shoes? Well that is definitely me. I have my fancy pants amazing work makeup kit all organized and color coded and with so much stuff in it I have actually injured myself carrying it around (which is just sad but also happens to be true), and then my own makeup bag is beyond tragic. It’s full of gift with purchase brushes (I know! The shame! The horror! I am always telling clients off for this!) and brushes I didn’t like enough to put in my kit, and my makeup is either things I have doubles of, or things I have pulled out of the Vault, where makeup at my place goes to die.

 Which is where the Stila Smudge Pot comes in. It flakes, it smudges, it’s like pushing an eyeliner brush through tar (which at 6am is even less fun than it sounds) and its consistency is just plain wrong. Then by the end of the day when you’ve been working so hard, and (let’s face it) sweating, and you haven’t had time to look in the mirror, when you actually do, what do you find but two very attractive half moons of black nestled in the creases of your under eyes. SO HOT.

 If you want to go halfway between the worst (Stila) and the best (Bobbi Brown), you would find the MAC Fluidline, which is quite nice and creamy and is certainly cheaper than the Bobbi Brown. It’s by no means terrible, so if, at this delicate stage in our global economy you are finding your financial affairs a little straitened, you could definitely do worse than this one. I usually use this at the shows as most of the shows are sponsored by MAC.

 But please, stay far, far away from Stila Smudge Pot. And I’ll take my own advice and I will too.

 BIN IT!

Oooh, baby, where do I start? Honestly these are the best thing to pass your lips since chocolate was invented, and if you’re a lippie spastic (come on, be honest, I think lots of people are), it’s pretty much foolproof.

The chubby Crayola-like stick takes me back to my stationery collecting days at school (yes, before I collected makeup I obsessively collected stationery – am I sensing a trend?) And it’s totally Collect ‘Em All!

Basically it’s a cross between a lipstick and a pencil, and like it says on the box, it’s truly MATTE. I’ve been into matte lips and over gloss for quite some time, so these are a timely edition to any makeup bag. However if a glossy lip is your thing, you can add your gloss of choice over the top and you have a perfect lacquered lip.

The deep reds are amazing and the orange-y one, Red Square, is this weird off color that is great for shooting editorial because it’s so strange, and the pencil glides over your lips to impart deep, rich matte color. I can’t think of a single color that I don’t like in this range, and I have about 8 (so far!) in my kit. The fleshy beige of Belle de Jour, the perfect mauve of Sex Machine, the warm browns of Bettina and Tortola which are so right for a natural lip, and the pink perfection of Roman Holiday are all staples in my kit. No more excuses for bodgy lip outlines and thin, anemic looking color coverage! Importantly, for our makeup artist friends out there they are light, portable and take up no space, which is relevant when your kit is making Bungalow 8 on a Saturday night look empty.

Its easy pencil application means that you don’t need to fiddle with a lipbrush and a multiple layers of lipstick to get the right depth of color and a perfect line. Get thee to a NARS counter immediately and

Bag It!

Today we have the first in a series of  ”How-To” Makeup videos by über-makeup artist Kay Montano. This one is all about creating flawless skin, whether you were born that way or not!

This was an excellent question asked after my last post on smoky eyes, and I thought I’d do a whole post on it, as eyeliner is a key and very misunderstood product.

Eyeliner applied correctly can make your eyes look bigger, your gaze more smoldering and generally more like the all-out diva you want to be. Eyeliner applied incorrectly will make you look like Uncle Fester back from an all night rave – possibly not the look you’re going for. So to begin:

Eyeliner comes in three forms – pencil, gel eyeliner (in a pot), and liquid, usually in a pen or inkwell type arrangement. And in intensity, that is also the order – pencil is softest, gel is next in terms of strength and depth of color, followed by liquid, which is the mack daddy of all liners but should be used with caution – it’s also the hardest to apply (although with practice it can look amazing).

Pencil

My favourites are Chanel and MAC. MAC Smolder is the best soft black for a rock n’ roll smoky eye, and MAC Coffee is a beautiful brown. If you’re feeling creative you can mix the black and the brown for a gorgeous color which frames every eye color beautifully. MAC also has pretty much every color under the rainbow, so if you’re feeling like getting experimental with a fluoro orange eyeliner one morning, MAC is the place to go. Chanel I like for the more discreet range of colors like navy and bronze, plus a top range of browns, and when you may not want so much smudgability (‘cause you know, some days are just like that).

Gel eyeliner

This is a favourite of mine and a fairly newfangled addition to the eyeliner pantheon. My favourite by a long shot is Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink, and believe me, I’ve tried them all. It’s a really true, rich black and it glides on (with a brush and a steady hand!), but then it doesn’t budge. Or flake. Or smudge. All day. Love it.

It also comes in lots of other colours which manage to be both ladylike and arresting. I particularly like Bronze Shimmer Ink and Sepia Ink, but there are about 15 gorgeous colors to try in all.

Liquid liner

And last (but by no means least), is liquid eyeliner. This is the strongest type of eyeliner and so requires a bit of practice, but nothing beats it for instant drama. I am currently using MAC Bootblack liquid eyeliner, although I usually use a proper brush, not the little pen applicator thing it comes with which I don’t find precise enough. A tip if you’ve done a smoky eye but it’s not making your eyes pop – add a thin line of liquid liner just above your lashes. This will frame your eyes to give you the Bambi-like gaze (the doe, not the stripper, if you’ve done it correctly) you’ve been looking for.