Royal Pains - Indian wedding of Divya Katdare

I love watching shows that have Indian/Pakistani characters. It is hit and miss. Some I find just out right offensive and others, funny, not always in a good way.

I've been watchign Royal Pains for a while and I love the character Divya Katdare played by Reshma Shetty. She's trendy and chic and not too outwardly "desi" or Indian. BUT I have to say the whole "arranged marriage" thing is a little dated for me. Can we not drop the arranged marriage thing? Not everyone who is from India/Pakistan has an arranged marriage and no we don't all meet our future hsubands when we are kids so that we can join our failing family businesses in the future. Come on, let's find an original idea for a single Indian girl on an American TV show for once.

Ok, so I'm done critiquing the writers for tonight. :)

The reason for my rant is tonight's show had Divya's Sangeet - a prewedding party which involves henna and dancing. The setup was lovely, her clothes were nice(a little revealing but nice colors and very trendy) BUT her makeup? Did someone forget their brushes? The eye makeup was 2 contrasting colors completely unblended. DARK BLUE color and WHITE!! Every time she blinked, I just wanted to rub her eyes!!! I don't know who does the makeup but I really hope he/she learns how to do color better, especially if he/she's going to do the "wedding". I'm getting shivers thinking about it.

The makeup has always been great up until now. I don't know if its just a lack of experience or if that's what the perception of Indian makeup is, but it was in no way attractive. I have loved Reshma Shetty's makeup and hair up until this. Its very natural and clean. The base is great and lipsticks are ery flattering but this was a major messup. From memory, I think her engagement makeup was a little lacking color but it was blended and nicely done regardless.

Here's a pic of the engagement. Will try to update with one of the awful look if I can find one online.

You can watch Royal Pains on USA on Thursday nights 10/9c or on hulu.com. Let's see what happens with the wedding makeup. If the wedding happens next week, I hope its not that bad!

Makeup Classes

I've been thinking about giving classes for a while and so I decided to try it out - today.

I want to offer a specific type of class that isn't overpowered by the underlying sale. I also don't want to teach makeup artists, I want to teach the laywoman, the business executive, the stay at home mom, the working woman, who doesn't have time to mull around stores trying out every brand and color. I want to show them how to get a basic daytime look and an evening look.

I invited some of the Moms from my Moms' group to be my pupils. I thought this might be a casual way to see if I want to invest in this more.

It was fun :)

But a few things I learnt right off the brush ;):

Keeping classes small is important. People have a lot of questions.

Sticking to one specific area and not a look when dealing with makeup novices, is best. So instead of trying to show a group of people who know nothing about makeup or skincare a start to finish look, just do eyes or lips, or base.

Start on time, even if everyone hasn't arrived. I suppose this applies to all teaching. If the whole class isn't there on time, don't worry, just go with it, they can catch up.

People want to know exactly what brand and color to buy. This is a hard one, not everyone has the same colorings or style. Its even harder when you don't buy regular department/drug store brands or non-professional makeup :-D

So, will I do it again?........ probably, BUT I will have to go research my non-pro brands :)

MAC's Wonder Woman

You say the words "Wonder Woman" and what's the first thing that pops into your head?



For me, its this cheesy theme song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwq3ECOFKEM&feature=related and the image of Linda Carter in that red bustier, with red boots and blue underpants! I know it sounds bleuch but she was (and still is) HOT!! And for an icon of the 70s, she still looks amazing.


Back to the makeup relevance, MAC has just released a Wonder Woman Collection with matching red tops and blue unders ;) I'm a shiny addict! I like things in pretty packages - hey I'm a makeup artist, we put pretty packages on people's faces ;) - and I love this packaging. It is totally wonder woman!



The makeup colors themselves however, aren't really anything new or unusual. I would have liked to see more shades of red instead of the brown "heroine" or the coral "marquise d'" - maybe different reds for different skin tones.



The utility belt brush bags - yeah bleuch - glorified bum bag - not buying it - it may be nice shiny gold but its a lil too 70s for me personally. I can just see some Jersey Shore wannabe wearing that in a club thinknig she's so cool while I'm cringing!!! (Picture courtesy of http://www.maccosmetics.com/)



I do loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the red and blue shimmery leather makeup bags. Those are great colors and would look pretty awesome coming out of your (or my) little black bag. Very secret identity revealing ;) BUT I am going to stick to my New Year's resolution and NOT go buy them (just as well since they are already sold out :) )

What do you think?

UPDATE: Just found out from Ann Ho of Styles by Ann that MAC in ValleyFair is holding a WonderWoman event in the store on Friday - 11th Feb 2011. Go check it out for yourself, not sure how much they will have left!

FAQ
Picture Perfect Makeovers
http://www.pictureperfectmakeovers.com/

Dark Circles!!

Its a word we all hate, but as a Mom, I think I have a monopoly on worst circles ever! I know most Moms have to deal with them because we are too busy taking care of our kids and other halves ;) But if you think about it, in this day and time, who doesn't have dark circles? Ok, maybe the Kardashians ;) Or J-Lo - who btw is looking fab for having had twins! Wish I had a nanny, personal chef and personal trainer ;)

Anyways, back to the dark circles :) Don't we just love them? :-D

So here's a step by step to hiding those evil half-moons.

1. Moisturise - even if you aren't going out or trying to cover them up, make sure your eyes are well moisturised. It really helps to avoid wrinkles and laughlines in the future(or in my case, getting worse). I am loving Exuviance Eye Bionic Brightening Serum right now and you only need a tiny drop of it. Another old time favorite of mine is Vita-K's dark circle eye cream. Its pretty cheap at about $14 a jar that will last you a month if you apply it religiously am and pm, and you will notice a difference - I certainly did. The only thing is, you do need to apply it consistently to notice a change and it is NOT overnight. Also, if you stop using it for a while, those circles will just come back.

2. Pick the right color for your skintone. If your like me, olive/Mediterranean/Hispanic/Indian skin tone, then make sure you pick something peachy or orangey. This will help tone out the purpley grey color of the circles. Now if you can't find an orangey concealer(trust me, not as easy to locate as you would think), use an orange color creme, MAC used to make one but stopped for some unknown reason and I haven't been able to find one I liked as much. My 2nd choice is Eve Pearl's Samon concealer - but very pricey and if you're using this, make sure your eye cream has been completely absorbed before you apply it, because it is very creamy. And be very lighthanded If you have oily skin, then I'd avoid the eyecream altogether before applying this concealer, it isn't going to stick otherwise.

If you're a little paler in skin tone or Asian, a yellow toned concealer will work well. Again if you can't find one that is yellow enough for you, then try adding a lil yellow creme to your eyes first. Yellow is also essnetial to counteract any bluish tones your dark cicrcles may have. Lots of companies now sell "yellow" concealer kits just for this. Most skin tones need a lil yellow somewhere. I hate to admit to buying drugstore brands but I do like the Maybelline yellow concealer. It looks like a lipstick but it has magical powers ;) Just kidding.. its just a concealer in lipstick form :)

3. Match your concealer. Very important!! Some people suggest using a concealer that is lighter than your skintone, by a shade or 2 - WRONG!! Do you want to have reverse racoon eyes? no... OK, so stick to the color of the skin color of the side of your nose. This way you will match your face and not look like your cheekbones melded with your eye socket.

4. The final step - make sure you BLEND! You don't want anyone to be able to see that yellow or orange concealer under there. Use your fingers or a small concealer brush. I find both work pretty well, just depends on how much of a rush I am in and whether I'm doing myself or a client :) You can of coruse blend the orange/yellow color with the concealer before you apply and this works well too. Finally, dust very lightly with a transluscent powder.

5. Optional final step- if you're looking in the mirror and thinking, "uhoh, those circles won't give up" then there is a final step, a lightener. Skip the powder at the end of step 4 and apply a drop of either Yves Saint Laurent's Touche Eclat or Body Shop's Lightening Touch. Now there's a big cost difference here and to be fair, I amn't sure the Touche Eclat is worth it. Sorry, blasphemy I'm sure but I'm not a brand snob! Sorry Yves Saint Laurent :) I wouldn't use either on their own but over a bit of concealer, for sure!

If your circles aren't as bad as mine you could probably skip steps 1 - 4 and just use the lightener but then you probably wouldn't be reading this anyway :-D

Hope this helps!

Fizza Qadri
Picture Perfect Makeovers
http://www.pictureperfectmakeovers.com/