Today I am so excited to hangout at Black Tie Makeup Studios private salon to talk about beauty. `As a personal stylist, my focus and learning is really more on fashion but I think beauty is fascinating and I love seeing how artists create impeccable looks on their clients.
Honestly, I wear pretty much the same look everyday and I came in full make-up minus the mascara or fake eyelashes because I’m going to get a summer makeover
Black Tie Makeup is all about female empowerment including transgender women, women of color, women of developing countries and other self-identifying women. Beauty has no boundaries they create a space to help women feel radiant in their own skin.
I’m excited to get into more detail about beauty and get questions answered that will be helpful for myself and the audience. Especially if you aren’t beauty savvy.
TANNYA: First of all, I think it’s a great business model that Black Tie makeup has with different make-up artists that specialize in different application techniques or people. What are your specialties?
HANA: Special effects, runway, HD, and theatre makeup.
TANNYA: Teach me a little about blending the eye colors. I find when I put on eyeshadow and I see a makeup artist friend, they take a brush out of their pocket to blend my eyeshadow so I know I’m doing something wrong. I feel likes its blended but how do you know?
HANA: It really depends on the eyeshadow and makeup look you’re going for. A smokey eye will be a different technique than and everyday eyeshadow look. If you want to blend don’t just go back and forth. You want to take a light hand and don’t go hard. If you have it on light, it’s easier to move the product around. You want to go in little circles, kind of like brushing your teeth.
TANNYA: Do you go light to dark from left to right?
HANA: I actually like to start on the outside with the dark and work my way inwards. It helps to apply a base color that’s in between that’s your transition color or base. This also helps make blending easier. Put it in your crease and you’ll have more ease blending upwards and downwards. Then you’ll also less likely get the blending all the way up to your eyebrows which is a no, no.
TANNYA: What your opinion on lower lid liner? Does it make your eyes smaller or bigger? I like the look but lately I feel that when I wear it, it doesn’t look right? It also smudges by the end of the day. Now I’ve been wearing a copper color eyeshadow instead but I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.
HANA: I usually reserve black lower liner for a more dramatic look like a smokey eye. The lower liner can make your eyes look smaller unless you offset it with a bolder look on top or nice long lashes or a long wing.
What I like to do is add a brown eyeshadow under the lid instead. It doesn’t smudge, it won’t leak, and it still gives you the effect you want. But it also doesn’t close off your eyes. Don’t put it on the waterline, you’re actually putting it underneath.
TANNYA: It doesn’t have to be thin, the liner could be thicker?
HANA: No you can make it thicker and even smudge it so it doesn’t look as harsh. Even if you just put mascara on your bottom lashes that can enhance it as well.
TANNYA: How long should you hold onto eyeshadow? That’s a cosmetic I never seem to ever finish because I get bored and need to get a new set. I’ve had this beautiful Jason Wu palette with a bright blue shade for 3 years or more and I hold onto if for festive events.
HANA: First of all, you don’t have to throw out any of your makeup, there are many organizations that will take used or expired makeup. There are homeless shelters, women’s centers, you can ask your local makeup artists or stores for details. Some places even have recycling programs for makeup.
Here at Black Tie Makeup we take mascara wands and donate them to wildlife centers to clean parasites out of little bunnies, little birds.
As with when to let products go. By law all your makeup has an expiration date on it. This one says 12 M which means 12 months. You don’t have to follow this rule until you open the makeup. To preserve your lipsticks, you can actually keep them refrigerated.
TANNYA: Are there any beauty bloggers you like to follow for inspiration that we should check out?
HANA: Gage Munster @gagemunster is the Special Effects artist for La Llorona, The Nun, and Face Off. Instagram Jordi @itslikeymakeup she does beautiful soft glam makeup looks. @kevglam I actually met him at a Nordstroms event a year or two ago and he does amazing dewy flawless foundation techniques. He does work for magazines and Nordstrom videos. He definitley knows what he’s doing.
TANNYA: What is the most common beauty problem or question you find clients have?
HANA: I have two, the biggest one is how to contour. Everyone’s looking for that Kim Kardashian look
TANNYA: Is that still in?
HANA: It’s still quite in. The other one I get is how to apply false lashes. It’s not easy, I have trouble applying them myself sometimes.
To see the before and after of the new, bold look Hana did, you’ll have to check out the video
Thank you to Black Tie Makeup for spending time with me and sharing their makeup tips with me.
You can find Black Tie Makeup Studios at:
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