Mister Makeup Answers Your Beauty Questions

By Mister Makeup,

aka, David Maderich DavidMaderich.com

This month, Mister Makeup is dipping his makeup brush into his mailbag and answering questions sent to him by his inquisitive beauty readers.

For beauty inspiration, take a look at the amazing photo I worked on with celebrity hairstylist Kristan Serafino at www.kirstanserafino.com.

Thanks for all your questions – keep ‘em coming!

Q: I need help with my blush…I not only cannot pick a color, I don’t know how to apply it – do you have any tips?

MM: Blush can be tricky – but always keep in mind that blush should add life and glow to your face. The easiest way to apply blush is to smile in the mirror and swirl the color only to the apples of your cheeks. Then gently blend the color up to the temple to give your face a slight lift.

As for color, don’t over think it. I like to use pinks and corals for pale to medium skins and plums and bronzers for darker skin. NARS makes an amazing assortment of blush colors in both powder and cream formulas – they can be found at www.sephora.com.

If you add too much color, don’t fret; just add a touch of pressed powder (I love MAC Cosmetics Blot Powder at www.macys.com) to soften the blow.

Q: Help – I want sexy smokey eyes, but when I try I always end up looking like a Goth freak.

MM: I get this question all of the time.  Follow my technique, dear readers, and your peepers will be bringing sexy back all night long.

Start with a creamy black or brown pencil (try Wet N Wild H20 Proof Blending Eye Pencil in Black Chrome at www.wnwbeauty.com) and line both your upper and lower lids – blend with a Q-tip. Next, take a matching black or dark brown eye shadow – with a touch of shimmer – and blend generously over the liner. A great go-to palette is Kanebo’s Sensai Collection Eye Shadow Pallete at www.bergdorfgoodman.com.   Be sure there is no skin showing between lashes. Use a fluffy brush  (I love the brushes at www.eyeslipsface.com – $1 each) to soften any hard edges.

Curl your lashes and add a ton of non-clumpy mascara.

Now take your smokey eyes out on the town!

Q: Nude flesh toned lips always look amazing in Vogue, but they make me look dead. Is there one or two that can look good on just about anyone?

MM: I agree – the nude lips in magazines do look amazing, but keep in mind the models are usually 14 with pillow lips. For normal gals on the go, flesh toned lips just are not an option – unless you’re trying out for a corpse in the next Twilight movie.

Wearable nude lips always have a touch of pink, peach or plum. Go to the makeup counter and experiment – I love pixi by Petra’s Ultimate Lip Collection at Target Stores, which has testers, or at www.target.com.

And remember to always add gloss over your nude lip – matte nude lips are not pretty. I love L’Oreal’s Lip Infallible Never Fail Lip-gloss in Suede and Sunset at www.drugstore.com.

Q: Foundation scares me – it always looks like I’m wearing a mask. Help!

MM: The right foundation can take years off your face or add years. The secret is to find the right product for your skin.

If you have acne or other discolorations, I suggest skipping the foundation. Try a brush and concealer, like pixi by Petra’s Flawless Vitamin Concealer at www.target.com on your troubled areas and finish with a big fluff of skin toned pressed powder to blend it all together.

For most girls, I like tinted moisturizers that give the skin a nice glow while covering up life’s nasty mistakes – try Covergirl’s Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 at www.cvs.com.  Or take your favorite foundation and dilute it in your hand with an anti-aging cream for your own personalized tinted moisturizer.

Q: My eyebrows look like hockey sticks – what can I do to fix them?!?!

MM: As any makeup artist will tell you, Eyebrows are the most important feature on the face.  I suggest going to a brow specialist for an expert tweeze. Once you get the shape you want, look in the mirror every other day to tweeze out the new growth and follow the line – don’t wait weeks because brows grow like crazy and your new shape will be gone before you know it.

If you decide to do it yourself, a foolproof way to achieve the perfect shape is to take a white eyeliner pencil and cover up the hair under your brow until you achieve a shape you like –now pluck all the hairs in the white area.  When you remove the white pencil, you will have perfect brows.

As for filling in sparse spots with eyebrow color, never go too dark – I like a medium taupe on everyone. Powder or pencil?  I like to use both – try Maybelline’s Define-A-Brow Eyebrow Pencil in light brown at www.amazon.com.

Q: How do I use bronzer?

MM: Bronzer is essential to every face. The problem I see on most women’s faces is too much bronzer and the wrong color. The secret to applying bronzer is to place it only where the sun shines – forehead, nose, chin and high on the cheeks.  And pick a believable color – nothing too orangey – you want to look sun kissed not like a Sunkist Orange.  I adore Bobbi Brown’s selection of believable bronzers at www.nordstrom.com.

Q: I love self-tanners, but I always end up with streaks – help!

MM: Self-tanners are a great way to get a glow without the harsh damage of the sun.  The secret to get a seamless fake bake is to prep the skin.

First, you must exfoliate your skin wherever you are applying the self-tanner – try Crater Lake Company’s Zambian Coffee Body Scrub at www.craterlakecompany.com.  I swear this scrub will leave your skin baby soft.

Next, apply a rich body butter/lotion to create a smooth moisturized palette for the self-tanner to adhere to.  Try La Natura’s Matcha Green Tea 100% Vegan Pure Body Butter at www.lanatura.com.

Finally, apply the self-tanner (I love Au Courant’s Instant Sunless Tanning Mouse at www.aucourant.com) in small even strokes – and don’t forget to wash your hands – no more pumpkin palms.

Q: I just colored my hair and my grey hairs are already peeking out …What can I do?

MM: Honey, it isn’t easy getting older.  For some reason, the hair at the temples is very resistant to hair color – plus, it gets exposed to daily facial potions and lotions that remove color. To add to the problem, hair grows 10 percent faster in summer because of the sun.

My secret weapon:  Fix My Roots by Kymaro at www.ubuyez.com. This amazing hair mascara comes in 10 shades and is perfect for covering grey hairs or any root for that matter – and it lasts until you wash it out. Kelly Bensimon of “Real Housewives of New York City” was seen touching her roots up with this gem of a product. Try one of the lighter or fun shades to add instant highlights, too.

If you want to ask Mister Makeup anything – from cleansers to cat eyes and everything in between including ingredients, email him at davidmaderich@yahoo.com.