Foundation Routine that lasts you the entire day

A good foundation and blush routine can be the differentiating factor between a natural look and looking like Canio (the clown) form the opera "I Pagliacci."

In this blog post I want to focus on foundation , contouring and blush techniques for plus size women or women with round faces.

While I show you some failproof techniques, i'll also tell you what products work best (in my humble opinion).

So first lets talk about the 5 steps of prepping your face before applying your makeup.

1. Cleansing
2. Toning
3. Moisturising
4. Lip  balm
5. Sun screen

Once you're done with the above 5 steps, you should apply a face primer. This will help your foundation stay longer and give you a smooth surface to work on.

Some great face primers are:
MAC Prep + Prime

 

Benefit the Porefessional

Application technique: You take a little bit of the primer and dot it all over your face. In small circular motion gently rub it all over your face. Make sure it is evenly applied all over.

Foundation Routines: When choosing your foundation use the below mentioned steps.
1. Look at your face in the mirror. The lightest natural colour on your face is what you ideally would want to match the foundation with. You also want to the foundation to match the colour of your neck.
2. Take a little of the foundation and apply it to your forehead or cheek and see if it blends well.
3. Apply the foundation all over your face and set it with a powder. Usually the counter staff can help you with that. See how the foundation behaves on you for the next half hour and only when youre satisfied do you buy it. It takes foudnation 20 minutes to settle on your face.

After you have picked the perfect foundation. If it is a liquid foundation, you would want to shake it well and pump it to the back of your hand to heat it up with your body heat. This helps it apply better.

The fastest and best application technique I feel for any non makeup artist is with your fingers.
Dot your cheeks and rub gently in curcular motions. Make sure you only apply foundation on the area which you're working on immediately. DO NOT APPLY ALL OVER YOUR FACE AND THEN START WORKING ON IT. Because sometimes these foundations dry fast and you might not be able to work it well enough if its too dry.

In this manner apply the foundation all over your face.

Now to highlight the best areas Use a concealer that is one shade lighter than your foundation.

I have a detailed post on highlighting your features.
http://aasheianaa.blogspot.in/2012/12/let-there-be-light.html

Now that You have highlighted the area lets work on concealing problem areas.

Now usually if you need to conceal any area on your face you would want to do that before you start highlighting. Lets review concealing techniques based on generic facial problems.

To properly conceal imperfections you need to color correct it.

Dark Circles: If you have brown discoloration under your eye, the best product to use is a orange tint/apricot colour concealer.

Best Apricot Concealers: Bobbi Brown Correctors
12 Shades of apricot tinted color correctors for every skin tone. Suprisingly even though Bobbi Brown Cosmetics is specifically aimed at Indian Skin tone, it really works well on us.

Application technique: Dab it on the dark discoloration under the eye. With your ring finger continue to dab it in to blend into your skin. Do not swipe as that takes the product off rather than blending it in.

Acne Prone or if youre skin is very red:
You should use a mint green color concealer to cover the acne spots. If your skin looks very red you can also apply a thin layer of the mint green color before applying your foundation.

Best Mint Green Concealers: Makeup Forever Color Corrector Pallete no. 5

You can also kill 2 birds with one stone by buying color corrector primers. You get them in most cosmetic brands like NYX , Smashbox etc.

MOST COLOR CORRECTION HAPPENS BEFORE YOU ADD YOUR FOUNDATION. There is no set rule, with trial and error you will know what works best for you. For me I apply the appricot concealer on my dark circles after apply my foundation.

For other color correction techniques please click on this link

Now the last step to a perfect foundation routine.


Loose Powder: This step is to set your foundation so it doesnt move all day. This also helps mattefy your face and take away any shine.

Use a powder puff

Dampen the powder puff a little with a water spray bottle.

Then dip it in your loose powder and rub a little ont he back of your hand to spread it equally and remove excess. Then in a pressing motion applt it on your face, especially the T-Zone.

Gr8! Loose Powders. Christian Dior, Maybelline, MAC, Makeup Forever, Kryolan.

You cna get tinted loose powder or a mattefying powder. I personally dont like the HD powders because in pictures they tend to give you the ghostly white look.

Once you have applied the powder and set your foundation. Take a fan brush and dust of the excess from your face.

Your foundation routine is now complete.

Now lets move on to my favorite part!

Contouring.

Is simply the play of dark and light. When you want to hide something, that is when we apply a matte bronzer to the area.

For plus size women it works wonders.

There are generic areas where all face shapes should contour and those are shown int he picture below. NOW IF YOU HAVE A LEAN FACE, YOU MIGHT WANT TO AVOID CONTOURING.

 

The Jaw line and temples are where most women would want to apply a little bronzer. And remember start with a little and you can build on teh intensity depending on yoru taste. If you wish to get a straight line while contouring, you can use a credit card or business card as a guideline.

 

For plus size women or women with round faces, while contouring your cheekbones you want to start from the top of your ears and downwards towards mid cheek. This gives the illusion of a longer and slimer face and also higher cheekbones.

 

CHECK OUT ADELE'S CONTOURING.

 

 

Best Bronzers : MAC Bronze (For anyone who uses MAC NC 40 and up.) MAC Golden (NC 30 and up ) MAC BLUNT for everyone! Love these bronzers. Remember for contouring you want a matte bronzer.

 

Now to add the color to your face. Your Blush routine.

I feel cream blushes work best in the heat that we have all year round. For round faces you want to go from the apple of your cheeks upwards. However start with a little and then build. You dont want to look like a 19th century lady of the night.

 

Application: Applying a cream blush is fairly easy. You apply it with small circular motion blending it upwards from the apple of your cheeks towards the top of your ear. The blush would go above your contouring and in fact you can blend the edge of your blush with the end of your bronzer for a more seemless.

 

Now you can start with highlighting. To know more about highlighting please visit my blog post.

 

Your makeup will last you the entire day and all you have to do to refresh it is use the MAC Fix plus spray anytime during the day.

XOXO



















 

My Makeup Collection

If you want a review on any product please leave a comment below. 

My Wish List -Putting it out there in the universe

For the past couple of weeks I have been fortunate enough to see quite a few beauty and beauty related products that I will evenutally get or have already received. I thought it would be great to do a top 10 list of beauty products I would love to own.

What do u give someone who has everything?

Something to keep it all in

I recently went to The Beauty Bar in Lokhandwala and fell in love with this beauty. I did a detailed blog post about my experience at their Doll Me up Class
This vanity is called the Leggy Vain Pro Makeup Station with Legs goes for approx 16,500/-


On average women and MUA tend to use 20% of shadows from any particular pallete and not surprisingly the colours used the most are your natural warm colours along with highlighters. I love this product because all the colours are very pigmented, have great staying power and all the colours are ones id wanna use and they also have additional colors to create unique smokey eyes.. I definitely want this product.

The Urban Decay Naked Palette is for about 4500/- and you can get it at The Beauty Bar.


Since im overweight and my heart shaped face is round due to the poundage, i have started contouring my face. However this product is perfect for contouring for most skin tones and I defintiely will go out and pick it up

The MAC Blunt Blush is for about 1150/- at the MAC store.

The one eyeshadow palette that is modern and classic at the same time.

Makeup Forever Flash Palette cost around 5000/-  I love the yellow and the pink next to it. It applies like grease paint, very pigmented.


What is an artist without his tools?
I own quite a few mac brushes and hope to own all these very very soon

Mac professional makeup brushes start at around 2000/- 
You do have cheaper brands with decent brushes, however with MAC the brushes are long lasting and very high quality bristles which ultimately shows in you makeup finish.


No matter how well you can apply your makeup, the best tool anyone can have is good skin. This next skin care product is one i cant to incorporate into my weekly skin routine.

A good Dermabrasion kit can cost anywhere between 5000 to 1000 rupees. However salon treatments are pretty expensive so buying a kit makes sense in the long run.


If you have this combo  5 set of 4, youre literally set for life. It has all the colours you could ever imagine and all the textures possible in an eyeshadow. They are pigmented and last very long especially if you apply an eye primer. I would love to own

Coastal Scents Set of 4 Palettes for $69.95 on their website. Thats around 3700 rs. I think they are worth every penny.
The palettes are
1 Ultra Shimmer Palette ($19.95)
1 Metal Mania Palette ($24.95)
1 Warm Palette ($24.95)
1 88 Original Palette ($18.95)


This next product makes any woman feel lush and youthful and seductive. And you only have to clip them on.

Specifically the ones from luxyhair.com. They have amazing quality and for 160gms its a $140 with free shipping. I think its a deal and plan to get them at the end of the year.


I want to graduate to using this next beauty product to achieve the flawless look

The ones im told are the best airbrush make kits come from Dinair. And they have an amazing range of different colors.

And last but not least the ultimate in beauty for any person...their SMILE!

The Crest 3D White Strips apparently work wonders. And gives you professional quality whitening. However it is a bit costly. Its about $500 in the US. Pretty freaking expensive.
I hope you like this list and please comment below with the products you desire.

XOXO

This is my wish list and no brand has sponsored this post. This is purely what I wish to write about.

Girl meets Miami! Megha Grover en route to Miami

It took me quite a while to sit down and write this post. Not cause I was lazy or didnt know what I wanted to say. But because I was immersed in the preparation in a milestone for my best friend.
Now that the preparation is over and the euphoric feeling has given me goose bumps I now feel its a perfect time to write this post.

I remember in 2008 sitting at my desk with my best friend Namrata behind me and another BFF Ian sitting by my side. We were all intensely looking at our computer screens and typing profusely in unison.
The 1/4 of our little world walked in, looking confused and all typing stopped. I know nowthat, that conversation changed our lives for the better. We said echoing each others thoughts " Don't think about it too much, now that you have realised your dreams and worked hard towards it, quit! We are there to support you." We said that scared ourselves wondering if this was the right advice. It was! She ofcourse spoke to other people and the passion in her eyes made everyone say the same thing. Go after your dreams.

Megha Grover our BFF is on her way to take part in The International Miami Beach Fashion Week. The only woman designer to do so in history. It may have taken some time, it definitely took a lot of hardwork, stress and sweat on Megha's part but she has taken herself to such heights and I can't wait for her to get the success she deserves.

Megha's clothing line for the Miami Beach Fashion Week is amazing. I dont say this because she is my best friend, however i remember thinking when I saw the garments during her catalog photoshoot OH MY GOD! she is soooo talented. I will share the pictures of the clothing line once her shwocase in Miami is over. Which is on the 22nd of March, at the South Beach convention Center at 21:30 Miami time.

I dont want to get into what all she has had to go through to get where she is and how much harder she might have to work to get where she wants to be. I want to savor her success. I want to constantly recall the shrieks of joy i heard when she got her visa.

I write here on behalf of all the people who love her. To tell her we're behind you. We love you! And you have always made us proud. And now its tiem for the rest of the world to know what we already did.
To get updates from Megha, join her FB page
 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141948124482.107601.514484482&type=3#!/groups/MGmembers/

Some great memories!

The Holi Moly Festival Pictoral

Thought I'd share with you guys the highlights of the Holi Moly Festival through a storyboard

Gabriel and I reached the venue early for 2 different reasons, He was showcasing his Road Rage Custom Builds Chopper and I wanted to document the prep work for the festival.

The stage being set for an evening of EDM! and stage right you can see the sheen of an original Road Rage Custom Builds.

oggling

The hottest and official Photographer of the festival

ENJOYING THE MUSIC

To Check out the other pics visit

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151386985150534.833976.644625533&type=1

The HOLI MOLY GIVEAWAY Announcement!!!!!!

So it's time again on Ashes to Ashes to announce the winner for

The Holi Moly Giveaway

Before I announce the winner let me tell you the process of finding the winner.

So I held this giveaway on my blog, Beautylish.com, Facebook and my you tube channel. All the participants from all these different sites were added to randomizer.org and the winner was chosen...

The Winner of this giveaway gets 10 passes for the 14 hours Holi EDM music festival.
They will also get an opportunity to meet the artists.
And get the vlog they make published on my blog.

So here goes. The winner for the Holi Moly Motha of alll giveaways issssssss

Quinton Dsouza (Mumbai)

Congratulations Quinton!!!!!

I'm going to send you a email giving you the details.

HOLI MOLY!! The Motha of all Giveaways!!!!

It's that wonderful time of the year! No! not Christmas...The Festival of Colours ofcourse..HOLI!

This year Mumbai is going to shake to the music of the most amazing artists one could groove to on HOLI!

Where you ask? The Holi Moly festival ofcourse.

So let me tell you a little bit about The Holi Moly Festival

Celebrating the vibrant festival of Holi through music, an eclectic mix of artistes from across continents will come together at music festival 'Holi Moly'.

The 14 hours non-stop fest will create a mix of Indian music blending with other genres such as EDM, Minimal, Electronic House, Dubstep, Trance and Psy Rock.

The concert will commence with a jugalbandhi by DJ Dash in collaboration with Anish (percussions) combining two diverse forms of music.

Watch DJ DASH PLAY AT TRILOGY

Apart from that, the event will also witness the world’s third oldest DJ Cheb I sabbah from USA performing in Mumbai for the first time ever. The DJ will combine tracks like ‘Chhaiya Chhaiya’ with EDM to create a unique musical experience.

Some of Dj Cheb I sabbah's work

From India bands like Phoenyx, Bandish Projekt and Ma Faiza will perform along with Nathan Flutebox Lee from UK and Super evil from South Africa. Organised by Shalom Inc the first edition of the fest will be held on 8 March at TULIP STAR, Juhu, Mumbai.

Bandish Projekt at their best

Watch MaFaiza at Sunburn

Shalom Inc director Rahul Grover said, “The ‘Holi Moly’ festival is a concert featuring unique artistes from across the globe celebrating Holi with music. We plan to make it Mumbai’s biggest concert by playing for 14 hours continuously. Our aim is to serve a unique jugalbandi of the DJ’s blending their music with other artistes creating a memorable experience for the audience. This is the first edition of the fest and we plan to take it worldwide from 2013.
The fest maybe held in Nepal or Bangkok next year.”

Sounds incredible right? Well you dont have to go on my word..YOU! could be there too!!!

Ashes to Ashes would like to present The Holi Moly Giveaway.

YOU COULD WIN 10 PASSES TO THE HOLI MOLY EVENT ON 8th March in Mumbai, MEET THE ARTISTS and make your own event VLOG.

You could be anywhere in the world you can still participate and probably give the passes to friends and family who are in Mumbai.

The Winner will be announced on the 3rd of March 2012.

Rules to the Giveaway

1. You should be a subscriber of this blog.
2. Share The Holi Moly Facebook Event Page
3. Comment below with the words "Holi Moly"

And now to leave you with some Ashes to Ashes' Holi Pasts

The winner of the GlossyBox India Giveaway issss

I am so excited to announce the winner of this Giveaway 3 days late but better late then never...but before I do..LOL i have to tell you what all went behind the scenes....

After announcing the GlossyBox India Giveaway, a few days later GlossyBox informed me and other beauty bloggers that they are postponing their launch tot he end of this year. Obviously they will not be starting membership to their site anytime soon. Now the first thing that I thought of was what about my readers who took part in this giveaway?

I sent them a mail asking that very question. However no reply :-(. So i decided to take matters in my own hands and posted The G
GlossyBox email that was sent to me to help all you guys know what happeneing. I also left a few "What i'm gonna do for you tips".

And coincedently GlossyBox emailed me the very next day, informing me that they will be happy to still be part of the giveaway. ..PHEW!

So from GlossyBox India the winner of this giveaway is getting a 2000 rs voucher for www.jabong.com

So now lets get back to business...the winner of the GlossyBox give away is.....

SONYA CAROLINE SHAH

Congratulations hun!

GlossyBox will be getting in touch with you.

Tomorrow i will be posting about my Holi Giveaway!

SO Keep an eye out for that.

Until nex time



XOXO

Right Kinda Bar - THE BEAUTY BAR

I've never really bonded with bars, don't get me wrong, i've paid my dues with a glass (or should i say glasses) of whiskey during happy hours post work. However, i'm not always up for bar crawling or club hopping.

I now have to recant everything i have said, cause i found the perfect bar. Which? you ask,
The Beauty Bar.

Last month I went to this quaint little store in Lokhadwala, not expecting much and i was pleasantly surprised. Most of the products that I only saw on youtube tutorials or online stores were available and not over priced (thanks to ALL our taxes).

The Beauty Bar has brands like Urban Decay, Too Faced, Victoria's Secret, YSL, Bobby Brown to name a few. After much research, I realized that the most competitive price for these brands was at The Beauty Bar. And the icing on the cake is the 20% to 10% discounts that they offer on selected brands.

What depresses me most is the fact that Beauty products in India are so highly priced. Even though they are half the price or less in the country they are manufactured in. Finding out that these products were available at a reasonable price and i didn't have to mortgage my home to acquire them made me giddy headed.

What I love about The Beauty Bar is the owner Kamya's and a member of The Beauty Bar's team Gunjan, their eagerness to assist you with the perfect product. I had Kamya wip out her own personal products and apply them on my to show me how much I would love them, and I did. Sales techniques you say? hmmmmm I think the difference here is how genuinely they want to help you with good products. they will never encourage you to buy quantity (though its always appreciated) they push you towards the quality of the product and tell you how to ensure its longevity.

I recently attended a Doll Me Up Personal Makeup Workshop hosted by The Beauty Bar and conducted by MUD's makeup artist Shamita Gogia. The amount I learned in basic makeup application was amazing. I have enhanced my knowledge and skill and can't wait to do a professional course to really take it up there.

With only 3 students per workshop, the attention to detail made every minute worthwhile. Shamita was so amazing as a teacher that even though we spend almost double the time stipulated for the class, her quality of teaching and the attention to detail didn't falter. She kept going till we understood the technique.


I am also going to do The Beauty Bar Haul on my Youtube Channel, so stay tuned for that.

So where is The Beauty Bar??? Well I have given you link above, however the easiest way to remember is on the main road where Infinity Mall Andheri and Laxmi Industrial Estate is, It's the lane between the Adhikari brothers (SAB TV) building and The Tanishq store. Once you enter the lane (on foot) you walk for about 5 minutes and you will see a Blue Neon sign saying The Beauty Bar.
Hope you makeup enthusiasts do visit. Let them know i said Hello!

XOXO

From Ashes to You! GIVEAWAY!!!!!! and Valentines Day LOOK

This Valentine's Day Look was inspired by the actress who plays IO in the Clash of the Titans 2010. 

 To check out the Tutorial please check out my Youtube Channel..

And NOW....I take gr8 pleasure in announcing our very first winner for the 

From Ashes to You! GIVEAWAY!!!!!! 

..and the winner is...................... hehehehe check out my tutorial...to know the results!

GLOSSYBOX "My first" GiveAway- UPDATE

Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but at your door step signed

"Your GlossyBox Team".

Pic from : tariatullemakeup.blogspot.com

It was like Christmas morning for most beauty and fashion bloggers in India a few days ago. Why you ask? We all received emails from GlossyBox introducing themselves to us and telling us the amazing news... GLOSSYBOX IS COMING TO INDIA!!!!

What's GlossyBox?

GLOSSYBOX is the leading international e-commerce service aimed at introducing discerning users to new and highly sought-after beauty and cosmetic products.

GLOSSYBOX sends you a beautifully-wrapped box containing a mix of five travel and full sized luxurious products every month to try on in the comfort of your own home.

So now that you know what it is and how wonderful it is....Ashes to ashes in collaboration with GLOSSYBOX is giving you an opportunity to win your first box freeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

So here's my GLOSSYBOX "My first" GiveAway

Giveaway Rules:

1-Follow My Blog .

2-Like GlossyBox Facebook Page

3-Follow me on Twitter

4-Post the following message as you status update tagging @GlossyBox and @aasheianaa

(psssss..Dont forget to change the security setting for the status update to PUBLIC, otherwise we won't be able to see it.)

"I love @GlossyBox, @aasheianaa  which is why I want to get the first Box for free!"

5- In the Comments sections below leave your Name and Email ID and the link to your facebook statue upadte

GLOSSYBOX contacts:

Contact:

ontact@glossybox.in

Website:

glossybox.in

Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/GlossyBoxIN

Twitter:

twitter.com/GlossyBox_in

Facebook: www.facebook.com/GlossyBox.in

The GiveAway is open till the 20th of February, 2012. The winner will be announced on the 25th of February, 2012. Winner will be chosen by randomizer.org