Tracey Lennard

Make your teeth look whiter!

2011-08-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hey beauties! Hope everyone is doing well! I have a fun little post for ya today :)

Lets trick some people into thinking we have the pearliest white teeth! This is not a teeth whitening instructional! It's a little trick, or as my boyfriend likes to say a "mindf**k"

These are the products I use to make my teeth look whiter - if I know I'll be taking a lot of pictures and I've been drinking too much tea/coffee over the last few days...

Ok, on to the tips!

So people are naturally attracted to shiny things. It's human instinct to focus on the shiny object rather than the dull, boring one. So make them focus on your pouty, shiny lips and therefore draw some attention away from your teeth!

In color theory, complimentary colours are colours that are opposite to each other on the colour wheel. When placed next to each other, they compliment each other, and when placed on top one another, they cancel out each other. So if your teeth are looking kind of YELLOW, the colour opposite to yellow on the colour wheel is VIOLET, which will compliment anything yellow - exactly what we want it to do!

Violet consists of equal parts of RED and BLUE. Now, I know some people aren't daring enough to rock a pure violet lip out in public. But perhaps a blue-based red lipstick?

Some options are:

MAC Ruby Woo

MAC Russian Red

Maybelline Red Revival

NYX Black Label Hebe

Avon Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick: Starlet Red

On to what I did!

1. - Exfoliate your lips (however you please - rub them on a clean towel, brush them with your toothbrush, or get fancy and use a lip scrub) Chapped up bright lips are NOT cute.

2. - Condition your lips! Any lip balm will do - even vaseline will do the trick. My lip balm of choice is EOS in Honeydew

3. - Wait for the lip balm to absorb into your lips for at least 15 minutes! Move on to your face, do your eye makeup or anything else to kill time. After the 15 minutes is up, blot your lips on a paper towel/facial tissue! Excess moisture will cause your bright lip colour to feather, which is...again - NOT cute!

4. - Apply a matching lipliner to the perimeter of your lips. Try not to overdraw them too much. Stick to your natural shape. You'll want to take your time with this. Precision will make your lips look crisp and more aesthetically pleasing, therefore further drawing attention away from your teeth. Fill your lips in with the lip liner and then blot to remove excess product.

5. - Apply your lipstick with a lip brush. I stress on using a lip brush because you've just spent possibly about 3 - 5 minutes perfecting your lip shape and you don't want to be sloppy and mess it up now! Take your time with this as well! Blot lips once more and re-apply lip color. This will increase the longevity of it.

6. - This step is completely optional, but it adds a fun twist to a classic red lip AND it creates more dimension AND has a violet pop of colour which will further draw attention away from any yellowness! PERFECT! My secret weapon is the MILANI Lip Flash in the colour Star Flash. It is a sheer baby pink colour shot through with gorgeous violet shimmer! It looks completely weird if I use it by itself, but if you put it on top of another lip colour, it looks pretty damn gorgeous. It's visually pleasing and in theory, it will draw attention away from your teeth and brightenup your face. I apply this to the centre of my lips and then press them together to blend the colour outwards. If you follow these steps, it should look something like this.....

Feel free to add some lipgloss on top to add to the shiny-distracting factor. I personally don't enjoy glossy red lips as they are too difficult to maintain. They are also more likely to feather. If it's windy out, you risk having that streak across your face that you get when your hair sticks to your lips then slides across your face. Cute?? Nah, didn't think so. However, if you've got short hair, rock it! It will look gorgeous for sure!

Hope this was helpful! Enjoy your pearly whites!

I'm Alive!

2011-06-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

My last post was just under a WHOPPING YEAR ago! Craziness. I know. Apologies :(

But basically I'm back. Not going to make any promises about how often I'll post, but I'll try to post more often than once a year =/ lol

I moved back to Trinidad. Finished my course in Toronto (YAY) and I've been freelancing here. I've also been making feather earrings that can be customized by YOU! Delivery is via TTPost, currently only delivering to T&T residents.

Let me know what you want to see! Other than that, I'll continue to post makeup tips!

Tip # 3!: Conceal those bags!

2010-07-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

Personally, my under-eyes aren't blue (or red). They're actually not even noticeable. Sometimes they may look a little dark though, but nothing too bad, so going over it with just foundation is sufficient for me.

However, I have some tips on concealing your under-eye bags. First you must determine the color of your bags.

Using a color wheel is the easiest way to make any sense of this. When you figure out the color of your under-eye circles, you must then neutralize them using the color opposite on the color wheel from the color of your discolouration.

For example:

You have redness (usually caused by irritation, if you have sensitive eyes) you would use the color opposite red on the color wheel, - GREEN. However, as it may look strange to put the color green under the eye, and if not done carefully, can make you look truly ill, you can use a color that is more similar to skin, that still has qualities of green in it, like - YELLOW.
If you have blue under-eye circles, you would use, - ORANGE or a color that has qualities of orange in it to cancel out the blue, like - PEACH or SALMON.
Now, if you have just simply dark circles (usually just a bit darker than your own skin, seem mostly in indian women) then you would need to use a color that will brighten the area. This is not shown on the color wheel. But the color that has the most brightening qualities is - PINK, so you'd use something with pink in it to brighten your dark circles.

I would NOT advise that you use the common tip of applying a concealer 1 to 2 shades lighter than your skintone to your under-eyes. This just makes your under-eyes appear to have a ghostly white cast in pictures.

To apply the concealer:

Pat the it ONLY where the opposite color is visible. NB. If you put pink concealer where there isn't anything dark to neutralize, it will show up truly PINK.
After it's patted on where you need it, blend and smooth it out so it looks seamless.
Don't forget to set your concealer by lightly patting powder over it! This will keep it in place.

If you actually want to purchase concealers that will cover under-eye circles, you can consider:

Your color match in MAC-NW. If you don't know what to ask for, just tell the lady at the counter that you want a concealer for under-eye circles, SPECIFICALLY.
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage
L'Oreal True Match Concealer - go for the "C" shades or cool shades. These are more pinky

These are just a few that you can choose from :) There are TONS out there, but I'm only human. Definitely haven't tried all.

Hope this post was helpful!

Tip # 2!: Don't put a crease where there isn't a crease!

2010-07-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

So monolids. The "asian" eye.If you try to put a crease on these, it ends up looking like a harsh/messy line just floating awkwardly above the eye.

So don't get me wrong. Not ALL asians lack a crease. I'll show a picture of one that works.

This works because her crease, though not obvious, does not conceal her entire lid. There's just a subtle dip where her eye socket is.

However when the fold of the eye droops over the lid, covering it completely, faking a crease above this can simply look like you have 2 creases. Just plain ridiculous!

My favourite actor in Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh, has a monolid. Here's a picture...

Can you see how a crease on her would look silly?

So what should be done with these eyes? Well, there are still a lot of options, so don't be discouraged. Smoky eyes look amazing on monolids, as well as thicker, elongated "cat" eyeliner. Also, I don't know if it's just me, but asian women can pull off the fake eyelash look for everyday wear. I can't, and really wish I could!

However, with prosthetics, anything is possible! :D Just for fun, my lovely friend, Jenna!

She was given a monolid on her left eye :) Enjoy

Tip # 1!: Keep your body and your face in sync!

2010-05-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

I see this A LOT! Especially with my lovely Caribbean ladies. Girls like to use creams or lotions that are luminous/iridescent or just straight up glittery. But then they will slap on some powder foundation and head out. Powders usually make the face flat and matte, in contrast with the luminous and dewy looking body. You end up looking dull or unhealthy.

I have a good example here. This is Gwen Stefani ft Eve - Rich Girl. Look at Eve's body and her face. It looks significantly lighter than her body, and 10 times duller! You don't want to make this mistake, especially if pictures will be taken!

So how do you fix this? Well for one, make sure you have a good match for your foundation. This means that when you apply and blend it into your neck and chest area, it disappears. (It's good to match on your neck and chest area first, so that the area will be uniform. If you face is a different color than the rest of your body, matching makeup to your face and applying it will just amplify that. You usually like to aim for a clean, uniform canvas.)

Secondly, make sure your foundation has luminous qualities to it. If you love powder, make sure it's mineral, because minerals tend to provide a glow. But liquids and creams are also an option. If you do not have a dewy foundation, add a liquid highlight to it, or even a finely milled powder highlight. If you don't have any of these, and just have your powder foundation, but would like to avoid this problem, spray your face with some water (Sacha fix it spray or MAC fix plus will do the same thing AND it will set your makeup.) This will take away from the powdery look and reduce dullness.

Crazy News!

2010-05-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

Been missing again, I know. What's new?

But I got some crazy news. I am no longer in Trinidad, but I'm in Toronto, going to a Makeup Academy downtown! I'll figure out whether I want to tell you which school it is or not =P

So from now on, I'm gonna try to give you all some tips and tricks that I either learned there or figured out on my own. Cuz makeup should be fun, but bet your bottom dollar it would look 10 times better if you knew some basics and use it to enhance what you got instead of just slapping it on. But imma still keep this fun =) Take care bloggers!

Next post will be a tip!

Northern Lights Aurora Inspired Makeup

2009-11-12T05:44:00.001-08:00

Yep, this is in response to Leesha or xsparkage's makeup on the Northern Lights.
Do enjoy! <3

Update!

2009-11-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hey! How is everyone? Sorry I've been MIA for a while, once again. I have personal problems I'm trying to sort out. But I decided to post a few pics of what I've been up to lately :) Hope you like it!

<3 Tracey!

Makeup 5/08/09

2009-08-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

Using eyeliner ONLY! I know, I missed the deadline for Marlena's weekly challenge, but i still wanna show you what I came up with. The lighting did not do some of these pictures justice!

my hair got in the way here =/

Makeup 21/06/09

2009-06-28T18:55:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted one of these in forever. So here's something special =)

CARIB INSPIRED MAKEUP!!!
For my international followers, Carib is a Caribbean brewed beer and one of my personal favorites, regardless of what people have to say about beers tasting like "horse piss." Like they have really tasted horse pee already? lol

Btw...
*********READ!!!!********
The reason I put my youtube channel address on my pics, is so you can get to it, if you want to request a tutorial for that look =)

Avon lipstick and lipgloss swatches

2009-05-30T23:08:00.001-07:00

Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick: Deep Blush
This lipstick is relatively new. It had a plumping/ moisturizing core that makes your lips tingle. It has a minty chocolate scent. Good color payoff but not long wearing. If you eat or drink, you may need to apply it again.

Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick: Starlet Red
A creamy semi-sheer blue-red lipstick. Great color payoff but not long wearing. Has a minty chocolate scent like the one above.

Twist and Glide Lipgloss: Caramel
This really has a caramel-ish scent!
Really sheer, and moisturizing.

Perfect Wear Lipstick: Coral Reef
This has to be my favourite formulation of lipstick from Avon.
So creamy, lasts FOREVER and smells like heaven.
Only downside is that it feels dry after a few hours if you're not wearing a lip conditioner.

Pro-to-Go Lipstick: Intimate Nude
This particular lipstick can't seem to stay on my inner pout. When I talk it wears off quickly.
Very creamy. Interesting one handed lipstick application possible, lol.

Pro-to-Go Lipstick: Cherry Glisten
I adore this color. Really glossy but a little sheer. Downside is that you have to apply it every hour or so. It's the featured color. Reese Witherspoon really rocks it =O

Perfect Wear Extralasting Lipstick: Forever Fuchsia
This is my absolute favourite! Pinky-lavender. I love the color. Matte finish. The formula isn't drying at all. It's long lasting and creamy. Sigh. MY LOVE <3

Perfect Wear Extralasting Lipstick: Eternal Flame
This is a very pigmented blue-red. Super creamy and long lasting. There is no shimmer or sparkle to it. Simple and gorgeous.

Perfect Wear Extralasting Lipstick: Enduring Wine
This is another story. I loved it on some of my clients. Not on myself. It makes my lips look diseased. It stays on well though, and creamy as the ones above. It's shimmery though.

Glazewear Liquid Lip Color: Real Red
This is an insanely gorgeous blue-red. Makes my teeth look whiter. Great pigmentation. Very creamy. Makes me want to keep rubbing my lips together because it feels so nice. Staying power not fabulous though. As expected with such a bright lipgloss.

Glazewear Liquid Lip Color: Chic Mauve
A muted lavender color. Can make certain skin tones look pale/ill. Extremely creamy. Lasting power is decent.

Glazewear Liquid Lip Color: Tickled Pink
Pink with shimmer. Creamy. True to color. Good pigmentation.

Glazewear liquid lip color: Rave
Annoyingly sheer with random chunks of glitter that spread all over your face within a few hours.

Glazewear liquid lip color: Charmed Rose
Same as above, without glitter.

Glazewear Diamonds Lipstick: Ruby Slippers
Really sheer, but so moisturizing. Great for everyday use. Contains very fine glitter. Like a gloss and sheer color in one.

Glazewear diamonds lipstick: Coral Goddess
This was one of my favourite colors for a few months. It really brightens up my face.

Ultra Color Rich Lipstick: Cherry Jubilee
This looks black in regular lighting. Quite scary. GORGEOUS when applied. Blue-brown-red. Improved formula. Creamy and long lasting. It actually stains your lips =O

Ultra Color Rich Lipstick: Frozen Rose
Very sheer and frosty. Doesn't stay on my inner pout. Alright for everyday use. Not true to color. Older formula.

Ultra Color Rich Lipstick: Sparkling Warm Rose
Sheer and frosty. Not true to color. Not long lasting. Older formula.

Some tips on working with mature skin

2009-05-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Mature skin can be tricky to work with. This post can be helpful for those who would like to do makeup as a profession, or just be able to do their mother's or grandmother's makeup for any occasion.

Of course, depending on the type of skin the person has, and the effects of sun damage, etc, application techniques will vary. Lets say 50+. The type of skin we are working with has reddish age spots from sun damage, wrinkles and dark under eye circles.

1.) The best way to conceal the reddish age spots would be to neutralize them with a green concealer. This may sound crazy, but when you go over it with your foundation, it will not look green. MissChievous (youtube) has a wonderful video on color correction.

2.) When working with wrinkles, you must be careful not to tug on the skin, because you may contribute to even more wrinkles. So for eyeliner, don't pull down on the waterline. For eyeshadow, don't pull the eye across to get a smoother application. (THIS ALSO APPLIES TO YOUNGER FOLK WHO WANT TO PREVENT EARLY AGING.)

Also, avoid shimmery products on the skin. That means bronzers with glitter/shimmer, sparkly highlighters, (MAC's Mineralize Skinfinishes). Pretty much anything with glitter/shimmer/sheen/sparkles. It will just settle into the wrinkles and make them 10 times more pronounced.

3.) For dark under eye circles, a salmon/peach colored concealer should be used to neutralize it, followed by foundation.

*** A tip on reducing puffiness is to use tea bags on your eyes. Green tea has caffeine which is anti-inflammatory. You make your tea as you normally would, but before you add anything to it (if you do), remove the tea bag, and freeze it overnight. When you wake up, wrap the tea bags in napkins and place them over your eyes for a few minutes. (15-20 minutes usually does it) And your eyes should no longer be swollen! ***

4.) It is very easy to make more mature skin look ashy, so I prefer to use liquid foundations. Be careful when setting with translucent powders, because applying too heavily can also make the person look ashy. I've used MAC's mineralize skinfinish natural to set liquid foundation with no problems on mature skin.

5.) On an everyday basis, try to keep things natural. Fill in brows lightly, avoid dark colors and shimmer. While deeper lips are probably what they prefer, try going a little lighter. Corals usually wake up most skin tones. Light tints on the lips or sheer colors rather than opaque colors make a huge difference! The idea is to create a more youthful and awake look.

** If you so desire to do a smokey eye, and the person's lids are a little "droopy" (for lack of a better word), it probably isn't the best idea to use black to create the smokey eye. Try bronze and browns, even blues. Gold will also work, but use it carefully. A little shimmer is ok, once it is controlled.

6.) So avoid black eyeliner. On the waterline especially, because it really closes up the eye, making the person look tired. Brown eyeliners are great though (eg. Teddy by MAC). In some cases white eyeliner will look great on the waterline, but it's my preference to use white with light to medium skin tones. A light yellow toned eyeliner should work with all tones, though.

7.) Avoid using really bright colors like an electric blue (eg. Freshwater or Electric Eel by MAC) because it will draw the eyes downwards, and probably put emphasis on the wrinkles there.

***My little disclaimer***
I am not a professional, but these are things that I have discovered from my experiences with working with mature skin.

I hope this was helpful.
Tracey.

Makeup 12/05/09

2009-05-11T23:25:00.000-07:00

Was supposed to be drag makeup, but I got side-tracked. And it turned out slightly Arabic.

If anyone wants to know the products used, please leave me a comment and I'll start back filling it out. I'm still unsure of whether it makes sense or not.
Thanks!
<3 Tracey.

Makeup 07/05/09

2009-05-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

It reminded me of mermaids. I found my makeup was mostly dark lately. I tried to do some more color, but hey, still kinda dark. What can I say? I like dark.
This looks clubbing-ish.

Btw, should I continue to list the products used? I was thinking it is kinda pointless, unless I do a tutorial =/ I'm really not sure about it though. There are so many youtubers who do makeup already. There's bound to be one who did that look or something similar already, you know?

Opinions please!
<3 Tracey

Makeup 05/05/09

2009-05-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

Makeup on 05/05/09

The eyes were inspired by this pic

Coastal Scents 10 Blush Palette Swatches

2009-05-04T21:50:00.001-07:00

Look what I found in one of my plants!

2009-05-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

They looked so cute. Such personality too! lol

Makeup 03/05/09

2009-05-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

Makeup on 03/05/09

Products Used

These palettes:

The colors I used are circled
=)

(Click the image to enlarge if you can't see what is circled)

Eyes:
MAC Painterly paint pot
Avon Uplifting Mascara
Sacha Cosmetics Palette & Single Eyeshadow (circled)
Coastal Scents 88 Palette (colors circled)
Physicians Formula Black angled eye liner

Lips:
Avon lipstick - frozen rose
MAC lip gelee - amber russe
MAC tinted lip conditioner - Petting pink

Face:
MAC studio fix fluid NC42 mixed with Clinique perfectly real foundation -24
MAC select cover up NC42
Coastal Scents Blush (circled)

Makeup 30/04/09

2009-04-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

MAKEUP ON 30/04/09

My youtube channel:
www.youtube.com/twistedchick6

Enjoy!

Products used:

Face
MAC studio fix fluid NC42
MAC select cover up NC42
MAC mineralize skinfinish natural - Medium Dark
MAC grand duos blush - Earth to Earth

Eyes
MAC e/s - Trax, Fig. 1, Plumage, Carbon, Freshwater, Grain
Physician's Formula angled eye liner
Avon uplifting mascara
MAC painterly paint pot

Lips
MAC tinted lip conditioner - petting pink
NYX round lipstick - Rea
MAC lip gelee - Amber Russe

Clinique Acne Solutions Review

2009-04-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

I started using this stuff a little more than 2 months ago. I had used proactiv before that, but where I live, getting proactiv is pretty difficult. I had started to give up hope cuz I was under massive levels of stress from my exams, family issues, etc. My skin is usually pretty good, but I break out when I'm really stressed out. So I was, and it was the painful, red type of breakout. Gross, right?

Well I decided to go to senses (the clinique, estee lauder place, not the club, lol) and I was talking to a woman by the clinique section. She recommended this after I told her my problems. I started using it immediately.

Within 1 week, my skin had visibly improved. The redness was reduced greatly, and the biggest portion of my breakout was gone. My only complaint from using it for the first 3 weeks was that it dried out my skin. The spot treatment in particular REALLY dries out your skin. But the acne goes away within 3 days and the skin dries up and peels off within a week. It tingles a little too after application.

The scent of this stuff is kinda medicinal. Well, you know clinique is fragrance free, but the scent is quite bearable. Nice in a strange way.

So after using in for 3 weeks, my skin was back to normal. I was so pleased! I had been using it twice a day previously, so I reduced it to once a day (at night, before bed) just to maintain. And the dryness was OVER! I've had great skin since.

And I'm currently in national exams, and under massive stress, and I honestly expect to break out a little soon, but I haven't yet. Keep you updated on that =)

So overall, I give this 2 thumbs up! Great product. In Trinidad the 3 step system plus the spot treatment came up to a little over $300TT. It's a great investment. And after your skin clears, with the once a day usuage, you should be purchasing it every 2 months or more. So not bad, right?

Thanks for reading!
<3 Tracey

Coastal Scents Swatches

2009-04-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

88 Palette Swatches

The link to the vid here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E-ku43zEBI