5 Beauty Videos You Must Watch

1. Cosmetic Viking: Pixie Epoxy

If you’ve ever wonder what eye shadow primer, or Pixie Epoxy is, and how to apply it, just ask Brian of Cosmetic Viking! In his video, Brian explains a little about primers, how to use them, and what they do.

 

2. Enkore: Colorants 1 & 2

Have you ever wonder what your eye shadows are made of? Koren Zander of Enkore Make up explains different types of pigments, their uses, how they react to water (which has been a somewhat popular scandal with pigments and some make up companies), and other valuable information. It’s a recommended watch for anyone who buys indie make up

Part 1

part 2

3. Glitter Glossary: Clean Brushes

Keeping your tools clean is an important part of keeping bacteria out of your cosmetics. This video from Elle Fowler is a nice little example of how to clean your brushes. Especially good for beginners!

4. Expert Village: How to Apply Mineral Make Up

This is great beginner tutorial for anyone who hasn’t used mineral make up before. It has a nice demonstration of how to get the most from your mineral application.

5. Petrilude: How To Use Pigments

Josh or Petrilude has an excellent video on pigments, and all the fun things you can do with him. It’s a great video to learn a little more about your make up, and to get some fun, unusual idea. Definitely a must watch in my book.

I hope you all liked the videos! If you know any good ones you think everyone should watch, just add them to the comments.

-Tina

Other Uses for Loose Eye Shadow Pigments

It was recently brought to my attention by April of Blacksburg Belle, that most people might not know that eye shadows can be used for more than just your eyes. Now, this is the important part: you need to be very certain that your eye shadows are approved for use on other areas of your face!

Our Dark Heart Designs eye shadows are approved for use on lips, eyes, face, and nails. Here’s a few simple ideas:

Lips: Mix your eye shadow with lip gloss or lipstick for a sparkly, shiny lip

Face: Shadows can be used as a different color blush, or to create fancy designs, like I’ve done here:

Nails: Add your shadows to clear or colored nail polish to make a new color, or change the shade of one you already have.

Here’s a few videos to help you get an idea on other uses for our shadows:

Petrilude’s video on how to use pigments:

One way to use pigments in nail polish:

 

I hope this post gives you some ideas on all the uses for our eye shadows. Please be aware that this post is only for Dark Heart Designs shadows. If you’re going to use another brand, please make sure that it is approved for the area you’ll be using it in. Thanks for reading everyone!

-Tina

Tutorial Tuesday: My Beautiful Zombie

While I was working on the feature for Absinthe, I decided to go ahead & make the tutorial as well. I already had a little bit of an idea in my head from Wendi, and her makeup zombie challenge. Now, here’s what you’ll need:

Dark Heart Designs colors:

• Absinthe Shadow
• Paparazzi Shadow

Other makeup I used:

• Mary Kay Foundation 
• Blush (A trial type of my own)
• Avon Eyeliner
• Avon Mascara
• Morgana Cryptoria Turquoise Lip Stick
• Covergirl dark brown shadow to shade brows (this should match your brow color)

Optional:

• Urban Decay Potion Primer for setting eye shadow

The look:

 
1. Start by applying a light facial moisturizer, and then apply your foundation, blush, and whatever else you use personally. I do my brows before my eye shadow. To do this I fill them in with a small brush and a shade of eye shadow that matches my brows. If you’re going to apply eye shadow primer, you’ll want to do it now.

2. Apply Absinthe on the lid & brow bone, blending with Paparazzi as you go towards the brow. Finish your eyes off with eyeliner and mascara.

3. To do the cheeks in this look, get a small amount of Absinthe on a blush brush, and continue to add and blend until you have a green tint.

4. Finish the look off by using a dark blue/green lipstick, such as Morgana's Turquoise. I also applied Absinthe over the top of my lipstick and blended it in.

I hope you enjoyed this look. It's a little unusual, but a lot of fun to play around with.Until next time!


-Tina
http://www.etsy.com/shop/darkheartdesign

Stencil Tutorial Part 2 - Using the Stencil

I realize this is a little overdue, but here is the second part of my stencil tutorial that will show you how to use the stencils you made in this post.

First off, you're going to want to apply the stencil sticker to your bare face. If you have any make up on under it, the adhesive will pull it off. I go ahead and finish my make up on every part of my face except for the area that I use the stencils on. I find it's easier to complete your eyeshadow before adding the design.

Now, place the trimmed stencil on the area of your face that you'd like to put the design on. I usually do this around my eyes or on my cheeks. When I'm ready to use the eye shadow for the stencil, I get a small plate or lid to dump a small amount of powder on. I then mix water into the shadow, a drop at a time until I have a thick, liquid consistancy. It's important that you do not add water to your eye shadow jar. Always get another container and dump a small amount out. If water gets into your shadow, it will cause bacteria to grow in it.

While the shadow is still wet, brush it over the main area of the stencil. Do this until you have enough shadow on there to cover the area like this:

Let the area dry for a moment and then slowly peel the stencil off. It should look something like my stars here:

The silver is a little difficult to see. If you use a darker color, it will be a more prominent design when you're finished. Now that I've finished with the stencil, I use a brush to touch up my foundation around the area & add some lip gloss.

If you use a darker color it will look more like this:

If you need to touch up your lines, use a damp brush with a fine line. I've had the designs smudge on me when I get clumsy enough to rub my face.

Stencil Tutorial Part 1 - Making the Stencil

 I apologize for taking so long, but here is the first part of my stencil tutorial.

What you'll need:
Adhesive Sticker Paper (Available at most office supply store or online)
A razor knife or any other good sharp knife you might have
A piece of cardboard to avoid marring any table tops, etc. when cutting

First off, you'll want to find a design you want to use for your stencil. I've found the easiest way to do this is to look for silhouettes. The simpler the design, the easier it is to make a stencil. I picked this set:

Image Credit: Istockphoto

I used paint to isolate the shooting stars on the left middle of the image by coloring over the other designs with white.

Next you'll want to print the design on adhesive paper. Make sure that you print your design in a small size such as one inch, two inch, etc. so that it's not to big to use. The one I use here is about two inches by two inches. I've also printed a few designs so I'm not wasting paper.

Now you'll want to put your design over a piece of cardboard and cut it out carefully with a sharp knife. It's easier to cut from the outside lines towards the center to keep from tearing the paper. 

Now that you have all of the designs cut out, trim the sticker paper to fit the area that you're going to be using it on (ie. your eyes, cheek, etc.)

Your completed stencil should look similar to this. Now you're ready to use it! Here's some more advice:

*If you want to use the same design on both sides of your face, be sure that you flip/mirror the image so that you have opposites. 

*Larger designs are easier to cut out. If you have trouble try using those kind first to get some practice.

*It's best to use a razor knife or Xacto knife to cut the design & be sure that you protect the surfaces that you're cutting on.

Still having a hard time? I've been thinking about adding stencils to my shop. Comment on the blog and tell me what you think! I'd love to hear it.

I'll be adding a tutorial on how to use the stencil you've made soon. I thought it would be best to do this in two parts. Thanks for reading!