It’s almost the weekend, but that’s no reason to shirk fitness! I’ve been slacking on my Interrogation Station posts, but I did notice that there are quite a few questions about how I stay in shape in there. NOW YOU PAY. I’ll be adding fitness to my Blush Response posts from time to time, starting right now.

So, I loathe gyms. One day I hope to go back to martial arts and/or dance as means of physical maintenance, but for now I do the bulk of my exercising at home. For years I’ve been told I shouldn’t jog or do high-impact exercises because of relatively mild scoliosis, so I usually just do stretches, sit-ups, push-ups, and booty exercises. However, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for a short run a couple of weeks ago, just to see how it would affect me. And because I love running. Ultimately, I was fine, but my knees and back did hurt a little bit. I’ll be checking with a doc next week to see whether it’s OK for me to occasionally run anyway.

Meanwhile though, I needed to find something else to get my blood pumping and my heart rate up. This week Ive been using the video below. Disclaimer: I have no idea what SparkPeople is and I am not endorsing it in any way. However, I recommend this 10-minute ass-kicker to anyone who wants cardio, but doesn’t have much space or time. It’s deceptively simple, but I assure you, you’ll be feeling the benefits within one day. I suggest you keep your arms up and out for most of it for extra toning power. You need: 10 minutes and about 4 square feet. Give it a go and enjoy!

This edition of Blush Response is brought to you by the lush eye shadows of Aromaleigh [again] and the recent Master and Margarita session of Sketchy’s NYC. I was going for an updated super-vamp look when shooting the promo image for this event, with soft curls, dark, smoky eyes and deep cherry lips.

HAIR

1. Separating 2-inch-wide sections, curl with a medium-barrel curling iron
2. Spray each curled section and let cool – I use Big Sexy Hair Spray & Play
3. Once hair is curled and cool, run your fingers through it to transform curled sections from doll-like ringlets into softer waves
4. Use a comb to tease and mess
5. Pin with bobby-pins to taste

EYES

I used Aromaleigh* Victoria’s Revenge eye shadow line for 75% of my look, including blush and eyebrows.

1. Prime. Prime, prime, prime! These shadows do not do well without a base.
2. Dust Cyanide Sorrow all over the upper lid, blending out near the brow
3. Use Magick & Metal to accentuate the crease & lower lash line under the eye
4. With Ruthless Indulgence [hawtt damn I love this one] accentuate the outer creases, blending up and out
5. Highlight the inner lid corners and brow bone with Infernal Chaos
6. Using Prestige liquid eye liner, create a cat eye, then carefully and minimally line around the entire eye
7. Use a small smudging brush and blend under the eye with a bit of black shadow. I used Sugarpill’s Bulletproof.
8. Mascara! Lots of it. I’ve just switched to CoverGirl’s LashBlast Volume, with that adorable rubber brush and I may never go back.

LIPS

9. Line with a dark red liner, then fill in with dark red lipstick — I used cheap-o drug store brands for this and it worked out just fine.

CHEEKS

10. Brush Magick & Metal on your cheeks and blend

SKIN

11. I used Bare Escentuals mineral foundation in Fairly Light. Sometimes I apply my foundation first, sometimes last, depending on how much cleanup I think the eye makeup will need. In the case of extra dark shadows, I tend to do the foundation last.

*Sadly, Aromaleigh is going out of business, but the good news is that they are offering a 35% discount on their site right now, with the code ADIEU35. Go forth and order, before it’s all gone forever!

We meet again, my fellow aesthetes. The occasion? I just got my hands on a myriad of Aromaleigh eye shadow samples and it’s been a while since the previous edition of Blush Response, so I decided to try the new stuff with an eye look I wear all the time: burnished smoke.

It’s a quick and versatile method that’s worked on every face shape I tried it on, back in my professional face-paintin’ days. If you’re not doing this already, I encourage you to attempt it.

I went with shimmery graphite [Soul Takes Flight] and pearl [Air & Light] pigments from Les Papillons collection, and Bette [an instant favorite, just look at it] from the sultry Bete Noir collection. You probably love the product names as much as I do.

Here’s how I engineered this look:

1. After applying mineral face powder and eyebrows, I lined my water line with a black pencil, then added a little liner to the outer corners of my upper eyelids, blending it out with a smudging brush
2. With a sponge applicator, swept a layer of Soul Takes Flight all over my lids and a little under the eyes, then blended out with a brush
3. Brushed Air & Light on to the inner corners of my eyes, then blended a bit over the inner corners of the upper eyelids
4. Applied Bette to the outer creases [under the brow bone] and blended out.
5. Used a bit more of my mineral face powder to highlight along the eyebrows
6. Applied mascara
7. Finished the look with some E.L.F. lip gloss

Somehow, I didn’t have any experience with Aromaleigh products before getting these samples [madness, I know], so today I spent a bit of time poking around their website, and am thoroughly inspired and impressed by the vast array of not only colors, but types of make up. All sorts of eye shadows, eye liners, eye shadow cremes, primers, concealers, powder foundations in an extensive range of shades, skin treatments, etc. – and all mineral. The mind and wallet boggle.

Image from Aromaleigh’s description of their Papillons collection

Verdict: These are among the most multi-dimensional, richest, and longest-lasting eye shadows I’ve used. I’m going to tear through these samples like an SR-71 Blackbird, and return for more.

I’ve owed you a proper makeup tutorial for a long time now, and when this beautiful package from Sugarpill arrived this week, I had no excuses left. My friend Amy just launched this new make up line, and reviews have been popping up like happy spring berries all over the ‘wub. I thought about waiting a little while until the furor simmered down a bit, but after rummaging through the box and being mesmerized by the colors and variety, I decided to go for it, man. Just look at this stuff!

Of course, adorable packaging doesn’t necessarily for a good product make, so I was really looking forward to giving Sugarpill a go. Last night I was meeting an out-of-town friend at The Edison – my favorite place in the world. The atmosphere there is dark and full of magic, especially on a less-crowded and relatively yuppie-free Wednesday night, so I got a little dolled up for the occasion.

Red eyeshadow has been my favorite alternative to black since high school, so when I saw Love, the deepest, perfect crimson pressed shadow, in my Sugarpill package, I did not hesitate. With Love set aside, I gathered the rest of my ammunition and went into battle.

• Royal Sugar – a gorgeous and glittery rich blue loose eyeshadow
• Decora – a sparkling pink loose eyeshadow
• Asylum – a shimmery red
• Tiara – a stunning, glittery silver
• Pressed Eyeshadow Palette

Until now, I have been a little apprehensive about loose powder eyeshadows, but those days are done. I used these both wet and dry, and was happy with the results. Didn’t have any mixing medium on hand, so I used a drop of water for the product around my eyes, and a little bit of body shimmer gel to mix the blue with for my brows.

The breakdown below may look a little complicated at first, but I assure you, this doesn’t have to take much longer than your usual routine if you prepare everything you’ll use ahead of time.

1. Used a dry angle brush to fill in the inner ends of my eyebrows with Royal Sugar, then, for a sharper look, mixed the shadow with a little body shimmer gel, and used the same brush to paint the outer ends.
2. Loaded a cheap-o sponge applicator with Love, and distributed evenly it all over my lids, blending out and up. I also used a bit under the eyes.
3. With Decora on the other side of the applicator, I continued to blend Love out, all around the eye.
4. Dabbed Tiara with a small wet brush on the inner corners of my eyes, then blended it out with more Tiara, this time dry. I can’t sing enough praises to this stuff, it’s so pretty.
5. With a small, wet blending brush applied a line of Asylum, under my eyes only.
6. Used matte white from the palette to highlight the brow.
7. Did my usual cat eye with Prestige liquid liner and added a bit under the eye, at the outer edges and along the water line.
8. My mascara of choice has been L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black for years and years. It’s amazing, buildable, and inexpensive.
9. With a blush brush, dabbed and blended a bit of Tiara to highlight my cheekbones.
10. With the same brush, used Decora as blush.
11. Dusted my face with Prestige’s Skin Loving Minerals powder foundation. It’s half the price of Bare Escentuals and more matte, so I decided to try it. Haven’t researched it properly just yet, so I can’t recommend it officially, but I do really like it.
12. And finished it all off with lip gloss from Smashbox.

Ta-Da!

This is just a fraction of the looks to come, but so far I am 100% into Sugarpill. I can’t wait to play with yellow and gold and green and, and and…! More tutorials to come as time allows.

We’ve endured quite a lull, haven’t we? I give you my penance – the long-awaited eyebrow-drawing tutorial. This is not about tweezing or otherwise shaping natural brows – that would have been a sham! These are my tips, after all, and my eyebrows are nearly nonexistent. So if it’s natural eyebrow advice you’re after, I recommend heading here. Meanwhile, the rest of us will go over ways to enhance or replace brows with the help of cosmetics. Please don’t mind the hair in the photos below – I’m in the process of growing a mega-mane and it does what it wants.

There are two ground rules to fake eyebrow mastery: 1. drawn-on arches must match your natural arches and 2. the inner edges must be blended instead of squared or rounded off. Obviously, neither of these apply if you’re going for Siouxsie brows, or any other type of hyper-stylized brows. We’re not discussing those today. Today is all about an everyday look, but these tips will help you achieve success in all future eyebrow ventures. First, a few shapes to avoid:

1. unnatural arch too close to the center of the eye 2. eyebrows too blunt and too close together 3. Clown

One thing all these fine folks have in common is a complete lack of natural eyebrows. Now, what if you have no eyebrows, or, like me, have very fine eyebrows – how do you find your natural arch and edge, thus avoiding the above mishaps? Just raise, then scrunch your brow while looking in the mirror. It might help to mark these points with liner when you find them. I have a slight advantage because I have very lightly tattooed brows, so I don’t need to look for my arches. See:

If, on the contrary, you have unruly brows, now is the time to tame them. I use a brush with a spritz of hairspray when needed, but there’s an array of specialty products for this very purpose out there, too. Once the hair is in check it’s time to get down to business.

PRODUCTS
Pencil seems to work fine for many peeps, but I find powder easier to blend and less likely to smear. I use Mac eye shadows and my current shade is “Contrast”. It’s shimmery, but with a solid base, goes on evenly and has hints of both blue and purple, which matches my hair. For a more natural look, your eyebrows should be a couple of shades lighter than your hair, but don’t be afraid to play with color. For instance, platinum-haired peeps are generally told to use light brown, but I would love to see more blonds going for a show queen look with white brows, instead. Occasionally, I trade my varying blues for raspberry or emerald shades. Etc, etc, etc – a whole world of color possibilities awaits.

Certain paint brushes cost a fraction of brand name make-up brushes and last just as long, if not longer. Frankly, I pity da fool who spends twenty bucks on an angled make-up brush.My brushes of choice are Blick Masterstroke Short Handles, but the in the photos below I’m using some other type of Blick angled brush.

L – Mac Contrast eye shadow, top R – Blick angled paint brush, Bottom R – brand name eyebrow brush

APPLICATION
If your shadow is pressed, scrape a little into a tiny powdery mound for maximum brush-loading power. I use my fingernail or a sculpting tool. Like the brave brow ninja that you are, dip your brush in, tap off excess product, and lightly outline your desired shape. Fill in the shape, but do not, I repeat, DO NOT square or round off the inner edges of your brows. This is the technique that separates the men from the boys and the eyebrow connoisseurs from rodeo clowns, or whatever else the case may be.

For a softer, more natural look than shown here, use a lighter shade with a dry brush. For a stylized look like mine, wet your brush before dipping it into the shadow. I apply one brow at a time, but it probably makes more sense to oscillate between both. Surely you’ll find your preferred method after a few rounds.

Clean up and shape with a wet cotton swab, remembering to blend after if you’re after a softer look. You can also use a clean brush, but I prefer the swabs, because I can quickly adjust the shape and thickness by removing small strips of cotton.

Now, use a little sheer powder as an anti-smudging agent over your masterpiece and you’re done! If you have eyebrow questions I didn’t  answer, please ask in the comments section. I’ll include them in the post as they arrive.

UPDATE

Readers’ questions, answered!

I worry about the smudge-factor. How difficult is it to keep from ruining your final product?
I find that it’s not that difficult at all, but then I’ve had years of getting used to drawn-on brows. Avoiding touching them becomes reflexive and dabbing translucent powder over them helps seal them quite well. I will say that most, ehm, acts of passion will still smudge them even so. I haven’t tried Benefit’s She Laq yet, perhaps that’d do the trick.

How do you draw them on so evenly?
Knowing where my arches and edges are. Once you find those, it’s all just connect-the-dots.

Is there any special translucent powder you recommend?
Not especially – I use whatever I have on hand. Usually it’s Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil.

What other paint brushes do you recommend for eye makeup, specifically for blending?
Brushes are better when I do others’ makeup, but, even after being a pro make-up artist, I prefer the crappy drugstore sponge applicators. They hold and blend eye shadows evenly and I really just have a knack for using them.

Do you recommend tattooing the eyebrows on? If so, any ideas where?
Yes! I definitely recommend getting them done by a professional technician as opposed to a tattoo parlor. I found mine online!

I really could use a touch-up, actually. The thing about cosmetic tattooing is that it fades, which is nice if you change your mind and hair color often. I had my brows done when I was a redhead but now that my hair is blue I’ll probably have them freshened up a darker, more neutral hue.

Perry Purple by lcrontic.com

Greetings, fellow hair adventurer! I’ve rounded up all the beauty questions from the past couple of weeks and picked the three most frequently-asked for this week’s Blush Response. We’re continuing last installment‘s hair color theme, as it seems the most exasperating of all.

What is your favorite blackest-black dye?

This one’s tough because Feria’s Bright Black, the prettiest, most dramatically black dye out there, fades. It fades tragically, inevitably, quickly. Unless you’re prepared to keep dying every 2 weeks, I would avoid it. Nice N’ Easy’s Natural Blue Black is the best and most fade-resistant I’ve found. However, be warned! It’s practically impossible to remove if you get sick of it. Also, most hair salons will shun you when you come to them begging for salvation from Nice N’ Easy. Learn the secret to removing it at home in the last answer!

How do you go about obtaining and maintaining pure white hair?

Bleach and toner. Really, that’s it. Depending on your natural hair color you’ll have to bleach several times to achieve desired lightness. And unless you want your hair to break off in spongy clumps, you will have to wait two weeks between each bleaching session. Hats and scarves help. As far as specific products go, when my head was crowned with platinum I swore by 40-volume developer [within reason], L’Oreal Quick Blue bleach, and Clairol’s Shimmer Lights line for killing yellow. Do not leave toner in longer than its instructions tell you, unless you want your hair to turn dishwater gray.

Populuxe by ChinaDoll

How did you recover from black hair dye so quickly without killing your hair?

Instead of bleaching, I stripped it, using a mysterious product called “One N’Only Colorfix”. It’s not that this stuff doesn’t damage your hair at all, but it’s much easier on follicles than bleach and I recommend it to anyone wanting to free themselves from a permanent color.  Anyone patient enough to walk around with brassy/orange hair for a couple of weeks, that is. Click the jump to learn the method!

1. Buy Colorfix. It’s also available here – everyone else charges way too much. I suggest getting two boxes.
2. Open box, throw away Processing Lotion. This is very important. Let me explain: basically, Colorfix works by shrinking the dye molecules in your hair. Once you use it, the dye is still there, you just can’t see very much of it. The application of anything involving peroxide while the dye molecules are still there will bring your old color back, like some kind of crayzeh Voo Doo. That’s right, and believe me, I went through this a few times myself, so you don’t have to. You must get rid of the evil dye molecules before you can do anything else, and you must do so qquickly because your hair will darken otherwise. The Processing Lotion actually contains peroxide and will bring your old color back. I don’t know why they include it and, frankly, I don’t care. Just toss the bottle and forget about its unfounded existence.
3. Colorfix. Let the the power of science do its thang. Once Colorfix is on you can cover your hair with a shower cap, or wrap sections of it with tin foil and use a blow dyer to apply heat. This will open up the hair shaft to let dye out, but will also cause further damage. Your choice!
4. After the ‘Fix. Your hair will be brassy and not exactly healthy, but far less so than it would have been after bleaching. Spend the next two weeks shampooing vigorously. Use volumising shampoo to further open up the hair shaft and get the dye molecules out.
5. In two weeks. Conduct a strand test. Use a small amount of either bleach or dye you’re planning on using and let it develop for 45 minutes. If your hair returns to it’s old color, it isn’t time yet. Keep shampooing! Depending on the color you wish you achieve, you may or may not need to bleach. For example, if you’re going a brown or a dark red you won’t need to bleach because it will go over the brassy post-colorfix shade just fine. If you intend to go blond, blue or any light, bright, unnatural color you’ll require bleach.
6. Strand test a success! If your strand test is successful, proceed with bleach and/or color. After you’re all done your hair will not be happy after what you’ve put it through, so condition, condition, condition! Use a protein reconstructor and Jojoba oil masks, but only AFTER you’ve got your final color on. Doing it beforehand will keep you from getting your hair as light as you may need it to be.

A final note about Colorfix: it’s made to remove permanent color. If you’re trying to get rid of semi permanent/vegetable dyes, you’ll have to wash even more after the ‘Fix. Good luck!

The very first Blush Response is finally here! Today, our topic is Color Maintenance. I’m pretty excited to get this one out there because longevity is the most troublesome issue when it comes to unconventional hair color. Sadly, most of the jewel tones we love are made semi-permanent. Upon finally reaching that brilliant shade we’ve been lusting after it’s so disheartening to watch it fade and literally go down the drain wash after wash. It doesn’t have to be this way! Below, my top 4 color maintenance tricks.

1. Magic Mop Mix

So it’s not exactly magic or rocket science, but man is it ever effective. Here’s what you do: combine two parts conditioner to one part hair dye in a bottle.  Keep the bottle in the shower and use this blend exclusively in place of regular conditioner – wear gloves of apply very quickly, as this will stain your palms a bit. Magic Mop Mix will keep your mop’s color poppin’ at least twice as long as with using conditioner alone. Simple, yes? And exceptionally effective. I use Extreme conditioner from Redken’s Extreme line.

This stuff does wonders for keeping my hair shiny and protects it from becoming blue dried-up wads of cotton candy. I also use this line’s shampoo when I have to. I love that it’s X-TREEM, that I can get it at most supermarkets and, let’s face facts, I dig the blue packaging.

2. Shampoo Is Not Your Friend

Though shampoo is your hair color’s #1 enemy, shampooing is still necessary to keep scalps and follicles happy, healthy and free of  buildup. It’s a catch-22 but there is hope. My fellow intrepid hair adventurers, I am here to say that you can extend the in-between periods, thus prolonging your color’s lifespan. If the majority of your head has been bleached, you’ve probably already noticed that it doesn’t need as much washing. This is because bleached hair is more porous than virgin hair, so it doesn’t get limp and oily as fast. Still, if you use a lot of product like hairspray or goop of any sort, you gots to wash every few days, whether you like it or not. If you’re just trying to de-gunk, or perhaps to rid yourself of last night’s curls you can wash with water and condition with your Magic Mop Mix, bypassing shampoo entirely. If your hair is a few different colors, you’ll want to use regular conditioner or devise a separation system. Again, you cannot replace shampooing entirely, but this will keep your color alive and your hair from dying out!

3. Corn Starch IS Your Friend

Miracle treatment! De-grease stringy bangs and roots in seconds! This is beyond simple and I’m always surprised when peeps haven’t heard of corn starch’s hair-cleaning power, so I’m putting it here for all to see and reap the benefits. Just sprinkle a little bit on your hands and run your fingers through dry hair, shaking out excess powder. The starch will absorb excess oil, giving your hair a clean look.  It’s a cheap, simple quick fix for hair you’re not quite ready to wash. It’s also a perfectly respectable alternative to dry shampoo. In fact, some dry shampoos and hair refreshers use corn starch as their main ingredients.

Remember, your hair must remain dry or the powder will cake! You might want to try other starches out there, as well. Be creative, just stay away from using baby powder in this manner – talc was recently linked to cancer.

4. Touch-Ups Without Bleaching

Just what it sounds like! This is especially useful if you have dark hair dyed a dark shade, or light hair dyed a light shade – basically as long as your roots don’t contrast with your dye too much. You can wait a couple of months between attacking your head with bleach simply by dying all over every few weeks.  The color will be back and roots will be tinted in half the time and, if you’re using vegetable-based dyes, with zero damage. My weapons of choice:

• Bowl – it’s a bowl
• Tint brush+comb – I love twirling mine around to comb in dye and ensure thorough application
• Roux CleanTouch – I have this dye stain remover at the ready in case of drips
• Special Effects dye in “Blue Velvet”
• Vaseline – apply this on your hairline, ears and  your neck to keep stains away
• Gloves – I pity da fool who doesn’t use gloves and then spends 45 minutes trying to get dye off their fingers and nails.

Armed with the above, I apply the color all over, adorn my head with a sexy plastic wrap turban and keep it on overnight. I’m pretty sure this is excessive and leaving it on for a couple of hours will suffice just fine.

And there you have it, my beautiful mutants. I hope you find the above helpful and share your feedback once you try these tips! This took longer than I expected to put together, mostly because I received so many great questions about technicolor hair on Twitter – thank you! Because of the sheer volume of your questions I’m going to address them in a separate post, soon. SOON!

My freshly-re-dyed hair on Saturday, by Lou O’Bedlam