Throw those sponges away!!!

Sorry I haven't been very good at posting lately. 1,000 apologies.

Well if you read my blog and/or know me....you my # 1 rule with make up is to ...
THROW THOSE SPONGES AWAY!!!

I found a good set of affordable, decent make up brushes. They are called EcoTools and I I got a set of 5 brushes, that came in its own roll up case and bought an extra brush, all for under $15!! Make up brushes, especially ones that give you a clean application, and have softer bristles are sometimes pretty pricey. I was doing make up at the salon and the make up case with my brushes was locked (don't ask...), so I ran over to Albertson's or whatever it is now, and bought some temporary ones. Turned out, I loved them! I was pleasantly surprised! So, if you are looking to invest in some new brushes or are finally throwing away the sponges, I say give EcoTool brushes a shot. Better for your make up and they wont break the bank!!

Feel free to email me questions @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com! I promise I will be better at posting tips!!

Glitter Toes

Spring is coming and that means we can finally wear sandals!! I LOVE painting my toes, whether people see them or not, I usually paint mine at least once a week. Well last night, my sister and I were painting our toes and I decided to be festive for St. Patrick's Day and give myself kelly green glitter toes. You can just use any kind of craft or make up glitter. Turns out SO cute and super easy!

Step #1- I always put some kind of base coat on first to prevent my toenails from getting stained and then I apply OPI's ChipSkip. If you don't own chip skip.... get it! It works phenomenally and really helps from polish chipping!!

Step #2- Pick your toenail color and apply one coat to the first foot. You are going to probably want the same color as your glitter.

Step #3- With your glitter sprinkle a liberal amount over each toenail.(Place a paper plate under your foot to catch the excess) Then tap or shake your foot to get rid of the excess glitter.

Then repeat Step #2 and #3 on the other foot.

Step #4- Apply 2 coats of a top coat. I like OPI's rapid dry top coat, Creative Nails Super Shiny Top Coat and Out the Door top coat (which you can buy at Sally's) **After I was down with my Top Coat, I wiped of my brush before putting it back in the bottle, because their will be a bit of glitter on it :) )

I would have posted a picture of my foot, but for some reason the computer isn't uploading the pictures. I hope this finds your toes happy with warmer weather and if you try it, post a comment and let me know how it worked for you!!

Questions?? Love to help, Email me at hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Finding your Foundation

Hey Katch. So as you know Jess and I have worn Mary Kay for years now. Well, we stopped selling it and after a while of having a stockpile, I am about out of foundation. I am really nervous about it cause I have used the same stuff for what feels like forever. Can you tell me a good brand? I dont want to sound snooty about it, but really I havent worn 'store-brand' stuff for awhile, and now Im clueless! Thanks! And really your blog is very helpful :)

Foundation can be a very tricky thing for different people. There is pressed powder foundation, liquid, mousse, compressed in a stick….So first start there. Now depending on your preference on “store” bought or “department” store bought there are hundreds of brands to choose from.

When it comes to foundation and face make up I am very blessed (thank you Mama and Big) when it comes to skin…so I don’t have to spend a fortune on face make up. I personally use Maybelline when it comes to face make up, it’s affordable, doesn’t ever feel heavy, doesn’t make me break out and they have a good variety of tones to make it easier to match what’s good for you. I use their Dream Matte Mousse. It is very light weight (like mousse) but has great coverage that isn’t too heavy and never feels caked on….even when I do break out and need a little more. I have used other store bought lines, and personally that one is my favorite. They also make a really good pressed foundation in a compact if you are someone that needs coverage throughout the day and like to carry it with you. It’s not quite as light as the mousse but it still does the trick.

As far as “department store” brand, I really haven’t strayed too much from eye shadows but when I do make up on clients at the salon I use Mirabella. The coverage is good; however I do feel like they don’t have as large of a selection when it comes to skin tones. Two of my friends are master estheticians and so make up seems to always creep up in conversations, so this is what they love and would recommend… MAC (of course), Urban Decay, Mirabella, Stila and Bare Minerals. My best friend swears by Bare Minerals.

When you have picked out they brand, tone and form of your foundation, sometimes we get put in the predicament of picking from two different tones…. (WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE), I usually would suggest picking from the lighter of the two… too dark will diminish your features and with a lighter shade, you can always tone with a powder and of course bronzer for a healthier complexion!

Sue, I hope this was some help to you and let me know if you need any more assistance on this! Also I would love some feedback on what you guys think....
Feel free to email more questions @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Colorful Lips

Hi Kathie i have a question. I am trying to find the right shade of red lipstick and was wondering if you could help. I am fair skinned and have blond hair that tends to be more on the ash side. Help! Any advice?

Kellie
This is a good question Kellie, and red - bright colored lips tend to scare most people. It is for sure something that forces to girls to step out of their comfort zones.
Generally a rule of thumb that I go by when picking a lipstick for my clients is mostly about eye color. The lighter the eyes, the brighter of lipstick they can usually pull off.

Blue Eyes - Bright Reds
Hazel Eyes - Medium Pinks with a hint of red
Green Eyes -Bright Pinks with hints of fuchsia-y purple
Brown Eyes - Darker Reds with hints of brown or purple depending on skin tone

Think about the celebs you see, when they play up their lips from their regular nude, natural lips... Christina Aguilara - Blue Eyes, RED lips. Scarlet Johansen - Greenish- bright Pinkish red lips. Eva Longoria - Brown eyes, darker red lips. I don't think that bright red lips are necessarily for everyone, but with this guide of eye to lip color works as a good general rule of thumb for me when I am working on others. Don't forget, bright lips need confidence, so if your going to rock the bright lips, Diva it up! :)


I am So glad that I have been getting emails!! I am running out of emails, so keep sending me suggestions!!! How are you guys liking the blog? Feel free to comment, if anything doesn't make sense.
hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Tutorial on Day to Day Make-Up

Next Email:
Hey sis!

Can you give a tutorial on how to properly put on everyday eye makeup? I always love how you make it look, and I always forget how you tell me how to do it! Thanks!

Love ya!
Steph

First off... Steph... thanks for being patient. Second off... I probably get asked about make-up tips from more then 75% off my clients. It is something I enjoy doing and I love to play around with. I am going to give you a tutorial on an everyday look that if you wanted to you could glam up, or tone down with different colors, eyeliners and blending.
First things first, brushes. Go buy yourself some make up brushes.... Beauty Supply Chains, Target, Wal-Mart, Ulta, etc. THEY ALL CARRY THEM! You can get an OK set of brushes at Wal-Mart for under $10. With brushes, you can control your eyeshadow, by just tapping the brush to get excess product off. The sponges that come in the eye shadow's at the store are crap. Toss 'em! You can't control the amount of product on them, their messy, they fall apart, you can't blend very well with them... get rid of them. Ha, that being said.... let's begin.

Step #1:
On a basic everyday look, I usually pick 3 colors and a highlighting color. First, with a your brush, take your highlighting shadow and apply a brush across your upper eyelid... from the crease up. It's just to open the eye's up more. Make sure its a REALLY thin application, your not trying to be Mimi from Drew Carey. Then apply the light color to the entire lid... which doesn't mean to your eyebrow. I mean about 1/4" above crease and down. With the tip of your brush, apply your light color right below your bottom lashes, just lining the underneath. This makes your eyes stand out a little more.

Step #2:
With your medium color, open your eye slightly and brush back and forth in your crease, I like to do about 3/4 of your crease, leaving the crease out that is closest to the center of your eye. Once you've got that on, wipe your brush off and with your clean brush, in a downward, diagonal motion blend the medium color down a little bit onto your lid. This will give it a little more blended look. Then same with the medium color, along your bottom lashes IN THE MIDDLE, line it with a little bit of the medium color. (This is adding some dimension)

Step #3:
With your dark color, get a little bit on the tip of the brush and apply to the bottom corner of your eyelid. You almost want to apply it in a small triangle, and then go out just a little bit, and down under your bottom eyelashes. That way it blends around the outside corner of your eye. Once again, wipe your brush clean, and brush the dark over onto the middle of the lid... again you are trying now to blend the dark in with the medium and light. The more dramatic look your going for, the bigger the triangle in the corner you'll want to start out with.

Step #4:
Eyeliner. Don't be scared of it, it really completes most looks. A good eyeliner application, can make your makeup look like you spend forever on it, so I wouldn't skip this step. For during the day, I like to put on my clients, a little eyeliner in the corner, starting out slightly thicker at the outside corner, getting narrower and end about 2/3 way through the lid. On the underneath, do about a 1/3 of the eye, and then with a Q-tip, smudge it a little on bottom so it doesn't look to hard. For me, to make my eyes stand out just a little more, on top of my regular eyeliner, I add a little line of Victoria Secrets glitter eyeliner. Seriously my favorite stuff!! Then add mascara of your choice and your ready.
:Finished Product: (don't mind my zit by my mouth :/)

A big thing with make up is, practice with colors. One night dedicate with this particular application but try with a little darker of colors. This application with darker colors, makes a fabulous smokey eye. It's all about what you feel comfortable with and most people just need to practice. Make up is fun and there are SO many awesome ways to do it! (Can you tell its a passion of mine lol) A good tip to remember with make up, is lighter colors make things stand out, make features more prominent and darker colors, make things apperar smaller, diminishing features.

Let me know if this made sense or if you have anymore questions! I have officially answered all my e-mails, so feel free to email me more questions and/or ideas!!
hairgoddessblog@blogspot.com

Softness and Shine

Next Email:

Hey Katch,

I'm trying to get back to my natural hair color, but it's been hard because I miss the side-effects of coloring my hair. Whenever I color my hair, it's always really soft and shiny. That goes a way after a while, but at least for a bit I enjoy it. For those that don't color their hair, what sort of things can be done to super charge hair with shine and softness. Good shampoos? Special conditioners? Spa treatments?

Thanks,

Mac


Mac, this is a good question. Your right, it does seem after you get your hair dyed that it always is super shiny and soft for the first few weeks. I have the perfect thing for you, which a lot of people don't realize is a real thing. In some color lines you actually can go get a 'clear' color put on your hair. It is applied the same way any other solid, all over color is... it's just clear. It is essentially used for a high shine, gloss look and to protect the color underneath. Works phenomenally. At the salon on my clients, I also do a deep conditioner but on steriods :). Not only does it make your hair feel like silk, it also restores the hairs pH levels. And the cool thing about the deep conditioner that I use, is that you can pick what kind of treatment you want to focus on, i.e. color, brittle, dry, damged, etc.
As far as shampoo and conditioners that help with softness, my favorite's are :
Fine-Normal hair : Bed Head Moisture Maniac Shampoo & Conditioner Redken Clear Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner
Normal-thick hair : Biolage Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner, Redken All Soft Shampoo and Conditioner
Damaged Hair : Redken Real Control Shampoo and Conditioner, Joico KPAK SHampoo & Conditioner

Also, all of these lines carry a deep conditioner which is ALWAYS good for not only shine and softness, but to help repair limp hair and add extra moisture to your hair and scalp. ** Deep Conditioning Tip : Take a WIDE TOOTH COMB into the shower with you when you plan to deep condition, and once conditioner is applied, comb through the hair, that way you aren't getting it too concentrated in one spot, and it's evenly combed through. You'll get better results this way!**

Hope this helps! Stay tuned... next post is another about makeup!! (Steph... :))
Got a question? Email me at hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

Kardashian Curls

Next Email :

Do you know if there is a 'curling iron' out that does the outside wave (if that makes sense) the kind of curl you can do with the CHI or using a curling iron and wrapping the hair around the base? Listen Katch, I'm lazy, and my hair never wants to curl. I love the look of that particular curl and now with the hair getting longer I want to start curling it, I can get the curl with the CHI about half way then it just stops working, and I burn the mitts the other way and it takes to long. I would LOVE a curling iron that did it for me!!! :)
Celina

Since Celina's email, I have actually done her hair and got the opportunity to show her how to do this particular curl. She wants the equivalent of Kardashian hair... Don't we all!

First, you need to pick your desired size curling iron. I would go with a mid-size curl ironing (3-4"), that way your to start your curls are a little tighter, giving it time to loosen a little and not 10 minutes after you've done it.
Next, section the hair off. On my clients I like to start at the bottom, taking about 3" partings. DON'T forget, use a thermal protectant!!! Curl each piece the same way you would do any plain ringlet curl... your not going to achieve a 'ringlet' because the size of your curling iron, so don't let that scare you. Once you've reached the sections around your face, you are going to want to curl AWAY from your face, this includes your bang section. (Unless you have bangs above the eyebrow.... in that case, just curl under, and finger comb over to the side) I leave the section in your part for last, I like to curl horizontal with my head, and let the curls fall whatever direction. That way it gives it a little more natural volume, and letting it just fall gives it a not 'too styled' look.



**With the Kardashian curl, those girls all rock the center part. As stated before that's not always flattering on everyone but play around with it and see what works best for you. On Celina we ended up with about a 1/2" from the center part which turned out very cute. So it was almost center but not quite, so it was flattering for her face shape and a different look from her everyday hairstyle part.** After you've curled ever piece, to make it more loose and flowy, finger comb through it. Be gentle now, you don 't want to just rake through it. Then finish with a light hairspray. I say light because anything too firm takes the movement out of your hair. But, everybody's hair is different with how it holds, so pick accordingly. I like BED HEAD'S Masterpiece Hairspray, Paul Mitchell's Extra Body Hairspray and Kenra's 25.

Hope this helps any curling questions!
Any questions, Email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com. Have a great weekend

Fit Your Face

My hair is has gotten really long over the last year so I was thinking about chopping it all off to maybe a longer bob (to maybe a bit above the shoulders) but I want to make sure that is a good idea since I have more of a rounder face. I don't want to add attention to where it shouldn't be. What are your thoughts on the bob hairstyle & different types of face shapes?

Thank you!

Kristine


First off, Kristine good to hear from ya! and....I Love bob's. I love how styles come full circle. The bob is a very classic, mod hairstyle, and there are several different 'types', as far as face shapes. You just need to know how to pick it....
The key to any good hair cut to flatter your face is to think oval. Oval is the 'ideal' face shape, so you try to fit to that mold. Here are some guidelines to follow for different face shapes :

Oval - Almost anything goes. And this face shape is usually the ONLY shape that can do a center part.... otherwise, not cute.

Round/Circle - To make appear more oval, make sure you have layers frame into the face from about mid-cheek done. Avoid blunt bangs, and blunt cut bob that's chin length. Either have it above chin length or below. Blended layers work well on this face shape, giving you body everywhere.

Square - Avoid too short of layers, it makes your look more boxy, in turn making your strong jaw line more noticeable. Go for layering chin length down. A soft, full or side bang usually looks good, giving the square shape a little 'softer look'. I would avoid a blunt chin length bob... too boxy. You want most of your volume in the mid-section to help off set the square, not too much at the top.

Heart - Your width in your face is in the check area, so a side, swoop bang looks good.... with a couple short layers framing the top of the face, on both sides. To fill in the 'pointer' chin (or the bottom part of a heart..) go for layering from lower cheek done. Blunt and blended layering usually work for both. You want most of your body to be from your lower-mid section down.


I hope this helps with anyone trying to find a cut for their face shapes. Let me know if you have any other questions! For people waiting for their emails to get answered (STEPH!), I am trying to get to each one in a timely fashion, so stay tuned :)
hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

It's all about the fillers

So what's wrong with using Pert Plus?

Shaun



Now there is a good question that defiantly needs some clarification. Not just the answer 'because their bad'.
The biggest difference is the ingredients. You pay for what you get in my opinion. "grocery store" shampoo and conditioners contain a lot more fillers. Fillers in their products, that aren't necessary better for your hair just cheaper. Which is why you can pay $1.98. Also, their alcohol content is very high, in turn drying out the hair and damaging your hair follicles. With all these fillers, it compromises the cleansing quality, not fully cleansing the hair properly.
Professional brands don't skimp on the best ingredients for your hair. So, therefore it's not going to be as cheap as buying it at the store. They concentrate more on keeping your hair's pH level healthy, leaving it in a better condition, which with all the fillers in others, it's not as much of a priority.

I hope this makes sense, if not Shaun, we will have a chat more about it at your next haircut :)

Beat the Heat

**2nd Email**

If I'm going to straighten my hair almost every day what is the best iron and what products should I be using to prevent damage.

Jana


I actually get this question a lot. First and for most, if you are going to be using ANY kind of hot tool on your hair, please PLEASE from a stylist point of view, use some kind of product to protect your hair....
Ok, in my opionon I would either go with a CHI or a Nano Babybliss. Both are a little pricey, but your hair is something that is always on you, its not like a shirt you can just take off. I will say, that if you have had a bad experience with your CHI iron the last couple of years, they were being made outside the US, but recently because of all the problems (I assume, bc I got A LOT of complaints) they are now being manufactured in the US. A plus to the Nano is you can control the heat. So if you have coarser hair, you can apply more heat so you don't have to straighten the same piece 234 times.
For product, there are a couple straightening products that I prefer. For all hair types and what I personally love the best is Sexy Hair's SMOOTH AND SEAL. They only reason my hair never looks like a scarecrow damaged mess, is because of this! You don't need a lot, and stay away from the roots for the most part. Just a light mist in each section you are straightening. This is essentially like a Biosilk in spray form, so if you spray too much, you will look greasy and have no body. If you have pretty healthy hair and are looking for more of a hold (for those of us who's hair doesn't always stay...), Paul Mitchell makes a product called HOT OFF THE PRESS. This product you also don't need a lot of, it's got the hold of a light hairspray, but not the feel. And my other favorite, if you have short hair and want to straighten it, and then get the messy look, I like Short Sexy Hair's PLAY DIRTY. It's a spray wax, and works phenomenally! It is a wax, so don't get too crazy. Play dirty is great for just a wax too, after you've used something else to straighten. I actually use it for texture a lot in curls, and as a light hairspray for myself to keep my bangs over. At the salon on almost all my clients, I actually cocktail these together.

Hopefully this helps... moral is, DON'T EVER skip on product when using heat on your hair!! Including just blow drying...
Anybody else have ides?? You can email me @ hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

50's Inspired

My first Email (YEAH!) :

I could use a good tutorial on how to do the 1950's inspired hair and make-up (especially with how they do their liquid liner and how to pick a complimentary red lipstick). Just some ideas! Hope all is well :)

Mac


50's is very in right now. For an updated spin on the 50's as far as make up, I feel all stems from the eyes.
First, you are going to want to pick an eye shadow. You want to pick a light, neutral color, (because most of the 'pop' is going to be the eyeliner). A very matte pink or tan is very classic, but I like some shimmer in the shadow, especially since you are doing just one color. The shimmer gives it a more updated look. If you do a shimmer shadow, I would go with either a light pink or a champagne. You want to apply the shadow from a little above your crease and down to lashes, covering the entire lid. I would then use a bigger brush, and lightly brush up toward the eyebrow, giving a blended clean look. Also, to give the eyes more dimension I like to take a small brush and line just under my bottom lashes. (I do this with every kind of make up style to make my eyes stand out more.)
Next, I would pick a liquid eyeliner in black. The 50's look definatley works best with black. I know liquid liner is scary for some people, you just need to practice. I feel like if you start from the middle and work your way out, most of the liquid is used in the center, and that way you don't have a mess in the corner. This is lame, but its all about the wrist with the liquid liner as you come out to the side. You kind of just want to do a sweep to the side. Not too much, because your not doing a cat eye, just enough of a sweep that it is thicker at the edge of your eye then the center. With the excess liquid from the middle (because of the first application of of the bottle), with the very tip just work towards the inside of your eye as thin as desired. Stay as close to your lashes as possible so you don't have some funky white line looking thing between that and your lashes.
As far as mascara goes, You just need a light coat of black mascara. This look is defiantly about the liner and the clean lid. As with blush, a real light matte pink works best.
Now to the lips. Red is very classic, but lets be honest not everyone can pull off the hot red lips. Everyone is different and knows what shades work for them (pinkish, redish, brownish etc.) I would stick with some sort of red but be practical and pick a red in the tone that works best for you. For an authentic 50's lip, I would defiantly stick with a matte lipstick.





As far as hair goes, 50's trends are definatly in. Take bangs and curls for example. Both, you are seeing everywhere.
The best and easy way to do curls no matter what length of hair is to do an at home 'set'. Depending on your desired curl, pick a curling iron in the size desired and have a thermal styling aid to spray hair with before curling. All professional lines have one. Part off into sections, and as you curl, pin each piece. What I mean by that is after you have curled it, roll it back up into a loop and pin it either with a bobbie pin or they make little shampoo set metal clips to pin it in place. SO when your done, your whole head will like an old lady set. Leave curls in the 'set' for at least 30 minutes, (I usually do close to an hour) and take pins out. Just finger comb out for a 'not too styled' look. You'll have soft, pin curl inspired curls that actually last longer then 10 minutes. To really make it 50's curl the front pieces towards the face.
For a 50's inspired SECOND DAY hair do, just pull into a low side pony tail or messy bun, pin up a few pieces up and you look like you've spent forever doing your hair.

Hopefully this wasn't too complicated and I explained everything well enough. Ha, let me know what you think of this first entry and let me know if you have any questions about this look! I love that people have already started emailing me!!

hairgoddessblog@gmail.com

I've decided to take my expertise and put it to some kind of use. I love answering and helping with questions - concerns about hair, make up and latest trends having to do with both. So I am making a blog to help with all those things. I will post answers to questions, and if no questions, I will be posting tips on how to do certain things, trends I am loving and my latest work. So stay tuned and feel free to email me questions you would like answered to my blog email address :
hairgoddessblog@gmail.com