MAC Cosmetics

Be Bold

Hello gal pals!!! I just hosted my first Makeup Seminar, and wanted to thank everyone who attended the event!! It was such an amazing night- full of laughter and lots of girl talk!! We had healthy food, yummy sweets, champagne, coconut water, amazing flowers, girly music!! Ah! It was a perfect group of ladies too!! I hope everyone had as much fun as I did!!

I demonstrated one of my favorite looks right now, and thought I would give those who were not able attend a brief overview so you can learn how to create this look too! It was all about creating a flawless complexion paired with bold brows, bold lashes, and a fun bold lip!!!! 

Skin Prep

I am going to say something crazy...Prepping your skin is more important than the actual makeup application. What??? I know it sounds odd, but it's so true!! Always cleanse, tone, detox, and hydrate-especially under the eyes!! Next apply an oil control primer in your T-Zone and/or a hydrating primer in the drier areas like your cheeks! Diffusing shadows and texture is another great trick to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and sun spots before even thinking about foundation. Products like Dior's

Dreamskin

or Buxom's

Divine Goddess Illuminator

 are perfect to make the skin appear youthful and more even!

Complexion

When your complexion is clean and appears flawless- bold makeup will take on a more natural look, and won't look so wild! Apply your foundation and concealer first, and instead of using a bronzer in a powder formula, try a cream foundation in a deeper hue. Here I am using

Bobbi Brown's Foundation Stick in Warm Almond

to contour the cheek bones, forehead, jaw line, the nose, and a little under the bottom lip! I like to blend this darker foundation color into the complexion with my all time fav brush The

#130 Short Duo Fibre

by MAC.

Next add some life to those cheeks! My only rule is to match the blush and lip color for a cohesive look! Think about the undertone! Red goes with Red, Blue/Red pairs with Blue/Red, Yellow/Orange with the same undertones,  and so on with Red/Orange!

Adding a contour underneath the bottom lip and a hightlight or a glow on the top of the lip/in the bow of the lip can visually enhance the size of our lip shape. I like to add a little bit of

Baremineals Queen Phyllis 

 eyeshadow right in the bow of the lip - it catches the light perfectly and in my opinion looks better than drawing over the lip with lip liner.

Brows

Bold brows are on every gals mind right now, and the bolder the brow the more youthful we appear! But what about all the ladies who over plucked? Maybe you're experiencing hormonal hair loss, or you've got some wiry little gray hairs all of a sudden?! There are

pencils

out there to help you create new shapes, but you have to be careful with how boxy the front ends up. We don't want our brows to be too obvious or appear fake! I like to draw one line under the brow to create a seamless line - than I go back with a brush to soften and lift the product into the rest of the eyebrow. If you have empty spots, go back in with a quick hair-like strokes to create a fuller appearance. Try a

brow gel

for those wiry little guys and remember to comb upward - this will create a lifted appearance for the eyes and face making us seem more awake and lively!

Eyes + Lashes

BIG + BOLD lashes make you feel sexy! Here are a few tricks to make what you got look a lot fuller! 

1. Curl the lashes 

2. Apply

Dior's Lash Maximizer

- Wiggle the brush at the base of the lash, and than pull into the tips of the lash. Let this dry for a few moments! 

3. Apply your favorite mascara with the same application technique - base to tip! 

4. Apply some

small individual lashes

on the outside of the eye, and

mini individual lashes

on the inside of the eye to create a fuller appearance. Remember to glue them onto the actual lash- do not apply the tip of the false lash to the skin! Try a

black glue

so there is no shiny residue to be seen. 

5. To finish this look, add

Dior's Blackout

mascara to blend the false lashes into the real lashes and intensify the color. Yep, there are many depths to a black mascara, so this one is 15X the pigment of others! 

To enhance the lashline, try the tightlining technique- this means filling in the little gaps between the lashes! Pull your eyelid up a little with your thumb, and press an eyeliner into the gaps on the lash line to get product between the lashes.

Lips

The best way to hide your sleepy eyes from the outside world is to apply a BOLD lip color! People's eyes will instantly be drawn to the beautiful color instead of your dark circles! Bold colors also seem more confident, so rock that bold color at your next job interview and especially if you work in sales!! My favorite color for this season is an orange red - and

LadyBird

by Butter London is such a hot color!! Plus, you have a lip liner, a lipstick, a gloss + pencil sharpener and you only have to carry around one product! *With LadyBird lip color, I would recommend to pair it will a light peachy blush like "

Deep Throat

" by Nars. 

A special thanks to my right-hand gal Makeup Artist Kim Baker. I don't know what I would do without her sometimes! She is the best assistant ever!!! 

Venue + Rentals:

Pleasanton Rentals

|| Photography by:

Ashley Maxwell

|| Floral Arrangements + Flower Wall by:

Freckled and Floral

|| Desserts by:

Ma Petite Maison Cake Design

|| Customized Pencils:

A Blissful Nest Shop

|| Napkins:

Southern Fried Paper

|| Swag Bags are filled with:

Butter London

,

TypeLites

, Fauxlash,

Rodan + Fields

, and

It Works

What Have I been up to...

Summer just started and it's already over! It's been a busy few months, but it's been a GREAT few months. I even got a vacation thrown in the midst of wedding season. I am back and refreshed and ready to blog. I have ALOT of things to catch up on and tell you about. In the meantime, here's what I have been up to...

1. Anna and Joel flew in from Oregon, and I was lucky enough to work with each of them and their bridal party on their wedding day. Their photographer Jamie Jones captured the day, and even a few images of me applying touch-ups in the ivy! During Anna's trial we played around with a few options for a dramatic eye, and she fell in love with a style that complimented her eye shape. To achieve these beautiful eyes, apply Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black on the entire lid (stopping at the crease). Next, set the lid with Nars Eyeshadow in Night Clubbing. To soften the crease, use a pony tail brush to apply a mauve or heather grey matte shadow. You eventually want to fade the color into eyebrow arch, so your color needs to gradually go from black to white. The best way I can translate this look is to compare it to a rainbow! Think dark to light!

2. Taryn and Shelby are the photographers behind Joielala, who also captured Christie's wedding. I cannot wait to see the final results!!! (Check out the engagement session in the meantime...I used nuetral shades with a highlights of gold and rust.)

3. I met Katie, Katherine's MOH, while working on set at ModCloth in SF. This bridal party got ready at the Inn at The Presidio. Because they wore black dresses, I was free to play with color options for their eyes, cheeks, and lips. I wanted to compliment each bridesmaid's skin tone, so each gal had their own version of a natural look.

4. Katherine was inspired by a magazine editorial with Julia Roberts as the model. To replicate the look, we kept her skin clean and refreshed looking, using the appropriate primers before any foundation. I did not use any bronzer, just a plum blush on her cheekbones. For her eyes, I concentrated on keeping all the color (Plums/burgundy hues) on her top and bottom lash line for definition. After I lined the lashes with the darker shadow, I overlapped it with Bare Escentuals Celestine to add a shimmer. Last, but not least, we kept the lips light, but not too light, because I didn't want her to be washed out in photos. My favorite color for bridal season this year was Perpetual Plum, Maybelline's Superstay 24 Hour Color.

5. Meet Adrianna!! Stay tuned for some amazing images on the ModCloth site!

6. Jamie's wedding day makeup was inspired by Carrie Underwood! Dramatic eyes, a bold pop of color on the cheeks, and a lighter nude lip! Carbon eyeshadow by MAC helped me create this sultry look! Ashley Maxwell was her photographer... I'm drooling over the images already and I haven't even seen them yet!

7. My dear friend Taylor got married this August, and I was honored to be part of her special day! I decided that my new favorite blush color for blondes is Gaiety by Nars-it is sooo pretty!

8. This year, I have been doing lots of bridesmaid up-dos! Thank goodness for my amazing Hot Tools curling iron!

9. Stop by the Favour Shoppe Blog for some skincare tips!

10. Every time a bride tells me they are searching for the perfect location for their destination wedding-I can't help but tell them about The Azul Resort in Cabo. It is one of the most peaceful and beautiful resorts ever. Our first visit was for our honeymoon, this time around we went with some friends... so while the boys had their guy time, us girls spent the day at the Paz Spa getting massages!

11. August 21st was my 2 year anniversary with the hubs. Omg! How time flies!! I feel like yesterday we just got married! We spent a night in Monterey at the Clement Hotel. The room came with a fire place, chocolate anchovies, and Elemis bodycare!!

12. I normally get the standard pedicures when I go to the salon... but I decided to try something unusual and out of my box on my last visit to Lavande, and opted for the Chocolate Pedi. While I enjoyed  by chocolate covered almonds, hot cocoa, and all the sweet smelling lotions-my favorite part was the mud masque they used on my legs. My skin looked so bright after!

Make sure to follow me on Instagram!

XOXO
@priscillafrancinemakeup

My basics...and a "want"

I have my basics, and it's that time again- replenishment purchases. While these products are a must for my everyday routine...I found an accessory every MUA must have. Supercalifragilipstick!!!


XOXO
Priscilla