I might be falling in love...with Cover FX/by Richmond Virginia Makeup Artist Aaron Ellerbrock

 

So I know I am not Oprah, but I thought I would share one of my "Favorite Things"! I often get asked what products I love to use and what makeup I think really gives a great pay off. Of course, over the years I have added or changed that list as new products are developed or as old favorites change their formulas and become less than stellar.

I now have a new favorite in the area of creating a canvas (foundations, concealors, powders, bronzers). Of course for my brides I still mostly use the OCC airbrush foundations, but for my other clients I am now recommending the Cover FX line. I can't say enough about how great this product is, especially after their recent relaunch. The line seems to have an amazing grasp on how to create foundations for everyone.

I hear over and over again "I can't find a foundation that matches my skin tone" or "It looked good when I first put it on but then later it just looked wrong". Finding the right foundation can be tricky, especially if you are just trying to pick one up at the drugstore. First and foremost, you should always match your foundation on your jaw line and make sure once it dries down, the color is perfect, meaning you don't see it on the surface of your skin.

I recenty had the great fortune to talk with the Vice President of Glodal Sales and Education for Cover FX, Alisha Gallagher. Since I have several of their products in my kit, I was thrilled to have the chance to ask her a few questions. Here are some of the highlights of our conversation.

Aaron: Tell me a little about the creator of the products at Cover FX.

Alisha: His name is Victor Casale. Previous to Cover FX he was the Chief Innovation Officer at MAC. He is the man who created such well know products as Studio Fix and Lipglass. He is so amazing because not only is he so creative but he is also a chemist! He also created a red lipstick for Madonna on her "Blonde Ambition Tour" called Russian Red. It has become an iconic color. It is very wearable for that woman who is looking for a perfect red and was worn by Michelle Williams in "My Week With Marilyn".

Aaron: Why are your products so special?

Alisha: There are three main points of difference that make us so special. First, our tag line is "Great beauty begins with a great foundation. Can't find your shade? We can!". At Cover FX we have an extensive global color shade palette. 28 shades! But what we do that is so different is we spend a lot of time making sure we focus on the undertone of the skin, not just the depth of color. So many lines have a lot of shades but they go from light to dark without altering much in the undertones. That is why foundations often seem to not match. At Cover FX we make sure we have the right blends of "N" neutral, "P" pink, and "G" golden to ensure a perfect match.
Second, our products are extremely healthy for the skin. They are free of gluten, talc, mineral oil, parabens, and fragrance. As a matter of fact they are actually vegan!
Thirdly, the products have a very high performance level. We use a high level of refined pigments in our products. This allows you to get what you are looking for without having to use a large amount. The beauty is that you can apply them for a sheer coverage or build them to get a full coverage.

Aaron: What would you say are two must have products?

Alisha: That is a hard one, but if I had to pick two I would say the Pressed Mineral Foundation (a pressed mineral foundation with buildable coverage) and the Total Cover Cream Foundation (an emollient cream 2-in-1 concealor and foundation). The Pressed Mineral Foundation has no talc so it is luminious, not chalky or matte looking. And the Total Cover Cream Foundation can be applied as sheer as a tint  or you can build it to a full coverage foundation.


Cover FX is sold at Sephora stores, but not all of them. For those in the Richmond area, they are sold at the Sephora at Regency. For those of you in the Cincinnati area, your best bet is to order from the Cover FX website for now. I would of course chat with Nancy at BRIDEface first so she can assist you in picking the right products. And don't foget to get the right tool for the right job. Cover FX have some amazing brushes that do very specific things. They have used technology from DuPont to help create creulty free brushes that perform amazingly! Also, if you would like to see it in print, check out Richmond Magazine's December "Mother of the Bride" shoot. I used the Total Cover Cream Foundation on our model!

So whenever you feel you are just not having luck in the area of foundation or concealors just remember what Alisha at Cover FX says, ""We have your shade!" Happy Shopping!!

BRIDEface makeup artists/Sigma brushes rave

If you's ever worked with me, you know that I own a ton of makeup brushes. I have been weeding out some of the brushes that look shopworn (some are 15 years old!) and shapes I just don't use, and investing in some new ones for my kit and for a dedicated kit for my FACEing classes I recently made several purchases from Sigma Beauty and was so impressed by the quality of their products.

My favorite brushes in my kit are MAC, Laura Mercier, and Trish McEvoy. But when I experienced the quality of Sigma at a fraction of the price of the other brands, I was hooked. For example, that entire set above is only $59!
 I now have their Dry n Shape roll, which you put your brushes into after you have washed them, and it shapes them like the day you bought them. Absolutely love it. I also got a traditional roll, but I admit I am not using it because I have a huge one my friend custom made for me. I have the two piece brush cup pictured above, only in black. And I have an assortment of the brushes. I am looking forward to trying their new Bunny line, which is all Vegan and uses HD fibers. My only beef is that they don't make my beloved flat liner brush. (Are you listening, Sigma?)

Brush School Part II

Now that you know the bare minimum of brushes you will need to get started on a basic collection, here are some things to remember about protecting your investment:
Storing your brushes-
Please don't cram a full sized brush into a tiny makeup bag. You will mangle the hairs and eventually ruin the brush. If you must carry brushes in your handbag, find a miniturized set for touchups. If you travel a lot, you may want to buy a travel sized set that is more portable than your home assortment.
You can stand your brushes in a cup or in a brush roll at home.

Using your brushes-
When I worked retail, I used to see people bring in some of the most raggedy looking brushes and they always seemed clueless as to why they looked that way. Use each brush for its intended purpose; a synthetic bristle for creamy textures, a natural hair brush for powdery textures. If you try to use a synthetic to pick up a powder shadow, for instance, it will simply not pick up enough product.
If you have a flat sided powder or cheek color brush, it is not designed to be swirled into the product or onto the face-it is designed to be used flat.You will break the bristles if you use it improperly. If you are a "swirler", buy a kabuki style, round head brush. These are great for bronzers, mineral foundation, of people who prefer a round brush for cheeks.
The flat liner brush and concealer brush are the most abused brushes there are. People want to dig these brushes into their concealer or cake liners and it can permanently distort the shape. Use these brushes flat, swiping gently on the surface or the product. If you treat your tools well you can keep them for years.
Washing your brushes-
This is the most frequently asked question-how often should I clean my brushes? Well, it depends. I of course sanitize mine between clients with an alcohol based cleaner, but I would not recommend this because it is not great for the life of the brush. If you have oily skin, I would say that brushes you use on the face should really be washed every week. Otherwise you are going to end up with an oily coating on top of your blush or pressed powders. For dry skins, every 2-3 weeks.
Eye brushes that are used with dry shadows-it kind of depends on how many colors you are using. If you are someone who is constantly changing eye shadow shades, you probably want to keep a larger assortment of brushes so you are not adulterating the colors; then you won't have to shampoo as often. If you tend to use neutral shades every day you can probably get away with washing every 2-3 weeks.
I am pretty picky about any the tite liner brush; because you are wetting it and using it on your inside lash line, you will need to wash it every week or so. A ton of pigment gets trapped into the base of the bristles and will make the brush start to fray if you don't clean it often enough. A brush that is used wet can also harbor a lot of bacteria.

There are lots of brush cleaners on the market. Some are spray- on, quick-dry cleaners; I like MAC, Clinique, or Mercier for these-but shampooing will be the best bet to get them truly clean in a more gentle way. This is my routine when I get home from a long day of brideface-ing;

I use a small container of warm water with a squirt or two of a mild soap-baby shampoo or Dawn dishwashing liquid are good.

Start with powder brushes, then cheek, then onto eye brushes. You don't want the black pigment and stuff in until the end. Dip a few brushes in your container a swirl a bit; you may need to use your fingers too if the brush is particularly dirty.

Then rinse carefully under the tap. Do this in your palm, and be sure you are not letting water run into the ferrule (which is the metal collar on your brush) A lower quality brush is simply glued into this part, and as soon as that glue dissolves, the hairs will fall out. Better made brushes are hand tied before they are glued in, lending more durability, but water can still get into that part and rot your brush, so do not put the brush facing up right under that tap-! Don't get alarmed if some of your large badger or squirrel brushes have some blackish pigment coming out-these brushes sometimes are dyed so that they have a uniform color.

Once you have all the soap and pigment out, dry it a bit on a towel and reshape with your fingers. Let them dry with the bristles hanging over the edge of a tabletop;this will prevent them from drying flattened on one side or not drying properly. never dry them upright in a cup!

Thanks Rich, for being my photographer today!

Brush School Part I; what you really need

I have been doing a lot of one on one lessons lately and I always want to see my clents start investing in some good quality tools. People ask me all the time what brushes they need, what is good quality, what each brush is designed to do, and how to care for them. Today I will cover what specific brushes you need.

In my opinion, everyone needs a flat liner brush, to do the tight liner trick. If you don't know what I am talking about, set up an appointment with me, stat! This is Mercier:

The size and shape are really important in this brush; most square flat brushes are too wide and too rigid to do the wiggle into the lashline. This is the perfect width and is soft enought to deposit a lot of pigment. It is synthetic, which all you want to use with any type of wet product.

Next up, an eye crease brush. Most people don't know where to place a medium shde to give their eye more depth. Not everyone needs color in the crease-it depends on your eye shape-but the vast majority of us do. A foolproof shape for this technique is this bad boy (also Mercier)

The point goes in the socket of the eye and the "hoof" part contours the area above the fold. Magic. Also great for blending with the tip.

For fans of the smoky eye, you really need a smudge brush. I like to start with a cream or gel liner and work it right into the lashes with this. Gives lots of control and intensity.

As for face brushes, I do love to see people get into creme cheek color but that is probably another blog post entirely. For a powder blush, I am not a fan of a big round head-a lot of people are using a huge brush designed for powder as a cheek color brush. I prefer a small flat head that gives you more precise placement.

I see a powder brush as optional. Sure they are fun, and highly expensive, and soft. But I mush prefer to set powder with a puff. The only thing I will use a big powder brush for is to add a bit of pigmented powder for more coverage. If you are a mineral foundation fan, use a Kabuki type brush instead of a large powder brush, otherwise you are losing half your product all over the sink.

I really want to convert the world to using a concealer brush to put on their undereye concealer and to cover little blemishes. Mercier's secret camouflage brush is just the right consistency to feather a thicker concealer onto a blemish. It can also get right into the inner corner of your eye. Just try that with a big ol' finger! You will feel ever so artist-y.

Mercier has some really amazing sales on their website right now if you need to start out with some great brushes.

This has a finishing brush(good for adding a touch or shimmer along the cheekbone) an allover eye color brush, a crease brush (ponytail style)flat liner brush,corner detail brush, a briw spoolie and smudge brush for $56. What a deal.

Or this baby-A powder brush(normally $56 alone-!) an angled crease brush, a secret camouflage brush, and a corner eye brush for $31.50!! If I didn't have so many brushes I would be buying these right now! www.lauramercier.com

Those are just the basics for someone starting to build a collection of good tools. More to come!