Video Quick Tip #64 - January 25, 2011

Along with overeating this holiday season, did you also find yourself overplucking your arches?

We all can get a little "tweeze-happy" from time to time, but luckily Brett Freedman is demo-ing his flawless technique for filling in brows while they grow back.

Brett met his cousin Mary Ann at Kalologie Skincare on Robertson Blvd., one of his favorite beauty spots, to give her a mini brow makeover. Dynamic brows are really in right now, so he showed Mary Ann how to play up her fab arches while she waits for the hairs to grow back in after a minor bout of over-tweezing.

First things first, whether thick or thin, make sure your brow area is clean! Lightly tweeze stray hairs in-between brows, along temples and under the arch of the brow (leave the thickest part of brows alone).

Take a brow pencil the same shade or one shade darker than brows and fill-in behind the brow hairs completely with a light hand. Brett used his own Vanitymark Ultra-Brow Pencil in Dark Choco on Mary Ann. Extend the tail of the brow a bit if you'd like. Then add the color onto the skin below the part of the brow you're working to thicken. The darkened brow hairs should blend with the color you added to the skin.

For the perfect finishing touch, add hairspray to a brow groomer (or a clean mascara wand) and brush through hairs, brushing them up and out. The brow pencil should look undetectable!

Now you're on your way to the perfect thick and bold brow. Enjoy pretty!

Video Quick TIp #63 - December 14, 2010

In today's fashion-forward Quick Tip, Brett sits down with starlet Jenny Mollen (she was a regular on Angel and Crash and has a bunch of movies coming out next year - keep your eye on her!) to show off a great way to draw attention to your peepers...the retro Twiggy androgynous eye!

EYELIDS

For this eye-popping look, start with the Revlon Cream Shadow quad in Khaki Suede and cover the entire lid and into tear duct with the middle neutral tan shades. Highlight the brow bone area with a shimmery champagne powder shadow like MAC Nylon.

Dust on a medium brown shade like MAC Quarry in a rainbow shape that hugs the lid. Next, apply Quarry below the lower lash line in a straight line keeping close to the lashes.

Then take MAC Print, a matte charcoal gray shade, and using a tiny brush, apply a thin rainbow-shaped line right on top of the Quarry shadow on the lid. Underneath the lower lash line, draw a thin, straight line across on top of the Quarry line. Lightly extend the rainbow line out to meet the line underneath the lower lash line.

BROWS

Add more definition to the brows with a brow pencil - Brett used his own Vanitymark Ultra-Brow Pencil in Blondie for Jenny. Thicken the area above the arches a tiny bit to add interest.

LASHES

Apply half-length false lash strips (or cut full-length ones in half) to the outer edge of the upper lash line for added volume and length. Brett likes the ones from Kre-At Beauty.

For the true swingin' 60s look, apply individual short lashes to the lower lash line, picket fencing them in with your natural lashes. Kre-At Beauty makes these as well.

LINER

On the upper lash line, use a fine-point liquid liner like Shiseido The Makeup Fine Eyeliner in Black and follow the lash line really close. Extend the line a tiny bit.

Once the liquid liner sets, it's time for the finishing touch - break out a white liner pencil like Lancome Blanc, and accentuate the geometric straight line you created with Quarry and Print below the lower lash line. Line the inside of the lower lash line in white and carry the line into the teardruct and straight out beyond the outside corner of the eye.

It's the little steps here that make all the difference in a unique look like this!

Video Quick Tip #62

The retro red lip is definitely "in" but sometimes it's nice to reach back to the sultry and fashionable nude lip.

Brett met up with Patricia Heaton of The Middle (and Everybody Loves Raymond!) for a photo shoot and he gave her a quick n' easy glossy nude pout.

• First prep lips by padding on foundation and powder.

• Take a nude/beige lip liner like Brett's fave, the Benefit Lana pencil and lightly line all along the natural lip line and slightly out and above.

• With the same liner, begin darkening and filling in the lips just on the corners of the mouth. Extend the color 3/4 of the way in on the lips, just leaving the center of your pout bare.

• Add oomph to lips with a champagne-hued gloss like Jemma Kidd School in Bare. Put extra gloss in the center of lips to draw light there and make lips look plumped and juicy!

How simple (and pretty!) is that?

Video Quick Tip #61 - November 9, 2010

Did you think Sue Heck was an awkward teen in real life, too? Not so!

Starlet Eden Sher from ABC's "The Middle" and Brett got together for a recent photo shoot, and created this vid on applying lash falsies.

For an easy lash boost, you need 3 items:

• Dura Lash by Ardell - look for the short, black individuals
• Duo Lash Adhesive in Dark Tone
• Tweezers

The idea is to add 5-6 lashes to the ends of the lashline - this will amp up your eyes to that perfect almond shape we all crave!

First apply mascara and curl lashes as usual. Dot on a little of the Duo Lash Adhesive near the outer corner of the lashline and work your way out. Apply 3-4 lashes with tweezers along the outer half of the lashline and lightly press onto the glue, stopping where your natural lashes end. Go too far out and they'll look droopy...go too far in and they'll look unrealistic, as your lashes get shorter towards the inside corner.

Look up and down in a mirror to see where any gaps are. Add 2-3 more lashes to beef up and thicken the outer lashline. Let the lashes dry for a minute and then add another coat of mascara and curl lashes to "marry" the real and fake lashes together. Brett loves using L'Oreal Voluminous mascara in Carbon. Be sure to really get each lash!

Now flutter those lashes and enjoy pretty!

Video Quick Tip #60 - October 26, 2010

Is there anyone out there that doesn't want to look hot n' sexy this Halloween?? We didn't think so!

In this week's Quick Tip, Brett takes blond-haired, fair-skinned Aynsley Bubbico from Greek

and turns her into exotic Hollywood siren Kim Kardashian.

The key steps to the Kim K. look are smokey eyes, a bold brow and nude lips. Here's the breakdown:

• Bronze up! Bronze your body and decollete with a body bronzing spray like Vanitymark Summerskin. For your face, use a tan foundation like Lorac Natural Performance in #7.
• Highlight the eyes and lift the cheekbones! Lighten the whole eye area with a concealer like Cle de Peau Concealer in Beige. Use a brush and place under the eye and out towards the temple, and above the brow area to pop out the cheekbone.
• Add contours to the cheeks with a darker foundation - try MAC NC45 Full Coverage and brush on a straight line from the temple under the cheekbone towards the apple and blend down. Exaggerate it - it'll be nighttime!
• Add contours to the eyes - apply MAC Cork into the crease of the eye and towards the inner eyebrow. Take a thin, tight brush and apply MAC Print directly into the crease of the lid and extend out to mimic an almond eye shape. Also apply close to the upper and lower lashline. Build out the Paint shade to give a nice, dark contour to the lid.
• Fake a strong brow with a dark brown brow pencil like Vanitymark's Dark Choco and move your arch up and back by drawing on top of the natural brow line and extending out to copy Miz Kardashian's arches. Square off the inside edge of the brow for a strong and clean look.
  
• Warm up with pink! Kim loves pink - use any sherbert pink shade of blush and go over the Cork shadow and along the cheek contours. Add interest to the eye area by placing a card or straight-edge next to the eye and patting on the pink blush from the outer corner of the eye to the temple.
• Line the eyes with a soft and dark black pencil like MAC Smolder. Sculpt out the eye shape by rimming the inside and outside of the lashline. Stick super close to the lashline and trace the line from the inner corner all the way out. Keep the line on the upper and lower lashes really tight and crisp.
• Add a shimmery shadow like MAC Idol Eyes to the lower lid with a wet brush across from the tear duct to the outer edge. Dries to a great finish!
• Add lash falsies - it's Halloween so go big or go home! Buy spikey picket fence-style lashes to really stand out. After applying, add lots of mascara, like L'Oreal Voluminous in Carbon.
• Highlight cheeks with an irridescent shade like Benefit Girl Meets Pearl. Just dab on the apples of the cheeks for a beautiful glow.
• Kim loves a nude lip like MAC Brew. Use the shade all over the lip and then top with gloss.

Finish with a dark haired wig and a curve-hugging dress - now you're good to go! Happy Halloween!

Video Quick Tip #59 - October 5, 2010

Ever heard of Conor Leslie? You may not have yet, but she's definitely one to watch out for on the Hollywood scene!

This week Brett met with Conor for a photoshoot, and he taught her how to do a modern smokey eye using neutral shades. This is a great tip for those in the teen age bracket, or for those who don't like dark shades on their eyes.

For this diffused, natural smokey eye, you need a tight eyeshadow brush, MAC Teddy eye pencil and 3 MAC eyeshadows:

• Cork - a muted golden brown
• Honeylust - a bronze-dipped peach
• Nylon - a pale gold with icy shimmer

- Take Cork, the darkest shade and create a "fishtail" shape around the eye. Create a sideways V from the crease of the lid above the iris of the eye to the outer corner of the eye and back along the top lashline to above the iris. Nodge out the color at the outer corner of the eye (creating the fishtail shape) and line the lower lash line as well.

- Wet your brush or add a drop of water to your Honeylust shadow and apply straight across the lid from the tearduct to the end, filling in the entire lower half of the lid to the crease. Once this shimmery shadow dries, it will look like a cream shadow, but with more staying power!

- Add Nylon to the inner tearduct and right under the brow bone - bring it to meet the Cork shade at the crease. Also apply overtop of the Cork on the lower lashline and a little bit over the Honeylust on the upper lashline.

- And for the finishing touch - take the MAC Teddy eye pencil and line the inside of the eyelid on the top and bottom lashline.

And that's it - a modern, dressed up eye without a ton of color!

Video Quick TIp #58 - September 21, 2010

This week's Quick Tip gives you access to an exclusive video Brett made for Temptalia.com, one of his favorite beauty blogs!

Brett recently did a photoshoot with the lovely Katherine McPhee and he documented it all complete with some red lipstick tricks and tips for Temptalia readers.

Click below for the inside scoop, direct from Temptalia.com!

For the December cover of Genlux, Brett wanted to give Katherine a 70s menswear vibe. He used another Katherine (Hepburn) as inspiration for her hair, and old Avon catalogues as a muse for her winged out eyes. For the lips, he went classic red. Here's his favorite technique for a long-lasting matte lip:

• Apply foundation over lips and around the mouth (helps with crispness).
• Add dusting powder like Shu Uemura or DermaMinerals On-the-Go Finishing Powder to set makeup and act as a base for lipstick.
• Use a great red lipliner first, like the Paprika shade from Mineral Essence. Go over the entire lip to 'stain' the lips and help the lipstick hold. Plus, it will really control the shape of lips for a better final outcome.
• Add more dusting powder on top of liner and dab to set.
• Now that your shape is set, take a matte lipstick like Lancome Red Haute and fill in the penciled area. A lip brush really helps refine.
• Optional extra step: Want to take this red lip from matte to modern? Add a bright red gloss on top! Glossy red lips were all over the runways last week, including Prada and Ungaro.

And there you have it - the key to red lips, a look that never goes out of style!