Get J.Glow’s Gorgeous Skin

Get the skinny on the products used by the “Most Beautiful Woman In the World”

 The incredibly beautiful Jennifer Lopez landed the top spot on People's annual "Most Beautiful" Person In the World Issue.  The multi-talented mom of two has been a beauty icon for over ten years since her breakout role in 1997’s Selena.  This year fans have seen the triple threat star every week on American Idol looking more and more beautiful.  We also get a chance to see her warm, gracious, and nurturing personality, and of course amazing outfit choices.

Let’s be honest though, beyond her glamorous style J.Lo is known and loved for her flawless, glowing complexion.  We should all be so lucky to have such enviable skin, but luckily there are plenty of ways to fake it.  To recreate the J.Lo “lit from within look” you’ll need a few key products to get her glow.  Start by priming your skin with L’Oreal’s Studio Secrets Professional Color Correcting Primer.  Then, apply NARS Orgasm Illuminator on the skin to get her glowing base.  Next, lightly dust NARS Desire Blush on the apples of your cheeks to get a warm, flushed look.  Finally, to get her signature tone, dab a large powder brush into Guerlain’s Terracotta Light Sheer Bronzing Powder and sweep it across your face in a figure three motion.  This will evenly distribute the powder to give you a natural bronzed look.  The Grammy nominee rarely tans outside, which explains her wrinkle-free skin.  Instead she’s a big fan of fake body bronzers like Body Bling by Scott Barnes.  Lather the liquid potion all over yourself to get your own version of the stunning star’s illuminating skin!  Complete the look by adding a dash of nude gloss and individual fake lashes.

There’s only one J.Lo, but with a little help from our tinted tools we can all achieve the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World’s” gorge glow on our own.

The Office's Mindy Kaling At The 'Despicable Me' Premiere

The Office star, Mindy Kaling, is by far one of my favorite actresses on television right now. I might be a tad biased because I do love seeing anyone Indian on the big or little screen, but she is seriously so talented, SO funny, and so much fun to watch. Kelly Kapoor-I love ya! Kaling showed up to support costar, Steve Carell at the premiere of his new movie, Despicable Me (which I'm SOO excited to see). Kaling looked fresh and summery in her blue romper and side-swept ponytail.

Makeup artist, Carola Gonzales used NARS Cosmetics to create her fresh-faced turn on the yellow carpet. Gonzales says, "they have an amazing new collection with great colors for women with the same skin tone as Mindy. The look I created is perfect for daytime make-up. Not too heavy but enough to make her face pop. It's a great fresh summer look".

The new collection looks great and I'm excited there are plenty of shades to help accentuate and compliment brown skin tones. Very necessary and lacking in the beauty market right now!

Here's what Gonzales:

SKIN: Gonzales prepped her skin with NARS Pro Prime. She says it's great for matifying the skin and keeping your makeup in place all day. She then applied NARS Sheer Matte Foundation in Macao, which was a perfect match to Kaling's skin tone. NARS just came out with an amazing variety of foundation shades, so finding her best match was easy. On Kaling's cheek, Gonzales dusted NARS Taos Blush, which made her cheeks pop.

EYES: On her eyes, Gonzales used the Bajasthan Eye Shadow Duo, a new compact from their latest collection. Gonzales applied the lighter shade all over the eyelid and then accentuated the crease with the darker shade. She then applied individual Ardell lashes in "medium." to the top of the lash line and applied mascara after adhering lashes to make the eyes stand out more.

LIPS: To accentuate Kaling's pout, Gonzales used NARS Lip Gloss in Boogie Nights.


Looking gorgeous Mindy!

Love NARS Cosmetics, like I do!? Check out my backstage interviews and coverage during Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week of NARS at 3.1 Philip Lim, Victor dE Souza and my exclusive meeting with NARS founder, Francois Nars. He' such a super star and totally looks the part! I got tons of behind the scenes pictures and saw all their latest products.

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Makes a True Blood Cameo!

If you're a True Blood fan like I am, you're more than excited for tonight's episode. I wasn't sure where the storyline could have gone after the eventful (to say the least) last season but the first few episodes have proven there's plenty more excitement and mystery to explore in Bon Temps. Last week, everyone's favorite sassy-pants vampire, Pam, rocked some very serious blood-red lips. Fitting for an episode and show that is drenched in the stuff on a regular basis.

Pam (Kristin Bauer) looked particularly vampy while sporting NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned. The satiny magenta stain looks fantastic on a range of skin tones. I personally also love the more scarlet shade Cruella, which I wear when I want to add extra drama to my look. I love how it compliments my shade with its orange undertone and makes me look super glam like I'm ready to hit the red carpet. The lip pencils pack a strong punch color so very little is need when applying it on and it'll stay put for hours. The creamy pencil acts as a lipstick and lip liner and gives a precise line that's easy to shade when you want even more red.

Check out the other shades available in this gorgeous and easily portable crayon pencil and enjoy tonight's episode!

MET Gala Makeup-Blake Lively

Blake Lively looked stunning in her peacock blue Marchesa mini and flirty pulled back hair at the MET Gala last night. Her makeup totally stood out as well and she was one of my favorite faces of the night. NARS Cosmetics Makeup Artist, Elaine Offers, created the Gossip Girl star's bubble gum pink lips and glowing face.

Here are the products she used:

*PRO-PRIME Skin Smoothing Face Prep

*PRO-PRIME Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

*Goddess Soft Touch Shadow Pencil

*Beverly Hills Multiple Tint Their new cheek and lip tints!

*Love Devotion Lipstick

*PRO-PRIME Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base is available at Sephora.com

*PRO-PRIME Skin Smoothing Face Prep is available at Sephora.com

*All other products available on narscosmetics.com

Big thanks to NARS Cosmetics on Facebook for all their great info!  

Oscar Beauty 2010-Beauty Tips from Oscar Makeup Man

The Academy Awards is always the perfect venue to showcase all the latest beauty trends on our favorite starlets. Even the cascading curls in the most well coiffed hair style looks shiner and more resplendent and even the most perfectly glazed pout looks more glamorous and sparkling on Oscar night.

Bruce Grayson, Head Makeup Artist for the 2010 Academy Awards, has every trick in the book up sleeve to get stars looking Oscar gorgeous. He gives us the scoop on how to achieve Hollywood’s hottest red carpet looks at home.

Tip 1: Prep Your Skin.

In addition to a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water, Grayson recommends sticking to a strict skincare regimen. He says to try a firming treatment on your skin like Olay Professional Pro-X Intensive Firming Treatment kit. It comes with a hydrating mask and tightening serum to bring moisture to the skin and rejuvenate the skin cells. Grayson says he likes it because it helps restore your skin’s natural fullness and elasticity with its effective mixture of anti-aging ingredients. It’s important to use effective skin care treatments before getting glammed up for the evening.

Tip 2: Glowing From Within Skin

Grayson believes “fabulous makeup begins with a flawless canvas (aka your skin)”. To get an even looking, blemish free complexion use the tried and true favorite, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. Grayson says it’s important to apply foundation with the a foundation brush and use short, quick strokes to brush on the skin. Try a foundation brush from Giorgio Armani

Tip 3: Smokey Eyes: Tired-Free and Fabulous

Grayson combats dark circles and puffiness with Olay Regenerist Anti Aging Eye Roller. It’s cooling and soothing around the eyes and seriously works to fight wrinkles. Be sure to wait till the eye gel has properly dried to add any more makeup, powder or concealer to the area.

Grayson then uses a double-ended shadow stick like CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast, which comes in several rich shades, all over the lids. One side of the stick is rounded and perfect for painting over the eye, while the other side has an angled edge, which is great for creating bold definition along the lash line.

Tip 4: Pinch Your Cheeks!

Create a contoured look with plenty of definition and depth using a soft blush in a pink or a peach like the perennial favorite NARS Orgasm Blush. If you prefer to skip the shimmer, Grayson recommends trying Cargo in shade Catalina. It’s the same price and looks natural and sun-kissed when dusted on the apples of your cheeks with a big fluffy brush in an outward stroke towards the hairline.

Tip 5: Kissable Kissers

Grayson says great lips are created with prep work and diligence. Lips prepped with a conditioner will help hydrate your pout and keep the color on longer. Grayson loves Karite Lip Balm, an all-natural shea butter formula that moisturizes and protects your lips. For modern Hollywood lips, apply a red lipstick like YSL Rouge Volupte in Red Temptation or a coral shade like MAC Lipstick in Vegas Volt. Grayson then says to define lips even further using a liner like NARS Lip liner pencil in Jungle Red. Finally, setting the color in place with a high shine gloss like MAC Clear Lip Glass or NARS Lip Gloss in Triple X will give that extra dash of movie star glamour.

Grayson has worked with tons of stars at the Oscars and beyond and I love his fab tips and product recommendations. Hopefully some day, Bruce will be doling out tips and helping me prep for the big day IN PERSON! Ha! I can dream, can't I!? Enjoy!

Oscar Beauty 2010-J.LO

JENNIFER LOPEZ
Makeup by Matthew Vanleeuwen for NARS Cosmetics.

THE INSPIRATION

NARS explained that the inspiration for Lopez's look was that of an ethereal movie star. In typical Lopez fashion, eyes were heavily emphasized and her luminous skin was highlighted and kept glowing and fresh.

EYES

Vanleeuwan primed the eyes with Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base for a smoothed over look before applying the eyeshadow. The base prevented the eyeshadow from creasing and kept the color vibrant and strong all night long. The lid was covered with D. Gorgeous Single Eyeshadow from the lid up to the brow. The purple shade of Brousse Duo Eyeshadow was brushed onto each lid. Lopez's eye's were rimmed and defined with Nuits Blanches Eyeliner Stylo and lashes were curled and finished with Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara.

CHEEKS

Lopez is known for her amazing skin and glow. Her skin looked even and fresh. Desire Blush was applied to the apples of her cheeks and Orgasm Illuminator was added on top for a shimmer. Her skin was finished with a light dabbing of Enchanted Cream Blush.

LIPS

Her lips were kept ultra natural. Cruising Lipstick was painted on the lips and then a layer of Sweet Dreams Lip Gloss was added to add a gorgeous shimmer to her famous lips.

BODY

Orgasm Illuminator was applied to her décolletage, arms and legs for a famous Lopez glow.

To get any of these products go to the NARS website and check out these and amazing NARS treats!

Also thanks to NARS for all the Oscar deets!

NARS Cosmetics Founder, François Nars!

I've admired his work for years and stock up on his products whether I need to or not, so as you can imagine meeting the man behind the makeup brand was beyond thrilling. Watching him work his magic (overseeing the look) at the Victor dE Souza show was wonderful. He's got such a fabulous style and mysterious persona and I loved his whole vibe. It was a fantastic moment for me. I really did get to meet one of the people in this industry I admire the most. Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday evening!

In honor of this fantastic meeting I wanted to divulge some of my faves NARS products and hope you'll share your favorites too.

I love how glowy and sun-kissed I look with The Multiple in South Beach on. I adore Orgasm Blush because it's true, it really is universally flattering. I also love their eyeshadows. They're so blendable, richly pigmented and layer perfectly on your skin. My favorite shades are Ondine, NightBreed and NightFever. I also adore their creamy Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella. The pencil goes on soft and perfectly stains your lips so you don't have to reapply constantly. There are countless others I could talk about and I'm constantly finding new lipsticks, eye shadows and skin illuminators that I love. Alas, my wallet would like me so much more if I wasn't such an active fan! All in the name beauty, right?

What are your favorite NARS products!? Let me know!