Makeup Master: Top Products/Brands For Very Dark Skin

Hey Everyone!!!

Welcome to today’s edition of Makeup Master! I am personally most excited for this post, as I’m basically suggesting products that have worked for my skin to other women. For the last few years that I have been interested in makeup, I have always searched for good products for women with dark skin. While I found a few recommendations, I never found a cohesive post about great makeup products for women of very dark skin. This post will be great for women who are MAC shade NW55 or darker. Here we go:

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Best Face Products for Very Dark Skinned Women

Foundation/Tinted Moisturizer 

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Illamasqua, Illamasqua, Illamasqua…. what would I do without you! As I said in my Fair Skin Post, this brand has some of the most versatile shades of any product I have ever seen. Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in shades 325, 335 and 345 are some of the darkest shades of foundation in the entire makeup world. This foundation retails for $41.00 at Sephora, and looks absolutely beautiful on the skin. This foundation has a more opaque finish then the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation. Here is how it looks on the skin:

This photo comes from Danielle Gray of The Style and Beauty Doctor. It shows how the Rich Liquid Foundation in shade #325 look on the skin. You can see how wonderfully the foundation matches the radiant skin tone of the model. I own this foundation, and use it for nights out due to it’s incredible coverage. 

Concealer 

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I just had to use two products from my two favorite high-end and drugstore brand, respectively. The Iman Cover Cream in Earth Deep is a beautiful drugstore concealer that is perfect for covering dark under-eye circles, uneven skin tone and any spots. It retails for $12.00 at Walgreens. This concealer is perfect for covering any spots, and for its price, I give this product an A+!

Best Cheek Products for Very Dark-Skinned Women

Bronzer/Contour

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MAC Eyeshadow in Embark is an intense reddish-brown with a matte finish. Now, dark-skinned women usually assume that they are unable to contour, however, this is not true. Due to the red undertones of this eyeshadow, this product shows up on even the darkest of complexions. It looks absolutely wonderful as a contour, and adds the perfect amount of shape to the face. The shadow retails for $15.00 at MAC stores. Here is how it looks on the cheeks:

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This photograph comes from the incredibly talented Kenneth Soh of Musings of a Makeup Artist. This photograph shows how an eyeshadow can be used to contour very dark skin. This dark brown eyeshadow creates a subtle contour on a beautiful black woman. 

Blush 

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I absolutely love this blush! MAC Powder Blush in Sweet as Cocoa retails for $21.00 at MAC stores. It is described as a brown with pearl shimmer, with a sheer tone shimmer finish. As said in my Blazing Blush, this color adds just the most subtle amount of flush to the face while keeping you looking fresh. Here is how it looks on the cheeks:

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This is a photograph of the beautiful Erica of The Glamorous Gleam. Her dark skin is perfectly complimented by this shimmering blusher. However, she is so stunning that she doesn’t even need any makeup!

Best Lip Products for Dark Skinned Women

Night Out Lipstick

Now, for all of those wondering where the everyday lipstick for a dark-skinned woman is, I previously did a post on that in my Lipstick Ladies: Favorite Nudes for All Skin Tones about my favorite lipstick for darker skin. The basic rule for dark skinned women is that for the daytime, lip colors should go towards a more brown tone while it should go more plum during the night. 

MAC LIpstick in Cyber is an intense black-purple lipstick with a satin finish. The picture above comes from Tara Pook, and shows how the lipstick appears on darker skin. This color looks amazing on a night out or during the autumn. 

<3 Naa

Makeup Master: Top Products/Brands for Olive Skin Tone

Hey Everyone!!!

Welcome to today’s edition of Makeup Master! Today, I will concentrate on the best products to use for women with an Olive to Medium dark skin tone. These products will look great on those of Greek, Latina and African American descent. For celebrity comparisons, think Eva Longoria Parker, Kim Kardashian and Halle Berry. I know how much of a struggle it can be to find products that flatter your skin tone, so I just felt like concentrating this week on helping girls out! Here we go:

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Best Face Products for Olive-Skinned Women 

Foundation/Tinted Moisturizers 

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In my opinion, NARS makes some of the best foundations for women of an Olive or Medium skin tone. NARS has such a versatile amount of shades, specifically with this foundation. NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, which retails for $44.00 at Sephora, is a beautiful glowing, satin-finish foundation with a build-able amount of coverage. It has an incredible beautiful finish and is very popular in the blogosphere. Here is how it looks on a woman with an olive skin tone:

This photo is from The Beauty Milk and consist of a mix of shades Punjab and Stromboli. As you can see, the coverage and affect that the foundation gives is absolutely incredible. 

Concealer

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MAC has an incredible, long-lasting concealer known as the MAC Pro Long wear Concealer. The shade NC42 is perfect for women of a tan or olive skin tone, as it is tan enough to match the skin when blended while it is still bright enough for under eye circles. Here is how it looks on the face:

This photo comes from the beautiful Ankita from the Corallista Makeup Blog. Her exotic skin tone is matched the concealer perfectly, and the coverage erases the redness around her nose. 

Best Cheek Products for Olive-Skinned Women

Bronzer/Contour

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NARS Bronzing Powder in Laguna is the universal bronzer; it is described as a medium brown with a subtle gold shimmer. This is one of the best selling makeup products of all time, as it looks flattering on a large array of skin colors. It retails for $36.00 at Sephora. Here is a photo of how it appears on the cheeks:

This picture is from WhatWeWhere, and shows how beautiful the contour looks on the cheeks. The subtle shimmer adds a glow to the skin, and the bronzer help adds shape to the face. 

Blush

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Once again honing to my Blazing Blush post, NARS Blush in Orgasm is a peach pink blush with a subtle gold shimmer. Once again, this is a universal color that looks great on almost all skin tones. However, the peach tone is particularly flattering on women with an olive or tan skin tone. Here is a picture of how it looks on the cheeks:

This photo comes from Katie of Beauty Babbles, who is a beautiful fair-skinned red head. This photo not only shows how true to color the blush is, but it also shows how truly versatile the color is on women of all skin tones. 

Best Lip Products for Olive-Skinned Women 

Everyday Lipstick/Gloss

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MAC Lipstick in Costa Chic is a beautiful coral-pink lipstick with a frost finish. This lipstick looks absolutely incredible on women with a tan or of a natural olive skin tone. While it looks very bold in the bullet, it looks much more subtle on the lips. Here is an example of how it looks:

This photo comes from a MAC Unsung Heroes post on the Makeup and Beauty Blog. As you can see, the colors looks absolutely radiant on her skin tone. Coral Lips are a huge trend right now, and these beauties should rock it!

Night Out Lipstick/Lipgloss

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MAC Lipstick in Ruby Woo is a matte, orange-tone red that looks incredible on women with an olive to medium dark skin tone (it was based on Rihanna’s complexion). This lipstick is the definition of glamour, and will add a bold pop of color to the lips whenever you go out. here is how it look on the lips:

This photo comes from the writer of VermillionKisses who looks absolutely incredible in this retro matte lip. She is ready for a night out on the town!

<3 Naa

Makeup Master: Top Products/Brands For Fair Skin

Hey Everyone!!!

Ever since my Top 5 series with makeup brands, I got a lot of requests to share the best products for woman of different skin colors. The beautiful Alina from the Heartbreaker Fashion Blog commented on one of my blog post to suggest a good foundation for woman of very fair skin. As a woman with an extreme skin tone (mine being very dark), I understand the struggle it is to find the perfect products for your skin tone. Because of this, I have started a series to introduce my personal suggestion of products for woman of different skin tones. Here you go:

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Best Face Products for Fair-Skinned Women

Foundation/Tinted Moisturizer 

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Now, in my opinion this is the best foundation PERIOD. Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in shades 01 and 02 are described as a pure white and pale beige, respectively.The product is inspired by the BB Cream faze from Asian Markets. It retails for $43.81 at Sephora, and can be bought around the world through Illamasqua.com. Here is an example of what the foundation looks on the skin (this woman’s foundation may be a little too pale for her, but it shows the assortment of shades):

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Concealer 

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Nars is an incredible cosmetic brand with a wide assortment of products. Now, while I have always known NARS proficiency in creating Blushes and Bronzers, I only recently discovered their incredible face products. Some of my close friends with a pale complexion swear by theRadiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, a product that retails for $28.00 at Sephora. 

Powder

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Once again, I decided to stick with versatility. It can be difficult to find a great setting powder for your makeup, as while Translucent Powders are great, they can cause a white cast in photographs.Mac Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light is the perfect powder for woman of a light complexion, and retails for $30.00 at MAC stores. Unlike other powders, it does not cause a white cast to show in photographs. Here is an example of it on the skin:

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Best Cheek Products for Fair Skinned Woman

Bronzer/Contour

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As I said in my Dramatic Contouring post, when you have extreme skin tones, you should use different makeup products as a contour. I discovered this skin pigment while watching Pixiwoo’sProm Makeup Victoria’s Secret Style Video. It is a deep beige color, and meant to be used as a base for eyeshadows. However, it adds the most subtle contour on more fair skinned ladies. It retails for $28.39 at Sephora. Here is how it looks on the skin:

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Best Blush/Highlighter

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This should not be a surprise for readers on my blog, as I already said that this was my favorite blush for fair-skinned women in my Blazing Blush post. As said before, it retails for $49.00 at Sephora. Here is an updated swatch on cheeks:

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Best Lip Products for Fair-Skinned Women

Everyday Lipstick/Gloss

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This is a great “your lips but better” type of lipstick for fair-skinned young woman. MAC Lipstick in Angel retails for $15.00 at MAC stores. It is slightly yellow toned light-medium pink with soft silver micro glimmer. This lipstick is a great color to put on everyday and matches nearly everything. It is not too pale that it washes you out, while it is not so pigmented that it looks fake.

Night Out Lipstick/Lipgloss

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For more fair-skinned girls, I feel that Matte LIps are much more flattering. The NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl is described as a Vivid Siren Red, and looks absolutely incredibly on young women with a paler complexion. This is a great color to wear on a night out with the girls. The product retails for $25.00 at Sephora. 

<3 Naa