JLo and behold!

Dear Lucy,

JLo always looks amazing. How does she achieve that almost no-makeup look?

Joanna

A makeup artist once told me that looking perfectly effortless actually takes effort and the way to pull it off is by carefully layering and buffing makeup, using high-quality products.

First, you start with skin that is hydrated and plump — for this you use a primer and foundation for full coverage, after which you apply highlights strategically. This requires technique which you can learn from an expert (there are many in the makeup counter). What I do is when I find someone wearing makeup I like, I really ask her how she applied it and what products she used. When I am being made up, I observe the experts. The aim is always to achieve supple-looking skin as opposed to shiny, oily-looking skin.

Color to the MAC: MAC Extra Dimension Eyeshadow (this one is in Warm Thunder) brings color to another level.

To simplify in terms of color, warm earth hues are universally flattering. Peaches and oranges prettify, and coffees and beiges with a little metallic edge brushed over the bone structure of the face highlights compensate for expert contouring if the latter is not possible. MAC has a lovely selection. Check out their Extra Dimension Eyeshadow, Blush in Peaches or Optimistic Orange, lip color in Innocence, Beware! Studio Fix dual compact remains to be one of the most reliable of all makeup brands. Even the sheer variant is wonderful.

Lucy

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Brushing Up On Makeup Brushes

Dear Rissa,

Photoshop at your fingertips: The Charm Luxe Flat Top brush gives a lightweight, seamless, and practically poreless layer to the face while wonderfully covering imperfections. It makes skin still look like your skin, but a perfect version of it. 

Makeup brushes can be quite pricey. I want my first professional makeup brush to be worth every penny. Before I make the splurge, what’s the one makeup brush I should have? Please recommend the best one worth buying.

Chinkee

If there is one makeup brush I cannot live without, it would be the Charm Luxe Flat Top brush. I love it so much that I wish I discovered it years ago. (You can find this at www.beautyandminerals.com for only P600. You can also e-mail beautyandminerals@gmail.com.) Its performance surpasses all of my pricey branded brushes. I’m not kidding. I don’t mind misplacing my other brushes, but not this! I seriously love it so much that I am planning to hoard extras, just in case I lose mine.

The Charm Luxe Flat Top brush is like Photoshop at your fingertips! It literally creates a flawless face right before your eyes. Unlike other brushes that pile on heavy layers of powder just to provide coverage, this magically “Photoshops” blemishes away. I love it because it gives a lightweight, seamless, and practically poreless layer to the face while wonderfully covering imperfections. With just a moisturized face, I simply use this brush with my regular pressed powder (that’s right, not a full-coverage foundation powder and just a basic face powder) and apply my powder in circular motions. I swear it’s like Photoshop right before my eyes! The best thing about it is it makes skin still look like your skin — but a perfect version of it. Friends have complimented me on looking so “fresh and flawless,” even asking me what foundation I used. They get surprised when I tell them I only have face powder on — no liquid foundation or even concealer.

The Charm Luxe Flat Top brush is the perfect buffing brush for loose mineral foundation or pressed foundation. The bristles are firm and densely packed but silky soft to the skin. It provides buildable coverage. It can also be used wet or dry with wet foundation or your favorite BB cream. I gifted one to my best friend and since she needed extra coverage for her birthmark, she used it with powder over her concealer. It turns any makeup for the face into Photoshop at your fingertips!

Rissa

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How To Be A Closet Queen

Hi, Regina!

Closet cleaning 101: The more you toss, the more room you make for new clothes that fit, that you actually like. www.fotosearch.com

My closet needs to be cleaned out, but I’m a pack rat and I don’t know where to begin. What do I do?

 Jenny

Closet overhaul styles differ from person to person, but I would suggest looking at every item in your closet and, if you haven’t worn it in a certain period of time (six months, a year; it’s your call), get rid of it. Unless it’s a season-dependent piece, like a coat or a heavy sweater that you can use if you’re traveling to a country with a colder climate, if it hasn’t been worn in a year, you’re not likely to wear it ever again. If it doesn’t fit anymore, and hasn’t fit in a while, toss it. (I know some people like to keep smaller clothes in their closet in the event that they may someday fit again, but…). If you don’t like it, what is it even still doing in your closet? If it’s still wearable though, donate it. Someone somewhere will definitely be glad to have something to wear.

There are no rules, but some of my exceptions to the haven’t-worn-it-in-forever rule are: If it’s designer, if it was made for you, if it’s an heirloom-type piece that’s been passed down, if it looks like it can be used for a costume or worn to a theme party. (I had to dig out a black lace skirt from my own donation box for a ‘80s era Madonna outfit; keeping your kitschier clothes makes costuming a lot easier.)

Think of it this way: The more you toss, the more room you make for new clothes that fit, that you actually like. Right? Good luck, and happy closet cleaning!

Regina

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Send e-mail to Lucy Torres-Gomez at ltg@pldtdsl.com. E-mail Rissa Trillo at stylesos_rissa@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter @RissaMananquil. E-mail Regina Belmonte at vivatregina.tumblr@gmail.com.