Whenever I hear about a new technique to help women personalize their own makeup, I get excited! Understanding the nuances of selecting the right colors for yourself can be tricky, but with more knowledge you'll be better able to choose, so today we are talking about understanding your face's contrast level.

Contrast level is the amount of contrast (how light/dark something is when placed next to one another) found in your features. Specifically the contrast between your skin level, hair/ brow color, and the pigment in your lips. Think about how a photo that’s black and white, is actually many variations of grey. The bigger the jump from the lightest grey to the darkest grey the more contrast you have.

Once the weather starts to cool down, I find myself feeling a bit more excited to experiment with makeup again. There is something about losing my tan, that motivates me to add more color in another way. I just feel like my face can ‘carry’ more color in the cooler months, does anyone else feel that way too?

One of my go-to techniques for this is to use my blush product as my lip product too. Here's how to pull it off...

The Art of MAKEUP Layering… Notice I didn’t call it a science! There are some general guidelines but no hard and fast rules. But sometimes I think we get hung up on the order we ‘should’ apply our makeup, or just simply always have. I think it’s worth a shot to swap a few things around every now and then to discover if you could be getting better results without actually buying anything new.

Finding the perfect red lip is often intimidating... it's such a bold color that it can feel foreign on your face if worn incorrectly. I have heard time and again that women often WANT to wear one but just don't know how to find the right shade. So before you get dressed up for those upcoming holiday parties or family pics, use these tips to crack the code on Red Lips.

Post pandemic beauty will probably never be exactly the same as it was prior. The last year has 'reset' many of the trends and styles that were once popular, specifically swapping out full coverage and heavier makeup, for a lighter more 'skin like' finish and just an overall more natural, easier approach.

As the world opens up again we will again be dressing up and getting ready more often, but my prediction is that the more subtle looks will still be at the forefront of trends moving forward.

When we DO want to up our game there are a few easy additions we can make to feel a little more put together.

One thing I know a lot about is getting my photo taken. ha! But it’s true… I have a professional photographer that I work with twice a month to grab photos for the blog or social media, and I am on TV every other week too. And like most of you I try to get a family photo taken once a year as well to document my kids at each age. Before that, earlier in my career, I did hair and makeup for at least one hundred brides and also worked freelance on many TV, commercial and magazine shoots. So after all of that- I like to think I have learned a few tried and true tips for better makeup in photos. I want to share 5 of those tips with you- and I hope they come in handy next time you find yourself in front of a camera lens.

If quarantine has re-racked your priorities a little, and you’ve decided to embrace the less is more approach- you may be part of the large number of women deciding to keep their beauty routines more simple. Recently Studio 5 did a poll on their IG feed, asking followers if they were going to ditch their lash extensions for good? Almost 80% of responders said ‘YES!’ and we couldn’t help but take notice of that large amount. So I thought it might be helpful to give you a few tips for enhancing and brightening the eyes daily, giving yourself a little less to commit to when it comes to your lashes.