Category: Beauty Tips

http://themakeupblogger.com/new-and-old-ghostbusters/

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The tide is turning. Ghostbusters has been re-made. A reboot, by director Paul Feig, features four fantastic ghostbusting babes: Kristen Wiig (whom Feig directed in Bridesmaids), Melissa McCarthy (of Feig’s Spy), Kate McKinnon (SNL’s secret weapon for the last couple of years), and Leslie Jones (in Trainwreck and whose comedy resume goes back further than all the rest). Sounds fantastic, no?

Well, not to some fan boys out there. The movie promotion began about a year ago and its bold cast of ladies has been forced to stare down an abyss of misogyny from the get-go. The backlash began with Ghostbuster fanboys waging an all-out internet war against the new movie, starting with giving its trailer nearly a million thumbs down on YouTube in a weird cyber-attempt to depress enthusiasm and sales. Despite Hollywood’s thriving history with remakes, there are vocal complaints that one will ruin the original and could ruin Ghostbro childhoods.

Melissa McCarthy’s response in The New York Times crystallizes why we love her and want to hang out with her all day: “I think their childhood was pretty much ruined already. If this broke it, it was pretty fragile to begin with. It is good to remember, it is a tiny, tiny fraction that screams. Normal, healthy people don’t stand outside, saying, ‘You’re ruining my childhood!’

According to The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, females comprised only “22% of protagonists in the top 100 films in 2015” (which is sadly a big improvement over previous decades). So isn’t it time we had a female version of Ghostbusters? Hasn’t the box office proven that women are funny and can carry big movies? Director Paul Feig has weighed in on this, and seems as perplexed as we are: “I just don’t understand why it’s ever an issue anymore. I’ve promoted both Bridesmaids and The Heat and [we] are still hit constantly with the question, will this answer the question of whether women can be funny? I really cannot believe we’re still having this conversation.”

Neither can we.

All it takes is seeing the faces of little girls, dressed as mini-ghostbusters, greeting Kristen Wiig at the movie’s recent premiere to know that this gender switcheroo is right, and good, and long overdue. These girls will soon become women, and they will expect more female stories, as they pass their Ghostbusters gear down to their daughters. So whether it’s a hit or not (and given Feig’s and his cast’s track records at the box office, it’s got a good shot), Ghostbusters is making history.

We mean HERstory.

Because guess what? It’s 2016 and we are going to slime the ghosts. We are going to slip out of our Hollywood imposed bikinis and into our Ghostbusting jumpsuits (or designer rompers), if we damn well choose.

And yes, we are going to spray our highly-charged proton particles all over Manhattan. Our time has come. Get out of the way.

Ghostbusters, anyone?

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http://themakeupblogger.com/pati-dubroff-charlize-therons-makeup-artist/

Photo courtesy:  US Magazine

At the tender age of 10, she began playing with makeup, applying it on family members and friends. Pati Dubroff went on to assist Bobbi Brown at New York Fashion Week in the 80s and became Francois Nars’ main assistant around the same time. She has ascended the ranks of Hollywood’s glam squad to become one of the IT makeup artists for the IT girls. Her client roster is a Who’s Who of glamazons, such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Gisele Bünchen, among others. You get the idea.

Her longtime client, Charlize Theron, asked her to work on The Huntsman: Winter’s War, where she played Queen Ravenna, which marked Pati’s first feature film project. (A refreshing reminder: there’s a first time for everything—even seasoned veterans.) Although the world is her oyster, Dubroff’s artistry mostly graces magazine covers, advertising campaigns and the red carpet, all gigs that require less time away from her family than film and television projects.

Over the years, Pati and Charlize have developed a collaborative relationship; trust has been cultivated and it allowed them to create many mesmerizing makeup looks for The Huntsman (think of them as beautiful editorial makeup looks on the big screen). Pati is no stranger to the power of makeup, but for this particular project, that power became dramatically heightened as Queen Ravenna became more and more evil. Even extending a dark brown shadow from the eye crease to the nose–creating a hook-like effect–makes Theron’s face appear more menacing .

Before shooting one particular scene, Charlize had a dream that Queen Ravenna had gold flakes on her eyes. Pati swiftly obtained gold flakes from another department on set (purchased from an art supply store) and expertly secured the flakes around Charlize’s eyes with Lucas’ Paw Paw ointment and Homeoplasmine Balm, which also creates a subtle glistening effect. Dubroff says she has seen makeup tutorials that try to replicate this look using eye lash glue instead, of which she disapproves, noting “it’s too heavy and dense”. This seemingly insignificant insight is what separates the makeup queens from the princesses.

You can see the aforementioned golden regal makeup makeup tutorial by Pati here:

Like most of us, Pati is obsessed with good skin. For her clients, she’ll prep the skin with Bioderma and sometimes uses a Biocellulose restorative sheet mask, if necessary. Next comes an application of a rich moisturizer on the high points of the face, such as the cheek bones while keeping the rest of the face lightly moisturized–or even on matte side–to ensure the makeup application lasts longer. Even the genetically-gifted require work for their glamorous game faces, so her secret sauce is to spend around 20 minutes on the skin—blending various concealers and foundations in multiple colors with brushes, fingers and sponges. The key is to make skin flawless and makeup undetectable.

At home, she is also religious about her own skincare regimen and has a bathroom exploding with beauty products to prove it. Admittedly, she doesn’t wear much makeup because she is so busy and says her clients can find it off-putting when an artist comes in with a full face of makeup. Note, if you have any aspirations to assist Pati: save your cat eye for GNO.

To see the range of makeup looks created by Pati for Charlize Theron, check out The Huntsman: Winter’s War which is now available on DVD and Blue-Ray and includes outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage.

The post Spotlight: The work of Pati Dubroff, Charlize Theron’s makeup artist appeared first on The Makeup Blogger.

http://themakeupblogger.com/tried-classpass-get-back-fitness-groove-heres-happened/

Photo via Les Exploratrices

First, I need to be honest about my fitness: I’m NOT a natural athlete. I’ve had my ups and downs on the treadmill of health, but I’ve always found working out to be a chore.  I envy the Fit Girls of Instagram (you know who you are)—the ladies who religiously meal prep, who can squat better than J. Lo, and who wear performance athleisure like they were born in it.  You make it look so easy…and fun.  Even in my fittest phase (I used to run marathons), I’d still have to trick myself into working out.  So when I was looking for a way to kickstart my fitness routine (again), I tried ClassPass.  Founded by our girl crush, Payal Kadakia, a world-class dancer and MIT grad whose enduring love for dance inspired her to get others to find their workout groove.  With a million varieties of classes to try, why not shake things up? ClassPass allows you to studio hop with fitness classes in your area and customize your workout regimen. The classes range from yoga and pilates, to boxing, Crossfit and pole dancing class. Here’s what I learned:

Spin Class Is My Leg Day

Last time I checked, everyone hates Leg Day.  Spin was my leg day workout, and oh man, that sucked.  My past relationship with spin included pretending to increase the tension on my bike while I sipped my coconut water. This time around using ClassPass, my secret to making spin tolerable was eating a banana with peanut butter beforehand, while downing all the blue Gatorade I could get my hands on. Though biking over “hills” is still the worst, I must admit that my toned calves aren’t complaining.

A Kick in the Asana


I started attempting yoga on my “lazy days.”  In fact, one of my first classes was with a room full of pregnant women, and I could have sworn we slept in the dark the entire hour.  But I slowly found yoga to be a cross between a really good workout and a relaxing hot tub (my vice on a Saturday night).   When I wanted to push myself, I added weights and went for Bikram-style yoga.  If I wanted to chill, I chose a restorative class.

Meet Me At The Barre?


Apparently uncontrollable shaking muscles means you’re doing barre right.  It took me all of 30 seconds of class to start dripping with sweat during a 5-minute plank.  For anyone who hasn’t taken barre, the instructor shouts precise and quick instructions that sound a little something like this: “And DOWN-and-tuck, and UP-and-tuck, and tuck-up, 2-3-4, tuck-DOWN 2-3-4.”  Meanwhile the students make minor isometric movements–so minor, you’re not even sure you can see yourself contracting.   It was really, really hard, but I eventually got into it.  I felt stronger almost immediately and was surprised how quickly each class flew by.  Also, with my personal affinity for ballerinas, posing against the mirrored walls was the closest I’d get to channeling the NYC ballet.  Dang, Misty Copeland, is that you?

My First Wellness Appointment


Depending on the city, ClassPass gives you a chance to make local wellness appointments that aren’t gym-related (infrared rooms, saunas, etc…).  I took advantage of a cryotherapy center, because hey, who doesn’t want to enter a nitrogen chamber naked for three minutes?  Cryo Tip: It’s as freezing as it sounds.  Although cryotherapy is supposed to reduce soreness and increase blood circulation, I’m not completely sure I’m on the bandwagon yet. It did, however, feel good after spin class.

Takeaways

Let’s address the obvious question:  Is ClassPass worth it?  Similar to other fitness programs, they offer introductory pricing to new members.  Depending on the city you reside in, the tiered pricing ranges from $65 for 5 classes a month, to $175 for unlimited use in LA/SF.  The expense is the same price tag as a weekend flight, or two-and-a-half trips to Whole Foods.  But some months, you might choose to invest in some Charlotte Tilbury skincare, and other times, it may mean buying a faster hard drive for your computer.  This month, it was my fitness, and my experience getting into ClassPass had an obvious payoff to me.  Boredom was always the culprit to my personal struggle with fitness.  But because ClassPass required me to hop around, meet new people, and try things I normally wouldn’t, it was anything but boring.  For the girls who hate working out–this one’s definitely for you.

I may never be a Fit Girl of Instagram.  But at least I’m into yoga now.  Though, I’m still totally pretending I know how to “find my vinyasa.”

The post I tried ClassPass to get back into my fitness groove. Here’s what happened…. appeared first on The Makeup Blogger.