I live for this!

Video by Fashiontv.com

First- concealer. Concealer under the eyes works major wonders , if you’ve had a long night out or you didn’t get much sleep the night before it can  be a instant wake up underneath your eyes. Most of us aren’t so blessed to roll out the bed looking like angels, some of us had a few late night demons and need concealer.

Second- Blush. There’s a girl that works near me and I tell you  everyday this chick looks like she had the worst night ever. I tell her girl! Let me put some blush on your cheeks. It instantly brings color to her dull skin and gives her an awake glow that she needs to make her look alive during a long day. So BLUSH is a must!

3rd told you I wouldn’t keep you long. A shiny lipstick or gloss. You had to know that was coming! Something on the lips is inviting it says I took the time to think about what I look like today, the simplest of makeup products can do the most impressive job!

Thanks to everyone that came to the LM booth at the Makeup & Martini’s Event! Everyone looked beautiful, and was incredibly NICE. The debut of the LM line of lipsticks was a MAJOR success. I apologize for not  being able to sell them the wi-fi in the lounge wasn’t available to do PAYPAL, but I have placed them on-line for you to purchase so if you remember the LM number that was tried on you that’s the one you click on in the BUY NOW area of the Makeup & Martini’s page.
Special thanks to TGaines ENT. and the incredible and humble Shelly Flash for all the shout-outs and good vibes and offering me an incredible workspace to display Lipstick Mixtapes and our services!

Harriet thank you for the awesome slide show and being available  to work with me and   working so hard to pull things together. And of course to all the Beautiful, Beautiful Women that inspired me throughout the night with amazing stories, incredible energy, and go-girl accolades you made my evening! I look forward to meeting more of you and making available HOT lipstick colors that you all LOVE and wear with the utmost CONFIDENCE AND SASS!

LOVE & LIPSTICK,

Safia Michelle

So here I am getting dressed for what I would consider an important dinner, I’m meeting my bf’s closest friends for the 1st time. Of course I want them to like me, I’m already nervous and I just want them to see me in all of my fierce glory with beauty and brains, lol. I do my hair, I get dressed in my best, I grab my makeup box, open it and I think for about 3 seconds my brain went about as blank as what was in that box. I HAD NOTHING!!  I’m a Makeup Artist… I HAD NOTHING!!! Since I have so much makeup I like to keep things organized for when I do jobs and I realized at that moment instead of grabbing my personal makeup kit before I left home, I took the kit that had nothing but all lipsticks and blushes!!! Now that doesn’t seem so bad right?? HA! I HAD NO BRUSHES, NO EYELINER, NO MASCARA… I DIDN’T HAVE THE PRODUCTS I USE TO MAKE ME LOOK LIKE ME!

I had a 2 minute freak out session in my bf’s bathroom and then I went into auto pilot, after all I wasn’t about to be defeated. I lucked up and had my foundation in my purse, which even Safia Michelle would tell you is rare for me. I was in total MAKE IT WORK MODE. I turned my fingers into brushes and those blushes into eye shadows! I contoured my cheeks with bronzer, rolled some tissue up to apply highlighters and blush to my skin and cheeks. I used a q-tip to smudge a old discontinued blush I had into my lash line and the only mascara I had was BLUE! Ha, chile boo I made that thang work! 10 mins and a hot flash later I looked great, and I also changed my point on view on makeup application. Being put in uncomfortable situations forces us to fight or flee, so what you got??? And the boy didn’t even know I had a makeup meltdown! #GIRLPOWER!

Here’s what I used:

 I met her at work surprisingly, I looked up and she was standing right in front of me looking for her products on the wall…

 Dressed in a dope a@! gray sweat suit, sneakers, and glasses she was so down to earth. Her smile was huge as I shreeked “TRINA?!?!?!” ( Yes, I’m a big dork but I love her) and she gave me hugs upon hugs, no diva, no extraness… she looked like she was about as chill as the diamonds on her fingers and wrists (done just right ).  I love her more now then I ever did before!

GET HER LOOK: Lots of M.A.C. Golden bronze loose powder, Angel lipstick with gloss, some frosty ass eyeshadow (paired with a matte one too, don’t trip), your best lace front and DON’T forget your diamonds!

Here at Lipstick Mixtapes we not only want you to be the best you can be…. but we’re Makeup Artists, so we also want you to LOOK the best that you can look, inside and out of course. That being said, we feel there’s a 4 alarm blaze going on in the makeup world, and we are here to extinguish that fire for ya! Its probably hands down one of the most popular trends in makeup, its a staple in any cosmetic kit, it was probably your first vanity purchase, as well as one of the easiest ones to pull of… BUT, ALL NUDE LIPS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL!!!!!! Nude on Alicia Keys, nude on Alek Wek, nude on Sieanna Miller and nude on Oprah are all gonna be completely different colors. The term “nude” is all relative anyway because it all depends on what your natural lip color is.

Lets examine that for a moment, shall we…?

This beautiful picture of Alicia Keys features her wearing a nude lip. Yes it has a slight pink shade to it but that’s because the natural color of her lip is pink! Look at the majority of her photos, there’s nothing she can do about it honestly…  unless she puts on a color. Her lip will only do so much in the nude range with that pink coming through… ask Safia Michelle.

…I wish you WOULD put a pinkish ANYTHING on Alek Wek and call it nude. Do you see the color that is on her lips in this image? It’s actually more of a deeper brown like the color of her skin. Its also the natural color of her lips…..

SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING?

These images of Oprah and Sieanna Miller show them wearing the “typical” overall effect of what people are seeking when they say “I want a nude lip”. But Oprah doesn’t have naturally pink lips and neither does Sieanna Miller! They are more of a flesh toned shade. So their nudes will differ all together unless they’re going for a more editorial look or something more specific (that’s a whole other ballgame).

**Discaimer** Not to say that anyone who has pink lips can’t have a brown based nude lip or vise versa…. 2 things to remember.

1) God didn’t give everybody everything, be realistic about what your working with… how much effort do you want to put into a lip (ie: Lip liner, Lipstick and Lipgloss vs Lipgloss alone)? Glosses and certain lipstick textures are so sheer they can’t saturate the lip enough to totally cover your natural shade without it coming through and being apart of the finished look **Remember Alicia Keys, Safia Michelle, Meagan B?**

2) Know what you are looking for when you go lipstick shopping. Don’t drive your Makeup Artist crazy trying to get them to decipher what it is that your looking for when you don’t even know…. at least give us an image (on paper, yes a photograph)of what you’re going for. Don’t you take one to your hair stylist?? Same deal.

That being said, we challenge all of you reading this to examine the color of your own lips, keep it real with yourself, and find a nude that works for YOU. Stop trying to match the color Beyonce has on, she gets photoshop.

Love and Lipstick,

Meagan B & Safia Michelle

*Notice the strong brow and minimal eye makeup*

-Try #3 Lashes by MAC as well as bottom lashes  NO EYELINER! *A perfectly laid lash doesn’t need it anyway*

-MAC Gingerly blush and a highlighting powder to match your skin tone

- Pink Neuvou lipstick and Money Honey Dazzleglass also by MAC
For this look:

-same skin eye and brow as above

- Fleshpot lipstick by MAC and a nude liner to match your skin tone. Looks like Teyanna’s makeup artist mixed Stripdown and Cork by MAC