Scandalous Beauty
The Urban Beauty Blog | Makeup tips, tutorials, swatches, MAC, Make Up For Ever, African American Women, by Erin J. Bailey
One of my holy grail makeup guides was this gem by photographer and makeup artist Francois Nars. Yep, the man that created my beloved Taj Mahal and Exhibit A blushes for Naomi Campbell is a jack of all trades. How did I not include this last month in the best makeup books post?
I love this book for quite a few reasons. It really does teach you about the art of makeup. Read on to see why.
As a teenager and into my early twenties, reading magazines served as a blueprint for me. It helped me decide the clothes I wanted to wear, the new music I should listen to, and the relationship drama that I never wanted to get into. Now, months shy of my 25th birthday, the state of the glossies has changed. I remember purchasing the issue of Honey Mag with D’Angelo on the cover and thinking how unique and grungy it look. Years later, I purchased the August 2003 issue with Nia Long on the cover and noted in my planner to check out MAC Ruby Woo lipstick, the color Nia wore on the cover. I was beyond elated when I was offered a position to blog for them in 2007!
Speaking of 2007, while trying to beat the morning transportation rush at my Columbia University subway stop, I purchased one of many copies of Vibe Vixen (the Summer Beauty issue, right up my alley!). It was the first time that I ever saw lace nail art. Definitely can’t leave out the issue with Janet in a fitted black and white polka dot dress, makeup nude and flawless. Suede, oh Suede. Editorial heaven. I have clippings of inspirational style on my wall to this day. They were so unique. Last night, I stayed up for an hour reading the March 2005 as if it were hot off the press. June Ambrose’s posh NYC pad and the the 40 hottest names in fashion were just too good to turn from.
How excited are we all that Sam Fine is finally coming out with a makeup video? Finally, we’ll get to learn the tricks of the trade (or just the tricks that he wants to expose). He can highlight and contour a face like I’ve never seen. When I attended his seminar back in 2007, he used over five foundations to sculpt his model’s face. The launch party went down at the Warren Tricomi Salon at the luxurious Plaza Hotel in NYC. Here he is looking so fresh and so clean with Iman (the host of the party), Deborah Cox and Vanessa L. Williams.
Apparently, the drink of choice was Nuvo! (I popped a bottle or two of this on my birthday in May, I really wanted to like it but it was overly flavored in my opinion. It was as if they wanted to hide the champagne taste with fruity syrup. I’ll stick to white wine.) The DVD will retail for $24.99, available of Samfine.com and Amazon.com. Can’t Wait!!!
By the way, if you don’t have his book Fine Beauty
If you’re looking for a great beauty read, you can’t go wrong with this! The Beauty of Color is a girly girl’s classic coffee table book. Large, glossy images of makeup in every sense of the word are right at your fingertips. Supermodel Iman and beauty editor turned blogger (And should be model) Tia Williams created this go to book. Within its pages you’ll find the definitions of makeup products, how to use them, and step-by-step makeup guides. The interesting thing is that it highlights not only Black women, but Middle Eastern, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and everything in between. ANTM’s Jay Manuel does quite a bit of the makeup for this book.
If you want a colorful guide to makeup products, this bad boy is for you. Want to see which brushes do what? Read on. If I were a beginner, I’d depend on this book. At least until the Makeup 101 series debuts on the Scandalous Beauty Youtube Channel! Hehe!!! Take a look inside the pages below. If you’d like to purchase a copy, hard or soft cover, check out Amazon.com. They have some really great prices on used books!
Speaking of Amazon, I’ve bought 6 albums using Amazon MP3′s. They save directly to your computer and typically cost 3 or 4 bucks cheaper than the CD itself. What did I get, you ask?
Mos Def, “The Ecstatic”, Erykah Badu, “Baduizm”, N.E.R.D., “Seeing Sounds” and a free Jazz Sampler, to name a few.
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A co-worker introduced me to the Post Secret books about a year ago. People anonymously send in postcards telling a secret, and a man in Germantown, MD compiles them into books, or his blog. Post Secret is taking over the world, I have to get my fix via his blog every Sunday!
There is a new edition of the book dropping soon, titled Life, Death & God. Can’t wait for this one! Check out the Postsecret Books
I’ve finally created a page for Scandalous Beauty on Facebook! Feel free to add me!
Allow me to introduce you to Miriam, Event Planner, Hampton Alum, and BFF. As an event planner, she has helped me with my first seminar, “A Very Scandalous New Year” as well as a grand opening for Beyond Fitness by Carlos Brevard, personal trainer in Bowie, MD. (Might I add that I have watched Miriam shrink over the past few months from Carlos’ training! The man is definitely on point!) Her new blog, Noir Expose, is a must read for any woman. Her latest entry is titled “Upgrade Yourself“. The title says it all, and it is definitely a must read!!! She covers books, events, restaurants, the social scene, just up everything else in between. Gotta love it!
Miriam was also my model for the seminar. She’s pretty much sticks to eyeliner on the lower lashing, mascara and gloss. Pretty boring if you ask me. Just joking! So, this was my opportunity to do what I wanted to her face. I’d been waiting for this moment for SO long!!! Here is a shot of her eyes! She’s wearing MAC Satin Taupe on the lid, Folie in the crease, NW20 concealer as the brow highlight (I couldn’t find NW35 to save my life that day!!!) and Red Cherry WSP lashes.
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