Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Stage vs. Street


Hey all you gorgeous POP lovers! Hope you are all really well and enjoying life to the fullest! Any of you ever wondered what the real difference between street and stage makeup is? For many Hollywood dames or brave rock ‘n rollers the difference might be slight but for you chameleons out there who like to switch it up and slip into a different persona depending on your mood I have a few tips! As a performer and stage person myself, I would say there are quite a lot of differences in getting ready for the stage or the camera and just getting ready for coffee with your friends. Don’t ever feel restricted though, I do want to add that I sometimes sprinkle myself in glitter just to go and get milk(!) these are a few general tips. Hope they will be of some help-

1) Street: no makeup makeup is the best way to go – natural sunlight enhances the amount you put on and just a touch too much powder easily ends up looking cakey & flaky – not a good look…Keep things to a minimum, put your makeup on in a room with lots of natural sunlight so that you know exactly what you look like before stepping out the door. Less is more when it comes to quantity.

Work with light touches of color to enhance, don’t try to shade or sculpt features too much but rather enhance what you have naturally with light touches of pinks or berry for cheeks, navy, moss or plum lines for eyes and a neutral pink for lips (fair skins go for pinks or peaches to lift and brighten, medium to olive skin try fresh berries to counteract yellow and dark skins give deeper tones like earthy reds and deep plums a go – avoid grey undertones). Don’t be scared of a little glow, choose crème textures with a shimmer rather than glitter for a skin-like texture - this way you will look fresh and vivid without looking overdone!

2) Stage: Just cake it on baby! In the dark and in front of the camera, it seems almost like the more you put on the less it´s noticed! Work with lighting and angles to shade and sculpt cheek bones and nose; choose earth tones and neutrals. Suck cheeks in, shading with darker shades under the cheekbones, building lighter shades upwards so that the lightest shades ends up on top of the bone structure, this enhances & sharpens the cheekbones and opens up the eyes.

Smoke your eyes out or make them pop with tons of neon hues. The options are endless. For stage, faux lashes are a must! Choose a pair that works with the look you have gone for on the eyes - the smokier the eye, the darker and denser the lashes.

Here is also (according to me) the only opportunity to enhance lips with lip liner, drawing the line outside of the lips ONLY works on stage or in front of the camera, it looks almost clown like in the light of day. Use a good concealer and dab over and around the lips so that your natural lip line fades as much as possible – then choose a lip liner that is the same color as the lipstick you plan to use, draw the liner just outside your lip line and also fill in your lips, then follow with lipstick. For a finishing touch sprinkle yourself with fairy dust and have a glass of champagne – Tada! Ready to meet my audience!

With love as always!
Sara x x x x x x x x x

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Stranded by a Volcano....


Wow what a week! Apart from erupting volcanoes in Iceland, trapping me in my birth country of Sweden (and millions of others unable to travel all over the world) – there has been a lot happening! Just moved into my new apartment in LA when I was whisked off to spend a week in my native London!

I remembered instantly why I moved there in the first place, the buzz, the people, the makeup, the fashion! Everywhere you look there is street art happening in the people rushing about! In London there is no limit, no rules to what you should and should not wear, do, or say! Makeup becomes an expression of your mood rather than a must or a mask and this was the inspiration for POP in the first place - makeup as an accessory, makeup as an extension of your mood and makeup as another tool, another creative outlet and personal expression!

Trends? Who cares – honestly, just wear what makes you look and feel good! There are too many trends going on at the same time to pin it down, your options are endless. Go your own way, create your own trends, those are the only ones that count anyway! I fell in love with Alexander McQueen all over again as his last collection is just an explosion of pure creativity and talent – what an icon we have lost!

Avant garde is obvious in a city with sharp edges and a week in good old London town gave me a much needed boost of inspiration – like a shot of Spirulina for the soul! Walking down Fulham Road on Sunday evening I bumped into an amazing sax player and his stand up base guy, they asked me to join their gig and subsequently I ended up doing a really fun gig, singing in a club in Chelsea with Dr Johns (one of my personal favorites!) and no one less than Slash´s music guys! Now that’s the kind of thing that only happens in London or maybe NYC…So as you can imagine I have had a great time!

As far as makeup for travelling goes, I am sure you know the dilemma I stand in front of trying to pack my 16 drawers and 7 huge boxes of cosmetics into one portable and easy to carry travelling makeup bag that fits in my suitcase and still allows creativity for evenings out and days of color on a whim! These have been my essentials for this trip: Correct & Protect No 2: a must that evens out skin tone invisibly and also has SPF 30. No Show Concealer: if you think you don’t need concealer you are lucky! This one has added caviar extract - one liquid luminous side is a must for jetlagged skin as it hides imperfections AND adds a glow, now that’s working double duty! My One Liner: jet black non-smudge liquid liner, what can I say, I can´t face sunset without it! Lid Neon: for a fun and playful twist and a pop of color to any look! Lash WOW: amazing fake lash effect without the hassle and Lush Blush in cherry blossom, if I have these – I can survive. Hope everyone is having fun, don’t forget to shakeup your makeup!
Love, Sara x x x x

Monday, April 5, 2010

Makeup Takes The Heat!


There’s nothing worse then trying to enjoy the blossoming weather and having makeup melting, feeling and looking sticky and greasy on your face, but don’t worry, there are ways to get around it! Below are my favorite top three tips on how to look good in the heat!

1) its in the skin
Don’t pack on the makeup for days in humid warm weather or frolics in the sun. Choose light, gel based textures that absorb into the skin immediately and avoid face powders as they may cake, streak and crumble as you get hot and it is just not a good look. A lot of people feel that if they keep on applying powder their skin will look fresh and velvety, not the case if you are in hot weather, you are so much better off without it. Try using an oil controlling/mattefying primer and water based gel foundation or tinted moisturizer that sets seamlessly into your skin & don’t forget the SPF. If you are very oily (most people are not as oily as they think) get some good blotting paper.

Suggested POP products: Face Magnet Primer, No Show Correct & Protect

2) no smudge
Use a waterproof/waterresistant mascara to ensure it stays in place - mascara smudged under the eyes is something to be avoided for an every day fresh faced look! There are so many great waterproof mascaras, and eye liners too for that matter, you should never have to put up with or worry about makeup residue moving around on your face! Same goes for eyeliners, use a gel based, water resistant liner for hot humid days.

Suggested POP products: Lash Kapow, In Liner, Hot Pot Gel Liner.

3) make it stay on
My last (but not least) tip for stay put makeup whatever the weather may be is to use a sealer (POP liner creator) mixed with any powder to create a liquid that then sets like a waterproof shield on the skin. This product has saved many a pool parties for me! You can mix with eye shadow, blusher, even a face powder and then apply onto eyes or skin with a synthetic brush or a sponge and it will literally not come off until you take it off, totally waterproofs the pigments - like magic!

Suggested POP products: Eyeliner Creator/Sparkle Sauce