Sunrise to Sunset

Dear fellow makeup lovers!
Ever wondered how to get from drab to fab? From the office to a party without missing a beat, from coffee with the girls to a fancy dinner? I am talking about how to get from day to night with minimum effort... What are some of the key things to really glam it up in a matter of minutes? Below I give you a few tips on makeup products that really lift the face and get you party ready, touches that add that icing on the cake and make a true difference to the face. Hope you will implement and enjoy!

1) Crème foundation: this is my secret weapon for a quick touch up – if the formula is good enough it works as a concealer and skin base in one and using a nice sponge and quick dabbing motions you will have erased dark circles and have your skin looking back to flawless in seconds. Note: does not work if you have been wearing lots of powder before hand, then you might as well start over. We are developing an amazing crème foundation for POP – in the meantime, try Pixi’s Vitamin Veil – it is amazing and looks just like skin!

2) Liquid liner: frames your eyes and makes them look sharp and “clean cut”. A liquid liner is no doubt an evening staple for me, make sure to apply lots of mascara with it! POP’s My One Liner is your best bet, trust me. I have tried them all and it is truly is my no 1! No smudge no flake, just pure eye perfection!

3) Faux lashes....Need I say more? Nothing takes you from day to night with a flirty flutter like a pair of falsies. Try the collection, Dressed Up Lashes for nights on the town, Icons for full on glamour and Fantasy Lashes for “before fashion” moments and stage. Should be a lash for each one of us!

4) A deep lip. If you have no time to do anything else, opt for that perfect red or bright berry lipstick to take you from office to party. It will brighten your face, add some drama and make you look party ready in no time at all!

5) Highlight properly. A soft nude or even bright white eyeliner “cleans up” the rest of the makeup and puts focus where focus should be. Apply on top of cheek and brow bones to open up those peepers and sculpt and sharpen those cheek bones, you will be surprised at the effect, it really works!

From daytime to playtime – in no time! Enjoy!

With love as always,
Sara

5 Top Makeup Mistakes

Hi all you lovely people!

Hope all is really well and that spring turning to summer is putting a spring in your step as well as mine! As a makeup artist there are some things we get asked over and over, one of those questions is without a doubt: what are the biggest makeup mistakes…..I have listed my main ones below – hope this can be of some help!

With love as always! Sara x x x x

1) Trying to fake a tan with a darker tone foundation, or trying to lighten skin with a too light shade foundation. These are the most common and the worst mistakes. Base/foundation is supposed to be the canvas where all other shades can then be applied. The base should be exactly the same color as your skin or all other makeup you put onto will look wrong. If you want to look pale, stay out of the sun, if you want to look more tanned – invest in a bronzer or a nice holiday in the Caribbean’s…

2) Too much of a good thing….piling on the powder. this is not a good look, you want skin to look like skin, not like you stuck your head in a pile of flower. If you feel powder is a must, dust it on sheer with a big brush and blend until it is seamless on the skin. The above applies here as well – choose the right shade for you.

3) Lip liner. Sorry to say but a lip liner can so easily look outdated. Whatever you do, do not try to make your lips look bigger by drawing the line outside your natural lip line. Did not look good in the 80’s, does not look good now…Only works on camera if you ask me. If you really want to wear a liner to stop lip color from bleeding and feathering, follow your natural lip line, it will look so much better!

4) Matte, matte, matte. Mix up your textures! A matte base with a matte eye shadow and a matte lipstick makes you look really harsh and over painted. If you like a matte base, use a cheek color with a little shimmer and maybe a lip hue with a dewy finish. Mixing textures on the skin will make you look more youthful and alive.

5) Lips and eyes and cheeks….No – choose one feature and go all the way there, keeping the rest to a minimum. You can mix it up of course, do eyes one day, lips the other. But don’t make them compete with each other – that’s just not fair.

Last but not least! Use a POP of color. Move away from the browns people, mooove away from the browns!

With love as always,
Sara

Shakeup your makeup!

Hello gorgeous people! What’s shaking in your world? In the world of POP everything is crazy as per normal, just the way I like it! Now, I wanted to give a little insight to what it means to shake up your makeup – as this is one of the taglines for POP. I am sure you have heard the expression to shake it up, mix it up, and try something new?

Take a different route home, wear your hair up for once, Put a stop to buying more black clothes, treat yourself to a super fancy dinner alone, date someone not your usual type…you get the picture - now, apply it to your makeup routine! Ever looked in the mirror in the morning and felt, “hmm something is missing, I am just going through the motions here, I am not being creative and the products I am using are not making me feel like the goddess I am,” then, my friends, it is time to shakeup your makeup!

It is time for a beauty routine overhaul; it is time to have a proper look at what products make a real difference and what products you are just putting on because you always have. With POP I want to bring you unusual makeup solutions, products that give you a little nudge in a new direction, while making you feel amazing! Shaking up your makeup is about having fun, experimenting and moving out of your comfort zone – we don’t have to look flawless 24/7 but if we have gotten stuck in a rut that does not do us any favors, then that’s a real shame.

As always I am advocating a little color, and that’s half of the shaking up your makeup job done. I am about to yawn if I see more browns or grays on the list of best sellers and sticking out of your makeup bags. There are soooo many ways to look sophisticated without looking like everyone else and without going through a rut. Textures and color pigments change and develop constantly in the world of makeup – if you say you can’t wear green, I say with 100% certainty that you are wrong – there are a thousand shades of green and I can find one that suits you fine and actually makes your eyes really pop – no matter your coloring.

If you say you can’t wear shimmer because it will get into your fine lines, I say with 100% certainty that you can. Today’s crème & gel textures will sit on top of fine lines, plumping them and directing the light away from them, making them disappear!! So here is my plea: Try a vibrant red lip, try a pair of falsies when you are going out, try a different foundation, stop piling on the powder – add a neon liner to those neutral eye shadows; and you might look in the mirror and see a new side of yourself! Punches of color are not just for the young and brave, mature ladies look amazing with a little color on the lips! I try to shake it up every day – now it’s your turn!

With love as always,
Sara x x x x

The "No Trend" trends

Hey everyone!

Hope life is wonderful and exiting as it should be! I am now going to take the bull by the horns and approach a sensitive subject – makeup trends.

In my job I get endless inquiries about trends in makeup - what is happening this month, what is happening in makeup next season, etc. Of course, it is easy to scan the catwalks and pick up on the makeup thermometer of the street but the truth of it all is – who cares what the trends are?!

Now, ladies (and fellas for that matter!) don’t get me wrong here, I love my industry and creative thinking is definitely at the forefront of what I do. I like to believe that POP sets the trends rather then follows, so… what on earth am I talking about? I am talking about following what works for YOU – create your own trend! In product development we are always looking for the newest most effective technology, that elusive PERFECT shade and texture, the best packaging and, last but not least, that product you have never seen before and did not even know you really wanted – that is my mission.

But…. when it comes down to your own makeup bag, pick what works for you! Makeup is just as individual as what sweet you like the taste of, what clothes you wear, which jewelry you pick out! Don’t let trends get in the way! So one top model had to shave off her eyebrows for her latest catwalk show, c’mon – that does not mean we are going to do the same, does it? What works for the catwalk does not necessarily work for lunch with your friends (or dinner at your boyfriend’s parents house for that matter!) lets be sensible here…

Also, let’s not listen too much too people like me – if you like it, wear it! That’s how you create your own fashion! As a makeup artist, nearly every woman I meet has been told to wear browns….Why is that? I find it beyond puzzling as almost no one looks their best in browns….Sure, neutrals mixed with a pop of color, bronze with a blue liner for example but just browns…No – it does not do it for me, they can actually make you look more tired and sometimes when it gets bad, like you need a good scrub.

This is also what people usually mean when they tell me they want to look “natural” - as the word natural comes out of their mouths they are usually looking at my set makeup table and with raised eyebrows hinting and pointing in the directions of the neutrals, forsaking a rainbow of yummy looking shades. I shall state my case: Brown is NOT natural – no one has naturally brown lips! Most of us have a naturally rosy pinky tone to our lips – so that would be the natural hue to enhance!

So apart from not following trends like a robot, my advice to you is – try something new, try a POP of color, let’s have fun and be playful and you will be surprised at how good you will look, before anyone else has had the time to catch on!

With love as always,
Sara x x x x

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

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

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