Beauty Squared Round-Up for April 19, 2015

Happy Sunday and hello from Beauty Squared. It's that time again. Here are our picks for must-see links related to all things beauty. Let's go!

• Spring 2015 Beauty Trend: Doll-like makeup. We're talking perfect skin, lashes and pink lips.
  
• Summer is coming and that means many of us will be cropping our hair shorter for the warmer weather. Thinking of going short-short? Or maybe you're already way ahead of the trend and rocking short hair? Here are some short hair inspirations.
  
• Do you dye your own hair? If so, you know how messy it can be. Here are some helpful tips on cleaning up during and after dying your hair.
  
• You know how to keep your skin clean and clear from breakouts, right? No? Here you go.
  
• Do you exfoliate your skin? You should and here's how.
  
• A product that can banish your puffy eyes with minimal effort?
  
• Products that can minimize those pesky large pores that can prevent you from having a smooth complexion are all the rage right now. This is what you should know about them.
  
• Tempted by bold eye makeup looks but a little intimidated? This post might help.
  
• Speaking of bold eye makeup looks: how about using metallic flakes (think gold leaf) in your eye looks?
  
• Travelling and makeup - what to pack.
  
• If you'll be travelling somewhere warm soon, or you've maybe overdone it enjoying the warm spring sunshine, this is for you - Five Tips for Sunburn.
  
• Ease off on the contouring, kids. Read what MUA Patti Dubroff has to say about the heavy contouring running rampant on Instagram and YouTube and what you should be doing instead.
  
• And on that note, here's how to get a flattering, natural-looking brow that suits you and doesn't look like you've put it on with a Sharpie.
  
• MAC Senior Artist Melissa Gibson tells us how to handle the overabundance of limited edition collections without feeling the need to buy them all. She should know, working for MAC, who has limited edition collections out every few weeks!
  
• Sam and Nic from Pixiwoo and Real Techniques sits down with their idol, the fantastic MUA Val Garland for a chat.
  
• Read about (and see) what happened when a woman went to eight different makeup counters and asked for a natural make-up look. 

Beauty Squared Round-Up - November 2, 2014

Hi lovelies! It's been a quiet week on the beauty side of things....but there are a couple of links that we found to share with you. Let's take a look.

• Halloween is over, but maybe start to plan your costume for next year? Why not? Take a look at these fantastic transformations by MUA Kandee Johnson.
  
• Check out this video showing MUA Val Garland creating a makeup look with minimal colour and freckles (that weren't there before).
  
• The British Beauty Blogger has swatches of some of the Bobbi Brown Scotch on the Rocks collection.
  
• Miley Cyrus is new face of MAC Viva Glam.

Tricks and Tips: YSL Fall/Winter 2009 Video

You  many be wondering why I'm writing a post on a video that is one year old. This video was recently brought to my attention by Cath, and although it is for an old collection (Fall/Winter 2009) it is completely worth watching for numerous tips and techniques that will make your game stronger in any season.

View this video here: http://vimeo.com/1201237

The artist in question is Val Garland, YSL's International Make-Up Artist whose excellent work can also be seen in Lady Gaga's Alejandro video. What impresses me so much about this video is the excellent technique Garland demonstrates while working on Canadian model Coco Rocha.

Here's a list of techniques and tricks to look out for in the video - many of you will know most of these already, but it's nice to see them in action in an editorial setting, where makeup needs to be both strong and perfect.

1. Blending and building up shadows to create softness, shape and depth.
2. Loose powder under the eye when building a smokey look.
3. Patting on eyeshadow to get density of colour.
4. Liquid liner to strengthen the eye shape for a smokey eye.
5. Foundation after heavy eyeshadow application.
6. Brow definition after eyeshadow application.
7. Using a small liner or eyeshadow brush to load on mascara.
8. Cheeks and lips last to balance out strong eye makeup.
9. Blend, blend, blend!

Of particular interest is the type of brushes Garland uses - to my eye they look to be all MAC!

Anybody else inspired by what they see?

J