Celebrity Artist, Haley Buckner's 10 Must-Haves

My 10 Must Haves:
1. Moisturizer - If you have nothing else in your routine, at least moisturize. It will keep your skin looking youthful.

2. MAC Fix + Spray - It makes foundation look more like skin.

3. Beauty Blender Sponge - Get it wet with warm water before applying foundation and your skin will look perfect.

4. Urban Decay Primer Potion - A thin layer helps eyeshadow stay for hours.

5. High quality makeup brushes - If you invest, they last forever.

6. OCC Lip Tars - A little bit goes a long way and if you want, you can mix them together to create any color you want.

7. Loreal Voluminous Mascara (SALE!) - The best, hands down.

8. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - It's all your neutral blending colors in one.

9. Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer - For those days that you want a lightweight coverage.

10. Clarisonic Brush - Exfoliate.. It's worth the investment for radiant skin.

1. What do you love most about doing make up?
Meeting famous people and getting to work with them is so much fun and it really inspires me, but the greatest part of my job is that I get to help people feel beautiful. The most rewarding experiences I've had are helping people who have cancer and have lost their hair from chemotherapy. Teaching them how to naturally fill in their eyebrows and apply false lashes seems like such a small thing, but when they look in the mirror and are overjoyed because they feel like themselves again touches my heart in the biggest way.

2. How did you get started? What got you to the next step?
I always loved beauty, so I started working for Mac when I was 18 in Reno, Nv. It's where I learned the most about skin and makeup techniques. I dreamed of working with celebrities so I knew I needed to sacrifice being close to the ones I loved and move to a bigger city. A few years later I moved to Vegas and worked in Caesars Palace where I met so many people and was blessed with amazing opportunities.

3. What is one thing (foundation, mascara, eyeliner, lipgloss, etc.) that you feel every girl should always wear? why?
Every face is different, so I don't think every girl should always have a specific product. It's important to capitalize on your best feature. If a client sits in my chair with lips like Angelina Jolie I make them the primary focus of the makeup. If someone has long lashes and beautiful eyes, I think they should accentuate them with a great mascara.

4. What's in, what's out?
There are always changing trends in makeup. As artists we are always changing looks on our clients, but in my opinion a classic red lip is never out. Skin is also always important, and for summer a bronzed look is usually desired.

5. Who/Where do you look for inspiration?
I'm continually inspired by fellow makeup artists. I've worked with some of the best artists in the industry and when I see them do something mind blowing it makes me want to continue to push myself to be on that level. Since day one my biggest inspiration has been Mac Senior Artist Victor Cembellin.


A special thank you to Haley for her time and sharing us her beauty tips & secrets.  For more information on Haley, visit her site at www.haleybuckner.com and follow her on Instagram! 

The Secret to Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes!

Raise your hand if you know how to properly wash your makeup brushes.

crickets....crickets....

Ok, so we are not alone on this one! Merely rinsing our makeup brushes with water after using it has proven to be a not-so-effective way to keep the brushes clean for its next use. We finally decided to turn to the beauty experts about how to best clean off our makeup brushes and we were exposed to literally the simplest way to clean our brushes: baby shampoo! Here is a quick rundown:

Step 1: In one hand, pour a quarter size amount of baby shampoo into the palm of your hand.

Step 2: Turn your water faucet on until the water is lukewarm.

Step 3: Using your empty hand, grab your dirty makeup brush and begin to swirl the brush into the baby shampoo as you hold it under the sink water. You will see the makeup start to pour off into the sink from your hands.

Step 4: After you are done cleaning your makeup brush, lay a paper towel or cloth towel onto the sink counter making sure that one end of the paper towel hits the edge of the counter. Place the wet makeup brushes on the towel so that it is hanging over the edge of the counter. Allow the water from the brush to drip dry (place a towel on the floor where the water is dripping to avoid a wet puddle on the floor).

Another easy and simple alternate to keep your makeup brushes extra clean is by investing in a brush cleanser. You can find a good brush cleanser at MAC Cosmetics or Estee Lauder.

Know of any makeup tips? Share your secret by emailing us at secret@thesororitysecrets.com!

Flawless {Makeup} Finish

Makeup: Victoria's Secret, MAC, Bliss Pro.

In the quest for a flawless complexion, our search is finally over!  From a fun night out, to looking perfectly polished everyday, we found 2 fabulous products that have become a staple in our makeup routine.  TSS Co-Founder, Ali, has personally been using both of these products for years... and we're all hooked!  

To start... if you're not already using a primer in your daily makeup routine, it's time to give it a whirl.  The Oil-Free Airbrush FX Face Primer made by Victoria's Secret not only protects your skin with SPF 15, but it creates a velvety smooth canvas for your makeup.  Ali is flat out obsessed with this product, and swears that she can't go a day without it.  Even on the days when you're wearing less makeup, it provides a clean look for your skin.  For the times when you're wearing heavier foundation, it's a must-have.  The primer provides a base for even makeup application (it even makes your pores less visible), and gives it all-day staying power.  

After applying the primer, MAC Studio Fix Fluid is the next step in the flawless complexion process.  This foundation is a bit on the heavier/full coverage side, but you can choose to either apply a little or a little more depending on the look desired.  Start small, and go from there if more of the foundation is needed.  Ali suggests applying the foundation first with a makeup brush, and then taking a beauty blender to smooth any lines created by the brush.  The beauty blender is also key to providing that "airbrushed" effect at home.  Pat down with the beauty blender all over your face, focusing on the areas around the eyes and nose, and you will create a beautifully smooth look.  Extend the foundation application a little under your chin, fading off onto your neck, as to avoid a harsh line between the coloring on your face and neck.

We hope you love our tricks for creating a flawless complexion.  Give it a try, and let us know what you think! 

OMBRE LIPS

Lipstick: Mac Russian Red & Mac Diva.  Lip liner: Mac Nightmoth.  Beanie: American Apparel.  Tank: H&M (sold out).

Ombre has been THE trend over the past year, shown on everything from haircolor to dip-dyed denim.  So, we decided to take this trend and apply it to our lips-- literally.  Creating your own ombre lip is easier than you may think!  All you need is 3 shades (we chose deep red) in a similar hue, ranging from darkest on the outer area, to lightest on the inner area.  

Step One: Apply darkest color, the lip liner.  We used Mac Nightmoth.

Step Two: Apply lipstick in middle shade all over lips.  We chose Mac Diva for this dominant color.

Step Three: Apply lightest lipstick shade in center of lips only, dabbing on in the inner pucker.  Gently blot your lips together, to blend ever so slightly.  We used Mac Russian Red for the lightest shade.

Just like that, you'll have ombre lips.  This look would be perfect to try for our Valentine Makeup Contest!   We would love to see you put your own spin on this makeup trend.  What color do you want to try using an ombre lip?

 

Valentine Makeup Contest.  

 Email us: secret@thesororitysecrets.com OR Instagram us: #TSSkiss

Winners will be featured next week on our site, showing off their date night makeup looks. 

Send us your selfies!  

{Contest ends 2/17}

BoyChic

Sweater: Similar Here. Pleather Leggings: Forever 21. Shoes: Converse. Lipstick: MAC.

There's just something ironically cute about dressing up like a boy.  Not only is it super comfy, but boys actually really love it when girls feel confident rocking a more laid-back look. We're not telling you to dress grungy and not care about how you look but mix it up; BoyChic!  

To complete the BoyChic look, Sakura also curled her hair and threw on some red lips.  

What other ideas do you girls have to make an outfit BoyChic? 

Pink Pop

Lipstick: MAC Candy Yum Yum (buy here and here).  Nail Polish: OPI Mod About You.  Top: Express.

Brighten up your day!  We've been having fun with lipstick colors lately, and we instantly fell in love with this shade by MAC Cosmetics.  Ali doesn't usually wear lipstick (she's more of a sheer gloss kind of girl), but she flipped over this neon pink color, and gave it a whirl.  It's the most vibrant shade of pink lipstick we've ever seen!  This particular shade, Candy Yum Yum, just recently became a part of MAC's permanent lipstick color collection-- it was formerly a limited edition hue.  MAC actually calls this color "the lipstick dreams were made of" on their website.  Now hooked on the hot pink, Ali is no longer afraid of adding a bold lip to her makeup routine.

What's your all-time favorite daring lip color to wear?

Nude Is the New Pink

Lip gloss: MAC Cosmetics Tinted Lipglass-Underage

Earlier this month we had so much fun getting dolled up for our video shoot. One of our latest discoveries was how much we adored nude lip gloss! Nude lips can be a hard look to pull off especially when your lips have a tint to it that could change the nude appearance. We found that applying concealer and moisturizer on our lips before applying the nude lip gloss really helped to bring the nude color out. It even looked nice adding a dash of light pink lipgloss to the mix. Sometimes less color is more!

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