Backstage at Julie Haus, the designer prepared for her very first runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week while Dwight O’Neal and his team prepared the models with makeup from TheBalm.

Before coming up with the concept for the makeup look he did not see the clothes for inspiration, instead he chatted with the designer to get a feel for her personality.  He based his look off the idea of a model running late for a audition.  She wakes up, rushes out the door and does her makeup in the cab on the way to the audition.  The end result?  She is wearing the makeup, the makeup is not wearing her.  The mascara is slightly clumped, there is minimum eyeliner, and no blush.  Instead, the face is contoured to give definition.  The eyes are soft and defined, but not overly done.

To create this look, O’Neal used Balm Shelter Tinted Moisturizer, Time Balm Concealer and Sexy Mama powder for a flawless foundation before adding Bahama Mama for contoured definition.

On the lips, he used Stainiac in Prom Queen (a sheer rosy pink) with Plump Your Pucker Gloss in Cocoa My Coconut (nude) added to the center of the lips to give a plumping, glossy effect.

Hair was wrapped in loose pincurls by the team from Oscar Blandi to create naturally sexy waves. Texture was created by braiding random tiny braids, heating with the flat iron and then unbraiding for crimped pieces throughout. Super easy and super sexy!

Designer Julie Haus with Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester. Also seen front row at this show was Molly Sims and Jamie Lynn Sigler.

Thank you to Joi for backstage coverage.

Source

Office mates, assistants, teachers, and even the Fed-Ex delivery lady will appreciate a holiday treat as sweet as these festive glosses:

Origins Me Mine Shine Set
Once Upon a Shine Sheer Lip Gloss in three colors: Sheer Ruby, Sheer Fruit Punch and Sheer Fig. $40.50 value for $25

Prescriptives Mini Moonbeam Quartet
Four mini Moonbeam Reflective Glosses, sized to go everywhere you go. Set includes four Moonbeam Reflective Glosses in Eclipse, Cosmic, Meteor and Deep Space (0.1 oz. each). $26.50

Lancome Juicy Tubes Holiday Gift Set
Set includes Pure, Fruity Pop, Hallucination, Pink Horizon, Miracle, Magic Spell, and limited-edition Cherry on Top and Hot Date. $37.50

TheBalm BalmVoyage - Lip Kit Includes: Stainiac in Beauty Queen, Plump Your Pucker in Cocoa My Coconut, BalmShelter SPF 17 tinted gloss in Daddy’s Girl, all in travel sizes, as well as an adorable luggage tag. $18.50

Clinique Super Treats Set
New Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss relieves dryness, helps repair and protect this delicate skin’s natural moisture barrier. In Ginger, Blush, Raspberry and Currant (0.16 oz each) $25

Shu Uemura Holiday Lip Gloss Set Three full-size Shu Uemura Sweet Lip Glosses presented in a great, giftable clear bag. Each delectable gloss set is inspired and flavored by fruity jams: Raspberry or Strawberry. $54 value for $45

We just arrived home from a one-day business trip to Salt Lake City that began at 3:30 this morning.

Sort of.

Our alarm was set for 3:30 a.m. but since we were up until well after midnight last night trying to get our photo-banner-thingy on our new site to work (we were unsuccessful, but it’s finally working now — yay!) we lingered in bed for half a second before getting up.

Sort of.

When we opened our eyes, it was 4:22 a.m — meaning, we had precisely 8 minutes to get ourself ready and out the door.

After screaming a few expletives to no one in particular while turning circles of confusion in our dark bedroom, we realized nothing would change the fact that the airport is 30 miles away and we needed to be there by 5:00 a.m.

We quickly pulled our hair into a messy-chic ponytail (our favorite day-two-hair look), threw some makeup into our tote bag with the intention of applying it after we made it safely through the security line, and slipped on the worst shoes we could have possibly selected for travelling. (What can we say, we hadn’t had our coffee yet.)

Where we were lacking in shoe-choosing abilities, we totally made up for in our Makeup Bag. After just ten minutes in the airport bathroom we showed no evidence of having less than 4 hours of sleep and actually felt confident and ready to take on our busy day.

Our must-have beauty items? (We thought you’d never ask.)

TheBalm Hot Mama, a multi-tasking peachy pink highlighting blush that instantly flatters and illuminates a sub-par complexion, giving the fresh-faced illusion of well rested skin.

Prescriptives Site Unseen, a brand new concealer from Prescriptives that has SPF 15, helps to visibly firm skin, and comes in a convenient mess-free pen that’s perfect for girls on the go.

Brown Cross Lashes, a Makeup Bag quick-fix for days when we need a little extra help. We love how these give our lashes fullness without being over the top.

Aside from having to walk six blocks in three-inch pumps, our day in Salt Lake City turned out better than we imagined. We caught up with an old friend, Melissa, over lunch and dished about our favorite beauty products and some SECRETS (because what are friends for if not a little hot gossip?) before heading off to our meeting.

Now we’re finally home and laughing to ourself because Melissa just left us a message that she stopped by the cosmetics counter on her way home and threw down $200 on some of our product recommendations.

Now, that’s what friends are for.

Today at Sephora we found this adorable set of 3 mini eyeliner pencils by TheBalm.

In three versatile colors (smoky gray, deep black and rich brown) these tiny eyeliners are perfect for your purse.

And they’re so cute!

TheBalm Pick-Up Liners, $18