October 31. 2013 1:38PM
By Bobby Walsh (The Real King Bob) Weekender Correspondent 

It’s that time again, for the second installment of Royal Remedies – quick and innovative remedies for all your beauty needs. Without further ado, I’d like to jump right in with my first Royal Remedy: an eye and lip primer duo that I purchased from The Sapphire Salon’s private label makeup line.

It is absolutely amazing; all you need is a flat-top synthetic brush. With one dip per eye and a light buffing motion, it’s the perfect all-in-one, waterproof, smudge proof, oil-absorbing primer that will not only hold your shadow on all day, but acts as a concealer to even out and color-correct your lid.

As an added bonus, I like to put a small amount on the inner and outer corners of my eye on the underside to aid in concealing dark circles and prevent eyeliner from running. With one last dip of your brush into the primer, lightly dust your lips entirely. This will act as a glue stick for your lipstick, and you won’t even need a liner.

For a clean and easy no-fuss makeup application for the girl on the go, there’s one necessary product: a bronzer with a swirl or mosaic of multiple colors. Take one of the lightest colors and dust it over your lid, then take a medium shade and place it into your crease or outer third of your lid. Wet an angled brush and use the darkest color as an eye liner. Swirl your blush brush into the bronzer and apply to your cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin. Finally, with your ring finger, take the lighter color and dust it onto your lips, finishing it with a gloss for the perfect on-the-go touch-up.

Run out of your go-to brow pencil or shadow? In a pinch, use a brown or black liquid liner to make small flicks into your brow for some more definition and a tattooed brow effect. As an added bonus, it’s super long-wearing and virtually smudge-proof.

Running out of space to hold all your makeup? Free up some room by taking bulky lipsticks and putting them into old blush or eye shadow pans. Simply cut the lipstick from the tube, place it into the metal pan, then with low heat and low force, warm it up with your hair dryer. The lipstick will melt and fill the pan. Pop the pans into a flat large palette with a magnet inside to hold the pans and, voilà – you not only freed up space, you also created your own lip palette.

Get dressed too quickly in the morning and now you’re left with unsightly deodorant marks on your clothing? Do what I do and take a sock, put it on your hand inside out, and buff away those pesky white marks.

Own a magic bullet or food processor? Mix coffee, sugar and any nut blend for a decent amount of time, making sure it’s nice and fine. Throw it in with your favorite body wash for the perfect body scrub.

Tea tree oil is the absolute best essential oil for everything; it will seriously cure any type of superficial skin condition with its antimicrobial properties, whether it be an acne breakout, rash, head lice, cold sores, eczema, or athlete’s foot. A small amount applied with a Q-tip to the problem area a few times a day will help you see a world of difference.

Tip: If you run out of shaving cream, don’t hesitate to use your conditioner as a substitute. If it makes your hair feel silky soft, why not your skin, too?

Trick: Try using hair treatment oils, such as Moroccan oil or any other hydrating oils, on your skin and nails as a deep moisture mask.

October 16. 2013 2:16AM
By Bobby Walsh (The Real King Bob) Weekender Correspondent 

Going green is a term I haven’t heard in quite a while, but it doesn’t mean everyone has stopped or companies have given up on saving the planet.

One company in particular who has always been a great part in the effort to a better tomorrow is Aveda. The Aveda mission statement says it all: “Our mission at Aveda is to care for the world we live in, from the products we make to the ways in which we give back to society. At Aveda, we strive to set an example for environmental leadership and responsibility, not just in the world of beauty, but around the world.”

I was introduced to Aveda about seven years ago and can absolutely confirm they have been true to their beliefs. Aveda makeup is by far and will always be my go-to makeup line for all of my essentials that work best on mostly everyone. Their makeup line is nice and simplified, stripped down to the basics yet fully customizable. You can mix, blend, and layer different products in the line to achieve any result, whether it be a dark, smoky eye, airbrushed editorial runway makeup, bridal makeup, to everyday use.

I was recently informed that by taking the lip saver lip protector out of the makeup line, Aveda can now call their makeup line vegan. One of my favorite products they came out with is the inner light mineral tinted moisturizer in sheer; that is colorless and includes broad spectrum SPF 15 for $28 and can be found locally at The Sapphire Salon & Spa (2211 Shoppes Blvd., Moosic) on Montage Mountain or at thesapphiresalon.com.

The tinted moisturizer, along with most of the makeup line, is charged with tourmaline gemstones, which reflect the sun and give a natural radiance to the skin. This product is great for guys to just brighten up their skin or for girls to put as a protection prepping primer for under their foundation

Another great concept they introduced was their color options eye shadow transformer, which is a small gray bottle of clear liquid that includes a brush that you can use to convert your Aveda eye shadows into long-wear eyeliner or to protect and enhance your shadow for a more waterproof inspired wearability for $25.

The last product I feel everyone should have is their Nourish-mint colorless lip definer liner with built in lip treatment. This liner will prevent your lipstick from bleeding as well as show your lipstick’s true color, plump over time, hydrate, and condition your lips. It’s sheer in color so you don’t have to be a pro artist to get that perfect outline for $20 on aveda.com.

Tip: To get a deeper, darker color on your lid with Aveda, fill your lid in with one of their eye definer pencils before applying the shadow.

Trick: The darkest brown color in Aveda’s Petal Essence Eye Color Trio called Gobi Sands is the absolute perfect color for your brows!

October 23. 2013 9:33AM
By Bobby Walsh (The Real King Bob) Weekender Correspondent 

Still can’t decide what to be for Halloween? Get inspired and create yourself a mask. Once again, you don’t need to go out and spend a lot of money to create this look; in fact you don’t even need a costume, just some everyday makeup you or someone you know has laying around.

To create a mask, research a character you want to recreate, whether it be a horror villain or someone from the Disney realm. Pick apart some of that person/thing’s most popular attributes that will distinctly draw attention to them, making it easy for people to recognize which character mask you have created.

One example is a mask I did a few Halloweens ago: Jack Skellington. I completely blacked out my eyes with black eyeliner and eye shadow and drew the shape of his eyes. I then took his distinct mouth design and used that as the outline for the mask, and filled the rest in with white eye shadow. To finish the look, I threw on a Santa hat I had laying around from the previous Christmas.

Another example is a “Finding Nemo” mask. Simply take the colors of Nemo, which are orange, black and white, and draw a clown fish design or pattern on or around your eye area and finish with an orange bow in your hair, perhaps leaving the one loop of the bow bigger than the other to represent Nemo’s underdeveloped fin.

Another look could also be as simple as wearing a black cape with black clothes and painting the Batman symbol as a mask across your eyes or creating a masquerade-inspired mask with glitter and gemstones outlining it - the possibilities are endless.

I recommend using a white eye liner to trace and draw your inspiration on your face or to mark where stones or any appliqué will go. For more information and tutorials, I suggest checking out Goldiestarling on Youtube. She also has a variety of inspired masks for Halloween that are simply done with everyday makeup. Make sure to set your mask with a makeup setting spray, like Urban Decay All Nighter, to guarantee longevity for the night.

Tip: Try creating fun shapes or designs with paper and string and attach them to your face to give the appearance of wearing an actual mask, or to better develope the character inspiration.

Trick: Use a template cut from paper or a store-bought eye mask and trace the design onto your face to get a more accurate shape and design.