My Philosophy

One of my favorite aspects of being a Makeup Artist is helping find colors that my clients both enjoy and look fabulous wearing! Everyday looks to me are about simplicity and color. What will you actually do on your own after our consult is over?

My aesthetic training provides me with the knowledge of how to get your skin in prime shape before applying any makeup.  Some clients really just want to get to a point where they don’t need to wear makeup because their skin is looking great and they are a no-fuss kind of person who wants to keep it simple.  I understand that my clients are individuals and therefore have different needs and wants for their skin.  It is my job to help fulfill those needs and wants with consulting, product recommendations and makeup applications/lessons.  I love my work!

What do I love about it? I love when I do a bride’s makeup application on her Wedding Day and I see her photos after and she is GLOWING, on what is one of the MOST special days of her and her husband’s life.  I love when someone sits in my chair who might not feel super confident about their appearance and then I do a few makeup “tricks”, show them the mirror and they have a BIG, HUGE smile on their face.  Maybe I saw something that they didn’t see and now they see it and want to show it again and again to the whole world? Hooray!!

Growing up, my Mother was a cosmetologist by profession. My whole life I’ve observed her literally creating beauty every where she went.  She is a beautiful person. She let me play with makeup when I was little. What a GREAT Mom!!! She is hands-down the BEST hairdresser I know and if you want an AMAZING up-do, a great hair-cut or beautiful color then I highly recommend her. Except don’t get her too booked up or there won’t be time for me. J 

You see, that is what I think skincare, makeup and hair appointments are all about. They are little mini tune-ups to help us take time for ourselves in a busy world and reconnect with and appreciate ourselves. Each and every one of us is perfect and unique already. In my everyday work and consultations I never try to change anyone or anything too much. Instead I aim to accentuate all the positive things that already exist. I don’t buy what the mainstream magazines sell that perfection is the only beauty that exists in the world. Acceptance is real beauty to me. Smile at yourself in the mirror when you go by it, no matter how you look.

This is my philosophy and how I do my work. If you think this is close to your philosophy of what beauty should be about, then I am probably a great match for you and I’d be happy to meet and work with you as a client. I’ll be sending out the Holiday promotions for Motives and Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry in the upcoming weeks. Keep an eye in your inbox and I hope we talk more sometime soon!

XOXO,

Renée Carleen
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

Graduate, Catherine Hinds Institute of Esthetics – Spa Esthetics

Graduate, David Nicholas International – Master Level Makeup Artistry

Winter Skincare Tips from Renée Carleen

We are entering the seasons of the year when skin becomes dry very easily.  As soon as we turn on the heating systems in our homes, the air becomes dry and our skin can become dry, itchy and irritated. Here are some simple tips for the Autumn and Winter that are inexpensive but will provide real results for your skin.

 Visit a trained skincare specialist in your area for professional advice (skin analysis, home care regimen and product recommendations).   Remember that just because a product is expensive does not mean it works any better than an inexpensive product. Don’t be fooled by the marketers and packaging!  Professionals are trained to recommend what will work best for YOU!

Use a home humidifier to help keep the air moist. This will help keep your skin moist and contribute to the overall health of your home and your skin.

Protect your face with a warm scarf if you are walking outside in cold/bitter winds. Many people walk outside with no protection from the elements. Your face and hands need to be covered during Winter to keep the harsh elements away from your skin.  

Use sunscreen or sun protective clothing during Autumn and Winter! Broad-spectrum SPF is the best choice, there are still damaging rays from Winter Sun. Remember that sun damage is cumulative.

Try using warm water for baths/showers instead of hot water.

Moisturizing is important all through the year but especially during Winter. Choose a non-comedogenic   moisturizer and apply after your toner. Make sure your toner does not contain harsh astringent alcohols. Be gentle with your skin. It keeps you healthy and protects you through all the seasons. Treat it well and it will treat you well as you age.

Look for botanicals in your skincare products. Avoid chemicals. Your skin does absorb what is placed on it. If you would not consider to use it for a baby, then don’t use it on yourself. Be an informed consumer and only purchase products that are good for you and the environment. 

Eat foods that are local and in-season.  Avoid overly spicy, processed foods. Limit alcohol consumption.  There will always be the latest and greatest skincare product that will be put on the market but nothing beats the good old-fashioned advice of eat well, get a good night’s sleep, exercise, don’t smoke or take drugs and avoid too much sun. It is healthy living that creates beautiful skin.

Spend time with good friends and family, get a small daily dose of sunshine and fresh air and LOVE the skin you’re in. It’s yours and nobody else’s….Enjoy!

Here’s to Happy and Healthy Winter Skin for All!

XOXO, 

Renée 
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

PS: Visit me on Facebook and like my Facebook page for upcoming Winter Skincare and Makeup Promotions! Message me if you'd like to be added to the mailing list.

Summer Beauty Skincare Tips

It's hot out! Nobody really wants to be wearing much makeup when the temperatures are this hot. My recommendation for summer skincare is : Keep It Simple.  Do the basics. Cleanse 2x per day, Tone, Moisturize and most of all keep yourself protected from the sun. If possible, stay indoors during the strongest hours of sunlight. Choose to stand in the shade whenever possible. Wear a broad spectrum sunscreen and/or sun protective clothing. Sunhats & sunglasses are essential. Especially if you will need to be outside during the hottest times of the day.

Another summer skincare tip is to keep a cool bottle of misting water with you (works better than a fan) or put your favorite toner in the refrigerator and use it to spritz your face a few times during the day. Cool cucumber slices work well on the eye area. Drink LOTS of water to stay hydrated. If you really want to wear makeup, perhaps choose a very light foundation, mascara and lip gloss. Speaking of foundations....if you are looking for a FABULOUS custom blend foundation call me to set up a personalized Motives Cosmetics Custom blend mineral powder appointment. It's perfect for the summer and you will be amazed at how light and silky it feels when applied to your skin.

Nutrition in summer to benefit your skin:
Include foods in your diet that are in season. Lettuce, cucumber, berries, watermelon, nectarines. They all contain water that will help to hydrate your skin from within.

Stay cool and enjoy your summer!

XOXO,

Renée
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

Functions of the Skin and Other Fun Facts

Functions:

1.  Protection - Your skin covers 15 to 20 feet of surface area, weighs between 6-10 lbs. and protects your entire being from the outside environment.
2.  Thermoregulation - Skin helps maintain a consistent internal temperature through sweat, blood vessel dilation and constriction and body fat layer insulation
3.  Absorption - limited through your cells, follicles and pores (water, oxygen)
4.  Sensation - touch, pain, cold, heat, pressure
5.  Excretion - excretes sweat through the sudoriferous glands
6.  Secretion - sebaceous glands secrete sebum/oil which lubricates skin/hair. It also keeps the skin soft and protected from outside elements.

Your skin is the largest organ in the body. The skin on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet is the thickest. Skin is thinnest on your eyelids.

In one square inch of skin there are 65 hairs, 12 feet of nerves, 15 feet of blood vessels, 9 1/2 million cells, 1,300 nerve endings (pressure, heat, touch, cold), 155 pressure receptors, 12 cold and heat receptors, 650 sudoriferous (sweat) glands, 100 sebacous (oil) glands. Wow!

A pore is an opening in the skin's surface that contains a tiny hair. Beneath the pore is an oil gland which lubricates the skin. The tiny hair brings oil to the skin's surface, helping to maintain moisture. Pore size is determined by heredity and can only be temporarily reduced.

XOXO,

Renée
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry Has Arrived...

I am happy to announce the creation of my new facebook business page Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry!

If you enjoy makeup as much as I do, please visit and "like" my page. 

XOXO,

Renée
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

Spring Renewal

Spring has arrived! I see tulips and crocuses beginning to bloom and the days are longer. Everyone is beginning to transition from heavy coats, mittens and boots to wearing lighter clothing. Bathing suit season is right around the corner and we are all looking forward to enjoying the nice weather with our family and friends and to have our skin looking its best.

Your skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays an essential role in keeping you healthy. It is your protective barrier against the elements and very important to your overall health. As a makeup artist, I realize not everyone chooses to wear makeup. However, everyone benefits from taking proper care of their skin in promoting overall health and wellness. If you treat your skin well, it will take care of you and keep aging well for a long time. Many factors contribute to skin health. These include: seasonal changes, hormonal changes, environment, lifestyle habits (e.g. hygiene, sun, smoking, sleep, nutrition, exercise). A combination of healthy lifestyle habits can produce amazing results for your skin! Spring is the perfect time to revisit your skin goals and implement healthy habits to achieve the results you desire.

A good way to begin spring skin renewal is with detoxification and exfoliation. Many people eat heavy foods during the winter months. Now that it's Spring you can begin to lighten things up and choose to eat more in-season fruits and vegetables. The water content from eating fruits and vegetables is just as important as the water you consume through drinking water. It will keep your skin hydrated and hydration is an important aspect to achieving a healthy & glowing complexion.

It is important not to be overly harsh when exfoliating and not to use products that are too abrasive for skin. Many over-the-counter drugstore exfoliating products can contain harsh, abrasive exfoliating products. The best exfoliation products are gentle in nature and often contain some type of a moisturizing element to them while they are working to exfoliate dead skin cells. You can achieve excellent results through gentle skincare habits combined with basic, healthy lifestyle habits.

Skin type also plays a big factor. People with dry skin will not want to be exfoliating much, if at all. Your skin type will determine how often you want to exfoliate. Also, the skin on your whole body benefits from regular exfoliation. This can either be by a sugar or salt scrub spa exfoliation treatment or it can also be a dry brush exfoliation. Dry brush exfoliation helps to slough off dead skin cells and kick-start new skin cells coming to the surface as well as increases circulation.

Exercise is also a great way to detox the skin since when you sweat, toxins are being released from your skin and circulation is increased.  As you age your skin cells have to work harder to renew themselves on their own. In younger years this happens more frequently and without much concentrated effort. The extra effort you put in to help your cells renew will be worth the work.

Also, if you have mistreated your skin with negative lifestyle habits such as sunburns, smoking, poor diet and lack of sleep you will notice that your skin reflects these choices.  Beauty really does begin on the inside and it is based in health. The good news is that there are many things you can do to preserve, protect and improve your skin as you age. Through every year and season your skin will change and the more in tune you are to your skin and how it is reacting to these changes the better you can manage your skin health.

XOXO,

Renée
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

Winter Skincare Tips

I know it is now officially Spring.  However, since the weather has still been behaving much more like Winter I thought these tips would still be helpful until Spring has decided to arrive. One of the biggest challenges to skin during the Winter months is hydration---or to be more specific dehydration. It is difficult but not impossible to stay perfectly hydrated during the Winter months with all the heat and dry air that is around us everywhere we go.

Here are some definite DO’s for the Winter that will make your skin very happy.

DO use home humidifiers!

DO drink plenty of clean, filtered water!

DO be a diva (sometimes) by carrying around your own spray mist bottle for when you are at work or in the car or at the gym or anywhere else where you don’t control the environment’s moisture levels.

DO still wear a broad spectrum SPF in the Winter when outdoors (this includes cars) or if you are sitting next to a window at work where there are a lot of Ultra violet rays streaming in. Fight Photo Aging and protect yourself at all times! 

DO give up caffeinated beverages (coffee, tea, soda) since they will dehydrate your skin.

DO remember to protect your lips. If you don’t like to wear a lipstick with color then use a plain Vitamin E lipstick for moisture and protection.  This is especially true if you are walking/running outside in a windy environment or out skiing the slopes (use an SPF lip block).

DO remember that you need to consume EXTRA water when you are exercising. When you become thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

DO avoid cigarettes and smoking---they will be one of the worst detriments to your skin and overall health.

Home-Care for Skin During the Winter

Winter's skin care routine is similar to the routine to be followed during all the seasons.

1. Remember to Cleanse with an appropriate cleanser for your skin type (both a.m. and p.m.)
2. Follow with a toner to balance the pH in the acid mantle of your skin. Not a toner that is too drying! It’s very important not to strip the skin.
3. Exfoliate – gently and appropriately for your skin type (we’ll talk more about this in the exfoliation blog)
4. Moisturize
5. SPF -  During the daytime – Broad spectrum to protect from both UVA and UVB rays
6. Treat – During the nighttime when your skin is rejuvenating during restful sleep

All these DO’s will help your skin be at its best during the Winter months.  When these DO’s become regular habits in your daily life then you can go out and enjoy the Winter weather knowing you are doing the best you can to protect your skin and your health.

Have fun taking care of your skin and enjoy the snow!

XOXO,
Renée
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry

Welcome to Everybody's Beautiful!

As a professional aesthetician and make-up artist, I have decided to launch a blog. I hope to share with you something new about skincare and makeup on a regular basis.

Future topics I will be talking about include:

• Winter skincare
• Spring renewal
• Tweens & Teens
• Skincare for men and boys
• Exfoliation
• And much, much more!

Join me as we explore how to simply take care of the skin you live in. I look forward to sharing with and hearing from you in the days to come.

XOXO,

Renée
Renée Carleen Makeup Artistry