Hi Friends!

I've recently been working on transferring older posts from this site to my rachealdoucettebeauty.com blog. I'd like invite everyone to check out my work at rachealdoucettebeauty.com as I work on merging the two sites.

As always, thank you for all of the love and support!

-R

Grammy Makeup

Like most of the world, I tuned in Sunday night to watch the 2014 Grammy Awards hosted by my favorite, LL Cool J. 

I feel like the show this year was AWESOME. And it kept getting better as it went on. From the red carpet to the final performance, I kept watching. 

Everyone gracing the red carpet looked fabulous. Here are a few of my picks for BEST MAKEUP. 

TAYLOR SWIFT

Taylor typically goes with a very well done cat eye and red lip or, a white/ silver inner corner with a nude or pink lip. Both of which I think suit her. I love this simple look on her here. Her pink pout is perfectly done and the silver inner corner really opens her face. The blue/grey shadow worked great with her eye color, really making them pop, and I think overall complemented the beautiful dress she was wearing. She looks very put together and mature, even with a simple loose pony. 

PARIS HILTON

Paris looked absolutely gorgeous, as always. Sometimes Paris can seem to have a "lazy eye" but I really think its just the placement of her shadow, liner and lashes. This photo shows perfect placement of all, keeping her cheeks glowing and the center of her face bright and open. Her look was created by the fabulous Etienne Ortega, who I love. He often works with Lilly Ghalichi who always looks amazing. Paris' look here is simply enhancing her natural beauty. 

BEYONCE

Beyonce can always rock the red lip and look stunning. I really like the smokey eye although, I think it could have been slightly more enhanced with some lashes, which she never wears. Everything here works. I probably would have groomed her brows slightly more. 

LORDE

This chick. Her face looked as if she just stepped of a fall runway. AND I LOVE IT. There's something super dark and high fashion about this. Bravo. I'm loving how her lips and cheeks are the stars, with minimal liner on her lower lash line. I feel like this could be her everyday look.  

MADONNA 

Madge is Madge. She's hit or miss and is for sure aging with grace. The first photo here looks like she recently had some work done on her face, right? Maybe a lift? I think so. That's really why I decided to include on her my list. Madonna's best when she rocks a red lip and a dark liner, a la the 80's (minus the bushy brows). PS, Madonna totally has the best eye shape. 

I loves all the different looks of the red carpet this year. Everyone looked great. Oh award season, how I love you. 

Leave some comments and let me know who you thought rocked the fiercest face this year!

Stay fab dolls, 

-R

2014 Weddings, Shoots, Bookings, Oh My!

Hi there Doll Faces! 

I hope you all have had a fabulous January thus far. 

My month has been rather exciting. I've already booked myself a few test shoots and auditions, all while continuing to book freelance jobs, interview for others and continuously network with like minded artistic professionals. My calendar is quickly beginning to fill with bookings for 2014. 

.....

I recently joined Model Mayhem. I've heard great things about the site so a few days ago I decided to join, explore and network. So far, it seems like most of the postings and opportunities are for portfolio building, which is never a bad thing. I'll see how it goes.

.....

I was also just invited to showcase at RAW Artists in Philadelphia sometime in mid February. I'm working to get some idea's together. I envision some type of funky fashion show, but that's just a rough draft of an idea. I'll think on it a bit longer. I would ideally like to showcase later in the year, preferably on a weekend night. I believe the night I was offered is a Wednesday. 

.....

What else, what else? Oh! ... I found a precious kitten last weekend. And although I'm not a cat person, it was late and really cold so I brought it home. After a bunch of phone calls and even some posts on craigslist, I was able to find it a nice home. Thank goodness, It would have died with all this snow! *Yuck, snow* 

I suppose that's all I have to write about, a bunch of random things. It's late and I can't sleep so naturally I turn to social media to keep me occupied. 

I hope everyone has a really fun weekend! :) 

I promise to post something more exciting, more fabulous next time. 

Tootles! 

-R 

Miley Cyrus for Marc Jacobs!

Have you guys checked out the new Marc Jacobs campaign? Miley is rocking it hard as the new face for his Spring/ Summer 2014 line... love it!! Miley posted some of the photos on her Instagram yesterday. 

While reading a few articles today, I noticed it's not exactly getting positive attention. But I guess that's all based on who's writing the article. I love it. I think she looks fierce. 

-R

Green Liner

How fabulous is this look?! Her lashes are pumped up, brows are perfect, lip color works so well with her complexion and the green on the lower lash line really makes her eyes pop. While scrolling on Instagram, I saw this and had to screenshot it. 

What do you guys think? Would you rock this look? 

-R

Lime Crime!

Only because it's been on my mind for a while now... I'm dying to try Lime Crime's velvetines. I swear, this lip color is always sold out. I even signed up for the wait list on their website however, I never received an email. 

I did see not that long ago that Urban Outfitters had the velvetines on their site but they were back ordered. I've casually been checking in store when I walk by. No luck. 

Womp womp. 

-R

South Africa Pictures!

Here's a few pictures from our trip to South Africa. Enjoy! 

-R 

This was cute little pomeranian we saw at the top of Table Mountain.

These are both views of Cape Town from Table Mountain.

We went great white shark diving in Gansbaai.

These 3 pictures are all from Hout Bay in Cape Town. We actually fed the seals! 

This guy meant business. Lion Park in Johannesburg. 

Baby cub interactions at Lion Park. We went into the cage and pet them! I believe they were 3 and 4 months old.

This was our tour guide Patrick at our private reserve that we stayed at while in Kruger. 

Camps Bay. Thats Table Mountain in the background, which we just finished climbing. We had lunch in Camps Bay. It reminded me of ocean drive in Miami.

We climbed to the lighthouse at the Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet. Wild baboons! 

My Favorite! Penguins at Boulder Beach.

The rest of these are from Kruger National Park. Best trip ever!! 

Happy New Year! 2014!

Hi there Doll Faces! 

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fabulous time celebrating and ringing in another exciting year! 

This year, friends and I traveled up North to Canada to ski at Mont Tremblant. We later ventured to Montreal where we celebrated New Year's Eve. 

I have never visited either places so I was really excited to take a long weekend and explore a new area. 

The drive from Philadelphia to Mont Tremblant takes about 8.5 hours. It actually took us slightly longer, around 10.5, both there and coming home due to unexpected road conditions and traffic. We spent about an entire day driving there. We arrived at Mont Tremblant at about midnight our first night. 

We stayed at Le Kandahar in the pedestrian village. The hotel was very quaint and we had minimum trouble checking in.

Our pre-purchased lift tickets were supposed to be available for pick up at the front desk. Unfortunately, they were not. After going from one ticket office to another, we ended up at guest services. An associate was unable to find our reservation, mentioning that it had been cancelled. 

The lifts open at Mont Tremblant at 8am and close at 3:30pm. We were finally able to reach a temporary resolution around 12pm our first day, leaving us with only a half day of trail time. Our lift tickets were compensated for that day. Seeing as how we had purchased our tickets in advance, we were pretty upset. Guest services asked us to return when we were finished to resolve the issue. We returned the following day to guest services. Our lift tickets were cancelled by mistake, which we were unaware of and were unable to figure out why, seeing as how they were already paid in full a month in advance. Guest services refunded us for our first day of lift tickets and we were finally able to hit the slopes, after a few phone calls and a couple hours of waiting around, instead of skiing. 

The mountain itself is beautiful. Aside from all of the trouble with the tickets, I very much enjoyed myself.

We joked while we were there saying Mont Tremblant is like the Disney World of mountains; everything was very expensive. 

We visited both bars, lounges and night clubs while there all of which were really fun. 

My only negative review other than the trouble we had with our lift tickets, would be how incredibly rude everyone was! I was completely surprised. 

After 3 nights on the mountain, we drove to Montreal. 

Montreal was so much fun! The city is about the size of Philadelphia and absolutely beautiful. It was beyond cold while we there which was the only downfall. I would love to visit again when it's slightly warmer. 

New Years eve we went to Muzique. The city was packed that night and we ended up waiting in line for about 45 minutes, even with pre-purchased tickets. We eventually ended up purchasing bottle service and skipping the rest of the line. We literally walked in as the entire club counted down "3-2-1". 

Once we were all inside, we had a blast. The first room that you walk into was all EDM and house music and the DJ was awesome. I did see that there was another room near the bathrooms, which was even bigger, playing hip hop. I also heard there was a roof top terrace which I did not check out since it was -5 degrees. We met 3 people from Montreal while waiting in line who joined us at our table. They were tons of fun. 

New Years day we made the long drive back home. Although it took a while driving, it was totally worth it. We all had a fantastic weekend and even made some new friends. 

I would definitely recommend visiting Montreal. I would also suggest Mont Tremblant for the experience however, I don't know that I need to go back. 

Next year, I think we'll just host some people at our house :) 

Stay Fabulous! 

-R

Philadelphia 76er's Dream Team Dancers

Recently, I've been working with the Philadelphia 76er's Dream Team Dancers as their game day Makeup Artist. How fun, right?! 

I also worked with the girls for their trading card shoot. You can find the images on the Dancers website linked above.  

While I do the makeup in one room, 3 stylists from Salon L'Etoile & Spa provide the hair services in another. The the girl's hair on the website was also created by the fabulous stylists at L'Etoile. You can call 215-483-2500 for an appointment. I work with the team at the Manayunk location. 

Our call time is usually 2.5 Hours before game time. 

I arrive at the press entrance and receive my badge. The security guard at the door checks and tags my bags. Someone then walks me to the girls dressing rooms. 

I set up my station on one end of the room and then begin. There are girls ready for makeup when I arrive, and more stagger in while I'm working.

I work quickly, giving each girl about 10-15 minutes, mainly focusing on the eyes and lips. I finish up with some powder and blush. Most of the girls come foundation ready, which allows for me to work a lot faster. Some girls come back for touch ups prior to hitting the court. 

Usually about a half hour before the game starts, the dancers are ready and leave the dressing room. That's when I gather my things and clean up my area. 

It's really exciting working in such a fast paced environment. I work, work, work, then I'm done.

I'm currently getting ready to work with the dancers this (black) Friday. I'll post some game ready pictures if I get the chance! 

Stay Fabulous! 

-R

Hello Winter

Hey everyone!! 

I've been slacking on updates recently. Since our South Africa trip, I haven't posted anything. I'M SO SORRY!! I know you all just DIE for my tips, tricks, reviews, pictures and random nonsense that I think is fabulous! 

There's really no purpose to this post other than keeping my blog alive. So here are some random thoughts... 

Did you guys watch that AMA's last night? I love red carpet fashion. Taylor Swift and Nicole Richie won best dressed, in my opinion. 

I don't know where you're reading from but, I live in Philadelphia and today the temperature dipped to a seriously cold 20 degrees fahrenheit. YIKES! Apparently it was a record low, only beating out 21 degrees recorded sometime in the 60's. If the wind didn't blast you in the face every corner you turned, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Eh. I swear I'll live in Florida eventually. 

Oh! Red lipstick. It's been my not so new thing for the past few months now. Like, I need to wear it every day, even with sweat pants. I used to do a red lip when I went out or if I had simple makeup on, like just a clean, black cat eye. Otherwise usually wearing a nude, pinkish lip. But I've been channeling my inner grandmom and wearing a true, retro, blue based red lipstick every single day for months now. And I love it. I feel like I'm not complete unless I have a lipstick on and I feel like a true red complements me best. Muah* 

...So I bought this leather dress the other day for a party I was running late to. I bought the dress, didn't try it on, cut off the tag and packed it my bag and headed out. I never actually wore the dress that night. The next day while unpacking, I decided to try it on. WOMP WOMP. It's too big. UGH. This dress is super hot. Tight fit, mid length, V'd back and long sleeves. DIE. Well, I have the receipt but sadly the tag was thrown away on trash day. The receipt clearly states that returns will not be accepted without tag and receipt. I guess I'll be putting it up on ebay sometime soon. Maybe I'll write a follow up with the link. Look for it. 

Know what I'm totally craving? A nude pair of pointy toed slingback pumps. I've been dreaming about them for like a week now. I need to go find a pair to wear with EVERYTHING.

...I plan on posting some Africa pictures soon so stay tuned :) 

-R 

Testing Our Camera for Africa

I acquired a nifty professional camera for our upcoming trip to South Africa so today I decided to play around with the zoom and focus for a little while. Here's some pictures of my fabulous pomeranian Bella and our little Eagles gnome. 

-R

Wispy Lashes

Hi Dolls! Today I decided I wanted to pump up my look a little so naturally I added a pair of lashes to my morning makeup routine! I used Red Cherry lashes in #WSP.

I love these lashes because they have such a natural look and feel to them, totally appropriate for any daytime look. Even better, you can double these lashes up to add extra drama for a super glam evening look! 

-R

Red Cherry Lashes!

Guess what came in the mail yesterday?! My Red Cherry lashes!! Wooo!!! My favorite! 

Hand made from human hair, these lashes are super soft and easily blend with your natural lashes. I swear, although similar, not a single pair is identical. I ordered mine from ebay.   

I'm SO excited to wear them!! I ordered #523 and #WSP. Check them out below. I originally wanted #43 which are very similar but, I guess because of their incredible fabulousness, I was only able to order #523 as an alternative. #WSP was a first choice and thankfully, they were in stock. #WSP lashes are great because they're so wispy and natural. 

-R

Balmain Embellished Leather Shorts

Oh my gosh, stop. Check out these fabulous Balmain embellished leather shorts! I die. 

-R 

New Buys

I was walking past Macy's yesterday and saw their not so new makeup window which is right on street level. I couldn't resist so I finally went in. I've literally walked past it so many times but never stopped to check it out. The area is basically like a mini Sephora. Only a few brands but enough to compare and find something you like. There was even skincare. 

I played with some BB cream from Too Faced and checked out Urban's new foundation, both of which I liked. And prior to leaving, I scoped out some Smashbox blushes.

I made my way over to the Mac counter knowing that I wanted a new foundation. If you didn't already know, this is huge. I have faithfully used my Make Up For Ever HD foundation for a few years now. While doing a demo the other day, I used Mac's Studio Sculpt foundation and absolutely loved it's finish. Naturally, I had to go buy it and at what a perfect time... earlier that morning I was literally tearing apart the Make Up For Ever bottle trying to get just one more use out of it. 

I made my foundation purchase and also picked up a new mascara (everyone knows I'm a sucker for a mascara. Probably the thing I buy most of) I decided on the Opulash Optimum Black because I liked the wand and the formula. I used a tester wand and applied some to my already dolled up lashes. I have yet to try it on clean lashes so I'll write an update to this post and let everyone know how I liked it. Of all my mascara's, (none of which I have EVER liked from Mac) I would say Dior still takes the cake with Sephora's Outrageous super close behind. I'll let you know if this ends up in my makeup bag or in my kit. 

Stay fabulous :) 

-R

Quickie: Strip Lashes

So, yesterday I had to spice up my look for a demo I was doing and obviously went for lashes. I chose strips because they're more intense. 

Nothing too crazy, just a pair of from Ardell. Side note: I usually go for Ardell wispies because they tend to be dark at the base and more natural looking overall. (Not what I used in the above picture) My favorite lashes ever are definitely Red Cherry. I'm also dying to try Lilly Galichi's lashes... I'll review those later.  

Strip lashes can initially be intimidating and time consuming however, practice makes perfect. After a few tries, you'll be a pro. Every makeup artist has different tips and tricks. These are my tips and what works best for me. Enjoy :) 

1. First, you can either roll the strip off the package by pressing down on the lashes with your thumb or gently pull the strip from the inner corner at the base. 

2. Measure the strip to your eye before applying glue. I think the easiest is to measure by the outer corner in and trim any excess. I usually cut excess from the inner corner. 

3. Apply a thin layer of glue along the base of the strip. Let the glue sit for about 15 seconds, just enough time to allow the glue to become tacky. 

4. Holding the lashes by the center/ middle of the strip, apply in 3 segments. Start by placing the center of the lash to the center of your eye, closest to the base of your natural lashes. Then attach the outer and inner corners. 

5. Using tweezers, press the strip as close as possible to the base of your natural lashes. It's really important to not have any gaps between the strip and the natural lash line. 

6. Once the strip is secured, allow for some dry time. 

7. Apply a layer (or two!) of mascara, blending your natural lashes into the strip. 

Bat those lashes ladies :) 

-R

Sandra Bullock

Just because I find her to be absolutely stunning... and hysterical :) 

Loving her effortless smokey eye and carefree hair. Hello side swept bang! GORGEOUS! 

-R 

Legs For Days

Did you know: Makeup can be applied to your legs to make them look sexy, long, lean and flawless? Sometimes those stems need a little boost! Scars, veins and other imperfections don't stand a chance, ladies! 

I would first suggest priming the area. Start by shaving and exfoliating and just like your face, make sure to moisturize. 

The skin on your face is a lot thinner than other areas of your body. A cream based foundation is your best bet. Although there are products on the market that read "Face and Body", I would probably stick with a studio product which tends to hold fuller coverage or a foundation meant specifically for the body. 

Some products that are worth a try are Sally Hansen Airbrush Leg Makeup. This line offers a lotion, an aerosol and a shimmer spray. The transfer is very minimal and lasts all day. This product is easy to find at most drugstores and retails for about $10. 

For something heavier, I would use the infamous Dermablend. I suggest this product to dancers because of its durability. Dermablend is also known as the number one foundation to cover tattoos. I don't know that the product is marketed as "waterproof" however, I do know that it'll last throughout an entire routine or show and is great for performers. 

These products can be applied with a brush or sponge, just like you would for your face. 

Lastly, finish with a powder to set the foundation. 

FUN TIP: put a line of shimmer down the front of your leg to make them look longer!! 

Enjoy! 

-R 

***UPDATE***

Just read an awesome Cosmo article on a new leg/ body glow product that celebs and makeup artists alike are going nuts for. Its called Red Carpet Kolour or RCK, created by makeup artist Joanna Schlip. 

The article describes the product to be a fragrance free lotion that is applied directly to the skin, without any kind of primer lotion. Theres a load of skin-benefiting ingredients and an SPF. It said to be long lasting and comes is three shades. Red Carpet Kolour retails for $50 for a 5.5 ounce bottle. 

Tootles! 

-R

Celebrity Makeup Looks

Hi everyone! I've gotten a few emails in regards to celebrity makeup looks. I wanted to know, which looks would you guys like to see?! Leave some comments below!! I hope to get a few screen shots and videos out soon!

-R 

DIY: Matte Lips

Did you know you can easily turn a sheer lipstick into a matte color? Simply apply translucent powder onto any lip color using a small, fluffy brush and watch the shine disappear! Too easy! 

-R