1. Always start with clean, properly hydrated skin and always wait at least 5 minutes (after applying your moisturizer) before  applying any makeup. Clean, moisturized skin is the best canvas for makeup.  Apply too soon and the moisturizer may prevent the makeup from staying put.

2. Prep the face, neck and lids with a base layer.
If you have fine lines or uneven texture, use a smoothing primer like Vapour Organic Beauty Stratus Instant Skin Perfector.
If your application tends to go all shiny after a couple hours, prep with a mattifier like Amala Purifying Mattifier.
If your color always seems to evaporate or absorb after a couple hours, use a durable base layer like Vive Sana Solar To Polar Ultra.

3. Use blotting papers after applying oil or wax based products –they’ll lift the excess oil but leave the color.  These work surprisingly well on cream eyeshadows too!  If you have the time, experiment with a layering technique – apply cream shadow, blot, apply a tiny bit of powder over the cream, blot, apply more cream shadow, blot.  It sounds more step-y than it is.  If you need extra long eyeshadow wear for a special occasion, give it a try!

4. Always set powder with a facial mist to avoid looking chalky.  A fine mist will form microscopic water-color capsules and create a naturally dewy airbrushed effect.

5. Reapply!  No one here is going to tell you that reapplying isn’t part of the natural makeup routine.  Without icky synthetic fixatives and colorants, you’re not likely to get  24 hour wear but with nourishing, skin-loving  natural ingredients instead of harsh, disruptive ones, you can think of every touch-up as a pampering beauty treat, not a chore!

What tips and tricks have you discovered with natural makeup performance?  Share them with us on Facebook!

For the first of our 4-part series with Jessa Blades, we have our model Justine. Justine is my personal trainer of several years. She’s also a reiki practitioner. We wanted to give her a makeup look that was natural-ish but not blah – something that would make Justine’s skin glow and eyes pop but also not look too “made-up”
Jessa The Genius nailed it by using products that were hydrating and wouldn’t crease or set into (hypothetical) fine lines :

What she used:
On Face: Nvey Eco Moisturizing Liquid Foundation in 513
On Cheeks: RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in Illusive

On Eyes: Alima Pure Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Glow and Alima Pure Pearluster Eyeshadow in Grace with Nvey Eco Organic Mascara in Black

On Lips: Nvey Eco Organic Lipstick in 367 and Lip Lustre in Cristal

We love that lips are back for Spring 2010 and we are ready for these looks now! Whether they are soft and barely-there pink or Grace Jones black. We were getting very bored with the nude lip!

Jason Wu wowed with these perfect, painted-on, goth, plum colored cartoon lips that we think could translate beautifully into real world beauty with defined, lustrous, rich, dark lip colors for Fall. Instead of almost-black, sheer but dark burgundy colors like RMS Beauty’s Illusive, can work on all skin tones. The key to this look is perfect application. Use a lip brush to get it just right and avoid looking like a zombie.

Marc by Marc Jacobs celebrated with super bright, optimistic, retro red lips which we think anyone can wear. The key to bright lips is to go really low-key with the rest of the face palette and to even out the skin with a matte mineral powder foundation so that the lips really pop. Alima Pure Satin Matte Foundation and Nvey Eco’s Lead-Free moisturizing lipstick in 369 are perfect for this Mad Men look.

Finally, our friends at Tuleh created this pretty 1950′s shimmery soft pink. Beauty can be sort of counter-intuitive in that dark and bright lips are actually best for day and soft, sultry, light pink lips are actually best for a kittenish evening look. To get this look, start with RMS Beauty in Muse or Smile for a sexy, opaque base then layer Nvey Eco’s Lip Lustre in Amour Rose or Barely There over the top for the pink shimmer. The secret to this look is the base. You don’t want bubble-gum pink and pink lip gloss can look too immature without the base.

Don’t just take our word for it. Check out what other Beauty Industry experts had to say about this amazing new line:
Stancie at Fig&Sage Raves
Roxy at For The Love of Beauty was “Quite Impressed…”
and Self Magazine confirms that when it comes to a list of ingredients, for RMS Beauty, “less does equal more…!”