makeup for women of colour Archives - Noire Tropical Beauty

Tag: makeup for women of colour (page 1 of 17)

Sequins & mas! Trinidad Carnival makeup tutorial

Hey!

This Carnival season in Trinidad & Tobago has been a very short one. From the day after Christmas to the Carnival Monday is about 6 weeks! So all the fetes and other cultural events jam up next to each other. Talk about hectic! So this is my Carnival makeup look for 2016.

Usually I take inspiration from a pretty mas costume from one of the bigger mas bands, but this time, I just kinda played it by ear and this is what I came up with!

Carnival 2016

Black and smokey gray rhinestones

Multi coloured and sized rhinestones

I wanted the sequins and rhinestones to be the centre of attention without too much makeup anywhere else. Also I incorporated some strategic highlighting of the skin, minimal foundation and a couple of lip options. There is usually so much going on with your costume – the head piece, beads, feathers etc. that I wanted the look to be super pretty.

#Carnival: Be creative and let your imagination take you! Share on X
So leh we go!

THE CARNIVAL MAKEUP DETAILS

Before starting, especially for Carnival, make sure to moisturise and add a really good SPF. The sun is usually blazing and wearing sequins will give you a funky tan if you do not protect your skin. Apply the SPF just before applying your foundation. A foundation that is water-resistant and contains SPF will also help. Finally make reapply sunscreen every couple of hours. This is why I suggest wearing minimal foundation.

LOTD: Lupita Nyong’o’s US Vogue October 2015 cover + opulent autumn look

October 19, 2015 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 0 Comments

noiretropicalbeauty lotd lupita nyongo vogue cover

Lupita Nyong’o US Vogue October 2015. Makeup by Nick Barose for Lancome and hair by Vernon Francois. Image source Huffington Post

When the first pictures of the October Vogue cover crossed the news feeds, we all collectively gasped and shouted ‘Yaaaaasssssss!’. ‘Yaaaaaaaasssssss!’ Lupita slayed! The look is not overly fancy but super luxurious and I knew instantly I had to recreate the look. Although it is 2015, seeing a woman of colour in on a major magazine cover is still quite uncommon and they often share covers during the same month. So *obviously* , I had to go out and buy it. As I flipped through her spread, I was so impressed! She is not a model, but between the herself, the stylists/artists and who ever organised the shot did a fantastic job! They knew exactly what would look amazing on her! And could we for a moment talk about her skin? Gawd! Like butter! Just proves that amazing skin and skincare should be the focus of your beauty routine. And her hair! Love when she wears a side part and I also love that she is always switching it up. You can totally have short, natural hair and it can be so versatile.

So I selected the picture of Lupita in the gorgeous blue dress by Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci Haute Couture.

UGHHHHHHH! This dress! This look!! Source

The focus of the makeup look was flawless skin and deep aubergine lip, but there was also a hint of green colour surrounding the eyes. It’s a very wearable look, not overworked, not over contoured/highlighted, but is bold and packs a punch!

Here is what I came up with.

noiretropicalbeauty lotd lupita nyongo vogue cover

October 14, 2015

NoireTropicalBeauty MUFE Ultra HD foundation dark skin review

Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation

I don’t wear foundation about 99% of the time, but when I do, I look for something that helps me even out my skin tone and that feels like it is almost not there. My philosophy, at least when it comes to foundation is, less is more. I know that everyone right now is about that full coverage….but I’m not here for that. I want my skin to look flawless…but like I was born like that. Enter the Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation on dark skin.

Make Up For Ever has already established themselves as the leaders in both waterproof makeup and products that have amazing performance under the newest video technology. Over the past few years, MUFE has be reformulating their entire line to get ahead of the changes in TV and film. They have already brought out an entire new line of gel-textured eye shadows, which by the way, are mind-blowingly good!

NoireTropicalBeauty MUFE Ultra HD foundation dark skin review

The Details

This is an update to their original HD foundation, and this time they have made it even lighter in weight and added hyaluronic acid which helps make it suitable for all skin types. It aims to give flawless, next best thing to skin coverage when viewed in 4K and 8K technology. So what are 4K and 8K? Right now standard HD video is 1080p, and basically 4K is four times better than HD and 8K is 8 times. So it’s called UHD (Ultra HD). So if you think you can see every pore and wrinkle now, wait until UHD becomes more common!

Back to the review. So the existing line was reformulated and the colour range was also expanded to a fantastic 40 shades! 4…0 shades! There are few companies out there that boast of so many. If you find a line with 20-25 shades, you would consider that luck. They have also renumbered and broken the line up into Y(yellow based) and R(red based) shade. If you look at some of the bottles, they have also included the corresponding shade number from the older line. I picked up shade R530 which is shade 180 from the old line. I love that they have not forgotten us darker ladies and have given us such a selection.

My shade: R530=180

Packaging

Love the pump top!

The UHD comes in a cylindrical, plastic bottle with a pump top and it contains 30ml of product which is pretty standard. This makes dispensing much easier to control and you won’t run the risk of wastage from having to decant or breakage of the bottle. The pump works quite well and dispenses a small amount of product.

By the way, check out my video review or keep reading below the fold for more!!

LOTD: Glowy, bronzed summer skin!

June 8, 2015 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 4 Comments

Summer glow!

Hey! I did this bronze summer skin look a while ago when I was in Trinidad. It’s the look that I also wearing in my latest video (check it out here). This is a great look for warmer weather. Let’s face it, no one wants to wear a lot of makeup when it’s hot, but you still want that glowy, bronzy, sun-kissed look!

bronze summer skin

There are a few keys to getting this effortless look. First start with good skincare and good skin. The better the condition of your skin, the less product you would have to use. Definitely treat your skin with the utmost care, start with the basics, drink lots of water and wear sunscreen. Even if you don’t have amazing skin, you can still get this look. I know the trend now to pile on the foundation and to have super heavy contouring but this is a no #cakeface look. Pick the lightest coverage that allows you to even out your skintone. If you have eruptions or texture due to acne, you can’t really cover that up with foundation without looking overtly made up. So just pick something lightweight.

Sacha Cosmetics Intense Matte Lipstick in Wicked: Swatches + Review + Video

March 30, 2015 / Noire Tropical Beauty / 2 Comments

Hey!

I was finally able to pick up a Sacha lipstick from their recently launched matte collection. I grew up on Sacha Cosmetics that it was the only brand available in Trinidad and Tobago that catered to women of colour. We did get some foreign brands, but there weren’t a lot of options.Anyway, lipsticks have made a huge comeback and so have the 90s! Right now, matte lips are in and they come in a variety of forms and people are wearing darker colours all year round! Sacha Cosmetics released their Intense Matte Lipstick collection late last year and they have been popular both online and at home. Certain colours have been sold out for a while!

So I found myself, in Trinidad, at The Falls At West Mall at the Sacha store. They carry all their products that you may not be able to find at a store like Pennywise. They also have someone that can help you with colour selection. I paid TT$30 and on the website they are listed at US$10 and I bought the colour Wicked.

Sacha Cosmetics Intense Matte Lipstick

Wicked is a deep chocolate brown with a touch of red in it. Completely matte, drying but not there is a certain creaminess to it. At least on dark skin, it isn’t your super vampy colour and I would wear it during the day. The packaging is standard and plain, not the best quality or fancy but it holds the product. There is a fairly distinct smell, and it reminds me of fizzy cola. I get almost full coverage with one swipe and it does not apply patchy.

Here are some swatches of the product.

Swatch

On me!

In a nutshell, I liked this! It is a good product and not too drying. And I am glad that we have good makeup options available. I need to pick up some of the other colours as they come back in stock. But also check out my video review (yes, finally, I’m making videos!).

Video will be available when live…

Let me know what you think of the lipsticks. What is your favourite colour?

You can find Sacha products at The Falls At West Mall, Pennywise outlets all over Trinidad & Tobago and online for international shoppers.

Laters!

Overall grade: B+

FTC Disclosure: Products were purchased by me, Noire Tropical Beauty. All opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own. I have not been compensated for this review. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy.