With summer in full swing, sun goddesses flock to the beach to get that perfect golden glow. We all know too much of a good thing is a bad thing and over-exposing skin to the sun accelerates the signs of aging as well as increases the risk of developing skin cancer.

Get the sun-kissed look without damaging your skin.

The perfect golden glow is representative of sun, sand and summertime.

The sun-kissed look with chiseled cheek bones is lasting and classic.

Tinted moisturizer provides perfect sheer coverage and gives that perfect natural, healthy glow.

Get The Look!

The temperature is rising, it’s Summer in the City.  We’ve been waiting for months and it’s finally here!

If you’re anything like me you’re probably devouring the fashion magazines and websites right now.  What is the ‘must  have’ fashion piece, shoe, bag and colour this season?  After careful inspection we have chosen our 7 (or for some of us, 70 ) new summer pieces.  And now for the fun part;  makeup!  If you want to make that summer sundress sizzle you will love our Colour Theory makeup trend!

A modern twist on the classic 80’s style.

Bright, vibrant colours are the heart of this look but are blended into a softer, muted, water-colour rainbow.

Powder and cream foundation are layered to create complexion perfection.

Get The Look!

•STEP 1: PREP

•USING A #130 BRUSH, PREPARE THE SKIN WITH SKIN PREP FX OR CLEAR PREP FX DEPENDING ON THE SKIN TYPE.

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STEP 2: BLOT

•APPLY A LIGHT DUSTING OF MATTE FX IN THE APPROPRIATE SHADE ALL OVER THE FACE USING A #140 OR #150 BRUSH TO ABSORB EXCESS OIL AND KEEP MAKEUP LOOKING FRESH, DRY AND MATTE.

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STEP 3: COVER

•WITH A #190 BRUSH, APPLY POWDER FX IN THE APPROPRIATE SHADE ALL OVER THE FACE. FOR EXTRA COVERAGE, USE A #120 BRUSH TO PAT COVER FX CREAM FOUNDATION IN THE APPROPRIATE SHADE WHERE NEEDED. USING A #140 BRUSH, DUST SETTING FX IN THE APPROPRIATE SHADE ON AREAS WHERE CONCEALER WAS APPLIED.

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STEP 4: FINISHING TOUCHES

•USING A #160 BRUSH, SLIGHTLY CONTOUR CHEEKS BY BLENDING MATTE FX DARK UNDER THE CHEEKBONE AND BLENDING DOWN.

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ARTIST TIPS:

•EYES: IT’S ALL ABOUT THE EYES WITH THIS LOOK. WITH A LIGHT HAND, GIVE YOUR EYES THAT POP OF COLOUR BY CREATING A RAINBOW WITH SHADES OF CANARY YELLOW, PEACOCK BLUE AND DEEP GREEN. BUT DON’T OVER-DO IT, COLOURS SHOULD BE WATERCOLOUR-LIKE.

•LIPS: KEEP LIPS NATURAL AND APPLY A NEUTRAL LIP COLOUR AND MINT GLAZE FX ON TOP TO FINISH THE LOOK.

Whether your summer plans involve an exotic beach vacation or simply enjoying all that urban life has to offer, this look is sure to make you look cool and feel HOT!

Vampires, shape shifters and fang- bangers…oh my!  If these words are familiar to you,  you’re probably one of the 12 million people counting down the hours before the premiere of True Blood season three.  This quirky, sexy series has captured the attention of women and men, young and old adults.

At the center of the story is telepathic cocktail waitress, Sookie Stackhouse played by Golden Globe winner, Canadian born, Anna Paquin who manages to get herself into all kinds of mischief stemming from the need to help the supernatural world around her.  You see she has this undeniable attraction to the living dead (a.k.a. vampires)…is it because she is a little different than most humans?  Possibly.

We do know that her makeup artist Brigitte A.  Myre relies on Cover FX to give Sookie that flawless skin that makes her irresistible to her pale skinned friends.  Brigitte uses Powder FX Mineral Based Powder Foundation to ensure that no matter what trouble she gets into, her makeup will stay put and look flawless… 

When we last left Sookie she had just gotten engaged to vampire boyfriend, Bill then he suddenly disappears… is it time for Eric to step in?  Oh, I can’t wait to find out!

Lee Graff addressing the editors

Co-Creators Jenny Frankel and Lee Graff

10th Anniversary cupcakes

As most of you know,  Cover FX is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this year and we’ve been holding various activities; Flash Mob’s in New York, LA and Toronto.  Media roadshows with Co-founders Lee Graff and Jenny Frankel in California, Washington, Illinois and New York and various retail events where our customers got to meet and greet Jenny and Lee.

Yesterday, we had our homegrown Toronto beauty editors from top Canadian magazines such as GLOW, FASHION, FLARE, CANADIAN LIVING and ZOOMER magazine, amongst others join us for a celebratory luncheon.  Editors had a chance to chat with Lee and Jenny about why they created Cover FX as well as witness a panel of clients with skin issues ranging from dark circles to rosacea.  We also talked about celebrity makeup artists and who in Hollywood is wearing Cover FX.  And Cityline cameraman, Patrick from CITY TV was there to capture it all on film!

Covering Yuneeda's dark circles

We want to thank our Canadian media for all their support in spreading the word about us throughout the years.  Thanks to them more people are aware of us and know that flawless complexion is within everyone’s reach.  Oh Canada!

Goodie bags for the press!

Body Art

Well it’s that time of year again… mid-may makeup madness as all artists, aficionados and all-round makeup junkies descended onto the Metropolitan Pavilion in the trendy Chelsea area of New York May 16th and 17th.    The Makeup Show celebrated it’s 5 year anniversary this year with a roster of exhibitors, presenters and workshops that fulfilled every makeup junkie’s fantasy!

Cover FX was on board with our wonderful PRO industry store Naimies, our lovely New York team, Melissa our social media maven and me of course!

We got to chat with many makeup artists who are already using our products and we were thrilled when Jackie Gomez stopped by to say that Beyonce is a perfect Cover FX B15 and took it right from her kit!  Kathy Aragon took some makeup to use on Mary Tyler Moore and told us how much fun she had doing Betty White’s makeup for the cover of The New Yorker magazine.

Melissa and I with mup artist Kathy Aragon

some of our beauty blogger friends

Our beauty bloggers stopped by to finally meet Melissa face to face and tweeted live about our amazing PRO starter kit created specially for the show.

And creativity abounded all around as artists demonstrated their makeup talents

Prosthetic Art

ranging from body painting to prosthetic, beauty to fantasy makeup…

We can’t wait till next year!

About the Look

Purple Passion best describes the second hot look that is a must have this season!  From London, Paris, New York and Milan everyone agrees that purple reigns supreme. The most flattering universal colour looks good on almost all skin tones. Add some bold, false lashes for instant glamour and drama and that extra touch of extravagance and you will be sure to be the belle of the ball.

Liquid foundation provides the ultimate dewy finish to go with this sultry look.

Just the other day I noticed that the tulip, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs I planted last fall are starting to bloom.  Suddenly my garden has sprung to life with vivid colours of purple, green and white.  Aahh spring time,  I love this time of year!  The warmer weather and longer days encourage us to go out more .  For me (and probably for you too) that means it’s time to update  my wardrobe and with that comes the need to update our makeup look too!

We’ve gathered the top 5 makeup trends for Spring/Summer 2010 and I will be featuring them on my blog over the next few posts.

Bright Lips, Big City!

This look is all about hot, hot, hot… lips and has taken Hollywood by storm.  Note the bright pout on celebrities like Sandra Bullock and  Amy Adams as they walked the red carpet.

About the Look

Simplicity and extravagance combine to fashion a look that is both minimal but eye-catching.  Lips are bold, bright and brilliant.  Cream foundation is applied to create a flawless canvas to flaunt a bright lip as the center of attention.  Best of all, this look can go from jeans and t-shirt to a little black dress with no need to change your makeup!

Mineral FX Pure Mineral Foundation SPF 15 was featured in yesterday’s issue of the New York Times in an editorial titled, “Now, the Cosmetic Jar Matters, Too.”

With the importance of sustainable packaging on the rise, Cover FX is proud to offer the Mineral FX corn resin jar, a 100% renewable resource! Click here to see the story!

Though Bollywood films are mostly known for their musicals containing catchy song-and-dance numbers, lovely scenery and rich, jewel toned saris in opulent fabrics, it’s the visual images of absurdly good looking exotic beauties that captivate us most.  Think of Aishwarya Rai and Freida Pinto.

I’m happy to report that Cover FX has a hand in making those gorgeous Bollywood actresses look flawless even in hot, humid (+50 degrees Celsius) temperatures!  Bollywood makeup artists have been using Cover FX products over the last few years with amazing results.  Have a look at the images recently sent to me by Bollywood makeup artist Vikram Mittal of Bollywood beauty Shruti Haasan.

What he used:

Vikram used SkinPrep FX all over the face and applied Cover FX cream foundation in M30 then setting with Setting FX Light. Finally he buffed Mineral FX M30 onto the skin, polishing the minerals and resulting in the flawless radiance…gorgeous!

Bollywood films earn over 200 million dollars yearly in North America and often appear in the top ten films of the year in the UK.  In the last decade Bollywood has had a major influence on North America inspiring directors such as Baz Luhrmann of Moulin Rouge fame who indicated that his film was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals and Danny Boyle who earned the Oscar in 2009 for Slum Dog Millionaire, the perfect mix of a great story and respective imagery that provoked unforgettable memories in its audience and a great tribute to the Bollywood influence in the exhilarating finale.

Hooray for Bollywood and for Cover FX!

Award season is upon us and Los Angeles is a-flutter with celebs from all corners of the world coming in to see and be seen.  It’s high season for makeup artists, hair and wardrobe stylists and looking spectacular at all times is the order of the day…  So when celebrity makeup artist  Johny Saade contacted me to say that his client Shingai, lead singer of (very cool) UK indie pop band The Noisettes was attending the Grammys and was in need of  her favourite foundation,  I had to do whatever I could to get it to him!  Keep in mind that I am in Toronto and delivery could take 5 to 10 days which was not an option…

Michael Tally (our LA area manager) to the rescue…  Michael hand delivered Mineral FX B25 to Johny by Friday and  Shingai no doubt looked fab amongst the glitterati for the big night!