Charlie Tamara Piper

We've all had that moment - your makeup is looking amazing...except for that one mistake! You got a smudge of mascara under your eye. Your face looks a little too powdery. The eyeshadow you picked up has major fallout. Here are some beauty hacks that'll help you fix a makeup mistake. Face Your foundation is the wrong color.  If your foundation is too light, don't fret - it can often be brought to a more decent shade once you add your full face. Bronzer, contour, blush and highlight can do wonders for making your foundation look closer to the right shade. If your foundation is the wrong color, consider mixing it in with you summer foundation shade (if it's too light) or your winter foundation shade (if it's too dark). A tinted setting powder can also help color correct your foundation to better match your skin color and tone.  Your face looks too powdery. Start by using a large fluffy face brush ( MAC and Marc Jacobs make my favorite large fl...

I jump at the chance to gift wrap because it's my favorite form of crafting! I had such fun wrapping up presents that my friend and I purchased for a birthday party celebrating our friend's sons. They love superheroes and it gave me a chance to think outside of the box for creating some Avengers-themed gift wrap and birthday cards. Here's a quick tutorial on how I created this super-awesome superhero look! I started by wrapping up each box in blue and red paper. Each box was secured with adhesive dots to prevent shifting while I worked. Google Images is my friend! I can't draw at all, but I do love graphic prints for gift wrap. These two little guys love superheroes too much for a satin ribbon to tie everything up, so I instead searched for Avengers comic panels until I came across this image. I replicated it a few times, adding navy and red borders to fit the color theme. I then printed the panels on craft paper and cut and paste each panel onto the ...

I love organizing - it helps me to keep track of everything that I own and maximize the use of each space. My friends and family know my love affair with organizing runs deep, and I get asked a lot of questions about how I create an organizational system that works for me - and how I manage to stick to it. So if you find yourself in a similar situation, this blog post is for you. I'll show you how I've organized my favorite room - my bedroom - as an example for how you can organize any room in your house. Break a big job into smaller parts The number one concern that I hear about getting organized is that the job is too big - and getting organized can be a big job, indeed. The first step to getting organized is to break the job down into smaller parts - start with organizing one room in your home, and then think about organizing that room in sections. It will make the job far less overwhelming and will help you figure out what you actually need in the space to make it o...

My friends and family members know that I'm a super-organized person, so the biggest question I get asked is how do I manage to store and organize all of my beauty products. Behold, my makeup and beauty product collection, above. Now I know that this is way more than any one person needs. But like anyone who's got a collection of anything, I find joy in discovering new products and finding things that work for me. And my one of my other passions - organization - comes out in full force when I have to find ways to store everything.  So if you want some help in figuring out how best to organize your beauty products, keep reading. Take inventory of what you have The first step for organizing and storing your makeup - or organizing any part of your home - is to take inventory of what you currently have. This is a great time to go through what you own and figure out what you'd like to keep and what needs to be thrown out. Once you know what and how much you're planni...

I love mascara! It helps open up and accentuate my eyes, and it's the one product that really pulls my whole eye look together. Picking out the right mascara is the key to getting the full benefit of the product. I've road-tested a number of mascaras, and I've got tips on picking out the best mascara and which ones really live up to the hype. What You Need To Know Know your need.  Do you have shorter lashes that you want to lengthen? Do you struggle to keep the curl in your lashes? Mascaras address the need for volume, thickening, curl, and length, but knowing which need you're looking to fill will help you narrow down your focus while on the hunt for a new mascara. Double up on mascaras.  I love to play with the look of my lashes (I'm not a false lash wearer, but I love to replicate the look with mascara). Sometimes a coat from two different mascaras gives the benefits of each formula and crea...

Priming your skin is an important part of your makeup application. Not only does it help protect your skin (and depending on the primer you select, it can provide you with real skincare benefits) but priming your skin correctly helps improve your overall makeup application and wear time. But picking the right primer can be a tough challenge - with so many on the market, it can be hard to figure out which one will work best for you. The next time you're at Sephora, consider these tips and tricks. Know Your Skin Type and Concern It sounds pretty basic, but it can be the step we're most likely to forget. Knowing your skin type (oily, dry, combination) and your concern (large pores, fine lines, acne-prone) can be a great way to narrow down the field of primers to ones most likely to work for you. Read The Ingredients In Your Foundation, Primer and Moisturizer The most common complaint I hear about a primer or foundation is that the primer doesn't help the foundatio...

My favorite part of my makeup application is using finishing and setting products - it's the moment where I can really see the makeup look coming together. Depending on the look that I'm going for that day, I rely on either finishing or setting products (or event a combination of both!) to take my makeup to the next level.  Because they tend to be used in the same way, there can be a little confusion over the difference between finishing and setting products. And if you fall in that camp, this post is for you. My Finishing Faves In general, finishing products are used to add a little extra glow or luminosity to the skin. They can help blur imperfections and, in the case of finishing sprays, can help erase makeup application sins. If I've gone a little overboard with powder, a few spritzes of finishing spray corrects that problem in a pinch. Here are some of my favorite finishing products: Hourglass's Ambient Lighting Powders are really grea...