Fall Favorites

This is one of my favorite posts to write every year. I think it's because I love all things cozy and comforting and that's what this post is all about. I'm going to be sharing everything from products I'm loving to recipes and cookbooks I've been obsessed with. So grab your favorite warm fall drink, grab that soft blanket, cozy up and read on! Oh and be sure to share with me your favorites for this time of year. 

PRODUCTS:
I know this probably doesn't come as a surprise but I love a good pumpkin mask in the fall. So let's talk about how I have been incorporating them into my 'At Home Fall Facial'! My skin type is extremely oily in the summer, but as the cooler months approach, I start to normalize and even feel dry from time to time. I have two favorite pumpkin masks that I use to prep my skin for super hydrating masks (This also helps to brighten my skin and even my skin tone). If you read my last post on my BFF Glycolic Acid (click here if you missed it!), I shared the Andalou Naturals Pumpkin Honey Glycolic Mask ($14.99) , but I also like the Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme ($58)  if I'm feeling a little flakier and dry on the surface. It has little beads that you scrub your face with for 1-2 min before letting the mask sit and the pumpkin enzymes go to work. Once I remove which ever one of those I've chosen that night, I like to add my serums, eye creams (yes I'm using two right now), and then which ever sleeping mask I'm loving at the moment for some super hydration while I sleep. Spoiler alert: I'll be sharing my favorite sleeping masks soon!

As far as my makeup goes in the fall, I start to gravitate towards warmer and darker tones. Think deep browns, bronzes and even oranges and burgundies to warm things up. Last year I bought the Makeup Geek Autumn Glow Eyeshadow Bundle ($49) and I'm still obsessed with it. It included 9 shadows of various warm shades that make the best fall looks. (Please note that this is an affiliate link where I can earn money if you make purchases. If this bothers you, feel free to visit Makeup Geek separately). While the Autumn Glow bundle is no longer available, the Autumn Glow Bundle II is or you can purchase shadows from the bundle individually. MAKEUP GEEK EYE SHADOWS are LIFE! Go get you some now. 

My lip colors for fall start to get bolder and darker as the days get cooler. I love the wine and burgundy shades in the fall, one of my favorites being the Lorac PRO Matte Lip Color in Merlot ($19). Another favorite is the MAC Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Diva ($17.50).
Now I can't skip over the fact that I love browner lip shades as well in the fall. Think of that 90's lip color that has been super popular the past few years. A few of my favorites include MAC Lip Pencil in Spice ($17.50), Smashbox Always Sharp Lip Liner in FIGGY ($21), Glo Minerals Suede Matte Crayon in Trademark ($18). 

BOOKS:
I have an amazing cookbook to share and also two non-cookbooks. The cookbook is the amazing Eat Beautiful by Wendy Rowe, a well known makeup artist who has written a beautiful book full of recipes for healthy skin. I love that this book combines my two passions, food and skincare. I also love how this book is structured. There are four sections for each of the seasons. Each section includes ingredients and what benefits they have for your skin and body, and then recipes that correlate with those seasonal ingredients. I highly recommend this one (it also looks beautiful on your bookshelf)! (Huge shout out to my best friend Emily who knows me better than I know myself sometimes and gave me this one for my birthday...talk about hitting the nail on the head!)

Next we have two books recommended by my dad. If you've met him, this comes as no shock but these two books are AMAZING! The Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton, and The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann are two of the best books I've ever read. I've always believed in treasuring every relationship that I've created with my clients and these books validate this belief for me. If you are in a service or referral based industry, you NEED to read these now. 

RECIPES: 
For those of you who follow my Facebook Page Andrea Fontana Beauty, I shared a picture of the pumpkin bread I've made my whole life. The recipe comes from the good old fashioned Fanny Farmer Cookbook and luckily many people have shared it online, so here you go! It's the bomb and more often than not, I make them into muffins instead of loaves, so I can take my pumpkin bread with me easier. Enjoy and don't come back here and yell at me when you want to eat 5 muffins in a row (totally not speaking from experience....)

For some reason, sweet potato fries always make me think of fall. I'm realizing now as I'm typing this that it's probably because sweet potatoes are orange, but whatever! Here's how I make my super easy sweet potato fries. I preheat my oven to 450 degrees F. Then I peel my potatoes and cut them into long wedges. Next, cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil, toss them with olive oil and whatever seasonings you want. I like garlic powder, S&P,and basil or oregano. The most important thing I've found with these is that you don't over crowd your pan. Make sure the fries aren't touching and bake them in the center rack of the oven for 10 minutes at a time, checking and flipping when they are browned on top. It usually takes mine 20 on the first side and 10-15 on the second but every oven is different so check often! I LOVE dipping mine in mustard but ketchup is great too! Enjoy!

RANDOMS: 
I have two random favorites that I have to mention. I seem to drink way more tea when fall comes around and I'm currently obsessed with the Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea. It has hints of orange, lemongrass, and licorice root and I drink it a few nights a week before bed (Yay caffeine free!) 

The other random is wearing olive green clothing. My absolute favorite fall coat for the last 4 years has been this one from Gap.  They usually do a similar one each year, but I can never get enough of it. I love the fit, the color, how broken in it feels. I highly recommend a jacket like this because I think the olive green can often act as a neutral, depending on what you're wearing. I love to pair it with a gray t shirt and denim jeans or black leggings. 

So that wraps up my fall favorites. Be sure to share with me the products and things you love for this time of year. I love when you guys share new things with me!

Have a beautiful and cozy fall,

Andrea

Bridesmaids Makeup Tips

Recently, a common conversation topic that I've been encountering is getting your makeup done as a bridesmaid. I'm at the age where every weekend someone is getting married, so it's not a surprise that so many clients and friends are asking me questions about being a bridesmaid. Some of you have never had your makeup done, so I decided to compile a list of tips for you to have on hand for the next time you are in a wedding!

1. Make sure you have a consultation before the makeup artist begins. Since bridesmaids rarely have a trial before the big day, it's important that the makeup artist chats with you for a few moments to discuss things like your skin type, how much makeup you feel comfortable in, anything you love or hate, your favorite features, etc...If they aren't asking you these questions, speak up! If you know you get super oily throughout the day, that's something the MUA will need to know. 9 times out of 10 the bridesmaids pay for their own makeup which means you are their client. It's your face! Don't be afraid.

2. If you wear dramatic makeup on a regular basis or want a dramatic look for the wedding, okay it with the bride first! After all, it is her day and she may have an idea of the look she wants for the bridesmaids. On multiple occasions I've had a bride let me know ahead of time that she doesn't like the look certain bridesmaids might ask for so please don't do it! It's always better to double check with her first to make sure she's comfortable with what you want.

3.  Be on time! Getting ready for the big day will take some serious time. If the bride gives you a specific itinerary with a time slot for you to get your hair or makeup done, make sure you're there 10 min early. I can't tell you the amount of times I've seen girls not show up on time and this could cause a cramp in the schedule! The last thing you want to do is stress the bride out hours before she walks down the aisle! 

4. Bring pictures! Sometimes the most difficult part of a MUA job is understanding what you mean when you're describing what you want. Everyone is different and depending on your makeup knowledge, you might describe a natural eye as a dark smokey eye. Pictures allow the MUA to instantly see what you're talking about and help them understand you better.

5. If you've never gotten your makeup done before I'd recommend going with a natural look that's a little more glam than what you wear every day. You can't go wrong with that! 

I hope these tips help you the next time you are in a wedding. Remember, it's the bride's day and you may have to sacrifice your signature red lip which will be ok. Just remember that the most important thing is you standing up with her on the biggest day of her life!  

 -Andrea

The Bane of My Existence

If you wear makeup you generally associate washing makeup brushes with being annoying, time consuming, and all over the worst part about wearing makeup. I feel like there's just a general consensus that it's the least favorite task to do. Thankfully, many companies have used this to their advantage and created tools and products to help us clean our brushes quicker and better. Until recently, I had yet to buy anything of this nature because I figured washing brushes was always going to suck and just accepted it as a part of my routine. That is until now.

I believe Sigma Beauty was if not the first, one of the first, to come out with brush cleaning mats and gloves with bumps and ridges to aid in the cleaning process and help break down makeup quicker while still being gentle on your brushes. I wanted one for a long time, but again always put it on that list of products I didn't reeeeally need, especially with the $25-$40 price tags. Fast forward a few years and product launches by many companies, Real Techniques came out with a Brush Cleansing Palette that had a handle on the back for you to slip onto your hand and essentially clean your brushes in your palm. Oh and did I mention it was only$14.99 (plus I feel like Real Techniques is always Buy One Get One Half OFF at Ulta. It is right now so hurry and snag some products if you want to try this after you're done reading!) Now if there's a company that can create great tools for a good price, it's definitely Real Techniques. You've heard me say before that I stand behind their brushes and sponges 100% so I was hoping this brush palette would be no different. 

It came with a few free samples of their brush cleansing gel, but if you read my post here (CLICK ME) you know that my holy grail brush cleanser is a $5 solid bar of Dr. Bronner's Soap. If you haven't read that post, read it and get yourself some Dr. Bronner's NOW! (I wrote this whole post then went back to that one and apparently washing brushes was the bane of my existence in November 2015 too haha) So I got out my soap and started washing away. As you can see below, the palette has three different sized and textured bumps; little dots, medium x's and large bumps. I loved the different sizes because they helped clean the different brushes depending on size and density of bristles.

Another thing I really like about these types of cleansing mats and gloves is that they are usually made of silicone which allows for the tool to bend easily and stay clean. I feel like I will get thousands of uses out of this product which is again very typical of Real Techniques. Just because it's affordable doesn't mean they skimp on quality.

So what's my overall opinion of the Brush Cleansing Palette? If you wear makeup often  or simply have a lot of brushes, you'd probably really enjoy having this tool. While I feel like it's difficult for a product to drastically cut down my wash time because let's face it, I have A LOT of brushes, I do feel like they came out really clean and quicker than I expected. Even the brushes that are really hard to wash cleaned quicker. You can buy Real Techniques products online or in stores at Ulta, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Meijer and many other places! 

Have a beautiful day friends! 

-Andrea