Blaq Vixen Beauty

Celebrity makeup artist Samuel Paul created this lovely look for Anika Noni Rose for the 3rd Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon. The rundown as follows:

eyes. "I blended NARS Single Eyeshadow Compact in Bengali softly around the whole eye and then lined the top lid with NARS Eye Liner Pencil in Black Moon, I applied MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon over the liner and blended it out. I also used NARS Eye Liner Pencil in Black Moon to line the inner eye rim. I then coated Rose's top and bottom lashes with L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara For Lashes in Carbon Black."

blush. "I used MAC Powder Blush in Sweet as Cocoa to contour the cheeks. Then used Cargo Blush in Laguna on the apples of her cheeks."

lips. "I fill in her entire lips with NARS Lipliner Pencil in Jilted Love and then filled in with NARS Lip Gloss in Dolce Vita."

“We wanted to achieve a sexy and sophisticated look while keeping it balanced with her dress. With luminous skin and neutral-glossed lips, I was able to really focus on her beautiful almond-shaped eyes.”

-Vera Steimberg for NARS Cosmetics

Even the 82nd Annual Academy Awards couldn't Zoe Saldana from living it up in the luminous lane on the red carpet! The following NARS products were used to achieve a fresh, resplendent effect:

face. Instead of bothering with foundation or concealer, Steimberg turned to NARS Orgasm Illuminator. This allowed Saldana's skin to take on a wonderful incandescence.

eyes. Steimberg pat on Brousse Duo Eyeshadow. Of the Sable/Black Violet duo, Steimberg said it was "sexy and sophisticated." She then lined Saldana's eyes with NARS Eyeliner Stylo Eyeliner in Nuits Blanches. Steimberg applied several coats of NARS Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara in Black. To complete the look, Steimberg decided to add shu uemura False Eyelashes Slant Black. She applied them with the shu uemura False Eyelash Applicator and then merged Saldana's real lashes with the falsies with the shu uemura Eyelash Curler. Although it wasn't mentioned, I'm sure Steimberg used shu uemura Eyelash Adhesive to apply the false eyelashes.

cheeks. To make Saldana's cheekbones pop, Steimberg used NARS The Multiple Multi-Purpose Stick in Lamu (which is, unfortunately, not available at the present time but keep your eyes peeled this April) as a contour, blending this product over the Orgasm Illuminator. However, you can also try NARS The Multiple Multi-Purpose Stick in South Beach to achieve a similar effect. As for blush, Steimberg reached for another yet-to-be-released product: Enchanted Cream Blush (also available this April) but for you glow-getters at home, Gueule de Nuit Cream Blush serves as a substitute.

lips. Saldana is wearing a combination of Love Devotion Lipstick (the third product scheduled to be released April 15th) and NARS Lip Gloss in Ophelia. Casblanca Lipstick can be substituted for Love Devotion.

Man, this chick keeps glowing, and glowing, and glowing...thankfully celebrity makeup artist Mylah Morales was able to keep this radiant mama-to-be looking gorgeous.

face. "I started by applying shu uemura Brightening Cleansing Oil to clean up her skin and create an ideal canvas for foundation application. Next I applied Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in #8 and set the foundation with a sheer layer of shu uemura Face Powder Matte in 5YR Dark followed by CoverGirl Queen Collection Natural Hue Minerals Bronzer in Light Bronze for a gorgeous, bronze glow."

eyes. "To accentuate and enhance Paula’s stunning orange dress, I focused on gold and brown shades for her eyes. I applied gold powder shadow in the corners of her eyes followed by a layer of CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast Shadow Stick in Bronze Fire over her lid for a gorgeous red carpet eye look. I completed her eye look with a few swipes of CoverGirl LashBlast Length Mascara in Very Black for dramatic, ultra-long lashes."

cheeks. "To complete Paula’s overall look I applied NARS Powder Blush Cheek Color in Taj Mahal followed by shu uemura depsea water facial mist to lock-in Paula’s makeup and help it last her through the night."

lips. "For Paula’s lips, I kept them pretty natural and used a peachy shade of gloss that matched her natural lipcolor."

On Queen Latifah's makeup, celebrity makeup artist D'Andre Michael revealed, "I decided to go with a plum smoky eye, soft mauve lip and bronzed skin. Queen Latifah’s wardrobe was a beautiful, custom-designed lavender gown."

face. "I used a foundation brush to apply CoverGirl Queen Collection Compact Foundation in Warm Caramel and set it with CoverGirl Queen Collection Natural Hue Minerals Bronzer in Brown Bronze."

eyes. For Queen Latifah’s eyes, I started by applying CoverGirl Queen Collection Natural Hue Minerals Bronzer in Brown Bronze to the brow bone. I do this to achieve a more natural look to the brow bone." (Wonderful tip! I've done this a few times myself. Who knew bronzer could work as a subtle brow highlight?)

"Secondly, I used CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast Shadow Stick in Purple Plum on the entire lid from the lash line to the inner crease. I then used CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast Shadow Stick in Onyx Smoke in the inner crease to blend up on the brow bone. For depth and intensity, I used CoverGirl Outlast Smoothwear All Day Eyeliner in Onyx on the inner bottom eyelid. To give lashes the oomph that most women crave, I applied CoverGirl LashBlast Length Water Resist Mascara in Very Black."

cheeks. "To complete Queen’s look I used Cargo Blush in Siena on the apples of her cheekbones for a hint of color and glow. To complete the overall look I used CoverGirl Queen Collection Natural Hue Minerals Bronzer in Brown Bronze for a soft and subtle glow on her upper cheekbones, forehead, nose, neck and collar bone."

lips. "For Queen Latifah’s lips, I wanted to compliment the plum eye by doing a beautiful mauve lip to balance out the various purple hues of the entire look. To start I used a base coat of MAC Lipstick in Midimauve and then lined her lips with Kevyn Aucoin The Flesh Tone Lip Pencil in Deep. I recommend rubbing your lips together after lining lips to blend the line. I added luster and shine to Queen’s lips by applying a dab of CoverGirl Shine Blast Lipgloss in Aglow."

Anika Noni Rose attended the 12th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards yesterday. Celebrity makeup artist Samuel Paul beautified the Princess and the Frog star for the event.

*Edit:* Samuel Paul provided me with the following beauty breakdown:

"[Anika] wanted an old hollywood glamour feel to her hair and makeup," Paul revealed.

eyes. MAC Eyeshadow in Dazzlelight (lid). MAC Eyeshadow in Shadowy Lady (corners). MAC Fluidline in Black Track. Ardell Lashes.

cheeks. MAC Powder Blush in Sweet as Cocoa.

lips. MAC Lip Pencil in Auburn. MAC Lipstick in Girl About Town.

More photos after the jump!

The fashion inspiration behind Deola Sagoe was a "precise, no-nonsense, geometric, mixed media feel in military tones of black, pewter, grey and navy."

The concept behind the makeup was "emphasis on bold, dramatic brows with sheer, neutral contoured face, eyes and lips."

eyes. Blackest Brown Perfect Eyebrow Pencil. IMAN Luxury Eye Defining Powder in Bewitched. Perfect Mascara.

cheeks. IMAN Luxury Blushing Powder in Sable.

lips.IMAN Perfect Lip Pencil in Tan. Crystal Luxury Lip Shimmer.

Model Sessilee Lopez getting made up backstage. Model Sessilee Lopez with celebrity makeup artist Valente Frazier

Sessilee Lopez in Deola Sagoe. (below, hailing from Nigeria)

Deola Sagoe talking to reporters.

The fashion inspiration behind Loincloth & Ashes was "a fusion of soft and architectural textures in putty, charcoal and black popped with touches of lapis blue."

The concept behind the makeup was "emphasis on bronzed skin and soft earth-toned eyes and lips."

eyes. IMAN Luxury Duo Eyeshadow in Bronze Goddess. IMAN Perfect Eye Pencil in Jet Black. IMAN Perfect Mascara.

cheeks. Clay Sheer Bronzing Powder.

lips. IMAN Luxury Lip Shine Gloss in Expose

Model in Loin Cloth & Ashes, the line created by Anisa Mpungwe. (below, hailing from Tanzania)

The fashion inspiration behind Black Coffee was "organic, unconstructed, and earthy in natural tones of sand, stone, putty popped with muted turquoise and apricot."

The concept behind the makeup was "soft, ethereal, sun-blushed and feminine."

eyes. IMAN Luxury Eye Defining Powder in Wicked. IMAN Luxury Liquid Eyeliner in Platinum. IMAN Luxury Eyeshadow Duo in Mixed Metals.

cheeks. IMAN Bronzing Powder in Afterglow.

lips. IMAN Luxury Lip Stain in Rapture.

Photo of celebrity makeup artist Valente Frazier with model Chanel Iman backstage

Oh, the joys of Twitter! I have celebrity makeup artist Tia Dantzler to thank for my recent discovery of Smoke and Mirrors Beauty by Stephen Moleski (also known as @themakeupman). Smoke and Mirrors Beauty is a 100% human hair lash line which consist of 7 styles - which are all named after famous cities. Khadijah Haqq is wearing the "Hollywood Lash" on both her upper and lower lash lines.

Haqq praised Stephen Moleski, saying, "Stephen is an amazing artist that you can trust to beat your face and make you fierce. Whenever I want to step it up a notch, lashes are a huge part of that and Stephen is the perfect person to create that lash."

If you want to experience the fabulous Smoke and Mirrors Beauty line for yourself, then you're in luck because Kim and Khloe Kardashian are holding contests on both of their Celebuzz blogs. Stephen Moleski and the Kardashian sisters have teamed up to give away 10 pairs of Smoke and Beauty lash sets!

All you have to do is visit the site and take a look at the descriptions for each of the lashes for inspiration. Then you are to choose any other city (doesn't necessarily have to be in the United States) and leave a comment revealing which city you chose, what your set of lashes would look like and why.

Also, check out Khloe's post which features Khadijah Haqq's sister, Malika. They went to the 2010 Sundance Film Festival together.