Tips For A Fashionista Finish!

Musq’s palette of fashion shades and classic colours that never date offer both edgey and elegant options to satisfy either the Gwen Stephani or Grace Kelly within! With strong ties to the fashion industry and beauty experts on staff, Musq is a step ahead in being able to cater to the fashion diva in us all!

As Musq makeup is so concentrated, build up the colour lightly in 'layers' for the effect you want - subtle or dramatic. Musq mineral makeup products are multi-tasking. No primers, separate concealers or setting powders are needed to give a flawless finish, so why buy inferior products needing additional 'back-up' products like these?

A Word about Buffing... when brands suggest you polish or buff the product over and into the skin, it's either inferior quality or it contains Bismuth Oxychloride! This by-product of lead is heavy on skin and has to be rubbed (or pushed) into pores to stay put. It will still need touching up later. A known irritant, it counteracts the soothing properties of zinc while blocking the skin. Even without bismuth, a quality mineral makeup should apply quickly without rubbing which aggrevates the inflammation of acne and rosacea, and irritates vulnerable skin following treatments such as peels!

No matter what your colouring, Musq’s multi-tonal pigments create a ‘self-adjusting’ flawless foundation!

Creating a makeup Masterpiece...

Musq's foundations are very forgiving with skin tone; each shade is suitable for a range of skintones so a precise match isn't required! Musq's foundations can cater for cool Nordic fair skins through to the deepest Sri Lankan. You can easily mix shades too if desired. Unsure of your shade? You can buy a sample pack via our online store.

Musqskin Powder Foundation
Remember to make sure your moisturiser has completely absorbed before applying makeup to avoid it 'sticking' or looking blotchy.* Apply with a kabuki brush, swirling it quickly into powder to pick up small amount and tap the brush back down. This removes the excess while pushing powder into the bristles. Apply lightly all over face. smoothing out along hair and jaw line. Unlike regular makeup, there will be no line where your makeup stops!

• Prefer a custom Liquid Foundation? Mix the concentrated powder gradually with some moisturiser to desired colour depth and a more opaque coverage. (mix & store in a small lidded jar.) We love the way Stem Organics, Treasured Earth, Aspect and Eminence moisturisers blend with our powders!
• To create a liquid foundation finish spritz your face with a water spray (or for a real treat with Musq's new Antioxidant Spritz bursting with organic ingredients!)
• Light or full coverage? Just one 'layer' of powder creates a perfect finish for some of us! Or keep adding layers for total coverage. Apply densely with a fine brush where you would otherwise use a concealer.
• Mix a tiny bit of foundation powder with a drop of jojoba or rosehip oil using a fine brush to make a high-coverage concealer over dry or flakey areas. Feather it at the edges to blend it in.
• Still blotchy? Your moisturiser may be too heavy, and absorbing unevenly. Consider swapping to a lighter textured but more nutrient rich all natural one. Your brush may not be dense enough or need washing.

Musqskin Liquid Foundation
For sheer coverage the liquid foundation applies quickly and easily to give a 'tinted moisturiser' effect. Shake bottle well and apply with fingers for no waste, smoothing over skin and blending out along hair and jaw line. Very oily skins may want to finish with a light dust of powder foundation in the same colour over the top, especially in hot humid weather. Let it dry completely first, and before applying your blush or bronzer.

Musqskin Creme Compact Foundation                                                                                                                   While the powder provides a matte result, the creme offers a dewy youthful finish. It can be applied in alternate layers under and then over the powder foundation where coverage over strong pimentation is required. Should you feel the occasional tiny mineral grains (proof we're not nano sized) this in no way impairs the look or feel of the product. As with the other foundations it can be applied right up to the lash line and over eyelids.

• Apply with sponge provided. The colour appears darker in the compact, and while the coverage is denser it still feels weightless on your skin. A press and roll application helps minimise pores. Ensure you feather and blend it at hairline and along jawline. An ideal concealer when applied with a lipbrush!
• Use the sponge damp if you want a very sheer application.
• If skin is extremely oily or if humidity is very high, you can lightly dust some powder foundation in the same shade over the top of the creme.

Gilding Bronzer and Blusher
These products can be interchanged or used together to contour. Apply after foundation is set starting under the outer corner of the eye, sweep along cheekbone and slightly upward toward the temples. Can be dusted over your face lightly without any foundation. Apply a little extra or a deeper shade for night! Can be used safely on eyes as eyeshadow. You can apply a little bronzer to neck, shoulders and decolletage too!

• You can use Musq's bronzers (& the eye colours except the blues) on your lips for incredibily long lasting colour. Just apply using a lipbrush, alone or over a lip balm.
• Adding a dot of moisturiser to bronzer or eyeshadows makes them a 'creme'- ideal for very dry skin. Mix and store in a small lidded jar.

2 in 1 Eyeshadows
Eyeshadows can be used dry or wet as shown in photo below. You control the intensity and depth with long lasting colour! Play around.... a little for a watercolour effect and more for increased depth and lustre. Mix a drop of Amplifies or water  to eyeshadow to intensify the colour or Catalyst to dramatically also create a 'foiled' effect! You can add some white or charcoal to lighten or darken them, or blend colours together easily. Using an shadow or angle brush, pick up eyeshadow with a 1/2 swirl, tap the excess off back into the container and apply with small firm strokes. Your lip colours can also be safely used on the eye area.

Amplifies

The name says it all! Amplify the colour intensity of your eyeshadow or pigment powder used on lips with just one drop spread quickly over skin before applying product. Organic ingredients give your skin a boost too!

 Catalyst
Want even more dramatic eyes and smouldering colour? Apply Musq Catalyst as an eyeliner or all over the lid. Apply your eyeshadow over it and watch the colour radiate with more luminosity still! Unbelievable and iridescent colour and only Musq can offer it!

Eyeliner Kohl Pencil
These are safe to use on the inner rim of the eye for smokey exotic eyes. Briefly warm tip between your fingertips so colour applies more quickly. A white liner around the inner half of the eye will help close set eyes look further apart.

• Dry Eyeliner. Pick your desired colour from any of the eyeshadows and apply under your eye close to your lashes with an angle brush. Yes, the powder WILL stay put!
• Liquid Eyeliner. Pick your desired colour from the eyeshadows. Lightly wet your angled brush with water and dip its tips into the powder. Mix it so it's creamy on your thumbnail (it won't stain) so it will wash off easily later or in a mini mixing jar. Apply like a regular eyeliner closely around the top or lower lash lines.

Precious Metals Pencils
Pencils have amazing shimmer in silver or gold, are great for all over the eyelid, as a highlighting eyeliner or on the browbone. They look amazing with an eyeshadow mixed directly over the top to create a more shimmery and opalescent version of the shade!

Musqhave Mascara
Musqhave Mascara has no propylene glycol, nylon or tar to cause your eyes to weep, or your lashes to snap! To lengthen lashes apply Mascara to the just the tips and let dry. Then apply to the entire length. Keep most of the mascara near the roots to prevent them sticking together and give more definition along the lashline, 'thickening' your lashes. (Especially good if your lashes are sparse!) Curl if desired with eyelash curlers. For close set eyes, apply more mascara to your outer lashes, and keep eyeshadow emphasis to the outer eye.

• For small eyes, go easy on mascara and avoid dark eyeshadows. Curling eyelshes will 'open' and 'enlarge' your eyes.
• Our mascaras are NOT waterproof as they have no plastics in them. If you are prone to smudging mascara, absorb moisturiser or skin oils on lashes with a light dust of foudation powder before applying mascara.

Lipstick and High Beam Lipgloss
These are applied in the same way as a regular products. Many people find that while a particular colour in a thin application works well for them, it may be too much with a heaver full application. Experimenting is the key! Glosses provide sheer glossy colour, and work well alone, over lipstick or pure pigment powder in a corresponding shade.

• The darker or brighter your lip colour the more precise you need to be keeping an even lipline. If desired, line lips with lipstick colour using the tapered end of the dual lip brush.
• Gloss tends to enlarge the look of lips, without the expense of injecting fillers!
• Kabuki & Dual Ended Brushes are the ideal tools to start with, and may be all you'll ever need! A gentle wash with warml soapy water removes build up and colour mixing. Rinse and flick out excess water, then let dry out.
• The sponge that comes with the creme foundation should only be washed with warm water and a very mild soap. Rinse and dry out of the compact.
• We suggest you keep your Lipsticks, Lipgloss and Eyeliners out of direct sunlight and store in a cool place. Regardless of the brand or their ingredients, heat will have an adverse effect on them! In extreme heat, keep them in the fridge to prevent breakage, melting, separation or oozing! If separation does occur with glosses shake well.

Cleanser concentrates and Antioxidant Spritz These are an ideal size for travelling and will thoroughly but gently clean your face. A double cleanse is always advised when removing makeup. The Antioxidant Spritz is perfect as a toner and hydrating spritz during the day.

Choosing Your Foundation Shade
The multi-tonal pigments allow every shade to suit a number of skin shades either side of it. Use these points to help guide you in narrowing down your shade. Consider first if your skin is fair, medium or deep. This can vary from Summer to Winter, so assess how it is NOW. If you have imprefections to cover such as dark circles, rosacea or pigmentation that are deeply coloured you may need to layer the product more heavily in those places. Don't use these areas to match your foundation colour to as you will 'layer' your foundation more heavily in these areas. Only if very dark you may require a 2nd lighter shade to cover them.

 Then consider if your skin tone is cool or warm. Cool toned skins look best in pinks that are more mauve than coral, browns that are muted (like grey has been added) rather than rich and bronze. The hair's natural tones are ashen; white or ash blondes, mousey brown rather than a warm brown like chestnut. Warm skin tones are the opposite and look great with orange based pinks and reds rather than blue based shades, and can wear rich and golden browns. Each of the mineral foundations in the online shop selector indicates if it is cool or warm, and some shades are neutral if you feel you fall somewhere in between!

* The time will vary depending on your skin type, the brand of moisturiser you use and the amount you apply. If your makeup 'sticks' in areas or looks blotchy even after a considerable wait, it is usually an indication that you have applied too much moisturiser in those areas, the moisturiser is not absorbing properly because it is too heavy for your skin or that it is particularly 'heavy' in synthetics and effectively creating a barrier causing makeup to not adhere properly. Even regular makeup will look blotchy, separate or 'slide during the day due to the plastics creating a lack of adhesion. For this reason we recommend 100% natural skincare, which is also much better for your skin.

Copyright 2005 Musq Pty Ltd