Unless you hit the genetic lottery, false lashes are an absolutely crucial part of any look that demands a little extra drama or glamour. However, I find that most people skip them because they can be difficult to put on! Here are my tips for an easy, fool-proof application process for bat-worthy lashes!

• Make sure the lashes are the same width as your eyes. Hold them up to your eye, and take note to see if you need to trim any excess length off. It’s up to you if you want to trim from the inner, outer, or both ends. 
• Curling your lashes before applying tends to help the false lashes blend in better, but can also make it more difficult to work around.
• Choose the right glue! Never use those tiny tubes that come with your lashes—honestly, I don’t even know if they should be considered glue! I personally use hair glue—I know some people say it’s not safe, but it’s the exact same thing but with a higher latex content.  I prefer it because it dries much faster than eyelash glue, and it’s easier to find in black. If you want regular eyelash glue, a popular favourite is Duo.
• Squeeze out a line of glue onto the back of your hand or a palette, and gently touch the band of your lashes into the glue. You don’t need a lot of glue! If the glue is leaking into your eyes or getting all over your lid, you're either not letting it set enough or using way too much! I like to apply slightly more glue to the corners, to be sure that they will hold all day.
• If using Duo or another eyelash glue, wait about 30-60 seconds for it to get tacky before applying. If you’re using hair glue or liquid latex, you only need to wait about 5 seconds.
• Allergic to latex or don’t want to mess with glue? Don’t fret—I just discovered a fabulous new product called Fantabulash! It was developed by a woman who lost all her hair to alopecia AND developed an allergy to glue! I’ve tried it out several times and it’s definitely got some great perks. It already comes in strips, which you simply press your lashes onto, and then press it onto your eyelid. Definitely doesn’t get easier than that! It also has a VERY strong hold—I wore it for 10 hour days both times, with absolutely no lifting or any other issues. It IS a bit pricier than lash/hair glue, but if you're allergic or don't wear lashes very often, it's a great choice. Also, I haven't been able to test this out, but I've heard that it holds up much better in humidity than regular glue! I know I'll be keeping it in my kit for sure!
• Apply to the inner corner first, but start the lashes a cm or so away from the corner for comfort (otherwise you’ll feel it when blinking). It’s important to do your inner corner first because while you need to get the inner corner precisely right, you have more flexibility for lash placement for the outer corner. You can extent the lashes beyond your eye for an elongated shape, or up away from your lash line for a more open look. You can’t do either of these things with your inner corner though!

• Use your fingers, or the side of a brush or cotton swab to support the lashes upwards while they dry. This helps them from drying at a strange angle, and can have a widening/opening look for your eyes.
• Apply a coat or two of mascara to blend your real lashes with the falsies.
• If you’re totally new to lashes, try cutting them in half and only applying them to the outer corners until you get more comfortable with them.
• Don’t be afraid to wear multiple pairs for extra drama!
• I know cartoon characters do this, but don’t rip your lashes off at night (especially when using Fantabulash! That stuff is insanely strong, and you’ll damage your natural lashes or skin)—Ouch! Instead, soak them with a warm washcloth & some makeup remover to soften up the glue before gently removing them.

Lush lashes forever!

 Blake Karamazov is a San Francisco based makeup artist, Swagger Cosmetics creator and only eats vegan glitter and rhinestones.  

Queer magic brought to by the kings of Butch Queens! Continued support towards Rusty Nails medical recovery has everyone in high spirits, here's an update-

"Hey I just wanted to let the ever so receptive internet know how I'm progressing. I have physical therapy 4 or 5 days a week with a rad pt who kicks my ass(and she is from philly!) I can transfer to my wheelchair/commode with no assistance. I have learned how to use a transfer board and I even sat in a regular ole chair! on Thursday I have an ortho appt. to find out when I can get these damn pins out(I'm so ready!!!!) I will be walking within 3 months. goddamnit! I really love you all and I am so appreciative of the fundraisers and hellraisers that are helping me and supporting me! PS Happy moms day!!" -Siobhan / Rusty Nails

In case you are starting to plan for PRIDE, check out our festival of events, ticket sales will benefit Gay City Health Project AND Rusty Nails / Siobhan's medical recovery. 

And now for... LOOKS! All photos by Rachel Robinson.

Jinkx Monsoon is cut throat, she had her eyes on that crown the entire time, she would do anything to get it, and now that she is rich is famous it just isn't enough, she just can't stand that Ben Delacreme's oil tankers were not also in her possession. Well, she solved that problem, see for yourself... Maybe Ben Delacreme will enact her revenge at GENDER BLENDER?

Video produced by Nark Magazine, shot and directed by Dru Dinero of Visual Affairs. Props if you can name the original clip...

I’ve had a lot of inquiry lately on how I’ve been doing my brows. I really like this look of ombre brows because it’s much more natural than filling in the entire brow (especially when you don’t have any brows to start out with) but it still gives your face that extra definition. AND it’s super easy— Triple win!

Ombre Brows How to:

• Start with your eye area primed and if you wear foundation, have that already applied as well.
• Take a creamy pencil that you want the darkest part of your brow to be. 
• Draw on the outer 1/3-1/2 of your brow with your pencil. This doesn’t have to be precise, but try to not make it any thicker than you want your brow to be. Bonus: If you stop at this step, you’ll probably have some pretty good clown eyebrows!

• Take a clean angled brush, and in small, smooth strokes, slowly start drawing your brows down towards your nose. The brush will take the pigment from the half brow you already drew spread it out, creating an ombre effect. Keep doing this until you’re satisfied with the look.

• Smooth out any smudges or bumps, and you’re done!

Other tips:

• Play around with shades! When I’m working with clients who already have brows (okay—everybody), I usually go for a pencil that’s about two shades darker than their natural brow. However, the exact shade you choose is totally personal preference, so please experiment until you find the colour that suits you best.
• Don't be afraid of colour! For a fun look, use a colour (or two) in place of your regular brow colour. If you have no or light brows, you can choose pretty much any colour—for those of you with darker brows, try a deep emerald, plum, or navy.

See, I told you it was easy!

Jiggly Jello Shots! Missy Ellio- err Jiggly Caliente showed us her stuff last Friday at The Eagle, and we had a drunk party bus bring in all the queens from Tuck just for the show, what a night! Here's the photos to prove it.

Keep playing with us Fridays at The Eagle for JACK, featuring resident DJ's Trouble, Jimi Jaxon, Pavone, Robby Clark, Nark, Mark Gentile and dancers Ross (Scruff cover girl), Brendan, Colm, James and Kirk, a disco for homo improvement. (Third Fridays Dickslap!)

Another month of wall to wall handsome gents, Guy Ruben really turned it out with the music, the dancing was heated and the cage was furry, it really doesn't get much sexier than Dickslap... don't forget to join us next month with our special host Dan Savage who will be giving out a seemingly endless supply of kink and sex toys from Oxballs.com, dj'd by Trouble and Pavone!

Unfortunately, the importance of cleaning your makeup brushes can often be overlooked. However, it’s important to be thoroughly washing your brushes to free them from bacteria, oils, product build-up, & as well as to maintain the health, condition, and longevity of your brushes. Brushes can be expensive, so it’s important you get the most out of your investment. With proper care, a quality brush can last practically forever-- I have some that are nearing a decade!

However, you can’t just throw them in the sink, swirl them about, and expect them to come out pristine!

Steps for proper cleaning:

There are many methods for cleaning your brushes, but this is my favourite.

1. Pour a small amount of your favourite oil free makeup remover into a small bowl or mug. Make sure to use an oil free one because it’s easier to get out of your brush.
2. Swirl the brush around in the fluid for a few seconds or until you feel that most of the pigment is in the liquid. Don’t worry if the liquid gets dark or cloudy—it can have a lot of pigment in it without losing efficiency. That being said, try to clean off cream products first, such as foundation or lipstick.
3. Tap/swipe off excess remover off the brush
4. Apply a small amount of shampoo onto a washcloth or sponge, and swirl the brush into a lather to eliminate the rest of the pigment left on your brush, as well as any excess remover
5. Rinse with lukewarm or cool water & blot dry with a towel
6. Wipe down the handles with a some rubbing alcohol
7. Lay flat or hang upside-down to dry.

I like this method because the initial makeup remover dissolves most of the pigment on the brush, and makes the cleaning process go way faster than if you were to just use soap or shampoo alone.

Frequency:

• If you work on clients, you should clean brushes with at least a spray cleanser (there are many great ones on the market) between each client, and if possible, a full wash between jobs. This isn’t always possible if you have some back to back gigs, but for the most part you should be fully cleaning your brushes between sets
• Anything that touches a wet or creamy product (foundation, gel liner, crème blush, lip products, etc) should be washed after each use. Especially clean brushes used for creme/gel liner after each use-- you don't want to risk an infection!
• For other personal brushes, cleaning once a week should be sufficient

Other Tips:

• Only use lukewarm or cool water—heat will loosen the glue that keeps the fibers in the ferrule
• Do not soak them in the sink,  that can also weaken the glue
• Other than a spray cleaner (which, by the way, is not a replacement for a full wash), do not use any products on your brushes you wouldn’t put on your own face or hair. I only use quality shampoos and my favourite makeup remover on my brushes.
• If you’re in a hurry and your brushes are almost dry, it’s okay with lightly blow them with a blowdryer on the cool setting only,  in the direction of the hair. Do not use heat or you could melt the glue or damage or the fibers

Great party for a great cause, please keep supporting our loving and loved Siobhan in her hospital recovery!  Please CLICK HERE to send donations to Siobhan, she's only $800 from her goal, but keep giving more anyways, we are so saddened for her injuries but also so happy to see the community rally together, sending our love.

Party photos by the amazing Rachel Robinson !

WELL, I think this GIF says it ALL. We had a great time with Two Dude in Love, Recess and the bunch, enjoy the birthday and bachelor party shenanigans! 

Photos by Rachel Robinson

It’s an undisputed fact: Any queen worth her weight in glitter should know how to contour.

What is contouring?

Contouring is the art of strategically applying highlights and shadows on your face to subtly sculpt or enhance features. It can make your eyes look larger, nose thinner, cheekbones more pronounced and soften your jawline. While it’s not surgery or magic, it can still make an enormous difference.

So how do you do it?

The basics is that you want to apply highlights/lighter shades to the parts of your face you want more prominent (such as the top of your cheekbones) and shadows to the parts of your face you want to recede (such as under your cheekbones).

What do you use?

There are many product options for contouring, dependent on how much or little definition you are going for.

If you just want a subtle, every day enhancement, I would recommend a highlighting powder and a matte bronzer.

However, for more a dramatic change I recommend using a foundation for highlighting and a contouring powder. You will need a foundation for highlighting because a powder will not be able to give you enough coverage. I also recommend a contouring powder for the shadows because unlike a bronzer or darker foundation which will only have brown tones, products created for contouring contain grey tones to help simulate shadows. Bronzers are great for subtle contouring, but excessive amounts can give your face a “dirty” look—I mean, you are essentially putting a dark brown streak across your face! A product with grey tones will be much more natural and flattering.

How to apply:

Here’s a general guide as to where you should apply your highlighting and contouring products. I know, I know, I should definitely not be quitting my day job to become a graphic designer!

Anyway, this is just a general guide; the beauty of contouring (and makeup in general) is that it works with the natural outlines and features of your face—it’s personalized just for you! You can also choose how light the highlights are, as well as how deep to go with the shadows. As a general rule, the shadows should be darker & thicker near the sides of your face, and taper off as it reaches the middle. This same rule goes for your jawline highlight. You can also put shadows on the outside of your nose, as well as above your crease. I typically don't put contour on the sides of my nose, but I'll use highlight up against it so the contrast with my regular skin tone makes my nose slimmer (as pictured in my illustration).

This is what you should look like with the contouring on. Let the foundation (especially if you're using a creme) sit on your face for a minute or two to “cook.” Your body heat helps the foundation melt onto your skin, and improves its natural finish and blendability. 

After you’re done cooking, blend the lines with a sponge. I like to use the bottom of these disposable wedges, but you can use any sponge you like. Use an up & down dabbing motion—do not drag, pull, or smear!—to slowly blend out the lines!

And this should be the finished look!

Compare to before:

(Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with the lighting in this photo, and I also forgot to brush my hair out of the way. The difference is still obvious though!)

Other tips:

• Apply highlight after you put contouring powder on. This way you don’t accidentally deepen the highlighter by getting contouring powder on it.
• If you are highlighting with crème foundation, don’t put your regular foundation all over your face first because the crème foundation will provide more than enough coverage. I will typically only put foundation over the blank and shadowed areas.
• Applying a lot of highlight is a great way to have the appearance of a brighter or lighter skin tone without looking like you’re trying out for mime school. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Work them fake cheeks, girl!

 Blake Karamazov is a San Francisco based makeup artist, Swagger Cosmetics creator and only eats vegan glitter and rhinestones. 

Great night down in Portland! We spun at the White Owl Social Club for opening night of Control Top, along side JD Samson, Jenny Bruso, Roy G Biv and Mister Charming, much dancing and debauchery ensued! Photos by Rachel Robinson.

Last week we rung in the Eagle's 32nd year with special guests Jackson and JD Samson (of MEN / Le Tigre), and what a night it was! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate and got in a few birthday spanks.

Speaking of birthdays, our favorite hair queen Zakaria Ibrahimi is celebrating his birthday with us this Saturday at the Two Dudes in Love (SF) show, that not only features the premiere of a brand new track collaboration with Jinkx Monsoon, but also the return of Recess (Shameless, Flash) to the Eagle decks, AND it is The Bucket / Scott Britt's bachelor party. This will be wet, wild and then some. Head over to Bottom Forty to hear an exclusive mix and new releases put out today by Two Dudes in Love.

And without further adieu, some glorious photo lovin shot by Rachel Robinson

We’ve all been there—You get home too tired, too wasted, too late to want to take off your makeup so you head straight to bed.

Makeup is supposed to help you look and feel more fabulous, but somewhat ironically, leaving it on longer than you should has the exact opposite effect.

Why you need to remove your makeup at night:

• It’s no secret that clogged pores cause the majority of our skin problems. When you sleep, your body temperature rises and has a dilating effect on your pores, which makes them more receptive to what you put on them. This is why so many serums and creams are designed for night-time use—because your skin will absorb it much better than it would during the day.
• Washing your face removes more than just makeup—it removes all the dirt, grime, pollution, dead skin cells, and oils that have built up over the course of the day. You don’t want your skin to be absorbing all that!
• Your skin needs to breathe at night, as weird and/or creepy as that sounds! Just like how your brain needs sleep to, well, do whatever it is that it does, your skin needs oxygen to repair and refresh itself at night.
• The eye area is very delicate, so you definitely don’t want to sleep with any eye makeup on! The skin around your eyes are prone to extra irritation and dehydration, which also increases its factor for premature ageing.
• Mascara can cause your lashes to break, since they stiffen your lashes. If you rub your eyes while you’re sleeping, roll around, or otherwise bump your lashes, you can easily cause them to snap or tear out. 
• If you are wearing glitter, you absolutely MUST remove all of it! It can cut your eye, and lead to all sorts of infections and nastiness. I mean, maybe you think the chances are low—but why take that risk in the first place when it’s so easy to prevent?
• Don’t sleep with false lashes on. Just don’t do it. It boggles my mind that some  people do this.

Now, is it the end of the world if you forget to once in a while? Of course not. However, just don’t let it become a regular occurrence, and follow my tips for proper makeup removal to get into the good habit of thoroughly removing your makeup nightly!

How to correctly remove your makeup:

• Dampen a cotton pad or tissues with makeup remover. You can use one whatever brand you prefer, or oil (I recommend olive or coconut). You can also use Fluid 244, a thin silicone fluid that also doubles as an airbrush thinner. Fluid 244 is my favourite, but that’s just personal preference. I wouldn't run out and buy it if you don’t have any other use for it, but if you need it anyway, it’s a good product to have on hand.
• Hold the cotton pad on your eye for 5-10 seconds, longer if you’re wearing glitter or waterproof makeup, then wipe to the side. This should remove the majority of the makeup.
• Remove false lashes after holding the cotton pad on your lid. The remover will help dissolve the adhesive, making it easier to remove.
• If you still have a lot of eye makeup left, wipe the area again with the cotton pad. If not, wipe the pad over your entire face, and wash with your favourite face wash.
• Repeat if necessary. I can't tell you how many cotton pads I can go through when getting out of drag!
• Use a cotton swab dipped in remover to get any last traces of makeup. Really get it into your lashline so you remove everything!

If you’re absolutely exhausted and just want to crash, use a makeup remover wipe to at least remove some of your makeup. Keep them next to your bed if you have to! While they are not a replacement for washing your face, it’s still better than nothing.

Let your skin breathe, prevent those lashes from breaking, and don't wake up looking like me!

Blake Karamazov is a San Francisco based makeup artist, Swagger Cosmetics creator and only eats vegan glitter and rhinestones. 

Willam turnt it out again in Portland at Gospel at the Fez Ballroom, and was joined by special sleepy guest Jinkx Monsoon! Check out the photos here, by Kevin Kauer