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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Best Make Up for Blue Eyes

People often ask me what eye shadow colors would be the best match for their eye color. I love this question because there are definitely some eye shadow shades that enhance the beauty of your eye color better than others. This holds especially true for those who have blue eyes.

While you may get away with wearing sassy colors, such as purples, blues, and greens, remember to use a splash of color sparingly to avoid looking clownish. Using these colors along your lashline or as an accent on the outer crease of your eye is a great way to dabble in color without looking inexperienced in makeup application.

However, if you really want to accent the beautiful color of your eye, here are the absolute best colors to make your eye look bolder. Before you apply your eye make up, you need to understand that in order to make eyes look great, you need three different shades of eye shadow.

The first shade is your lightest, called the highlighter. You generally use this just below your brow bone, in the inner corner of your eye, and along the inner third of your eyelid (and as far as the whole eyelid -depending upon your eye shape), to brighten that area.

The second shade is darker, called the midtone. It is usually used along the crease of your eye, blending it upward toward the highlighted area.

The third shade is your darkest, called the accent. You apply this color to the outer part of the crease and along the outer upper and lower lashline. You can make your eyes look more dramatic by using more of the darkest color and applying it along the entire upper and lower lashline.

For blues eyes, use a light, vanilla color for your highlighter. Your midtone should be a nice, neutral brown color. Your accent should be a bronze color, a shade that resembles a penny. Use bronze or deep brown eyeliner and lots of mascara to complete your color combination. Stick with these colors to make your eyes look absolutely stunning.

When you have blue eyes, and get tired of using just neutral browns and want to add a little bit of other colors, be sure to only apply other colors in the accent area. This is the only place where blue-eyed people can get away with using purple, green, and blue, without looking like you’ve reverted back to the 80’s.

Always make sure that at least one of your eye shadows is matte in appearance. Matte shades are usually best as the midtone color, and you can use a bit of shimmer in the highlight and accent areas.

Remember that makeup on bad skin looks like makeup on bad skin. So take care of it so people will notice your eyes more instead of being distracted by your skin’s imperfections!

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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

The Best Tips to Use Concealer

The Best Tricks to Use Concealer

Makeup is an amazing thing. It accentuates what you have, hides what you don’t want others to see, and magically reveals what you don’t naturally have! One of makeup’s secret tools is the use of concealer. When used correctly, it is attractive. When not used correctly, it shows.

So, here are the best tips to use your concealer correctly.

1. Blemishes: Always apply a small dab of concealer on top of the blemish, blend the outer edges.

2. Open sores: If you are trying to hide open sores, concealer won’t stay on just by itself. Apply a small amount of powder first, then a dab of concealer, blend the edges carefully, and apply powder carefully again. This will help keep the concealer in place. Be sure to remove your makeup as soon as you are able and then apply a little antibiotic ointment to allow the open sore to heal more rapidly.

3. Dark Under Eye Circles: Mix the concealer with a bit of eye cream to avoid the garish goose-flesh look. If you’ve ever applied concealer to your inner eyes, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Mixing concealer with a little eye cream not only hydrates that delicate area, but allows the concealer to go on much more smoothly, give more highlighting coverage than foundation, and adequately lightens the dark areas.

4. Application Tools: Use a thin, flat, short-bristled lip liner or eye liner brush to apply concealer. There are brushes made specifically for applying concealer, but if you don’t have one, another cosmetic brush will do. Make sure the bristles are short – you don’t need the brush to soak up all of your concealer.

5. Highlight: You can mix concealer with a little bit of moisturizer and use a brush to apply it to the outside corners of your nose, inside and under your eyes, and to your frown lines at the outer edges of your mouth. Blend with your pinky.

6. Color: use a concealer that is slightly lighter than your skin tone. If you have purple dark circles under your eyes, you might try using a yellow concealer. Otherwise, a concealer that is close to your skin tone is best for all other applications.

To finish your look, apply your foundation over your face (except for the eye area – you’ll displace what you’ve applied) and dust with powder. Now you are ready to apply your color cosmetics.

Remember, your makeup will always look better and go on much more smoothly if you use a skin care program: cleanse, protect, hydrate.

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

How to Wear Fall 2010’s Hottest Makeup Trend

Everyone wants to know what is the hottest color to wear for Fall 2010. Whenever in doubt, always wear black and gray. However, those colors can get tiresome because they actually lack color! So what is the hottest color to wear for the Fall 2010 season? The answer is purple!

As you spice up your wardrobe with great combinations of black, grey and purple, don’t forget to update your makeup look as well.

The best makeup tip for this season is to add purple. And here is how you wear it. Don’t go splashing purple all over your eyes: any makeup applied carelessly looks just like that: careless. The Fall 2010 hottest makeup trend is to wear a smoky eye using purple colors. Here are the steps to achieve that look:

1. Apply a liquid vanilla eye color to the inner corners of your eyes as well as the area just below your eyebrow. Use your fingers to pat the color on, which will help blend it in. This will highlight the correct areas of your eyes, making them “pop”, especially when you add darker colors to other areas.

2. Apply a neutral brown eye color to your entire eye – lid and below the brow. This will be a great base so when you add the purple eye color, it will blend easily and not look too harsh.


3. You will need two shades of purple, one darker than the first. The first shade is a true purple color. Apply the purple shade on the eyelid, softly blending from lashline to the crease. Then, use the darker shade, more plum in color, to accent the outer corner of the crease to the inner corner of the crease. The secret is to blend. And what is the secret to blending? Use an eye crease brush!

4. Use purple eyeliner across the base of the upper eyelash line as well as to the lower eyelash outer corner. Use the plum colored eye shadow to fill in the rest of the lower lashline, blending well and to soften the look.


5. If you’ve gone too dark with the purple eye shadow, you can lightly apply the liquid vanilla eye color to the inner corner of the eye as well as just below the brow to emphasize the highlight.

6. Finish off with at least two applications of mascara: apply to both lower lashes first, then to the upper lashes. This prevents mascara from transferring to your eyelids if you are in the habit of coating the top lashes first!

You will look so classy at work, home, or at any holiday party!

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Timeless Fall-time Makeup Color Tips

Fall is a fabulous time for transitions. We put away our summer clothes and break out the wardrobe that is full of lush fabrics, vibrant colors, and steeped in warmth. As you change your wardrobe to match the fall season, be sure to do the same for your makeup as well!

For example, in the summer, we use loads of bronzers, bright pink lipsticks, and colors that tend to be more natural, giving an on-the-go look that tells others you are ready to play. However, as fall is upon us, we find outfits and makeup that is a bit more festive, reminding us of the holiday season.

As you wear various fall time colors like burgundy, deep blue, evergreen, red, brown, and black, be sure that your makeup matches. For example, you would never wear the summer’s bright pink lipstick with a deep blue outfit. You’ll look absolutely classy if you keep your lipstick in the same family shade as the color you are wearing.

Avoid looking garish when jumping into fall by wearing lipstick that isn’t too dark. You can wear a dark lipstick as long as you lighten it up with a light colored lipgloss, or go over it with an intensity controller lipstick (usually a light neutral shade).

What lipstick shades are best for fall time? You can never go wrong with a berry lipstick. They are full of color and look absolutely mouthwatering, especially if the lipstick shade matches what you are wearing (except for brown, blue, and black, of course!) Just remember this: the darker the lipstick shade, the thinner your lips will look. If you have nice full lips, you don’t have to worry about this. However, if your lips are thin and more hidden, be sure to wear a lighter lip shade.

Don’t forget your eyes: As you use fun eye shadows that are vibrant in color, be sure to use those colors as an accent instead of spreading them across your whole eye. Colors are fun to play in, but when used too much, you instantly age yourself.

Be careful of trendy makeup, the kind that requires harsh lines and too much color that is well-suited for the runway, but not when stepping out to your driveway. Go for a well-blended, soft look instead. Remember, makeup is supposed to accent your features, not become them.

Last of all, have fun with your makeup and don’t be afraid to experiment - but don’t save the experimenting to an hour before going out to a big event!

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Don't Let Your Halloween Make up Leave a Mark!

No doubt, you’ve done countless searches for Halloween make up ideas as you are trying to be creative and figure out what to be for Halloween. For most costumes, this involves applying all sorts of ill-colored Halloween makeup to your face and skin.

As you try to look garish or godly, don’t forget that you don’t want to be sporting such spooky makeup for the days following your Halloween festivities.

Inexpensive Halloween make up ideas involve techniques that combine red food coloring and corn syrup for that battle-scarred look. Or, if you have a slew of colored cosmetics, you may try using dark eye pencils to make your eyes look hollow or add wrinkles. Just remember that color cosmetics applied to untraditional areas of your face may leave a stain or dark mark that is hard to remove if you don’t use the following preventative steps.

To avoid after Halloween makeup stains that make you look scarier than your original costume look intended, follow these simple rules to preserve your skin so you don’t look like a corpse the day after Halloween:

1) Be sure to wash your face before you get started. Not only will your skin thank you for the extra cleaning, your makeup will go on better.

2) Use a light weight moisturizer. This will prevent your makeup from sinking into the dry cracks of your skin, consequently staining those areas.

3) Apply a foundation the color of your skin. This will act as a barrier between your skin and the extra makeup you intend to apply. If you don’t have moisturizer or foundation, apply a very thin layer of cold cream to your skin and then use a cotton ball to dust over it with cornstarch. This, too will protect your skin from the extra makeup.

4) When the Halloween party is over, use an eye makeup remover - it is excellent in removing any makeup with pigments. Then, use a facial cleanser and a warm wet wash cloth to remove all your makeup. If you use soap, you will find it dries out your face too much and is too harsh. If you were careful to moisturize and use a foundation or cold cream as a barrier to protect your face, you will prevent any residue from staining your face.

5) Again, moisturize to add hydration back to your skin.

This will help your Halloween costume be a hit!

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Friday, September 10, 2010

Does Microdermabrasion Hurt?

Does Microdermabrasion hurt? I have many clients who were reluctant to try microdermabrasion because they thought that microdermabrasion hurts, is painful, or they may experience adverse side effects.

The short answer is "no," if you use a microdermabrasion home system. A home microdermabrasion system differs from a professional treatment of microdermabrasion in that at home, you control the amount and the pressure applied when using the scrubbing crystals (usually made of aluminum oxide).

A professional treatment is obviously done by someone else using a specialized tool that essentially sucks up a portion of your skin, shoots the scrubbing crystals at it, and then suctions off the very topmost layer of your skin. Consequently, there is a higher probability that damage to the skin can be inflicted if the procedure is done improperly or carelessly.

Here are some tips when using a home microdermabrasion system:

1) First, cleanse your face with a damp washcloth and a cleanser that is the same product line as your home microdermabrasion system. Using a cleanser will make the microdermabrasion more effective.

2) Use lots of water when rubbing in the scrubbing crystals. I personally like using this in the shower, where the shower's mist keeps my face nice and moist, and the shower makes it easy to rinse the scrubbing crystals off my face - be sure to avoid the eye area or you will feel like someone threw a handful of sand in your eyes!

3) Don't ever use a washcloth to remove the scrubbing crystals. You cannot tell how much pressure you are applying to your face and could cause irritation.

4) Remember, when rubbing in the oxide crystals, which removes that top layer of dead skin, you can adjust the amount of pressure with your fingertips. If rubbing seems uncomfortable, use less pressure, more water, or both!

5) Be sure to follow-up with the replenishing serum. Most home microdermabrasion kits come with two products: the scrubbing crystals that take off the dead skin, and the replenishing serum that adds nutrients back to your skin.

6) Apply moisturizer that contains a sunscreen. After using Microdermabrasion, your skin is more susceptible to sun-damage so be sure to protect it.


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Remember, take care of your skin because your face is the first thing people see!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

2010 Hottest Fall Fashions

It may seem inconsequential to some, but a popular topic people like to know about is what are the hottest 2010 fashions this fall.

On a very personal side note, I don't get it. I never have, but nevertheless, there are a lot of readers who organize their wardrobe according to what is in and send what is out to the thrift stores - which is a lot better than just throwing unwanted items in the garbage. What I do "get" is what is hot in makeup tips and trends.

So, here is what to look for in the greatest 2010 fall Fashions:

Bold Fall colors are a must, regardless of what is colored: jewelry, handbags, clutches, clothes, shoes, you name it.

Next, Texture is everything! Look for contrasting textures to accentuate your wardrobe: mixing a silk blouse with a suede jacket adds emphasis and contrast. Classy, dressy denim jeans with suede covered heels, a white cotton blouse top, and a textured faux-leather clutch in red is very trendy this fall. Throw on a jacket that matches your shoes and you’re set!

Mind your ankles: High heeled shoes are back. Look for high heeled shoes that are sculpted and look like a piece of art in and of themselves! Ankle-cut boots are back, bringing greater attention to the base of your stance.

Chain it up! No, not your tires if you live in the snowy north. Necklaces with bold chains and rhinestones will bring the sophistication you need.

Check the zippers. I don’t mean on your trousers either. Look for zippers to embellish all accessories - from shoes to clutches, from jackets to handbags. Zippers will be where you want people to see!

From strong-presence bracelets to eye-catching chains, be bold and go bigger with all your accessories – they are meant to be seen!

Makeup is following the same trends. Color accents in eye makeup will show off your eyes. High-shine lipgloss over a bold lipstick will do wonders. The darker the lipstick, the older you will look. Wear a brighter lipstick, subtly toned down by a neutral lipgloss.

To avoid looking like a clown, don’t over-do it. If you really play up your eyes, keep your lipstick toned down and even neutral.

Keep your face glowing. Subscribe to our Zap Wrinkles Blemish Free Skin Newsletter and get the Free Skin Care Guide by submitting your info to the right. Your info is always kept confidential and is never shared with 3rd parties...ever!

Remember, take care of your skin because your face is the first thing people see!