Wednesday, February 12, 2014

How Do I Get My Eyes Noticed?


Your eyes are the most important feature when you are doing your make-up. Whether they are small, deep-set or large, using these techniques will definitely draw the attention your eyes deserve.

The first step to achieving Dynamic Eyes is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-Lite and apply it from the nose, (the thickness of the brush) following up under the eye brow and extend to the hairline. Then using a large brush like our Complexion Brush start from the nose and blend the Eye-Lite upward towards the brows and the hairline.

Creating Bold Cheekbones


The steps to getting well defined cheekbones are very simple. Imagine if you will that there is an imaginary line from the bottom corner of your nose to the area where your ear is attached at the top of the ear. This line defines the top of the area where your blush will be applied. To find the bottom line simply imagine a line from the bottom corner of your mouth to the bottom attachment of your ear. I always tell my customers to use the handle of their contour brush to get an idea where these lines are. Next you will need to locate the starting point. If you can imagine a vertical line from the iris of your eye to where it intersects the lower line, this is the point where you will want to start applying your blush going up towards the ear. This starting point is also the area of your face where your cheeks start to round back towards the side of your head. Use those imaginary lines to guide you where you need to apply your blush, and make sure you blend upwards to give yourself well defined cheekbones. The greatest thing about this tip is since you are using your facial structure for guidelines it will always look right for you.

How Do I Get My Eyes Noticed?

Your eyes are the most important feature when you are doing your make-up. Whether they are small, deep-set or large, using these techniques will definitely draw the attention your eyes deserve.

The first step to achieving Dynamic Eyes is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-Lite and apply it from the nose, (the thickness of the brush) following up under the eye brow and extend to the hairline. Then using a large brush like our Complexion Brush start from the nose and blend the Eye-Lite upward towards the brows and the hairline.

Applying Make-up

Always start your make-up with your foundation. This will even out your complexion and give you a good base to start with. Now for the trick. Use a sponge to apply your foundation. This way your foundation will not change colors due to the oils on your fingers, and you will not contaminate your foundation.
Another trick is to use a large complexion brush to smooth out your foundation around the hairline and jaw line. This way you will not have a line of demarcation around the edge of your foundation. Next apply your brow color. Follow up with a brow gel to keep your brows looking nice all day or night.
Apply your highlighter next. The trick here is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-lite that is creamy instead of a waxy cover-up. When you are trying to hide lines on the face, using a waxy substance will not move with your face, thus causing creases and other wrinkles to form in the product. Using a creamy highlighter will get into the lines to lighten them and make them less visible. Again use your complexion brush to blend your highlighting after you have applied it. 

Make-up Tips for Older Women

Eventually, the effects of time begin show on our faces. Here are four simple techniques to look your best no matter what age you are.

1. Instead of the traditional lip liner pencil, line your lips with a stiff bristled brush using your blush. This gives your lipstick the staying power that helps prevent any bleeding or feathering of your lip color around your lips.

2. To set your make-up, apply a loose translucent powder with a powder brush in the morning and do not reapply during the day. Excessive powder, especially from a compact, accentuates lines and wrinkles. If you need a touch up for shine, simply use a fluffy brush like our Complexion Brush and smooth it over your face.

3. Lessening the appearance of jowls (the lines from the edge of the nose to the corner of the mouth) is accomplished with Beige Eye-lite. Using a highlighter de-emphasizes the shadow created by the jowl thus making it less noticeable. Check your chart in the Free Facial Chart section of our site for a guide on Beige Eye-lite placement. To lessen the appearance of a saggy neck, use a non-frosted powder slightly darker than your natural skin tone and apply it under your chin. This creates the effect of a shadow, therefore making it less prominent.

4. Forget the myth that you shouldn't wear frosted eye shadow over the age of thirty. Frosted eye shadows, if applied properly, can make you look young. Never use one color on the entire eyelid! Per your Free Facial Chart, use one light color under your brow, one color on your eyelid close to your lashes and one slightly darker shade on the crease if desired. And, most of all... Blend, blend, blend!

Remember that subtlety is the key. Armed with these four techniques, you have the arsenal to take on aging and look your best!

Party Makeup Ideas


Whether you have a dinner, office, or New Year's Eve party to get ready for -- or it's just happy-hour with your coworkers, we've got makeup tips for you! We've asked the experts and they've provided us with everything you need to know to look great this holiday season.

For a Dinner Party

The best way to make lipstick stay put through a meal is to layer your lip products. Lip primers are a good place to start since they prevent feathering and fading. Clinique's All about Lips is a lip primer that comes in a handy pump dispenser and moisturizes in addition to keeping lip color in place. Next, follow these steps:

Preparation Of The Face For Makeup



For the best final result, you must meticulously prepare your face for the actual application of the makeup.

Identify The Structure Of Your Face:

This is very important, so that you can understand the high points and the drawbacks of your face. Then you will be able to emphasize the excellent features of your face and camouflage your handicaps. Faces are of 2 basic shapes:

1. Angular Faces are well delineated, with a strong bone structure and musculature. Angular faces could be trapezoidal, rectangular, square or triangular. 

2. Round Faces, on the other hand, have curved, continuous, gently sloping lines, without any bony projections. Round faces can be oval or the true round form.

Eye Cosmetics And Their Use


Eye Makeup:

Almond shaped eyes are considered to be the ideal. So when making up eyes, one tries with the help of light and dark eye makeup to make the necessary changes to give the eyes an almond appearance.

 

Eye shadow:

Application Technique: 
The following steps are followed in the application of eye shadow shades. 

The Secrets of Concealer



Concealer is the little white lie of the makeup world -- we all use it on occasion, and no one has to feel guilty about this kind of cover-up. But with all the types of concealer available, women often question how and when to use it.

Concealers come in sticks, pots, cremes, and pencils. Any type will do. It's okay to use your fingertips to apply. Just make sure you dab or pat it on -- never wipe or rub. For the most covert application, use a concealer brush. It helps you to be subtle and precise, especially when you're working on small areas like blemishes (yes, we all get them -- pimples, zits, and the occasional Mount Everest). 

Even when you're blemish-free, there are places where concealer works miracles: under the eyes to cover dark circles, on the outer corners of the eyes (where it's often reddish or dark), around the nostrils, and in the dark bluish spots where each eye meets the bridge of the nose (check your face in this place, as most of us get a bit of a dent there). A dot on either side keeps the eyes looking brighter. 

Basically, concealer is a slightly heavier version of foundation. If you're using concealer with foundation, go with a color that's one shade lighter than the foundation. These two products work in tandem to bring your face to one tone.

Apply concealer first, to cover dark spots or blemishes, then go over the concealed areas with foundation. If the spots are still dark, you can go back and apply more concealer on top of the foundation. (When I'm working under the eyes, I sometimes add more concealer over the foundation just to make the eyes pop a bit more.)

If you're using just concealer without foundation over it, make sure the concealer matches your skin tone. This can be tricky, since it's offered in far fewer shades than foundation. If the color's too light, you'll actually draw more attention to the problem you're covering. But if you get a great match, you can get by with spot concealer and nothing else on the face -- even with blemishes. 

Sometimes foundation alone can take the place of concealer; although it's a lighter formula, you can use it in the same areas and it often does the trick. On the other hand, if you're not wearing foundation, just use concealer. 

It's really your choice: foundation alone, concealer alone, or a combination of the two. Another option is tinted moisturizer. If your skin's nearly perfect, it's all you need.

The Key To Flawless Foundation

Types of Foundations

Most of us keep our foundation as close as our ATM card. And just like crisp cash, we tend to "spend" too much of it. That's the most common problem women make -- putting foundation all over their face when that's very rarely needed. When you get the right shade, and you know how and where to use it, you'll find you need very little.

But first -- which form do you choose? There are sticks, liquids, creams, and powders. If you have normal skin, you're fine with anything. Dry skin is best with a cream or liquid -- these glide easily over the skin. Oily skin is best with an oil-free liquid but a powder foundation's even better.

How To Do Your Nails Fast


When you are in a rush, decisions have to be made. Prioritize. Do you shape or polish? Do you quick-dry or go the long, slow route? New formulas allow for snap decisions:

Speed-dry enamels are worthy of their name (you can open mail, search for keys, or put on your tightest long-sleeved shirt within seconds), but there's a downside: "As fast as they dry, that's as fast they chip," insists manicurist Elisa Ferri, so save them for emergencies. Eke a few extra days out of a fast-dry manicure by doing a daily touch-up with a quick-drying coat.

In the other corner, there are strong, chip-resistant formulas - the torttoise of the polish race. To pick up the pace of these tougher enamels, like L'Oreal Shock Proof, carefully submerge freshly painted nails in a bowl of ice-cold water for 30 seconds to harden still-groopy polish.

Light or sheer shades are best for hasty manicures, Ferri says. "You can even get away with just a wide stripe down the center" rather than painstakingly painting the entire nail.

If a manicure is beyond the repair of a topcoat or two, face facts and call in the remover. You can keep single-use packets of nail polish remover (Cutex and Get Fresh make them) on hand so you can strip away color on the run.

When there is no time for polish, just clean underneath the nails, rub on a buffing cream, and shine them with a chamois buffer.

Eye Lining Tricks

Lining your eyes can either make your eyes look gorgeous or tell the world that you haven't quite got the hang of it yet. Here are some quick little tricks to make you look like a pro! Applying Color Below the Lashes

The best tool I have found for applying shadow beneath the lashes is with a sponge applicator. The color sticks to the sponge until it is softly deposited exactly where you want it to be. A brush is about the worst tool you can use for this purpose. No control at all.

How Much To Line

Although some models can line their entire eye, this look is not for everyone. But that doesn't mean that you can't create a look that is close to what you see here. Play around with your liner. Line the upper lid and just the corner of your lower lid. Line the upper lid and leave the lower lid bare. Get into the habit of playing with your makeup. You never know when you will happen upon something absolutely amazing.

Using an Eye Lining Pencil

Don't draw the pencil across your eyelid as this could cause stretching of the skin. Instead, apply the color to the palm of your hand, pick up some of the color with your pinky and apply gently to eyelid.

One Continuous Line?

I would suggest a series of dashes or dots worked into the lash line. It's easier to control and no mistakes to be carefully fixed.

But My Lids are Oily

This is a common problem that causes liner to migrate up into the crease area. To prevent this from happening, choose a product to prep your lid. Not only will this prevent the liner from moving, it will keep your shadow in place at the same time.

How to Curl Your Eye Lashes

Since we can't all be blessed with long lashes, thank goodness mascara can make it look as if we were. Here is a very simple method of applying mascara for every day wear.

Draw wand out of mascara tube and remove the excess on a piece of paper towel or tissue.
Hold wand horizontally and slowly twirl as you move the brush from the roots to the tips.
To set curl, hold wand and lashes together at the tips for a several seconds.
Apply second coat before the first coat has dried to avoid clumping.
Apply mascara carefully to the bottom lashes, holding wand vertically.
While lashes are still wet, comb through the lashes (carefully) with a lash comb to separate each lash.
Tips:


  1. Be sure to wash off your mascara each night. Not only will it smear during the night, you won't be able to apply more until your lashes are free from the old mascara.
  2. Mascara is a breeding ground for germs. Be sure to replace it every three months.
  3. Never pump the wand into the tube. This procedure only adds air to the mascara, drying it out.

Brushing Long Hair Properly



Bend forward, allowing hair to fall. Using only a wooden base natural bristle brush, bring hair from the nape of the neck over the head and down to the ends.

Then, stand straight again with hair falling normally and brush from the underside of the hairline down the strands to the ends.

Now, brush the top layers into place with long, even strokes. After each stroke, smooth hair with hands to reduce static.

Increase the number of strokes weekly, starting with five and increasing by one a week until you find a comfortable routine. If oiliness develops, reduce strokes.

Brush only when dry. Hair is weakest when it is wet and brushing can easily damage it. Even when hair is dry always comb before brushing.

Coloring Your Eyebrows

If, like me, you have eyebrows that are a bit too pale in colour you can easily make them darker.

First get your eyebrows into shape by plucking and brushing. Next, find a powder eyeshadow that matches your colouring and using a brow brush, gently run the colour through your eyebrows.

Don't apply too much, just enough to darken the brows. To keep all the hairs in place, spray a very small amount of hairspray onto the brow brush and sweep that gently through the brows.

I normally use a dark brown colour, as that looks natural with my normal hair colouring. So you may need to experiment a bit to find the correct shade for your eyebrows.

Don't ever use mascara on your eyebrows as it is too thick and will make a mess!

Monday, February 10, 2014

How to apply foundation

There are three basic formulations of foundation: liquid, cream and powder. The formulation you use should depend on a few factors: Do you have a lot of excess shine? Do you have patches of dry, flaky skin? Are there dark circles, blemishes or other areas on the skin you would like to minimize? What texture feels comfortable on your skin?

The right everyday foundation will make your skin look naturally radiant. It should feel comfortable on your skin all day long and not require much maintenance through the day. The current trend in foundation application is to apply only where needed, most likely toward the center of the face, and letting your natural skin shine through wherever possible.

Eye Color Rules


  • Keep deeper colors on the lid.

  • Use lighter colors on the brow bone.
  • For a casual but polished look, sweep one shade from lashes to brow bone.
  • Use cream shadows sparingly -- the colors tend to be very vivid.
  • Eye gloss is the newest trend. It adds a sheer shine to lids, but don't try it unless you know you can carry it off -- it can look greasy and inappropriate.
  • Apply powder eyeliners wet for more intense color.
  • White, pink and yellow eyeliner pencils tend to make the eye look open and brighter. Blue counteracts redness, and black will give you a sultry look.
  • In order to make eyeliner easy to apply, manufacturers sometimes make it so creamy it doesn't stay put. You can use a matching eye shadow or powder liner to set your eyeliner.

Lipstick Tips


  • If you want your lipstick to last, use pencil first as a base. Outline and color in your lips with pencil (nude, if your lipstick .. 
  • Store lipstick -- and perfume -- in the refrigerator. It'll last longer. 
  • Never use a tester on your lips -- it's unhygienic. Test lipstick on your fingertips  instead of the back of your hand: the color and texture are closer to that of your lips. 
  • If you want your lipstick to last, use pencil first as a base. Outline and color in your lips with pencil (nude, if your lipstick shade is light) and slick your lipstick on top. 
  • Your lips will also look softer, "smudgier," and less defined if you don't use pencils or lipliners. 
  • To avoid lipstick on your teeth, after application, run your index finger through the middle of your lips and pull it back out. The excess will come off on your finger, not your teeth. 
  • In a pinch, your lipstick can double as blush. (But never use blush on your lips.) 
  • Outline your lips in pencil before you apply lipstick or gloss if you don't want your lipstick to feather. 
  •  Women over 50 usually look better with a cream lipstick rather than a matte or gloss. Every bit of moisture helps. 
  • If your lipstick shade turns out to be brighter than you thought it would be, color in your lips with a pencil a few shades darker than your lipstick (for instance, brown pencil under dark red lipstick) and layer the lipstick on top. Or coat the lipstick with a darker lip gloss, which will turn down the heat.