How to Instantly Liven Up the Look of Your Eyes With Shimmering Radiance and Textures

This beauty uses shimmery pale color to open up her eye area through light.

Though I love doing a dramatic smoky eye, I always have a tendency to turn to shimmery pale shades of eye shadow for giving my eyes extra impact.  Dusting the lids with a sheer veil of sparkling pink, peach, gold, champagne, etc. seems to have the power to magically open up the eye area without much effort.  Relying on a shimmery pale shade also does perk up the look of the entire face from my experience to give the eyes more life, a bubbly sort of inner radiance, if you will.  

How Shimmer and Light Can Open Up the Eyes

When your eyes are first starting to show age, you naturally assume matte eye shadows are the only ones suitable for you at this stage.  I used to feel that way until experimenting with shimmery pale eye shadows as I shared with you in an earlier makeup tips post for brightening the eyes that totally took me by surprise.  After I noticed how much delicate sparkle of color falling against my lids enhanced without appearing overly made up, I was impressed because it was more a show of light.   

The way the color reacted on the lids was like that sparkle of sunshine when it hits your skin, illuminating it with pure light.  Therefore, I highly recommend giving the pale sparkling shadows a try because it can do more than you might image.  After all, light brightens and brings the area forward to make the eyes appearing larger whereas dark colors make the lids recede, which has the opposite effect.  

The Secret to Use Pale Shimmer Shades Effectively is All About Blending

If you want to use light shimmer eye shadow to your advantage, you can’t overload the color or risk looking gaudy.  To best pull this off, you need to blend the shade carefully.  After all, you could encounter harsh lines that would ruin that angelic effect that you’re striving for.  

Therefore, it is important to use a variety of your different eye shadow brushes such as your basic all over brush for the lid, a crease brush for softening your work that is tapered and a smudging brush with a flatter, shorter head than your flat basic, all over brush for limiting any sharpness of lines.  Having these different sizes of brushes can keep your application polished.  

Contrasting Shadow Textures Further Livens Up Eye Radiance

An interesting effect is playing with the shadow texture against the light.  When pairing a pale sparkling lid against a medium matte shadow in the same color family along with a slightly darker crease color for the far corner of the eye, you can benefit from that radiance and accent eye shape. What looks really great is using a pale rose-gold and then slightly deeper pink tones for sculpting together to shape the eye.

The important thing to remember is to keep the entire lid reserved for the shimmery shade with just enough of the mid tone and dark corner shade like a brick tone to define the shape of the eye. To really carry this off, make sure the mid tone color of whatever color family that you want to do is only slightly darker than your skin.  This barely distinguishable degree of color for the mid tone choice creates the best natural shadow when pulling this look together and blending thoroughly.  

To really make the eyes pop, make sure to line with a black eyeliner pencil that you can smudge or a matte black shadow that you use by wetting an eyeliner brush and several coats of black mascara.  Laying down a line that is too bold when attempting this technique such as using liquid eyeliner or pen eyeliner seems to diminish the effect of that glow of wholesome beauty.

The Pros and Cons of SPF Makeup for Your Complexion

This attentive beauty took no chances with her complexion.

We subject our skin to damaging rays from the sun every time we leave our homes.  This is why it is so important to start with protecting our face with proper sun protection at an early age.  After all, the sooner we start, the less accumulated damage we can expect to experience later in life for a more youthful appearance.  Yet, is wearing SPF makeup alone enough to keep the skin safe?

The Method of Application May Hinder the SPF Benefit of Makeup

Though as helpful as SPF infused makeup may be or how high that SPF formula contains, you still may not be as protected as you think.  The reason is you may not be putting on enough of that SPF foundation or makeup if you tend to only apply it to certain spots on your face.  

You also need to think about how evenly you applied that SPF makeup.  If you used a brush, sponge or fingers, how well did you layer?  Are you confident your strokes were uniform to distribute the makeup adequately enough or more possibly in other areas?

Makeup Fades Away During the Day That Could Fail to Give You Ample SPF Protection

Since makeup rests on the top layer of the skin, it fades away quicker through the day, which alters that protection.  This does not mean that SPF makeup isn’t valuable to preserving your beauty, it just means you might want to always start first with a layer of a chemical sunscreen with at least SPF 30.

For more about using SPF and your makeup, you might want to read my earlier post.

Bronzer Is One Cosmetic You May Never Want to Do Without

Bronzer can be your most essential cosmetic.

Ask someone what is the one makeup product that they would be hard pressed to do without.  I posed that question to friends and family and the answers are usually lipstick, mascara or concealer.  After all, a great lipstick can add color to liven up a face.  Mascara, on the other hand, can do wonders to open up the eyes to make them standout.  Then again, concealers are also face-saving items to camouflage under eye darkness to hiding those unexpected breakouts.  As important as those particular products are, I think bronzer can have even more beauty power because it is so versatile.

Look at All Bronzer Can Do for Overall Beauty

A great bronzer is perfect too multitask many beauty needs. When your complexion is pale and dull especially during winter, bronzer helps to give the skin a sun-kissed glow to wake it up from that chalky, flatness. 

With that same bronzer, you can take a big, plush brush or your fingers, depending on the form you use, to return some healthy color to your legs, arms, shoulders, cleavage, etc.

Bronzers can also be gorgeous as an eye shadow whether matte or the shimmery variety.  In fact, if you have bronzers that are too dark, they make  ideal contour shades for the crease that could compliment your regular bronzer you might want to try on your lids.  However, check if the ingredients are safe for your eye area first.

Another reason bronzer might be your most coveted piece of makeup is for what it can do for slimming the jaw and neck.  Try using an angled makeup brush with a brown-toned bronzer and watch that turkey neck change before your eyes.  

On the same note, a matte golden-brown bronzer also can help change the dimensions of your face as a contour.  You can shorten a long nose just by a bit on bronzer on the tip.  If your nose happens to be wider than you like, try dusting some bronzing power on both sides of it.  You could define a dimple to carving out cheekbones that seem to be buried deep in your cheeks easily just with this one product. Furthermore, if you have a large forehead, you can just easily create an illusion to shorten it with bronzer,  

Finally, bronzer can help a noticeably thinning hairline just by dusting some in the temple area to distract the eye.

Bronzer Can Save You Money Without the Need for so Many Products

You could eliminate contouring powder, eye shadow and blush to save space in your makeup bag as well.  

For these reasons, I think bronzer can be the most valuable cosmetic that you can own.  How do you feel? 

Exciting Spring 2018 Makeup Trends Glitter and Glow

Metallic colors are just one way to get your spring 2018 glitter and glow on.

If you like a lot of glitter and gold, this will be your season to shine because they will influence your makeup look heavily for spring 2018 through metallic hues of eye shadows, nail polishes along with gold-beaming skin and frosted lip shades–-besides taking that glitz further in surprising new ways.  I’m talking about adding some super-sized sparkle with sequins or rhinestones glued with lash glue to your eyelids or around the eyes.

You Can Go Low-Key Sparkle Or Maximize the Glitter

Glitter and glow for spring 2018 takes many forms from metallic to neon colors.

Those that don’t care to go overboard with that sparkling effect will still want to light up their skin with a healthy glow because a beautiful illuminated complexion will be bigger than ever. You can get that extra edge of radiance to your skin from a glow-enhancing primer and illuminating foundation to some amazing formulas of BB or CC cremes.  

To show off that fresh, dewy glow, you can also do it in style with earth-inspired nudes to classic red lips and nails, which also will be quite popular.

Bold, Black-Rimmed Eyes Dominate Along With Glitter and Metallics

Eyes will be haunting thanks to bold black eyeliner with an array of different takes of the cat-eye from how heavy to the placement of the flick to thick, noticeable lines around the entire eye.  Thick flicks will have more rounded edges than a sharper ones as when doing a thinner flick for this upcoming season so keep this mind.  

Try adding a dramatic secondary color to rock the black liner or using a silver liner at the inner corners are other exciting new twists to explore.  Also, take your black mascara wand and stamping the top side of each lid to up your game with a zippered pattern to your eyes. 

Stamping your lids with your mascara wand is another big trend for spring 2018.

To zone in on those inky eyes even more, eye shadows range from vivid to pastels of lime greens, lilacs, bright turquoise to neon yellows, oranges and pinks, graphically placed to frame the eyes.   

Whatever your comfort level is, makeup for spring 2018 offers something innovative and fun for every beauty.  

How to Get a Sexy Pout to Your Lips in Time for Valentine’s Day

Try this makeup tip before you're nearly ready to go out. 

As we age, our lips lose volume.  Of course, you can buy a lip volumizing product that can temporarily cause the lips to swell to mimic that sexy fullness.  Yet, there is even a quicker way that I thought you might want to try, especially timely with Valentine’s Day closing in.  

What I suggest is getting a fresh wash cloth or new toothbrush and start dry brushing your lips just before you are about to apply your lip color.  This gentle form of roughing up the lips will bring blood to the surface resulting in fuller, more vivid colored lips. 

To further enhance that natural swelling, try grabbing a nude lip liner and dotting over the bow of your top lip instead of penciling in a definite line. Those strategically placed nude dots that lightly connect along the peaks soften the line, giving the lips more of a sexy pout before finishing with your favorite lipstick or gloss.

How to Best Create Bold Brows Without Going Overboard

This post can help you avoid mistakes when going for a bold brow.

Trying to perfect the natural frame of our eyes can take some experimenting with various forms of brow products before we are satisfied with our results.  Take gels and waxes, which are fine but are better more for control than depositing as much intense color as brow pencils or powders.  However, powder is the superior performer if you are striving for the most natural look.

The reason brow powders are ideal is because you can brush as much pigment as you need to play up the brows.  On the other hand, pencils give you less control of how much color is dispersed, which can result in a heavy, painted line from you drawing them in.

When you start from the middle of the brow and take a stiff angled brush using short, delicate strokes for laying down powder between the hairs through to end of the brow, you build up as much boldness as you need without appearing overly done and artificial.  To finish up, set with a spoolie brush with clear gel or one misted with just a little hair spray

What also is extremely important is making sure your brow powder shade is an exact match to the roots of your hair in its virgin state instead of your current hair color if you dye it.  

If you keep these few brow tips in mind, chances are you will be much happier with the look of your brows.

For additional help on perfecting your brows, you might want to check some of my earlier posts such as faking fuller brows, how to tame unruly brows, shaping your brows, creating the most brows for your facial structure, and tips for keeping your brows natural.

Some Quick Tricks to Keep Makeup Looking Fresher and Radiant Longer

This beauty is always ready and set to glow.

A good makeup primer can do so much to keep your look going strong.  However, if you want your complexion to continue looking as fresh and radiant as possible through your day, then let me share some makeup tricks that can help you do just that.

Make sure that your complexion has subtle sheen before any makeup goes on.  One easy suggestion is turning to an illuminating primer to pep up the skin with its light and vitality. Another simple way is using a luminous moisturizer or a drop of serum first.  Doing so will be making whatever foundation formula that you’re using more luminous and natural. 

The best way to keep that authentic glow going is only relying on colorless, transparent powder that is sheer and won’t mask pores with heavy, chalky color from its pigment like a tinted powder.  The secret is dusting off the excess with just enough powder to set your makeup.  

When you feel the need to touch up your makeup later in the day, you will find it better to mist your face with rose water.  This water has many benefits for the complexion.  It has antioxidants for skin renewal, hydration to gentle cleansing and pore toning due to its antibacterial properties besides calming any irritation or redness since it also has anti-inflammatory capabilities.  

Rose water will do more for your complexion overall then masking over your stale makeup with powder.  The tip of a beauty blender works well for adjusting makeup that found its way into creases.  

Those with oily complexions may also find it handy to use oil blotting sheets along with the rose water and lightly dab the T-zone.  When I had oily skin, this method of using both products reduced the shine much better than slapping on more powder that would accumulate in spots.

Just tweaking your usual beauty routine just a bit in this fashion is all it takes to give you an overall more lasting luminous complexion.  You’ll be convinced once you try what I suggest yourself.

How To Best Safeguard Your Mascara From Bacteria

This post can help keep your eyes safer.

Mascara is essential for making more of our lashes.  If you want to keep your eyes safe from a bacterial infection, it is always a good idea to take the proper precautions.

Resist the urge to pump your mascara wand in and out of the tube to load it.  Doing this forces air into the mascara that can bring bacteria with it to speed up the already short three-month shelf life of this eye product.  Habitually pumping mascara also dries it out sooner.

Instead of pumping, try twisting the wand as you’re taking it out.  This technique will do what you need, keep your eyes healthier and the mascara more sanitary. 

Though it may not have dried up or changed in its scent, the formula becomes a breeding ground of bacteria that needs replacing over time.  After three months, the longer that you keep using that mascara only increases your risk of developing an ugly, painful eye infection.  So be safe and just toss to stay beautiful!

How to Give Brows the Most Natural Look When Filling Them in

This is a foolproof method to give your brows the most natural look.

Before I had my brows professionally done, I made more mistakes with them than I care to admit.  However, I also picked up some valuable pointers that changed all that for me that I thought would be helpful for you as well. 

Regardless of the brow product that you prefer, the most important thing that can improve the look of your brows is color choice.  I have found that two shades lighter than the actual color of my dark brown brows always works out the best whether I’m using a pencil, powder, gel or pen. 

On the other hand, if you’re an extremely fair-haired blond, then you need to darken.  Look for a color that is one to two shades darker than your original brow.    

If you’re still not sure deciding on the shade, then it’s always best to keep your brows on the neutral side with a matte taupe brow instead of overdoing it with the wrong product.  Taupe does seem to work well for all.

What else I learned was that once the brow product was applied that following up with a spoolie brush or even a clean, old mascara wand is necessary. Smoothing the brows in the right direction of how they grow helps blend in the product and clean up any excess.  This simple step does wonders to keep the look of the brows more natural. 

If you remember just these two #brow makeup tips, I guarantee that you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much better the outcome will be.

For more tips, check my earlier posts such as creating the best shape of brows for your face, how to fake fuller brows, how to make fewer mistakes when shaping the brows, and how to tame unruly brows.

Makeup Trends for Fall 2017 and Winter 2018

Extreme lashes and bold, dark lips are in store for fall 2017

The major fashion houses pave the way for each season of beauty and styles.  Most of the trends are exciting with different takes on hues and changes to application techniques that you can’t wait to try. Others may work just for models on the runway or a jetsetter that has a need to stand out, but some can be a bit ridiculous for the average woman’s life unless we spin from them in another way.    

For instance, would you wear a set of overly long false lashes that go beyond your brows and pencil in huge bottom lashes?  The effect, when you close your eyes, is a tiny eye peering through a jungle of sprouting hair?  How is this attractive? 

Longer bottom lashes are going to be major this autumn, but instead of distorting them in that fashion, we can still use that idea and benefit.  A few coats of mascara are less extreme and more suitable for everyday life. 

Even worse, what is appealing about adhering an extra set of false lashes to your crease that is set off with bright color?  If I saw lashes springing from the middle of my eyelids, I would be rushing to the doctor thinking that my hormones were suddenly going haywire.  Long, lash lashes from one set in the normal spot bring attention to magnify eyes, but making the eyelids a mass of hair is ugly in my opinion. 

Red lips and minimal makeup also will be just as trendy.

Instead, take advantage of playing with the bright and sunset colors, jewel tones for creating smoky eyes and the metallic shadows, but lose that extra pair of false eyelashes for the creases.  If you want to call attention, substitute liner if you feel that you need it there or experiment with color blocking or bright with a dark, smoky shade for a gorgeous effect.

Lip color this season ranges from deep blood red, burgundies, luscious takes of berries to natural shades in mattes and less shiny gloss.  Still, there is another trend that I do not feel is becoming is gold, silver, platinum blocking on the lips, appearing like you have a piece of metal wedged to go along with graphic smoky eyes.  What makes the look of a square of metal between the lips beautiful? 

Instead, why not use those beautiful new lips colors along with gold and silver only to highlight the cupid’s bow?  

I posted some examples at Pinterest on my Makeup Trends to the Extreme for Fall 2017 board that you may want to check.  

Fashion houses only provide the creative starting point.  The rest is up to us to fuel our inspiration in the best way we see fit to work into our own lives.

Three Helpful Tips When Shopping for Eye Shadow

These three eye shadow pointers  can save you time and future happiness.

How many times have you bought eye shadows that you thought looked fabulous in the store until later when you tried them on?  If so, then I want to share a few tips from my makeup artist friend that can help lessen your chances of an unsatisfactory purchase.

Before you get carried away, you always need to consider your skin tone first.  After all, the depth of the shade can be too overpowering or can wash you out.  For instance, the fairer that you are, the more that you don’t want the shade to be too dark.  The effect could too harsh and unnatural for you to carry it off in a flattering way.

The second most important thing concerns the eye shadow’s texture.  Are you thinking of matte, shimmer, satin,  or metallic?  Young eyes can wear anything since they have no creases to worry about.  However, aging eyes need to be more careful.  Mattes and satins are the safest choices unlike shimmers or metallic ones that can highlight flaws. 

The third involves how sensitive your eyes are.  Any cosmetic that has hypo-allergenic or dermatologist-tested on the label is no guarantee that it will be irritant free.  Just remember powders when brushed across the lid can fall into the eye whereas cream formulas adhere to it.

How to Shop More Wisely Before Buying Your Next Foundation

This beauty doesn't leave her perfect complexion to chance.  

We all have different methods for picking out a great makeup foundation.  Some will buy based on brand reputation that they may have a history with, tempting advertising, recommendations from friends or blogs or just by price.  Others take it a step further and narrow down the choices to address specific needs, which is a far better way to make such a choice.

For instance, you can improve the condition of your skin through your foundation by looking for AHA/BHA (alpha hydroxy acid or beta hydroxy acid) on a label.  Either ingredient won’t do as much as your normal fruit acid skin care, but it will very gently exfoliate through the makeup.  Your complexion will only look brighter with use.

Foundations sporting an SPF of at least 15 are important to protect your complexion, but the truth is the amount we usually apply is hardly enough to keep us safe from the sun.  Therefore, start first with a broad spectrum SPF moisturizer before that foundation and finish with a pressed SPF powder.  Layering in this manner provides three layers of protection to keep your face from aging.  

If your skin breaks out fairly often or tends to oily, then you want to avoid a foundation formula that could bring more oil to your complexion.  Ingredients like kaolin and talc could be your solution since they help absorb excess oil.  Mineral foundation is another answer.

Dry skin benefits more from ingredients such as humectants like hyaluronic acid and emollients such as ceramides.  These types of ingredients can moisturize and smooth to keep the complexion supple in addition to offering perfecting coverage.

Anti-aging ingredients like retinol, peptides, collagen, and niacin help keep the skin younger looking as well as antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E. They defend your complexion from damaging free radicals from the environment. 

Before you make your next purchase, don’t just buy on impulse.  Think what you need that foundation to do and check those labels first.  Your complexion will only benefit!

Why You May Want to Avoid Illuminating Cosmetics When Your Skin Breaks Out

This beauty takes all precautions when it comes to her skin.

Illuminating foundations and highlighting products are tops in my book for livening up a dull, lifeless complexion to make it appear younger.  However, there are some times that you may want to skip using those products temporarily in favor of others.

If your skin is currently breaking out, then casting light on it will only show those imperfections more.   A better alternative would be a matte liquid foundation until your complexion improves. 

This is the time to think about your makeup choices carefully.

Mineral powder foundations also are excellent for hiding problem skin.  This choice doesn’t introduce extra shine and irritating chemicals that could make the complexion worse.  Instead, your aim should be focusing attention away from your problem skin.  This is a good time to concentrate more on your eyes or lips with shimmering shades of eye shadows and glossy, unforgettable lips. 

I hope that your skin doesn’t suffer, but at least you’ll know how to better handle your complexion until it does clear up!

The Least Likely Types of Eye Makeup to Irritate Sensitive Eyes

A brown shade of eye shadow is your safest choice if your eyes easily irritate.

Some of us are more prone to allergies than others.  If you are one, then you know how easily you can react to something like cosmetics and the irritation it can cause.  Eye makeup can be especially difficult for anyone that has these sensitivity issues.  Therefore, I want to share some valuable tips when shopping to restock your makeup bag that can best keep your eyes from potentially suffering.

You may want to think again about overly glittery eye shadows.  Matte shadows are safer since they do not possess those reflective particles than could end up in your eye.

Pure natural pigments are another good choice.  Minerals are safer bets then their chemical counterparts when it comes to the eyes.  On the same note, you can still react to anything at anytime.  

As far as eyeliner goes, you might want to trade in your liquid liners, especially the waterproof latex variety that has stronger chemicals to account for such long-lasting wear.  Instead, you may want to switch to pencils or crayons. 

Waterproof mascaras are great but they also can pose a problem if you are sensitive. A better alternative is trying a water-resistant formula that won’t be as harsh since you can wash it away with soap and water over a special oil makeup remover.

Speaking of mascara, avoid formulas with fibers in it.  Just like the reflective glitter chunks in eye shadow, these fibers can fall in your eye in time as well.  

Your eyes are very important, so be careful with them!

Are You Searching for a Way to Volumize Thin Lips Without Using a Plumping Product?

This beauty listens intently.

As we age, we lose lip volume. If you are starting to notice that your lips are less plush than they used to be, lip plumping products are one way.  Yet, you might not care for the stinging effect due to the slight swelling they may cause.  

Changing your technique when applying lip color is another way that you can build up lip volume.  You might want to start by lightening up from an extremely dark lipstick shade to a medium range shade.  This slightly lighter color won’t make the lips appear so narrow.  

Play with a range of lipstick colors.

After you apply the lipstick, then you want to take a tissue and carefully wipe some of it  from the middle of your top lip, just below the cupid’s bow.  To make up for removing some of that color, you need to pull out your lipstick stash again and replace what is missing with a pale color lipstick.  

You’ll notice the subtle difference of how the center of your lips seemed to gain plumpness through switching out color in that area once you rub your lips together!

I also shared another makeup tip for volumizing lips that uses foundation, concealer and white pencil that you might want to try as well.

How to Offset a Red Face After Getting Too Much Sun!

The sun can be merciless for any beauty.

No one intentionally plans to get so much sun that results in a red face, but it happens.  Perhaps, you fell asleep lounging outside while the sun was going strong.  Then again, maybe you were having so much fun playing outdoors that you forgot to keep up with your sunscreen applications. I could go on, but the damage is done. Yet, you still need to go to work, only how you wonder with so much red color in your face?

Regardless of your skin tone, the best way to solve this excessive redness is turning to a warm-toned foundation.  A color with some gold will help subdue the red and balance that baked color of your face. Steer away from shades lighter than your current coloring or you will look strange and pale instead of evening that redness out.

If you are normally cool-toned, I suggest stopping by the drug store for less expensive golden foundation as a temporary fix until your complexion lightens up.  

Hopefully, you won’t suffer this summer fate.  Still, if it happens, then at least you’ll know how to compensate through makeup to deal with your red, sunburned face.

How to Give Your Evening Look an Extra Sexy Radiance

Everyone needs a palette of metal shades with how these multi-task.

One of my best friends happens to be a makeup artist.  Thanks to her, I have really learned quite a few amazing tricks that improved the way I do my face.  Recently, she volunteered her expertise to help me get ready for an event that was important to me because she wanted me to be perfect.  

She kept rattling on about how a new client liked what she did for channeling her inner rock star when doing her makeup recently.  When I pressed her to give me more details, she refused and continued fluttering around me with her brushes in between dives into her makeup case for one product after another.

Instead of letting me see the progress, my friend positioned my chair out of view of a mirror. All I could see was the foundation, blush, bronzer, mascara, concealer, eyeliner, and palettes of eye shadows sprawled in front of me.  

When she finally stopped fussing, she smiled at me with pride before handing me a mirror.  I couldn’t believe how she managed to illuminate my cheekbones with such pearly radiance that together with the jewels she made out of my eyes was remarkable.

Instead of relying on highlighters, she got more star power from combining gold and silver pearly eye shadows over the top of the cheekbones and toward the temple.  The secret I learned was how the warm and cool tones of those metallic eye colors were more ideal for complimenting the face in a softer, dim light.

I suggest that you pull out your own eye shadows and give this technique a try because it is a dazzling effect for when you have something special to attend.

Some Simple Beauty Secrets You Need to Start Now If You Intend to Age Gracefully!

This beauty takes proper nutrition and maintaining her youth seriously.  You can too just read the post!

Admit it.  You like your face–-at least as it is today.  Yet, regardless of how beautiful it might be, time does manage to catch up with each of us.  Therefore, you want to delay this transition as long as possible by starting now with realistic beauty habits that will help preserve your youthful appearance to glide into the future.

Your Hair Can Reveal a Lot About Age

On the subject of hair, every so often you may want to rethink the style of your cut or add color to hair once you begin noticing grays. After all, your life changes and what worked a year ago or two may take too much time to style or dry due to a long commute, a new baby or even health that may affect the texture.  Perhaps, a lower maintenance style that has less fuss to it would suit your lifestyle better now.  

Tell your stylist to make sure the cut is one that moves.  Hair that swings and has lots of shine looks younger than one that never budges. Flexible sprays do the trick just as well to keep hair in place unlike hard helmet hair caused by an extra firm holding hair spray.

If you thought lots of different jars, tubes, and palettes of makeup was what kept you looking your best, you might have gotten away with poorly applied products during your younger years. However, the older that you get, the more dependant you need to be on makeup brushes for precise blending instead of risking streaks or calling attention to lines and any flaws.

Safeguard Your Skin to Defend Against Aging

Make it a habit to wear an SPF 50 daily, not just for times when you plan to soak up the sun.  Keep a jar or tube of a broad-spectrum sunscreen in full view on your vanity or where you can’t be sure to miss it before leaving the house.  This extends even for short trips to the grocery store or a few minutes gardening. Unprotected skin suffers damage that accumulates to produce wrinkles.

Teeth Also Play a Role So Keep Them Healthy and Bright

Teeth naturally yellow as we get older.  What makes the problem worse are stains to our enamel from beverages such as coffee, tea, colas to tomato-based things and fruits like blueberries.  Whitening gels and strips or treatments from your dentist can greatly improve their white brightness.

Use Makeup Strategically Instead of Piling It On

Complexions do pale the more we age.  A good way to handle that little issue is relying more on bronzers to usher in some much needed healthy color.

Some aging women believe wearing more makeup is the way to maintaining a youthful face.  Unfortunately, too heavy of a hand and overloading products, especially using strong, bold colors can do the opposite. Instead, you can be drawing attention to lines and wrinkles while unintentionally creating a mask-like appearance.  Less makeup often can do more good than so much that appears so thick it could be scraped off with a knife.

Shiny Hair, Skin and Lips Adds to a Youthful Image

We associate shiny hair, skin, and lips with a youthful appearance.  To make sure your hair has a shine, remember always to use a shine spray or shine serum.  Skin and lips at a younger age have smoothness and glow to them, which exfoliation and shine through artful highlighting and a pale natural or even clear lip gloss could help replicate.

Unwanted facial hair may start to become a problem due to wacky hormones.  Of course, you could try time-consuming electrolysis, but you might want to invest in a hair removal device like Tria for a permanent solution. 

A Healthy, Balanced Diet Is Important for Keeping Young

Be sure to eat a balanced diet.  By doing this, you will look younger and feel better.

For more on the subject, check my sidebar under anti-aging and makeup tips for additional suggestions.

How to Choose the Ideal Mascara Brush for Your Needs

Your brush matters!

Formula is the first thing that comes to mind when you are thinking about mascara.  Yet, the brush inside that product is just as important if you want to get the most bang for your buck for what look you’re hoping to achieve.  Therefore, here are some simple tips to know what each type of brush will do for your beauty.

A comb-like wand usually is what you want for the most natural look. This particular shape can also come to your rescue when lashes tend to stick together.

On that same note, a long, skinnier brush is the best one for doing bottom lashes over the bigger, bulkier brushes. It also can be helpful for lengthening if the bristles are evenly spaced.

The curved variety brush that rounds a bit is great for lifting and maximizing short lashes.

If you are searching for a brush that will give you bold eyes, then look for a jumbo-size brush for loading up mascara for the most intense black gaze.

Then again, there is the hourglass shaped brush that can do wonders to widen your eyes with how the mascara is deposited from the unique design of its inner and outer corners. 

A tapered brush is perfect for lengthening and doing those ultra fine lashes in the inner corners of the eye.

Something else to keep in mind is the difference between plastic and nylon brushes, which both have good and bad points.  Plastic doesn’t deliver the same amount of mascara as nylon and can take more swipes to build up the coverage, but can be more subtle while still lengthening and separating.  On the other hand, nylon can boost lash volume more easily, but can at times be harder for separating lashes. 

Whichever is your preference, just know with the right formula mascara and brush, your eyes will look sensational!

Blemish Cover Up Tricks That Won’t Leave You in the Lurch!

This beauty was sadly contemplating what to do about this problem until she found this helpful concealing tip.

Have you ever noticed that blemishes always seem to pop up when you have something important planned? Maybe it is the stress or anxiety of the event that influences hormones to do this nastiness to our faces. I just know it is really upsetting when you need to look your absolute best and that blemish spoils it.

In an earlier post, I shared what I used to do for concealing when this problem would happen to me. However, I forgot to mention something important that can also help better cover up that fresh pimple.

If you were the habit of priming first before concealing, then you may want to stop using that primer in the area when your face is under blemish attack.  The reason you may to avoid facial primer near that spot when you have a fresh blemish is that quite a few are silicone-based, which can clog pores to infect it and make matters worse.  

Instead, try switching out that facial primer for eye primer at this time before proceeding with your thicker textured concealer or one with salicylic acid if you break out a lot.  Since the eye primers are formulated for that delicate skin of the eye area, the ingredients are less likely to be comedogenic to clog the pores.

Another way to keep eyes off of that problem area is to divert their attention elsewhere.  Playing up your eyes with color or some smoky boldness and lots of mascara will force their eyes upward away from that blemish.

I honestly hope your face remains clear, but we’ve all been there.  At least now, these cover up tricks do help so keep these makeup tips in mind.