…continued from part 1

C.  Eyebrow tinting/lightening.

note: Eyebrows are generally 1-2 shades darker than ones natural hair color, so be observant when coloring your hair to stay within those parameters so as not to look too artificial.

1. Lightening your brows can lighten the look of your face. To get a rough idea of how bleaching will look, take a light brown or taupe eyeshadow and rub it on your brows.

2. Darkening your brows can definitely add more definition to your face and eyes. to get a rough idea of how tinting them will look, gently sweep your mascara wand across the brow out towards the ear. Apply more if you want them darker. (this can also be a quick daily fix to enhancing your brows without the risk of chemicals near your eyes.)

Because of the potential damage to your vision, always have your eyebrows tinted/lightened by a professional.

D.  Filling in your brows.
If your brows are sparse or spotty and you want to fill them in, there are several ways to do it.

1. take an angled eyeshadow brush and press just a bit of eye shadow to the brow. (medium or dark brown for brunettes. Taupe for blondes or redheads. Charcoal for silver or gray hair). Follow the direction of the brow and extend the brushed-on shadow to the edge of the eye.

2. Pat a tissue on top to blot up any excess.

note: If your brows are really thin, you can pencil them in slightly thicker, but it’s difficult to make this look natural.

3. Take an eye pencil under the brow and follow the brow line out to the edge of the eye. Use a powder sponge to press some powder on top, very gently, to soften the line. then use a brush to lightly fill it in with shadow.

So there you go! Good luck with your brows…. they really can make all the difference to a fresh face

~maresah~

Well, the experts say brown is on the rise for Spring 10. Can’t say I mind, I like brown. Neutral, goes with everything. What’s not to like?

Go cool: 

Makeup artists Matin says cool browns are most flattering: “Warm browns—like orange or brick tinted ones—look beautiful on some girls, but if you don’t have white teeth they can be detrimental to your smile.”

Mauve Tinted Brown:

Instead, makeup artist Gucci Westman says to go for a mauve-tinted brown. “There’s a bluish purple undertone to it,” says the Revlon global artistic director, who applied Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Chocolate Velvet on models at Richard Chai’s spring 2010 show. “I always love how it looks, and it works with just about every skin tone.”

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Get a fresh tube for Spring- $7.99 at your local drugstore.

Sometimes it’s the little things that can really help our skin routines-

Chanel’s makeup up artist Peter Phillips shares one of his secrets: “Aquaphor takes the creases out of lips so you can get smooth, rich color.”

Aquaphor Healing ointment, $6 at drugstores.

That’s my kind of price.

I’ve been thinking about foundation lately. I’m a light user and like to keep my skin dewy and “cake free”. Foundation is the basis of every makeup look, the better your base, the happier you’ll be overall.

 Do: 

-Always slather on moisturizer first, remove excess with a cotton ball.

-Apply concealer where needed

-Apply color with your fingertips, smoothing outward.

-A darker shade around the sides of the face and slightly lighter one on the cheekbones and nose to catch the light.

Don’t:

-Wear too dark a shade of foundation, you’ll look like you just walked out a fake tanning booth.

-too much bronzer. A light dusting of bronzer can give you some warmth in the winter drabs, but an overdose can be fatal.

A couple weeks ago our dear Maresah blogged on several companies that feature natural skin and face products.

This week we are highlighting a face mask from Arbonne as a giveaway to our readers.

Not to be left out in the dark, I decided to try a bottle of the product for myself. And i can tell you, this stuff is powerful! Not only does it rejuvenate the skin, it helps clean out all those pesky dead skin cells that cause black heads! The bottle recommends once a week, which means it’s going to last for a long time. ::happy sigh::

$45 dollar value. No, it’s not cheap (natural products never are) Which is why you should enter the giveaway!

Giveaway ends the 22nd. If you post a link from Facebook, twitter or your own blog we’ll enter your name twice.

*Leave a comment to enter, we will track your site links through our blog back-end. Let us know you posted a link and we’ll be able to match the link to the entry.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ENTRY #60, Emily at Glenn Fashions- YOU WON THE ARBONNE MASK. !

Q: Would you like a straight up answer?

A: Curl them BEFORE you apply mascara!!

Whew, now that we got that out on the table, let me give you just a few pointers.

Curling the lashes is a simple 3 step process, again, done BEFORE the application of mascara.

Step 1. Position lash curler as close as possible to the base of the top lashes and curl (if you are too close, however, you can risk pulling lashes out so be careful).

Step 2. Slide curler half way down lashes and again, curl.

Step 3. Slide curler to the tips of the lashes and again, curl.

Now that you have completed the proper lash curling steps, go ahead and apply your preferred mascara!

Has anyone experienced an “oops” moment with their lash curler? Feel free to share…..I’m sure we’ve all done a similar thing at one point or another: )

~maresah~

Seems pretty simple right? well, it could be if you knew all the things that make this situation go wrong!

so, i’ll make this a simple 1, 2, 3…..4 stepper : )

1) SWIRL! the wand in the tube! pumping the wand causes air to get trapped in the tube and therefore produces unnecessary drying and, as we all know what happens after that, flaky, clumpy mascara…..ewww.

step 2) Start with the weaker side! It never fails that one side looks better than the other, right? Well try starting with your weak side (like if you’re right-handed, do the left eyelashes first) it will then be much easier to manipulate your strong side to match!

step 3) Apply to TOP lashes first! Start with the top lashes of one eye then proceed to apply remaining mascara on the lower lashes of that eye before re-swirling the wand to avoid excess product on those tender hairs.  THEN, re-swirl the wand and apply to the other side.

step 4) Wiggle don’t flick! this change of motion will help give a much more clean look, and help prevent missing the lashes and smearing the skin. Start at the outer edge base of the lashes and wiggle side to side as you sweep up to the tips. continue working your way towards the center. Same goes for the bottom lashes. Starting with the outer edge, work towards the center, wiggling base to tip.  For a fuller look, reapply a second coat. Although, you should find that by wiggling, you will apply more product than with flicking, and therefore should be able to avoid having to apply a second coat.

Give this a try and let me know any differences you find!!

~ Maresah ~

I’ve heard so many different views and ideas on this seemingly simple subject! Mostly pros and cons of  just using a lip liner….So, i will give my personal opinion about it and you all can let me know what you think!

first of all, i think lip liner has its place; whether that be reliving a ’90s sitcom, dressing for this years red carpet, or just going to the grocery store, it can be a very useful product to redefine the lips however the need may be!

I honestly have to say that i hope the whole “dark liner with lighter lipstick” NEVER comes back!….i’m pretty sure that has never been a good look for anyone! Since that time, it seems that lip liner has become that makeup accessory that some women love and some fear! So sad. Its a great alternative to longer lasting color with out the use of lipstick or constant reapplication. It also helps define the lips and aid in reshaping to achieve your desired look.

Do: 

  1) Out to In! most say “start in the middle and work out” , but i have found much less mistakes made by starting from the outer corners of the upper lip and working towards the center with a gentle feathering stroke. This motion helps to avoid “skipping” of the pencil on the skin and gives a more natural looking edge. In reference to the bottom lip, if you’re looking for a softer edge, just roll the top lip onto the bottom. The product should transfer just enough. If wanting more definition, then simply follow the edge of the bottom lip starting with the outer corners and working towards the center.

 2) Color in the entire lip. This is where the liner begins to either replace the lipstick or simply acts as a more solid base in addition to a lipstick for longer lasting color. While coloring in the lip, don’t stress too much about getting perfect coverage as a pencil tends to be a bit dryer than a lipstick. The benefit of the dryness is better adherence to the lip (hence, longer lasting).

3) Apply a gloss on top of the liner if you’re looking for a lighter look or a lipstick for a more matte finish. Remember though, that when applying the gloss, not to spread it too much as this might cause a bleeding effect on the edges of the lip, therefore, loosing the line you just created.

More Good Stuff:

If you’re looking for a fuller more pouty lip, apply gloss just to the center of the bottom lip. Light will reflect off of the gloss making the lip seem fuller .

If wanting to make the lips appear smaller, follow just inside the edge of the lips with liner and apply a more matte finish lipstick or a sheer chapstick, as this will enhance the color and provide moisture without adding unnecessary attention to the lip area.

If wanting to enlarge the lips, apply the liner directly on the edge of the lips. Do not apply outside the lips (as you might have been told before) this causes a very unnatural and outdated look.

I will cover later, in more detail, about finding colors right for you. but basically, the idea is that if you are using the liner in addition to another product,  you find a liner close to the lipstick shade you have chosen.  If using the liner as your main source of color, choose a tone that’s right for your skin tone and makeup pallet. This should generally be somewhere close to your natural lip color.

hahaha!!…Well, there it is ……its amazing how much information can be discussed about such a tiny thing!

but i do like to say that “its the small things that support the big things” ….little changes make a big difference!!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Ender! (#4)  our 12-hour lipstick winner:)

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(Thanks to Random.org)

Too good to be true?

Not this time.

I love this product as it provides true lip-color for 12+ hours. Fantastic for photo shoots, work-days or formal events. We’re giving one away just to say how much we like them.

Enter you name in the comments field to add your name to the drawing.