Cut Crease for Hooded Eyelids!!!

I've always loved a cut crease eyeshadow look.  You see this a lot in Middle Eastern and Indian style of makeup.  It is such a great look for defining the eyes.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term 'cut crease', it's basically an eyeshadow look in which the surface of the eyelids is much lighter than the area surrounding it and the separation between the paler eyelid and darker eyeshadow around it is very defined.  It's very easy to do if you have deep set eyes and very defined double eyelids.  But for us girls with hooded eyelids, the look is harder to achieve and requires several layers of eyeshadow to create an illusion of deep set eyes.

The benefit of a hooded eyelid girl wearing this style of makeup?  Well, you guessed it!!  It's the usual.  This look creates more defined eyes, an illusion of bigger eyes and having well defined double eyelids. 

I was playing around with this look yesterday and thought I'd share it with you.  But stay tuned for next week's tutorial on how you can achieve this look yourself. 

Makeup over 50!!!

My mom is visiting me for a month and just like me, she never leaves home without makeup!  However, she's been doing the same look day in and day out for years.  Unlike many women her age who have not moved on from the makeup they were comfortable with in their 20s and 30s, my mom has moved on and experimented with current colours and products.  However, she is reaching a new period in life and a new look is in need.

As young women, we have bright, firm skin and thick, bouncy hair that's full of life and colour.  As we age, our hair gets thinner, some of us become grayer than others and women within certain cultures start covering up their heads with a scarf.  Many women hide behind their long, luscious hair in their youth, but when you no longer can depend on your crowning glory, it's time to glam up your look with makeup!!!

I'm not saying you should wear more makeup as you age.  In fact, less is best in order to look younger.  Foundation should remain light and sheer but play up your eyes as they are the most noticeable feature on your face. 

Neutral tones are great for keeping the eyes natural, but add a little smokey effect to make your eyes stand out more.  As for brighter colours, there is one I believe works for everyone and it's purple.  There are so many shades of purple to choose from.  They range from pale lilacs for cool skin tones to deep, dark purples for warmer skin tones. 

Now, back to my mom!!  She is considering embracing the tradition of wearing a head scarf.  Without being able to glam up her look with her hair, I suggested wearing a bit more makeup on the eyes!!!! A little goes a long way and I replaced her usual brown or purple eyeliner with black and added a darker corner to her single eyeshadow look.  For a natural look, I suggested pairing up MAC Beauty Marked to her usual MAC Trax.

Here's a look at my mom's look before and after. 

Before

After

Mom's efforts on her own!!!

As you can see, it's still pretty simple but her eyes have a little more pop to them!! 

This whole idea of playing up your makeup can be applied whether you are an older woman starting to thin, cover up your hair or you're a young woman who has decided on a short pixie cut and even a shaved head. 

When the focus is now mostly on your face, don't be afraid to play it up with makeup!!!

Covering Acne with Makeup!!!

I was browsing through yahoo yesterday and came across an article about a teenager in the US who was signed up to model during New York Fashion Week.

She had been bullied in school because of her acne and was given all sorts horrible nicknames.  However, this young girl is incredibly talented and her Youtube video on how she covers up her problem skin received millions of hits.   It also got her noticed and landed her in New York Fashion Week. 

After reading the article, I felt that I had to share it on my blog.  At the end of the article is a link to her Youtube video.  Her skills in covering problem skin far exceeds mine and for those of you looking for a great tutorial on covering acne and scars, this is the best I've seen so far. 

Click on the link below to read the article and watch the video. 

http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/teen-bullied-for-acne-has-last-laugh-as-she-models-at-new-york-fashion-week.html

Benefit Pore Professional Review!!

A few months ago, I bought a Glamour magazine that included a free sample of Benefit Cosmetic's Pore Professional.  I've been using it every day since then and have been meaning to write a review on it. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this product, it's a pore minimizer and claims to reduce the appearance of pores and fine lines.  How do you use it?  Well, this product goes on after your moisturizer and before or after foundation.  I tried it both ways and I find it works better under foundation as it has a little bit of colour and when applied under, blends with my foundation better.  For those of you with skin tones that match the colour of the pore minimizer, it may work just as well if you apply it over your foundation.  You only need to apply it to the areas of your face where your pores are the most noticeable. For me, those are my cheeks and T-zone. 

To be honest, I haven't really experimented with pore minimizers much but in the past have tried a sample of Clinique's pore minimizer.  I was never a fan of the Clinique product as the texture was a bit thick and the colour was way too light for my complexion. 

In contrast to that, Benefit's Pore Professional has a more natural colour that blends into my skin nicely.  It's almost unnoticeable and when applied under foundation, just disappears.  It has a very light texture that feels very smooth when applied to the skin.  The first time I applied it to my T-zone and upper cheeks, I thought it might be a little greasy and was a bit concerned as I have oily skin.  However, when I completed my look, I did notice that my pores really did appear to be less noticeable and my skin looked more even in texture.  It also mattified my complexion without giving it a dull look. 

How does it hold up throughout the day?  Well, I am pleasantly surprised that day after day, in both cold and hot weather, this pore minimizer has proven itself.  At the end of a work day, my makeup is still in tact, non-greasy and my pores are still less noticeable.  I do have fairly large pores especially on my nose so for those of you with even less noticeable pores, this product will perform even better.  Having said all that, don't expect your skin to look like it has been airbrushed and photo shopped.  It does even out the texture but you won't look completely pore-less!!!   

The little thumb size sample has lasted me several months so the full sized tube should last through the year.  You only need a little bit at a time.  An amount the size of half a hole punched piece of paper is all you need for your cheeks and T-zone. 

I'm just about done with my sample and ready to purchase a full sized tube. 

Red Lipstick Quick Tip!!

Hi everyone!!!  Last time, I mentioned I was going to try to be more diligent about putting up a post at least once a week, but I apologize for not having kept to that promise.  Again, my routine has been turned upside down with a string of guests visiting me from overseas.  Don't get me wrong, I love visitors but it has been hard to find some time to write and play with makeup!!!

This morning, I was getting ready for work and as I've mentioned in previous posts, when I've hit snooze on the alarm clock way too many times and I just don't have a lot of time to get ready, I like to keep it simple with one eyeshadow colour on my eyes and a brighter lipstick to create a more polished look. 

Today, I felt like using my MAC Red lipstick.  This is a really thick and heavy lipstick that is more suitable for an evening look.  It's an intense red and is one of those lipsticks that requires soap and water to remove unless you want to go to bed looking like the the Joker from the Dark Knight. 

In order to make the lipstick appear less intense for a daytime look, instead of applying it the way I usually do, by running the lipstick across my lips, I dabbed the colour on instead.  You don't need to use your fingers to dab the colour on, just dab the lipstick directly onto your lips. 

The layer of lipstick on your lips will be thinner and the look will be more sheer than if you applied your lipstick the usual way.  This is a great way to apply a more intense colour without your lips looking like you've got too much lipstick on. 

So next time you're drawn to a dramatic lipstick colour, don't steer clear of it.  Try dabbing it on for a more natural finish!! 

Bronze Summer Look

Summer is here (well, in some parts of the world except for the UK) and there's nothing better than soaking up the sun and ridding yourself of that pale winter skin.  If you live in a place, like the UK, where summer doesn't necessarily mean warm weather and sunshine, there's always makeup to fake a beautiful, flushed, summer look.

When I say faking a a summer look, I'm not talking about a fake tan.  All you need to get that summer glow are the right eyeshadow colours and a bronzer to replace your usual blusher.

Use bronze or rust coloured eyeshadows with some browns that have a bit of shimmer and definitely use a bronzer on your cheeks.  These colours will give you a very natural look.  Summer makeup should always be light and natural.

My favourites for the summer are MAC eyeshadow in Mythology paired with MAC eyeshadow in Mulch.  Use Mythology as your main colour.  Mulch, as it is the darker of the two, should be used on your corners.  Blend the colours out really well as you want them to look as natural as possible.  Go easy on the eyeliner and opt for a pencil liner on the upper lashline only.  Naturally enchance your bottom lashline by adding mascara to the bottom lashes.

As for your bronzer, use it on your cheeks as you would with your blush but brush just a teeny tiny bit of it on your chin, nose and forehead.  This will give you a beautiful summer glow.  I'm using MAC Bronzer in Refined Golden. 

Opt for a terracotta shade of lipstick or something peachy to complement the look.  I'm using Revlon Lipbutter in Macaron. 


Important Tip:

Don't over do the bronzer as you can appear too have too much of a fake tan.  Applying it all over your face like you would a powder will give you an overly bronze look or make your face look dirty.

+ 3 Month Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Review

I just wanted to update everyone on my progress with the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair serum.

After two months of using the product, as you have probably read from my 2 month review, I saw my fine lines fading more although they did not disappear completely.

I've just finished my first bottle after a little over 3 months of use in total and the difference between month two and month three was not that significant to tell you the truth.  I do feel my skin is a lot smoother and the lines are not as deep but they are still there.  I am not attaching a photo to this post as I don't feel the changes will be noticeable.

So, you're probably wondering if I recommend this product and whether I've gone into my second bottle.  Well, I did.  I recently purchased a new bottle and will continue to use this product.  Why you may ask?  Well...if you're looking for a product that will get rid of your wrinkles and fine lines completely, this is not the product for you but I love how my skin feels now that I've been using it for some time and the fine lines have definitely become more shallow.  My skin tone is so much more even and my skin is much softer.  It does overall look a lot smoother too.  It's given me a healthier glow and who knows, in a few more months, there may be even more changes.

For those of you looking to even up your skin tone, diminish your fine lines and improve the overall texture and look of your skin, this is a fabulous product.

However, if you are looking for botox-like effects on your fine lines and wrinkles, this is not the product for you.  You're probably better off with botox.

Remember, when you do try a new product, give it a few months before you really decide on whether it was worth it or not.  Results don't usually appear out of the blue.  With anything, it does take time, so be patient and don't just give up on it right away.  If in about 2 - 3 months it hasn't done anything at all, then you can be assured, it hasn't worked for you.

I've got a few more posts coming your way soon after a bit of a hiatus, so please stay tuned!!