Sunday, August 16, 2009

Cosmetics Tips

f use of cosmetics is any indication of vanity, there's plenty to go around. Stores are full of products to beautify the body, including skin, hair, nails and lips. Creams, toiletries, and makeup designed to change or camouflage are all examples of cosmetics.

Today, cosmetics are not only acceptable, they're standard procedure for most women. How they're used and applied is what separates those who look silly from those who look beautiful and sophisticated. We'll outline some cosmetics tips to help you bring out your best features while concealing your flaws.

Creams & Lotions

Think of your skin as a canvas. The better the canvas, the better the art, no? There's no denying that genes play a crucial role in your overall appearance, but skin care early on in life will definitely give you the edge when it comes to texture, lines and spots when you hit your thirties and beyond.

Body lotions add comfort to dry skin while adding luster. Hands are often exposed to sunlight and may show age much quicker. We don't always pay attention to our hands but others do. Keep your hands soft and silky by using hand lotion multiple times every day, particularly after washing them and before bed.

In pre-teen and teen years it's important to keep skin clean and as clear as possible from blemishes to prevent scarring. Combination skin calls for treating problem areas accordingly. As we age, our skin loses its moisture and elasticity. There are various facial creams on the market today to add much-needed moisture to our faces and reduce fine lines and wrinkles -- thus improving our "canvas."

Cosmetics Tips

If use of cosmetics is any indication of vanity, there's plenty to go around. Stores are full of products to beautify the body, including skin, hair, nails and lips. Creams, toiletries, and makeup designed to change or camouflage are all examples of cosmetics.

Today, cosmetics are not only acceptable, they're standard procedure for most women. How they're used and applied is what separates those who look silly from those who look beautiful and sophisticated. We'll outline some cosmetics tips to help you bring out your best features while concealing your flaws.

Creams & Lotions

Think of your skin as a canvas. The better the canvas, the better the art, no? There's no denying that genes play a crucial role in your overall appearance, but skin care early on in life will definitely give you the edge when it comes to texture, lines and spots when you hit your thirties and beyond.

Body lotions add comfort to dry skin while adding luster. Hands are often exposed to sunlight and may show age much quicker. We don't always pay attention to our hands but others do. Keep your hands soft and silky by using hand lotion multiple times every day, particularly after washing them and before bed.

In pre-teen and teen years it's important to keep skin clean and as clear as possible from blemishes to prevent scarring. Combination skin calls for treating problem areas accordingly. As we age, our skin loses its moisture and elasticity. There are various facial creams on the market today to add much-needed moisture to our faces and reduce fine lines and wrinkles -- thus improving our "canvas."

Makeup Advice

When it comes to cosmetics, makeup is the the fun part. Applying makeup is a learned art. Start by putting on foundation with a sponge, blending it from the center, outwards, into the hairline and neck. Cover your eyelids and lips as well for solid base. You can set your foundation with loose powder and a large cosmetics brush.

Apply eye shadow to enhance your eyes. Three shades are ideal to shape and define with the darkest color on the lid and the lightest just beneath the brow bone. Mascara lengthens lashes provides fullness.

Blush adds color to cheeks and a youthful glow to your nose forehead and chin. Bronzing powder can double as blush and can be used for shading or hide a double-chin. Blend in well for a more natural look.

Define luscious lips with a lip liner similar to your own lip color or one that matches the color of your lipstick. To create fullness, dust on some white eye shadow to the center of your bottom lip. Keep lips moisturized at night with lip balm or traditional petroleum jelly. In the sunlight, use balm with a SPF to block the sun's dangerous rays from damaging your precious puckers.

Beauty Blunders


Oops! Beauty blunders are common mistakes women make and usually do not even realize it. Do you fall into this category?

Listed here are top beauty blunders that can ruin your overall appearance and send you running for cover. If you find yourself here, the solutions are pretty easy. Don't feel bad. It can happen to the best of us...

Common Beauty Mistakes

  • Neglecting your overall appearance.

Even if nobody is going to see you, good hygiene and your overall appearance plays a large role in your self-esteem.

  • Bad oral hygiene.

You may not notice your teeth because your not looking at them, but your smile is one of the first things people notice about you. Keep your teeth brushed and flossed. It's healthy and attractive.

  • Forgetting your hands.

Soften your hands with lotion and keep your fingernails clean. Top this off with a great manicure. If you have beautiful rings, why put them on mangy hands?

  • Over-plucking your eyebrows.

Don't get carried away when plucking your eyebrows. Take your time and buy an eyebrow stencil if necessary. If you make a mistake, use an eyebrow or eyeliner pencil the same color as your eyebrows to fill in sparse areas.

  • Not shaving your legs.

Keep your legs smooth and soft, especially when wearing shorts or a skirt.

Top Makeup Blunders

  • Heavy foundation or overall too much makeup.

If your foundation and other makeup is applied to heavily, it will cheapen your look, clog your pores, and accentuate fine lines and wrinkles.

  • Not blending in your makeup.

Always blend in your makeup to soften those lines. Foundation, eye shadow and blush all need to be smoothed in for a natural look.

  • Not cleaning your make-up applicators and brushes.

Applicators and brushes should be cleaned at least bi-weekly. Oil and bacteria build-up can wreak havoc. If you're prone to pimples, you'll be surprised how much this strategy works.

  • Using too dark lip liner.

Don't use lip liner that is darker or lighter than your lips. When the lipstick wears off, you're left with a dark ring around your mouth. Try using lip liner that matches your lips and fill in your entire lip area.

  • Leaving makeup on overnight.

We've all done this, but at what cost? Leaving make-up on for long periods of time clogs your pores and makes you more prone to blemishes. Don't do it, you'll feel better.

  • Crooked, uneven liquid eyeliner.

If you choose to use liquid eyeliner, the trick is practice and a steady hand. If you can't keep your lines even, opt for an eye liner pencil.

Hair Mistakes

  • Dark roots.

If you color your hair, plan on maintenance. This means touching up your roots as they grow out.

  • Pulling your hair back too tight.

Leave some slack when pulling your hair back into a pony tail or bun. If it's too tight, it looks strict and may even give you a headache.

  • Thinking the hair color sample on the box will give you the same results.

Many factors play into the outcome of your hair color. Perms, other processing, and the amount of time you leave it in will all make a difference. If your hair doesn't match the box's sample color when you're done, it's probably because the model has a different natural hair color than your own.

Beauty Secrets, Tips and Tricks


Truer words were never spoken. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. There is a special uniqueness and individuality that sets us apart from the rest. Besides the obvious beauty that we all hold within ourselves, women have found many secrets that can improve their finer features and solve nagging problems.

So what beauty secrets are there that can still be considered "secret?" Apparently, they're no longer secrets if they're out there for the general public to read. However, there are many tips and tricks that Hollywood stars would prefer to be kept exclusive. After all, why would they want to share these with their competition?

The best beauty secrets are those that make you say "wow, this really helps." Others may help you find an easier method of applying makeup or hair color. What's really fun, are those secrets that celebrities let slip out, whether by accident or a true desire to help other women. Here are a variety of free secrets that have been let out of the bag.

Skin and Makeup

Charlize Theron does a switcharoo with her eye shadow. Instead of applying the darker color on her eyelids and the lighter color above, she applies the lighter color on her lid and the darker shade above. This enhances her beautiful blue eyes and adds to her youthful appearance.

Thick foundation and powder makeup falls into pores, fine lines, and wrinkles. Too look younger, use a moisturizer as a base, before your foundation. Apply makeup with a light hand and quality brushes.

The tan ain't always natural. Celebrities often go to salons and have their tans airbrushed on, not only to darken their skin, but to cover up blemishes and flaws.

US Weekly reports that "Desperate Housewives" star Nicollette Sheridan goes to L.A.'s Jim Wayne Salon for monthly Super Performance Facial Treatments to help treat her dry and sensitive skin.

Botox is no secret to celebs, but just take a look at some of their faces when they're trying to express themselves. If natural lines don't appear in their forehead and around the eyes, they've probably been Botoxed. Scarier yet, are those reported Botox parties before awards events.

Tyra Banks revealed during one of her shows that drugstore brand makeup works just as well as those pricey bands found in department stores. Hence, it's not always the brand which you choose that's important, it's the technique in which you apply it.

Crisco can be used to remove makeup and moisturize extremely dry areas on your face and body.

Hair

To look younger, celebrities avoid too short or too long hair. Shoulder length, layered hair is versatile and ideal for more youthful styles.

Don't add hair color to freshly washed hair. Natural oils help protect the scalp and make the hair shaft absorb color more efficiently.

Baby shampoo is gentle. So gentle that is helps preserve hair color and treatments such as perms and straighteners.

Professional stylists know that by setting their blow dryer on a low, cool setting and using a diffuser makes hair less frizzy and easier to achieve the desirable hairstyle.

Body and Shape

A model's best kept secret is using duct tape around her waist and stomach to trim off extra pounds. Beauty pageant contestants have also done this.

How do celebrities get those white, picture-perfect teeth? If they're not born with them (most aren't,) porcelain veneers are bonded to their teeth to cover up imperfections such as chips, misalignments, and discoloration.

Dentists don't want you to know that you can whiten your teeth at home with a simple solution of peroxide and baking soda.

Tweeze Your Brows

Thin Tip: Good for grasping small, fine hairs, and plucking ingrown hair.
Slanted Tip: Gives maximum control.
Square Tip: Best used for removing coarse hairs or several hairs at a time.

1. Tweeze immediately after showering or apply a hot washcloth to loosen hair follicles.
2.Hold a pencil vertically along the side of the nose. Eyebrow should start at outside edge if pencil - Anastasia Soare eyebrow queen.
Hint: Leaving a bit more space will widen close-set eyes.
3.Hold pencil to outside of eye. This is where the eyebrow of a bombshell should end.
4.Smooth brows with a little moisturizer to help hairs slide out - turn back the clock.
5.Brush brows up to find a natural arch.
6. Draw in the desired shape beforehand with a soft eye shadow pencil - Keira Knightley smokey eyes.
Hint: Don't use an eyeliner pencil. It will cause you to pluck too much.
7.Tweeze under the brow first, plucking in the direction of the growth.
Hint: If your plucking becomes too painful, apply a little anbesol (yes, that pain reliever for teeth also numbs the brows)
8.Using an eyelash comb, comb brows upwards and trim any hairs that extend beyond the natural top or brow bone. Glamorous lashes.
9.After tweezing, soothe the area with cool, wet tea bags.

Filling In Your Eyebrows


The trick to full brows is to come clean, then fill in the blanks. Waxing director Eliza Petrescu of Avon Salon & Spa explains it for us:

* Choose a pencil and powder in the correct shade. Women with fair complexions should use a blonde shade, those with olive tones should go tawny or brown, and those with with African-American skin should use gray.

* Brush brows downward with a dry, mascara-like wand. To define the arch, use the pencil to draw a line along the upper edge of the brow. Comb the brows upward and outward.

* For added fullness, dust eye shadow into the hairs of the brow with a stiff, slanted brush. Dip the brush into a tiny amount of powder and use short, gentle strokes while applying.

* If brows have been severely overtweezed, brush the hairs in the direction of the growth, and fill in any visible patches with powder. Avoid adding to the top or bottom of the brows.

* Comb a clear brow gel up through the brows to set hairs in place.

Best Beauty Tips

Beauty Tip 1: Use foundation on your eyelids before applying eyeshadow. It helps the eyeshadow stay on longer.
Beauty Tip 2: Instead of buying expensive oil blotter papers, buy a box of perm papers. Very cheap and works great for blotting oily skin.
Beauty Tip 3: Apply carmex on your lips before putting on lipgloss or lipstick, it helps it stay on longer, keep it moisturized, and sometimes makes your lips "juicier" looking.
Beauty Tip 4: Use petroleum jelly or cold cream to remove stubborn eye makeup. its cheap and it works (even on waterproof mascara).
Beauty Tip 5: Nothing ages a person more than worry. Try to be positive and love every day as a new adventure and get joy from all the little things (so many cost nothing). Drink 8 glasses of water a day and use a moisturiser.
Beauty Tip 6: A Clay Mask works wonders on oily skin!
Beauty Tip 7: Use a gentle soap like Dove for acne prone skin. It makes your skin a lot less oily because its PH balanced.
Beauty Tip 8: Spray your face with cold water or stand with your head in the air from the freezer for a few moments to reduce redness.
Beauty Tip 9: Line deep set eyes with lighter shades of eyeliner to emphasize them!
Beauty Tip 10: Use a hair dryer for a few seconds on your eyelash curler.
Beauty Tip 11: To remove blackheads, steam for 5 mins and exfoliate immediately.
Beauty Tip 12: To make your hair shiny and strong, after taking a shower apply olive oil into damp hair. It will make your hair shiny and much stronger. - Submitted by Bsiddiqui1
Beauty Tip 13: Keep lashes smooth and supple by brushing them with petroleum jelly before going to bed at night. It is also a good way to emphasize natural-looking lashes in the daytime.