Spring Lip Tutorial

With Spring right around the corner comes the arrival of all the bright pink lip colors we've written about. This seems like a perfect time to provide you with the basics for great lip color application again.

Prepping the Lips:

Healthy and soft lips are the base for gorgeous lips. Chapped lips are the enemy of the glamorous lip look! Make sure you hydrate your body properly. Drink a lot of water and quit smoking and drinking alcohol to excess. If you get dehydrated, your lips will also get dry and cracked. Scrub them once in a while with your dry toothbrush to remove the dead skin cells. If you have a habit of licking your lips, try to break it! Use lip balm instead; it will nourish and protect your lips. Use lip balm as often as you feel like, but be sure to change to one with an SPF factor during the summer months. Once you have your lips soft, healthy and nourished, you are ready to apply your lipstick.

Priming and Lining the Lips:

Apply a foundation or primer to make your lips neutral. Then, use a lipstick pencil to line and fill in the lip area.Make this a nude pencil or a color that closely matches your lipstick. If you have a pink lipstick, for instance, you can use a darker pink lip liner all over your lips to change the color of your lipstick by a shade or two. Generally, the lip liner and lip color should be similar a similar shade.

Applying Lip Color:

Now, you are ready to apply your actual lip color. There are literally hundred of shades out there, so finding one to match your skin tone or mood will not be a problem! You will also find several formulas out there ranging from crème to long last to matte. See which formula is best for your use and lifestyle.

If you are selecting a color for daytime wear, be sure to check the shade in natural sunlight! HINT: Remember that if you choose a strong lip color, you'll want to go easy on the eye makeup. You do not want two strong elements on your face at once. Depending on where you will be wearing the makeup, you risk looking over done. HINT: A lipstick brush is a great way to control your lipstick application.

Many people like to take a tissue in between their top and bottom lip and gently press down to remove any excess lip product. We call this blotting. Also, if you want to oomph up your look a bit, you can add touch of lip gloss to the center of your lips, and this will make a fuller and pouty look instantly.

Now, go try some great Spring lip colors, and especially some of the pinks out there that are going to be so on trend this season, like neon pink, watermelon and poppy!

Faking It With A Faux Bob

If you love the short and sassy look of the Bob hairstyle, but you are not quite ready to take the dramatic plunge and cut your hair, you can "fake it till you make it" with a faux Bob. Try the Bob out with this look before you commit to it! Basically, you will be pinning your hair up in the back to give the illusion that you have short hair. How easy is that?

This is optional, but you can set your hair with a curling iron with a one-inch barrel before you start styling the faux Bob. This will give your Bob a textured and fuller look. If you do not curl your hair, then you will have a more sleek Bob. For the look described here, you will need a hair sponge that is close in color to your own hair and some bobby pins. You can get hair sponges at your local beauty supply store.

To begin, section the top layers of your hair.

Next, use your comb to make a part from the top of your ear across the back of your head. Pin this hair up on top of your head.

Take the remainder of the hair as if you were going to make a low ponytail.

Roll your hair up in the hair sponge in the same way you would if you were using hair rollers. Start at the end of your hair and roll until you reach your neck. Use bobby pins to secure the sponge.

Next, unpin the top layer of your hair. This layer should fall over the sponge and conceal the bottom layers. If your top layer is too long, secure some the top layer hair to the hair sponge with bobby pins.

Lastly, spray your hair brush with an extra hold hairspray, and lightly brush over the top layer of your hair to set it in place.

You can now see how you will look in the real Bob and decide if you want to commit to this style. In the meantime, just have fun with this temporary look while you think it over.

You can see the faux Bob on Eva Longoria in the photograph above.

Dressing Up Your Eyes With Metallic Shadows

A great way to dress up your eyes is with a metallic shadow. Some of the more popular metallics include cool silver, warm gold and shimmering bronze and copper shades, but you will also see blue, green and gray metallic hues, too.

You can apply these shadows in the same you apply your other colors, but the look of these shimmery shiny shadows is really stunning. Here are some simple steps to get a nice look with a gold metallic shadow.

To start, apply a beige liquid shadow over your eye area, or a primer/concealer made specifically for the eyes. This will create a neutral canvas for your shadow. If you use the liquid shadow, blot the excess with a tissue and allow the area to set and dry completely.

Next, take your large eyeshadow brush and brush your shadow on to your eye, starting in the center of the eye and extending from crease to lash line. Pull the shadow out to a point on the outside corner of each eye.

Apply a very thin line of brown or bronze eyeliner to your upper and lower lashes. For night time wear, you can add some gold liner to the lower lash line for some extra pop.

Finish the look off with a couple of coats of volumizing mascara.

The next time you are shopping for makeup, try a few of these metallic shadows and create a stunning look that will bring your eyes center stage.

Boudoir Look From The Runway To You

Some of the best makeup and hair trends come straight from the runways of the fashion shows in Milan and Paris, and the recent show in Milan is no exception. One very striking makeup look was seen on the Giorgio Armani models. Makeup artist, Linda Cantello, create a great boudoir type look using nude mauve colors and black eyeliner. Here is how she achieved the look seen on the model in the photograph so you can try this look yourself.

A very dewy and natural foundation was applied using a brush. Next, two mauve lipstick colors were blended together and used on both the lips and eyelids. For the lips, a light brown pencil and gloss were also applied. To create a languid look for the eyes, the artist rimmed the top and bottom lashes with a cream liner. Next, she went over the liner with a wet liner brush dipped in black eye shadow. The top line is extended out past the outer corner approximately a quarter of an inch. Starting in the middle and extending outward, a second line was traced under the bottom lashes.

A boudoir is described as a woman's private sitting room, dressing room or bedroom, but this look is so pretty that you should definitely wear it outside of the bedroom, too! Some of the major cosmetic companies have a "boudoir collection" so you should try this look the next time you are at your favorite department store.

Getting A Great Lip Look With Lip Stain

If you want to get a sheer wash of color on your lips that will last for hours, you may want to try a lip stain. Most cosmetic lines, along with their glosses and lip sticks, also offer a lip stain. A stain is a pigment contained in a gel or water base. For application, you can find them in brush on, marker or pen-like tips, pumps and pots.

Before applying your stain, be sure to exfoliate your lips with a dry toothbrush. Apply a balm or other product designed for moisturizing your lips.

Lining your lips before applying your stain is optional. If you use a brand with the marker tip, you can use the stain as a liner by lining your natural lip line with it and then filling in the rest of your lips. Depending on whether you want a sheer wash of natural looking color or a deep dramatic look, apply one coat of stain for a natural pop of color, or as many coats as you want to achieve the desired depth of color .

If you want a dewy and moist look, you can apply a sheer gloss over the stain. If you want a more natural "flush of color" look then no gloss is the way to go. Examples of stain with and without gloss applied are shown in the photographs above.

The next time you want to try something different for your lips, consider the lip stain.

A Glam Look For Brown Eyes

If you are looking for a fun way to glam up your brown eyes, these are the steps makeup artist, Chris Colbeck, used to create a fabulous look for Leighton Meester in a recent magazine shoot.

Start by lining just the top and bottom of the outer eyes, creating a sideways “V” shape, with a dark purple gel liner. Then, sweep it out to create a sexy cat eye shape.

To soften the look, add a layer of violet shadow across the middle of the lids and into the inner corners of the eye.

Use a green shade along the lower lash line and on top of the lids from the middle to the outer edges.

Intensify the look and rock it up bit by lining the inner rim with a soft black pencil. Add a coat of black mascara to the top and bottom lashes.

With a strong vibrant eye look like this one, you want the rest of your makeup to subtle and not over the top. Try this eye look with a light pink or rose blush and a nude pink lipstick. You definitely will have heads turning on your next night out with eyes that look like this!

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Orange And Sugar Scrub For A Glowing Complexion

A regular part of your skincare should include a facial scrub to remove dead skin cells that can cause your complexion to look less than glowing. When we are very young skin cells turn over very quickly, and this is why babies and young children have such gorgeous vibrant skin. As we age, the cells turn over at a slower rate. As the dead skin cells accumulate on our face, the complexion looks dull and tired. Using a facial scrub with alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) once per week will help remove the dead cells allowing the fresh new cells to emerge.

I found a great natural scrub recipe that you can easily make to exfoliate your skin at home. You will need:

2 oz white sugar

5 to 6 drops of essential orange oil

1 tsp vegetable glycerin (optional)

Enough *carrier oil to make a thick paste

*Carrier oil can be: olive oil, sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, sunflower oil or apricot oil. It is suggested that you use certified organic carrier oils, and you can find these in a health food store or online. You want to put high quality ingredients on your skin.

Mix your essential orange oil and your carrier oil with the sugar to form a thick paste. If you are going to use glycerin, combine it with the sugar before adding the oils. Glycerin helps to moisturize your skin. You can also add honey to this mixture; it is a great moisturizing ingredient. Store your mixture in a clean glass jar with a cover.

When you are ready to use the scrub, apply it all over your face and then gently scrub for about a minute or so. Rinse your face with warm water until all of the scrub is cleaned away, and then follow with a quick splash of cold water.

This mixture contains nourishing ingredients that are good for your skin, and you should be left with a very soft and glowing complexion after you are done. Sugar is rich in AHAs, and orange refines and revitalizes skin. What's not to love?