Friday, November 19, 2010

The Best Eye Shadow to Bring Out Your Eyes


They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but what if your soul is afraid to shine?  We each have special, unique features that make us who we are, so we each should have special, unique makeup to bring out the best in us.  It's true that most men are attracted to women with captivating eyes, and they are often the first feature to be noticed from across the room (well, let's give them the benefit of the doubt this time).  Perfect your individual eye makeup routine with these simple tricks to make the color of your eye pop.  If your peepers are a lovely shade of green, try warm tones, such as pinks and roses.
As we all know, pink is a more subdued shade of red, and red is green's complementary color (and no, red is never a good choice for eye shadow, no matter what your age!).  By choosing a tone on the opposite side of the scale, the pink opens up the eye and brings immediate attention to the color of your cornea.  Browns and beiges will only serve to mask your eye, matching the color too closely to make it stand out.  However, if you're sporting a baby blue eye, browns are the perfect way to go.
Yellow and orange are blue's complementary match, so by choosing a brown shade (again, ladies, steer clear of yellow of orange on the eye), you'll be pulling out your natural color by giving it something work against.  And while brown-eyed girls may wish they had a more unique eye color, they have the most versatility when it comes to making up the eye.  Nearly all colors work with brown, but warm tones take the cake. After all, who doesn't want to show off their soul?

Monday, November 1, 2010

When blush comes to shove...


It is Friday and I am on my way to Canterbury to speak to writing students at the University of Kent. Their instructor has emailed me to say the format will be similar to the Q&A session we did last year, but last year I was late, got lost, panicked a little, failed to recover my composure and consequently have no memory of the event.
This time, through a similar lack of organisation, I'm running late again. In my haste, I buy the wrong type of rail ticket and am told at the barrier to return to the ticket machine and purchase a supplement. Supplementary purchase, however, does not appear among the available options offered by the machine. I jab at the touch-screen stupidly for some minutes, watching the station clock with one eye, until I feel able to run back to the barrier and remind the attendant that it is part of his job description to help morons in distress.
He leaves his post, escorts me to the machine and effects the transaction with me looking over his shoulder. This is mildly humiliating, but over the years I have learned that the simplest solution to most travel difficulties is to find someone in charge and present yourself as a mess to be cleaned up. As I take my seat, I tell myself it had to be done.
When the conductor announces the time of our departure, I realise I am on the wrong train, and that I am going to reach my destination an hour early. Only then does my face go hot. Once again, I have exposed myself as an idiot for nothing.
The students I am put before have all been obliged to read four or five examples of this column, and their queries come in two types: ones that question my veracity, and ones that question my sanity. They do not seem convinced by my repeated insistence that what I write is broadly true and that I am broadly normal. I claim that I simply choose not to write about the many small personal triumphs that fill each day. I explain that the kernel of every piece is more often than not an instance when I blush with shame. As long as that happens once a week, I say, then I'm fine. Their instructor, who is sitting in the back row, raises a pencil, and an eyebrow.
"Is this experience sufficiently shameful to warrant inclusion in your column?" he asks.
"I don't know," I say, feeling my face heat up again. Up to that point, I had imagined the whole thing was going rather well. A young man sticks up his hand.
"What do we have to do to get in your column?" he asks.
"I don't know," I say, fearful he might act on any suggestion. "It depends. If you…" I trail off and start looking around, as if for an escape hatch.
By way of wrapping up, I am asked to offer advice to aspiring writers. I start rambling about finding your own way round stylistic difficulties, an idea based on something I read, but am struggling to paraphrase. I realise I am looking at a sea of bewildered faces. You're talking nonsense, I think. You have to give them an actual example.
"It's like when you don't want to split an infinitive," I say finally. "But then, you know, the unsplit infinitive sounds stupid. Faced with a choice between being correct and sounding stupid, I just avoid the infinitive altogether."
I think: what have you done? Not only have you chosen to finish by bringing up a notoriously contentious grammatical issue, you've revealed a personal stylistic principle based on cowardice. They're going to eat you alive.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Put Your Best Face Forward - Makeup Tips for Bridesmaids


As a bridesmaid, you want to look your best, but you don't want to outshine the bride. There are some simple makeup tips that you can use to get that fresh faced look. Regardless of how your bridesmaid dress looks, you can still have a lovely look with these quick and easy tips.
* Start with a clean slate. When painting a picture you certainly want to begin with a clean slate. Your skin is no different. Wash your face well before you apply your makeup. Use a mild facial scrub to gently exfoliate your skin and prepare it to take the makeup.
* Try the new mineral makeup. The new mineral makeup that is becoming so wildly popular can make your skin glow. Choose a shade that is complimentary to your own skin tone but practice applying it a few times before the wedding because it does take a little practice to get the application just right.
* Use neutral colors. Neutral colors, such as rose and brown, compliment any skin tone, any hair color and any eye color. Different shades of brown and rose can even work together to create a very pretty look. Other neutral colors, such as gray, taupe and vanilla are also very complimentary to any eye color.
* Play up the eyes. You can really play up your eyes in just a few simple steps. First, line your upper lid, right at the lash line with a deep rose pencil or brown pencil. Line the bottom 2/3 of your eye, from outer corner to inner, right at the lash line. Blend gently to softly smudge. With an eye liner brush, brush your eye shadow (color that matches the liner) over the liner. Use a contour brush to apply the same color in the crease of the eye (only apply the contour to 2/3 of the eye, from the outer corner to the inner corner). Sweep a pale rose, gold perle or vanilla over the entire eye to blend the colors and to give a natural look. You may also want to sweep a little of this color along the lower lash line as well. Apply a black brown mascara and you have a very pretty, natural eye.
* Go natural on the blush. Use a large, puffy brush to apply your blush. A nice, neutral rose or golden pink are good choices. Apply the blush to the apples of your cheeks (the round areas that appear just under your eyes when you smile) and blend over the cheekbones very lightly. Blend well using your powder brush with a little dusting of mineral makeup.
* Get full, kissable lips. A little lip balm applied under your lip color will give you a nice base that will help the color last longer. Choose a natural color, such as a rose, and use a lip brush to line your lips. Using your finger, smudge the color on your lips, giving them a blushed, slightly bruised look. For a pouty mouth, apply a lighter shade or a little gloss to the center of the bottom lip.
* Lose the shine. An oily shine is not attractive. Keep a little of your mineral makeup powder or some loose powder to dust over your T-zone or whatever areas tend to develop an oily shine.
These simple makeup tips will have you looking your best. Most of all, though, don't forget to smile!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Put That Blush on Your Face!


Do you look pale or lifeless? Give your face a color boost with the cheek blusher. After applying your base makeup, foundation, apply blusher to your face. It easily brings colors to your face.
Though adding blusher is a simple step, do not overdo it. You do not want to look like an overly made up doll with excessive blusher. Go light on your hands.
Below, I shall touch on some tips to apply the blusher.
Tip 1
Choose a blush color that is closest to your skin tone or one that looks like your natural glow after you work out. Do not attempt to wear a blush which is too bright for your skin. You want that tinge of blush on your face to look natural, as if you are born with it, not as if you have painted your cheeks.
Tip 2
Dab your brush into the cheek color. Tap off any excess powder so that when you brush on, the color will be even.

Tip 3
Sweep the brush onto the apples of your cheeks in a wide "U" movement. If your apples aren't obvious, smile while you are brushing the color on.
Tip 4
Do not apply too much blusher or you will look like a clown. The key is to make the blush minimal yet obvious. The final effect should look natural as if you did not put any on.
Tip 5
If you intend to go heavy on your eye makeup, then keep the blush color as light as possible. If you apply heavy blush on top of a dramatic eye look, you will turn into a walking disaster. Sometimes, less is more.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Why Do I Blush For No Reason?

You may think that you are the only one with excessive facial blushing (going red), but you're not. Many people experience this embarrassing and socially painful reaction. It tends to come in waves. People who are prone to this form of social anxiety may find themselves blushing in reaction to something as simple as making eye contact. Most of the time, the symptom is triggered by a super-fast thought that you may not even realize you are having. The thought goes something like this: "I hope I don't blush," or, "This is the kind of situation where I've been blushing for no reason lately," or, "This would be a terrible moment to start blushing."
Fortunately, the blushing problem can be resolved. It does not require medication or surgery, but it does require some sweat and effort. There are several steps involved in getting the excessive blushing reaction to go into remission. First, you need to become less "freaked out" by the symptom. A good way to do this is to realize that blushing is an anxiety reaction to the fear of humiliation or embarrassment. Having excessive blushing means you are a socially aware person, which is a good thing. Blushing itself is perfectly normal (just not blushing at the thought of blushing).
The next step after self-acceptance is to learn what specific thought triggers you have. It's not that difficult to uncover if you pay close attention. All you need to do is purposefully analyze all the situations where you blush and put them on paper, in order, from least to most likely to trigger a blushing response. Next, analyze the list to learn what components must be present for you to blush. For example, is it worse with authority figures like a boss or a teacher? Is it only there when you are romantically attracted to the other person? Is it only there when it would look bad to blush (for example when someone asks who left the door unlocked in a meeting and you blush at the thought that others will think it was you if you blush at that moment)? Analyze carefully to learn what triggers the anxiety.

Once you have a sense for the things that make you anxious about a potential blush, you need to figure out how to control your blushing by controlling the anxiety. It never works the other way around. Trying to control the blush is actually what has made it as bad as it is now. The only way to control blushing is to go directly to work on the anxiety that triggers this autonomic anxiety response (autonomic means your brain and nervous system cause the reaction outside of your conscious control).
How do you control the anxiety? You correct your thoughts about the sources of anxiety you identified earlier. For example, if I blush in front of attractive women, I may design a response to my fear of making a fool of myself by blushing. A good response to reduce that particular source of anxiety would be to say to myself, "I will not offend anyone by blushing. I accept myself as a person who is about to blush, and I will just make fun of myself and make light of the reaction if someone points it out."
If you are unable to "believe in" this kind of helpful, anxiety-reducing statement to yourself, or if you cannot come up with one, you may need the support of a psychologist in training your mind to react with calming, self-accepting thoughts. You can also pursue the self-help resources out there first, to see if you can learn how to control your thoughts better by yourself, before paying hundreds of dollars to a mental health professional. It takes about three weeks to really eliminate blushing as you gradually start addressing the anxiety instead of trying to control the blushing. It requires practice where you purposefully face the situations where your old anxiety just kept getting stronger. Believe me when I tell you that it is worth the pain and embarrassment necessary to cure this problem. I have talked many people through the process and none of them has ever said that they wish they had never done the difficult work necessary to beat this painful social anxiety symptom.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

How to Choose and Apply Blush

Applied correctly the right blush can make you look young, energized and glowy and provide contour and shape to the face. If applied incorrectly and/or in the wrong shade it can make you look garrish and clown-like and can even make you look older.
Achieving a nice flattering application of blush begins with the right color for your skin tone and type, and correct application technique.
When choosing a shade of blush it is important to be familiar with undertones in your skin and also in the makeup you choose. Undertones are classified as cool, warm or neutral. Cool undertones are charactarized by shades of pinks and blues. Warm undertones are characterized by shades of yellows and oranges. Neutral undertones are charactarized by a balance of both warm and cool.
If after reading this, you are still unsure what undertone you classify ask a makeup artist at your local department or beauty store. This is their job and they are usually happy to help.
Now that you know your skin undertone choose a complementary shade of blush. Pick a blush with the same undertones as your skin. Warm shades will be nge, yellow and brown-based. Cool shades will be beige, pink and blue-based. If you are neutral undertone you can usually get away with wearing warm or cool toned shades.
If you come across a shade and you are unsure if it would be classified as warm or cool ask a sales associate what they think or try the shade on. Even if you are unsure a sales associate will be able to tell you if the shade is flattering on your skin. And if it is not, she will most likely suggest a different shade that is flattering. Below are some suggestions of shades for each undertone
Warm
Nars blush in Madly
Mark Instant Blush Tint in Cheeky Pommette
Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush in Peach Satin
Cool
Tarte Cheek Stain in Blushing Bride
e.l.f. Studio Blush in Berry Merry
NYX Powder Blush in Raisin
Aside from the shade, the formula is also an important factor in choosing a blush. There are several formulas available these days from old fashioned powder, to cream, to stains and gels. Here is a quick guide to choosing a formula:
*Powder-great for all skin types, but especially oily skin. They can be highly pigmented and come in a range of finishes such as matte, shimmer and frost. They tend not to last as long as other formulas, but can be easily reapplied throughout the day.
*Cream- excellent for dry and mature skin. Most cream formulas give a dewy/glowy effect to the skin but that can be toned down with a translucent powder if not the desired effect. These tend to look more natural than other formulas. Not the best choice for oily or problem skin as cream blush may contain oils or other emollient ingredients that may cause this product to break down and wear off more quickly on oily skin. Different brands offer different formulas so check the ingredients to be sure.
*Stain- Work well for just about all skin types. Stains tend to be thin and somewhat runny and must be blended into the skin quickly because they really do "stain" the skin. They leave a translucent tinge of color and usually last all day with no touchups. For better blendability moisturize before applying.
*Gels- Last like a stain but blend more easily because the formula is more emollient. Must be blended into the skin fairly quickly to avoid uneven application. Good for all skin types.
Smiling while applying helps you find the apples of the cheeks. The apples of the cheeks are the area just under your eyes where you would naturally flush when excited, happy, or active. When you smile, the apples sort of "ball up" and become more prominent, making it easier to apply. Apply your blush starting at the apples of the cheeks and blend out towards hairline. The color should be most intense on the middle of the apples of the cheeks, and then should gradually fade out below the temple. Start with very little blush then add more until you have the desired intensity.
Tip: many blushes darken on the skin after about an hour of wear. This happens as the blush mixes with your skin's oils and other products on your face such as foundation. Keep this in mind when applying a blush for the first time.
If you apply too much blush or the lines look too harsh, take a clean fluffy brush such as a kabuki or a large powder brush. Swirl the brush in some translucent powder and vigorously buff over the apples of the cheeks and cheekbones. This will help to fade out any harsh lines and lighten the intensity of the blush.
For Cream, stain and gel formula blushes, use your fingertips to blend the product onto the apples of the cheeks and blend out toward hairline. If you prefer to use an applicator of some sort, try a synthetic foundation brush or a slightly dampened cosmetic wedge. A powder blush can be applied over cream or stain blushes to help set it or create a more dramatic effect. For an extra glow, apply a shimmery highlighter on the cheekbones above the apples of the cheeks. Set the entire application with a swipe of translucent powder.

Monday, August 16, 2010

What's New in 2010 - Fall Fashion Trends

As tan lines fade and evenings turn cool, fresh summer styles make way for the warm, cozy fashions of the fall.
The colours of autumn are so gorgeous; warm caramels, butterscotches, creams and olives. A veritable buffet of sophisticated options - and a few statement pieces will bring your wardrobe from last year up to date. By investing in some new basics season to season, you keep your look current and fresh.
So, what's the most basic basic of all? Jeans, of course! Cuts and colours change subtly every season, and it's worth it to invest in at least one pair that's trendy this fall. Skinny jeans are still going strong, but with a twist this time. Pairing peg-leg denims with closed-toed heels is a stylish update to this 80's silhouette. Dark wash goes from day to evening effortlessly. Are you brave enough to try a patterned skinny jean? Florals, stripes and dots all punch up this essential and turn it into a real statement. Leggings are still around this season, but try branching out from basic black! Wear royal blue or purple leggings with a military-inspired jacket or underneath a denim mini.
Speaking of military-inspired, it's one of the most important fall fashion trends. Anoraks, vests, crisp shirts and canvas skirts in classic khaki, drab olive and beige all look fabulous when worn with a kick of colour. Keep the look girly with bangles or a statement necklace. Military tailored shirts also look great in limpid silks and cottons. Worn with distressed jeans and flats the look is feminine and on trend. Add a cadet cap to a jeans and t-shirt outfit for an instant update, or pin a medal on a denim jacket. Little touches allow you to reference a trend without going overboard.
For a cozy fall look nothing beats a sweater dress. In a thin or chunky knit, the look is always classic. Wear one over skinny jeans, leggings or even fine wool pants. Sweater dresses look best in the neutral fall palate - cream, browns and grays. Look for a high neck or short sleeves for a style update this season. If you're daring, try one with knee socks! Although the sweater dress is a timeless piece it can easily be made flirty and fun with high boots, a long necklace and a bright bag.
Sick of trying to cram everything in a tiny purse? Good news! Big bags are back this year, and they are fabulous. Grab one in a vivid colour and use it as a carryall. Red and bright yellow are favourites this year and look terrific with autumn neutrals.
Fall fashion trends are fun - try a few on for size! Remember, you can never go wrong with a classic look punched up with some statement pieces. Don't be a fashion victim! Express yourself through what you choose to wear, don't let the clothes define you. If you don't feel great in an outfit, it's not the right look. Luckily there are lots of different styles to choose from this season. One - or many - will be perfect for you.