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Entries in beauty tips (6)

Thursday
Dec012011

EXPERT SECRETS | Best hairstyling secret of 2011!

Here's a taste...

Can you tell which picture is before, which is after? If not, have those eyes checked, love. I can reveal that this costs zero dollars, requires zero product and even works on a butchered barnet that's thin and fine like mine. For real. I mean the husband hasn't titled my before bun "the pencil eraser" without cause.

The full tutorial is coming soon [tomorrow.... as my sodding USB cable has gone and hidden itself]... and we'll keep 'em coming throughout the month.

We figure our December Advent calendar this year should be a month of gifts TO YOU instead of gift ideas for others. And experiences are more fun and lasting than things anyway. Teach a man to fish girl to do her hair and all that.

[Editor's note: Please excuse the crackpot pictures. Taken post-workout with my phone. Classy, I know. but too excited to wait... or, indeed, put on makeup, or something other than workout gear for my closeup, dahling.]

Tuesday
Nov302010

EXPERT SECRETS | Skin highlighter for truly hidden spots

SPOTS AND I go way back. Decades, in fact. So I have some -- years -- experience in covering them. I feel like somewhat of an expert in the area. The number of compliments on my complexion always seem proportionate to the number of spots I'm actually hiding, which makes me believe I must have some skill at it.

In any event, I've tried EVE-RY-THING on the market to hide them. Every wand, pot, compact, brush, stick and pan of concealing makeup out there. Some are quite great. Some are meh. Some actually make the situation worse.

A great general rule of thumb to apply to your concealer search is: the drier and tackier the formula, the better it'll be. Why? Because it'll STAY IN PLACE, is generally more opaque and, well, that's what you want in a concealer, right? You don't want it slipping and sliding all over the place, do you?

The second rule you should live by is to apply just the tiniest bit to the absolute center of the spot and gently gently gently press it in. Get any of the concealer anywhere but the red spot and your efforts are ruined.

The third rule flies in the face of the first two and it's one I've recently started sticking to. I still love dry, tacky concealers and I apply them with the tiniest makeup brush to just the reddest part of the spot before I pat it in. But I've also learned a great trick, especially for those with spots who are going to have pictures taken.

The highlighter pen.

Spots are obvious because of the way they jut out of your face and their color. You can deal with the color by using a conventional concealer but not with the shape. They create a shadow, even when concealed. Why not put a concealer on top that actually reflects light, thereby making the spot look flat instead of domed? Makeup is all about light play, if you think about it, so why not apply that knowledge to your spots too instead of resignedly just slapping some obvious makeup on?

Twist the bottom of the wand to just load the brush of your product (I flux between Givenchy Mister Light and YSL Touche Eclat), dab just a bit on top of your spots and pat in. Set with powder and do the rest of your makeup as usual.

If you accidentally rub a bit off, just carry the wandy with you and re-apply through the night.

Plus, for those of us with wrinkles and spots, the highlighting pens are great at concealing fine lines with their light reflecting properties too.

My once expensive and single purpose skin highlighting pens have now become a whole bunch more afforable with their new multi-tasking status.

Image credit

Friday
Sep172010

HOW TO | Perfect evening makeup

PERFECT EVENING makeup takes just a bit of know-how, a few makeup techniques and only a few products. In fact, you can use most of the same stuff you use during the day. By playing up either your eyes or lips, you can upgrade your no-makeup makeup day look into something more sultry for night.

Continue reading or print steps from this project to do at home!

Originally written by Jessica Teas for Sears Inc. at managemylife.com. Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lanier67/4815824539/sizes/z/in/photostream/