Makeup Tips For Girls Who Wear Glasses ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week # 24

Do you wear glasses? I do. And I love them.

Glasses wearing girls are always asking me about how to do their makeup and still look and feel glam, so today's post is dedicated to all the lovely ladies of the frame and lens.

Makeup Tips For Girls Who Wear Glasses

1. Color correct your under-eyes.

Glasses tend to magnify any dark rings or dark areas under your eyes. Using a skin toned or ivory toned concealer can make the area look ashy or grey, but a peachy pink color correcting concealer will neutralize your dark circles and draw attention to your beautiful eyes.

Try Le Camouflage Stylo by Chantecaille

2. Keep Your Foundation Sheer.

You do need to apply foundation around your eye area, but you must keep it sheer. Thick foundation gunks up the nosepads on your glasses, and if your glasses touch your cheeks or the skin under your eyes you have the combination of lifting makeup off your face, and getting a gooey layer of makeup on your frames.

I'm never a fan of crushed mineral foundations anyway, but for glasses wearers they can be extra awful as the lenses magnify how crusty and dry the swirl-tap-buff products make your under eyes look. If the skin under your eyes looks dry, you look aged.

3. Define Your Brows.

Eyebrows may just be the most important feature on your face. Draw attention to your eyes by framing them with gorgeous brows. Well defined brows can offset heavy glasses frames and can create a lovely lift to your visage.

Try Charlotte Tilbury Brow Lift Shape Lift And Shade Tool

4. Line Your Eyes.

Adding some definition to the lashline can really help draw attention to your peepers, and stop them from getting lost behind your fabulous frames. Whether you are rocking a feline flick or just getting a little outer corner accent, liner is key.

Try Charlotte Tilbury Feline Flick in Panther

5. Avoid Bright Colored Shadows.

Your frames draw attention to your eyes - you don't need bright eye shadow colors to make them stand out. Bright eye shadows just confuse the issue. Opt instead for neutral shades, letting your brows and lash line, combined with your frames, to all the talking.

To add a pop of color to your look choose a brighter, more vibrant lip color.

6. Beware Of Dark Shadows.

Just as bright eye shadow colors can look clown-like under glasses, dark shadows and smokey eyes can look really heavy when magnified by your lenses. Try a mid-toned shade, and blend it well.

 I am loving the Fall 2015 Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow  in Rouge Gorge and in New Moon.

Buff and blend this beautiful creamy shadow for a soft but long lasting look.

How To Repair Summer Skin Damage ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #23

With summer winding down it's time to take stock of the damage we've done to our skin during the warm and sunny months, and come up with a plan to both protect our skin and heal it.

Here are a selection of skin care products to fight environmental damage, erase dark spots, super hydrate and heal, and turn back the clock on summer to give you radiant, gorgeous, glowing skin.

From Philosophy, The  Microdelivery Overnight Anti Aging Peel $82 combines the skin smoothing, micro exfoliation of a peel with the soothing, calming, restorative benefits of an overnight sleep mask. You wake up with gorgeous, glowing skin!

Rodial's Dragon's Blood Sculpting Gel $98 is magic in a bottle! It masks redness, plumps and smooths skin to reduce wrinkles, and leaves your skin looking firm and renewed.

Protect your skin from environmental pollutants and damaging free radicals by adding vitamin C to your skin care routine. Ciracle Vitamin Source C-20 not only protects your skin, but also makes it look brighter and more vital. Vitamin Source C-20's incredible delivery system gets the nutrients deep into your skin to lighten dark spots, diminish fine lines and wrinkles, and helps your skin to create healthy new cells.

It's Skin Power 10 Formula CO Effector $11 is a super affordable example of how staggeringly effective Korean skin care products really are. This highly potent collagen serum needs only a couple of drops to be massaged into the skin to super hydrate from the inside out, making the skin look instantly resilient and moisturized.
You can read more about the Korean skin care revolution here

Tatcha's Radiant Deep Brightening Serum is the Holy Grail of serums, and as such is the secret currency of celebrities. The instant it hits your skin you begin to see absolute magic happening. No matter what your skin type you see your complexion become radiant, firm, glowing. Although the company makes no claims about this serum healing anything, I have seen dreadful facial eczema disappear overnight, scaly, alligator like skin smooth in front of my eyes and red, irritated skin calm down in minutes. This is easily one of the greatest skin care products ever created.

SNP's Gold Collagen Sleeping Pack $30 is another brilliant piece of Korean skin technology, and is the final step in your night time skin care routine. After layering on your serums, essences and ampoules you apply an even layer of sleeping pack across the face and neck at least 10 minutes before bed. When you wake up you gently remove any residue with luke warm water. Your skin will be absolutely shimmering! This product is super nourishing, moisturizing and healing, and an incredible ally in damage control and the fight against aging.
And did I mention it has gold in it??

Six Summer Beauty Hair Saves ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #22

Don't let the summer heat, sun, surf, sand and chlorine ruin your hair!

Whether you are fighting frizzy hair, battling heat induced deflation (is your hair just collapsing like mine is??) finding your color fading, your hair is drying out, or it's being stripped of it's luster, here are 6 summer hair saves that you can order online from 
Space NK.

Six Summer Hair Saves

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray $29. I love this for the gorgeous soft and shiny beachy waves it gives. Most salt sprays leave your hair feeling crunchy, this one leaves it feeling really soft.

Dry Shampoo is the absolute key to keeping your hair from collapsing when you are battling the summer heat/humidity/hat hair blues. R+Co Death Valley Dry Shampoo $17 comes in travel size, perfect for vacations, weekend beach trips or just to slip into your handbag.

I'm a huge fan of Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing hair Oil $49 (also available in travel size). Like all Oribe products it smells sensational, and I would happily buy it for that reason alone, but the product itself is amazing. It is super lightweight, so doesn't weight your hair down like some others do. It nourishes, protects, conditions and gives you gorgeous shine. And it feels luxurious.

I also always travel with travel sized Oribe Conditioner for Beautiful Color $15 partly because it almost feels decadent it's sol lovely, and partly because it nourishes and protects from dulling UV rays like no other.

Rainforest grown, gluten free, 100% organic Rahua Voluminous Conditioner $34 conditions, adds volume and bounce to hair that's had enough summer already, and can also be used when you're styling your hair to add control and prevent frizz.

The hair stylists I work with on shoots have taught me the value of flexible hold hairspray when you want bounce and movement in your hair. Shower steam plus R+Co Outer Space Flexible Hairspray $17 and some velcro rollers can take you from hat head, flat hair to bouncy soft summer gorgeous hair in no time at all.
And it smells like heaven.

Space NK has an entire collection of high end hair products in travel sizes (under 100ml) perfect to put in your carry on luggage.
I have all the Oribe travel sized products, as well as some of the others. Check out all the Space NK hair magic HERE

Beauty Tip Of The Week #21 Makeup Tips For Humid Days

Mid- summer humidity can be a beauty nightmare - from melting foundation to frizzy hair, keeping the glam on point can be challenging.

Check out these makeup tips for humid days, and please add any tips that work for you in the comments section below.

Kate Moss for St Tropez self tanner

1. Avoid Foundation.


When the humidity rises here I try to avoid wearing foundation. The more you sweat and shine and melt, the worse your foundation sweats and shines and melts. It's a no win situation!
 If you plan ahead you can build up a faux tan with 
St Tropez Every Day Gradual Tan from Nordstrom.
Check out my blogpost for tips on how to use facial self tanners here

2. Prime Time.

Use a really good silicone based primer to even out your skin tone and texture. Koh Gen Do Maifanshi color correcting primers help to both correct imperfections and keep you a little more polished and matte.

3. Define Your Brows.
Giving a little accent to your brows can create the most impact of your entire look. 
Without overdoing it, define your brow with a waterproof brow product like Makeup Forever's Aqua Brow


4. Use A Paint Pot Eye Shadow Base
I swear by a sheer coat of MAC Paint Pot as an eye shadow base plus primer, to help your eye shadow hold all day as well as pump up the color and keep it vibrant.

If you have a cool skin tone try MAC's Paint Pot in Painterly, if you are warm toned check out Soft Ocher, both available at Nordstrom.

5. Waterproof Mascara
It's a  must.

6. Matte Lips

When your face is getting shiny, a glossy lip can make you look even shinier. Neutralize the gooey glow with a soft matte lip.
Try Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Miss Kensington

5 Mid - Summer Beauty Tips ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #20

Are you getting bored with your summertime look yet? We are at the halfway mark now, so there is no time like the present to redial your beauty game, simplify and bring in some new beauty strategy.

Change To A Bold Lip

Bold lip colors are fun to wear. They brighten your face, make you look awake and alert, can spark your eye color (if you use a complimentary opposite), they make you look vibrant and they totally take the emphasis off all the makeup you usually wear.
My go-to look for summer is just brows, mascara and a bold lip. 
When you are fresh off the beach or just not in the mood to put on makeup, a bright, bold lip can pull your look together and have you looking polished and perfect.
Try MAC Lipstick in Crosswires, (a clean, pinky orange) or 
MAC Lipstick in Full Fuschia (a bright, warm, fun pink)

Pare Down To A Primer

If you're not in the mood for foundation (during the summer I never am) even out the tone and texture of your skin with a really good primer. Primer will minimize your pores, help you control oily shine and give your skin a lovely finish.
Try Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Color Base in lavender/pink to correct sallow skin, in yellow to add a little brightness to the skin or in pearl to add brilliance.

Add A Little Highlight 

One of the fastest ways to liven and brighten your look for summer is to get highlights to frame your face. They instantly lift your complexion and play beautifully with your (faux) tan.

Make A Tiny Wing

Even though an emphatic winged eyeliner is a big trend for summer 2015, I personally think that big eyeliner in the hot sun looks completely stupid. 
You should always opt for what looks fabulous over what is the biggest trend.
A small, subtle, refined wing however, can draw the eye out, add a little intrigue and drama without overwhelming your eye in the bold summer sunshine. 
If you go see The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (and I recommend you do!), check out the gorgeous makeup on Alicia Vikander. She wears the absolute perfect winged eyeliner for summer.

Combine Your Beachy Wave With Some Braids

Braids and beachy waves are the perfect pairing this summer.
If you have a thick head of hair braids not only look cool, but they keep hair out of your face. If your hair is heavy and tends to collapse and go flat in the heat, braids help keep the illusion of volume. And beachy waves are always fabulous in the summer!

6 Must Have Beauty Products For Summer ~ Beauty Tip of The Week #19

image via Harpers Bazaar Mexico

I love summer beauty.

I love fresh, glowing, bronzey, sunkissed skin.

I love the quick and easy to do makeup looks paired with beachy wavey hair.

It's fabulous.

But you do need the right products to pull off the perfect look for summer, so here is my list of essentials:

6 Must Have Beauty Products For Summer

It's Skin Facial Solution Water Mist ($14) is one of my all time favorite products. It's fantastic year round, but extra helpful in the summer. Feeling dry? spritz it on to rehydrate. Feeling oily? spritz it on to refresh. Had a long day in the sun or on the beach? spritz it on to sooth and soften your skin. Need to transition from the office to happy hour? spritz it on to re-energize your makeup. 
This one is always sold out, so when I see it available I buy 3 or 4 bottles at a time.

Chantecaille Radiance Gel Bronzer ($56) Powder bronzers sit on the surface of summer skin and look too dusty and makeup-y. Instead I prefer to use liquid and gel bronzers that give sheer, buildable color and that make the complexion look radiant and luminous. Chantecaille's is extra lovely, and doesn't clog your pores so you don't have to deal with makeup induced breakouts and blackheads at the end of the day.

MAC Fluidline Brow Gel ($16)
Hot weather, humidity, swimming and perspiring all destroy your artfully created eyebrows, leaving them tail-less and disappearing.
Summer makeup relies on a little brow accent to offset the simplicity of the rest of your look, so you want your brows to stay put. I love the MAC brow gel for it's colors, texture and staying power.

MAC Lipstick in Full Fuchsia or Girl About Town ($16)
I love both of these blue fuchsia shades for summer. They are bright and fun and make your teeth and the whites of your eyes look super white. When you are keeping everything else neutral and understated, a bold lip can look both stunning and fresh.

Tom Ford Shimmering Body Oil ($95)
I love everything Tom Ford does.
His Shimmering Body Oil is a sexy combination of a luminous golden shimmer for your limbs and a golden amber sandalwood fragrance. 

Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion ($29)
The ultimate summer hair is beachy looking waves. Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion is a yummy mix of tropical oils and sea salts that gives you soft, supple waves, instead of those crunchy, dried out looking sea curls. It is super awesome for dry or coarse hair. 

How To Do Perfect Makeup For Summer ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #17

Have you noticed that in summer your makeup doesn't look quite so good? 
Maybe your foundation looks super slimy or maybe it looks too dry, your eye shadow turns into greasy pools in the creases of your eyelids, nothing stays where its supposed to, and you look nothing like the fresh faced models in the magazines?

Here are 6 tricks to make your summer makeup work

1. Less is absolutely more in the summer.
The biggest mistake you can make is piling on too much makeup. Summer is all about looking fresh faced and healthy, which doesn't work when you're wearing mask-like makeup.
Aim for a gorgeous complexion. Start with a lighter weight moisturizer, next apply a dry finish facial SPF, and finally a really good primer to even out the texture of your skin. 
If you need some help evening out your color, opt for a BB cream rather than a foundation.

2. Down play your eyes.
Big smokey, bold eye makeup looks stupid in the summer time. Choose a lighter, more nude look, and accent it with loads of mascara. To avoid smudgy mascara use a water resistant formula, and only ever use waterproof mascara if you're planning on swimming or sobbing - waterproofs are so damaging to your lashes and can be difficult to remove.

3. Go easy on the bronzer.
Find a formulation that works with both your skin and your climate (pressed powder/cream/liquid), and then apply it where the sun would kiss your face if you were out and about all afternoon.
Bronzer does not take the place of blush, and regardless of what the you tubers tell you, it is not for contouring with.
Don't make the mistake of trying to color your face in with bronzer - you will look muddy, not tanned.

4. Accent your brows.
Use your brows to add a little structure and polish to your look.
Without going overboard, (as in don't do the brows you see all over Instagram) give your brows a little definition and a hint of color with a waterproof/water resistant brow product. It will frame your eyes and keep your look nicely balanced.

5. Focus on the lip
Add a pop of color to your look with a bright summer lip. If your overall look is glowy try wearing a bold matte lip. If your skin is looking a little dry, liven your look up with a fun colorful gloss.

6. A little highlight goes a long way.
If you are transitioning from day to night, or if your look feels a little flat, adding a tiny amount of highlight to your upper cheek bones, under the eye if your eyes look tired, maybe a hint to the bridge of your nose if you need it, can lighten and brighten your complexion.
Just don't overdo it. There's a big difference between brightening your look and making yourself look glittery-shiny.

Makeup Mistakes That Age You ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week # 15

Makeup can accentuate your best features, diminish those you're not so keen on, and make your skin absolutely glow.
When it's done right.
When it's not done correctly makeup can totally age you, suck the life out of your skin and leave you looking haggard.
Beware of these 7 Makeup Mistakes That Totally Age You:

1. Not Moisturizing Before Makeup.
It is so important to moisturize your skin before applying makeup.
Dry skin grabs makeup and makes it look both cakey and overdone.
Apply a good moisturizer, evenly, then give it a couple of minutes to soak in before you put on your foundation.

2. Concealer That's Too Light.

Concealer should be matched to your skin tone. Ideally it should match your skin color or just be a hint lighter.
Concealer that is too light or that has the wrong undertone will make your under eye area look grey, dull and aged. To correct dark circles under your eyes use a color corrector in a pink or peach shade.

3. Heavy Foundation.
Heavy, opaque foundation is a thing of the past. These days the look is sheer, with a focus on glowing, youthful skin.
Put down the heavy, spackel like foundation, instead look for lightweight formulas or BB creams to give you even color and a fresh faced, healthy look

4. Black Eyeliner.
Black eyeliner gives a heavy look to the lashline, and on eyes that are even just starting to show tell-tale signs of leaving their 20's, it can be super aging. Instead of letting black eyeliner age you and dominate your face, opt for deep plums and espresso browns to give you depth at the same time as being softer.

5. Too Much Mascara/Poorly Applied Mascara.
There are twin devils in the world of mascara. The first is applying it to just the ends of the lashes, the second is applying too much and having it look clumpy.
Invest in a good, glossy mascara, and apply it from the base of the lash wiggling the brush out to the tip of the lash. Your lashes should look smooth and shiny.
Don't pump the brush inside the tube - that will dry your mascara out.

6. Too Much Contour.
You are not a Kardshian, so don't try to contour like one. 

These days it seems like women of all ages get crazy on Instagram and You Tube contouring. 

image via Muskoka Makeupartistry

For the most part (with a few exceptions) if you see it on You Tube or Instagram, do the opposite. 

Excessive contouring makes your skin look dirty, sucks hollows where you don't want them, makes you look too heavily made up, and also makes you look like you're trying to hard. Which is both unflattering and aging.
Instead of a mega contour try a little well placed highlight to brighten the complexion.

7. Dark Lips.
Dark lipstick is aging. It makes lips look thin and mean and can drain the life out of your skin.
Unless you have plump, full lips, avoid dense, dark shades, choosing mid-tones and lighter shades instead.

image via Huffington Post

Beauty Tip Of The Week #14 ~ Four Lipstick Mistakes To Avoid

There is nothing quite like lipstick to wake up and brighten your face.

 

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstars On The Go Breakfast At Tiffanys Lip, Cheek and Eyecolor.

Click on image for link

Feeling tired or under the weather? A bright, vibrant lip will quickly add a little spark to your visage and can breathe life into a flat complexion.


Running to the store with no makeup on? A pretty, lively lipstick can make you look immediately put together.
Making the walk of shame the morning after the night before? A pair of sunglasses and a bold lip will have you strutting out like you own the deal instead of slithering away into the shadows with your un-madeup face turned down.

Lipstick is fantastic.
But you need to watch out for the 4 main lipstick mistakes to avoid:

1. Straying Outside The Lines
Letting your lipstick wander out over the lipline leaves you looking either like you've been gnawing away on chicken wings, or that you let a five year old put your lips on.
Shape your mouth with a lipliner and apply your lipstick with a lipbrush. A well defined mouth is much more alluring!

2. Lip Liner Too Dark
There was this icky time back in the 90's where women wore exaggerated dark lipliner. It looked stupid then and it looks stupid now.
Find a lipliner close to your lip shade. Ideally build out you lip with a complimentary shade of nude, but if you are using a colored lip liner keep it very close in color to your lipstick.



3. Find Your Flattering Shade.
You need to choose a lipstick color that compliments your skin tone. Warm based lips for warm based skins and cool based lipsticks for cool toned skins.
If you have thin lips or if you are a little older avoid dark lipsticks - they will age you quickly and make your lips look thin, pursed and angry.

4. Lipstick On Your Teeth
When you break out into a big, gorgeous grin you don't want to kill the moment with lipstick all over your teeth!
Three ways to avoid this are: blotting your lips after applying lipstick, wearing lipstick formulas that aren't too slippery, and after applying lipstick wrap your lips around your index finger and executing your best porn-star impersonation pulling your finger out of your mouth.

Pucker up!

How To Brighten Your Eyes ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #13

Whether springtime allergies have got their hold on you, you sit in front of a computer screen all day, you're exhausted, or you just want a makeup pick-me-up, the key to looking vibrant, refreshed and alert is in brightening your eyes.

Waking up your eyes with makeup is super easy. All you need is a couple of really great products and a few good tricks.

How To Brighten Your Eyes In 6 Easy Steps

1. Start with Eye Gels.
Eye gels are amazing. You can de-puff your under eyes, cool them, hydrate them, and get them in glorious condition, all in about 10 minutes.
Try Tony Moly Intense Care Snail Eye Mask from Memebox

2. Color Correct
Use a color correcting concealer, but only on the dark shadows. If you put concealer on puffy undereyes, you will just make them look puffier.
Try Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer





3. Luminize
If you have sunken under-eyes or have deep ridges, a color correcting concealer alone can't make the shadows disappear. Use a touch of luminizer blended into your concealer to add a little light reflecting sheen to pop out those under-eyes. You will instantly look 10 years younger!

4. Curl Your Lashes
One of the best ways to open and brighten your eyes is to curl your lashes. 
Give them a quick pump with a lash curler before you apply mascara. I've used Shu Uemura's lash curler for years. It fits every eye perfectly and gives the loveliest bend to the lashes.
Discover the award winning eyeash curler from shu uemura today!

5. Complimentary Opposite
To really make your eye color spark use an eye shadow color that is opposite your eye color on the color wheel, then add a little sheen to the inner corner.
Try Laura Mercier Sateen Eye Color


6. Mascara
With your lashes freshly curled, add multiple coats of a volumising mascara, making sure to avoid clumping and keeping your lashes separated instead of letting them clump together.
Try HourGlass Superficial Lash Mascara for thick, long, luscious lashes.