Eyeliner is often seen by inexperienced makeup users as the most difficult product to apply. Although many have trouble with pencil liners, liquid liner is seen as a realm unto itself, so we’ll save that kind of application for a future blog.

In order to apply pencil liner, pull your outer eyelid so that it lies taut against your eye. Get the liner brush or pencil as close to the lash line as possible. There are two schools of thought on the best way to apply liner. Depending on how straight your lash line is, you can either draw a single line, starting from the inside of the eye, or “stipple” with the liner, adding tiny, connected dots along the lash line.

Be sure when drawing the line to have the outside eye line be thicker than the inside line; thick eyeliner on the inner eye makes the eyes look closed-up and narrow-set.

A good policy is to start with as thin a line as possible, then widen the line where appropriate; it’s much easier to correct a thin line by adding to it than to try to narrow down a too-wide line.

Don’t let there be a gap of skin between the lash line and the eyeliner; the look is unnatural and garish, and indicates that the eye liner isn’t properly applied.When applying eyeliner to the lower lid, be sure that the line touches the line of the upper eye on the outside. Lower lashes should be given a thinner line than upper ones; only go 1/2 or 2/3 of the way from the outside of the eye inward when lining lower lashes–any further, and it will create a “raccoon” or “eyeglass” effect.

A trendy technique right now is “tight lining,” that is, applying the eyeliner inside the eye’s pink rim. This isn’t recommended by professional makeup artists, who say the practice is completely unhealthy as it puts foreign materials directly against a mucous membrane. Also, any loose clumps of liner will drift into the eye area, causing specs, irritation or infection.

Candice Yacono

(photo credit: ashley rose)

Apply a liner that complements your eye color; the usual goal is to fool the eye to think that eyelashes are thicker and longer. To that end, choose natural colors that mimic the color of your brows or lashes (either natural or with mascara).

For example, if you have black hair, stick with black eyeliner; blondes can try dark brown, unless they wear black mascara. Experts recommend using a dark color on the upper lid and a lighter version (charcoal instead of black, or taupe instead of brown) on the lower lash line.

If you want to experiment with bright colors, try applying it to one eye, then use a neutral liner on the other eye. If you prefer the way the bright color looks, go for it! The look is best for social situations.

Many girls wear white liner on their eyes to “open” the eye more. This works if the shade is well-blended with the skin; bright white lines around your eye can cause more negative interest than positive.

Candice Yacono

(photo credit: webgrl)

From lip liner to lip gloss to lipstick, the number of choices available for coloring one’s smile is staggering. Before making your next purchase, only to have it collect dust in the back of your makeup drawer, check out the descriptions below. There is also a product recommendation that adds so much more than color.

Pencil This In
For those not blessed with Angelina Jolie’s famed pout, and not willing to go through surgery to achieve it, lip liner is an inexpensive and painless way to redo Nature’s brushstrokes.

By drawing just outside your natural lip line, you can create instant plumpness; draw just inside to thin out an otherwise-ample outline. Either way will help you to balance your face out for a more symmetrical look. A tip favored by makeup artists is to use a lighter lip liner on the bottom lip than the top; the effect highlights the lower lip and makes it seem plumper.

Want to achieve a luscious pout? Add fullness to the bottom lip with a lip pencil two shades lighter than the one you use on your upper lip. Try a darker line on the lower lip to thin out the area; it’s like painting a house. Lighter colors make an area appear more open; darker colors make it looks smaller.

Stick to the Basics
Lipstick, along with mascara, is the most-commonly-named staple of a woman’s essential cosmetic kit. It can add color and vibrancy to even the most tired, washed-out face. Finishes range from matte, which has no shine, to glossy. There are also lip stains that dye your lips with natural colors for hours; be sure to use these in combination with moisturizers to prevent chapping and drying.

Although lipstick options include every color from coral to plum, see my earlier blog on warm and cool tones; you’ll save money and energy by only choosing the shades right for you.

When you’re down to the nubs on your favorite tubes, don’t throw them away; consider re-purposing an old eyeshadow or blush palette. Remove the remaining product from the lipstick tube and add it to the washed-out palette. You now have a one-of-a-kind, easily portable set of your favorite colors, for mixing and matching.

Gloss Over It
When selecting a gloss suitable for a grownup, choose one that doesn’t stick to itself or anything else, glitter like a disco ball, smell like a candy store or look like an oil slick. Clear is always the perfect option, but experiment with shades that add a touch of color to a lipstick or stain. Golden or silver tones make a lip color warmer or cooler, respectively.

Candice Yacono

(photo credit: pamela machado)

The perfect lip isn’t just the right shade of red: It also is moisturized, soft and smooth. The best color in the world can look rough and uneven when applied over chapped, peeling lips. Today we’ll discuss the right color for your lips and how to keep them completely kissable.

Soft and Sweet
Over-use of long-lasting lip products can dry out your lips over time, so be sure to balance their use with lip balms or calming treatments. Lips can also become dry in the winter months; be sure to avoid constantly licking your lips on cold days, which causes them to chap.

Also be careful to moisturize the fine lines around your lips, where lipstick can bleed into.

There also are products that claim to “freeze” the lipstick on the lip, preventing it from creeping up fine lines.

Lip balm doesn’t have to be used by itself; try using it as a base underneath your choice of lipstick or lip gloss.

Color, Color Everywhere
How in the world does a girl today choose from the thousands of lip products and colors available? She begins by knowing her skin tone. Choosing a color that clashes with your skin tone is the most common and most unfortunate mistake a girl can make; it causes the face to not look “correct” in the minds of viewers and in some cases can look completely garish or alternately give a deathly pallor to the face.

Begin by finding out whether you have a warm or cool skin tone. The distinction doesn’t have as much to do with skin darkness as the undertone of the skin. The grand majority of people have warm skin tones, meaning that the undertone is more yellow. Some people, especially those of Northern European descent, have blue undertones. But a blonde, just like any other hair color, can be either warm or cool; there’s no rule of thumb.

To determine whether your skin tone is warm or cool, find two makeup products in your collection: one in a purple shade and one in an orange shade.

Apply one color to one cheek, and one color to the other.

One of the two ought to blend in more, although the colors wouldn’t normally be worn as blush. If the orange tone fits in and the purple tone makes you look lifeless, you have a warm skin tone. If the lavender color blends in with your overall skin tone, whereas the orange shade makes you feel like a brassy, gaudy circus clown, congratulations; you’re a cool shade.

In selecting future lip color choices, look for those in the yellow color family for warm tones and the bluish-pink color family for cool skin tones.Examples of cool colors are mauve, baby pink, berry, “true” red or shades of purple.

Warm shades include anything in the brown family, shades of salmon and peach or anything in the orange range. Basically, stick with berries if you’re cool or melons if you’re warm. Sometimes the best shade is a combination of two or even three; experiment until you find a shade that doesn’t call attention to your lips but makes your entire face glow.

Candice Yacono

(photo credit: cobalt)

A well-shaped eyebrow creates a more polished appearance, even when you don’t wear makeup. Luckily, creating the perfect eyebrow style for your face isn’t as scary as it seems. By following the outline below, even a novice plucker can create a perfectly framed face–but never try to create a completely different type of brow than you were born with!

Stick with the basic shape you were given.

1. Outline: Hold a white eyeliner pencil against your nose, pointing up. An eyebrow should begin where the pencil meets the brow. Use the pencil to mark where the brow should begin.Then, turn the pencil so it crosses over the center of your eye. The point where the eyebrow and the pencil meets is where the eyebrow’s arch should begin. Use the pencil to mark this point as well.Finally, turn the pencil to line up with the outside corner of your eye, pointing out. Where the pencil hits the outside of the eyebrow is where the brow should end; mark a point here.

2. Shape: The thickness of the brow should match your overall appearance. Girls with large eyes and features should keep their brows thicker; those with less pronounced features should go for a more delicate effect.

Before plucking, brush your eyebrow hairs straight up; those that extend beyond the upper brow line should be trimmed with small scissors. Do the same thing when you brush the hairs down, trimming hairs that extend beyond the lower brow line.

You can use the white pencil to “mark out” any hairs you want to pluck; that way, you’ll be able to see how your brows will look with their new shape. If it doesnt look right, use makeup remover and try again.

To make tweezing less painful, wait to pluck until after taking a shower or washing your face; the heat and steam cause the pores to open more, which lets you remove the hair easier. When plucking the brows, go from side to side, making sure the brows are even as you work. When shaping the brow, remove hairs that are on the outside or inside of where they should be. Also, don’t remove any hairs above the eyebrow; focus on those below where the natural shape of the brow is.

3. Fill In: If you over-pluck, use an eyebrow pencil that matches or is slightly lighter than your natural eyebrow shade to fill in the gaps. Likewise, many girls’ brows don’t fill in as much on the outer brow as they do toward the middle of the face. Draw an ideal winged shape with an eyebrow pencil, then blend until the look is totally natural.

To open close-set eyes, try removing the lowest hairs at the bottom of the brow line on the inside of your eye.To make eyebrows appear lighter, use a pencil one or two shades lighter than your brows after plucking them. Any lighter than that, and you’ll run the risk of two-toned brows.

For darker eyebrows, follow the same procedure, being careful not to go too much darker than your natural look. Eyebrow bleaching or tinting is not recommended, unless done by a professional; spilled product can spell disaster for your eyes.

Candice Yacono

(photo credit: coralmariela)

It doesn’t matter if you are 21 or 45, no one wants the appearance of wrinkles to brigade her skin. Now, I love the saying if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so I do not encourage young people to use anti-wrinkle creams and reducers just yet. The key is building defensive skin that is healthy and strong that will delay the appearance of wrinkles before.

To understand how to defend your skin against wrinkles, let’s understand what causes them. Wrinkles and fine lines are the trauma sign, cry for help that our skin gives us when it has been literally stretched to the limit. Our miraculously created bodies have natural defenses and are elastic by nature. Anytime our skin is stretched, or our physical structures grow, our body’s first response is to adapt and grow with us.

Wrinkles appear when our elasticity is weakened and our skin fails to stretch in and out of position like it once did. The elasticity of our skin is rooted in collagen and vitamins C and E. Therefore, the trick to smooth, wrinkle-free skin is not poking and prodding our skin with more anti-wrinkle treatments but making sure that our daily facial cleansers and body soaps and even some of our foods have the above ingredients.

Collagen is a protein that naturally occurs in the body. It supports flexibility of the skin and the connection of our body tissues. Since collagen is natural, you cannot “buy” it, but you can buy products that contain collagen boosters that will aid in your skin’s wrinkle defense.Vitamins C and E are collagen’s biggest support system. Vitamin C, found in many fruits and juices, promotes collagen production by thickening the dermis. It also reduces water loss and enhances the effectiveness of skin treatments such as micro-dermabrasion.

We all know that extreme sun exposure is wrinkle’s number one advocate, but, luckily, in our favor, vitamin E increases the efficacy of sunscreen lotion. Vitamin E is also great for preventing the peroxidation of fats, a leading source of cell membrane damage in the body. If our body’s cell membranes are intact, than the body’s elasticity is intact. Both vitamins are body-strengthening and empowering and will aid in wrinkle reduction but more importantly prevention.

What does all of this mean for you? Again, I cannot stress the importance of reading cosmetic ingredient labels and supporting products that are full of collagen boosters and these vitamins. Also look for food products that contain these vitamins. Finally, don’t speed up the appearance of wrinkles and lines by being rough with your skin. Avoid pulling on skin to apply make-up or rubbing skin harshly during rinses and treatments; try patting the skin softly instead.

Fighting wrinkles, one vitamin at a time!

Brittany Kaytrina Earls

(photo credit: tzofia)

Looking for a few skin care rules? Check out my 10 Commandments of smooth skin:

Thou shall never shave dry: Using a razor on your skin should always be paired with a moisturizer. It doesn’t matter how great, gentle and expensive your blade is, a lack of moisture will leave skin feeling dry or irritated. Also, shaving dry makes it more likely that you will cut yourself. Shaving dry can also lead to rough patches and dull-looking skin.

Thou shall not run from the sun: Extreme sun exposure is very harmful to the skin. However, dermatologists do recommend getting at least 15 minutes of direct sun exposure no more than three times a week. The sun enables vitamin D synthesis, which absorbs the calcium in our skin. Continue to apply sunscreen, but do not be afraid of a little sunshine.

Thou shall use skin care products that contain aloe vera: Aloe vera is a clear gel that is extracted from the leaves of a succulent plant. Since ancient times, it has proven useful in soothing irritated skin, healing wounds and restoring skin to its natural, healthy state. Many cosmetics and skin care treatments include aloe vera. If yours does not, add this natural miracle gel to your daily skin care regimen.

Thou shall moisturize your neck: Most of us are concerned with the appearance of our skin, particularly the skin on our face, and we spend countless dollars to achieve a flawless look. However, what’s the point of having a youthful-looking face if your neck reveals your true age or makes you look older than you actually are? Your neck is just as noticeable as your face. Use the same regimen on your neck as you do your face at least once a day to ensure youthful, smooth skin.

Thou shall use a mild, gentle soap: With all of the fragrances, scrubs and exfoliating products we put on our skin, doesn’t it deserve a gentle soap? A mild, white soap that lacks fragrance will cleanse our skin and help protect us from breakouts because it will act as a neutralizer.

Thou shall use a thick moisturizing cream: I know many of seek light-weight everything when it comes to treating our skin, but do not be bashful when it comes to moisturizing your skin. The thicker the moisturizer, the faster and more efficiently it works to restore skin and eliminate dryness.

Thou shall protect your skin from your hair: Hairstyles that swoop across your face will often lead to breakouts. To protect your face, you should try to keep your hair and your hair products off of your face.

Thou shall not neglect the treatment of your feet: Our feet are often the most overlooked part of our bodies, unless we are headed to the beach. To ensure soft skin on your feet, consider applying a heavy lotion or petroleum jelly to your feet at night and sleep with socks on to seal in moisture. Doing so will help prevent dry, cracked feet.

Thou shall remove make-up before you go to bed: Your pillow case is not a facial wipe. Sleeping with your make-up on will clog pores. Your face needs a break just like the rest of your body, so use a gentle soap to thoroughly remove make-up before heading to bed.

Thou shall drink plenty of water: Every skin care tip that you have ever received is null and void if you do not hydrate and refresh your body inside out. Doctors suggests drinking eight glasses of water a day.

Your skin will thank you!

Here is to commanding beautiful skin,

Brittany Kaytrina Earls

(photo credit: xtream_i)

When it comes to achieving smooth skin, applying delicate oils may leave you questioning, “Is it skin, or is it silk”?

It may sound strange and unfamiliar but there are many natural oils that will enhance and moisturize our skin. For instance, castor oil is an oil pressed from beans of the castor plant and is known to be rich in nature. Castor oil is mostly used in hair care products for darkening and texture purposes, but it is also very useful for removing blemishes, corns, warts and rough spots in the skin.

Corn oil is a heavy vegetable oil that you can add to skin cream or other skin treatments for ultra silky skin. Keep in mind, it should not be applied directly to the skin because of its thickness. It is rich in vitamin E, which helps skin to function and prevents deterioration. It is also very useful for curing dead, dry and flaky skin.

Eucalyptus oil is a great refresher and toner. This active ingredient has a soothing power and can heal irritated skin, transforming it into soft, silky skin. The most ironic thing is that this oil is useful for treating oily skin!

Eau De Cologne oil is a softener and has a great fragrance. Add Eau De Cologne to bath oils, soaps and body sprays for a softer, cleaner touch. Jasmine oil will have the same affect as Eau De Cologne. This oil is extracted from Jasmine flowers and adds a romantic aromatic touch to any beauty mixture.

You can find these oils in your local beauty store. Unless directed otherwise, you can apply them directly to your skin, but for an equal effect they can be added to your daily skin care regiments for a silky boost!One more tip: To keep your skin soft through the day, aim for your next lotion to contain one of these oils as an active ingredient! Always pay attention to the contents of any beauty product. Look for more oils and less alcohol! Here’s to silky skin!

Brittany Kaytrina Earls

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