I am not a liquid foundation girl. Although I tend to have slightly splotchy skin due to all my freckles and sun damage, I still steer clear of overall foundation, especially the liquid kind. I just prefer a more natural fresh look as well as feeling. It’s just a personal preference. I am able to even out my skin tones by other means.

So, after I apply concealer to spots that need to be hidden, and sunscreen over everything, I finish the look with a powdered foundation. I use Revlon ColorStay Mineral Foundation in the color “fair”. It has an SPF 10. For some people, this product could feel very drying. I think that since I use it over my regular sunscreen that isn’t a problem for me. It fills in my pores and makes everything smooth and even. It also lasts a long time and stays in place. It’s so much easier to get a smooth even look with a powdered foundation as opposed to a liquid one. I use a big fluffy brush to apply it.

Remember, liquid foundation is not a preference for everyone, and this is a great option if you’re looking for an alternative.

Trying to figure out your eyebrow shape is tricky. Your eyebrows are one of the most prominant features on your face. Personally I feel there is a recent trend to over-groom and trim eyebrows, which is a mistake. If more women took the time to research and actually see how their own eyebrow should be shaped, rather than just attacking it with the tweezers, they would probably be happier with their results.

I found a great video that shows how to line up a stick with various parts of your eye and face in order to determine where your brows should be. Pay close attention to when she says line it up with your “iris” or the outer corner of the tear duct. And then just be careful not to over-do it!

Under eye circles are the root of all evil for some girls! Waking up in the morning, heading to the mirror and realizing that you have those awful dark markings can be a horrible surprise. So what do you do? Do you throw on all the makeup in your collection just to cover them up? Not exactly.

Before we get to how to fix it though, there are a few preventive measures you can take to stop them before they begin: Always get enough sleep at night. Beauty rest does wonders! Also; rubbing your eyes sleepily in the morning may be the cause of these cruel circles! Try to avoid doing so if possible.

Now, on to what you’ve all been waiting for! Making the dark circles fade away like magic! The first step, as with any makeup, should be to put on a nice moisturizer. From my experience, the next best thing to do is to apply a concealer directly to the circles. Instead of rubbing it in with a finger or a sponge, pat it with your finger until it is covering that darkness!

Now simply cover with foundation and a light powder, and you’re done! Bye bye circles!

I’ve been trying to clean up some of the links on the free makeup samples page, and I have also just added seven new makeup and beauty products that have free sample offers!  They include these awesome finds:

• FREE Loreal Paris “Ever Pure” Sample
• FREE Dove Hair Care
• FREE Shampoo samples from JOICO
• FREE Sephora Bare Escentuals matte foundation and baby buki brush
• FREE Mary Kay Makeup Color Card (eye and cheek color)
• FREE Loreal Paris EverPure Sample
• FREE Rouge Magazine -Get free makeup and beauty offers from this totally free magazine.
• FREE BOSS Orange fragrance sample (Available Internationally)

Click over and get the freebies before they are gone!  Have fun!

In the final installment of the actual products that I use regularly as part of my daily routine, I will discuss my perfume. There are a few different ones that I like, most of which are not too expensive, but this is my favorite. It’s L’Air du Temps from Nina Ricci.

This perfume was first given to me in a tiny little half ounce bottle from my grandmother as a gift when I was younger. I fell in love with it immediately! It has been around a very long time and is not as popular as it used to be, but for me it’s perfect. The reason I like it is that it is very light and doesn’t offend. It has a gentle scent that is somewhat flowery without being to sickly sweet like most floral scented perfumes. I have very little worry of “overdoing it” with this perfume like I do with some others occasionally.

Generally I use the Eue de Toilette spray, and the talcum powder is also very nice. The price is certainly reasonable. It is a perfect compliment to my every day beauty routine.

Straight Sexy Hair using Smooth & Seal spray for your hair. My hair stylist first introduced me to this product. He and another stylist were actually fighting over the last bottle of this product in the salon that day. He always used it on me, but I just didn’t realize how fabulous it was until we almost had a cat fight at the beauty salon!

This isn’t a traditional “hair spray”, although you do spray it on your hair. I have naturally wavy (sometimes frizzy!) hair, but I love to wear it smooth and straight most of the time. This stuff makes it shine and it also makes my flat iron glide right through my hair without pulling or sticking.

It works best for me if I blow dry my hair until it’s about 80% dry, then spray it with this product, and then flat iron it. At that point it is usually completely dry and gorgeous. Another plus is that it also seems to take care of the static problem that dry straight hair can often have, especially in the winter.

In the never ending search for the perfect miracle cream to stop these wrinkles, I am currently using Loreal “Advanced Revitalift Anti-wrinkle concentrate”. I have not been using it very long, so the jury is still out on this product for me as to whether I will continue to purchase it in the future or not.

From what I have learned so far, it does make my skin feel very silky and not gummy like many other moisturizers. It does seem to produce some toning to my skin as well. I wish I could say that it has erased my wrinkles, but I think it will truly take a real miracle to do that. Either a miracle or something more drastic like surgery, which I am not exactly keen on doing. My vanity has not gone there yet!

The Revitalift cream comes in a very handy tube, which I really like, as opposed to those awkward jars that most creams come packaged in. This should make it easy for travel.

So, while I wait to see if it truly has wondrous effects, I do know that I already like it better than most other similar products I have tried. I wonder if others will have the same beauty results.

For my continuing reviews of my daily products, I am now to my lip color. For several years now, I have been a huge fan of CoverGirl Outlast All Day Lip Color. The color I wear most often is #815.

This product comes with two parts. First is the color part. It reminds me of a paint. You must apply it to dry lips. It won’t look good on lips that are already very dry or flaking though. After you apply the color, you wait a minute or so and then apply the top moisturizer coat. That part is clear and glides on very smoothly. If you wear it with out the moisturizer, it will feel very drying and uncomfortable, not to mention that it won’t look that good. I have found that a very light coat will give me a lot of color that lasts a long time.

As for it’s lasting ability – I have found that it lasts a very long time! Even all day, including eating and through some “light” kissing LOL. However, greasy foods will cause it to come right off onto your napkin. In fact the only way to remove this lip color is with some cold cream greasy type makeup remover, or some sort of oil based remover like vaseline.

It seems to be a pretty good value when you consider how long it will last. However I usually use up the moisturizer tube long before I run out of the color. Fortunately I can buy more tubes of the moisturizer separately without having to buy more of the entire product.

They have a huge variety of colors to choose from, and the long lasting look is definitely my favorite part!

My daily makeup routine includes Almay Powder Blush. I use “pink” number 140. It seems to be the color that is best suited for me, and I have had trouble finding similar colors in other brands. This has resulted in me using this for a long time. Recently when I did finally locate some after having trouble, I bought 3 packs of it so that it would last me a long time before I had that trouble again!

This blush does not have that shimmery look to it, which I hate. I don’t like a shimmery blush because it tends to accentuate my wrinkles (I know! I can’t believe I am admitting I have wrinkles!!). It is also not overly scented like a lot of other blushers. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s highly scented makeup which conflicts with the scents I actually want to wear.

It blends easily and looks very natural. I often use it to add a little color just under my brow area as well, so that I don’t look so pale.

It doesn’t last as long as an “all day” type blush would last, but I find that it blends better than the cream blushers do, which definitely meets my needs. The application brush is a little small for my needs though, so I usually use one of my nice long-handled brushes to apply it.

My daily makeup routine includes Almay “one coat nourishing mascara”. I prefer the “thickening” variety, in the color black.

I have tried a lot of different mascaras over the years, but I always seem to come back to this one. It has never let me down. I am a contact lens wearer, so my mascara brand is very important. This one does not flake off, it’s easy to apply, and it really makes my lashes look thicker. I usually only need one coat to get the effect I want, which lives up to it’s name!

It’s easy to wash off with soap and water. I don’t normally wear the waterproof one since it’s much harder to remove. This one will run if I get really wet (like surfing!), but it’s not too bad if I’m just crying at a beautiful wedding.

It’s super comfortable, very affordable, and gives me the look I want. I have been using it for many years and will continue.