Category — Foundation

The festive party season is about to begin. Is your makeup ready? Make it special by adding a few special items to your makeup collection. Start with some radiant bronzer, –not too dark though. You want just enough to give a boost to dull wintertime complexions, but not so much that you are trying to look like you have a summertime tan.

Next, treat yourself to a new fragrance. This can be for you, or just for your house! Get some holiday incense or spritzer. Choose scents that remind you of the holidays like pine, nutmeg, oranges, or cloves. If you treat yourself to a fragrance, splurge on a perfume that is sophisticated and not to sweet.

Finally, get in the spirit. If you’re going to paint the town red, start with your lips. If your normally wear the same lip color day after day (a bad habit that I am into myself), then it’s time to brighten things up. Normally I wear a dark pink shade of lip color for my daily color. Recently I attended an event where I wore a black dress and carried a red feather boa. I had bright red lipstick to match. When I saw photos of myself in that bright red lipstick, I was stunned at how radiant I looked! I am planning to wear it more during the holiday season.

Suppose you have been at the beach all day basking in the sun and sand. You have a hot date but are late getting back to your hotel because of traffic problems or you just couldn’t find your car! Now you have less than 15 minutes to change clothes and make yourself presentable, otherwise you will be late and lose your dinner reservation. There is not really time to shower. What do you do?!

Believe it or not, there is time for a quick presto change-o rinse in the shower before you throw on your clothes, although probably not enough time to actually wash your hair, unless you have a wash-n-go style that you can default to. If you do, then go for it, otherwise, give your body a quick rinse so you’ll feel fresh.

What makeup items are critical?

The answer is: Eyeliner, mascara and powder!

That powder will soak up all the oil and sunscreen to give your skin that fresh matte look. This is definitely easier to do in the summer when you may have a little more color on your skin. Reapply your mascara and eyeliner, then you can freshen your lipstick in the car on the way to the restaurant, because like most beauty conscious babes, you probably keep lipstick in your purse.

Now you’re ready to go! Enjoy your dinner date!

Facial hair… I’m not talking about eyebrows, or those of us who have an unfortunate mustache that we have to wrestle with. I’m talking about that baby peach fuzz that is all over your face, and most of your body for that matter. On some women, that peach fuzz gets to be quite thick! It’s really distracting and makes it hard to get your foundation on smooth.

Believe it or not, some women choose to remove that hair. They use a facial hair remover, or even shave it. The thickest areas for this hair are on the lower cheek especially near and along the jaw. I have found that shaving looks ok, but it grows back stubbly and no one wants a rough face. Just trimming this fuzz with some tiny grooming scissors is an acceptable alternative. It won’t remove all the hair, but it will get it to an acceptable level where it isn’t so distracting.

If the idea of this is giving you the heebie jeebies, then just remember that this is no worse than having to trim a projecting nose hair, or an eyebrow hair that is growing wildly out of control. If you have never experienced a wild hair like this, just give yourself time. You probably just aren’t old enough yet. Those hairs tend to get wilder as we get older.

The expensive option, of course, is electrolysis if you can afford it. It will probably take more than one treatment to get the results you want.

What do we need to know about foundation? Well, first of all there is no “rule” that you MUST wear foundation at all. You have to evaluate your own look as well as your lifestyle and decide if you need it. Then what? Well, basically there are four types of makeup foundation:

Liquid Foundation – This is the most popular and widely used. It helps even out your skin tone, but if you have problem areas, you will likely need a concealer on those spots first. Liquid foundation comes in water based for oily skin or young acne prone skin, and it comes in an oil base for mature dry skin.

Cream Foundation – This is thicker and more opaque. It gives a much more flawless look and is great for mature aging skin. It can also work as a concealer.

Tinted Moisturizer – This is moisturizer and color in one bottle. It works well if you don’t need a whole lot of coverage or if you have a very active lifestyle (meaning lots of exercise, etc.)

Dual Finish Powder Foundation – You can apply this dry like a powder, or use a damp sponge. It works well if you have oily skin and don’t want it to appear to shiny.

As you grow older, you might want to re-evaluate your foundation to meet your skin’s changing needs. Almost all of these foundation options come with a sunscreen option, which is a fantastic idea. I personally start with a sunscreen, and then use a concealer for my problem areas, and finish off with a light powder on my oily areas.

Nothing is less appealing than a woman who has a clear line across her jawbone where her makeup ends and her bare skin is revealed. She’s tried to look her best, but instead she just looks plastic. What can you do to avoid this?

One of the most important thing you can do to avoiding the mask look is blend and choose the right color. If it disappears on your skin, then you know you have the right color. Be sure to look at your neck color in comparison with your face. Choose a warm color if your neck is much darker than your face, which is a common problem for women who have been careful to sunscreen their face but have forgotten their neck!

When applying foundation with your fingertip or with a sponge, the thing to remember is that you probably don’t need it all over your entire face. The problem areas where your color is uneven is where you want to concentrate. If you do your entire face, you are much more likely to end up with the mask.

Use the minimum amount foundation that you feel you can. The heavier your foundation is, the more likely you will end up with the mask look. Foundation will not do much to get rid of fine lines. In fact, it may make them more obvious. If you have a lot of fine lines, you might do better with a more forgiving tinted moisturizer instead of liquid or cream foundation.

Blending is extremely important. If you do wear it over your entire face, be sure to extend it over your jawline to avoid that boundary look. Also – check near your hairline to make sure it is well blended there as well. Look at yourself in different lighting as well.

If you have a nice summer tan from your last weekend of summer over Labor Day, you should change your eyeshadow to really bring it out. Hopefully you were wearing sunscreen to avoid too much of a tan, but a little bit of color is probably unavoidable, so let’s make the most of what you do have.

A dark smokey eyeshadow look is not recommended when you have a nice tan. Instead, try a very bright light shimmery almost whitish color. Cover the whole lid with this. Then try a brownish color just inside the socket crease, and a very thin line of the brown under the eyes. Apply a little of the shimmery color toward the inside of the eyes as well. This will really make your eyes pop.

Peach colors for your cheeks and your lips will go well if you have a summer tan. Try a nice gloss on the lips with a peachy color, and even a little shimmer.

These tips will make your features contrast nicely with your tan. Be sure to double up on the moisturizer since your skin is likely to be try when you have been in the sun.