Can your glasses be a fashion statement? Or are you just better off ditching them and wearing contacts all the time to give access to your eyes?

Glasses can definitely be a fashion statement. They can come in handy if you want that sultry, sexy, studious look. You can change your frames and have different styles. Choose frames that fit your face shape. This is extremely important, and much easier if you bring a friend with you when you are choosing them to give and outsiders’ opinion. Or, rely on the experience of the frame fitter at the optometry office to help choose a frame to flatter your face. Sometimes it’s worth a little bit more money to get the frames that truly do look the best and are flattering so that you don’t get hung up and feeling like a “four eyes”.

One little known advantage to wearing glasses occasionally, is that they can help hide circles under your eyes when you are tired! Of course, if you get your beauty sleep, this won’t be necessary!

Contacts do help you see better overall though, especially your peripheral vision. You could have fun and experiment with different eye colors. It is a little easier to apply makeup when you are wearing contacts as well.

In short, you can be beautiful in either glasses or contacts. The important thing it to make the most of your options

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!

When applying eyeliner, start with a pencil that is not sharp. This sounds strange, but it’s easier to apply if the pencil is slightly used rather than pointed and sharp. You’ll be able to blend it better and get a softer look.

Start near the outside of your eye and work your way toward the center. You will likely not need to apply the eyeliner around your entire eye. That effect can sometimes make your eyes actually appear smaller. Try covering two thirds of your eyelid.

Keep the right in your eyelash line. Otherwise you’ll end up with uncovered space in between that looks awkward. Apply your eyeliner before your eye shadow, and before your mascara. You can always go back and retouch it after the eye shadow if the shadow dust gets into it. Use the smudge end of the eyeliner pencil to soften the look. Rarely will you want to go for the harsh eye liner look, unless you are actually going for that vamp look, in which case you’ll want a liquid eye liner to achieve that look.

An eye pencil is part of my makeup mainstay. It works with my mascara to define my eyes and give me the illusion of long luscious lashes! Some tips for using an eye pencil:

Don’t sharpen to a sharp point.
You need to be able to smudge it gently to blend.

Don’t outline your entire eye.
This will actually make your eye look smaller! Most people have best results using it on the outer 3/4 of the lid (upper lid only or both lids).

Make it work with your mascara. And don’t over do.
It shouldn’t draw attention to its self. This is a basic rule for almost any makeup. You want a natural look to make people look at your eyes, not your eyeliner.

Forget about the liquid liner.
Liquid eyeliner is fine if you are going for the vamp look — which may be exactly what you want for certain occasions! But probably not for every day. Liquid liner is really hard to apply without a very steady hand, and it doesn’t blend at all. It is only for harsh lines.

Use Neutral colors.
Consider browns, charcoal and muted blacks. True black is too harsh. If you use brown, you can always go back and add darker colors for more effect using another pencil or even eyeshadow.

Using a white eyeliner is a nifty trick for when you are tired or looking run down. Use the white liner on the inner side of your lower lid. It brightens your eye and widens it’s look. Tyra Banks uses that trick a lot, and shows it in the video I posted last week.

For example, you can get the Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil usually for around $3 or less.

This easy and inexpensive secret really makes your eyes pop!