Do you notice changes in your skin and coloring that leave you wondering what to do next? Have these changes affected your confidence and self esteem?
If so, you are not alone.
I hear this consistently from women coming to me for a new look: “I just turned 40+ and everything is different. I don’t look the same and I don’t know what to do. The make-up I have been using doesn’t seem to work anymore.”
As we age, the vibrancy we once experienced in our youth starts to fade. The more we have lived and enjoyed the outdoors, the more it shows in our skin. As we transition from our reproductive years into our non-reproductive years our hormones change and this wreaks havoc with what we are used to doing to take care of ourselves.
Have you noticed any of the following:
Change in skin tone and elasticity
More blotchiness & sun damage
Less eyebrows and thinning of the hair
Lackluster hair and faded color
Here are the top 5 things you can do to look younger and more vibrant:
1. Find a hairdresser who specializes in color and can create a look that enhances your best features. Maintain your color and cut every 4 – 6 weeks.
2. Get a professional make-up lesson and learn how to use Mineral Make-Up with a built in SPF. This make-up looks natural and provides great coverage. The higher the SPF, the better the coverage. My favorite of course is Face Options with an SPF of 26. I designed this simple make-up system for business women on the go. Click here to find out more.
3. Re-evaluate your skin care regime – if you don’t have one, find a good esthetician and start using one now. Stay away from products that irritate the skin and cause inflammation. New studies have found that these products increase free radical production and the aging process.
4. Drink more water. Clean water keeps you hydrated and allows for healthier looking skin and body tone. Half your weight in ounces is the measurement recommended these days. If you weigh 140 pounds you would drink 70 ounces of water per day.
5. Avoid the largest contributors to aging: sun exposure, tanning beds, cigarette smoke – 1st and 2nd hand smoke, alcohol, caffeine and fast or processed foods.
We experience life cycles very much like the seasonal cycles of Mother Nature. The more you do now to take care of yourself the more rewards you will reap later. The good news is…it is never too late to start taking care of you. Join me for a class and I will share my beauty secrets with you…
Make-Up Workshop in Pasadena, CA – Saturday, November 17th
Bertaut Reiki 1 in Pasadena, CA – Sunday, November 18th
Make-Up Workshop in Pleasant Hill, CA – Saturday, December 1st
Bertaut Reiki 1 in Concord, CA – Sunday, December 2nd
Inner & Outer Beauty Retreat Northern CA– January 11 – 13th
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Why Foundation...Let Me Count the Reasons
Foundation is the key to your make-up regime. Without it, you won’t have a truly finished look. With a quality product, you won’t irritate or block your pores. Just remember to wash your face nightly with a good skin care cleanser, not soap. (Soap dries your skin and clogs pores.)
Here are the top 5 benefits of wearing foundation regularly:
1. It smooths and evens out your skin tone. No more blotchiness!
2. It brings more attention to your eyes.
3. It allows color cosmetics to blend well for a natural look.
4. It offers a protective barrier against the elements. Women who wear foundation regularly maintain younger looking skin longer. Face Options, Foundation provides an SPF of 26.
5. It gives a finished and more credible look. Whether for business or your personal life, you’ll look and feel better wearing foundation.
Here are the top 5 benefits of wearing foundation regularly:
1. It smooths and evens out your skin tone. No more blotchiness!
2. It brings more attention to your eyes.
3. It allows color cosmetics to blend well for a natural look.
4. It offers a protective barrier against the elements. Women who wear foundation regularly maintain younger looking skin longer. Face Options, Foundation provides an SPF of 26.
5. It gives a finished and more credible look. Whether for business or your personal life, you’ll look and feel better wearing foundation.
Click on the pictures below to see the dramatic difference foundation can make. Notice how the focus changes from the redness in the skin or circles under the eyes to the eyes.
Corey has a lot of red in her skin. She wears the Face Options color Resume for her foundation. The higher the SPF the better the coverage. Resume smoothes out Corey's color and she loves it.
Tonia has great skin...however the darkness around her eyes distract from her overall look. Notice how the foundation smoothes out her coloring giving her a brighter more credible look. Tonia wears Fortune foundation and now sells Face Options to her clients in her skin care business.
My favorite type of foundation is Mineral Powder - loose vs compact - because they are the closest to natural that you can find in a make-up. It provides medium to full coverage and is an excellent alternative to daytime make-up.
Mineral powders function as a foundation, concealer, powder and sunblock in one step. The products manufactured with no synthetic chemicals are virtually irritation free and furnish protection from UV rays and the environment.
Check the ingredient label as you should only have Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide as your sun protection, iron oxides for color, mica for shimmer and a couple of other ingredients to help smooth out the texture of the product.
More than 6 - 7 ingredients means the manufacturer has added fillers to make the product less expensive and this translates to less coverage and not as natural of a look on the skin.
As a general rule - the higher the SPF the better the coverage.
Take the Face Options Color Quiz
View the Database Foundation Colors
Brows to Frame Your Face Beautifully
Before: The untamed brow
Above: I frequently see eyebrows that are uneven but here is an example with cowlicks as well. The brows are growing in different directions making them more of a challenge to maintain.After: Grooming and Shaping
Each brow has its own unique shape. Matching two brows as closely as possible is the goal. I trimmed, tweezed and filled in her brows with iBrowser 2, to give them a more balanced and groomed look. She was very excited about her new brows.
Brows are probably the single most important feature of your face. I once had a client in a make-up class who I thought was angry at me. Every time I looked at her, she seemed to be scowling. After closer examination, I realized the shape of her brows made her look mad. They both went up to a sharp point at the arch of the brow, seeming to furrow her eyebrows. I grabbed my tweezers and scissors and went to work. I took the points off the top of her brows, trimmed and reshaped the rest. She looked like a new person!
Too much or too little in eyebrows can change the entire expression of your face. It is important to learn how to groom and trim them, if necessary, to bring out your best features.
Use a pencil or long brush handle to gauge the following:
The inner brow should line up with the side of the nose and inner corner of the eye.
The outer brow should line up with the midpoint of the lip, the side of the nose and the outer corner of the eye.
The arch should line up with the side of the nose and the outer edge of the iris (while looking straight ahead).
If you’re a brunette, select a brow color slightly lighter than your natural hair color. If you’re blonde, choose a brow color close to your root color.
The most natural brow color is a grayish/taupe color - (Face Options color - iBrowser). Variations of this color can be shaded with black for those with dark brown or black hair - (Face Options color iBrowser 2). For red hair a warm brown is best - (Face Options color - Impact).
Ready to create attractive brows? Using a synthetic angle brush, outline the top of the brow first and fill in from there. You want a smooth, even line to give your brows their shape and arch. For a more natural look, use the side of your brow brush or pencil when applying color. For the outer portion of the brow from the arch out, avoid drawing a curve, which produces a surprised, unnatural look. Instead, draw a straight line toward the line of the upper opening to the ear.
Color for Cheeks and Lips
Do you know the real difference between warm and cool colors? Warm colors have yellow in them, while cool colors contain some blue. Colors also have intensity, according to whether they are bright (high-intensity) or soft (low-intensity). Color value is how light or dark a color is. These concepts can help you choose the right colors for cheeks and lips.
Your natural coloring should indicate the best intensity and value of colors for your face. If you have high contrast in your coloring (dark hair and light skin), you will tend to be able to wear more intensity and deeper values in color. If your coloring is fair, you’ll tend to wear softer colors better.
Personal Chef Morgan B has warm coloring with red hair and a porcelain skin tone. Here is her headshot taken by one of my favorite photographers Karen Maze (see more at http://www.karenmaze.com/) Morgan has fair skin with medium contrast between hair and skin. She looks very natural in warmer shades. I used Face Options blush color Shares which is a warm pink blush and Cappuchino lip liner with Rosy Idea lip sheer.
Coordinate blush and lip colors by staying in the same color family. Use pink tones with pink, red tones with red and warm tones with warm. (The exception to this is using a natural “cheek” blushing pink with low-intensity, warm or cool colored lipstick.)
To select blush, hold color choices next to the cheek area to see which color enhances your coloring the best. If you are still not sure which color to choose, choose a blush color that corresponds to the natural color of your lips. Enjoy the natural daytime look this produces!
Your natural coloring should indicate the best intensity and value of colors for your face. If you have high contrast in your coloring (dark hair and light skin), you will tend to be able to wear more intensity and deeper values in color. If your coloring is fair, you’ll tend to wear softer colors better.
Personal Chef Morgan B has warm coloring with red hair and a porcelain skin tone. Here is her headshot taken by one of my favorite photographers Karen Maze (see more at http://www.karenmaze.com/) Morgan has fair skin with medium contrast between hair and skin. She looks very natural in warmer shades. I used Face Options blush color Shares which is a warm pink blush and Cappuchino lip liner with Rosy Idea lip sheer.Coordinate blush and lip colors by staying in the same color family. Use pink tones with pink, red tones with red and warm tones with warm. (The exception to this is using a natural “cheek” blushing pink with low-intensity, warm or cool colored lipstick.)
To select blush, hold color choices next to the cheek area to see which color enhances your coloring the best. If you are still not sure which color to choose, choose a blush color that corresponds to the natural color of your lips. Enjoy the natural daytime look this produces!
Lipliner Technique Made Easy
If you want to look more kissable, skillfully applied lip liner can do the trick. Balancing shape and fullness is key to the effect you want. You’ll want to look straight into a mirror (not at an angle), with your mouth closed, in order to see the true shape of your lips.
1. Start with the bow of your lips, by drawing a “bird in flight” pattern. Make sure that this line is smooth and even before going to the next step.
2. Start lining the center of the lower lip, making adjustments for fullness by lining on the inside, outside or directly on the lip line.
3. Extend the “bird in flight” to the corners of the lips meeting the lower lip line at the inner corner. Beware of the square lip look.
4. Extend the lower lip line to meet at the inner corner of the upper lip. As you line, make sure to have both lines meet to form a corner and not a square.
5. Use a firm lip brush to blend the inner portion of the liner for a blended look before adding lip color.
Avoid using dark lip liner with a much lighter color inside. This look distracts and takes attention away from an otherwise attractive make-up application.
Even if you’re already doing fine in the kissability department, lip liner is worth the extra time it takes to apply!
1. Start with the bow of your lips, by drawing a “bird in flight” pattern. Make sure that this line is smooth and even before going to the next step.
2. Start lining the center of the lower lip, making adjustments for fullness by lining on the inside, outside or directly on the lip line.
3. Extend the “bird in flight” to the corners of the lips meeting the lower lip line at the inner corner. Beware of the square lip look.
4. Extend the lower lip line to meet at the inner corner of the upper lip. As you line, make sure to have both lines meet to form a corner and not a square.
5. Use a firm lip brush to blend the inner portion of the liner for a blended look before adding lip color.
Avoid using dark lip liner with a much lighter color inside. This look distracts and takes attention away from an otherwise attractive make-up application.
Even if you’re already doing fine in the kissability department, lip liner is worth the extra time it takes to apply!
Coloring the "Windows to Your Soul"
Want to help your eyes light up your face? With properly chosen colors, eye make-up makes your eyes magnetic and appealing.
Your eye color is accentuated best by colors in the same color family—for blue eyes, something bluish, for brown eyes something from beige to chocolate. Avoid shades brighter than your eye color, however, which tend to overpower the eye. To judge which colors will look best, hold shadow colors next to the eye in front of a mirror.
Eyes can sport a different color theme from foundation and blush as long as the eye theme matches the natural coloring of the eye itself. However, beware of using a warm eye color with skin tones that look better in cool colors. (Warm colors have yellow in them, while cool colors contain blue.) Sometimes a warm shadow that matches eye color does not look good on a yellow skin tone. The effect will appear “muddy-looking” and get darker over time.
Purple and lavender shadows look best on blue, or black/brown eyes. For other eye colors, purple tends to accentuate the red veins in the eyes. Over time, the eyes look tired and dull.
For eyeliner, select a color that matches the color of the outer rim of the iris. For instance, brown eyes with a navy or deep gray rim can wear brown shadow with navy or deep gray eyeliner.
Whatever your eye color, stay away from bright eye shadow... unless you are very young or happen to be aiming for a streetwalker look!
Eye Source - Shadow Colors
Your eye color is accentuated best by colors in the same color family—for blue eyes, something bluish, for brown eyes something from beige to chocolate. Avoid shades brighter than your eye color, however, which tend to overpower the eye. To judge which colors will look best, hold shadow colors next to the eye in front of a mirror.
Eyes can sport a different color theme from foundation and blush as long as the eye theme matches the natural coloring of the eye itself. However, beware of using a warm eye color with skin tones that look better in cool colors. (Warm colors have yellow in them, while cool colors contain blue.) Sometimes a warm shadow that matches eye color does not look good on a yellow skin tone. The effect will appear “muddy-looking” and get darker over time.
Purple and lavender shadows look best on blue, or black/brown eyes. For other eye colors, purple tends to accentuate the red veins in the eyes. Over time, the eyes look tired and dull.
For eyeliner, select a color that matches the color of the outer rim of the iris. For instance, brown eyes with a navy or deep gray rim can wear brown shadow with navy or deep gray eyeliner.
Whatever your eye color, stay away from bright eye shadow... unless you are very young or happen to be aiming for a streetwalker look!
Eye Source - Shadow Colors
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Eyeshadow and Eyeliner Without Tears
Skillful application of eye shadow and eyeliner makes your eyes look awake, appealing and vibrant. Fortunately, the techniques you need to master for this are rather easy.
Avoid droopy eyes by following the line of the lower eyelid as a guide for shadow placement. Extend an imaginary line following the angle of the outer portion of the lower lid to the brow. Keep eye shadow inside this imaginary line.
For lining your eyes, a flat-topped, synthetic eyeliner brush and eye shadow give great results. Follow these steps for eyeliner that enhances the shape of your eyes and brings lots of compliments.
1. Work the eye shadow into the brush along the entire length of the brush.
2. Tap off any excess to avoid shadow falling on the cheek.
3. Hold your brush like a pencil. Start by placing shadow at the outer corner of the eye, working your way in, towards your nose. Place your brush on top of the lashes and press firmly onto the skin at the base of the lashes. Repeat this step all the way across the lid until you have a fine, well-defined outline of your upper lid. For more of an almond shape, use more liner on the outer corners of the eyes.
Be patient in learning this new technique. It may take three or even four times before it feels natural to you. Once you learn it, though, and get used to the natural drama it adds to your eyes, you won’t go back!
Avoid droopy eyes by following the line of the lower eyelid as a guide for shadow placement. Extend an imaginary line following the angle of the outer portion of the lower lid to the brow. Keep eye shadow inside this imaginary line.
For lining your eyes, a flat-topped, synthetic eyeliner brush and eye shadow give great results. Follow these steps for eyeliner that enhances the shape of your eyes and brings lots of compliments.
1. Work the eye shadow into the brush along the entire length of the brush.
2. Tap off any excess to avoid shadow falling on the cheek.
3. Hold your brush like a pencil. Start by placing shadow at the outer corner of the eye, working your way in, towards your nose. Place your brush on top of the lashes and press firmly onto the skin at the base of the lashes. Repeat this step all the way across the lid until you have a fine, well-defined outline of your upper lid. For more of an almond shape, use more liner on the outer corners of the eyes.
Be patient in learning this new technique. It may take three or even four times before it feels natural to you. Once you learn it, though, and get used to the natural drama it adds to your eyes, you won’t go back!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
