•    Create a smooth base for makeup by applying a layer of petroleum jelly and then buffing your lips with a soft bristle toothbrush or a hot face flannel to remove dead skin cells
•    Next, apply a fantastic lip balm for kissably soft lips – Carmex is iconic and does the job perfectly – no need for expensive lip conditioners
•    Use a lip primer such as Laura Geller Lip and Eye Primer for a flawless base
•    When applying foundation, apply it to your lips so that makeup sticks better and prevents the lipcolor from bleeding into the skin around the lips
•    Line lips with a nude colored liner or in a similar shade to the lipstick you’ll be wearing – a defined mouth is sexy and really stands out
•    Now fill in your lipcolor by using a lipbrush to apply your chosen color to the lips. Blot with a tissue and then re-apply
•    To set the lips, place a very thin layer of one-ply tissue (tissue usually has two or three layers, you want just one layer) over the lips and then load your dusting brush with translucent powder and dust over the top
•    For extra staying power, finish with a seal of lipcote
•    Define your cupids bow by dotting highlighter on your cupids bow and blending in
•    Give your lips the illusion of fullness by dabbing the centre of the lip with a pearlescent gloss
•    If your lips are on the thin side, use your lipliner to carefully line the lips on the outside of the lipline, sticking as closely possible to the natural lipline as you can
•    If you think your lips are too big, use dark colors on your lips. Thin lips look better with light colors
•    To brighten your teeth, choose a lipstick with blue undertones or a cooler coloring – so think raspberry red and not a tomato red which is too warm and will make teeth look yellow
•    For added oomph when going to a party, use a little gold shimmer and pat onto your lips in the centre – GORGEOUS!
•    For adding volume to lips, choose a lipgloss such as DuWop’s Lip Venom – the original volumizer for lips – this contains special essential oils that cause your lips to swell, giving natural volume to even the thinnest of lips. We love and ADORE this product because it does what it says on the tin!
So there you have it, some fabulous ways to get gorgeous lips and a perfect finish. If you want to learn more about how to get the perfect lips, then The Event Makeup Artist is for you – a great makeup masterclass which will teach you all you need to know about perfect makeup application.

Stay beautiful!
Gillian Calmus
The Event Makeup Artist
www.theeventmakeupartist.com

We all know that some liquid foundations can be messy and oily, especially when you have oily skin. The products that have won the fight against oily skin are Revlon Colorstay and Laura Mercier Oil Free foundations. Laura Mercier may be a bit pricier than Revlon, but it gives a more natural look. Revlon Colorstay is a great product as well and comes at a great price. Both leave a light and weightless feeling as if no makeup was applied at all. These products have my vote for liquid foundation of 2012.

Organic Makeup:

It is only right to apply makeup that helps your skin. It’s important to look at the ingredients of any skin product. Many chemicals do more harm than good. Therefore, organic is the way to go. Not everyone can afford the pricey organic products that may be sold at Whole Foods. In this case, Physician’s Formula is the way to go. This company has a line out called “Organic Wear” which is free of bad chemicals and is cruelty free.

For those that don’t mind getting a little more for your buck, try SukiColor. This line is 100% natural and uses food based ingredients. This product is very good for dry skin because of its creamy texture. It can also used as different forms of makeup. One jar of SukiColor DNA be used as blush and lipstick.

Skin Care:

Your skin needs basic nutrients to keep it at it’s best. The easiest way to feed your skin is through vitamins.

Vitamin A and D: Go to your local drug store and purchase at tube of “A&D Ointment”. This great for the skin. Apply to face after cleaning.

Vitamin B: Metabolism! Keep your skin young!

Vitamin C: Heals wounds. Great in large doses.

Vitamin E: Antioxidant. Prevents skin damage from the sun.

Vitamin K: Helps regulate old flow. Eat green veggies!

All of these vitamins also come in supplement form. If you don’t like to take a fist full of pills to stat healthy, these vitamins also come in “gummy” form for adults. The best way to stay healthy is to have fun while doing it!
Author Bio:

Aphrodisios Ariston
Find any of my posts at the links below. I discuss fashion, lifestyle, and current events. I am currently traveling around the U.S. So my posts will be concerning different areas, maybe even yours.

Blog site: AphrodisiosAriston.blogspot.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/
Twitter: Twitter.com/#!/AphroAris

Black is the new black, and the only black. There is no substitute for black. Black can make a problem area seem to fade into the background. Just be careful not to dress in all black, as you might end up looking like a funeral director. Instead, decide which areas you’d most like to slim down, and cloak them in black. For example, if you are bottom heavy you may want to opt for black slacks; if your midsection bothers you, slim it down with a thick black belt.

Stripes on the horizon. Stripes are great – but only if worn the right way. Avoid horizontal stripes, which give the appearance of width. Instead, choose vertical stripes to slim down your look. If you’re feeling creative, combine stripes to really play with your body’s shape. For example, if you have small hips and a wide waist, you can create an hourglass figure by choosing a dress with vertical stripes in the waist area and horizontal stripes in the hip and chest areas.

Length. The best way to combat excessive width is with length. To create the illusion of length, dress “long.” That means you choose pants that are high-waisted, and that extend all the way to the floor. Avoid visually chopping your legs off with high-water or cropped pants, and make sure your long sleeves are long enough to extend all the way past your wrist.

Play with contrast. Slimming down is not just about camouflaging large areas. It is also about accentuating the positive. Remember that you can compound the slimming effect of a black skirt by topping it with a bright white shirt. By drawing attention to the areas you like the most, you are also detracting attention from the areas you’d like to slim down.

Your best bet is to combine all of these tips to create custom looks that are most flattering to your particular figure. Take a good, long look in the mirror and make a list of rules for yourself – rules built around your body and your goals for how you want to look – and keep those rules in mind when shopping and dressing. Most importantly, though, love yourself. You’ll be amazed at how amazing you look, no matter what, when you follow that one, key rule.

About the Author: Dorian Collura has always had an eye for fashion but his true passion lies in helping others. He currently attends an EKG technician training program and enjoys using sites like ekgtechniciantraining.net to learn more about his future career field.

Pros

There are many advantages to having permanent makeup applied. The many advantages are as follows:

Convenience. Permanent makeup makes getting ready for the day easier and faster. Women don’t have to spend hours applying makeup because the permanent version is already applied. Permanent makeup will never wash off and it will look great every time.It improves imperfections. If you have faint eyebrows or discolored lips, permanent makeup can help improve those cosmetic issues. Permanent makeup can define your eyebrows and fill in your lips to make them appear luscious and healthy.

You can save money. You can save a substantial amount of money every month on makeup by getting permanent applied only once. While permanent makeup may be expensive, you will save money in the long run by eliminating other cosmetic products from your monthly budget.

It’s relatively safe. Permanent makeup is safe if the procedure is performed by an experienced technician.When looking to get permanent makeup, you have to make sure that a trained and licensed technician will be doing the application. Using a licensed technician will reduce your risk of infection and injury during the application.

Cons

Permanent makeup is not the ideal solution for some women. While some women may enjoy this type of application, others may frown upon. Here are some of the disadvantages of permanent makeup:

It’s permanent. The fact that it is permanent may be troubling for some.Individuals have the right to change their minds and many women may want to change their makeup from time-to-time. With permanent makeup, individuals cannot change the color or the style of the makeup. They are stuck with this makeup for a very long time.

The procedure can be painful. Permanent makeup does involve some level of pain. The procedure consists of the technician applying a needle onto the skin, which is used to embed the ink into the top layer of the skin. This procedure can be quite painful for many women.

It may not be the safest procedure. If permanent makeup is not applied by a licensed technician, it can cause safety risks. Without the proper application, permanent makeup can cause infection, other diseases and severe injury to the face. It can fade overtime. It can be distressing to learn that permanent makeup can fade over a long period of time, causing unsightly areas on the face. Individuals may need additional touch up sessions in the future.

Permanent makeup is an elective procedure and it is up to the person to get it done. If you are looking for a permanent solution to makeup, this may be for you but do your research first. Choose what is best for you. It is better to learn about the procedure beforehand than being unhappy later on.

GUEST BLOGGER: Cindi Lewis writes for glossy.com an organic skincare and beauty products online retailer.

When I have five minutes to spare, I can often be found updating my nails with a fresh coat of varnish or a new colour. If I have longer, I might try something a little more adventurous – perhaps a classic French manicure or a mixture of shades. Luckily, to stay on trend this Christmas, I won’t have to book myself a salon appointment. Some great party nail essentials are available for you to try at home. Here’s how to create some of this season’s must-have looks:

Magnetic metals

Create a unique look every time with magnetic nail polishes. These great varnishes should be applied first as normal over a base coat. When the first layer has dried, apply a second coat to your nails one finger at a time. As this coat dries, use the small magnets included with the bottle to warp the metallic elements for an amazing nail art effect.

Nails Inc and Boots No. 17 have released some great shades including deep purples and emerald greens.

Cracking colours

Did you know crackle nail polish was about long before Katy Perry re-launched the trend in her OPI collection? There are many companies offering cracking nail varnishes at the moment, some of the best include OPI’s ‘Shatter’ Lacquers and China Glaze’s Crackle Glaze. Here’s how to apply for the perfect shatter:

Apply a base coat.
Choose a base colour (strong, contrasting base/shatter shades work best) and paint all nails.
When the base colour is dry, quickly apply a thick coat of shatter polish over the top.
Watch the shatter in progress.
Protect with a top coat.
Fast Fix

If you wish for salon worthy talons in little over 10 minutes, nail wraps are the way to go. Easy and speedy to apply, they’ll leave your nails with a wow factor others will envy – and last for ages! Nail Rock, Nails Inc and Nailease all have a range of eye-catching wrap designs to choose from, including animal prints, stripes and stars. Here’s how to apply them:

File, buff and clean your nails.
Pick a wrap closes to your cuticle size (trim to fit if needed).
Place at the cuticle edge and press down firmly onto your nail, from the middle outwards.
Remove any excess with a smooth nail file from underneath the nail.
Guest post contributed by Emma Beecroft , a fashion and beauty writer at Café La Moda. She loves writing on makeup and beauty trends. These days she’s busy with writing on skin care for winter.

Simmi Sahni
Café La Moda

Dior has me spellbound with their latest makeup sensation. It’s called “Velvet Eyes” & I’m hooked. For anyone on the go and wants something new, Velvet Eyes offers just the right thing!
The collection features a series of stick-on eyeliner decals!!!!! “Velvet Eyes” comes in 4 different & magnificent reusable options: two matte black options called “Effeft Velours”, one encrusted with black Swarovski micro-crystals called “Effeft Brilliant” and another beautifully embellished with a Swarovski crystal in the corner of each eye called “Effeft Haute Couture”.
These have been getting a lot of buzz in the fashion world and many make blogs and fashion guru’s are giving their thumbs up, including myself!
They are availible at Sephora & since I work there I got to try them out and they are easy to apply and they last ALL DAY/NIGHT. What’s also great is that they are reusable, but don’t take too much time pondering of whether you should spend the $59 a set, because these eye dazzlers are only availible for a limited time.

Dior also has me going gaga over their DiorSkin AirFlash Spray Foundation.  Its a spray/mist foundation that delivers an “airbrushed” effect. It also provides full coverage. Users can lighly spray their faces, but I like spray the back of my hand a bit and using a foundation blush to apply, because it gives me better control on the application. I have oily skin and I was impressed on how this mist foundation stayed on all day and covered my imperfections. I was even more impressed that I did not need concealer around my eyes either, and the pretty glow on my face that the foundation gave my skin.
DiorSkin AirFlash Spray Foundation is a great way to apply makeup and my favorite foundation to use on myself.

x-o-x-o
Aryanna