How to Apply Lipstick

Step-by-Step How to Apply Lipstick
Applying Lipstick to Enhance your Lip Shape

Applying lipstick with moisturizers and sun protection is one effective way to protect the lips from weather changes. Moisturizing lipsticks have the smallest amount of pigment, because pigment dries your lips.

Today, most lipsticks contain some kind of moisturizer like Vitamin E, collagen, or amino acids, and some even contain sun block.

Lipstick adds the finishing touch to makeup by bringing the other colors you have applied to your face into harmony.

Applying lipstick after drawing a crisp lip outline is an important key in the finishing touch since it helps to keep the color from bleeding.

First - Apply Lipliner (Lip Pencil)

Before applying lipstick, use a freshly sharpened lip pencil (lip liner) either in the same color as the lipstick or slightly darker color. Avoid colors that are more than one shade darker (or lighter).

Here is the correct sequence to follow when lining your lips and applying lipstick:

1. To make applying lipstick easier, rub a small amount of moisturizer on your lips (some women apply lipstick at the dinner table and even while driving).


2. Outline the center edge of your upper lip with lip liner.

3. Move to the center of your bottom lip and draw a short, horizontal line.

4. Now carefully line the corners of your mouth. If your lips are asymmetric, refer to correcting irregularly shaped lips section below.

5. Connect the lines drawn at the top and bottom center of your lips with the lines drawn at the corners of your mouth.

Then... Apply Lipstick

6. Use a small, firm lip brush and begin applying lipstick; this gives you more control over direction and achieves a perfect edge. Relax your jaw so that your mouth is open slightly and brush on color starting in the middle of the upper lip.

7. Blot your lips gently on a tissue, being careful not to smudge or remove too much color. Then brush on a second coat of lip color to create a deeper effect.

8. For a shiny finish, use a clear or tinted lip gloss after applying lipstick. For a matte effect, lightly dust your lips with translucent powder using a powder brush.

Applying Lipstick to Correct Irregularly Shaped Lips

If you want to correct lips that are irregular or asymmetric in shape and create the illusion of almost perfectly balanced lips, it would be easier to do before you apply color to the lips.

To balance the appearance of your lips while lining (before applying lipstick), first, divide the mouth into sections, and work on one section at a time until all the dotted lines are connected. And be aware that matte colors make lips look thinner while shimmery, glossy colors make your lips look fuller.

Make Thin Lips Look Bigger

Use a lip liner to outline your lips just outside their natural edge, making the outline slightly wider on the top and bottom. Then brush on a layer of lip color inside the outline. Spread on a layer of lip gloss on top of your lip color.

Make Full Lips Look Smaller

Apply foundation or concealer to the edges of your lips to blur the edge. Use a lip liner to outline your lips just inside the lip line, then brush on a layer of matte lip color.


Make Uneven Lips Look Balanced

Enlarge a thin top lip by outlining the upper lip just outside the edge using a lip liner, then outline the lower lip drawing the line on the on the natural edge. Brush on lip color inside the line, applying more color to the thinner half of the lip.

Make Shapeless Lips More Defined

Outline upper lip with a lip liner to emphasize the "v" in the middle before applying lipstick. Draw the line just outside the lip edge of the bottom lip to make it look fuller. Brush on dark, matte lip colors for even more definition.

Make Uneven Toned Lips Look Even Colored

Cover upper and lower lips with a little foundation. Outline lips with lip liner. Choose the lipstick color, then begin applying lipstick by brushing a darker shade onto the lighter lip and a lighter shade onto the darker lip.

Applying Lip Gloss

Lip gloss is used to add extra shine after applying lipstick. It can be tinted or colorless and you can use it alone or over lipstick for kissing. Apply only to the center of your lips since it tends to 'bleed' beyond the lip edges. Lip gloss is not recommended for use on mature skins.

How to Apply Eye Shadow

Step-by-Step How to Apply Eye Shadow


There are two basic ways to apply eye shadow in shape shading, "rounded" and "winged". Now you want to determine what is the best shading shape in your case. You can try applying one shading shape (rounded) to one eye and the other shading shape (winged) to the other eye (this would save you time). Then go look in the mirror and see which one looks best on you.

Experiment and try all the different shading. You may be surprised to find that several of them may look great on you (the rounded technique seems to look good on the majority of women).

If you don't have much room between the eyelid crease of your eye and your eyebrow then apply eye shadow using the winged shape (unless there is some sagging).


Winged Shading


Looks best where the skin towards the corner of the eye is not sagging such as on younger women because their skin is still firm.






Round Shading

Use when your brow bone markedly curves around the eye and don't use the winged style because it will make any sag more obvious.








Rounded Eye Shadow Application

1. Highlighter eye shadow across the eyelid, from the lash line to slightly beyond the crease, and all the way to the eyebrow.

2. Medium shade eye shadow to the eyelid and smudge under the bottom eyelashes.

3. Accent eye shadow in the wedge at the outer corner of the eye and blend well.

4. Line upper and lower lashes with eyeliner pencil.


Advanced Rounded Eye Shadow Application

1. Highlighter eye shadow across the eyelid, from the lash line to slightly beyond the crease, and all the way to the eyebrow.

2. Mid tone eye shadow on inner corner of lid.

3. Accent eye shadow on crease and in wedge; blend all well.

4. Line upper and lower lashes with with eyeliner pencil.


Winged Eye Shadow Application

1. Highlighter eye shadow from lash line to brow.

2. Medium shade eye shadow color on lid.

3. Accent eye shadow in wedge at outer corner; blend well.

4. Line upper and lower lashes with eyeliner pencil.



How to Apply Eye Shadow to Create Shape...

Now that you know the shape of the skin surrounding your eye you are ready to try to apply eye shadow in several highlight and shadow combination's to help you find the one that complements you the best. Remember that the crease of the eye is always shaded. Here are some of the choices for shading and highlighting that you can try:

* Apply eye shadow to highlight the eyelid, round the shading: Best suited for hooded eyes and older deep set eyes.
* Highlight the eyelid, wing the shading: Best suited for younger deep set eyes.
* Apply eye shadow to shade the eyelid and round the shading: Best suited for prominent lids and younger deep set eyes.
* Shade the eyelid and wing the shading: Best suited for younger deep set eyes.

Acrylic Nails

How to Apply Pink and White Acrylic Nails

As far as manicures go, acrylic nails are still a fairly new trend. They are popular due to their wide selection of colors, designs and other optional features. Out of all the acrylic choices, the traditional pink and white design continues to reign supreme. While some women go to a professional salon to get their nails added on, many women are beginning to learn how to apply pink and white acrylic nails on their own to help cut costs and to have the fun experience of creating their own beauty treat at home.

To apply the nails, you will need:

* nail prep
* nail primer
* monomer
* a nail brush
* pink polish
* white polish
* clear polish
* nail file and scissors



Step One

The first step toward a successful application is to wash your hands thoroughly. If you are going to a professional manicurist, bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer with you to make sure your hands are clean and ready to receive the application fully. Before washing your hands, use polish remover to rid your nails of any residue or old, chipped paint.

Step Two

Trim and file your nails down. It is important your nails are well groomed and even in length before you apply the acrylics. Shorter nails respond much better to acrylics, so eliminate any excess outgrowth that isn’t necessary now that you are going for false nails.

Step Three

Purchase a soft file at your local drug store or beauty supply shop. Use this to remove the natural shine your nail probably has. This is basically stripping the nail of its top layer, which will help the acrylic’s glue to cling to the nail, reducing the risk of breakage.

Step Four

Push back your cuticles. This can be annoying and even painful, so many women choose to soak their nails first in a warm hand bath to make their hands as soft and manageable as possible.

Step Five

Now you may choose to further prepare your nail base by applying inexpensive nail prep. This removes excess moisture and oil from the nail bed and can also be purchased at a drug store of beauty supply shop.



Step Six

Apply primer to the nail. It will dry to a flaky white, and even though this looks unattractive, it is actually the ideal goal for prime application.

Step Seven

Dampen your brush and dip it into the monomer. Collect only a bit of powder - a little goes a long way!

Step Eight

Form a bead with the monomer and then flatten it with the tip of your brush. Brush it all the way to the tip of the nail. Repeat this on all ten of your nails and allow them to dry completely.

Step Nine

Apply false nails. File them down, cut them or shape them to your desired look.

Step Ten

Paint the entire nail with the pink polish and allow to dry. Apply adhesive to the base of the nail tip area you wish to be white (to form a French manicure which makes up pink and white acrylics). Paint the uncovered tip with the white polish. Allow to dry. Run a clear coat of polish over your entire nail and dry.

These steps are all you need to do to learn how to apply pink and white acrylic nails. As you become more skilled at application, you can begin to embellish your French manicure with jewels, decals, or different colors of paint to accent your simple design.

Smokey Eyes

How to get Smokey Eyes

Smoky eyes have been a big style for quite awhile and there's no sign this particular trend is dying. Here we show you step-by-step instructions on how to get the perfect smoky eye.

The key to the perfect smoky eye is proper blending. You want to make sure colors are blended together flawlessly. Also, it's important to pair light base colors with rich dark colors. Nice mixes include: Soft gold base with deep purple on top, champagne base with bright blue and peach base with green hue.

Here's How:

1. Prep the lid. The key to keeping eyeshadow from melting into your eyelid crease as the day goes on is to kept eyelids oil-free. To do this start with an eyeshadow base (also called "primer"). I prefer to dab at bit of MAC's 'paint'on lids before shadow application. Or try Fresh Freshface Perfecting Eye Primer.
   
   
2. Apply eyeliner. If you're going for a typical black, brown or gray smoky eye, apply liner in one of those colors above the upper lash line, drawing line thicker in the middle of eye. If your opting for a jewel-toned eye (violet makes a gorgeous smoky eye), line eyes with a purple, blue or deep green liner.
   
   
3. Blend in color on bottom lashes For color on the bottom (a key smoky eye look) you'll want a lighter eyeliner. The key is to "smudge it." You can also apply a bit of shadow to get full smudge effect.
   
   
4. Apply light base color Again, the key to a smoky eye is pairing a lighter base with the darker hue. I prefer a nice cream shade for my base. Sweep a light, shimmery shadow over the lids to your browbone. The moist "mousse" consistency seems to stay on forever. My favorite colors are taupe and pearl.
   
   
5. Blend in darker color, but keep dark color below the crease. Now that you have the base and eyeliner on, it's time to get the smoky effect. You need a darker eyeshadow shade. Using an eyeshadow brush blend in color starting at your lash line, blending up. Make sure to blend color into the lash line so the eye liner disappears. Stop deep color at crease.
   
   
6. Doublecheck your work Make sure eyes match and blend color with a Q-tip if need be.
   
   
7. Finish with several coats of volumizing mascara.

Eyeshadow Masterclass: How To Create A Smoky Eye Effect


Tips:

1. Remember to keep lips nude. When applying strong makeup (like smoky eyes or red lips) put the focus on either eyes or lips, never both. (Think Angelina Jolie: She either plays up her huge eyes or her huge lips, never both. If she did, she'd look like a clown).
2. For a bit of fun, try a blue or purple mascara. It will make blue eyes "pop."
3. Liner doesn't have to come in pencil form. Makeup experts know eyeshadows make some of the best eyeliners. To do this take an eyeliner brush (available at Sephora, MAC or any dept store), wet it, then dab wet brush into the dark shadow. This allows for a deep, precise line. You can also use the dark shadows without wetting brush first. Either way, eyeliner is necessary for smoky eye.
4. This season go jewel-toned (blue is great for you blue-eyed girls) and keep your eyes smoky but stay away from dark browns and black. Instead, go for a deep purple, a gold-brown or any of the many vibrant colors in this year.

What You Need:

• Eye primer (you don't need it, but it's great for keeping shadow in place)
• 2 Shadows: One light, one darker
• Eyeliner
• Makeup brushes
• Mascara

Makeup Secrets

Eyeshadows

Before using eye shadows on the lids, always test the colours on the back of the hand to see the intensity. Remember, pale tones emphasize, while deep sooty shades define.
Apply an oil-free powder foundation on top of your eyelids before applying your eyeshadow.
The eyeshadow will last all day without settling in the crease.
Choose a primary colour (the colour you want to stand out the most) and use short strokes to cover your whole eyelid.
Apply just enough pressure to lay the colour down without caking it onto your lids.
Be especially careful not get too close to the crease or your eyebrows.



Play with the colours, mix them by dipping the brush into all 3 shades before applying and see what you come up with.
Just make sure that you apply the same amount of mixed colours to both eyes to create an even look.
The point is to achieve the natural look, yet dramatically different. That's the idea.


Mascara

Brush some oil-free powder foundation over your lashes then apply your mascara. The mascara will stay on much longer.
Let the mascara dry a bit before applying the 2nd coat for a thicker look.
Don't use waterproof mascara every day. It's very hard to remove and will take out your lashes as well. Lashes take a long time before they grow in again.
You can get your eyelashes dyed. It will last about 4 - 5 weeks.


If your mascara is new, yet you notice some deposit on the wand, tissue off the wand before applying to prevent smudging.
When applying more than one coat, combing through lashes will help prevent clumping.
Using the proper application technique when applying mascara is extremely important when you are trying to achieve a finished look.
Make sure that the mascara covers the lashes from the root to the tip of the lash.


Blush

Blush adds color and warmth to the face. Blushers are available in powder, cream or liquid and in a wide variety of tones.
Liquid and cream blush should be applied before powder.
Make sure to do the blush test. Once you are done with your entire makeup look in the mirror. Check to see if your face is "balanced".
You should have on just enough blush to make you look as if you were blushing. If you have on any more than that, you need to tone it down.
To soften blush, apply some powder over it. You may go a little bit heavier in the evenings, depending on a look you want to achieve.
For rosier cheeks, consider gel or liquid tints. Wash your hands after use, as these products may stain the hands. Remember that the lighter your skin tone, the lighter your blush color should be. Wash brushes regularly with a makeup remover or nonsoap cleanser.



Steps:


• Select a color of blush that resembles the natural glow
of your cheeks after you exercise. Consider having a lighter color for day,
and a darker tone for a more dramatic evening look.
Keep your blush in the same color family as your lipstick.


• Consider the type of blush best suited to your skin type.
Cream blush works very well for drier skin, as it can help to keep skin hydrated.
Powder blush is better suited to oily skin.


• Complete the application of foundation, powder and all
eye makeup before applying blush.


• Use a full, round brush for the application of your powder blush,
as it will make for a softer and more professional look than the brush
that comes with the blush. This should not be the same brush
you use to apply your loose powder.


• Place a small amount of blush on the brush and gently tap off any excess.
Or, place a small amount of cream on your middle finger.


Lipstick

Lips look best if you outline them with a lipliner first and then apply your lipstick. Take a Kleenex, put it between your lips and gently close your lips the way you normally would close them, to remove excess lipstick.
This will prevent the embarrassment of having lipstick on your teeth.
You may wish to try a lipstick sealer. Brush it over your lipcolour and let it dry for one minute. Your lipstick will never bleed or feather into your liplines. Keep your lips smooth. Moisturize them every night.
A matte lipstick looks very sexy and also stays on much longer, especially if you have a lot of lines around your mouth.


For full lips, wear the lightest, frostiest lipsticks you can find. They will help your lips to look fuller.
To create your own smudge-resistant lipstick, blot your lips with one sheet of two-ply tissue.
Reapply lipstick and blot again. This will absorb the oils in the product and leave the pigment and matte waxes.

Manicure

Give yourself a homemade manicure

• Wash and dry your hands.
• Using a double-sided emery board, file nails using a gentle stroke.
Avoid corners of your nails as this can weaken them.
• Begin to shape your nails. The most popular shape to use is oval,
but choose what is most suited to your hand and finger shape.
• Check to see how well you have done.
Run your nails over an old pair of pantyhose.
Your nails should not snag the hose.
• Apply a softener to your cuticles. Allow to site for a minute or so.
• Transfer hands to a bowl of warm water and soak for an additional few minutes.
• Gently push back the cuticles. This should not be painful.
If hangnails are present, carefully clip them.
• Apply hand lotion and begin to massage the palm of your hand
with the thumb of your other hand. This will help to circulate the blood.
Work your way over the remainder of the hand and then repeat,
giving equal time to the other hand.
• Before color is applied to nails, they must be cleaned.
The easiest way to do this is with an orange stick that has been
wrapped with cotton. Dip into nail polish remover and then rub
over the surface of the nail. Check the nail for any creamy residue.
When none remains, your nails will be ready for polishing.




• Time for color. Pick up a small amount of polish on your brush
and paint one stroke down the center of your nail.
Your brush should hold just enough color to accomplish this.
Stroke the sides of the nail and you are done.
The nail should be completely colored in three strokes.
Allow to set for a minute or so before applying the second coat.
• Wait until polish is set (dry to the touch) and then apply the top coat.
Don't skip this step as it not only adds life to your manicure,
it will protect your nails as well.
• Sanitize all of your equipment with alcohol and when they are dry,
store them away until the next time.

French Manicure

Before you start giving your nails a French manicure, make sure you have followed the general rule for putting on nail polish. You should prep your nails first by removing old nail polish with acetone remover. Then go and clean your nails and give them a trim.

Once you are done cleaning and trimming your nails, go ahead and apply a base coat to your nails. Keep this base coat thin and even. Afterwards, put a tip guide to your nail. This is supposed to cover the lower part of your nail as well as follow the curve of your nail tips natural white. When you are done with that, apply white polish to the exposed tips of your fingernails, and then let them dry. Keep the area that you will paint white thin. If you go too widely on the white paint, your nails will look chunky. Also, if you do not feel comfortable with stark white tips, you can use off-white polish instead.

Manicures: How To Give Yourself A French Manicure

When the white polish on the tips of your fingernails is dry, remove the nail tip guides thoroughly. And then, paint the entire length of your nails with a beige polish. Two coats of this polish may be necessary. After this, put a layer of top coat on your nails. This is the last step; after putting on the top coat, dry your nails and make sure they dry completely.

To extend the life of your French manicure and to keep your nails nice and looking well-groomed, you should make it a point to apply an extra layer of top coat on your nails every night.

For all its seeming simplicity, putting on a French manicure can get really tricky. Most drugstores and beauty shops sell readily-assembled nail polishing kits especially made for the French manicure. If you need extra help, you can find these kits very useful.