Fashion Salad

The key to any professional make up look is getting your base right. If you apply your foundation and concealer correctly, your skin will look natural, smooth and unblemished. Get it wrong and you may end up looking like Dale Winton’s love child.

Fortunately, if you follow these 3 simple steps you can ensure that your foundation will always look natural and beautiful, giving you the base to perfect the rest of your look.

Stage 1 - Moisturize

5 minutes before applying your make up you should properly moisturise your skin as all bases will apply smoothly to well hydrated skin.

Remember to remove any excess moisturiser just before you start to apply your foundation as greasy skin will make the foundation slip and slide as you apply.

Stage 2 - Apply your foundation

The key to remember when applying your foundation is less is more. Never apply your foundation in large swathes, simply apply a few dots around your face and then blend together using either your fingers, or a foundation sponge.

Ensure the foundation is well blended around your hairline and jaw as these are the places where any joins are more likely to be noticeable. You should always choose a foundation which blends well with your skin tone and it is worth experimenting to find exactly the right shade for you.

Whenever possible you should apply your base in the same light as you will be wearing it, (i.e. for daytime use sunlight) as lighting does make a difference to your look.

Stage 3 - Apply Concealer

Again, you should use concealer sparingly to cover any obvious shadows (particularly under the eyes) and blemishes, which are showing through the foundation. Remember that in summer you may need to use a darker concealer if your skin is tanned.

Apply your concealer a few small dots at a time and blend with your fingers using a gentle back and forth dotting motion. Avoid pulling or rubbing the skin, particulary under the sensitive eye area.

Following the steps above and combining with high quality products will ensure you always have the perfect base on which to build your dream look.

Sal is a regular contributor to Girlz Night Magazine and has a passion for professional hair and beauty products that her credit card tells her she can’t afford.

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Prepare yourself for Clash of the artists 2008 art competition!!

Art for Progress, a non-profit arts education organization, announces a call to all artists for the second annual multi-disciplinary art competition “Clash of the Artists”.

The international online competition invites DJs, musicians, visual artists , fashion designers, filmmaker, and all who are creative!

Gain global exposure of your work online as well as supporting arts education in New York City. An event will be held in New York City in mid-March, 2008 to showcase top three finalists from each category!

Submissions begin: November 15, 2007 online
Public Voting begins: January 8, 2008.
Visit us at http://www.artforprogress.org to learn more.
or watch the video

Read more for a list of first place prizes for this year.

• Buy a well known domestic brand. In the USA this would be Victoria’s Secret. If you know the woman has little lingerie, this might be a ‘safe way to go’.
• Buy an internationally known brand of lingerie that is less common at home. This could be more interesting for the woman who has everything. She probably does not have a major Italian or French brand of lingerie. In fact, she may not even be aware of these brands. Buying a brand of luxury designer lingerie popular in another country, would make for an exotic and exciting gift. This website has links to some of the world’s top brands of sexy lingerie.
• When budgets are limited, consider discount lingerie. These days, with the uncertain economy, there are huge discounts to be found in luxury items like lingerie. You may not find them on a particular brand. But there are some websites that specialize in discount lingerie.