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.

Image [source]

Winter is stressful for skin. Cold temperatures and winds outside combined with low humidity inside result in stressed, irritated, dehydrated skin. Here are 7 rules which will help you to "winter-proof" your skin.

1. Go easier on peeling/exfoliation and cleansing in your skin care routine
Winter weakens skin’s protective hydrolipid barrier which makes it hypersensitive and susceptible to free radicals and dehydration. Save your skin the additional stress and do not indulge into exfoliation procedures. Too much peeling strips your skin of protective lipids and weakens its ability to retain moisture.  Do peeling only twice per week during the winter period.
For your daily cleansing choose milder products that won’t be too stripping. For example, use hydrating cleansing milk instead of washing gel.
If you use mild cleansing products and do not do daily peeling but your skin is stressed and irritated anyway. Perhaps you are using a serum or moisturizer with peeling ingredients such as Retinol, AHAs, Vitamin C. If so, stop with those for winter.

2. Say No to alcohol!
Exclude toners with alcohol, they are too harsh and stripping for your skin and contribute to skin’s dryness.
Note, a couple glasses of wine or a cocktail also lead to skin’s dehydration. From time to time you might want to go with a soft drink with your dinner or make sure you drink plenty of water to counteract the dehydrating effect of alcohol.

3. Upgrade your moisturizer
Go with a richer moisturizer that will not only provide hydration but also help your skin to retain it. Look for moisturizers based on emollient ingredients such as shea butter, lanolin, squalene. Emollients soften, hydrate the skin and build a thin protective layer on its surface to prevent loss of moisture.

If you have an oily type of skin and use oil absorbing products, consider stopping for winter. In winter skin type often shifts so oily skin becomes normal and normal turns dry. By continuing using oil absorbing skin care products or makeup you may contribute to your skin’s dryness.

4. Take vitamins and antioxidants
In winter our skin and body lack vitamins and minerals. This can really reflect on your complexion and skin’s immune system. The following vitamins and minerals are vitally important for your skin’s beauty and health: Omega 3, 6, B Vitamins, Vitamin C, E, A, Zink and Magnesium.

5. Use UV protection
Sun in winter is not so intense but it does not mean that you can stop using UV protection. It is especially important on snowy days or when you go skiing in the mountains. In fact, sun reflects off the snow more intensively than off the sand on a beach in summer.

6. Take special care of lips and hands
Lips are very sensitive to colds and wind. To protect them and prevent from chapping apply a rich moisturizer with jojoba butter or avocado oil every time before going outside as well as before going to bed. Skin on the hands is thin and is always subject to “life’s hazards”, that is why hands are usually the first to show signs of aging. Apply haand moisturizer at least twice a day but ideallt every time you wash your hands. Treat your hands to a nourishing mask once or twice a week.

7. Humidify
Due to heating, air at home and office is very dry and causes skin to dehydrate. To balance humidity level you can either use a humidifier or just buy some house plants that are known to be able to balance humidity level in their environment.

Sources:

Winter Skin Care
Beauty Blog

A model displays a creation as part of Gianfranco Ferre’ Fall/Winter 2007/08 men’s collection.
Photo: Reuters

In an era where being too skinny is finally being pressured against, it’s good to see ethics being put into place with another controversial area: cosmetic surgery.

Whether you’re okay with it or not, people are still going to do it - so at least provide smart information. Right?!

Today men and women from virtually all walks of life are turning to cosmetic surgery as a way to bring their personal visions of beauty to life.  But, with so much information out there – how do you know what’s best?

Bewiseaboutbeauty.org is an informational portal designed to help you define your personal vision of beauty – whatever that means for you.  The site includes important information – from popular procedures to common misconceptions – to help you make informed decisions about cosmetic enhancement.

The campaign’s mission is to educate consumers while eradicating common misconceptions regarding plastic and cosmetic surgery. You can learn more about the site and its mission in this YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iby1Q_X4mQ

The beauty secrets of the original glamour girls are being embraced again today. The beauty tips website, Celebrity-Beauty-Secret-Goldmine.com, reports retro beauty and fashion are invading the current popular culture.

Meriden, CT (PRWEB)  The beauty tips website, Celebrity-Beauty-Secret-Goldmine.com, reports a blossoming trend: the beauty secrets of yesteryear’s glamour girls are being sought by today’s culture.

"Women today are looking for beauty inspiration from the beauty queens of the past", says Sara Liz, Editor-in-Chief of www.Celebrity-Beauty-Secret-Goldmine.com. 

A recent analysis of the keywords used to find the beauty website shows that the number of web surfers interested in the "it girls" of the past, as beauty muses, is growing. Recent keyword strings entered into search engines that led web surfers to the site included, "Brigitte Bardot’s beauty tips" and even "Joan Crawford’s beauty rituals"!
Brigitte Bardot’s beauty tips

The website features beauty secrets of the iconic, glamour girls of yesterday, such as Brigitte Bardot, Betty Grable, and Marilyn Monroe, as well as the beauty secrets of today’s celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, Jessica Alba and Jessica Simpson. From Christina Aguilera’s retro hair and makeup in her circus-themed video for "Hurt", to Christian Lacroix’s flapper-haired models in his spring 2007 collection, retro beauty and fashion are invading the current popular culture.

Dove’s latest ad campaign takes an average looking woman and makes her model-like. This video follows the transformation in the most compelling way I’ve ever experienced.

I enjoy makeup, it’s not a bad thing, but I think it’s critical to understand the influences driving our need to wear makeup. Most of us know that consumersism is the drive behind the ads tossed our way, but do we really get it? It’s great that a commercial like this makes you stop and think.

Dove states “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted. Every girl deserves to feel beautiful…” View Commercial Here.