Staying Power

When applying eyeshadow in a beautiful, flawless, gorgeous way, nothing is more disappointing than watching it fade, crease, streak or disappear as the day/evening progresses. You sit in front of your mirror, blending it into perfection, and mere hours later see nothing but traces of your hard work. It's crushing really.

Enter: Urban Decay Primer Potion

This little tube has possibly tripled my eyeshadow's wear time in a given day. I consider it to be foundation for my eyes - I apply it to the lids from lashes to brow before applying any shadow and allow it to dry. My powder shadows go on perfectly and blend evenly. It's absolutely worth the cost and has lasted me at least 9-12 months so far.

A little tip from my gals at Sephora: take a tweezers and yank out the "rim" of the purple tube after you think you've used it all -- just like a tube of mascara or lip gloss, that rim helps to clean the excess off the wand when removed from the tube. Thus, a lot of product is kept inside if you don't yank that thing out!

A Few Aveda Favorites

As a student of the Aveda Institute, one can imagine my access and immersion into the world of Aveda. And one would imagine correctly. You walk into my house and see a few bottles on the table of things I've picked up at discount for friends, an Aveda lip product or three in my purse, Aveda skincare in my medicine cabinet, Aveda styling products on my vanity and Aveda hair and body care in my shower.

Because of my frequent usage on both clients and self, I thought I'd throw a couple of favorites your way:

Hand Relief

This hand lotion packs quite a punch - it moisturizes nicely but also improves the skin tone and quality. With it's natural exfoliants and vitamins, this is a must (especially during winter) for healthy and beautiful hands.

Beautifying Composition
Compositions are jojoba-based, which is the closest oil to skin's own naturally produced sebum. This little bottle of yellow oil is a huge value-add to your beauty repertoire and smells SOOOO GOOD! At AIM, we use it for everything from a moisture boost in Hand Relief to a relieving post-wax ointment. At home, use it to add extra moisture wherever needed - add to hand, foot, or body lotions, rub a bit into cuticles, use as massage oil, apply to patchy dry areas, massage into scalp before showering, or dot onto dry spots on your face.

Air Control
Smells amazing and has the lightest airy hold - a perfect hairspray for fine to medium hair and for voluminous looks. Use on dry hair only, but try before and after back-combing, flat ironing or curling to make results last longer. For a boost, spray underneath the hair by flipping head over or lifting up layers and spraying in-between.

Volumizing Tonic & Phomollient
This cocktail of products is great for creating oomph. The hold comes from the Phomollient, so use as little or as much as you need. Add Air Control (above) to finish.

Carribean Therapy Scrub
Sea salts, sugars and oils make for the most amazingly moisturizing scrub. After scrubbing and rinsing, some oil will be left behind on the skin, but let it stay in lieu of adding a lotion over top, and reap the softening benefits! The smell is herbal and amazing - like a quick getaway somewhere very warm and sexy.


Light Elements Smoothing Fluid
Flyaways? Static? Too poufy/fluffy? Seeking a shinier, more polished result to your style? This is your product - though it's not quite "hefty" enough to take on those who need the big guns. Take a few pumps of this amazing liquid, warm it between your hands and finger through styled hair.


Brilliant Anti-Humectant Pomade
Anyone with curly hair knows that humidity is death to a blowout. Anti-humectant is a thick, oil-based product that repels the evil water in the air that can instantly recurl straightened strands. After styling, warm and distribute between hands and lightly smooth over the surface and pull through the ends. A little goes a long way!


Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smoother and Brilliant Damage Control
These two products are the options under Aveda's "Prep" step. Both go on damp hair after washing, before styling, however they serve separate purposes. Style-Prep Smoother is a great product for those with fluffy, curly, frizzy, dry, thick or coarse hair. It goes on sort of like a lotion and helps to smooth (as the name suggests). The Damage Control is a light spray that protects hair from heat styling, provides a UV shield and adds a bit of shine. It works on all hair types. These products can be used together and along with any other styling products.

Do you have a favorite not mentioned or a question or two about Aveda products? Post 'em! I think they make some excellent products, and hope to help you to discover a new favorite or a new level of loveliness for yourself .

Hey there, bright eyes!

There are plenty of reasons for one's eyes to look less-than-bright on any given day: lack of sleep, allergies, cold, morning after a fun night out (or a night in spent crying over an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition).... And some folks just happen to have tired looking eyes regardless of outside factors.

Here's my method for combatting sleepy eyes!

1. CHECK YOUR EYES: And I mean the eyeballs themselves, here. Red? Itchy? Watery? All signs of fatigue (and other things). Plop in some drops -- my go-to kind is Clear Eyes: Dry Eyes + Redness Relief . (I always have to remember the purple plus red logo, or I get confused when standing in the eye drops aisle at Target....)

2. CLEANSE: Start with a hot washcloth on your face. Spend a good five minutes by the sink re-wetting and applying it to your face and neck. It'll open up the blood vessels and get that circulation going which will bring you an instant glow. Note that this easy trick will make your cleansing easier and your products more effective!

3. MOISTURIZE: Your skin needs some moisture! Be sure to use an eye cream to help soothe and return moisture to the delicate eye area.

4. MAKEUP: Do your face as you like, but this is all about the eyes.
- Dab on a little Benefit Erase Paste (concealer) around the eyes -- this brightening concealer will help bring some light and life back!
- Curl the lashes
- Use a very pale peach eyeshadow all over the upper eyelid (up to the brow) and into the inner eye corner. I use Revlon Matte Peach Sorbet almost daily!

- Use a medium/light neutral brown in the crease/brow bone area to give just a bit of dimension to the eye.
- Dab a little ivory shimmer right under the brow and in the inner eye corner.
- Line the upper lid only with black or brown-black eyeliner from the inside out, and add a little "cat eye" style wing on the outer edge.... just a little one!

- Swipe on some mascara and you're good to go!

Have you seen my lashes?

Disclaimer: this post was taken from my personal blog, so for those of you feeling a little de ja vu, my apologies!

There are so many people who just don't seem to get it when it comes to mascara and curling eyelashes. I find lashes to be a fairly important feature (read: crucial!) when it comes to makeup. Like the icing on a cake.... Cue blog post.

I consider myself to be a bit of a LASH MASTER. You can tell me how you have short, stubby or really thin lashes, but somehow I'll still make you look like this ----->

What's that you say? You don't WANT to look like you're wearing feather dusters on your eyelids? Oh come on....

Alright fine. I'll tone it down a bit for you.

There are three important aspects to fab lashes: curling the lashes, mascara and application technique. Let's delve into all three, shall we?

CURLING

Most men and makeup-challenged women will look at an eyelash curler and see a medieval torturing device. BE NOT AFRAID. If 12 year-olds can do it, so can you.

The tool of choice: The shu uemura. It is, as their site states, emblematic.Curling should be done before any eye makeup is applied. Open the curler, position the silver top bar right down along the lash line and against the lid, take a few seconds to make sure all the lashes are in between and then press together. This spot on the lashes is where you want the most bend, as it will make your lashes appear longer from straight on.

BUT, don't stop there! Move the curler out a bit on the lashes and pinch them there gently, move it out a little further and pinch there too. Look closely at your eyelashes, though, as you don't want the tips to be pointing back towards the lids. That indicates you've curled too much at the midpoints.

MASCARA

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to mascara. I, for one, can't wear anything but waterproof. I can't explain it, but NON waterproof makes my pre-curled lashes straighten back out. Frustration ensues. So, I don't fight it and stick to the WP formulas.

While it's difficult to find that one kind that works well on everyone, I think I may have found a contender or two....

#1 Budget Fave: CoverGirl Lash Blast - While I tire of the "Fat tube = FAT lashes!" concept, I love this stuff - both the formula and the brush. Although it's a bit TOO fat at the end for those little corner lashes and lower lashes. For this, I recommend a tag-team approach using Maybelline Lash Discovery.

#2 Splurge Fave: Chanel Inimitable - Ahhhh perfection. For a mere $30 a tube, it can be yours. :::pauses::: My thoughts exactly.

APPLICATION

For many mascaras, a brand new tube means too much product comes out on the brush. A quick swipe through or dab on a piece of paper, paper towel or rough (so as not to leave lint) tissue/toilet paper should solve those goopy messy woes of a new tube.

Wiggle the brush side to side at the roots of the lashes to get the bristles in between them. Move the brush outward, continuing a little of the side-to-side to get a good coating. Add a couple more swipes to complete the first coat.After you've finished up the "first coat," it's important to take this moment to separate your lashes while they're still tacky from the mascara.

I SWEAR by metal eyelash combs a la the one at right by Tweezerman ($8). Nothing works better to really get in there, separate the lashes, get rid of gobs and make them look feathery.

Once you've done some separating, you can apply another coat. Annnnnd again, grab your comb and separate. This repetition will build up the thickness of the lashes while maintaining the separation.

Voila.

Hope this masterful enlightenment (cue the gong) brings you to a new level of lashiness.

^^ my real lashes! ^^