Where To Apply Blush

In order to apply blush where it will be most flattering on you, first determine your face shape. Blush not only adds color, but also contours and defines your cheek bones. The way you apply your blush can accentuate your best features and also soften those that are perhaps too prominent.

The Importance of Knowing Your Skin Undertones

Why is this important? With the correct colors your skin tone will appear radiant and glowing, your eyes will appear brighter and clearer, your hair will reflect highlights and you will hear compliments - such as "You look great"!
With the wrong colors your skin tone will appear tired and drained, your eyes may appear shadowed, dark circles and even your teeth can appear with a slight yellow hue.

What are skin undertones?
Skin undertones are the colors that lie beneath the skin. Undertones are the colors that are cast like a shadow beneath your skin color. The shadow has a distinct color which never changes. While the tone of your skin color can change very easily your undertone never changes.

We all fall into a group and the group consists of cool, neutral, warm and olive. Let me explain what each group means

COOL
If you have a cool undertone you will have a pink, red or you may even have a bluish undertone to your skin.
Examples: Scarlett Johansson, Michelle Trachtenberg and Keira Knightley.

WARM
If you have a warm undertone you will have a yellow or golden undertone to your skin.
Examples: Nicole Kidman, Chelsea Clinton and Gillian Anderson.

NEUTRAL
This is where it gets a bit complicated! If you are a neutral this means you either have a mix of cool and warm undertones or no distinguishable undertones at all.
Examples: Dita Von Teese, Alyssa Milano, Kelly Clarkson and Victoria Beckham.

OLIVE
People who fall in this category will have green/brown undertones. Typically olive skin is a darker complexion that is naturally tanned, however can be lighter in color as well. Fair olive-skinned people have light skin that in cold weather may seem "fair" or "pale", but a slight but usually noticeable olive hue remains.
Examples: Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes and Jessica Alba.

So how do you figure out which category you fall into? Below I will list some tips and tricks I have picked up along the way to help you figure it out.

Vein Test – In a natural light look at the inside of your wrist if the veins appear blue you have a cool undertone, if they appear more green you have a warm undertone. If you can’t really tell or you think you see a mixture of both then you may be neutral

Ponytail Test – pull all your hair back away from your face in a ponytail or headband and thoroughly cleanse your face. Place a white towel or cloth around your shoulders. If your face looks more yellow this would indicate a warm undertone, whereas a bluish reflection would mean a cool undertone.

Silver/Gold Test – if you think you think gold is more flattering against your skin this may indicate a warm undertone. People with a cool undertone usually look better in silver. If, however you think bronze looks more flattering against your skin then you may be neutral.

Genetic natural color of eyes and hair - As a rule, normally people with blue, green or grey eyes with blonde, black or brown hair have a cool skin tone. Additionally, cool skin tones will have a pink or rosy undertone. Those people with brown, black, or hazel eyes and have black, brown, blond, red, or strawberry blond hair are usually have a warm skin tone and have a golden or apricot undertone. However, there are always exceptions to the rule when trying to determine your skin tone by the color of your hair and eyes.

Baking Soda & Orange Juice Face Mask

There’s a lot to love about a treatment that calls for just two ingredients, costs less than 50 cents to make, and banishes oil and blackheads in 20 minutes. The baking soda exfoliates and fights acne while the acid in the orange juice tightens pores and the Vitamin C brightens (you can use a different type of citrus juice but you won’t get quite the same effect).


Use 1-2 times/week depending on skin’s sensitivity.


1. Mix 1 tsp. real orange juice with 1 tsp. baking soda.
2. Spread a thin layer on face, neck and décolletage.
3. Leave on for 20 minutes.
4. Dampen finger tips and scrub mask in circular motions for extra exfoliation. Rinse.
5. Follow with a gentle toner and moisturizer.

NOTES:The mask will tingle and itch a little so it’s good too have a distraction—paint your nails, watch TV, but whatever you do, don’t talk. As the paste dries, any facial movements will cause it to flake off. Your skin may be pink afterwards, but that will dissipate.

Tips on Shaping Your Eyebrows

Perfectly groomed eyebrows balance your features and frame your eyes. Plucking your eyebrows to achieve that perfect, face-framing arch can be tedious (and painful!) process.  But since fuller, thicker brows are in style, you can (and should) spend less time with the tweezers.

1. Know where your eyebrows should start. Draw an invisible line from the outer sides of your nostril to your brows. This is where your brows should begin to help you start shaping your eyebrows the right way.
2. Determine where your arch should begin. Take the eye pencil and start at the end of your nose and line it up to the point above your iris. It is to your discretion as to how tall you would like your arch. Don’t go too high, you don’t want to always look surprised. 
3. Find where your tail should end. Start at your nose again and line up the end of your eye. Everyone’s eyes differ in size and this is one of the many reasons why no two people have the same shaped brows. 
4. Trim if needed. This is a great way to get rid of bushy eyebrows without tweezing. Brush your eyebrows straight up and trim whatever hairs are coming out of your natural shape. If there are any uneven spaces, then just fill in with an eyebrow pencil until more hair grows.

Eyebrow Shaping Tip #1: Choose the Right Tweezers
Opt for a sharp, slanted style.  Unlike pointy versions, they grab tiny strays quickly and won't pinch your skin along with the hairs.

Eyebrow Shaping Tip #2: Tweeze after you shower

Warm water opens the follicles and softens hairs, helping them slip out more easily.

Eyebrow Shaping Tip #3: Reduce Redness
Immediately after tweezing, gently pat on an over-the-counter cortisone cream like to minimize any resulting inflammation.

Eyebrow Shaping Tip #4: Ease the Plucking Pain
If plucking is too painful or it's right before your period (when skin is most sensitive), dab on a numbing gel like Orajel-Baby Teething Pain Medicine before you tweeze.

Eyebrow Shaping Tip #5: Grow Them In
Overplucked?  Refrain from tweezing for at least three weeks so you can see the natural growth pattern and shape.