My Top 7 Quick Beauty Tips

We all have those days when we just don’t look or feel our best. I remember my mom saying “Go take a shower, put on some makeup and you’ll feel better!”.  She was right, but who always has time for a full face of makeup? Here are my 7 beauty quick tips to make you feel fabulous without spending all day in the mirror!

1. A Fresh Clean Canvas

There is nothing more unattractive than dull skin. Deep cleaning and exfoliating can give you that glow that you are missing. If you’re one of those people who goes to bed with makeup on, we’re going to have to have an intervention! Clogged pores are not attractive; neither are craters on your face. So don’t skip the regular cleaning with an exfoliating cleanser like Timeless Prescription’s Exfoliating Cleanser and a once a week deep clean like Lumiere de Vie’s Volcanic Exfoliating Masque.

2. Disguise With Concealer

For under eye brightening, concealer should be 1 to 1.5 shades lighter than your foundation. To get a “well-rested look,” apply the concealer in a triangular shape from your lower lash line. Think of the base of the triangle as your lower lash line and then the tip is just the top of your cheeks, where your eye socket ends (which you can feel by drawing a small triangle on your face). If you are wearing a powder only, try using a concealer on your face that is closer to your skin-tone to hide pigmentation. I like using a contour palette or color quad, so I have options for the shade I need wherever I am placing the color and for whichever season. 

 

3. Eyes Are the Windows to Your Soul

Lashes open your eyes. Don’t forget to curl them and add a lash primer and mascara for the ultimate in length and volume. If you do have smaller eyes, apply the mascara to the upper lash line, and use a soft shimmer shadow along the lower lash line, and especially in the inner corner or tear duct. This will brighten your eyes and make them look more open, especially if you are running low on sleep. 

4. Cleopatra’s Power Came from the Eyeliner

Eyeliner is one of the most important cosmetics and can give you a dramatic look without much time or effort. Whether you choose a soft line or a dramatic wing, you can embellish the windows to your soul by spending just a few minutes in front of a mirror with an eyeliner pencil, gel or even shadow. If your pencil is a little too hard to work with try heating it up for a couple seconds with a hairdryer (never use a lighter, which can be dangerous and get too hot!).

5. Powder Explosion

Have broken eye shadow, blush or bronzer? Don’t throw it away — you can fix it!  Break it up a little more, inside the pan it came in, with a butter knife (or inside the corner of a ziplock bag if needed for easy cleanup). Take four drops of rubbing alcohol and add it to the powder, and then push it together. Take a quarter, wrap it in a tissue, pat the powder back down and let it dry for a few hours. You’ll have your powder back, and you can also press your loose powder this way.

6. Going for the Bronze

The one makeup item we all need is a little bronzer or a tinted moisturizer. You can easily make your own. Take your darker foundation, mix a dime-sized amount with your daily moisturizer to customize the color for your skin tone. This deepens your complexion and adds a bronzer effect. My favorite powder bronzer is Miami Glow – it’s super light so you don’t look like someone sprinkled cocoa powder on your face. Bronzer is one of the cosmetics that can be overused and abused — so use sparingly on the high points where the sun would naturally bronze your skin. 

7. You Glow Girl

It is about highlighting your features, which is why a highlighting powder can bring that glow to your skin. Whether it be the brow bone or cheek bone, there are a variety of areas on your face where a quick highlight can bring light onto your skin and avoid the dullness we sometimes get. The other place to highlight is your lips, with a luxury lipgloss or treatment with aromatherapy that plumps your lips, gives you hydration and a suppleness to your pout. Ultimately, makeup should be used to highlight and enhance your favorite features, so think about that when you start with your fresh canvas each morning!

Do you have beauty tips you want to share? Tell me in the comments below.

Think Pretty!

-LL