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The Christmas party season is just around the corner, and as always, tis the season to look spectacular! But hey, it’s hard to look spectacular when you’re being rushed through the door by a hasty hubby. Well, here’s our quick tip on how to get your party makeup on and looking good in five minutes TOPS!

1. Make your eyes – using a small shadow brush, smudge black shadow along your top and bottom lashlines – blending color into the tops of lashes. Add a touch of silver shimmer shadow to the inner corners of your eyes – to help brighten up your entire face. Suggestions – L’Oreal Wear Infinite Single Shadows in Lush Raven and Pure Silver.
2. Give your lashes a boost – curl your top lashes, then give them two coats of a thickening and lengthening formula. For extra ooophm, sweep one coat onto lower lashes, concentrating on the outer corners. Suggestion – Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill For Mascara.
3. Perfect your complexion – apply compact cream foundation to your cheeks, chin and nose. Use a brush or sponge to blend well. Let it double as concealer, and add a touch more under the eyes and on blemishes. Suggestion – Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream to Powder Foundation.
4. Add some sparkle – dust shimmer powder onto your cheekbones and across your décolleté – add a bit of holiday glam! Suggestion – Too Faced After Glow Ice Cubes.
5. Set that pout – add red lip color, blending the edges with your fingertip to keep your look fresh. Suggestion – try a shade from Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani.

Summer’s almost done, but you’ve still got at least another two or three weeks to enjoy the warmth of the season. Here are a few summer beauty tips for you.

• Take care of your skin – eat the right foods and maintain a good skincare regimen. Strawberries are good for the skin, pomegranate contains important vitamins and nutrients, nuts are full of good fatty acids and blackberries are called ‘wrinkle-fighting’ berries because they contain antioxidants and prevent the cell damage that leads to wrinkles.
• Take care of your face – don’t overcleanse and overscrub it since that may cause flakiness and dryness.
• Take care of your body – use your body oils right after a bath or shower, and if you don’t have body oils, you can use olive oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil or even almond oil to pamper your skin.
• Stay fit – go to the gym, stretch regularly (to lengthen your muscles and burn calories), try Pilates (simple exercises that focus on the center of the body), walk regularly (around the block, up & down the stairs etc.), try your hand at dancing maybe even once per week.
• Don’t forget the makeup – makeup enhances every woman’s beauty. Start your day by using a hydrating cleanser, a gentle toner and a moisturizer with SPF to help keep your face clean and fresh.

Enjoy!

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to a great summer makeup look that accentuates the eyes; get those ’summer eyes’!

1. Keep the rest of your face neutral; start with a layer of primer to give a nice matte surface. Take a brush and pack on some gold eye shadow – something that’s really vibrant – to just above the eye crease, then take a blender brush and, starting from the outer corner, and blend in along the lid.
2. Use your finger to dab a tiny amount of primer below your eye. Then, take a dark green eye shadow and, using an angled liner brush, sketch a line from the outer edge.
3. Get some glow. Try taking a creamy eyeliner pencil and draw it along the waterline. Get some definition with a coat of mascara – to yout lower lashes, too. The aim is to get wispy, defined lashes.
4. And finally, give yourself one coat of lip gloss. Try a a tea-colored one which doesn’t look too shimmery. To finish up and for an even fresher look, trying adding a dusting of light bronzer.

Below I’ll take you through a couple quick steps to help in choosing the right blush shade for your skin:

• Shade vs tone – When choosing the right blush hue for your skin tone, you should try to find a shade that matches the natural coloration or flush of your cheeks that happens after exercise or any period of physical exertion (when you feel hot and flustered). Generally, peach and pink hues work well for fair or cool skin tones, while reds and plums enhance darker or warmer tones. Medium skin tones allow for the most variety – try deep golden pinks.
• Cream, liquid or powder? – Blush comes in a few different formulas, and each will give a different finish depending on your skin type. It is important first to identify your skin type, which should fall into one of these four major categories – dry, oily, normal or combination. Powders are most luminescent and long-lasting on oily, normal or combination skin types. For dry skin, a cream formula generally works best and liquids are good for normal or combination types.

That’s all for now, stay beautiful!

Wondering how to get perfect lashes? Follow these simple steps:

1. Start with an eyelash curler. Set it as close as possible to the base of the lashes … do this before applying the mascara in order to prevent any chance of breakage. All you need is one or two pumps – because you really don’t want to wind up with crimped lashes.
2. Now for the mascara – After taking the wand out of the tube, remove the excess from the end of the brush, using either the opening of the tube or a piece of tissue. Lay the wand on top of the upper lashes. Be sure to set the brush as close to the base of the lashes as possible. Then, lightly shake your hand so the lashes settle in between the bristles. Then, slowly roll the wand between your thumb and forefinger – this will pull the lashes up and into the wand. Once the wand is properly placed, wiggle it from left to right as you slowly pull the wand up through the lashes.
3. Now for the lash comb – while the mascara is still wet, lay a clean lash comb on the lashes and quickly pull it through to separate the lashes. It’s very important that you let this coat fully dry before applying the next coat. This will prevent that ‘clumpy’ look that sometimes happens. Three coats is usually best.
4. Last step – using what is left over on the brush, sweep a single light coat onto the bottom lashes. Go easy for the lower lashes (less is more for these lower lashes!)

FYI also, very often mascara runs because it slides into concealers and/or eye creams. You can prevent this by sealing them. How? By dusting a healthy layer of translucent powder – like Cover FX Setting Powder ($32 at sephora.com) – under and over the eyes!