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Choosing the right foundation is the first step to a successful makeup result. Perfect matching foundation can only be assessed by correct estimation of skin type, natural color and skin tone. Since most Caucasian, Latin, African and Asian women have yellow-based skin, they must buy foundation with a yellow base too so that it doesn’t look like a mask. However, Asian women from the south-Asian region have skin with a yellow-greenish undertone and thus, need a foundation that has same color of pigment as the base. Experts often use two or more shades of foundation to highlight the best features of the face and underplay the low points. To master those skills, need a lot of practice and study. Yet, there are a few points that we can keep in mind while using the foundation at home to give the best possible results, for daily purposes:
Blend the cream foundation smoothly using a cosmetic sponge in long sweeping motions.
Cosmetic sponge helps you to manage and apply foundation more easily and gives a better and smoother result.
For perfect matching, foundations should not be tested on hands or insides of your wrist as the color of your face definitely differs from the color of these areas of your body. The best way is to test the foundation on your jaw line and see whether it matches the natural color of your neck or not. Matching under different light settings gives you a better idea about the correct foundation for your skin.
Foundation needs to be blended, properly, especially under the jaw line, into the hairline, on the ear lobes, corners of the nose and mouth and over and under the eyes, so that they don’t let on the difference that the foundation makes to your skin to the viewer.
To retouch a particular spot, reapply the foundation there lightly and blend it with the rest of the face. Then powder it lightly with the translucent powder to let it set properly.
Touchup with dual active powder foundations can easily help you to change your look from day makeup to night makeup as it works as foundation as well as powder. For sheer finish using this foundation, you just have to dampen your cosmetic sponge a little.
While applying liquid foundation, it is better to put small points of foundation at different parts of your face such as forehead, nose tip, chin and cheek bones and then blend a little at a time on the face to give a more finished look.
You can use powder foundation just like the normal compact powder

Lip liner is not essential but if used, it should be applied first. It should either be neutral in color or match the shade of your lipstick and not darker than your lipstick, so that if the lipstick fades, you don’t walk around with only the outline showing. Lip liner is used to define the look of your lips and normally, you start lining them on your natural lip line starting from the center of your upper lip to the outer edge. For sharpening the lip pencil, chill it in the refrigerator for a few minutes first. To make the lipstick stay longer, use foundation on the lips first, then apply lipstick, blot the extra color with a tissue, reapply the lipstick and then dust the lips with powder. Since foundation and powder make lips drier, use lipstick with a creamy formula to counter the effect.

For applying the color, stretch the lips and starting at the center of the lip and glide the color to the corners. Lip brushes help you to give better finish to coloring your lips and avoid the application of excess color. A quick way of applying lip color is to use the lipstick to stain the bottom lip, press them together to transfer some of the color to the upper lip and then use the angle tip of the sponge applicator to refine lip edges. For more natural looks, you can try tips given below:

The beautiful raspberry stain can be obtained by applying the berry color on the lips, blotting it with the tissue and then use brush to apply a second coat of the lipstick.
The nude bare lip looks can be obtained by using neutral pink lip color that matches your skin tone. Pale colored women can go for light orange color with a pinkish tint while olive skin can use brownish bronze shade. Avoid lip liners as you don’t need the harsh lines. Add clear gloss to the center of your lip and you are ready.
There are lipsticks that add warmth and volume to your lips and are also have a flavor and perfume of their own. So buy the favorite fruity, candy or other flavors of your spouse for your honeymoon!
Older women should use creamier lipsticks.
Orange and brown shades make your teeth appear yellow so until you have that picture-perfect smile, keep them off your lips.
In summers, you may have those dreaded dry cracked lips. Simply use your toothbrush to get rid of the dead skin gently and apply lip balm generously on them to heal them soon.
Brown toned lips take on brown shades such as apricots, beiges, peaches and cappuccinos better than pink or blue toned lipsticks.

Better look to the lip gloss effect. Ladies with light and medium skin color should use pale natural shades of pencil for defining the lips and give them a better shape along with clear lip gloss with a sheer silver shimmer for a natural look. To make your lips appear soft and light pink, you can line them with pink lip pencil and use the pink-toned lip-gloss. The other shades that will suit them are light mauve, plum with a bit of sheer shimmer gold, pinkish red that may have the touch of sheer shimmer gold, red and red brown. Dark-skinned ladies can try soft pink, reddish brown and deep brown shades of lip pencils with a lighter or similar shade of lip gloss for their lips to look fuller and fresh.

For some extra gloss, roll the wand applicator on the back of your hand until it collects in a tiny mound. Then scoop it up using the lip brush and spread it evenly on your lips. For feathering lips or lips having fine lines, gloss should only be used on the center of the lips. Too soft and creamy lip pencils get even more softened by the application of the lip gloss and may cause feathering. Targeting the application of lip gloss on the middle of the bottom lip makes thin lips appear bigger and fuller while to make too full tips look thinner, use deep matter lip colors only and avoid glossy finishes. For a daytime look that lasts all the day long, use a soft lip pencil to define the lips, use natural color lipstick, blot it with the tissue and avoid the gloss but in night, blend the pencil line with the lipstick using sponge applicator, to make lips appear fuller and get that spouty look and gloss them over.

Mascara gives a finishing touch to your eye makeup and must cover the lashes from roots to the tips. Deposit the color on the mascara wand by twirling it in the pack and then cover the upper lashes from their base to the tips in full strokes to make the lashes look thicker, longer, well defined and separated. Mascara is applied from the underside by holding the wand horizontally parallel to the eyelid and the brush is rolled slowly in the upward stroke. For lower lashes, one has to be more careful so as not to smudge the under eye area and the wand is to be held vertically and mascara is applied from side to side. Less mascara is used on the lower lashes and extra color should be blotted off using the tissue paper. Usually women opt for more than one coat of the mascara, which combs the lashes too so that they do not look stuck together.

If mascara is deposited on the wand more than needed, tissue the extra color off before applying it. Different colors of mascara such as brown, navy and green can make you look funky instantly. It is important that mascara is used on an individual only to avoid transferring eye infections and if it causes even the slightest irritation in the eye, it must be immediately discarded. Wiggle the brush a little at the roots of the lashes as it allows the bristles to move between the eyelashes, combing them and separating them. Let mascara dry between any of the two coats and comb the eyelashes to separate the wet lashes. Do not rub eyes to remove the mascara but use the eye makeup solvent instead. Before applying mascara, use an eyelash comb or damp toothbrush to comb your lashes. Always use a clean and fresh mascara wand on damp lashes.

Black mascara can be used by anybody at anytime though blondes should only use it for bright night makeup. Thin and short brush is best as it is easier to control and gets to the corner of the eye easily. It is also advisable to powder the under-eye area before applying mascara to avoid smudging. Curl the lashes before applying mascara by moving the wand in a zigzag fashion to make the lashes look wider and brighter. Applying mascara only on the upper lashes lend them a dramatic touch, while applying it lightly on the upper and lower lashes, make the eyes seem wider. A gel-based mascara enhances the lashes while thickening mascara looks more dramatic and adds volume to your lashes. Brown, navy and aubergine shades add subtle and sophisticated touch to your eyes while redheads can use burgundy shades. Women with strawberry-blonde hair may try different shades of brown. Be sure not to match your mascara color with your eye color

Nail polish remover not only wipes off the old color but also the grease from the nails and makes the new color coat stay put for longer period of time. Apply thing coat of nail polish, let it dry and then apply another coat. Even if you want a glossier effect, go for more than two thin coats rather than a thick coat of polish as it dries sooner and lasts longer and do not chip off easily. It is advisable to use the remover and applying nail polish only once or twice a week to prevent your nails from drying. Even if you do this, be sure to use removers with built-in moisturizers to keep your nails healthy. There are some tricks to keep in mind while painting your nails or give them the perfect look:

• For the flawless French Manicure, use a white nail pencil to line the nail tip from beneath for that pure white clean look instead of white nail polish.
• Do not forget to a weekly hand massage to pamper yourself, increase your circulation and enhance nail growth.
• To make the chip-resistant nail enamels last longer, submerge your freshly painted nails in a bowl of ice-cold water for 30 seconds.
• While running for the car, you will just need five seconds to put a wide stripe of a quick-drying nail varnish down the center and you are ready to go!
• If your nail polish has chipped to an extent that touchups are of no use, better use the remover rather than trying to hide it under a coat of nail paint that makes the texture of your nails took uneven.
• You may sometimes even get away with cleaning the nails underneath, rubbing on the buffing cream and use chamois buffer for the healthy shine.
• Remember never to file the corner of your nails as it weakens them amd make them brittle.
• Get fashionable and funky by doing your nails in a solid color and allowing them to dry. Then use a toothpick to make a diagonal line across your nails in a different color. More skilled artists can go for more complicated patterns of their own.
• For club night outs or hot dates, try metallic glints; nail piercing, nail tattoos and embellishments. If your nails are not as long as you desire, you can opt for fake nails too.
• A hasty French manicure look can be achieved by using a neutral shade as the base paint and the white shade on the tips of your nails.
• For shimmer and glitter, use a coat of clear gloss or sparkle on your dried nail polish. Silver glitter looks best on dark blue and black shades while gold glitter goes well with red shade. They are the best choices for bridal look or on weddings of near and dear ones and formal wear.

Summer is the time to give your body the healthy tan and protect it from the horrors of sunburn, baked and dry lips and even sun-scorched skin cancer! There are some makeup disasters that can happen in summer sun and a relaxing beach noon that we do not pay adequate attention too. Here we are going to discuss them along with some other tips to keep you pretty like sunshine:

• Avoid lip liner.
• Colors such as golden-green or mango green for eyes can be used along with black or brown mascara.
• Dewy face with the lightest veil of translucent powder is the right summer look.
• Dry hair frizz a lot as humidity increases and make curly hair unmanageable. Rich deep conditioning of your hair will help to tame your hair and don’t forget to protect them from sun, sand and wind by wearing a trendy summer hat or a baseball cap. Wax and texturizers also help to tame frizzy hair.
• Gold shimmer under brows or across cheekbones can be a luxury you can use.
• In case, you haven’t taken the precaution already and the damage is already done, use a foundation with the shade of your tanned skin to cover the area under your eyes and blend it well with the rest of the face. Then use nude or light brown eye shadow to give them a natural look.
• Light shade of bronzer on cheekbones and chin gives you a beautiful suntan.
• Sprinkle your feet with foot powder before wearing sandals to avoid any blisters. If you still feel shoe-on-skin rubbing, protect the sensitive area with a bandage before the blister forms. To get rid of the blister, take a clean needle and sanitize it with alcohol. Pop the blister and use cotton to clean any fluid that comes out of it. Apply an antibiotic ointment without trying to scrape off the skin and then cover the area with a bandage.
• Sunglasses protect your eyes but do not stop the sun from tanning the rest of your face, resulting in eyes with paler skin around it than the rest of the face. To avoid this, generously rub sunscreen with SPF 30 with a broad spectrum over your entire face and body every two hours.
• The only thing you can do to get rid of this yellowish tint is to scrape the surface of your nail with the help of the finest-grain side of the block file and use the clear UV-resistant topcoat for protection and shine.
• The sheer pastel, beige and pink nail polish acquires a yellowish tint after being exposed to sun for two days or more. To avoid this, use a clear nail gloss with inbuilt UV protection topcoat and do not forget to rub sunscreen on nails too after every two hours, just like the rest of your body.
• Use eyeliner pencil of slate gray, warm chocolate or navy shades with a light hand.
• Use gel on your hair and use only the fresh razor with triple blades to shave bikini line to avoid any unsightly rashes. You can use 1% hydrocortisone cream to any rash to cure it and hide any redness in the area by using tinted facial moisturizer.
• Warm blond and naturally medium brown hair with highlights may acquire coppery shades in sun due to oxidation. Thus, always wear a hat or scarf while venturing outdoors. Hair color gloss can help you to achieve the shine again.
• Warm, sunny, bright blush can be used.
• Wear only natural nude shades as lip colors while going out to the beach. If you cannot resist the temptation of using liquid lipstick while on the honeymoon in a tropical island, keep it inside the cooler for your soda or carry it in a pot or tube with a wand. If your bullet is going soft, try to cool it a little by placing it in a fridge or near an air conditioner

Many people to go to the beach only to be dazed by the gorgeous womanly beauty all around and no woman really wants too be considered a sore spot in the beautiful scenery with only their bikinis to cover their bare bodies. Beach fun can range from playing volleyball, basking in the sun for that sexy tan, swimming in the ocean to rafting and other water sports. Here are some tips to protect your skin from the negative effects of wind, sun and salty water:

• Sunscreen with a minimum SPF 30 is the most essential item on the beach to block off the harmful UV rays from the sun and prevents skin cancer.
• The best way to apply sunscreen is to exfoliate the skin and remove the dry and dead skin cells and apply sunscreen 20 minutes before venturing outside to allow for your skin to absorb it fully.
• Reapply sunscreens after every two hours.
• If you go for a swim or splash in the ocean, apply the sunscreen as soon as you dry off.
• Even after when we come back from the beach, do not think that you are safe from the sun indoors until you take care to soothe, cool and moisturize your skin to makeup for any damage that might have occurred during the time you spent on beach. Aloevera is quite good for the purpose. It is better to use oil-free moisturizers after all that sweating on the beach.
• Hairs are very much susceptible to damage like skin. Chlorine used in the pool may give a greenish tinge to your hair while salt can dry them up. Wind and humidity on the beach are known to frizz up your hair too and may cause your hair color to fade. To avoid all this and more, shampoo your hair and apply a leave-in conditioner before going to the beach for a swim.
• After the swim, be sure to use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of the chemical and mineral buildup in your hair.
• Women with curly hair should use hair products with added moisturizers and silicone that does not allow humidity to damage hair and should dry hair with a diffuser after the swim.
• Women with straight hair should use hair products with silicone and ingredients to block humidity. After the swim, they should dry hair using the flatiron and can also maintain the smooth texture of their hair by using sealants.
• While basking in the sun, be sure to wear hat to cover your hair and hair cream with ultra-violet filters to keep off the harmful effects of the sun

Blush adds warmth and color to the face and is mostly applied mainly to cheeks. Most of the women desire to look naturally beautiful glowing with a warm tinge to your face to make them look soft and blushing and blush is used for exactly that particular purpose. Blushers can be in variety of hues, tones and consistencies. They come as powder, cream, liquid or gels and each of them have specific purposes and suit different situations. Powder blush is easier to apply than liquid and cream blush. The latter should always be used before powder. Blush can easily be applied by sweeping it downward from the ear to mid-cheek. Mostly, it is applied from top of the ear and ends at the end of the apple of the cheek. Best colors for blush are the ones that are close to skin tone and sheer use of blush is often the best.

It is important to test the look of blush on your face with full makeup to see that it gives you a balanced look or not. Blush darker than natural blushing colors of the cheek often needs to be toned down, especially at daytime, which can be done by dusting some translucent powder over the blush. Evening makeup can take on a little more of the blush though depending on the desired look of the wearer. Blush can instantly brighten and freshen a dull face and helps you to underplay the tired look of the face. However, if it misused and used heavily, it can leave you looking like a makeup box! The tip to find your natural blush color is to bend down and touch your toes for two minutes and then stand back up. The color of cheeks is the right blush color for you. Another way to choose the right blush color is to match it with the lip color you are wearing. Reds and pinks are for winters while peaches, beiges and warm hues are better for summers.

For combination and oily skin, powder blush works well. Oily skin can also use liquid and gel blush on but cream blush is best for dry skin. Staining blushers are for well-moisturized skin only and need to blend into skin quickly as they dry very quickly. For a healthy suntan, put a little bronzer powder on forehead, chin and nose. An eye shadow, which is too red, pink or rosy for your taste can be used as blush and some of it can be mixed with Vaseline, lip-gloss or lip balm for a matching lip color. A dark or bight cream blush can be diluted instantly by mixing it with a little concealer on your palm. Brown blush is great for toning down the color of blush ad can also be used as contour, eye shadow or bronzer. It can also be mixed with powder for sheer blushed look.

Every bride deserves to be the very special lady of the day and look her best. The hairdo, the makeup, the bridal trousseau and how the bride conducts herself is the focus of everybody’s attention on this day and you will certainly feel much more comfortable, if you have already done the dress rehearsal first. Here are some useful tips for the bride:
To cover the reddish skin, use sheer color corrector and apply tinted moisturizer of yellowish green or olive green shade to neutralize it.
Pink color blush is not for the wedding day, generally speaking. Try bronzer under cheekbones instead.
Bright lip colors may be warm such as orange-red, orange-gold, copper and warm beiges, creams and caramels or cool such as fuchsia, magenta, blue-reds, shades of lilac and pink and make lips look plusher and fuller.
Deep warm lip colors such as yellowish and orangish browns; mahogany, deep warm reds and chocolate and deep cool shades such as cool brown, taupe, deep purple, plum and blue-toned burgundy underplay too much thickness of lips.
The subtle look can be achieved by using the air-brush a lot and sticking to light shades such as cream, gold, lime green and brown for warm skin undertones and lilac, plums and soft pink for cool skin undertones.
Neutrals are the safest choice to make you seem a bride endowed with natural beauty.
Be sure to coordinate you overall look: all the colors should have either warm or cool tone while your hair, make-up, jewelry and gown should correspond to the carefully chosen theme.
Hairstyle is usually chosen, after completing the makeup to suit the looks of the bride.
If you are not used to wearing heavy makeup, keep your hands away from blue and green eye shadows.
For olive and dusky skinned ladies, maroons and brown lip colors are the safest bet as well as the golden tones.
Hairstyles are often adorned with pearls, rhinestones, flower buds, golden lace, satin ribbons, jeweled hair bands and tiaras among other hair ornaments and may range from the simplest French braid or bud to complex and elaborate hairdos.
Bridal makeup includes all the attention to the minutest of details. Don’t overlook them for the finished look.
A timeless makeup look will keep your wedding snaps fresher forever, so try not to give in to the fads of the day.
Cream foundation with a high pigment level is recommended.
Don’t forget to cover your neck, chest, area behind your ears with foundation and makeup too.
Morning weddings need natural look makeup while evening weddings need more formally adorned brides with darker makeup shades.
Lighting also determines your makeup. A well-lit area uses lighter colors while deeper tones are good for darker areas. Fluorescent lighting will add a greenish tinge to everything so avoid green shades.
Try not to be too dramatic but there is a secret seldom revealed: red lipstick makes teeth appear whiter!

Concealer, as the name suggests, is used to conceal facial imperfections and hide blemishes, under-eye circles, spider veins, dark spots, pimples, scars and birth marks and give us the look of flawless skin. Denser than foundation, concealer comes as sticks, cream and tubes and cab also be used to cover ruddy areas and freckles on the face. Since concealer is mostly used to cover up the darker spots on the face, generally one shade lighter than the foundation is chosen for the concealer though sometimes, people also use concealers that are two shades lighter than the foundation. Concealer, which is much lighter than foundation, or a mismatched concealer may result in over-emphasizing a spot rather than covering it up. For people with dry skin and need to camouflage larger areas such as under-eye circles, liquid concealer is the best foundation while solid concealer is better to hide definite areas such as pimples, scars and bruises.

Cream to powder foundation can also serve as a concealer than blends easily with the skin. For the perfect skin look, gently pat the concealer on with fingertips and be sure to cover entire under-eye area and outside area of the eyes as it often ends up red and dry after a long day. If you are using liquid or solid foundation, you should use foundation first and then the concealer but if you are using a cream-to-powder foundation, use concealer first and then the foundation. A concealer type may also depend on the area you want to cover. Drier concealer is better for covering up the face in general but for more delicate areas such as under-eye area, a creamier concealer is much better.

Concealers with white, green or pink base most often do not match with the skin tones and the foundation of a person, leaving the imperfections highlighted rather than covered, so be sure to buy a yellow-based concealer to match your foundation