With Halloween just around the corner why do we need to choose between Trick or Treat? Can’t we have both?

Today’s post is going to be loaded with tricks and tips I’ve learned over the years to help solve some of your cosmetic woes. They may not be of the chocolate variety, but they are treats indeed. Some may even change your life, well your cosmetic life that is!

Let us begin…

#1.  Blue (not orange) is the new black:  If you make your living staring at a computer (like I do) or if you spend countless hours shopping online (like I do) you may have noticed that the whites of your eyes are no longer only white, but rather white with a myriad of red lines running through them.  Tip #1 is about how to make your eyes appear whiter and brighter. Ditch your black eye liner pencil and replace it with navy or dark blue. Lining your eyes with a blue pencil will make your eyes appear whiter, it’s that simple. If you really want to commit, go with a dark navy mascara as well.  It’s not as freaky as it sounds…I do it all the time and I’ve lived to tell about it.

My go to liners are Trish McEvoy Intense Gel Liner in Arabian Nights and Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Pencil in Black Navy (both retail for $28 but Trish often offers a 20% friends and family discount so check it out). As for the mascara, I love Chanel Le Volume De Chanel Mascara in Bleu, its voluminous, non-clumpy and doesn’t flake off half way through your day. FYI it passes my 3 times test.

#2.  Skincare Vs. Cosmetics:  Here is the secret, it’s not a battle! We need both. One protects and nourishes your skin while the other makes you look your best. It’s analogy time, imagine your face as your body, you wash it, moisturize it and then you put your clothes on. Your cosmetics are clothes for your face! Don’t go naked!!

#3.  Primetime:  Most of us don’t use primer. Truth be told, I used to think it was an invention of cosmetics companies to get the consumer to buy yet another product. The fact is, primer really is an important step in your cosmetic routine.  Firstly, a good primer evens out your skin tone, it also seals in your moisturizer which allows for a much smoother foundation application. Because of  the latter, your foundation doesn’t get a chance to clog your pores, which means you’re zit free with great looking skin. My go to primer and foundation are both made by Hourglass. Their Veil Mineral Primer has a spf 15, helps minimize pores, fight redness and when used with Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation your complexion will look pretty much flawless. I particularly love the liquid to powder texture, one pump will cover your entire face and leave your skin with a matte finish all day, which means “bye-bye oily T-zone!”  I use my fingers to apply both products and will smooth out the foundation with a foundation brush.  I happen to love Hourglass’ Brush #2 for blush/foundation because it’s a PETA approved product which uses Taklon instead of animal hair and it is actually really soft and user-friendly. Hourglass is sold at Sephora stores, Barney’s New York and always available on their website.

#4.  The eyes are the windows to your soul:  Well my windows are located pretty close to one another, if this resonates with you, you needn’t worry anymore. This is my favorite tip/trick on the list. Since relocating my eyes isn’t an option, I suggest you try the following: When lining your eyes, never line the inner corner, start at the outer corner and stop lining right above the center of your lid (above your eye-ball) then smudge outward for drama. The smudging also helps to clean up any mess you’ve made along the way (my fine motor skills could use some improvement so I know a thing or two about this).

#5.  Browbeating:  Stop the insanity!!! Every decade the brow trend changes, sometimes thin is in, sometimes bold is beautiful! Regardless of trend, your eyebrows are on your face and you must take that into consideration. Tweeze for your face and not for some magazine trend!

For fear of some esthetician sneezing and waxing off all of my eyebrows I have always plucked my own brows and I have always followed these simple rules. #1. Only tweeze hairs underneath the outer part of your brows. #2. What you do to one side, do to the other, symmetry is key. Lastly, #3. Do not pluck more than 3-5 hairs at a time.  Follow these three steps and you’ll go from brow to WOW!

I like Tweezerman slanted tweezers, available at Sephora stores and most pharmacies.

So there you have todays list of helpful tips and tricks! I hope there is one in there that works for you.

Happy Halloween y’all!

BOO!

xo Elisa