Everyone wants to do it but is just a little intimidated by it.  I'm talking about the smokey eye look, what were you thinking?  Here are a few simple tips to get that special look whenever you need it!

CLOSE SET, DEEP SET, OR BASICALLY
           AVERAGE EYES

1.     Choose a base color (pink, pearls, silver for cool skin OR yellow, shiny beige, or golds for warm skin) and spread across entire eye lid, add a pop of color to inner lid area.

2.     Choose a deep color shadow for contouring (greys or plums for cool skin OR browns or greens for warm skin).

3.     With a slanted eye shadow brush begin contour shadow under eyes from pupil to end of outer eye.

4.     Continue contour color up to brow bone, turn brush and stroke color across eye to middle, fill in the corner you just made by dragging color across eyelid to middle. Only outer half of lid should be contoured to widen and separate.

5.     Finish with lots of eyeliner (grey or black for cool skin OR brown or dark green for warm) from middle of eye to outer corner on top and bottom.  Apply white liner to inner corner if you have close set eyes. 

6.     For the timid blend with q-tips, for the bold add more smoke! 

7.     Last but not least, loads of mascara.  I love my new X-treme Mascara.  Filled with silk fibers, this creamy mixture coats each lash to look thicker and longer.  Stays all day with no flaking. It's the best mascara I've ever used in all the 10,000 plus makeovers!!!!!

                WIDE SET, FLAT EYES, NO LIDS, BULGING LIDS

1.     Choose a base color with not too much shine (pink, light grey, off white OR for cool skin yellow, sandy beige, or vanilla).  Spread across entire eye lid area.

2.     Choose a matt grey for light cool skin, dark charcoal for dark cool skin OR choose matt brown for warm skin for contouring.

3.     With a slanted eye shadow brush begin contour color at outer corner under eyes and spread under lashes to inner corner for wide set or to middle of eye if eyes are close set.  Extend contour color from outer corner up to where brow bone would be (usually middle of space between eye brow and eye lid) and turn brush and pull color all the way across eye.  For Asian and wide set eyes, you may go past inner corner of eye closer to nose.

4.     Pull color with slanted brush from outer corner completely covering eyelid.  So you end up with a light color under brow and dark all across the bottom of eye.  This gives the appearance of depth.

5.     Apply liner from corner to corner, top and bottom for wide set or bulging eye lid (grey or black for cool skin OR brown or black for warm skin).  Apply liner on bottom only if you have no eye lid (because skin covers them).

6.     Time for blending the dark into the light with a q-tip so there is a gentle fade.  For the bold add more smoke closer to eye lashes.

         HGC Shadows - Primers - Liners - Mascara

                          2012 BEAUTY BUCKET LIST

 OK, maybe you are not obsessed with beauty like me, but I do have a several good suggestions you need to do before your beauty dies forever. Let's face it, if you lived all alone on a desert island you wouldn't need these tips because the coconuts wouldn't care what you look like. But if you have to get out in public whether for work or play people will see you, so do it for them, please. This new year, adopt my Beauty Bucket List and see more smiles and feel the love.

 SMILE MORE-Physiognomy is the science of facial features and their effect on the brain. The way the mind works is that it notices the patterns in your facial features and reflects your actual mood accordingly. So my darlings, when you smile your brain will think you are happy and then you will feel happy. The 'feel good' hormones that are released will ease the tension on your face that causes permanent damage which are wrinkles of course. So smile and lose the attitude and lose the wrinkles. Now where did you think I was going with this?

 GET A FACIAL-Either find a friend and give each other a facial or go to a professional every other month. This is probably one of the most relaxing experiences you will ever have, but also therapeutic as well. Your face is exposed 24/7 to damaging environmental factors like UV rays, mold and mildew, pollutants, dust, invisible organisms, etc. Then there are the clogged pores from improper cleansing and exfoliation from ages of makeup and potions you have rubbed on your face all these years. Say "Yuk" twice. Give your face a break about 4 to 6 times a year and enjoy the steam, warm towels, exfoliation, massage, mask and light treatment. Your skin will look smoother, brighter, and younger! Put it on your calendar and just do it!!

 GET A SPRAY TAN-Oh, do I really need to go over the damaging effects of the sun. Did you know that it only takes one-tenth the amount of UV exposure to activate MMP enzymes that break down the skin's extracellularmatrix as it takes to cause a sun burn. This means that way before you think you have had any damage (because you are not red yet) the sun is already breaking down the critical support structure of the skin. Sun exposure is directly linked to collagen degradation, skin laxity, hyperpigmentation, and most importantly skin cancer. Did you know that over 50% of the cancers in America are skin cancer? So if you must have color, get a spray tan. Look for all-natural solutions that don't have added FD&C colors, alcohols, and chemicals. Professional air brush tanning should be on everyone's Beauty Bucket List!!

More BEAUTY BUCKET LIST topics next time, so stay tuned.