UPDATE TO UNI-BROW POST

Ok, I am so sorry that I originally put this, the wax that I recommended was the GiGi Creme wax in the microwaveable version. SORRY! I have to say that I do NOT recommend using that one now! Not only did I break out in a weird miniature version of eyebrow acne, but it dried out my skin (still 3 days later) and left me more irritated than before. The only versions of the microwaveable wax that I have found were the all purpose and the creme wax. The facial honee is in the big jar that I had to boil in order to use it. If you have found a Facial Honee wax in the microwaveable version, then you have a rare find! The creme stuff that I used yes was very convenient, but I am sorely kicking myself right now for not taking the extra time to boil the other huge vat that I had originally purchased! By the way, the All Purpose wax is like for Backs, arms, legs etc... Not really for the face, you may break out like me! Alright, hope I saved some others from funky eyebrow acne!

Uni-Brow, Uno Whaaaat?

So ladies, does your man have a large bushy catarpillar resting above his eyes? Or does he have some bushy brows that he doesn't know how to keep up and refuses to go to a salon to have them waxed? That's so common. Deep down, they DO care, they wish they could fix it themselves, make them look like the guys in GQ, all nice and groomed and everything. Well the truth is ladies, that you can wax his eyebrows for him. He doesn't have to step foot in a salon. I have never used any of the Sally Hansen brands of pre-waxed strips for the face, but I don't think I would recommend them for first time users. I get all my stuff at Sally Beauty Supply since they have professional stuff for cheap. If you can find it, get the GiGi Creme Wax in microwaveable version. Otherwise, you will need to buy a warmer which is upwards of 30.00 and is really not necessary. I, on the other hand decided to make things difficult on myself and bought the non-microwaveable kind and had to boil a pot of water on the stove, and place the wax jar inside. This is a pain and I don't recommend doing that.




So ok, you get your jar of wax, then get some Muslin strips, you can get the large kind and cut them into 1inch thick strips.





The first thing you want to do to his brows is make sure that they even need to be waxed! Some guys just have longer eyebrow hairs and need a trim. Take an eyebrow brush, (or a cleaned mascara brush, or any small brush will do) and brush the brows upwards. Trim with scissors any hairs that stand above the length of the brow, the loose wispy ones. Then where they arch, brush downward and trim those as well.





Next, clean the area to be waxed, take a cotton ball with a mild facial soap, and just wipe the areas clean. Make sure they are dry!




Take some Baby Powder and pat on a good amount over any area you want to wax. This is a pretty important step to ensure that you have a dry surface to work with, otherwise the wax wont stick.






Then you want to make sure the wax is warm enough, not hot to scald the skin, but warm enough that it's in a liquid form.

See video below:

Once the strip is on, let it to dry for several seconds to a minute. The longer the better, just don't exceed like 3 minutes or you might take skin with it! Pull the skin surrounding skin in the opposite direction that you will pull the strip, this will make this less painful for him. Then once the strip is removed, apply immediate pressure with a finger to numb the area.

Ok, So if the result you have looks good, then youre done waxing! Take a small amount of petroleum Jelly and put it on the areas where there is some wax residue. This will help to remove it. I recommend putting on an oil free moisturizer or even some aloe on the areas waxed in case your man has sensitive skin. A small amount of redness is normal, but if it looks like its bleeding or missing skin, the wax may have been too hot.

Ladies, of course you can do this for yourself, but I wanted to show that men do need this kind of care taken, and they probably won't ask for it because, well they're men! The male model I used to do this was a good friend of mine's boyfriend. He is a hunter and a real MAN's MAN! He had no idea that his bushy brows can be tamed with a bit of TLC! So here's a before and after of Steve!
Before

After

After

Must Haves for DRY

So along the same lines as the dry lips, as I have mentioned, Dry Skin is just the worst! What makes things even worse is when you have dry skin but still have break outs. It's weird, Dry, but oily? Yes that's possible. If your skin is too dry, your pores are working in overdrive, making more oil than you need, causing you to break out, but then in other areas you are almost flaking and peeling because of how dry you are! Does that sound about right? During the winter months, I tend to have to use 2 moisturizers. I use my normal 3 step that I get from Clinique. ( I am Oily and tend to break out often, so I use the number 3) And after my Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel has dried, I will apply a small amount of the Superdefense (for oily skin) in my drier areas. It's still oil free so I don't break out from it, and it is a moisture booster for my flaky parts! It also has an SPF 25 so of course it's awesome! So try that or a heavier moisturizer on top of your normal moisturizer and see if that makes a difference. By the way, if any products you are using contain Mineral Oil, reconsider using it all together. Most, (but not all) products that contain mineral oil as the first or second ingredient (PONDS) do more damage and dry your skin than help. If you are prone to break outs and acne, then you SHOULD NOT BE USING THIS! If you are on a budget, I recommend trying Aveeno Clear Complexion moisturizer. It's a pretty hefty moisturizer that has salicylic acid to help fight the break outs but is very 'coushiony' on your skin. Try and stay away from generics when it comes to facial moisturizers. This is the one thing you really don't want to skimp on too much. Cleansers are another story! Too be continued...

So winter is here ladies, and that means DRY SKIN! We have to drag out the intense moisturizers, cuticle creams, and lip protection! But that doesn't necessarily mean we have to go without color on our lips! Yes it is true that most (not all) lip colors in some way will have a drying effect on our lips. Especially those long wearing lip colors that have 2 steps. And then if you are using a lip liner also, you will probably have the drier areas around your lips from that. Here's what I do during these winter months that helps me to maintain the color I love while keeping my lips moisturized at the same time!

Without using any lipliner, take the color you would normally use as lip color, and using the tip, draw around your lip as if it was lipliner. If you get it below the lip, just use another Qtip with makeup remover and 'erase' it.

Once you have a subtle lip line, use your lip moisturizer to fill in the blank area by applying as you normally would.

Now you can still wear your lip color but have the benefits of your lip moisturizer!

Easy-Peasy!

MONEY SAVING ALERT!

Here's a way you can extend the life of your mascara and make it work better for you at the same time! Most manufacturers will advise against this but I think it is only because they want you to buy more, often. Well that's my opinion anyway. When you get a new mascara, hold the wand under running water for a split second, just to wet the tip of the wand. Put it back in the mascara and wait for the first use. This will thin out the mascara and help it to go on easier. If you do this each time you use your mascara, not only will it go on smoother, it won't cake, clump or dry before you finish applying it. It will help to coat each lash better, But it will also extend the life of your mascara by several MONTHS! Now since your mascara is a breeding ground for bacteria, do not share your eye makeup with anyone and if you have an eye infection, then throw the mascara away! This is just something from a girl that doesn't have the money to shell out every month for a new mascara! (me!)

the Pop!

Now here is something you can add to your look that might only be for a select few people. Those who have very sensitive eyes, I would advise against this step. But if not, what you can do with either a pencil eyeliner, or just use whatever you used on your top lid. Line the inside of your lash line with the liner as well, this will enhance the length of your lower lashes and add depth to your eyes.

Very gently pull down on the eye lid to open the eye up, then run the tip of the brush just above the lash line and sweep across slowly and gently until you have a smudgy line. Then you can take your finger and wipe off the excess. This way you don't get little black floaties in your eye! ; )

Viola!

So here is the finished product when we used the green eyeshadow. I used a highlight blending color of gold which gave her a funky eye look.

Here is the finished product when we used the blue. Smokey but subtle eyes, this can be done using any eyeshadow color that you want, but it's best to use 2 colors, one light and one dark.

So now that you have your eyeshadow over your liner, and want more drama or depth, take a contour brush and with the same color you used for the eyeshadow over your liner, lightly shade inside the contour of your eyelid, making a 'C' shape.
Now that the 'C' (for contour, HaHa!) is made in the contour of your lid, you can use a lighter color of your choice, maybe a peach or beige color, or even face powder would work, to fill in the remainder of your lid. This will help to blend the shadow and the liner together. (note: there is only the contour shadow shown above and below, no other eyeshadow was applied in these pictures yet)

Adding mascara

So our next step is to add mascara. I usually do this next before adding eyeshadow because mascara can be messy and it is easier to clean up without messing up your eyeshadow! (Fab mascara tips to follow soon!)

So now you are going to take your eyeshadow color (shown here in mossy green). Take the smudger brush, wet it slightly if you want, and dab a bit into the eyeshadow. Then directly over the eyeliner line you just made, make the same line above it and slightly blend with the liner. This will enhance that lash line even more and add some color as well. You can also do the same on the bottom lash line, this adds more depth to your eyes and gives the smokey look. If you are satisfied with how this looks then you are done! If you want a more finished look or more drama, then you can go into your lid contour with more shadow, shown above.

How to do the Cat-eye

So to start, I take the 'concealer' brush or a long pointed brush, wet the brush with a small amount of water and dip into the eyeshadow or cake eyeliner. I tend to start in the middle of the eyelid because you can go back over and retrace your line until you get it right.

It's best to very softly pull your eyelid outward to make the skin taught if you have bunching. Then just follow the top of your lash line outward. You can go back then and draw the line from the inside of your eye and draw outwards meeting the lines together. If you want to draw the line upwards as you draw out, this will give you a more lifted look. The main point of the Cat-eye look is to enhance your natural lash line without having to wear false lashes. It gives the illusion of long, dark and heavy lashes.

Now you can add to the line that you have to increase your lash line. If you have too thick of a line, no problem, that's what Qtips are for! Just dip a qtip into make up remover (or my cheap recipe for makeup remover) and draw over the area you want to remove. Make sure you don't get any in your eyes!

Once you have your line the way you want it, you can intensify the lash line by adding another coat of eyeliner (or wet eyeshadow) just above the lashes to seal any cracks.

Once you have your line drawn on both eyes, you are ready to move on! If your line comes too far out past your eye, just use a Qtip with makeup remover to shorten it. You can make your line thinner or thicker, depending on your preference. If it is still too thick for you, don't worry because when we add eyeshadow it will help to blend some of it. And we move on!