Questions From You!

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Hey guys,

 I asked and you answered. Thanks to all of you who asked me beauty-related questions :) 

 This post is going to be a little different because I'm going to be answering your questions via podcast and blog post. It's so much easier to answer questions through talking, so that's exactly what I'm going to do. 

 Please listen and follow along the post for answers to all your questions. 

Download this episode (right click and save)
Download this episode (right click and save)                

Q: What is a good bronzer/powder to wear in the winter-to add a little color?
A: In the winter, your skin probably becomes lighter and so you may want to 1. Get a lighter bronzer or 2. Use a very light hand with the bronzer you have. If you want something to look like a very natural shadow, try going down a couple shades in pressed powder.
For example, if you use L’Oreal true match powder and you are in the shade W2, try looking at the shades and maybe get a W4 powder to use to bronze up your face. If you have trouble picking out bronzers, pick out the bronzer that is one step lighter than you think. 

Some great bronzers to try: 
Check out this website for more great bronzers!
Check out this YouTube video - http://youtu.be/CFDXc3-Cwy8 
Some inspiration from Charlotte Tilbury: In winter your complexion tends to be paler, so make sure you choose the right shade for your skin tone, which should be one or two shades darker than your skin tone. Too dark a shade will just look harsh against your skin and will be difficult to blend. I would choose a shade with subtle sparkle to illuminate and warm up your skin. Before applying your bronzer, sweep a translucent powder on the areas you want to contour and bronze—cheekbones, temples, and jawline—to avoid any blotches and allow the product to blend into your skin. For the best results and a subtle finish, use a natural-hair big brush to apply the color gradually, and blend it well. To [fix] dull skin, use a highlighter on the tops of your cheekbones. 

Q:What do you think of bottom-lid eyeliner? Does it age older women more?
A: Unless you're doing a dramatic smokey eye where you are using super dark colors, I would stay away from a dark color on the waterline and bottom lid. Eyeliner is really harsh and by adding it to the bottom of the eye, it makes that area look harsh as well. Having a blended look is much more beautiful and I always put eyeshadow on my lower lash line.
What a lot of people do to make their eyes look wider, brighter, and more awake is add a nude-colored or white eyeliner to the waterline (which is what she did in the right eye of this picture).
As you age, you should make your eyes look bigger and brighter, so my answer is yes, I think bottom-lid eyeliner can definitely age women. Stick to eyeliner on the top lid (rich browns are great) to define the lashes. Also, the dark colors of eyeliner can really bring out any dark circles or wrinkles that may be under the eyes.

This website has great anti-aging eye tricks!


Q: What are some awesome eye shadows and eyeliners I could find at a drugstore, like target or walmart?

 Check out the website this picture came from  

 A: There's a lot of great eye shadows from the drugstore, and I think it's really about trial and error since eye shadows sometimes wear differently on different people. First, with any eye shadows, you'll only get a great, true result when you use a primer underneath. Primers make shadows look more true to color and last much longer. Since I don't own any primers from the drugstore, I can't recommend on from personal use, however I've heard of a few that are supposed to be great and would be worth checking out. 

  • ELF Eyelid Primer - $1 
  • L’Oreal De-Crease Eyeshadow Base - $5
  • NYX Eyeshadow Base - $4
  • Milani Eyeshadow Primer - $6.49 
  • Maybelline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow - $4 (although these are technically cream eyeshadows, they are great to put down as a primer before other shadows. I've used these before and they are really good!) 

Okay, rant over, on to the actual eye shadows :) 

  1. Everyone and their mom rants and raves about Wet N Wild's Walking on Eggshells eyeshadow trio (pictured), and I've been wanting to check it out myself, especially since it's super cheap. 
  2. L'Oreal Paris Infallible 24 HR Eye Shadow - These are kind of like mac pigments, they're loose eye shadows that work really well when used wet (try using this with eye drops. put an eye drop on your brush and then dip into the shadows for great pigmentation). 
  3. Although Makeup Geek shadows aren't sold in a drugstore, they're definitely drugstore price and have really cheap shipping online. If I could recommend any eyeshadows, drugstore or even high end, these would be it!!! Not even kidding, people, these eyeshadows are really great and super affordable at $5.99 each. 
  4. MAYBELLINE Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner - Really great gel eyeliner! 
  5. MAYBELLINE Eye Studio Color Plush Silk Eyeshadow (pictured on the right) - I have a couple of these and they are seriously some of the best drugstore eye shadows out there. Definitely grab some of these because the colors are beautiful and the pigmentation is great too. 
  6. L'ORÉAL Color Riche Eyeshadow Quads - I've also heard that these are great. 
  7. MAYBELLINE Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad
  8. Milani Bella Eyes - These are probably some of the newest drugstore eye shadows and the most raved about recently. I definitely want to pick some of these up because of all the great reviews so far! 


 Q: What colors do you recommend for blue eyes? 
A: I think greys, browns, golds, and silvers are especially beautiful on blue eyes. Warm browns, golds, and coppers really bring out the blue color. Neutral colors always look really great on blue eyes. I also think dusty purples and lavender is great for blue eyes.  Check out this awesome website - this website really breaks it down and gives good options. 

 Q: How do you do a smoky eye... and not look like you have a black eye.
A: Practice makes perfect and smokey eyes aren't easy to master! For me, it's about making sure that I put a lighter color towards the inner portion of my eye, not dragging out the color to far up or out, and creating a crisp line at the edge. 
Put your darker colors on the outside or on the lid. Don't bring them up to high and make sure you highlight the inner corner of your eye and the brow bone. Be careful when using colors like purple and black because they can easily look like a bruised eye. Avoid this by putting a lighter color in the inner portion of the eye (picture on the right). I also like to take a makeup wipe when I'm done and create an edge on the outer portion on the eye to create a crisp line. Also, make sure you really blend out your shadows, but don't take them up too high. There should definitely be a lid color, crease color, and a highlight color. To make the eyes smokey, make sure you put a color on the lower lid of the eyes and blend. 

 Great eye shadow hacks!
Simple, smokey eye video


 Q: What is the perfect way to put red lipstick on without it running? 
A: Lip liner and concealer! No matter your age or type of red lipstick, you should always begin with some type of lip liner, whether it be clear, nude, or red. This is so the lipstick doesn't end up all over your face and gives the lips a crisp line. 

 When I apply red lipstick, I first exfoliate my lips, put on my lip liner, use a lip brush to add my lipstick on the rest of my lips, and then clean up the edges with concealer. I know some people apply a thin layer of foundation on the lips before to make the lipstick last longer. Sorry for the huge picture, but it does a great job of showing how to properly apply a red lip. 
Vintage-Inspired Red Lips | 22 Beauty Tutorials For Dramatic Holiday Looks 

 Thanks so much for everyone's questions. This was a really fun blog post to do, and I always welcome any beauty-related questions you may have.

This super long post is over :)