How To: Care For Your Skin

Along with maintaining a heathy diet and staying fit, taking care of our skin is extremely important. It is your largest organ and the body's first line of defence. Even though i is so important we still do things that can cause damage to it. We all love the feeling of warm sun on our bodies, but we don't think about the long term damage we are causing. Cleansing and moisturizing your skin helps it be the best it can be.

Your skin should be cleansed on a daily basis to eliminate dirt and unwanted bacteria that built up during the day. Skin has a pH level of 4.5-5.5; most soaps are very alkaline and disrupt the skins acid mantle.

It is commonly believed that people with oily skin have an excessive amount of moisture. However, it's actually proven that proper moisturizing of ANY skin type can contribute to a better balance of oils.

Smoking cigarettes deprives your body of vitamin C restricting it from properly breaking down cells. If this happens long term, you will experience wrinkles and quicker aging.

I hope your stating to get that skin care is crucial to our health. But before you run out to the store to buy the first face mask you see, let me give you some advice.

Clay/Mud masks are recommended for normal to oily skin. Cream masks are for norman to dry. If you have sensitive skin, use a gel based mask as it contains calming and soothing ingredients. Masks are great to have in your weekly routine, not daily. Facial masks remove surface dirt and increases the circulation of blood. For day to day, use a gentle face wash. Each brand is innovative and different, so make sure to read the packaging and see if it's right for your skin type. If you don't know what skin type you have and want some help, check out this video.

Contour And Highlighting Like A Pro

Grab a mirror and lets start analyzing your face shape. Try to pay attention to the general shape not each individual feature. Some people will have a prominent jaw line, or a rounded forehead, ignore that for now. Just look at the outline of the entire face.

The OVAL is the ideal face shape. When applying your makeup, you want to try to create the illusion of a oval shape. In my previous post, I mentioned that light colours broaden and dark colours recede. Choose either a cream or powdered contour one or two shades darker than your skin tone and a highlighter one to two shades lighter.

After figuring out your face shape, follow these corrective makeup tips to achieve the "perfect" face shape. This video might help you evaluate your face.

For a ROUND face, contour vertically along the sides of the face. This will give the illusion of a slimmer face. If your finding your face looks too short, add a highlight on the forehead and chin.

Some people mix these next two up; the oblong face shape and the square face shape. To fix a SQUARE shape, contour around the corners so it appears softer and rounder. The OBLONG is a longer square. Start with the same steps as the square shape, and then darken the forehead and chin so it appears smaller.

A PEAR face shape, otherwise known as a triangle, means your jaw is much wider than your forehead. Contour the jaw so it looks smaller and highlight the forehead and temples so they look larger. If your face is starting to look to long, skip the step of highlighting the forehead and just highlight the temples.

Opposite to a pear shape, a HEART shape is wider at the top than at the bottom.  Contour the temples and highlight the jaw. Typically the hairline comes to a point in the centre, giving it the name "heart-shaped." If so, you do not want to contour along the middle of the hairline, only at the side.

Last, but not least, we have the DIAMOND shape. Diamond face shapes have a narrow forehead and jaw, but the sides of the face are very wide. Highlight the temples and jaw; do not highlight along the middle of the hairline, not the tip of the chin. This will result in a very long shaped face, slightly resembling the oblong. Finally contour the sides of the face around the cheek bone area, do not extend the contour up or down very far, or it will defeat the purpose of highlighting the other areas.

Play around with your makeup and find the best way that works for you. If your unsure about your face shape, try contour and highlighting different areas of the face. Which ever you think looks the best, continue with that.

Photos from: Salon Fundamentals Cosmetology Textbook. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. 2012. 674. Print.

How To: Make Your Lips Fuller

In this tutorial, Ill show you how to enhance your lips and make them look fuller without lip injections or suction cups. People have been trying to recreate Kylie Jenner's big lips by sucking on cups; I promise you, there are better ways. But, if your curious to see what the results look like, click here.

Lipstick can be perfect on any occasion. Most makeup companies make shades ranging from nude, to bright reds, and icy blues. Pick what ever shade you want and let's begin!

To start, make sure your lips are exfoliated and clean. If they are dry, moisturize 10 minutes before hand. 

Using a brown lip/eye pencil, outline and shade anywhere you want to make more defined. For me, I outline the bottom lip to create depth.

Next, take a white lip/eye pencil and fill in where you want to brighten. Using a light colour will help the area appear larger than it is.

Choose a creamy lip liner and begin outlining the lips and shading it inwards. The reason you need to choose something creamy, is so the lipstick will blend it and leave no harsh lines. To give the illusion of bigger lips, outline just outside your natural lip line. 

I went with a pink liner and nude lipstick to create a soft pink, however, the technique will work with any shades. 

If you have the opposite problem, and you need your lips to look smaller and thinner, reverse the first few steps and outline just inside your natural lip line. Remember, light colours broaden, and dark colours recede. Choose your colour combination wisely!

Easy Long Hair Styles

For all you long-haired beauties, here are some great ways to style your hair. Long hair can get annoying sometimes, and can get in the way, but it had endless styling opportunities! In this video I'll show you easy step-by-step tutorials on how to style your long hair with the help of my gorgeous model, Qazi.

Mask Of Magnaminty Review

Mask Of Magnaminty is my all-time favourite face and body mask. It is SO refreshing and it leaves my face feeling so clean and soft. A little goes a long way with this product. In comparison to other products, I'm using so much less than I usually would. 

You want to apply a nice, thick coat all over the desired area. Make sure to a avoid the eyes and mouth; this stuff smells great, but it does NOT taste good. 

I fell in love with this mask the first time I used it. It smells so fresh and minty; I feel so clean afterwards. I especially love using this on morning when I don't feel 100%. The smell really relaxes me yet wakes me up.

Once you've finished applying, use the left over mask on your hands on other body parts. For example, I applied my mask to my face, so now I'll wipe off the rest onto my neck. This stuff works way to good to just wash away and waste. Now we wait...

After about 10 minutes, the mask turns darker green and dries up. You want to leave the mask on until it just starts hardening. If you wait too long, it can dry out your skin.

I personally love using a warm cloth to wipe it off. I find it's easier to remove when the water is warmer oppose to being cold. It doesn't come of with just one swipe, you will have to wipe a few times to get everything off.

If you have white towels like me, try to only use one to avoid staining. Usually the stains will come completely out, but to be safe, I have one designated facial towel.

When you first take it off, your skin might appear a bit red or blotchy. For me, it only lasts about 30 minutes. The reason the face goes red is because you cleansed it and rubbed at it. I usually apply my foundation a few minutes after and it covers the redness fine. However, if the redness last longer on you or if you need to do you makeup immediately after, I recommend using a green colour correcting concealer. (click here to learn more about green concealers.)

Simple Summer Look

Summer is just around the corner, and what better way to kickstart it than a fun, simple makeup look. This look is super easy to recreate and is designed to enhance your natural features. It is a light coverage look, but you could use your regular foundation routine if you need full coverage.

To begin, make sure your face is clean and moisturized. I prefer using "Marcelle Ultra Gentle Cleansing Gel." I recommend it for all skin types as it is non-irritating.

My go to foundation is the "Almay Clear Complection." It has a blemish clearing technology and it goes on beautifully. You want to make sure the foundation you're using is the perfect colour match as we will be applying it sparingly and you will notice streaking if it is to dark or light.

Using a Beauty Blender, I dap it into the foundation and spread it over as much skin as I can, then I blend it in. I only used 2 pumps of foundation for this look.

Next, I go in with my "Maybelline Cover Stick Corrector Concealer." A little goes a long way with this product. Only use it on the red areas of your face. The green will neutralize the red leaving you with a flawless even skin tone. Blend it out with your finger.

Incase I missed blending any green, I go in with "BH Studio Pro" powder foundation. I also set my under eye area with this.

I decided to go with a powder contour instead of a cream contour to give it a more natural bronze tone. My favourite powder contour is "Hoola Bronzer" by Benefit Cosmetics.

I start right at my hairline by my cheekbone and follow the natural hollow of my cheek towards my mouth. For a natural look, make your contour line about 2 inches long. For a dramatic contour, you can extend it towards the mouth more.

For blush, I'm using MAC "Dame." This is my all time favourite blush. It has been in my collection for years. It appears very light in the packaging, but gives a natural, rose flush when applied.

In the summer, the apples of our cheeks naturally get more sun that some other facial features. To recreate the feeling of being in the sun all day, I'm focusing my application on the apples and not bringing it all the way up the cheekbone. 

In the summer, who wants to spend time putting on a million different eyeshadows? Not me! The "Maybelline Colour Tattoo" shadow gives a beautiful, multi-dimensional tone.

It goes on like a cream, which makes it very easy to apply. I love this product because there is never any fallout. If you feel more comfortable, you can use a brush to apply it, however, I find it easier with my finger.

To make sure I don't get any harsh lines, I go in with a blending brush, and "NYX's Love in Rio" mini pallet. I use the bronze shade and lightly dust it in my crease. As well as blending, it also adds a gorgeous glow to the eyes and makes them pop.

If you have light coloured eyes, this next step will be absolutely beautiful on you. If your eyes are dark, I suggest you use a darker shade.

From the same "NYX's Love in Rio" pallet, take the blue shadow and apply it underneath the lower lash line. This is a super easy way to turn a regular neutral look into something special. 

Fill in your eyebrows however you like. I choose a warm tone to give my face a healthy look.

To keep the look light and fresh, I am not using eyeliner, but if you want to, go for it. If I were wearing this look in the evening, I would add black winged eyeliner and a bit of a darker brown colour in my crease. Go in with your favourite mascara and apply it to both top and bottom lashes.

"Watt's up" by Benefit Cosmetics is a perfect highlight for anyone. For darker skin, it will give you a dewy shimmery highlight. I have fair skin and when I wear it, i notice I look more tanned. I just swipe the highlighter stick across my cheekbone and blend it in with my fingers.

Next, apply your favourite nude lipstick. If you want to kick it up a notch, go with a bright pink or a orange-red colour.

To finish the look, I spray a bit of MAC's "Fix+." This sets everything in place and give you a dewy finish. I love this look because it's so perfect for summer. It's easy, natural, and it's so universal. So more summer essentials, click here.