I *love* make up, most of all when I don't feel too great about my body.
So to cheer myself up today, I thought I'd start a thread for sharing tips, tricks and other non surgical, beauty enhancing secrets.

Here are mine:

My hair color is light blonde, my skin is fair with freckles and I have light blue eyes, so unless there's a party I avoid colors that are too dark for me.

5 things I always wear to work:

1. YouRebelLite - tinted moisturizer by Benefit
For even, non caked skin.

2. Boing! - concealer by Benefit
Because I (can) never get enough sleep!

3. DiorShow Unlimited #698 - brown mascara by Dior
I don't have long or thick lashes, unfortunately. This mascara makes it a little better.

4. Le Crayon Kohl #03 gris bleu - greyish blue eye pencil by Lancome
This gives my eyes definition without making them too heavy or made up.

5. '10' - sexy sweep bronzer & highlighter in one, by Benefit
I love the Benefit '10' bronzer especially when I've put on some weight, because it slims down my face & makes my cheekbones stick out more.

My 3 fav beauty secrets:

1. Soleil Flash Bronzer - self-tan for face by Lancome
If you mix this gel with your moisturizer, you can create everything from a light glow to a proper tan - without looking orange. I love this stuff!

2. Pocketpal benetint + gloss - lipstain by benefit
Makes my lips & cheeks pink in a natural, non-made up way. And its the perfect size - fits into every purse.

3. Brushes! - MAC, Sephora, Benefit, Stila
They can be ott expensive, but i found out this year that a good brush really is essential to applying make up, especially when you like the 'natural' look. It prevents stains & over applying.

Tips for beautiful hair

My hair is long, but also thin and a little brittle. This is what I do to keep it shiny:

1. End my morning shower with cold water
It feels *horrible* but it really works!

2. Use a serum when my hair is still wet
CHi (farouk), Biosilk, Tony & Guy tame-it serum... applying this on the ends of my hair keeps it shiny and soft

3. Oiling
It's a little gross but soaking your hair in warm oil (olive oil, almond oil, etc) before bedtime, wrapping it in a hot towel and sleeping on it for 8 hours does real miracles! You do need to wash it thoroughly the next morning (sometimes twice) but it does stay shiny and healthy looking for almost a week.

My top 3 Perfumes:
1. Angel - Thierry Mugler
2. Daisy - Marc Jacobs
3. Lolita - Lolita Lempicka


Hope you'll all join in and share your fav things too! Not necessarily as extensively... I'm a little obsessed

Oh and if anybody has some homemade recipes for face masks, exfoliating etc, I'd love to hear those too as my wallet can't keep up with my appetite

I'm a stay at home mom, so I don't wear a lot of make-up most days.

Everyday, I wear:
Laura Mercier oil-free tinted moisturizer

If I run errands, I add:
eyeshadow - my current favorites are from the Givenchy Holiday 2008 palette (beautiful shades of brown)
mascara - currently, I have Yves St. Laurent Luxurious mascara and am not really a fan. I'm going to go back to Bourjois after I run out.
lip balm
bronzer - bare escentuals warmth
blusher - Nars the multiple in Orgasm

If we're going out on the town:
I usually add eyeliner and a light colored lip gloss.

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I really like Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry shampoo. it really cuts back on the drying time of my shoulder length hair. It went from around 15 minutes to 3-5 - actually making it possible to wash and style my hair every day.

I used to soak my hair in oil, until I discovered Carol's Daughter healthy hair butter. It is not as gross feeling and I don't have to do it overnight, though I almost always do.

When I feel like I haven't gotten enough rest, I use an oxygenating mask to flush my cheeks and give me a little boost.

Once a week, I use a clarifying mask. I like Murad. I also like Steep Clean by Bliss, but I haven't bought any since I ran out.

I use ProActiv solution every day and it really keeps my face clear and the tone even. I only broke out once during this pregnancy.

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My favorite perfumes are:

The One - Dolce and Gabbana
FCUK Her - French Connection (impossible to find these days)
Brit - Burberry

As far as homemade things go - I really can't find anything that beats the sugar scrub that I make at home. All the scents don't do much for me and I prefer just to use a little essential oil (I like tea tree).

A friend swears by her apple mask - she mixes equal parts of applesauce and wheat germ together and leaves it on for 10-15 minutes after cleansing.

When I swim a lot in the summer, I use this for my hair:
1 egg
1 egg shells worth of olive oil
half cucumber

puree in blender; apply to hair; leave on for 10 minutes. I do it once a week when I swim every day.

Wow - thanks! Ill try the healthy hair butter for sure, can you buy it at Sephora?

I've heard about egg masks for your hair but I've never tried it out myself. Homemade sugar scrubs are great, I agree.
Do you ever make your own avocado mask? I'd like to know a good recipe for that.

Oh and everyone is always going on about the Nars orgasm blush, they don't sell it here in Europe but I am dying to try it out. Next time I go to the US I will for sure!

im in the uk, i have fair skin with uneven tone (red patches) and blue eyes, black hair


Make up staples for me:

A really almost white powder, thats all i use to keep my skin clear and fresh
maybelline dream mousse blusher in plum
yves saint laurent black mascara which is amazing
liquid eyeliner in black

when going out, maybelline rouge lipstick and lip pencil

i usually just have vaseline on my lips in the day

for my hair, well i have hair extensions so i have to take extra care with my hair, involving lots of serum and hair oil i bought in egypt

other than that i try not to mess with my skin as it gets so upset if i do, i use simple face wipes and then once a fortnight or so just a clay mask to mattify the shiny patches i sometimes get.

Neeka, you can buy both the hair butter and the orgasm blush at Sephora. Will they ship to you?

Do you mean an avocado hair or face mask? I've tried both. They are a bit too moisturizing for my face, and I like Carol's Daughter better....I guess it is the ease that I like.

Hm. Despite my fairly basic, no-frills type of approach, I'm a girly girl at heart.

Daily Wear
Aveda moisturizer
Bare Essentials mineral veil (powder)
Maybelline Great Lash waterproof mascara
Clinique Black Honey lip color

Hair
I color my hair to a dark brown every 6 weeks at home
Get it cut w/in 3-4 days of coloring to remove the ends
Aveda Brilliant shampoo and conditioners
hot coconut oil treatment once a week

Perfumes
Daily wear (most days): Thymes Filigree
Special occasions: Coco by Chanel

Other Stuff
Brazillian wax every 4ish weeks
Pedicure every 2 weeks
Eyebrow wax every 2 weeks

I love to make my own cosmetics and products and experiment. Recently I've done the following:
made my own Tend Skin for managing ingrown hairs
made my own face wash with castille soap, oatmeal, and rosemary distilled water
made my own sugar scrub with sugar, coconut oil, almond oil, and vitamin e oil
made my own sugaring paste - although this is still in the experimental stages!
face mask with egg whites and honey once a week, unless I'm really dry, then it's mayo or avocado and oatmeal.

Favorite Things
I love the Body Shop's bergamot body wash, but it tends to be drying, so I don't use it all that often.
My loofah pad is my best friend. I use it everywhere, but especially on my bikini line and it saves me from ingrowns.

Hm. That was fun.

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I'm not too into make-up... but my very favorite product ever is Alba TerraTints tinted lip balm. It's made from natural, mostly organic ingredients, colored with minerals, and has a little bit of sun protection (SPF 8 I think). Very good for keeping lips moisturized, and I never wear lipstick anymore (except special events), just this stuff. They make a gloss, too, but I need the moisture.

I'm still trying to discover what works for me as when I was my high weight I relied on pencil eye liner and a bit of mascara and that was it, I used to think 'why bother eh?!'
Now I'm discovering new things and couldn't live without a good foundation, a good bronzer and a nice black liquid eye liner.

I live in teh Uk also and most of my stuff is No.7 from Boots, fantastic stuff, love it.

I'm fairly new to using makeup. I only use Mary Kay products so far, but am interested in branching out. I use loose mineral makeup foundation, waterproof black mascara, and eye liner in amethyst, navy or black, depending on my mood. I use b'urts bees replenishing lip balm, since my lips are pretty colorful.

And I swear by proactive... otherwise I'm a broken out mess.

I do have a question for you beauty beauty mavens... Micabella cosmetics? The lady at the kiosk at the mall caught me yesterday and I'm intrigued. Anyone use it? What do you think of it? TIA.

I probably have every bright metallic color in the book for eye shadow. I don't use any specific brands. Although the only cover up I use is L'oreal.

A new line called "Gosh" came out here, they have great eye shadows and liquid liners of every color. I'm loving their colors.

i use smashbox Brow Tech in Brunette every day. my eyebrows would take over my face if i didn't groom them extensively... yay eastern european genes!

i used to use a ton of foundation and concealer because my skin was so bad, and then i started using Neutrogena skinID. they've had informercial-type things on TV lately. it's an acne/bad skin treatment, similar to Proactiv. it's not makeup, per se, but it's helped me use LESS foundation and feel better about my skin.

also, once i get my grades back from this semester, i am going to treat myself to Nars lip gloss in Orgasm. it is the best lip color on the planet. whenever i go to the mall, i stop at Sephora and put some on.

here's Orgasm:

"Sheer warm pink with golden shimmer."

Everyday makeup Staples

Smashbox 2 in 1 luminizing primer or Sephora brand primer
Smashbox high definition foundation in light -mixed with a bit of moisturizer
Smashbox photo op undeye brightener
Smashbox concealer stick in light
NARS blush in orgasm
Physicians formula eye marker in black
Covergirl lash blast mascara in black
Covergirl eyebrow pencil in brunette

For my skin

I started using Philosophy brand products and I am now a fan!

I use the Philosophy Microdelivery peel once a week along with hope in a jar moisturizer and my skin has never looked better!!

I also use the neutrogena stress control acne scrub on my face/shoulders because I always get breakouts paired with proactive overnight lotion.

I love any scrub that BOOTS makes. Everytime I am at target I swear I pickup a new one. My new obsession is the Mint melon scrub.

To shave I actually use mens cream. I use the shave lotion from every man jack (at target) and my skin has never felt softer after shaving.

To smell nice I use Perfume from Marc jacobs or Bath and body works coconut lime verbana

To keep my skin soft I use dove cream oil lotion. For 4 bucks this is the most amazing lotion ever.

Other stuff

I try to get my eye brows threaded every couple weeks. But when I am lazy I do them myself.

Pedicures every 2 or 3 weeks. Now that its cold I go a little longer but I cant stand when my feet get all rough and cracked from wearing heels everyday.

I use pantene pro V smoothing hair mask once a week because I have super thick long hair and my hair tends to dry out at the ends.

When I am in between pedicures I use burts bees coconut cream and put heavy socks on and sleep like that overnight.

Fun! I'm a product ho! I'm going to sound incredibly vain - watch out.

Hair stuff:
I trade services with a hair stylist and spa owner just to get the hookup on my expensive hair product addiction. I don't use these all everyday, obviously. But these are my regulars...

• Bumble & bumble. shampoo and conditioner
• Bumble & bumble. thickening spray
• Bumble & bumble. Bb. shine
• Redken Extreme Deep Fuel for weekly deep conditioning
• Redken Urban Experiment line (I have like 5 or 6) for styling
• Bed Head Hook Up wax mousse
• Bed Head Massive Shine hairspray

Skin stuff:

• I pester my dermatologist for the first four:
• Retin A for wrinkles and zits
• Botox for my forehead wrinkle I consider it makeup. It's from squinting at work, a necessary fix, which is miraculous
• Glycolic Acid 6% lotion for fresh skin
• Salicylic Acid for itchy dry skin
• Avon Anew line for moisturizing
• Spray on sunscreen (forgot the brand - sorry) for my face
• Coppertone SPF 70 for long sun exposure
• Borghese mud mask

Makeup:

• Bare Essentials for foundation
• Estee Lauder for blush
• Victoria's Secret for eyeshadows
• Bed Head Makeup Marker for eyes
• Victoria's Secret lip glosses
• Revlon or Borghese for mascara. I like clumpy mascara.

Perfume! I love it. I own too many, don't wear the others regularly so I didn't list. My husband just buys them when he can't think of a good present.

• Angel - Thierry Mugler
• Euphoria - Calvin Klien
• Nu - Yves St. Laurent
• The One - Dolce and Gabbana
• Very Sexy - Victoria's Secret
• Meditation Oil with 12 ancient oils - the local hippie shop

And I LOVE my Chi blow dryer and flatiron. They're beautiful things.