Playing Up Your Eyes

Eyes are the key to a slimmer face. The bigger the eyes the smaller the face will appear as a whole. Play up the eyes by putting extra mascara on the top lashes. Avoid mascara on the bottom lash, this will encase the eyes and make them appear smaller.

Use the shadow in the crease of the eyes. Then to highlight the eyes use a light iridescent powder just under your brow to make your eyes appear larger and brighter. Smooth it all together with a clean finger for a polished look.

The biggest mistake most women make with their eye color is choosing shadows that match their natural eye color. Here are a couple of suggestions when it comes to eye shadows.

Brown – Pretty versatile, browns can go with just about anything. Depending on how dark brown your eyes are go for a much lighter brown and offset with a cool violet or lavender.
Blue – Deep browns, warm earthy reds like a copper or rust.
Green or Hazel – Stick with golden earthy tones, deep violets, or soft neutrals.
Grey – Cool icy colors, purples, or dusty charcoal.

Luscious Lips

Big full lips can also offset the roundness of your face to make it appear slimmer in contrast.

To keep lips full trace the outside of your lips with a nude (flesh tone) pencil and smooth with your finger to create the illusion of depth.

If you still want to use lip liner, do it on the inside of this nude line. Avoid tracing the entire lip with liner. This will make your lips appear thinner. Instead use the lip liner modestly to enhance the widest parts of the lip.

Avoid glossy lipstick. Instead go for a muted lip stain and apply your gloss separately. Apply a dab of gloss at the widest part of your lips only. This will create the illusion of depth and fullness. Top off this look with a tiny dab of shimmer right under you nose and above the arch of the lip and blend for sexy pouty lips.

Stay away from dramatic and bright colors. Remember, you want to choose a lipstick that makes you look like you’re not wearing lipstick at all, and that you just have fabulous, naturally full, lips.

Cheeks From Flushed to Blushed

While your eyes are the focal point of your face, your cheeks dominate in the space category. This is usually where the best make up intentions fail.

Just like you did with your eyes, you are going to shadow the recessed parts of the cheek and enhanced the highest part of the cheekbone. To do this, suck your cheeks in and make the fish face.

Use a bronzer that works well with your skin tone and apply to the “sucked in” part of you cheek when you’re making the fish face. Then apply a light iridescent blush to highlight the highest part of the cheekbone and fade toward your temples. Smooth together with your finger.

Complete the look by dabbing just a touch of bronzer to your forehead, nose and chin for a natural look.

Laying a good foundation for your foundation

Regardless what kind of foundation you use; good skin care can shine through any make up. To make your make up last all day, be sure you are applying your foundation on a relatively oil free surface. Make sure your face is clean and wipe it down with astringent before beginning your makeup routine. Astringent not only takes care of the surface oil, but it also dissolves oil in the pores, making them appear smaller. Also it helps the foundation adhere better to your skin so that it’s not melting off your face halfway through your day.

Never, never sleep in your make up. Sleeping in your make up can clog up your pores, making them larger. At the end of the day wash your face thoroughly with an exfoliating scrub. If you do not regularly exfoliate your face dead skins cells can pile up on the surface of your skin, making it appear ashen and making you look older.

Blemishes

We’ve all gotten them at some point. That dreaded zit or that horrible cold sore. Use make up as a tool to misdirect the eye where you want it to go. For example if you have got a monster zit on your forehead, go ahead and cover it up with some concealer but then go for a bolder lip color or some sparkly lip gloss (I know I just told you to keep you lipstick natural but when a zit is involved I can make an exception).

Or if you’re sporting a cold sore do not try to cover it up with lipstick, you will only draw more attention to it. Instead go with a muted lip color and go a little more dramatic on your eyes, or even throw on some dazzling earrings.

When faced with a blemish or flaw of any kind, deal with it the diva way. Decide where you want people to look and play that up instead.