Aria's Palace

Beautiful Brows

It's all about the brows. Thick, full, natural — yes, even Brooke Shields-like — eyebrows are big for fall. "Brows frame your face," says Danielle LeBlond, aesthetician and "brow guru" at Product Apothecary. "They help slim your face and can take years off your look. When your brows are done, everything falls into place."
And you didn't give them a second thought.
Do's and don'ts for whipping brows into perfect shape.
Determine your brow shape
Use a stick — or even a makeup pencil — and place it against the side of your nose. By following this line straight up, you can see where your eyebrows ought to begin.
Next, keep the stick's lower end against your nose. Move the top of the stick so it's lined up with the outer edge of the iris. Now you've found where the arch should be.
Again, keeping one end of the stick against the nose, line up the stick's far end with the eye's outer corner. This shows where the brow should end.
Shaping options
• First things first. Leave shaping to the professionals and do maintenance at home.
• Waxing is a popular option.
• Another option is threading in which thread is used to shape brows.
• Brow stencils  make it easy to keep those arches sharp at home.
Expect salon visits every 3-4 weeks.
Must Haves
Powder or pencil. For fuller brows, it's best to use powder to fill in thin spots, while pencil is better for fine brows.
Spoolie brush. This looks like a mascara wand. After applying either powder or pencil, use the spoolie to blend the color and soften any harsh edges.
Sealer. When it's hot, makeup can run, so using a sealer is a must after powdering or penciling brows.
Highlighter. Using highlighter pencil under the brow — and then blending it gently with a finger — brightens eyes.
Dabbing it in the inner corners can help to make your eyes look bigger.
Tweezers. Use them very judiciously. Over-tweezing is one of the deadly sins when it comes to brows.   Usually less is more.

Got gray?
Don't pluck. Instead, opt for tinting, which costs. It covers those stubborn grays and saves you from too-thin brows.

How to Choose an Eye Shadow Color

Stumped about which makeup colors will bring your eyes into sharp focus?
Your eyes are the windows to your soul. Make them come alive with a touch of shadow on the lids. Don't choose a color just because you like it, choose colors that go well with your skin tone and on special occasions you can match your eyeshadow with your clothes.

Step 1-Shop for shades that complement your skin and eye color. Look for colors that softly contrast with the shade of your eyes - not colors that match them exactly.

Step 2-Choose simple, natural shades. If you opt for bright or trendy colors, be careful; they can look unnatural unless balanced with other suitable tones, and may go out of style as fast as they came in.

Step 3-Buy colors that blend well together. You want your eyes to attract the attention, not any marked lines caused by your shadow.

Step 4-Keep in mind that dark colors will minimize your eyes, while light shades will make them stand out.

Step 5a-If your eyes are: Blue Try: Brown and rose. Warm shades contrast the coolness of blue eyes, making them stand out. Apply from lashlines to creases and top with black mascara.
Classic Choices: Taupe, gray, violet, purple, deep blue (a darker shade than your eye color makes your eyes really blue), black (mix it with bright blue for a smoky effect)
Funky Favorites: Silver, turquoise, fuschia (brightens any shade of blue)

Step 5b-If your eyes are: Brown Try: Green and gold. Both shades will pick up the colored flecks found in brown eyes. Choose a slightly shimmery texture, and apply from lashlines to browbones, blending well.
Classic Choices: Copper, bronze, champagne (soft pink with a touch of apricot), brown, beige, and khaki-green
Funky Favorites: Tangerine, royal blue, hot pink, lime-green (the contrast adds punch to brown)

Step 5c-If your eyes are: Green Try: Lavender and mocha. Purple shades contrast your color, making eyes look dramatic; warmer shades of mocha complement green, giving a natural effect. Wear mocha for day, lavender for night, and top both with brown mascara.
Classic Choices: Brown, apricot, purple, plum, deep khaki or forest green (because they are in the same greenish family, they brighten green eyes)
Funky Favorites: Gold, lime-green, really light green, bright purple

Step 5d-If your eyes are: Hazel Try: Deep green and pale yellow. Depending on your mood, choose a shadow shade that matches different flecks in your eyes. For a twist, apply shadow, then line eyes with the same color, using a liner brush dipped in water.

Step 5e-All Eye Colors: Charcoal, chocolate, black. (Tip: Since they can look heavy on the lid, use these colors as liners to complement any shadow hue.)
Classic Choices: Navy or charcoal base to define and a powder-blue shadow for highlighting (it brightens your brow bone)
Funky Favorites: Silver-sparkle shadow makes all eyes look edgy.

Step 6-Experiment. Head to a department store's cosmetic counter and have your eyes made up by a professional. Ask for color combinations that could work for day and evening.


Notes:
    *  Keep deeper colors on the lid.
    * Use lighter colors on the brow bone.
    * For a casual but polished look, sweep one shade from lashes to brow bone.
    * Use cream shadows sparingly -- the colors tend to be very vivid.
    * Eye gloss is the newest trend. It adds a sheer shine to lids, but don't try it unless you know you can carry it off -- it can look greasy and inappropriate.
    * Apply powder eyeliners wet for more intense color.
    * White, pink and yellow eyeliner pencils tend to make the eye look open and brighter. Blue counteracts redness, and black will give you a sultry look.
    * In order to make eyeliner easy to apply, manufacturers sometimes make it so creamy it doesn't stay put. You can use a matching eyeshadow or powder liner to set your eyeliner.

How Long Can You Keep Makeup?


Every woman we know has a pile of makeup in her drawer that she 'sometimes' uses. Translation: Never uses, but keeps just in case she finally learns how to  properly apply blue eyeshadow.

Beauty products do have a shelf life, however, and chances are that blue eyeshadow with the glimmery bits that you bought a couple years ago (for Halloween?) has long expired. Here's a quick guide on the shelf lives of typical beauty products. I've listed them in alphabetical order.

    * Concealer Up to 12 months.

    * Powder 2 years.

    * Cream & gel cleansers 1 year.

    * Pencil eye liner Should be sharpened regularly. Will last up to 3 years.

    * Eyeshadow Will also last up to 3 years. Extra tip: A dark eyeshadow can double as eyeliner, in fact, most makeup artists swear by eyeshadow used as eyeliner. You'll need a super-flat eyeliner brush for this. Get the brush a little damp and dab in dark eyeshadow (black, brown or deep jewel-tones work great). Wiggle the brush into your lash line focusing on the space between your lashes, then sweep the color just above your lash line.

    * Brushes Wash every 2-3 months in a mild detergent

    * Sponges Wash weekly and discard monthly

    * Foundation Check the ingredients: A water-based foundation will last up to 12 months, oil-based will last up to 18 months. You may find you need two different shades of foundation each year: One for summer when your skin is naturally darker and one for winter when you're lighter. Extra tip: If your water-based foundation dries out before it's expiration date, simply add a few drops of alcohol-free toner and shake to mix it in. No need to do this to oil-based foundations. Because they contain oil, they will tend to separate. You have to shake anyway.

    * Lip liner Up to 3 years. Extra tip: Skip the push-up lipliners. They're expensive, tend to break and you never really know how much you have left until you run out. No need to spend money on lip liners, there's no secret to greatness for this product. Save your money for powders and foundation.

    * Lipstick Some experts say 1-2 years. Others say up to 4 years. What everyone agrees on is that if it smells rancid, throw it out, it's spoiled. Extra tip: If you store lipstick in the refrigerator, it will last longer. Bonus tip: Want your lipstick to last longer during the day? Shade in lips with lip liner before applying lipstick.

    * Mascara This product expires the fastest: Throw out after 4 months. Extra tip: If you don't want your mascara to expire faster than its fresh date, don't pump the wand in and out -- you're only exposing the product to drying air.

    * Nail Polish Up to 12 months, depending on the quality.