How to Curl ALL of Your Hair in Quick Steps

In the world of hot tools, the flat iron has always seemed like the workhorse of the bunch. Thanks to Pinterest, we're now privy to a million and one styles that we can craft with it — everything from 

A few loose curls certainly add fun bounciness to your look, but, ugh, who has the time to spend 45 minutes sectioning, clipping, and curling piece by piece every morning? Ladies, introducing ... the ponytail trick. Instead of curling your hair the traditional (i.e. way too long) method, you can just do these four simple steps and get pretty curls in a snap.

Step 1

Gather your hair into a very high ponytail, then secure it with a hair tie.

Step 2

For looser, fuller curls, split your hair into two to three sections, depending on your hair's thickness (for tighter, smaller curls, create up to six smaller sections).

Step 3

Use a hair wand to curl each section, wrapping it around the barrel, holding for a few seconds, then release.

Step 4

Take your hair out of the ponytail and gently tousle it with your fingers.

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5 Life-Changing Curling Iron Hacks

1. Size matters. Choose the barrel size based on the curls you want. The bigger the curling iron barrel, the looser the waves. For tighter curls, choose a smaller barrel.

2. If you want skinny, tight curls, twist your hair before you wrap it around the iron. It's amazing for girls with wavy hair that want a tight curl.

3. For a modern curl, don't use the clamp. Want cool-girl straight ends like Ashley Benson?

Wrap your hair around the wand and leave an inch or so out at the ends.

If you're new to the technique, use a glove so you don't burn your fingers.

4. For greater hold, spray hairspray on your hair before you curl it. The heat will make the hairspray hold longer.

5. The closer to the root you start your curl, the longer it will last.

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Curling Iron Mistakes: You Did not Know You Were Making

We all want the bouncy, voluminous, seemingly effortless curls we see all over Pinterest, but more often than not, our locks don’t exactly turn out the way we want. Whether it’s ringlets that are too tight or too stiff, or it’s hair that winds up being totally flat, when you don’t know how to properly use a curling iron, you wind up with less than amazing hair. To get to the bottom of a good hair day, we learned how to correct some of the most common mistakes we all make with curling irons.

Using the wrong size barrel: Different sized curling irons create different looks, so size really matters when it comes to your hair. Smaller irons typically work to create tighter curls or waves, and are great for shorter hair. Larger barrels allow you to have larger, looser curls, and are best for longer hair.

Not prepping your hair: Using a heat protectant is an absolute must to prevent as much damage as possible. Also, make sure that your hair is entirely dry before touching it with a hot curling iron. Heat on damp hair is a surefire way to create serious damage like split ends and breakage.

Curling in the wrong direction: Going the wrong way will throw off your whole look, so it’s important to stay on track. For a more natural look, curling your hair away from your face is best. Just remember that your each side of your head requires a different direction, so on the right side of your face curl towards the left, and on the left side of your face, curl towards the right.

Twirling the iron: Clipping your ends into the iron and then twisting the iron in towards your head is actually incorrect. To achieve a more natural curl that will last longer and give you volume at the roots, it’s actually better to do the opposite. Hold the iron so that the tip of the barrel is facing towards the floor, and start wrapping your hair around it at the roots, and locking your ends in last.

Taking too much hair at once: Sections, sections, sections! The best results come from curling your hair in smaller sections, rather than large ones. If you curl too much hair at a time, heat won’t be distributed evenly, causing your curls to fall flat very quickly.

Holding hair on the iron for too long: Obviously, heat isn’t exactly the best thing for your hair. The last thing anyone wants is fried ends. Keep the hair on the iron for under 10 seconds, and steer clear of the highest high setting.

Touching your hair right away: Don’t mess with a good thing — not at first, anyway. If you fuss with your curls right after releasing them from the clamp, you’ll be undoing all of the curling you just did. Wait about 15 minutes, or until the curls have had time to cool, before moving your fingers through your hair.

Not cleaning the iron: Product build up on the barrel can cause excessive dryness to hair, not to mention the product build up on the iron can turn into product build up in your hair. Grab an iron cleaner and give it a quick run down once a week or so.

Source: http://stylecaster.com/

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10 Tips eye makeup for girl

When taking baby steps towards makeup application, the first milestone we cross is that of eye makeup. Earlier, swiping on a little kohl used to be enough. As a beginner, all that the makeup world has to offer can seem a little overwhelming. Making mistakes is part of the learning process, and yet they can be easily avoided. Here are 10 basic eye makeup tips for beginners that will take you from being a starter to a star when it comes to eye makeup!

1. In case you are using an eyelash curler after applying the mascara, ensure the mascara on the eyes is semi-wet and not dry.

2. Use a makeup remover so that your eyelids are oil/grease-free to ensure a smudge-proof application with the eyeliner.

3. To get that perfect wing while using an eyeliner, keep your eyes open, look straight into the mirror, and line the outer corners of the eyes.

4. Make sure you apply the eyeliner as close to the lash line as possible so that it appears to be a part of your natural lashline.

5. To achieve a soft smoky eye, go for pencil eyeliner as it tends to be softer and creamier. Apply it on the eyelids and smudge it with your finger so that it looks more natural and gorgeous.

6. As you age, you might be reluctant to use an eyeliner. You don’t have to stop using the eyeliner, rather, opt for more subtle colors, such as brown and grey, and apply lots of mascara to complement the look.

7. How can we talk about eye makeup and not talk about mascara? Here are some important tips for proper mascara application.

8. Start applying the mascara from the roots of your lashes and not the tips. This technique gives you enough volume and doesn’t weigh down your eyelashes.

9. To prevent your lashes from looking clumpy, coat on layers of mascara, depending on the desired volume.

10. To make your mascara last longer, avoid pumping the wand while pulling out the mascara. Instead, swirl it. This also doesn’t dry out the mascara.

While applying the mascara on the lower lashes, place a tissue paper right under your lashes to prevent smudging your makeup.

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Meet the Foundation of Your Future: 7 Serum Foundation very good

Once upon a time—let’s call it the nineties—it was acceptable for a foundation to conceal imperfections and correct tone. Then along came tinted moisturizers (coverage and face cream in one!), which introduced the concept of hybrids and changed the skin care game. A checklist of multitasking formulas—BB! CC! DD!—followed suit, promising to not only camouflage but also problem-solve with active ingredients. Now, a new wave of treatment-meets-makeup—known as serum-foundation—promises to pack even more of a punch than its predecessors.

If serums are the superheroes of skin care—targeting issues from dullness to dark spots and redness while maintaining a lightweight, nearly invisible texture—think of serum-foundations as their slightly more charming cousins. Josie Maran’s new Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation, for example, seems to anticipate your every need: Spiked with clear, chameleon-like pigments, it automatically color corrects on contact, hydrates with organic argan oil, and somehow, simultaneously, also balances excessive shine.

As weightless as a summer slipdress, Dior’s Nude Air Serum defies humidity while its high-tech pigments remain suspended over skin, seemingly immune from settling into fine lines. For makeup artist Bobbi Brown, developing a formula with short- and long-term treatment benefits was key. “I wanted to create a foundation that improves skin over time so it looks and feels healthier,” says Brown of her Intensive Skin Serum Foundation with SPF 40, which takes on natural factors like aging, as well as sun damage, using a thoughtful combination of restorative mushroom, brightening bamboo grass, and hydrating fruit extracts.

With that in mind, we’ve culled together our list of the seven transformative formulas worth warming up to this season.

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Top 5: Red Lipsticks and how to choose your red lipstick

Choosing the right red lipstick is about as fun as cleaning the toilets. Seriously.  I want to cry when I go to the store and try to figure out which red lipstick is going to look best on me! BUT, after many trials on clients (poor gals had to be my guinea pigs- hey, someone has to do it!)  I don’t have it narrowed down to a science, but I think I have some pointers that will make choosing the right red lipstick less of a chore ;)

IT’S NOT NECESSARILY THE COLOR, BUT HOW BRIGHT OR INTENSE IT IS….

If you do a google search for “picking the right red lipstick”, you’ll come up with 318,000 results.  You know what each of those articles have to say?  Something totally different.  Everyone has a different answer! So how’s a girl to figure this out??

What I’ve figured out, is it’s not just the actual color- whether it be orange-red, blue-red, or true red, but how bright that color is against the skin.   Orange reds tend to be brighter as orange is an eye catching color (think fire or Carrot Top’s Hair– um… ew!)

If you have fair skin, orange-reds are going to pop quite a bit more as brighter colors are more noticeable on paler skin.  This doesn’t mean if you have pale skin, you can’t make it work- it just means, it’s going to pop more.  Darker skin beauties have an easier time pulling off the orange-reds since dark skin can handle brighter colors-  there’s less of a contrast.  BUT, darker skin also looks beautiful in blue reds- it just doesn’t pop as much as the orange reds.  Make sense?

OK, here’s why picking the correct lipstick is so. dang. hard. Things such as hair and eye color can also affect how a lipstick looks, plus what eye makeup you wear can throw off the color as well….

Here is a picture of Penelope Cruz pulling off an orange-red lipstick, as she is a bit darker and has warm undertones to her skin:

Contrary to what most articles say (fair skin should only wear blue-red lipsticks), here’s an example of Mischa Barton pulling off an orange red lipstick:

This lipstick really pops against Mischa’s fair skin, but she pulls off this color by wearing some darker eye makeup to balance out the bright lips as well as having her hair up in an elegant style.  (I doubt if Mischa wore no eye makeup and had her hair down, that she would still be able to pull this lipstick off)

Here, Beyonce is pulling off a gorgeous true red that pops against her skin as it’s not too dark or too orange.

Marlena’s Tip: To pull off a brighter lip, you need to wear a good 2 coats of mascara (or falsies) and some darker liner to balance it out.  You definitely don’t want anything too dramatic on the eyes as it’s overdone, but you need some eye makeup so the lips aren’t screaming “look at me! look at me!”

And yes, you CAN wear eyeshadow with red lips- it just needs to be neutral colors or not too bright or dramatic…

Here’s some examples of lipsticks too intense in color for their skin:

They all have fair skin and are wearing cool toned (blue-red) lipsticks, BUT one important factor…. the color is too intense for their fair skin.  Plus, their eye makeup is so minimal that their lips are screaming for all the attention, making the face look out of balance.

With all that being said, here is my top 5 lipsticks that I believe almost anyone can pull off- simply because they aren’t too orange, too blue, or too intense in color..

Source: makeupgeek.com

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Makeup routine with 5-minute

You wake up a bit later than intended, and because you’ve had to hit the ground running, you end up changing your outfit three times. That leaves five minutes to put on your make­up Routine. What’s the best way to make that work? We asked David Goveia, one of Canada’s premier makeup artists, for help.

Toronto-based Goveia has worked with a galaxy of celebrities, from film stars Cameron Diaz and Keira Knightley to supermodels Daria Werbowy and Shalom Harlow. But he’s also often called upon for photo shoots of ‘real’ women. ‘I like to use products that deliver the biggest punch for the least amount of effort,’ says Goveia. ‘You should not have to spend more than five minutes on your makeup each morning.’

He suggests this routine, with a bonus: extra tips for those days when you have an extra minute (when you haven’t pressed the snooze button one too many times).

Start with a clean moisturized face. Then you have a couple of choices:

Option A: Primer

For some women, depending on the coverage needed, wearing a primer can lessen (or even eliminate) the need for concealer and foundation, according to Goveia. ‘That saves you minutes right there,’ he says.

These skin smoothers, which come as translucent lotions or in creamier white formulas, are used as a base for all makeup and go on after your moisturizer. They aren’t typically cited as an essential, but Goveia really likes them. ‘Everyone can benefit from one. They contain a little silicone and keep everything nice and smooth, preventing make­­up from disappearing.’

You apply primer as you would moisturizer: Using fingertips, completely cover the face.

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