Make Up Tip: Get Full Sensuous Lips

Here are a couple easy tips on how to get your lips to look fuller
* apply highlighter or balm into a bow of your upper lip and into the corners of the mouth. This will make your lips stand out and look fuller
* a little secret, if you have thin lips you may prefer to use a pencil with a bit dull tip to line them. Hard thin edges make lips look smaller. Or just make sure to blend your lip liner.
* apply lipliner a bit outside of the natural lip line. Be very careful here, a bit too far and it will look unnatural. You don’t want to look like a drag queen, right?
* want a full pout - avoid matte lipstick that will only make your lips look smaller. Stick with shimmer and gloss.
* to create an illusion of a full mouth after applying lipstick add a touch of lighter shade lipstick or gloss in the middle of the lower lip. You may leave it at this but I add just a tiny touch of the same color in the middle of the upper one as well.

Beauty Talk: Cellulite Treatments

Before reading this post you may want to read about cellulite and its causes in my previous post. So now let's bring out the weapon! What Cellulite Treatments are out there to help us?

The bad news is that some dermatologists say that there is no treatment for cellulite. Ok... ok! You cannot treat it completely but you can at least improve condition and the overall look of your skin. Let’s see how we can get those thighs smooth!

Topical Treatments:

* Retinol: retinol containing creams stimulate collagen and strengthens skin so that cellulite is much less apparent.

* Caffeine: helps to temporarily smooth skin by reducing water retention. Cellulite patches with caffeine are great! Tried myself and can recommend. I liked Nivea's Good-Bye Cellulite Patches. The effect on my lower stomach was as if I lost some weight overnight.

* Heat and Hydration: Take a hot bath with hydrating oils: heat increases blood flow and hydration plumps up skin so it looks smoother.

* Exfoliation: Exfoliation not only gets rid of dry skin and stimulates circulation, it also improves penetration of topical anti-cellulite treatments.

Deep Massage: Massage stimulates blood flow to the skin surface and lymph circulation, this again improves the overall condition of your skin, helps it to detoxify and makes it healthier and smoother. The same effect can be achieved with Endermology – a machine that rolls and sucks skin.

To be continued...

Beauty Review: La Prairie Light Fantastic Cellular Concealing Brightening Eye Treatment

Promise (laprairie.com):
...refreshes and illuminates your eye zone while concealing imperfections such as puffiness and dark under-eye circles...

Product Profile in Short (laprairie.com):
Combining both cosmetic and skincare properties, it effectively minimizes signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles, while adding a touch of radiance.


Contains:
Ginseng Root Ectract, Papaya Extract, Camomile etc.

Close-up on Active Ingredients:
Water
Cyclopentasiloxane
Isononyl Isononanoate
Cyclohexasiloxane
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Glycerin
Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate
Butylene Glycol
PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone
Talc
C18-36 Acid Trigluceride
Sodium Chloride
Glycoproteins
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Equisetum Arvense (Horsetail) Extract
Arnica Montana Flower Extract
Carica Papaya Leaf Extract
Aesculus Hippocastanum (Horse Chesnut) Seed Extract
Glycosaminoglycans
Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Extract
Lauryl Mathacrylateb / Glycol DimethacrylateCrosspolymer
….

My Experience and Impressions:
When I was buying this concealer, I wasn’t even aware of its double purpose as makeup and skincare. Later on, when I looked at the ingredients more carefully and read up on it, I realized that La Prairie Light Fantastic is a multi-tasker. Great! I appreciate such products!!!
I liked its texture from the moment I tried it at the counter! I liked how smoothly it went onto the skin and how it looked on it – just seemed to melt into the skin. I got the lightest shade #10. It was the best choice for my medium-fair skin. However, to tell you the truth the first several times I applied it I felt a bit allergic. Maybe it was just me focusing my attention on my sensations too much. Later on I did not notice any reaction.
Of course using La Prairie Light Fantastic I was all the time comparing it to the genius YSL Touche Eclat. The first difference between YSL and La Prairie concealers is their texture. La Prairie Light Fantastic has a very creamy texture. It feels like a rich eye cream - not makeup. The concealing powers differ as well. La Prairie Light Fantastic doesn’t offer intense coverage but seems to look more natural as it doesn’t at all get into lines. Everyone knows concealer gathering in fine lines is way worse than wearing no concealer at all! So it’s a huge plus for La Prairie Light Fantastic! However you can’t really build up coverage with Laprairie Light Fantastic. Yes, it is subtle but this has its benefits as well - apply it as much as you want and you won't end up with those weird white circles around your eyes.

I do not use La Prairie Light Fantastic as I used to use YSL to brighten up the face and lift up eye brow. Because of the texture and the subtle color it just doesn’t feel right to use it for this purpose. I apply La Prairie Light Fantastic concealer with an applicator brush under my eyes and pat it lightly into the skin – it blends perfectly and looks very natural…


Price Tag:
70$

Bottom Line:
I like this product! The texture is great and the fact that it has double purpose is wonderful. I think the price is good because you get a refill as well! However if you need stronger coverage I would go with YSL Touche Eclat.

Beauty Tip: Sleep On Your Back

Like to sleep on your side? May not be so good for your skin. Sleeping on the side can lead to creases forming on the cleavage from physical force of skin on skin. That’s why it’s better to sleep on your back. Sleeping on your back will not only give you a crease free cleavage but also will help to avoid some facial wrinkles. For instance, did you know that nosolabial folds form deeper on the favorite sleeping side? In fact sleeping on your side can eventually interfere with the whole symmetry of your facial features.

Beauty Talk: Cellulite - Identifying the Enemy!

The first days of spring are here and though it’s still quite long before we bare it all on the beach, it is time to take action to make sure that what we bare is smooth and toned. So I thought it would be good to take a closer look at the cellulite issue. Are you familiar with the orange peel syndrome or as it’s also called cottage cheese skin? For several years I thought I had cellulite but I was one of the many women who see problem where there is none. But this year I do have a slight problem! After giving birth my body changed and now I can definitely see some dimples on my thighs. Time to take measures.

Identifying the Enemy: what is cellulite?

It is a cosmetic condition where the skin becomes dimpled due to the fat forming and “bulging” near the skin surface. Cellulite rarely occurs in males, mostly we, women, are blessed with this condition. In fact it is very common and as many as 90% of women develop cellulite after their puberty!


Focus On The Problem: Cellulite Causes

Causes of cellulite are not completely clear. It definitely has something to do with hormones, genes and metabolism. Estrogen seems to be the “culprit” initiating and aggravating cellulite.

Here comes sort of good news: diet doesn’t seem to have any influence on developing cellulite. Anybody can have this problem: thin, medium and heavy gals, all can get cottage cheese skin. Such factors as lymphatic and circulatory insufficiency, distribution of fat and some other factors out of our controll, such as race for example, are linked to development of cellulite.

Coming soon: Pull Out The Weapon: Cellulite Treatments!