How to Choose the Best Lipstick for Your Skin Tone

Most of us have a bunch of lipsticks in our beauty bag, some that we wear all the time, some that never get touched. There's a reason for that. You may have fallen in love with a lipstick in the store or on celebrity's face, but when you put it on yourself? It just doesn't work.

So here is the simple guide for you that you can use when you buy a lipstick next time:

1. Identify Your Undertone

First, the basics. Everyone’s skin has undertones of either yellow or pink. Yellow is warmer, pink is cooler. Knowing your undertone is enormously helpful when you're trying to figure out which lipsticks look best on you.
A quick way to identify your skin's undertone is to look at the veins on your wrist. If they are blue, and you also tend to gravitate towards wearing blues, whites, and grays, you’ve got pink undertones. If your veins appear more green, you have a warmer yellow undertone. If they appear to be both blue and green, you are the lucky owner of a neutral skin tone (meaning equal pink and yellow tones), and you can wear any color.
Still unsure? Hold a piece of gold jewelry and a piece of silver jewelry up to your face. Ignoring your personal preference, assess which looks better with your skin — cooler (pink) tones go better with silver jewelry, whereas warm (yellow) skin tones work better with gold.


2. Know Which Shades Work With Your Undertone

You want to focus on shades similar to your undertone when choosing a lipstick, says Mann. “For yellow undertones, stick to warmer colors and for pink undertones, look for shades with blue or purple tones in them.”
And everyone should avoid lipstick colors with a gray, ashy or overly pale feel, Mann (celebrity make up artist) says. “These can often make the skin look sickly or unhealthy and are universally unflattering.”

3. When in Doubt, Pick Based on Your Skin Tone

    To simplify the process, you can also stick to shades that     typically suit olive, fair and darker skin tones.

    OLIVE SKIN TONES:
   Olive skin tones are generally neutral, so it's hard for           you to go wrong. “Most nude, pink, orange, and red      shades are going to look good on you,” Mann says. “Look  at what you are wearing to determine your lip shade. For  an outfit with warmer colors, you’d stick to a warmer,  bright lipstick.”

FAIR SKIN TONES:

“The great thing about really fair skin is that bold reds and deep colors can be a fun way to play up your makeup and can look fantastic,” explains Mann. “Avoid anything too light or with too much of a yellow undertone so you don’t look washed out.”

DARK SKIN TONES:

“Deep plums, berries and reds look fantastic,” says Mann. “Unless you are going for a retro feel or a statement bright lip, avoid anything too light or pale on the lips — deeper shades look more naturally flattering.”

Of course, regardless of your tone and undertone, it’s up to you to decide what looks best and most flattering on yourself: “If you love bright orange lipstick and it makes you happy, of course you should wear it!” Mann exclaims. :D

How to Find The Best Foundation for You

Just because a foundation looks great on your friend or looks like a good match in the bottle, doesn’t mean it’s going to be the right fit for you. It’s extremely important to choose a foundation that balances the needs of your particular skin type and skin concerns, and matches your skin color perfectly.

We created a guide to the most popular types of foundations so you can find your perfect match.

Matte-Finish Liquid Foundations

Benefits:

• Lightweight texture and finish (doesn’t feel heavy on skin).
• Typically easy to blend; buildable coverage.
• Excellent for holding back excess oily shine.
• Generally a safe choice for covering blemish-prone skin.
• Beneficial for those who live in humid climates and cannot get their foundation to last.

Downsides:

• Foundations with a matte finish can exaggerate flaky skin or wrinkles if the finish is too dry. You can remedy this by applying a light layer of moisturizer or a serum underneath, although that can reduce the matte aspect of the finish.
• Attempting to blend mistakes after it sets can cause rolling or streaking, which is hard to correct.

Moisturizing Liquid Foundation

Benefits:

• Typically provide light to medium coverage that allows for a natural look.
• The best for hydrating skin without being greasy.
• Satin or satin-matte finishes, perfect for normal to dry skin.
• Many have a slight sheen for a youthful-looking glow.

Downsides:

• Not the best option for oily skin because the moisturizing finish makes oily areas look even more oily.

Anti-Aging & Serum Foundations

Benefits:

• Best multitasking foundations, providing coverage and anti-aging ingredients that are beneficial for all skin types.
• Complement an anti-aging skincare routine to net you even better results.

Downsides:

• Some “anti-aging” serum foundations exaggerate their superstar ingredients’ benefits or include only minute amounts, so you’re not getting what you pay for.

Pressed-Powder or Loose-Powder Foundations

Benefits:

• Fast, easy way to get a smooth finish for normal to slightly oily or slightly dry skin.
• Some powder foundations offer subtle luminescence for a soft glow.
• Pressed-powder versions are easily portable, for on-the-go touchups.
• Lightweight feel.
• Excellent for use over a daytime moisturizer with SPF to reduce the shiny finish of some sunscreens.

Downsides:

• If you have very oily skin, powder foundations can look clumpy or slip into pores.
• If you have dry or flaky skin, the powder will absorb moisture, making your skin drier.
• Powder’s pigmentation can change when it mixes with skin’s excess oil and oxidizes.
• Building coverage can look cakey or powdery.

Cream-to-Powder Compact Foundations

Benefits:

• Easy to blend with a sponge or brush, and sets to a semi-matte or powdery finish.
• Ideal for normal to slightly dry or slightly oily skin if you don’t want a true matte or dewy finish.
• Wide range of coverage, from sheer to full.
• Work well for on-the-go touchups.

Downsides:

• Tend to look more heavy than other types of foundation.
• Not for very oily skin because the cream portion exaggerates shine and the powder finish isn’t strong enough to keep excess oil in check.
• Not for very dry skin because the finish exaggerates dry areas.

Stick Foundations

Benefits:

• Typically offer medium to full coverage to conceal imperfections.
• Works well for on-the-go touchups.

Downsides:

• Some stick foundations have a thick, waxy texture that looks heavy and can lead to clogged pores and/or worsen breakouts.
• Not always easy to blend over large areas.
• If the finish is too creamy, it can crease into lines around the eye.

Tinted Moisturizers and BB Creams

Benefits:

• The sheer nature of tinted moisturizers (and many BB creams) makes it easier to match skin color because they tend to blend on almost invisibly.
• Often combines soft coverage, hydration, and sun protection in one product, for triple the benefit.
• Bonus if the formula contains skin-replenishing ingredients.

Downsides:

• Coverage can be too sheer for obvious imperfections.

Choosing the Right Shade of Foundation

Now that you know what type of foundation makeup best suits your skin’s needs, the next step is finding your ideal shade. Use our guide to determine your skin’s undertone 

Stay Beautiful ! 

Guide to Choosing the Right Perfume or Cologne

Perfumes and colognes are scents that men and women wear to enhance their beauty or even attract a potential mate. They can lift your mood, evoke fond memories, or just simply help you smell really good. There are literally thousands of different perfumes and colognes available on the market today. In fact, wearable scents have become a multi-billion-dollar-per-year business. Thanks to new marketing, new brands, and designer lines, more people than ever before are choosing and wearing different types of perfume and cologne. So how do you know which smell will be the best fit for you? There are several different ways you can decide how to choose the perfect scent that will match your own unique style and personality.

Choosing a Scent

Each perfume or cologne consists of different "notes." These notes determine the overall scent. These notes consist of three different layers called base, top, and middle notes, and they all work in synergy to create a specific smell. Some perfumes, for example would be considered floral and contain different scent notes like rose, gardenia, or geranium. Others may be a bit fruitier, with undertones of citrus or apple. Exotic perfumes contain spicy notes like star anise or even cinnamon. Men's scents have various notes as well. Musk scents have a heavier, more masculine tone, while others may have smells like pine or even leather-based notes. It is always a good idea to determine which types of cologne or perfume you prefer and then see which base notes they contain before making a purchase decision. You can learn more about the different notes used to make cologne and perfume in order to get a better idea of which ones you think will suit your tastes.

Choose a Concentration

Fragrances come in four different levels of concentration. As the concentration gets higher, the price gets higher too. Typically, colognes or perfumes with high concentration have a more powerful scent and last longer. They can be a bit pricey, but some people feel the higher price is absolutely worth it. The highest concentration is simply called perfume or parfum. This level usually will last all day with just one application to the wrists or pulse points. The next lower level is eau de parfum, which typically can last about six hours after application. The third level is called eau de toilette and is usually fairly affordable and easy to find in retail stores. It typically requires more than one application throughout the day to get it to last. The fourth and lowest fragrance concentration is eau de cologne, which only lasts about two hours.

Test the Fragrance

Before you decide to purchase any fragrance, you should definitely do a few simple tests to make sure that it is something you will want to wear and that you will enjoy. Do a simple sniff test of the bottle first to get the main idea of what it smells like. The key, however, is to try a bit of the fragrance on your skin. This is why most department and cosmetics stores offer testers for people so they can try something before they buy it. Our skin has its own unique code of hormones and pheromones that can slightly or even extremely alter the way a fragrance smells. It is a good idea to spray a small amount on your wrists, wait a few moments, and then smell the scent on your skin. Sometimes, depending on your own chemical makeup, it can enhance or diminish the smell. It can also be altered if you have a certain chemistry that does not match the scent's mixture. If you cannot shop in retail stores, choose some of the best perfumes here .

Find Out why you're so Obsessed With Shoes..hmm

Countless women can agree that there just appears to be some mystical power associated with buying shoes, and buying clothing in general. What is it about shopping for shoes that makes women so happy?

Did you know that there might be a psychological explanation for women’s obsession with shoes? A new study delving into women’s emotions and women’s health reveals that there may be something deeper occurring with women’s obsessions for shoes and shopping.

1. There Really is Such a Thing as a Shopper’s High

Perhaps your husband does not agree, but there is this unexplainable feeling associated with buying a new pair of shoes. While many of us can’t quite put a finger on the explanation, thankfully, psychologists have done the job for us.

You may already know that, dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, releases good feelings through the body. Drugs and other highs emulate this sensation. That’s why many people are hooked on such temporary releases to chase that feeling.

Well, what if we told you that shopping releases dopamine, too? That's right. Studies indicate that shopping, especially for shoes, releases large amounts of dopamine into our brains, causing for that feel-good feeling.

Speaking of our brains and why we are addicted to buying shoes, another part of the brain is activated as this dopamine flows. There exists a “collecting spot” in everyone’s brains. Whenever something makes us happy, the brain tells us to keep collecting those items, so naturally, shoe hoarding is only our minds watching out for our health.

2. A Different Kind of High

In addition to various levels of dopamine rising from a shoe purchase, the sensation of wearing high heels also provides women with a different desirable sensation.

Psychologists agree that women who wear heels portray this status of power. Heels help women feel taller and more confident. Wearing high heels helps some women reach a euphoric state.

Feeling taller and more confident helps empower women, so why stop at one pair of shoes? Once a woman has tasted this feeling of power, she will continue to purchase more and more shoes to keep the sensation alive.

4. They Attract the Opposite Sex

High heels tend to force women into a posture that’s attractive for both themselves and their onlookers.

High heels cause a woman’s rump to stick out and back to arch, a posture known as “lordosis.” This posture can allow anyone’s figure to become even more attractive. The buttocks become larger and more curvaceous, allowing the body to have more of an hourglass shape.

This posture  makes a woman both look and feel sexy and beautiful. A woman wearing heels, or even sexy boots, feels better about how they look. And yeah, they enjoy the extra attention they receive as a result of the high heels.

6. Why Men Don’t Notice Them?

Psychologically speaking, men want eye contact when they first notice an attractive woman. So, that is where the man’s eye first starts

He then works downward. Typically speaking, there are many different appendages that catch his eye before the feet. And you already know what are they, right?

So, ladies, he probably doesn’t notice your footwear, because he is too busy staring at your other amazing assets. Hold on, because there are some men out there who long for your lower limbs.

-However, your opsession with shoes will probably never stop, and why it should ?, Enjoy collecting them and keep it on mind that there is nothing bad about it.

Harmful Ingredients You Should Avoid In Your SkinCare Products

Have you ever looked at a list of ingredients on your favorite foundation or moisturizer? Chances are, you only recognize a couple of them  and that’s sort of scary. Most of the complex scientific ingredients are pretty safe, even if they’re very hard to pronounce. However, there are some ingredients that may be harmful to you and to the environment, and they’re more prevalent than you think. Keep reading for ten harmful skin care ingredients that you’ll be shocked to find out are used in some popular beauty products.

Parabens

Parabens have created quite a buzz in recent years, and you may have even heard of them – but do you know what they are? Parabens are preservatives that are used widely in makeup and hair care products (like shampoo and conditioner), to help them maintain a longer shelf life. Parabens prevent the growth of bacteria, which is great when you’d rather not get an eye infection from your mascara. However, FDA studies have linked parabens to breast cancer, skin cancer, and other skin problems. Although the FDA hasn’t definitively concluded that parabens are harmful, it’s probably much better to be on the safe side. Plus, nowadays there are tons of products labeled as ‘paraben-free’, so it’s easy to choose the healthy alternative.

Sulfates

If you’re anything like us, all you’ve heard about sulfates is that many shampoos nowadays don’t have them (and want everyone to know). So, what are they? Sodium lauryl sulfate, more commonly known as sulfate, is a harsh chemical commonly found in toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and even in foundation. It’s used to make these products foam, but it can be the cause of acne, skin irritation, and even liver damage. On top of that, it’s harmful to sea life, when it enters the ocean through our drainage. You’re probably better off without it!

Formaldehyde

Like the stuff you preserve dead bodies with? That was our initial reaction too. Gross. Just like formaldehyde preserves dead bodies from bacteria that will cause decomposition, it’s also used in beauty products (such as nail polish and eyelash glue) for the same purpose: extending the shelf life. While we probably don’t need to tell you how gross that is, studies have also shown that the inhalation of the chemical has been linked to cancer. The tricky part about formaldehyde is that it’s not always listed in the ingredients, because it’s actually a byproduct. To stay on the safe side, always do your research on the ingredient list before buying it.

Deet

Deet is a chemical found in mosquito repellants, and it’s just as toxic to humans as it is to those revolting little vampire flies. Long exposure of deet can even melt plastic! Studies have also shown that deet kills brain cells in rats (sad). We know what you’re thinking – it’s actually a difficult choice to make: deet or the mosquitos. Luckily, there are tons of non-toxic mosquito repellants on the market too – our favorite from Mountain Equipment Co-op has eucalyptus oil and lemongrass in it, so not only are you bite-free, you smell like a spa. 

Plastics

It makes sense to package skin care products in plastic, right? It’s cheap, durable, and recyclable. Especially if you’re as clumsy as us, glass is definitely out of the question, and metal is expensive and inconvenient (plus, does anyone want their lipstick to smell like metal?). Unfortunately, there’s a catch. Many cheap plastics have a product called BPA, which is a chemical that leaks out over time – straight into your skin care product. BPA has been linked to cancer, plus it increases estrogen – which some of us have more than enough of, thanks. If you truly can’t separate from your plastic-bottled favorite products, transfer them to a cool glass container or jar once you take them home. They’ll last just as long, and they’ll make your makeup counter look way more chic!

Hydroquinone

Hydroquinone is a bleaching product, made to lighten skin. While skin lightening isn’t as popular in the beauty regimes of the western hemisphere, people everywhere use it to fix skin tone problems such as hyperpigmentation. Not only can hydroquinone cause a skin disease that turns your skin black (goodbye, chicken fajita lunch) some illegally imported brands even have quantities of mercury. You know, the red stuff in thermometers that’s poisonous? Yeah, that. We’ll stick with the skin we’ve got.

Petroleum products

Petroleum: it’s not just for cars! In fact, the companies that produce petroleum products actually make all of it in the same factory – that means that your Vaseline is created right next to engine oil and fuel. The cross-contamination can end up with the petroleum that you put on your body actually having impurities that are carcinogenic. On a far less terrifying note, it can also cause irritation. At the end of the day, we’re all going to face some confusing labels – just make sure to do your research and go for the shortest ingredient list you can find – the simpler, the better!

5 Best Tooth Whitening Tips

For beauty purposes, white tooth are essential. They look gorgeous, feel awesome, and make us feel awesome about ourselves. Pearly whites gives us the confidence to shine, to smile, and to be at our best all the time.

1. Apply The Right Shade Of Your Lipstick

You don’t have to go to dentist and spend your money in a bid to get whiter than white tooth. As it turns out, there are many simple tricks you can apply that whiten your tooth as though by magic.

For example, getting whiter tooth is sometimes just as easy as applying the right shade of lipstick!

What you might not have realised is that there are some lipstick colours that darken your tooth and some that whiten them. Knowing what dulls and what glows is essential to at least creating the illusion of whiter teeth.

It’s all about knowing what suits for you. If you have greyish teeth, for example, you need to avoid red lipsticks.

2. Adopt A White Tooth Diet

Another one of great tooth whitening tips is to adopt a white teeth diet. If you’re drinking coffee all day long  you’re not doing your tooth any favours at all. It’s even worse if you smoke cigarettes, too. Instead of whitening them, you’ll be yellowing them. Which is so uncool!

There is in fact a lot of food and drink that can darken your tooth, including dark juices and beer, as well as gravy and colored soft drinks. Basically, if something is dark in colour, there is a very good chance that it’s going to darken your tooth.

3. Make A Lemon Juice And Baking Soda Paste

Baking soda is mildly abrasive, which means that it’s really good at removing any surface stains on your tooth, thereby returning them to their original white shade. It’s also alkaline, which means that it helps to balance out your mouths Ph levels.

All you need to do is mix together two teaspoons of baking soda with lemon juice in order to make your paste. Then, use some of the paste on your toothbrush before giving your tooth a good scrubbing.

4. Use Orange Peel

One of fabulous tooth whitening tips us to use orange peel. As an alternative, you could try lemon peel. Both are good for your tooth and your stomach, and they also keep your breath nice and fresh.

5. Clean Your Tongue

Your mouth is full of bacterias. As awful as it sounds, it’s essentially a germ casserole.

Yes, all kinds of living and breathing germs are milling around inside your mouth, and they’re darkening your teeth.

Your tongue in particular is a hive of bacteria, and scraping it a few times a week helps to banish all those nasty germs. It will also relieve any signs of stinky breath.

For best results, we recommend that you invest in a proper tongue scraper or simply use a toothbrush.