What is your beauty secret? Interpret that as you’d like!
Be as confident as you can, and for many of us, that is a work in progress and some days we can be 100% confident and other days might be shakier. Oh, and smile 🙂 I think everyone looks better when they’re smiling/laughing!
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Find a skincare regime that works for you and stick to it. It could be something as simple as washing your face and moisturize twice a day. In addition, always remove your make-up before bed and drink enough water. Discipline is key.
Of course, they’re just additions to the psychological aspects Christine already covered. 😉
Hmm, I have a couple of “beauty secrets”.
1. My teeth are a tiny bit crooked (I couldn’t get braces when I should’ve), so to keep me feeling good and confident about my smile I always whiten my teeth.
2. I try to always stand up as straight as possible. It really changes my first impressions about others, so I’m sure they notice it in me too.
3. I use a tiny bit of green neutralizer makeup before my foundation, then I only have to use a tiny bit of foundation to achieve the same even tone.
4. I only use mascara sometimes. I haven’t found a mascara that was really pitch black yet so instead I’ve been using this really black black liquid eyeliner. I just use a thin disposible spoolie and dip it in my eyeliner like mascara and it’s just so much darker than the mascaras I’ve tried (so not waterproof though).
5. I use mascara primer, but only on the tips of my lashes. When I use it on the whole lash it looks clumpy and odd, but just on the tips it really lengthens.
5. I take some coconut oil and rub it between my hands when I step out of the shower, then I use it on my elbows, knees, shoulders, and arms (a little goes a long way) and then without getting any more out of the jar, just with the tiny film that’s left on my hands I run my hands through the ENDS of my wet hair. Then my hair is super shiny and soft all day (just don’t wear it to bed, cuz I don’t know about you but if I sleep with coconut oil on my pillow I always wake up with a blemish).
6. I wash my bedding a lot.
7. I try to stay out of the sun. I live in Hawaii so this is both easier and harder. It’s harder because, well come on it’s Hawaii, who doesn’t want to be out there? But it’s easier because I can see first hand in most of the people who live here what sun damage does to your skin.
Washing you bedding a lot is a good one. I change my pillow case twice a week (more often than sheets) and it’s made a difference in my skin. Plus, fresh pillow case! feels awesome.
Washing linens is a fab one! I change bedding 2xs a week and I am OCD about wet towels, so they get changed everyday.
My ‘secret’ isn’t really a secret. Contouring and blending it really well will make anyone look like a supermodel . . . even standing at 5’4″.
My beauty secrets are not really beauty secrets at all–and I’m sure everyone here has heard of them: take good care of your skin first and foremost, drink lots of water, take your fish oil/omegas, eat healthy, exercise, and most importantly, BE HAPPY!! 😀
To try to smile and mean it and feel confident and nice to others is what makes us beautiful I think 🙂
I also stay away from mineral oils 🙂
Staying away from mineral oils has made a world of difference for my skin.
I agree with Christine. I have met models (and regular women) who were not that conventionally pretty, but had such a wonderful aura and were so confident that you couldn’t help but look at them. The way you feel about yourself gets transmitted to others, and so many people forget that.
Oh, and good skincare doesn’t hurt either. 😀
my beauty secret is… checking temptalia before buying new make up! 😉
Staying away from stress as much as possible and being happy with what you do in life. Doesn’t matter how good my skin care products are or how much I care I take, if I am not happy and stressed my skin and face shows it.
Exercise regularly, drink tons of water, sleep well , do healthy snacking and follow your skin care routine religiously.
I agree with you 100% on smiling, Christine. A smile, a bit of colour in my lips and, above all, a good sunscreen are my not very secret “secrets”.
Smiling!
I sleep 8-10 hours a day 🙂 yes, i do have a 9-5 job.
Amen, sister! Me too!
It’s nice to hear that other people have the same “work in progress” attitude towards self-confidence! I have found that with clothes and makeup alike, the MOST important factor that differentiates looking fierce from looking clownish is pure attitude. People really do react to you differently depending on how you carry yourself, and this can make or break a look.
Besides that, my beauty secrets (well, not THAT secret) include buying products with as few ingredients as possible, taking makeup off with Vaseline (I know a lot of people hate petroleum-based products, but I don’t care about that), and getting a lot of sleep. Another secret is that I buy NYC’s super-cheap eyeliners and use them as brow pencils. Of course, some people prefer powder, but I like using a pencil, and I *really* like using one that is $1.99 … so I can save for the really pretty stuff to use elsewhere on my face!
I do that too! NYC eyeliner in taupe makes an excellent brow pencil!
I prefer eyeliner too! Everytime I am at the Dollar Tree I try and grab all the brown or brown-ish eyeliners I can find.
Try something new and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Some of the best looks I’ve stumbled upon are because I was willing to keep working on a look until I figured out my mistakes and got it right. I didn’t get winged eyeliner for the longest time, but after some practice with different products it came together.
With skin care my rule is to educate myself. Knowing ingredients is important to taking care of my skin. It helps me to know if I’m getting a good value for the money I’ve paid, and once I’ve figured out ingredients that cause irritation or breakouts it helps me to steer clear of wasting money. The beauty industry plays on our emotions to sell, so educating myself has been the way to cut through the nonsense and see what’s worth my hard earned money.
Bravo! Well said Christine!!
When I think of beauty secrets, I always think of staying positive, protraying a bright and beautiful smile and standing up straight and walking tall.
I also think of make-up secrets. These are ones I have lived by for a while …
1) Layering lipstick (apply, blot, apply, blot, apply blot)
2) Layering scents
3) Mixing nail polishes (Frankening … I’m new to this term)
4) Using an eye primer on brows
5) Removing all make-up before going to bed
Do you put the eye primer on brows to make your brow pencil/powder last longer? I actually hadn’t heard of this trick before and am very interested to learn how you do it so I can try it. When you mix polishes, do you do it in a new container?
Removing makeup before bed is a MUST for me. I can’t understand how someone could not do it, its like begging for breakouts if you dont. Plus they make so many awesome makeup remover wipes now that its really easy to do these days.
I’m not sure how Dinitchka does it but I use eyeshadow primer on my brows too. The primers I use (too faced, lorac, urban decay, sephora) are slightly tacky so the powder/pencil do last longer.
1. I apply primer with a small synthetic angled brush onto my brows, especially the bald spots. 2. Then I go back with a powder/pencil a couple shades lighter than my dark brow hair color bc the powder will also go on more intensely.
3. Then I use a spoolie to blend it out and brush my brow hairs in the direction I want them. Hope that helps!
I also use eye primer on my brows since mine are so sparse. Works wonders for a budge proof eyebrow. Great tip!
@ Liza: Yes! I apply all my face products as usual. Before I powder my face, I sweep the eyeshadow primer over where my brows are and where I will fill in. I am not at all percise about it. I like to go outside the area. For me, it helps everything stay in place and rarely does any brow smudge or budge. I then blot and smooth with a clean sponge. I let it set up a bit. I go in with an eyeliner pencil (which I prefer) or brow pencil and create my brow. I then set with an eyeshadow (which I prefer) or brow powder. Lastly I dust with a face powder and I’m done. I think I am making this sound like a bunch of work, but TBH it is not. I rarely have issues with fading, smudging or budging. I only tried this after getting really tired of having to reapply wax. I am DONE with wax 🙂
Regarding the Franken polish. I don’t use ‘new’ containers. I save old ones, clean then with acetone and keep then for future use. Though, online you can find empty bottles.
That is like the one thing I can remember from make-up get-go … Remove all traces of make-up from your face before bed. In fact, unless I am running home for something and leaving again, when I get home all make-up comes off, hair gets pulled up and pjs come on. LOL! If I have something to do in the evening, it comes off anyway so I can wash my face and apply fresh make-up.
I hope the info helps you (and others) 🙂
I forgot 2! I’d like to add a 6 and 7.
6) Washing my make-up brushes everyday. A little excessive? Perhaps, but my skin is sensetive, oily and I break out just looking at a greasy piece of fried chicken with a fried Oreo for dessert 🙁
7) Using dish washing soap to wash brushes. No ma’am it will not ruin your brushes. I prefer Dawn – Bleach Alternative – Overnight Soaking Power.
Frownies! They’re little triangular sticky patches you wear between your brows to stop the wrinkles when you sleep. I call it my bargain bin botox. I’d started getting really deep grooves between my brows and the Frownies haven’t made the wrinkle go away entirely but it’s much, much less prominent (and seems to get better the longer I use them). I wish I had started using them when I was younger.
I have been wondering about these. I think I’d like to try them as I do squish between my eyes a lot. It is a really bad habit I have been doing since childhood and I don’t know if I could ever break such a bad habit.
My mother in law makes me a homemade toner out of Soju (a Korean wine). It’s my secret to good skin. Because it’s a rice wine it works on the same principal as the SK-II skin care line, but at a fraction of the cost! she puts it in jars for me and I swipe some on after cleansing nightly with a cotton pad. Leaves my skin feeling fresh, clean and radiant.
I am also a HUGE advocate of sunscreen! SPF 40 on my face everyday no matter what (i’m super fair)- Clarins is my go to.
That Soju toner sounds quite interesting, do you happen to know how she makes it?
I’d like to know as well!!
I would say moisturizing my oily skin– it really has done wonders and I’m kinda kicking myself for not learning this sooner
Beauty secrets:
1. When pulling together a look, place all your colour products around each other to see how they visually work together before you apply them. This is really helpful if you are undecided on a blush or a lipstick.
2. Many eye products are safe to use your on lips as well.
3. Make skincare part of your daily routine.
4. Stay away from tanning beds and use sunscreen.
5. Experiment and try new products and colours. Treat it as a moving target.
I LOVE your #1! That does make so much sense, now that you have said it 🙂
Not to butcher Abraham Lincoln’s quote to brutally
“If we focus on our success rather than our disappointments we would all be much happier” …. or something to that effect ” 🙂
This is how I view my ‘beauty secret’. I learned at a young age not to focus on what I did not like about my physicality, and focus on what I thought was rather unique and pretty. I noticed then, the world seemed to focus on it too! You then learn, without thinking how to accentuate your best features, dress for appropriately for your figure whilst enhancing your figure what hair styles are most flattering etc. But it is all done with confidence, individuality and without a need to follow a trend.
I also a agree with Miss Christine wholeheartedly, the world needs more of us beautiful women smiling!
Paying for high end facial cleanser, concealer and foundation. The rest I will go as cheap as I can get away with, that being said still have a few expensive things but a good face soap, concealer and foundation are important to me. People notice.
Wear cosmetics because YOU want to and not because you think you should or have to. Anything hobby that can be as expensive and time consuming as makeup deserves to be a labor of love, too. 🙂
Pay attention to your skin the most. Make sure you know what type you have, so you can treat it accordingly. I have very oily skin, so I wash my face with a gentle soap and add a little moisturizer.
Also, be very careful with blush, you should very cautiously build it up. Try to wear as little makeup as you can, and for the love of God make sure your eyeliner has a sleek straight line!
But most of all, avoid sugar. It doesn’t do any good for anybody, and even if you’re naturally thin, it can still wreak havoc on your skin and general health.
1. Let skin breathe. I have only worn foundation on rare occasions. I use a tinted moisturizer (currently Nars, and I looove it) mixed with Tarte’s Smooth Operator. Some days I only wear the latter. Again, except on rare occasions (like when I fell down the stairs and busted my head open), I don’t wear a heavy concealer, just YSL touch eclat to make me look more awake. While imperfections do still show through, it creates less of them, and both the tinted moisturizer and the smooth operator seem to have improved my skin (though I still wash them off at night).
2. Wear a mascara that conditions. I am lucky to have lashes that are pretty dark and thick on their own (with a natural curl), but they got dried thin out from the mascaras I was using and started to look sparse. Fresh Supernova saved my lashes. I switched to Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Lashes! after that which isn’t quite as good, but is still kind to my lashes and is more affordable. Give Eyelashes rest days with no mascara.
3. Personally, I always wear eyeliner. It is my most essential makeup product (other than skincare). I am very pale and so the whites of my eyes can kind of disappear into my face, making them look smaller than they are, but when they are defined I get a lot of compliments.
4. eat fish. If vegetarian/vegan, try flax seeds. Omega 3 fatty acids are so great for the skin, not to mention overall health.
5. Drink tea, especially green.
6. It’s already been said many times on this thread, but it bears repeating: protect your skin from the sun and stay away from tanning beds!
Unfortunately, a lot of things I learned by doing the wrong thing:
1. No crazy diets/periods of starving yourself. It is bad for skin, and can cause chronic health problems.
2. Get enough sleep.
3. Wash makeup off at night (ah days, of youth, when I was heedless of consequences!)
4. Don’t take on too much/find ways to keep stress levels low.
Well, I know that avoiding heat styling and excessive product usage has kept my hair very soft and shiny. My hair is wavy and can have a mind of its own, I tend to just be content to let it do what it wants. If it’s crazy today, it’ll probably be fine tomorrow.
I’m also crazy particular about doing as little as I can to groom my brow shape. It’s so easy to go overboard! I’ve got a decent arch, and really just have to tame strays.
Wear what makes you happy. Whether you feel like you look your best in nudes or orange, rock what you love.
Also, I definitely believe in the ‘you are what you eat’, so lots of fresh fruits and veggies will really help you glow and feel good.
Learn the rules only so you can figure out the best way to break them (except ones about keeping things safe and sanitary, you should follow those), keep yourself open to inspiration, and tell yourself how fabulous you look every day until you realize that it’s true!
Drink plenty of water and remove my makeup every night