Everywhere we look there are reminders that in just two short weeks that special day to express our love will be here-Valentine's Day!
While a bit commercialized, it’s a sweet and fun holiday to celebrate those closest to us. And while we should let those we love know it all the time, sometimes we don't, so it’s a great excuse to do something special.
Aside from flowers and candy, jewelry is often on the agenda. If you are looking for a special gift I found a recent collection from Ana Gutierrez at the Grand Bazaar Shops that is quite the treat! The line is gorgeous and Ana is a designer with heart, giving back and keeping the environment clean are at the forefront of her business decisions.
If the evening calls for dinner, then aside from our favorite dress, makeup must be perfect too! Before actually applying any cosmetics though, preparation is the first step! Starting with a clean face is so important. As we age, our skin can become problematic, so washing without drying it out can be tricky. In search of a solution, I recently discovered a face cleanser called Better Cleansing Oil by Dermasensa, a local Henderson company. It leaves your skin moist, but not oily, and it rinses clean. They have a great line of products and much to my happiness many of them are aimed at the over 50 age demographic!
Once you have a clean canvas to work with, here are a couple of my favorite makeup tricks for the lips and eyes!
As the creator of Fullips, a temporary lip enhancer, lips are obviously one of my specialties! Plumping my pout is the first thing I do before applying my makeup. As we age that lip line can seem to disappear so using lipstick or liner can be harder to apply!
After I plump my lips, but before starting other makeup, I use an eye cream prior to concealer under my eyes. A fun tip I learned at a product demonstration, if you have bags under your eyes, apply your eye cream with a slight smile. Dab in a gentle tapping motion, smoothing the skin to the outside towards your temple. This helps the skin be a little smoother to prep for the concealer. Top with your concealer in the same way, gently tapping in an outward direction.
The last thing I do in my routine is my lip color. Having used my Fullips enhancer and now with them nice and plumped up, I first use a lip colored liner. Liner can keep your lipstick from bleeding and when lined just outside the lip line can add extra fullness too! If you use a waterproof liner, your lips will still have shape as the liner will last even if your lipstick doesn’t. If you blend the liner partially onto your lips, and then apply your favorite lipstick over it, again, even as the lipstick wears off, you will still have color. Our lip color also tends to fade as we get older, so anything to keep our lips looking young, full and sexy helps! The key is to blend, not fully color in your lips.
I hope everyone has a warm and loving Valentine's Day, but you don't have to wait until then to let someone know you love them! Love to you all!
xoxo