10 Tips To Help You Put Your Best Face Forward
Okay let’s be honest for a second. You’ve heard the saying “Put your best foot forward”, right? Well what about the saying “put your best face forward”? I’m guessing you haven’t. What does it mean exactly? It means what it says, put your best face forward. So how are we to put that face forward when with each year we become older, we have certain things that happen to our faces? You know exactly what I’m talking about don’t you? Those small lines that have morphed into the grand canyon on your forehead. Those unsightly crow’s feet that decorate the outside of your eyes. And let us not forget the dark areas that seem to pop up like a jack in the box all on your face. Get the picture yet? So how do we prevent these things from happening? It’s impossible right? Unfortunately there are so many environmental factors floating around the atmosphere, it’s hard to stave off the aging process. We aren’t miracle workers! If we were, we’d wave our sparkly wand and give ourselves the most smooth, flawless skin we could, right? I know I would. Here’s the thing, I just turned 34. Yikes! I know plenty of women my age that look way older than 34, but there is a damn good reason for it. They didn’t take care of their skin! Sometimes I want to grab people by the neck and shake the daylights out of them for not doing so. But I won’t because I’m pretty sure that’s illegal. But on a positive note, I did start taking care of my skin at a very young age. What am I left with now? A face that looks like it could pass for that of someone 10 years younger than I actually am. No joke here, I get carded all of the time and people are shocked to find out my real age. Go me! So what can you do to get your skin on the right track again? Stick with me and I will show you the path to putting your best face forward! Keep in mind that change doesn’t happen overnight, you have to work at it to see results. But I have every faith that you can do this! So follow my 10 super simple makeup and skin tips to get your best face forward!
Disclaimer: I am in no way professionally endorsing the products listed below. These are item I personally use and in no way am being compensated for speaking about them.
Clean your makeup brushes regularly: I cannot stress this enough! You know that funky sponge you use to wash the dirty dishes in the sink? The one that starts smelling rancid eventually? Well here’s the thing, it has bacteria growing inside of it! Gross huh? Your dirty makeup brushes are basically the same thing. You glide them across your face every day where they collect dead skin cells, makeup residue and god knows what else. Once you brush that nastiness against your skin, you’ve just turned your face into a petri dish. That bacteria will sit there and find its way into your pores, where eventually it will create our sworn enemy…pimples. Have I grossed you out enough? I thought so. How do you prevent that crazy breakout that makes you feel like you’ve hit puberty again? Simple clean your brushes. A good rule of thumb that I go by is for every three times I use them, I clean them. I work from home so I don’t get the opportunity to wear makeup too often. But I make sure that my brushes are clean and sanitized regularly. I like to use a basic antibacterial hand soap. Just scrub the bristles and let them air dry. You can also sanitize them further by keeping rubbing alcohol in a small spray bottle and mist them as they are air drying.
Quench your skin: We all know how we feel when we don’t get something to drink right? (and I don’t mean adult beverages) We feel run down, tired and just plain yucky. Well my friend, your face feels the same way when you don’t give it a drink. And by drink I mean moisturizer. I know what you’re thinking…”But moisturizer makes my skin so oily.” Then you’re using the wrong type of moisturizer for your skin type. If you have oily skin to begin with, isn’t it total nonsense to slap on something that’s thick, creamy and heavy? Yes, yes it does. Read the labels, find the one that is designed for your skin type and I promise you, you’ll be singing the praises soon. Also here’s a bit of information you may not know. When you cleanse your face, you’re pulling all of the natural oils off of it. Your skin freaks out and starts producing an abundance of oil to compensate. In the end you’re left looking like someone rubbed a fried chicken leg all over your face and pimples out the wazoo. Not fun. By cleansing and applying moisturizer, you’re putting a halt to a face freak-out and balancing your skin to where it should be.
Scrub scrub scrub: Okay maybe not that much. Each day your skin rids itself of dead skin cells. Where do they all go? You’d think that they’d fall off and you’d have a DNA trail behind you, but that’s just not true. Yes, some do fall right off, but most lay on your face. They cling to the oils that are produced and sometimes get into your pores, creating a nasty mess. How can you help this? Simple. Exfoliate your face. I like to exfoliate at least 2 times per week. Don’t overdo it though, you’ll be left with what feels like chapped lips…all over your face. Find a fine grit, gentle product to do the job. The fine grit will get deep down under the dead cells and lift them away. Another tip, be sure and use your fingers when scrubbing. You have more control over how deep you scrub.
Use sunscreen: It’s not just for the beach anymore! Sun damage is the leading cause of premature skin again. The UVA (ultra violet aging) rays actually change the DNA structure of your skin. We don’t want this! We want to protect it the best we can by applying at least a 15spf sunscreen under our foundation. If you’re lucky enough to find a foundation with sunscreen in it, well, that’s even better! Invest in your skins future by giving it the protection it needs. You wouldn’t walk outside on a stormy day naked would you? Your face feels the same way.
Time for a color change: I know you’ve seen that woman walking around in the winter time and her face is 3 shades darker than the rest of her body. I know why. She continues to wear the same foundation color that matched her perfectly in the summer. As the fall and winter months approach, our nice pretty tan begins to fade. What should you do? You should lighten up your foundation to match your winter skin color. I have 2 shades of foundation that I keep on hand. One is my darker summer color, and the other is my pasty white winter color. Sure it costs a little extra to have 2 different shades on hand, but it’s a small price to pay to keep from getting made fun of for looking like you are auditioning for the cast of Jersey Shore.
Bronzer is your buddy: Yes there are those who go overboard and to them I say “get a grip”. Bronzer can be intimidating at first. But if you know how to properly use it, it will quickly become your favorite makeup accessory. I’m referring to the pressed compact bronzer, not the spray tan in a can. In fact, I use bronzer on my cheeks instead of blush. I like the neutral tone it gives, while adding some depth to my cheek bones. Now, keep in mind that this stuff is powerful, a little dab will do ya. Start with just a little dusted on the apples of your cheeks to see how dark you really want to go. Then swipe upward toward your cheek bones to blend the color. Quick tip, bronzer is also great if you feel like your foundation is just a bit too light. Dust it on lightly before applying your face powder and it will blend with the powder, making your foundation seem just a little darker.
Not my eyes!: Raise your hand if you’re still using soap to remove your eye makeup? I thought so. If you didn’t know, eye makeup is denser than anything you’ll put on your face. The eyeliners, shadows and mascara are meant to be thicker so they will stay put. Each time you scrub the hell out of your eyes with soap, it causes damage to the delicate tissues that surround the eye. You can pop blood vessels, cause irreversible skin destruction and let’s not forget the chance of getting soap in your eyes. Ouch! Choose a good eye makeup remover for the job. It’s designed just for that area of the face. It’s not harsh, and most will take that stubborn gunk off your face with just a few swipes of a cotton ball. The good thing about it also is that it can take off long wearing lipstick in a flash!
You can do what?: This is my all-time favorite trick! Everyone has black eyeliner in their makeup arsenal right? But there are days when you’re feeling bold and want some funky eyeliner color. Maybe you’d like cobalt blue, or lavender? Oh but I don’t want to buy those colors because the chances of me wearing them a lot are slim to none. But I have a tip that will save you the money and make you say ‘whoa’. First thing you’ll want to do is to go ahead and apply that black eyeliner, chill out I’m not finished just yet. Say you’re feeling froggy and want some green liner today. Easy peasy! Grab a small makeup brush and pull out that green eye shadow that’s been tucked away for quite some time. Use the brush to apply the shadow directly to the black eyeliner! The liner will grab ahold of the shadow like a magnet. You’ve just customized your eyeliner in a jiffy! Be creative with this one, try different colors to jazz it up. Your friends will be asking you ‘how’d you do that?’ My all-time favorite is to use my metallic gold shadow, it makes for an awesome effect and causes my ice blue eyes to pop.
Lip gloss is your friend: For the longest time I despised lip gloss. It was thick and nasty. My lips stuck together when I tried to talk while wearing it, and forget having my long hair down on a slightly windy day, it would stick to my lips like a fly in a trap. But I’ve finally discovered a gloss that is comfortable to wear and smells good too! It’s actually from Bath and Body Works. It comes in all shades, and is around 6$ a tube. It’s amazing! Be sure to tell Santa you’d like some in your stocking this Christmas. But find what’s out there, experiment with different brands, see what you’re comfortable wearing. I never leave home without lip gloss on. Somehow I feel so much better when my lips are shiny and moisturized.
Hey red: And finally, the last helpful tip. Don’t be frightened of bright lipstick colors! They aren’t just for elderly ladies and women of the night anymore ya know. I have an addiction to my bright red shade of lip color. For one thing, I look good in it, and the other is that it makes my teeth look whiter. Yes, that’s right! The brighter the lipstick color, the whiter your teeth look in contrast to it. If you don’t want to bother with the expensive white strips, or heading to the dentist to get your grin bleached. Just apply a bright shade of lip stick and see what happens. I promise you that your friends will be asking for the name of your dentist.I hope you find some of these tips helpful. The product pictures are of items that I actually have in my beauty arsenal too. So keep your head up and put your best face forward no matter what!!!
C.D. Taylor
