News and Infotainment

1. Go for contrasting lids and tips.
Pair a smoldering eye look with a crisp off-white nail polish. The combo looks elegant, plus you won’t have to worry about your manicure matching your clothes.

2. Get tan and toned.
Look like a golden goddess by mixing liquid bronzer with a firming body cream, then massage it into your arms. It’ll temporarily tighten your skin and give it a glow, says Scarlett Messina, a Pennsylvania-based makeup artist.

3. Perfect your complexion.
Camouflage any pimples by applying a yellow-based cover-up to counteract the redness. Use a concealer brush to pat it on precisely, then blend the edges with your ring finger, says Tracy Brennan, owner of Kalologie, a beauty boutique in Los Angeles.

4. Pump up the volume.
For oomphy, tousled strands, try this trick from Nathaniel Hawkins, a celeb hairstylist who has worked with the Olsen twins: When you’re finished blow-drying your hair, switch to the cool setting, flip your head over, and aim the nozzle around randomly for a few minutes. “This creates pockets of air between your locks so they look extra full,” he says.

5. Sweeten up your cheeks. Create a foxy flush with a deep berry powder blush. Use a fluffy brush to swirl it in small, circular motions over the apples of your cheeks and back toward your hairline, says NYC makeup artist Greg Vaughan. This will blend the color evenly.

6. Make your gloss multitask.
Keep a pearly white lip gloss in your desk drawer to slick not only on your lips but also on your brow bones and cheekbones as highlighter, says Pati Dubroff, an L.A.-based celebrity makeup artist.

7. Rework your hair flair.
A glittery accessory adds instant glamour to any hairstyle. If you forget to bring one to work, use a brooch from your sweater.

8. Fake a gorgeous glow.
Mix one part foundation with one part liquid illuminator, and then use your fingertips to massage it all over your face, says Brennan. Try American Beauty All Over Face Glow in Gold Glow, $15, and Mark Duotint in Double Rose, $6. Top it off with a dusting of a light-reflecting shimmer powder.

9. Sweeten your handshake.
Since you’re going to be shaking hands and mingling, mist your fragrance on your palms so that your touch will release a small amount of scent throughout the night.

10. Work a sexy updo.
Starting with dry locks, tease the hair around your crown, then flip your head upside down and mist the underneath layers with hair spray, says Patrick Melville, creative director of Warren-Tricomi salons. Flip back up, then gather all of your hair — except the front section — into a loose bun and secure with bobby pins. Now mist those face-framing pieces with hair spray and use a round brush to blow dry them so they’re sleek. Insert a sparkly hair accessory a few inches above one of your ears.

11. Prep your lids.
Before you apply any eye makeup, blend a creamy concealer onto your lids and into the inner corners of your eyes. This will give your shadow a base to stick to and conceal any redness.

12. Score perfect party legs.
If you don’t have enough time for a full in-the-shower shaving session, just smooth baby oil onto your legs before you take the razor to them, says Dana Minkin, owner of the Gloss Day Spa in New York City. “The oil protects your skin and will leave your legs extra satiny.”

13. Revive your manicure.
Slick a shiny, clear top coat over whatever polish you have on your nails. It’ll give them a glossy finish and prevent nicks so your mani will look freshly done, says Sunshine Outing, a nail technician at Haven spa in New York City.

14. Go for a smoldering stare.
A smoky eye effect is a classic night-out look. To do it: Line the rim of your upper and lower lashes with a black eyeliner, says Charlie Green, an NYC makeup artist who works with Heidi Klum. Now use a stiff brush to smudge the pencil into your lashes. Finish by sweeping a dark shadow onto your lids.

15. Nix a shiny nose.
Left your powder compact at home? Tone down a glaring T zone with a piece of one of those toilet-seat covers in the ladies’ room. It’ll act as a blotting paper, says Mary Lisa, a makeup artist at the Julien Farel salon in NYC.

Source: cosmopolitan

If you mindlessly do your makeup in his line of sight, you’re missing an ideal opportunity to push his lust button. The next time you reach for your beauty gear, use tantalizing application techniques to tease him. Now, Turn touch-ups into turn-ons.

Lipstick
Part your lips slightly so that your mouth is open and relaxed (guys are into that), then sensually trace the shape of your lips with the tube. One coat is all you’ll need.

Mascara
Swipe the wand dramatically through your lashes a few times (resist layering too much). Channel Marilyn Monroe, and flutter them a bit before you look up at him.

Powder
Turn away from him, and hold up a compact that has a built-in mirror. Sweep on powder, and then “accidentally” catch his eye in the mirror as you flash a sexy smile.

Source: cosmopolitan

There are a few other items that you may wish to use during your manicure, all of which are optional:
- Cuticle Remover: These cosmetic solutions will aid in softening the cuticles and may contain 2-5% sodium or potassium hydroxide and glycerin’s. Apply to the cuticle area after filing and before soaking in the fingerbowl.

- Nail Cleansers: Usually a type of detergent (scrub) in liquid form that is added to the water in the fingerbowl to aid in soaking and cleansing the nail plate.

- Cuticle Oil, Lotion or Creams: Any combination of essential oils that soften and lubricate the skin and nails.

- Nail Bleaches: These cosmetics contain hydrogen peroxide or organic acids that can be applied over and/or under the free edge of the nail plate to remove stains. Sometimes they work — sometimes they don’t!

- Base Coat, Enamel color of choice, and Top Coat.

- Polish Dryers: These products can be sprays or Top Coat enamels and are designed to quickly dry the surface layer of enamel. The solvents in nail enamel must evaporate in order for the polish to dry. When Polish is applied, the solvents on the surface begin to evaporate and the solvents on the bottom begin to move upward, and the surface begins to harden. The solvents have to diffuse through this hardened surface and evaporation slows down. Polish dryers repel this thickening layer, pulling the solvents into itself. This action is much like pressing down on a wet sponge, or wringing our a wet rag. The polish is not totally ‘dry’, but is simply much drier than it was immediately after application. It takes a full hour for the enamel to be free of solvents and fully hardened.

- Aromatherapy Oils: For a relaxing mood or to relieve stress.

- Sloughing Lotions: To aid in exfoliation of rough, dry skin.

- Paraffin Wax Machine: Paraffin wax aids in moisturizing and conditioning the skin by opening the pores and allowing the massage/aromatherapy oils to deeper penetrate the skins outer layer.

Arrange your files, implements and tools on the table towel on top of your working surface so they are within easy reach. Wash your hands with a mild detergent or hand soap, rinse well and dry thoroughly.

Source: hooked-on-nail

Everyone wants to have long, beautiful nails, and the perfect finish is a beautifully applied coating of colored enamel. Whether your natural nails are short or long, the perfect polish is the finishing compliment to your manicure.

To begin with, always be sure your polish is fresh. Enamel that has been allowed to thicken will not apply evenly or thinly and will tend to bubble, streak and not ‘cure’ or adhere properly. Polish will thicken because it is ‘volatile’. This simply means that the solvents in the enamel that keep it in a fluid state will quickly evaporate when exposed to air. The longer the bottle remains open during application, or if it is exposed to a heat source, the solvents will quickly evaporate and the enamel will become thick, gooey, stringy and make a perfect application impossible. Store your enamels/polishes in a cool, dark place and away from sources of heat.

Begin your application by turning the bottle upside down and ‘rolling’ each bottle of enamel between the palms of your hands. Never ‘shake’ the bottle as this method will form bubbles of air in the enamel which will transmit to the finished surface after application.

The Perfect Polish is applied by first stroking down the center of the nail plate from cuticle to free edge, then stroking each side in turn. Three to four strokes on each nail is sufficient to evenly distribute the coating. Additional stroking will only lift and move the enamel leaving behind streaks and/or bare spots on the nail surface. Leave a tiny margin all around the cuticle and sides of each nail to ensure that the polish does not touch your skin and that it adheres properly to the nail plate. Remember, oil is a separating medium and your skin contains oils and moisture.

Apply the colored enamel in the same manner, allowing enough time for each coating to dry between layers. Always apply each layer very thin. If the pigments in the enamel are not ‘even’ after the second coating of color, allow an extra minute, then apply a third coat. The pigments in some red or metallic enamels tend to separate during application and may require a third coating for even color distribution. Allow from one to three minutes after this third coating before applying your top coat or sealer. Nail enamel will dry from the first coat up to the last, and the solvents in the enamel must evaporate before the coatings are hardened. Pausing as long as you can between coatings will produce a smoother, more brilliant surface. Applying coatings that are too thick, too close together, or with enamel that has thickened with time will smudge, dent or may peel from the nail plate entirely. Applying the coatings too quickly is a major reason for the ‘orange peel’ texture. This is especially pronounced in times of high temperatures and humidity,

Waiting for polish to dry can be tiresome, but the slower it dries the better! Slower evaporating solvents produce brighter colors. Forcing the polish to quickly dry by using heat or chemical dryers will actually result in excessive shrinkage and cracking. Formulations that use rapidly evaporating solvents tend to bubble and pit more or produce uneven surfaces. Blowing on the polish will lower adhesion and gloss.

Source: hooked-on-nails

There 3 easy steps perfect pedicure at home and do by yourself.  For feet that looked polished without the actual polish, from Roxanne Valinoti, who handles education for Creative Nail Design.

1. While you’re in the shower or bath, exfoliate the bottoms of your feet.
Including spots like the sides of your big toes, where calluses tend to build up — with a pumice stone or foot file. Then gently push your cuticles back with a washcloth.

2. Hop out, dry off, then trim and file your nails.
Cut them straight across, then clip the very edges at a 45-degree angle. (This prevents ingrown toenails by taking away the sharp corners.) Then use a buffer with different grits (ideally three) to polish them to a high shine. Start with the coarsest and end with the finest. “The sheen you’ll get will last for about a week and almost look like you have a nude polish on,” says Valinoti.

3. Slather your feet with a thick lotion (preferably one containing panthenol) and slip on a pair of socks.
For an hour or, better yet, overnight. The combo of body heat and moisturizer will repair any cracks in your skin and make your feet sooo soft.

Source: fitnesmagazine