Deadly Sin #1 — Dramatic Eyes AND Dramatic Lips!
Choose one feature — eyes OR lips — to emphasize each time you apply makeup. If you choose to emphasize eyes, it’s tasteful to rim the eyes with dark eyeliner — as long as you keep lips neutral (Kate Middleton does this all the time!). In contrast, if you choose to emphasize lips, pair bright red/pink/wine-colored lips with more subdued eyes.

Deadly Sin #2 — Lipstick lighter than your lip liner!

With certain celebrity makeup looks, you will notice that the lip liner is several shades darker than lipstick/gloss. This look is not flattering — for anyone! It screams artificiality. Instead, it is far more flattering to match lip liner to lipstick. In addition, you can choose a lip liner which is the same shade, or even a shade darker, than your natural lip color, fill in your lips with the liner, and layer a shiny gloss on top. Very pretty look!

Deadly Sin #3 — Face darker/lighter than your neck!

This mistake results from matching foundation to your face instead of your neck — and conjures a “mask” effect. Our faces are naturally darker than our necks due to increased sun exposure; this is why foundation must be matched to the neck, despite what well-meaning cosmetics saleswomen will tell you!

Deadly Sin #4 — Wearing blue eyeshadow by itself!

Ladies, we may think we look good like this, but we end up resembling drag queens instead. It also scares men away — I’ve had this on good authority! If you wish to wear any bold eyeshadow — from blues to greens to purples — you must pair it with a neutral eyeshadow, such as taupes, browns, or grays. (For example, apply the bold shadow to the lid and the neutral shade to the crease.). That’s the only way you can tastefully get away with blue eyeshadow.

Deadly Sin #5 — Too much bronzer!

The best bronzer application mirrors the natural shadows created by light when it strikes the face. Less is more — always.

Deadly Sin #6 — Concealer lips!

Fair-skinned women particularly do not look good with nude lipsticks; they are already so pale that the lighter lipstick drains all color from the face. A flattering neutral lipstick, which is versatile enough to match a variety of outfits, is a shade or two darker than your natural lip color.

Deadly Sin #7 — Skipping sunscreen!

The very best thing you can do for your skin is to wear adequate sunscreen, ideally SPF 30 or greater. Lack of sun protection is at the heart of aging. The New England Journal published the photo above. In this photo, a truck driver’s face is markedly wrinkled on the left, the side exposed to the sun while driving all those years, when compared to the right. It illustrates quite graphically how important sun protection is to beauty and youth. Many drugstore moisturizers (such as Cetaphil) offer ample sunscreen protection — the higher the SPF, the better! Quite a few foundations and powders are now incorporating sunscreen.

‘Til next time!