New Articles at MakeupDiva411.com

You'll find some new info at my website, MakeupDiva411.com. I've added an article about BB creams, what they are, and what to do with them. Also check out the Nails section on Nail Art for some Halloween nail step-by-step stuff. After all, there hanging right at the end of you fingers, why not dress them up for every holiday, too?

I've done some major overhauling of the website to try and make it more user friendly. I'm not done yet, expect more changes in the future, like a better looking lay out.

That's it for today! Got Halloween decorating to do! Thanks for stopping by!

Saving Money on Holiday Glam

With the holidays soon upon us, we all want to be able to afford gifts for everyone even though our budgets are tight so give Avon a shot if you haven't looked at a brochure in a while. The holiday issues will be coming up with the next few campaigns and you don't want to miss any bargains! You can take a look here to check out the online store for some of the great sales and new things that have come out.

You'll find many cosmetics on sale, like the famous Eye Quad at "2 for $10.00", lip colors at "2 for $5.99", which is less than the cost of one when not on sale. Eye liners, lip liners and brow pencils for $2.99 each. Mascara for $4.99 to $5.99 including the new Lash Drama. There are some great gifts sets with all of the things you need to make a great gifts for your favorite makeup diva! You know the huge makeup pallet collections that some stores come out with during the holidays that run about $40.00? Well, Avon has the same great pallets in three different sizes and the most expensive one is $19.99, that's for the really big one! Avon has some of the best cosmetic products that I have ever used, especially the mascara! The shadows are highly pigmented, the liners come in so many colors!

Avon has gone "luminous", too, with the new Magix Illuminating Face Primer, newly formulated luminous blush and foundations. Check out the "mark" product line for some really show off makeup! Mark is the younger line of Avon geared for younger women up to late twenties but anyone of any age will love the jewelry and cosmetics, some of us can even fit into the clothing, although it's Misses sizes, not Womens.

You'll find tons of jewelry for the holidays full of sparkle and shine and on sale! Also, check out the great new dresses and clothing for winter and to add sparkle to a holiday party! Most dresses come in sizes up to 3X now.

Boots, shoes, under garments and even kitchenware! Lots of things for the kids, too, including toys, clothes, shoes, bath time fun products. Avon has it all! And for the man in your life, you will find some of the best colognes, tools that will make him smile and even a new line of high tech gadgets for I-Pods.

What's not to love when it comes to Avon? So contact your local Avon rep today and get the latest brochures so you can start making a wish list now and get in on these great deals! If you haven't seen an Avon brochure in a while, you will truly be surprised at all the new lines of products they carry for the whole family and at prices we can still afford.

Self Tanner Revolution!!

(This was in Draft from early summer so I thought I'd clean it up and post it anyway)

It's getting warmer outside and we all want to spend more time in the sun. I remember the good old days when my sister and I would oil up and lay by our pool for hours on the weekends. That was about 35 years ago and people didn't really know that skin cancer was such a threat from sun exposure. I'm a fair little Irish girl and I burn easily. My sister being from a Scandinavian background (we're adopted), was blonde and could get a tan by looking at a picture of the sun. So, I slathered on the Sea & Ski tanning lotion and turn a wonderful shade of red, mostly burning my Lilly white skin, which would later tan down to a normal healthy color. My sister would mix a bottle of baby oil and iodine and use that to tan with. She'd get a deep golden brown tan, her hair would bleach out naturally and she'd look great. I looked like an Irish girl that wasn't used to the sunny days in the U.S., red, flaky skin and much redder hair then normal. After a couple summers, I gave up. Besides, I can't lay still that long. I'm like a hummingbird on crack most of the time anyway.

Today we know how much damage that the sun can do to our skin and my sister is living proof. While she's never had skin cancer yet, her skin has a thickened look that has caused premature wrinkling. She looks at least 3 years older than me and she's actually 4 years younger. She still lays out in the summer, especially since she and her husband bought a beach house that she stays at all summer long. I, on the other hand, live in the Southwest desert, which is even more sun damaging then her east coast home. I wear sun screen daily, a big floppy hat when I go outside, Capri pants so my legs don't burn, and everything that touches my skin has an SPF factor of at least 50. My arms are an ugly shade of brown with spots on them because they see the sun the most. I use a bleaching cream to try and keep the ugly factor down.

I got brave a few years ago and decided to try the new self tanners, which have improved greatly over the past few years. I thank the Gods daily for self tanner because now people no longer need to be deathly white anymoreif they want a tan. This also means that I have tried a few self tanners myself just to see which ones work the best. I grade them on ease of application, developed color tone and natural look.

There is a difference between self tanners and bronzers. Bronzer just gives you a bronzed color and then washes off  while a self tanner develops with the skin's amino acids over a matter of hours giving you a tanned look that lasts for a few days. Some self tanners have both so the bronzer gives you color now while the self tanner develops over a few hours.

Here is a list of my favorites and why:

Bare Escentuals Faux Tan: This is a really odd self tanner. It's almost a black -green when it comes out of the bottle but that's so you can see where you are putting it and how even it is being applied. It gives the most natural tan that I have ever seen! You can layer it on, applying it every other day for a few days and get the deepest most natural tan ever. It may be considered too dark for fair skinned people but I like the versatility of how dark you can go with it. It doesn't smell too bad either and has mostly natural ingredients. No SPF. Kind of pricey unless you can get it during a Bare Minerals sale at QVC.

Bare Escentuals Faux Tan Daily Moisturizer: They came out with this a couple years ago and it was perfect for me color-wise. It's a daily use version of the original Faux Tan with moisturizers and isn't as dark as the original. Even after one use, you'll have a nice golden tan started. I sometimes mix it with a dollop of the original stuff and mix it together to kick start my tan when I first apply it. It gives it a bit more color but not too heavy. No SPF. About $18.00 a tube, one tube lasts me all summer. Bare Minerals also makes a Faux Tan mineral powder for the face, in case you'd rather not do your face but still have some color.

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze: This comes in a variety of types, gel, lotion, pre-moistened towels, bronzer-tanner and face tanner. It comes in formulas for fair to medium skin and medium to dark skin so you'll get a more natural looking tan. One note, if you have fair skin and try using the medium to dark just to get a darker looking tan it's going to look BAD!! I learned this the hard way. I tried the towlettes on my legs and they looked really streaky and blotchy because I couldn't see where it was being applied and where I missed. For an mass market brand, though, this brand does an excellent job and a reasonable price.

Too Faced Tanning Bed in a Tube for the Face: Didn't really like this one. It smells funny and the color comes out a bit dark on me. It also has a bronzer built in for the look right now which gave me a kind of muddy faced look instead of a lightly bronzed look. It may work well for women who have some color already.

How to apply: Take a bath or shower and use a loofah or some type of skin exfoliant everywhere that you will be applying the tanning lotion. Self tanner looks better when applied to skin that is smooth and moisturized so it's important that you get that dead skin off before you apply. Towel dry and start applying from the legs up, using
upward strokes. Using a self tanner that has a color to it helps you make sure that you haven't missed any spots. Do your legs, move up to your torso and upper body, then arms. Wash and dry your hands when you are finished. Apply a small dollop to the back of one hand and rub the backs of your hands together making sure to cover from wrists to finger nails. Don't wash your hands again for a few hours, that gives time for the backs of your hands to develop some color, too.

Make sure to apply moisturizer every day to keep your tan looking good. You may want to re-apply tanner every few days as well in order to keep that tan look. Read the directions for the product that you pick to see if it can be used on the face if you also want to do your face. Some tanners are not made to be used on the face and you'll have to look for a tanner made specifically for this purpose.

What ever product that you choose or what ever way that you get your tan, always remember that if you are going to be out in the sun wear a sun screen, the stronger, the better! Protect your skin and it will keep you
looking good for years to come!

Makeup Tips for Halloween

Just like any holiday, you want to look good but Halloween is a bit different. You might be going in costume, you might just want to wear gothy looking makeup all month long in honor of Halloween. Hey, it's a big holiday for some of us and we like to celebrate all month long!

Some ladies love the 60's/Goth black shadow and liner eye. I know I do! Here's an easy way to do it. You can wear this all year long or just around Halloween.

The "Quick & Easy Goth Eye"

Here's an easy way to get a very dramatic looking Goth eye with a minimum of work. You only need one shadow, two if you want a white brow bone. This works best with a gun metal gray shadow or a black shadow. Use a kohl liner pencil in a deep black for your eye liner. Make sure it's s soft liner so there's no tugging on the lid. You want a smooth application. If your liner is a bit dry and pulls, you won't get a smooth line so roll the tip between your fingers to soften it up. If you are an Avon lover like I am, you'll find every thing that you need right there to do this. Black Kohl liner, Mega Shadow in Flash Black and Super Drama mascara in Black. Just go here and get what you need.

1. Use a black Kohl liner pencil to line the upper lid. This type has a very creamy texture and makes it easy to use. Avon just came out with one that is also safe to line the inner rim with, comes in 5 colors and I just love it! Use your middle finger and lift the skin at the outer corner of the eye up and out slightly. This makes the skin more taut so it's easier to apply liner and also gives a slight cat eye up turn to the outer corner. Use short, feathery strokes to draw a line as close to your lash line as you can, start at the inner corner and work out. Do this on each upper lid. Now line the bottom lashes by dotting the pencil between lashes to give the illusion of more lashes. You may want to use a finger and pull skin taut here as well. If you like to line your inner lower lid, do it now. Okay, now smudge upper and lower lines using a cotton swab or smudging tool to soften the look.

LOAD YOUR BRUSH: Using a dark gray or black shadow, load your shadow brush with product and tap off excess. Fold a tissue and hold it under your eye to catch any excess shadow that may fall on your cheeks. You really need to do this if you are using a mineral powder eye shadow as they can be messy to begin with if too much is used.

2. Now, close an eye and starting at the outer corner of your upper lid, use fast, small strokes and brush shadow from the outer corner to the inner corner on the eye lid only. ( This means the rounded part of the lid that covers your eye when it's closed.) Get it as close to the lash line as possible, going over the liner. This will cover your lid from lash line to the crease of the eye lid. You can also run a line of shadow on the bottom lid, under the lashes and over the liner.

3. Leave the area between the brow bone and brow bare. You want just the black liner & shadow, no other color. When applying foundation, you might want to do your eye lids as well so they have a smooth look. Plus, it will act like primer on the eye lid.

4. Curl your lashes and add a few coats of blackest black mascara. You want one that packs a punch so try something like Avon's new Super Drama Mascara in Black or Avon's Super Shock Max for volume and length. Both are great mascara's and they are about $5.99 a tube on sale. The newest mascara, Super Drama, has these cool fan shaped bristles on the wand that allows cover for all lashes with no clumps.

The final look that you want is the eye surrounded with black liner and shadow, sweeping out or up at the outer corners for a cat eye look. Any shadow that goes over the liner will darken it and also set it to make it last longer. Clean away any shadow dust that may have gotten on your cheeks.

This looks great with either pale nude lipstick or red lipstick and a pale face. A berry stain on the lips or a matte red is great for day, at night you can go darker. Use a light colored foundation or none at all if your skin is good. Use a light blush, just a hint of flush on the apples of your cheeks. Your eyes are the focal point and you don't want to distract from them.

So, there ya go! You can wear this every day of the year if you want to. If you feel like something more colorful, use a color other than black. If you want to check out some ideas for Halloween costumes, decorating and any else Halloween, click here!

Happy Haunting!!