Las Fabulosas: Beauty & Style
By Valeria Guston for Las Fabulosas
As the temperature drops, don’t waste time mourning the passing of your sun-kissed summer glow. Instead, take the opportunity to give yourself a winter makeover! These beauty trends will have you looking radiant for all the upcoming holiday festivities.
Go Nude
The no-makeup look never really goes out of style with its fresh, modern and totally pulled-together vibe. A perfectly even skin tone is the key to pulling this off. If, like most of us, you don’t wake up with a naturally flawless complexion, there are lots of great products to enhance your glow. Look for foundations that smoothen and hydrate your skin and contain at least SPF 15, like Prescriptives Flawless Skin Total Protection Makeup SPF 15. Whether you go for concealer, mineral powder or liquid foundation, choose one that’s a shade or two lighter than your summer hue. To ensure a perfect match, test a strip on your cheek in daylight; it should virtually disappear against your skin.
Bold Brows and Ruby Lips
Latinas everywhere, rejoice: Bold brows are back! Emphasize your beautiful features with a well-defined arch and crimson lips for a strong, sexy and ultra-polished look. The Nuance Salma Hayek Shape & Define Brow Kit makes it a snap. For lips, as long as you choose a shade that complements and enhances your skin tone, rich red lips can brighten your whole face. If you have golden/yellow undertones, go for warm orange or brownish lip colors. If you have pink undertones, go for cool pink or bluish hues. A moisturizing formula like COVERGIRL LipPerfection Lipcolor wards off the elements and keeps your lips silky smooth.
Navy Liner and Lashes for Days
Set aside your summer pastels, laid-back neutrals and beachy corals. Go for smoldering winter drama with smoky navy eye shadow and liner. Navy adds gorgeous depth to brown eyes and makes blue eyes pop, plus it’s a lovely alternative to basic black. Create long, luxurious lashes with lengthening mascara -- like Maybelline’s The Falsies Volum’ Express -- to really amp up the intensity.
Photo Credit: @iStockphoto.com/JohnnyH5
Valeria Guston Valeria Guston has ghostwritten style and beauty books for Hyperion and HarperCollins Publishers. She is also a regular contributor to Mamiverse.com. This is her first article for Las Fabulosas.
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Las Fabulosas: Beauty & Style
By Belén Aranda-Alvarado for Las Fabulosas
Longing for the days when the sun lingers on your naturally glowing skin? We are too. Here’s how to keep looking fresh throughout the season.
Don’t Wash Your Face
Skip the water and try a cleansing towelette or a cream cleanser that you remove with a tissue. Follow up with a gentle toner. Note how your skin still feels clean but not tight and parched.
Upgrade Your Moisturizer
Use a winter-ready face cream (don’t forget the SPF). Creams are slightly heavier and create more of a protective barrier against the dry air of winter.
Have a Bedtime Beauty Ritual
If you have oily skin or are prone to breakouts, stick to your regular lotion for daytime and apply creams only at night. This gives your skin the extra soothing it needs -- without the risk of a too-shiny, oil-slicked face at work.
Exfoliate, Still
Dry winter air leaves a layer of ash. Add a gentle exfoliating step to your skin-care routine to slough off the dead cells and keep your skin radiant. Select a creamy, rich exfoliant with fine grains that won’t irritate.
Grab a Body Balm
Not just for lips anymore, balms can be generously applied to your hands, feet, cuticles, elbows and even the ends of your hair -- anywhere you need extra softness. Body balms also come in yummy scents -- like coconut and vanilla -- that bring warmer climes to mind.
Behold the Power of Bronzer
No woman should deny herself this magic wand of the beauty world. If you are a newbie, stick to a matte powder and apply the bronzer in a “3” formation on each side of your face. The top of the “3” shape starts at the side of your forehead, the middle of the “3” comes in under the cheekbone and the bottom curve of the “3” hugs your jawline. Blend well with an angled applicator brush and note the suddenly sunny, slimmed-down you. If you’re more of an expert and want to pump up the effect, try a liquid or cream bronzer with a slight sheen in the formula. Apply after blush to the apples of your cheeks and on your brow bone.
Photo: @iStockphoto.com/gilaxia
Belén Aranda-Alvarado lives in New York City with her husband and 9-year-old daughter. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Post Magazine and Latina magazine. Belen's articles have previously appeared in Las Fabulosas.
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Las Fabulosas: Beauty & Style
By Michelle Goodman for Las Fabulosas
Busy juggling your kids’ routine, your work emails and countless other to-dos every morning? You probably don’t have time to glam up on your way out the door. The right products and a little preparation can shave an hour off your busy schedule.
Skin
For glowing, killer skin, pamper your cutis the night before, says Jackie Cioffa, celebrity makeup artist and author of the blog Make up to Model Citi Zen. Apply a regenerating serum that’s packed with antioxidants to help protect against photoaging. Then, apply a night cream on your skin and an anti-aging cream under your eyes. Rinse your face and apply a light moisturizer. When you get up in the morning, your skin will be fresh and ready to go.
Lips
Right after you finish brushing your teeth, brush your lips with a wet, rinsed-off toothbrush to remove any dry flakes from chapped lips. Next, apply a moisturizing lip balm. Look for one that isn’t sticky and is full of antioxidants. Then add some color to your lips with a lip stain in a berry color.
Makeup
For a golden glow, mix a liquid bronzer with moisturizer to avoid any shading, and then blend with a brush. It will leave your skin looking fresh and glowing. Next, use a lash curler for an eye-opening lift, says Cioffa. Apply volumizing mascara in your color of choice.
Take a cream-based shadow and sweep it once over your eyelids. Finally, with a synthetic brush, apply concealer under your eyes.
Hair
If you have oily hair but no time for washing and styling, use a dry shampoo, says Rafael Nieves, owner of The Heights Salon of Brooklyn. It will refresh hair and make it look and feel cleaner.
If your tresses are dry, mix a bit of leave-in-conditioner with water in a spray bottle. Shake, spray your hair, shape with your fingers and allow to air dry.
Straight-haired gals: Wrap your hair around your head and cover it with a silk hair wrap overnight. This will prevent tangles in the morning. Remove the silk wrap, brush and you will be ready to go.
Michelle Goodman is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in beauty and health issues.
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