How to Apply Lipstick

16 Lipstick Tricks and Tips

1. Don't play up the eyes and the mouth Women who wear heavy eye makeup and dark lipstick can look clownish. If you want to wear This is a link red lipstick, keep the rest of your makeup light. If you are playing up the eyes, keep your mouth light with a gloss or light lip color that doesn't stand out.
2. For "plump" lips, apply liner just outside your natural lip line. Dab a bit of gloss in the middle of your bottom lip.
3. How to apply lipstick? I don't believe in rules to applying lipstick. Some women use special lipstick brushes (pictured here). I own one and never, ever use it. Others use their middle finger (I once said this was a beauty faux pas and got reamed by a reader, I have since changed my mind). Most women apply right from the tube. Choose what's right for you, as long as the color gets on the lips, you're good.
4. Use liner on your lips as a base. Lipstick will last longer if you fill in your lips with the liner first. If you're using light lipstick, try a nude liner. Then slick your lipstick on top.

   Lip gloss is infamous for wearing off fast, but if you fill in lips first with the liner, the gloss has something to stick to.

5. You can line before or after you apply lipstick or gloss. Some women prefer to apply liner first, arguing that you won't be able to see the natural line of your lips if you apply lipstick first. But I find lips look more natural when I line lips after I apply lipstick.
6. Never use a dark liner with light lipstick. Defined lips are great, but make sure the liner matches the lipstick or gloss. Dark liner and light lips is tacky.
7. Don't test lipstick on your lips. It's just plain unhygienic unless you wipe off the lipstick with a big swipe of a tissue. Even better, test lipstick on your fingertips. It's a closer fit to your lips than the back of your hand.
8. Don't throw out a bad color lipstick. Beauty editors know you can create a great lip color by blending lipsticks you don't like. You can also color in lips with a darker liner before applying a lipstick that's too bright.
9. Keep lipstick off glass. Discreetly lick your lips before taking a sip from a glass. It works!
10. Keep lipstick off your teeth with this trick. After applying lipstick, take your index finger and pop it in your mouth, then pull it out. The excess lipstick will come off on your finger rather than your teeth.
11. Lipstick can act as a blush. But never use blush as a lipstick.
12. The older you are, the "creamier" your lips should look. As we age, our lips thin out. Therefore, you should avoid matte and gloss and stick with a creamy lipstick. Also, watch out for dark lipsticks.
13. Not all lipstick shades look good on everyone.Your skin color will determine what shades are right on you. You may like a lipstick on your friend, but it may not look good on you. Orange or brown shades, including corals, look good on few people. These shades tend to make teeth appear yellow.
14. Camouflage yellowed teeth. To downplay a yellow cast to teeth, try lipsticks with a bluish undertone. Shades that work include plums, pinks, wines and violets, according to Lazarus, a NYC makeup artist, in O magazine.
15. Heal -- don't throw out -- a broken lipstick. If your lipstick breaks off, simply take off the broken portion with a tissue, then slowly wave a lit match under the broken piece of lipstick. When it's melted a bit, put it back on the base, swivel it down and put it in the fridge -- uncovered -- for 30 minutes.
16. Lipstick done? You might notice there's still a bit of lipstick down in the tube. Scrape out the last bits with a cotton swap or orange stick and mix it with Vaseline or lip gloss in a lipstick palette. Use a lip brush to apply.

    I also love this tip shared by reader Patti Campbell. She scoops out the lipstick remnants from the bottoms of her tubes and she puts them in a pill case, "the one with the days of the week individually capped." She then nukes the pill case until the lipstick melts. Campbell uses a lip brush and enjoys seven new lipsticks. I would think this is perfect for the purse.

Does drinking 8 glasses of water a day keep my skin moist?

Question: Does drinking 8 glasses of water a day keep my skin moist?

Answer: No. Despite years of having this drummed into our heads, this is not true. It is good to keep your body, including your skin, hydrated, however the outermost layer of skin does not absorb water since it is made up of dead skin cells. Moisture level of skin is not determined by internal factors, but rather external ones, such as cold or hot air, dry heat and by the number of oil-producing glands you have. So if you want to hydrate your skin, exfoliate it weekly with a sea-salt scrub or other exfoliator to remove dead skin then apply a rich moisturizer while skin is still damp. Want to hydrate your insides then by all means, drink your 8 glasses of water a day.

Best Cleansers for Every Skin Type

My favorites for oily dry, combo, sensitive and blemished skin

You don't have to spend a lot of money to find a good cleansers (find out what you should can get a great basic cleanser for any drugstore, but if you want the very best, you can pay for it. Here I run down the best face cleansers for 5 different skin types: dry, oily, combination, sensitive and blemished. This list includes some of the yearly picks by the staff of 'InStyle' magazine plus the tried and true picks selected by myself other beauty experts.

Step 4: Apply Sunscreen

Step 4: Apply Sunscreen

O Magazine ran an article featuring interviews with several top skin care experts and dermatologists (check it out here). Every single one of them said sunscreen was the most important part of your skincare regimen. It was the secret they would pass on to their daughters.

The number-1 cause of wrinkles is sun damage, so it's important to use sunscreen from your early years on even in winter and on cloudy days. A great trick is to purchase two moisturizers: One for night and one for day that includes UV protection. Don't use moisturizers with sunscreen at night, the ingredients are not meant to be used 27/7 and can aggravate skin. When choosing a sunscreen, make sure it contains Mexoryl (found in my favorite sunscreen La-Roche Posay) or Helioplex, found in Neutrogena products.

Step 3: Moisturize

Step 3: Moisturize

While I know of at least one famous beauty editor who swore skin doesn't need moisturizer, basically everyone else I've read disagrees and is an adamant believer in it. A basic law of beauty is that everyone, no matter her skin type, should moisturize. Even if your skin is oily, it will benefit from moisturizers. (The only exception is those with acne). Why? Moisturizers seal moisture into skin (Berg calls this the "Saran Wrap effect"). So how much should you moisturize? Your skin will tell you. When your skin is tight, it's crying out for moisture. Be careful not to overmoisturize -- this can clog pores.

Are eye creams necessary? Well maybe. Some beauty experts strongly recommend eye creams. Why? The skin around the eye contains no fatty tissue and is therefore very thin and susceptible to wrinkles. Special eye creams are formulated to "thicken" this area. Yet other experts (including the beauty editors of Allure in their new book) claim your daily lotion works around the eyes just as well.

Step 2: Exfoliate

Step 2: Exfoliate

Exfoliation is the step most people skip in their weekly skincare routine. But trust me, if you start properly exfoliating your skin, you will notice an almost immediate difference. According to Berg, one of the reasons men's skin looks more youthful than women's is because men tend to exfoliate daily when they shave. There are several ways to exfoliate skin: Microdermabrasion, chemical peels and retinoids.

Scrubs work by removing the top layer of dead skin cells that tend to dull your complexion. We find exfoliating skin once a week with a microdermabrasion kit keeps skin glowing year-round. Make sure you use a gentle scrub with tiny grains. Big grains in cheap scrubs can tear skin and cause more harm than good. My favorite microdermabrasion kit is made by Lancome.

In the hour it takes to get a chemical peel, you can take off five years from your face. Can't afford the price tag for a monthly peel? Try some over-the-counter peels that work over the course of a month. I prefer MD Skincare's.

Retinoids (such as Retin-A or the more moisturizing Renova) also work by removing the top layer of dead skin cells while also generating collagen in the skin. "Collagen is the skin's structural fiber," dermatologist Dennis Gross said in O Magazine. "As we get older, it breaks down, creating lines and large pores." Skincare experts disagree on all sorts of things, but most of them consider retinoids to be a miracle skin saver. I'm addicted to Retin-A, which I pick up in Mexico on my yearly jaunts.

Should you use a toner? Some people swear by toners, but many beauty experts do not (I once read a skincare expert claim, "toners are only for copy machines"). Toners are meant to remove all remaining traces of oil, makeup and dirt, but a good cleanser should do this. I firmly believe it's up to you. If you like the way your skin feels with a toner. Buy it. Use it. Enjoy it.

The Basic 4-Step Skincare Regimen Step 1: Cleansing

The Basic 4-Step Skincare Regimen Step 1: Cleansing

Simple is key here. You need to find a good cleanser that your skin responds well to, and stick with it. See the best cleansers for your skin type.

You can find a good cleanser at the drugstore. There's no need to spend $40 on a fancy wash. Avoid bar soaps as they tend to dry out the skin. According to Rona Berg, in her book, "Beauty," a French cosmetics executive once told her, "Soap should only ever touch your skin from the neck down." We agree. Choose a creamy cleanser if you have dry skin or a clear cleanser if you have oily skin.

Be careful not to cleanse too often. Washing at night should do you. If you have dry skin, consider cold cream like Pond's, which the French use. Simply apply cream, then wipe off, no water needed (if you have hard water it can be especially harsh on skin). Most women prefer the water method: Use warm water to loosen dirt and clogged pores. Use a dime-sized bit of cleanser, then rinse with cool or lukewarm water. You'll also want to take off your makeup with a proper makeup remover.

In the morning, a splash of lukewarm water is all you need (we find it's great for removing excess oils from your nightly moisturizing). Never wash your face with hot or cold water (both can cause broken capillaries). Also be careful about overcleansing skin, see signs you are overcleansing your skin.

4 Basic Skin Care Needs

The right (& wrong) ways to cleanse, moisturize & exfoliate your skin

"I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. What do you want? An adorable pancreas?" -- Jean Kerr, American author and playwright There's tried-and-true ways to properly care for your skin, from the right way to cleanse your face, to the best moisturizers and sunscreens.

Before we start with the proper daily 4-step skincare routine, you'll need to know your skin type. How you care for your skin is utterly dependent on the type of skin you have: oily, normal/combination, dry, sensitive or sun- damaged. Find out what skin type you have.