Makeup Tips & Tutorials

With such a wide array of skin tones found in multicultural women, it’s difficult to find the right shade. There’s no one palette-fits-all solution. Don’t despair. This is the place where you’ll find makeup advice, product reviews, how-to’s and tricks especially for you.

Makeup Tips

Do you know where to find and then choose the right shades for you? What’s the perfect makeup tool to use? Get makeup application tips and more.

• Shimmer Makeup and Skin Tone
• Find the Most Flattering Colors for Your Skin Tone
• How to Pick a Flattering Pink Lipstick
• How to Avoid Using Tainted Makeup
• Tips For Getting A Safe Professional Makeup Application
• Halloween Makeup & Face Paint Tips
• 3 Gorgeous Latina Makeup Looks
• The Natural Look: Bare Doesn’t Mean Boring
• When Should You Toss Your Makeup?
• Extend the Life of Your Makeup
• Tips for Long Lasting Makeup
• How to Use Sunscreen When Wearing Makeup
• How to Determine Your Skin’s Undertone
• How to Use Your Skin Tone to Look Great
• Do-It-Yourself Bridal Makeup Tips for Women of Color
• Bridal Makeup Tips for Women of Color

Foundations, Pressed Powders & Concealers

Find the right foundation for your skin tone. Find articles on foundations and powders for oily skin. Which concealers work and how do you apply them? Find out about foundations, powders, concealers, and primers here.

• Top 10 Black Beauty Products
• Top 8 Products to Cover Up Hyperpigmentation
• Mineral Makeup: Liquid Vs Powder
• How to Match Foundation to Skin Tone

Eyes

There are many poetic quotes about the importance and beauty of the eyes. Our eyes are probably the most important aspect of our face. Eyes can be expressive and here are eye makeup tips, advice and how-to’s to help your eyes make the right statement.

• Asian Eye Makeup Step-By-Step Tutorial
• Ocean Eyes: How to Wear Blue Eyeshadow
• 20 Makeup Tips for Contact Lens Wearers
• 5 Top Fall Eye Makeup Looks
• Spring and Summer 2013 Makeup Trends: The Eyes
• How to Wear Rainbow Eye Shadow
• Do I Need to Use an Eye Shadow Primer?
• 10 Ways to Wear Emerald Green
• How to Safely Remove Eye Makeup
• Tips for Using White Shadow and Liner

Lipstick & Lip Tips

How to care for your lips and find the best lipstick shades.

• Hot Lips Quick Tips
• How to Create Romantic, Kissable Lips
• How to Pick the Best Red Lipstick for Your Skin Tone
• How to Choose the Right Pink Lipstick for Your Skin Tone
• How to Wear Dark Lipstick
• How to Pick the Right Orange Lipstick
• How to Wear Bright or Neon Orange Lipstick

Makeup Trends

How do you get the latest look of the season? What are the latest makeup trends and should you really try them? Get makeup ideas from current and past seasons.

• Spring and Summer Makeup 2012: A Sneak Peek
• Spring and Summer Makeup Trends
• The Best Spring & Summer Makeup Trends
• Spring/Summer Makeup Trends 2013
• 7 Hot Beauty Looks for Fall
• The Best Beauty Trends of 2012
• The 12 Worst Beauty Looks of 2012
• Fall and Winter Makeup Trends 2012-2013
• Spring and Summer Makeup Trends 2013
• Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week: Featuring MGPIN

Red Carpet Makeup

Some of the best (and worst) looks from the red carpet.

• Makeup at the 2012 Oscars
• Celebrities in the Pink (Lipstick!)
• Celebrities in Purple Lipstick: Would You Try This Trend?
• Michelle Obama: A Look at the First Lady’s Makeup (2009-2012)
• Best Beauty Trends at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards
• Minaj Makeup Slideshow: Nicki’s Top Makeup Looks (2011-2013)
• Nicki Minaj Flashback
• Pictures of Celebrities in Bindis
• Top Looks from the 2013 Met Gala
• Kerry Washington: Top Red Carpet Looks
• Kerry Washington: The Early Years
• Kerry Washington’s Emmy Makeup
• Ashley Madekwe: Top Red Carpet Makeup Looks
• Celebrity Beauty at the 2013 American Music Awards
• Beauty Trends at the 2013 Soul Train Music Awards
• Naya Rivera’s Red Carpet Looks
• Top Makeup Trends at the 2014 Golden Globe Awards
• Beauty Looks at the 2014 Oscars
• Lupita Nyong’o: Best Red Carpet Makeup Looks

Get the Look

Get inspiration from and learn how to recreate makeup and beauty looks of your favorite celebrities.

• Want Selena Gomez’s Classic and Clean Look?
• Get Selena Gomez’s Fresh & Flawless Red Carpet Look
• Get Freida Pinto’s Red Carpet Look
• Get Paula Patton’s Red Carpet Look
• Latina Actresses at the Oscars: Get Their Red Carpet Look
• Get Sofia Vergara’s Red Carpet Look from the Metropolitan Gala
• Get Actress Kerry Washington’s Look from the Golden Globes
• Get Sofia Vergara’s Golden Globes Red Carpet Look
• Get the Look: Beyonce at the Presidential Inauguration
• Ana Ortiz’s Makeup from the ALMA Awards
• Get Queen Latifah’s Makeup Look in 10 Simple Steps
• Sofia Vergara’s Step-By-Step Golden Globe Makeup Tutorial
• Get Camila Alves’ Oscars Red Carpet Makeup Look
• How to Get Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Glowing Skin

Makeup Collections & Product Line Reviews

Want to know more about makeup lines and collections and how the shades will look on your skin tone? Are they long lasting? How do they feel? What ingredients are used? Do they cover skin imperfections? Are they safe for sensitive or acne-prone skin? Find out the details here.

• Motives For La La Cosmetics
• Ferro Cosmetics
• CoverGirl Queen Collection
• Fashion Fair Siren Call
• Lancome Paris Makeup
• Mud Fall Elements Makeup Collection
• Skinn Cosmetics Color Affair Gala Collection
• Essence Cosmetics Waterproof & Long Lasting Makeup
• Too Faced Product Line
• Jemma Kidd Makeup School

Reviews

Here’s more on individual foundations, concealers, press powders, bronzers and other makeup products.

Avon Extralasting Liquid Foundation SPF 12

• Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation
• Maybelline Fit Me! Pressed Powder
• Maybelline Fit Me! Concealer
• Maybelline Fit Me! Blush
• Maybelline Fit Me! Bronzer
• Jafra Always Color Stay-On Makeup SPF 10
• Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Foundation SPF 20
• Dermablend Smooth Indulgence Mineral Finishing Powder
• Advanced Mineral Makeup Review
• Plain Jane Beauty Foundations Review
• Plain Jane Beauty Impressed Foundation and Mosaic Compact Review

How to perfect your makeup whether you have brown, blonde, red or gray hair

Not many women consider how their makeup works with their hair color, but it’s actually a very important consideration, especially if you are trying out a new color, letting your natural hair grow out or if you have gray hair.

Here are my favorite makeup tips by hair color.

Makeup Tips for Blondes

If you’re blonde, decide if you’re going to play up your eyes or you mouth. Too much eye makeup paired with a bold lip can appear clownish.

For your eyes, consider light pinks and medium browns for your eyeshadow palettes. Keep in mind your eye color, too. Coppers and browns look great with blue eyes, browns and pinks complement brown eyes. Coppers also look gorgeous on green eyes.

For eyeliner, stick with browns or a smoky black. Some experts suggest blondes should wear brown mascara, but I’m a blonde and I prefer black.

You can get away with both.

For lips, stick to a color that is as close to your natural lip color as possible for daily wear or if you are opting for a more natural look. A bold red or pink lip can be striking in contrast to blonde hair, as seen on Julianne Hough, pictured here. To find the right shade, you’ll want to test it out and keep your skin tone in mind. Bright tones tend to look better than deep tones, which are better left to your darker haired friends. Just remember, if you play up your lips, play down the rest of your makeup.

For your face, stick to rosy pinks, peaches or brownish pink blush for your cheeks. And bronzer could be your best friends because they give your skin contrast with your hair.

Makeup Tips for Brunettes

I love deep lipstick shades for brunettes and women with black hair. But you want your lipstick to pop, not look dirty, so keep this in mind when trying out shades of lip color. Sheer reds, plum browns are also gorgeous.

And if in doubt, remember you can never go wrong if you stick to shade or 2 darker than your natural lip color.

For eyes, you can try rich, pigmented shadows. Black or brown eyeliner are musts but stick to black mascara. Brown just isn’t dark enough.

Makeup Tips for Redheads

Redheads look amazing in mossy green eyeshadows and lipsticks that have brown undertones. For cheeks, stick to browns and apricot colors. If you have freckles, don’t cover them up. Instead, let them shine through by using a sheer foundation and powder. Never try to mask them with a thick foundation. It’s simply too obvious.

Makeup Tips for Women With Gray Hair

Women with gray hair run the risk of looking fuddy-duddy if they don’t apply makeup. Look for cool colors for eyeshadow shades such as slates, grays and opt for navy eyeliner. For the lips, you can’t go wrong with pinks, whether they are light or bright. A bit of gloss can plump up thin lips. The same goes for cheeks. Pink is gorgeous.

Easy Makeup Tips for Your Hair Color – The Best In Makeup For Your Hair Color

Whether you’re looking for a something new, or you want to know what tones go best with your natural or color treated hair, there’s a ton of products out there to compliment any hair tone. Keep reading for my makeup tips on how to pair products with your hair color, and find what’s best for you!

Dark Brown Hair or Black Hair

Darker hair shades can pull off more intense color easier, but can also have fun with lighter shades as well.

One of the best eyeshadow shades for dark brown hair is violets or plums. One of my favorite plum shades is Clinique Color Surge Eye Shadow in Beach Plum because it gives just the right amount of smoky plum tone, so you can use it as a single quick eyelid color or create a smoky eye.

Medium Brown Hair

The overall rule of thumb for medium brown hair shades, however, is to add a little radiance to your skin tone by applying a good bronzer with hints of peach or pink tones to your cheeks. A great product for this is Too Faced Sun Bunny Natural Bronzer.

Light Brown / Highlighted Hair

Light brown hair can tend to show hints of blond or red tones, with or without highlights. So the perfect pick for your coloring is a nice peach-toned blush. One of our favorites is NARS Powder Cheek Color in Orgasm because the shimmery peachy pink tone goes on sheer and adds the perfect amount of color to your cheeks. This is a flattering cheek color for all skin tones as well, and also comes in a lipgloss. A pop of this on the apples of the cheeks is all you need, and if you want to wear it with bronzer, apply bronzer first and then blush afterwards.

Red Hair

Dark red hair, such as cherry or auburn tones should play around with more neutral tones, but you can also use shades that have a slight pink hint as well. Your best bet for a really great makeup look is to play up your eyes and leave your lips more neutral. This doesn’t mean that your eyeshadow has to match your hair, though.

So instead grab two or three shades and blend them together. A good example would be slightly pink champagne with shimmery green and a bronze tone. Trust us, it’s okay to pick colors that contrast with your deep red hair.

If your red hair is lighter, or a “true” red then search for a pinkish coral toned blush for your cheeks and a more vibrant orange-based red shade for your lips. Great cheek color is Stila Convertible Color in Sweet Pea because it’s a creamy and translucent coral pink that you can actually use on your cheeks as well as a good base stain for your lips. To finish your new look, don’t overplay your eyes since your lips and hair are the true stars. Instead reach for a nice neutral eyeshadow, paired with a brown or gray eyeliner and a good mascara in a black or brown tone. Be sure to curl your eyelashes before mascara for the perfectly executed full lash.

Blonde Hair

A dab of peach blush will help to warm up your skin tone so it’s not washed out by the golden tones of your hair. Try for a brown or neutral lipstick, with a pink or peach undertone. Don’t use a flat brown because it will wash out your skin. One of my favorite lip colors is L’Oreal Color Riche Lipstick in Peach Fuzz because it gives you the perfect neutral lipstick with warm peach undertones. For your eyes don’t overdo it there either, especially for a day look. Instead reach for softer eyeshadow shades such as pink, slight gold or shimmery light brown. Feel free to skip the eyeliner and add a coat of brown mascara for a finished golden glow look.