beauty routine Archives - Illuminate Beauty

Oily Skin Care Tips

JoEllen — Mon, 07 May 2018 13:00:59 +0000

Oily Skin Care Tips

For all you oily skinned girls out there, this is for you!! Oily skin is a blessing and a curse. A curse because your skin is almost always a little shiny. But a blessing because that just means you’ll age better! Managing your oil is key to your beauty routine. So here are some oily skin care tips to combat oily skin so you can feel confident and beautiful!

Step 1- Basic Skin Care

You must, must, maintain a good skin care routine! That means cleansing, toning, and moisturizing daily. Yes, you need to moisturize! It sounds counterintuitive to moisturize your skin when you are oily. But your skin needs to drink just like your body needs water to stay hydrated. If you don’t moisturize, then your sweat (sebaceous) glands will actually overcompensate and produce more oil. And that’s no bueno. This is the best skin care system around!!

Step 2- Exfoliate

It is so important to exfoliate your skin and oily skin loves a good exfoliation! Exfoliating will help slough off the dead skin cells and move circulation and blood flow in your face. It’s my favorite step in the skin care process. You can find a great recipe here or one online here!

Step 3- Weekly Mask

Another way to combat that oil is to do a weekly clay mask. Clay is great for absorbing excess oil. If you just take the time to do a mask regularly, it will help regulate your oil production and leave you lookin gooood.

Step 4- Prime Your Face Before Makeup (face & eyes)

Girl, if you have oily skin then a primer is a must! Before you put your makeup on, put a dollop of primer on that beautiful face of yours! Focus on the areas that are most oily, like the t-zone (forehead, nose, chin). This one is our fave! If you’re like me, then your eyelids also get oily throughout the day too. Simply put a very small amount carefully on your eyelids and rub in well. Then you can apply your makeup just like normal. If I don’t put eye primer on my lids, then I have a huge crease of makeup by the end of the day. And that is not cute. So, if you want your makeup to last on that oily face all day, then a primer will be your best friend. This is a great eye primer option. Not only should you put a primer on before applying your makeup, but it’s a great idea to spray your face with a setting spray. This will help your makeup last. Just a few spritzes goes a long way and gets you through the day. This Maskcara setting spray is amazing! And there you have it! Simple steps to combat oily skin. Go ahead and try it and thank me later

*This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item featured in this post, then we get a small portion from the sale. Thank you! It does not affect you at all.

The post Oily Skin Care Tips appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.

Beauty Basics Contour 101

JoEllen — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 15:00:13 +0000

Beauty Basics Contour 101

Welcome to Beauty Basics Contour 101! This is my favorite step in my makeup process! The purpose of contour is to give areas on your face definition. It allows your face to have dimension and it gives it a 3-D effect. We were born with beautiful features and we should embrace them! And that’s what contour does for your face. It brings out that beauty!

Why Contour

Why do we need contour? Our faces have natural shapes and shadows. When we apply one color all over our face, we take away those natural features and we look flat and lifeless. Nobody wants that! Contour gives your face life and it makes you look feminine.

Where to Apply Contour

Everyone’s face is different, but in general, you should focus your contour on these areas:

Cheekbones
Jawline
Forehead along your hairline
Along the bridge of your nose

How to Apply Contour

Cheekbones: This part can be tricky, but you can master it because I’m going to give you some tips! Take your fingers and try to locate the bone above your cheeks. It is below your eye area and runs parallel to your jawline. Now once you’ve found your cheekbone, you want to focus your contour color right below that bone. There is a hollow part that your brush can easily fall into. You want to take your contour, start at your hairline, and draw a line with your brush just below your cheekbone, all the way to your cheek. The best and most flattering way is to end it like the curve of a “J”, cupping your apples of your cheeks. This will help lift your cheeks. Be careful not to add contour to your laugh lines because this could make it appear dirty and it loses the effect of slimming that area down.

Jawline: By shadowing your jawline, you are making that area pop instead of letting it melt into a double chin. You simply take your contour color and brush it along your jawline…that’s it! And then you can blend it and it will give you a nice shadowed affect.

Forehead: When you look at a ball, it is naturally shaded at the top and bottom. And so it is with your forehead. We want to give that shadow back to your forehead by applying contour just below your hairline. Depending on how long your forehead is will depend on how much contour you apply. Start with a small line and you can always add more. Once it is blended your face has more dimension.

Nose: Not everybody likes a contoured nose. But if you do, then it’s pretty simple! The bridge of your nose is right down the middle. You want to take your contour and add color right along the sides of your bridge. Not a lot, just a thin line. This will make your nose appear slimmer. If you have a larger end to your nose, you can also add contour color around the area to make it look smaller.

Contour is such a fun and easy step to add to your beauty routine! Gone are the days of the flat face look! Let’s embrace our beauty and bring it out! Contour is a beauty basic that you don’t want to miss!

Want to learn another lesson in the Beauty Basics Series? Click here!

Intersted in purchasing some contour to beautify your face? Click here!

The post Beauty Basics Contour 101 appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.

Simple Fall Eyeshadow Looks Part 2

JoEllen — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 13:00:13 +0000

Simple Fall Eyeshadow Looks

Fall is such a cozy time of year! I love the changing fall leaves, the crisp autumn air, the beginning of the holidays, and the yummy pumpkin treats! It’s also a fun time of year for fashion and beauty! In the makeup scene, fall makeup tends to be darker and more dramatic than the spring and summer months. It can get daunting trying to come up with new ways to do your makeup and trying to stay on top of the trends. So, we’re here to help take that stress away and are showing you a few Fall eyeshadow looks! You’re welcome

Amazing Eyeshadows

In case you didn’t know, Maskcara has some pretty amazing eyeshadows! The colors, the pigment, and the size are all top notch, top quality, and top of the line! For real. Each eyeshadow tin holds 5g of goodness whereas competitors’ eyeshadows only hold 1.5-3g for more money! Not bad. Not bad at all!

Fall Colors

Great eyeshadow colors to wear in the fall time are browns, purples, greens, dark blues…any deeper and darker colors. It’s all about the amount you put on and the colors you choose. For these 2 simple fall looks, I chose browns and purple.

Fall Eyeshadow Looks

Bronze is a great fall color! Maskcara has some great bronze colors to choose from, but for this look I’m using Bright Eyes as the show stopper. First, I took my I Shadow Everything Brush and applied Bubba to the main part of my eyelid with the fluffy end of the brush. I used the smaller end of the brush to apply Bright Eyes in my crease. In a V-like shape I patted the brush along the outer edge of my eye along the lashes and then into my crease. Make sure to blend by wiping back and forth until the color is married. Then I took Sabrina and added it on my brow bone and inner part of my eye to add a bright highlight. Using the Mutlitasker Brush, I took Emerald City and applied it to my lashes area to mimic eye liner. For a more dramatic look, you can use the smaller end of your I Shadow Everything Brush to add more color.

This next look is a simpler and more neutral look. You can always add more color for more drama. I first applied Bend and Snap to the main portion of my eyelid with the fluffy part of the I Shadow Everything Brush. Then I took Kin and brushed the purple color in a windshield wiper motion, back and forth in the crease of my eyelid. I took Mama and blended the colors together and applied to my brow bone area. Using my Multitasker Brush, I applied Trust to my lash line to line the area.

Easy peasey! You can’t go wrong with these colors. If you’re nervous about adding too much color, work in layers. You can always add more or wipe away what you don’t like.

Did you know that when you buy 4 eyeshadow colors at once, you can get a free square compact?! Tis true. I love a bargain! And as with every Maskcara compact, it is magnetic so the eyeshadow singles can be switched around, replaced, and moved as needed. It’s pretty cool!

Want to see some more fall looks? Click here!

Products Used

Eyeshadow Colors:

Sabrina

Bubba

Bright Eyes

Emerald City

Mama

Bend and Snap

Kin

Trust

Brushes:

I Shadow Everything Brush

The Multitasker Brush

The post Simple Fall Eyeshadow Looks Part 2 appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.

Easy Fall Eyeshadow Looks Part 1

JoEllen — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 13:00:50 +0000

Fall Eyeshadow Looks Part 1

Amazing Eyeshadows

Fall Colors

Fall Eyeshadow Looks

These colors in this look can really be used any time of the year. But since it’s fall, I went a little heavier with the colors to create a more dramatic eye. I took my I Shadow Everything Brush and used the fluffy side to apply Oak on the main part of my eyelid, just until the eyeball ends. I like to tap and press the color onto my lid. Then I took Pup and blended from the end of Oak to just below my eyebrow. With the smaller side of the brush, I applied Trust in a V-like shape from my lash line to my eyelid crease. Then with the fluffy side of the brush I wiped back and forth and blend blend blend! I topped the look off by adding Sabrina to the brow bone and inner part of my eye. The key is to blend! You can add more as you go and continue to wipe and blend until you achieve the look you want.

This next look is more simple and subtle. You can apply the colors heavier to achieve a more dramatic look. I took the I Shadow Everything Brush and applied Basic to the main part of my eyelid. Then I took Kin and wiped the purple shade in a windshield wiper motion right in my eyelid crease, back and forth, making sure to blend. Stardust was a perfect shimmer to add to the top of my brow bone and the inner part of my eye. With the Multitasker Brush, I used the small end and applied Salem along my lashes to add some liner. If you wanted a more dramatic look, you could apply the black color with the small end of the I Shadow Everything Brush for more color or a smokey look.

Easy peasey! You can’t go wrong with these colors. If you’re nervous about adding too much color, work in layers. You can always add more or wipe away what you don’t like.

Did you know that when you buy 4 eyeshadow colors at once, you can get a free square compact?! Tis true. I love a bargain!

Want to see an everyday makeup look? Click here!

Products Used

Eyeshadow Colors:

Sabrina

Pup

Oak

Trust

Stardust

Basic

Kin Salem

Brushes:

I Shadow Everything Brush

The Multitasker Brush

The post Easy Fall Eyeshadow Looks Part 1 appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.

Makeup Tips for Mature Skin

JoEllen — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 13:00:23 +0000

Makeup Tips for Mature Skin

Just because you have mature skin doesn’t mean you can’t look and feel beautiful! As our skin ages, it loses its elasticity and moves around a little more freely. So, there are some tricks that can help you apply makeup a little easier. We’re showing you some makeup tips for mature skin and how you can feel your best!

Moisturize

Aged skin can become dry. It’s important to moisturize your beautiful skin so it can be healthy and ready for makeup application! Milk is a perfect moisturizer to get your skin looking and feeling good!

Stipple/Pat Makeup On

I think it’s a natural instinct to wipe our makeup in a swiping and brushing motion. But with mature skin, it’s better to apply your foundation in a stippling or patting motion. You want to dab that product into your skin and not wipe.

Perfector Sponge

Use the Perfector Sponge to blend any excess makeup and to make sure there isn’t makeup setting into the wrinkles on your face. The sponge will allow the makeup to nicely sink in and lay on your skin.

Eyeshadows

Mature skin may have some wrinkling around the eye area. When choosing eyeshadow shades, it’s important to stick to mostly matte colors. Shimmer shadows can accentuate wrinkles, and we don’t want that! Also, apply the eyeshadow by pressing and tapping onto the eyelid. The skin around the eye area can move easily and this technique will help the color stay where you place it.

Brows

An important step is to fill in those beautiful brows! After years of tweezing or the eyebrow hairs just simply falling out, you want to give the fading brows a nice little lift. Our brows frame our face and we want to make sure they have a nice shape and definition. If you want to learn more about your brow care, click here!

Putting makeup on mature skin shouldn’t be intimidating! With these simple steps, you can easily look and feel beautiful!

The post Makeup Tips for Mature Skin appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.

All About Contour

JoEllen — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 14:00:29 +0000

All About Contour

Have you heard the word contour before and just have no idea what it is?! Maskcara makeup is famous for the HAC method (meaning highlight and contour) and it is a game changer on a woman’s face! I’m gonna teach you all about contour and why you need to add it to your beauty routine!

What is Contour?

We’ve discussed highlight before, but let’s now chat about contour. Contouring is basically putting shadows on your face to define your features and enhance your facial structure. Putting just one color on your face makes it look flat and lifeless. But when you use highlight and contour on your face, it creates a 3D affect and brings out those natural beautiful features you were born with!

Not Just For Runway Models

Back in the day, ok ok just a few years ago, contouring was reserved for runway models and actresses alone. Movie stars would enhance their beauty and look picture perfect for the screen. Those days are long gone! Now highlighting and contouring is available to the masses and can easily be achieved in your own home! Maskcara has a great selection of contour shades for women of all different skin types and colors.

Where Do you Apply Contour?

The purpose behind contour is to bring out those beautiful features. So, the places to properly apply contour are:

on your cheekbones to make them pop!
along your hairline to create a shadow effect on your forehead
on your jawline to define your bone structure and minimize that double chin you may have creeping up on you!
along the sides of the top of your nose to slim it up

Which Contour Color is Best For You?

Maskcara currently has a selection of 6 contour shades: Walnut, Stone, Ash, Shadow, Olive, and Indigo. Walnut & Stone are warmer contours. Ash & Shadow are cooler contours. Olive & Indigo are neutral contours. Depending on your skin tone, there may be a contour color that will look better on you. Take our free color matching quiz here to determine which skin tone you are!

Do you see how placing contour on your cheekbone makes them pop and brings definition to your face? You can easily get this look too! Click here to see how to apply highlight and contour. So what do you say? Are you ready to jump on the contour bandwagon?!

Interested in purchasing a contour color for your beauty routine? Click here to purchase!

The post All About Contour appeared first on Illuminate Beauty.