Summertime Solutions-Taking The Heat Off Your Makeup

With the warmer months fast approaching, it may be time to review the contents of your makeup bag! The arrival of summer often brings with it makeup dilemmas; with perspiration, oil production and dehydration that a hot climate can bring to our skin. Cassandra, a Professional Makeup Artist, has a few answers to commonly asked questions about summer makeup.

“my foundation never stays on in summer. It becomes an oil slick by the end of the day.”

The heat of summer can send our skin into an absolute frenzy, particularly if it tends to be oily. Oil is an absolute enemy of perfect makeup! Choosing a good-quality stick foundation may help. Stick or cake foundations usually contain less oil than liquids and so have longer lasting properties in summer. Applied with a sponge, coverage can be as heavy or light as you wish. Opt to use a sunscreen each day which doubles as a moisturiser and saves you using both, reducing oiliness. Allowing it to absorb into skin before applying makeup may also help. Dabbing your face gently with a tissue can remove excess oil without ruining your makeup.

“how do I get rid of shine on my nose, chin and forehead?”

No matter which foundation you use, warmer weather almost ensures that your face will begin to shine throughout a hot summer’s day. Some women love a dewy finish to their foundation, whilst others absolutely detest it! Whilst there are no hard and fast rules about what your foundation should look like, if you prefer a matte finish to your base, face powder is the answer to combating shine. Powder can be a translucent loose powder, which will provide a light coverage, a wet-to-dry foundation or a pressed compact, which will provide the most coverage. Powder can be applied with a large, round powder brush, makeup sponge, or powder puff. A light dusting should be enough to reduce shine and may be touched-up during the day.

“I want minimal makeup. Which foundation can I use?”

Rising temperatures teamed with perspiration can make wearing makeup quite uncomfortable! However, there are solutions for minimal makeup with maximum effect. For a healthy, dewy glow, tinted moisturiser and/or bronzer can be applied (a little liquid foundation can be mixed with moisturiser/sunscreen as an alternative to tinted moisturiser). For a little more coverage, liquid or mousse foundations are an option, but try to find one with low oil content. These foundations can be applied with a brush or sponge. For minimal makeup with a matte finish, a light application of face powder without any foundation underneath should do the trick.

“my skin is patchy and flaky, foundation makes it look worse”

Dry skin can become really dehydrated in warmer weather and poses all kinds of problems with makeup. Whilst keeping your skin hydrated by drinking plenty of water and exfoliating regularly to improve its condition, the appearance of foundation can be greatly improved with the use of a pre-foundation primer. Apply directly to your skin or after moisturiser, under your foundation. Apply over your entire face, including eyes, lips and neck. Primer will help foundation to glide onto skin, last longer and to appear smooth and flawless. It will also prevent powder and eyeshadow from caking in creases. It is wise to use a sunscreen each day or at the very least choose a foundation with sunscreen added.

“my mascara runs and smudges when I sweat or go swimming”

Waterproof mascara is an essential item to your summer makeup bag! Many mascaras available are not only waterproof, but also smudgeproof and non-flaking. If you intend to go swimming throughout the summer period don’t intend on getting your eyelashes tinted, then waterproof mascara may be the way to go. These mascaras tend to be difficult to remove, so you may want to invest in a good eye makeup remover.

“Is mascara the only waterproof makeup?”

No. If it was, Ursula Andress may not have looked so glam coming out of the water in James Bonds’ Dr. No (although I’m sure she still would have looked as beautiful!) Besides waterproof mascara, there are other waterproof products available on the market. These include eyeliners, oil-based foundations, crème eyeshadows, blushes and creamy lipsticks. Alternatively, tinted eyelashes and fake tan will keep you looking bronzed and beautiful in the water without makeup!

“my lips are so dry and my lipstick flakes off”

Unfortunately, dry lips are often part and parcel of a hot summer, as the skin on your lips has no oil glands. Keeping them protected with sunscreen balm is extremely helpful, as is exfoliating gently with a toothbrush. For hassle-free lipstick, apply foundation to the lips before using any lip colour. This will help lipstick to adhere to your lips and stay on longer (you may also wish to use a lip primer). Using a creamy lipstick will help to moisturise dry lips. For ultimate moisture, use a lip gloss instead of lipstick. Alternatively, mix a little lip balm with your favourite lipstick for a sheer lip stain.

“will my makeup melt in the heat?”

In the past I have had to store my makeup in an esky whilst working on location, to avoid melting! Creamy products such as lipstick, eye and lip pencils, stick foundation and concealor can most definitely melt in extreme heat. If in doubt, store your favourites in the refrigerator.

“my eyeshadow keeps creasing”

Moisture in your skin from perspiration can cause your eye makeup to crease in the eye socket. Applying powder underneath eyeshadow can help to smooth out creases and prevent this problem. A good quality powder eyeshadow is recommended too, which has more chance of holding its colour in warmer temperatures. A pre-foundation primer also preps your eyelids for eyeshadow and smoothes out creases.

“my skin has broken out but I don’t want to wear a full face of makeup to hide it”

Don’t feel you have to wear a full face of makeup all the time; sometimes less is more. Concealor works wonders to cover up under-eye circles, blemishes and uneven skin tone. Use one in a tone matching your skin as closely as possible. Applying concealor over your foundation (as opposed to under it) saves you work and product, as the foundation will do most of the concealing for you. However, you can simply apply concealor to only where you need it, rather than using foundation on your entire face. Apply concealor with a brush or cotton tip and be sure to blend well.

“do I have to use a darker foundation in summer?”

There is a theory that we must change our makeup with the seasons. This applies to foundation only if you tan. Foundation should always match your skin perfectly. So if your skin changes tone season to season, then it is advisable to change your foundation to match. This is also applicable if you fake tan.

Regards,

Cassandra Rae Ferguson - Professional Makeup Artist

All Women Blogging Carnival

Welcome to another week Ladies. This week, the carnival is being hosted over at SultanaBlog. As usual, some wonderful posts this week and it’s great to see lots of old faces, and some new.

Don’t forget to give a link back to the host, and give it a vote on Stumbleupon.

See the Women Blogging page for more details on how you can submit your entry to the carnival, or volunteer for hosting.

What every woman should know about Breast Cancer

Over 13,000 Australian women are diagnosed with Breast Cancer every year.

We hear so much about Breast Cancer these days, but how do we know what is fact and what is fiction?

The National Breast Cancer Center have produced a free DVD to give women the facts about risk factors, the types of breast changes to look out for, and also dispels some of the myths and misconceptions about the disease. It addresses women’s most most frequently asked questions about breast cancer.

The video also provides advice to women of all ages about what they can do to find breast cancer early.

You can watch the video online or order a copy from National Breast Cancer Centre.

All Women Blogging Carnival #15

Sorry for the delay in posting up the carnival ladies, I hope you managed to find it anyway via the schedule. I was out enjoying a childless lunch with my husband. I think it is the first childfree time together we have had all year..funny how you get caught up in day to day life and don’t really think about it.

But what about the carnival you ask? This week it is being hosted over at Because Momma says so. So go on over and take a look. Don’t forget to link to the host if you have a post featured, and maybe even a stumble.

Remember to use the All Women Blogging Carnival form to submit you blog posts for the carnival by 3pm AEST (thats Sydney time GMT+10.) Use The World Clock if you are unsure.

Have a great week.

New look All for Women

There is nothing like some new clothes to make a girl feel pretty!

Welcome to the new look All for Women. I have been upgrading and tweaking since 5am, and it’s just about there. All the upgrades and changes have been made to the blog and forums, the rest of the site will follow next week. There still maybe some funky things that I will need to tweak as I come across them.

So what do you think of the blog design? I am very happy with it, which is probably because I didn’t do it! LOL It felt very strange being on the other side of the design process for the first time. I would like to send a super huge thank you to Nyssa at Nyssa Brown Design. I couldn’t believe my luck when I came across such a talented Aussie chick. She was so great to work with, it was a real pleasure.

Would love to hear what you think, I was so excited to get it up and running. Great way to celebrate a good week for AFW, as of 2 days ago, Google loves us again and I don’t think I have stopped grinning.

Enjoy your weekend girls.

AFW is closing down

In the next few days, All for Women will be closing down.

But, never fear..it won’t be for long. We have some maintenance, upgrades and some other surprises that need to be performed on the blog and forums. I will try to minimise the downtime, it shouldn’t be more than an hour or 2.

After which there will need to be some tweaking and changes, so please be patient while we iron out all the bugs.

All Women Blogging Carnival #14

This weeks Carnival is up bright and early over with Jill at She writes like she talks so jump on over and check it out.

Make sure you don’t forget to link to the carnival host, as a thank you for hosting the carnival and so you can share the great posts with your readers. Like.. “Part of the All Women blogging carnival over with Jill at She writes like she talks”

Another great way to get more visitors to your posts in the carnival is vote for it on social networking sites, such as Stumpleupon.

Enjoy your week!

Breaking All The Rules - Busting Makeup Myths

Makeup is a tool which is designed to be fun and boost your self-esteem. Your makeup usage is a very individual choice and is yours to make for yourself. I get so frustrated when I hear ‘experts’ touting rules and regulations on makeup application. Most of these are pure myth and serve only to limit creativity. As soon as you hear “must always” or “should never” be wary! Rules are meant to be broken. So this month, AFW is busting makeup myths and separating fact from fiction!

Myth # 1: You are either a ‘cool’ or a ‘warm’ colours person
This is absolute rubbish. Anyone can wear any colour, anytime. You may feel that some colours suit you more than others, but this is a personal choice, not anyone else’s. If you are tentative about trying new makeup colours, try softer tones or apply just a hint at first. For example, if you would love to wear bright purple eyeshadow, but are afraid to take the plunge, try wearing a little mauve or lilac at first and build it up until you feel comfortable with more colour.

Myth # 2: Mature ladies cannot wear shimmery/frosty makeup
Completely false! Shimmery makeup can be worn at any age. More important is how you wear it; you may want to wear a little less as you get older. Try small hints of it, such as only on the bottom eyelids or only on your cheekbones.

Myth # 3: You should never sleep in your makeup
This is actually good advice. Statistics show that you can age up to seven times’ more if you go to bed each night with makeup on.

Myth # 4: Not everyone can wear red lipstick
Pure fiction. Anyone can wear red lipstick – just choose a shade of red with which you feel comfortable. Wearing a red lip tint is a more conservative option, or applying lip colour then matting it down with a tissue can soften the strong effect of red.

Myth # 5: Pale skin requires darker foundation
Many believe that paler skins require ‘warming up’ with a darker foundation or bronzer. Firstly, there is no such thing as pale skin, unless you are sick! Fair skin, rather, does not need to be altered with makeup, the same way that darker skin does not need to be lightened. Your foundation should match your skin tone perfectly, whether your skin is fair or olive. If you feel pasty and want to warm up your skin, add some blush to your cheeks.

Myth # 6: Heavy makeup is for after dark only
Not true. There is no such thing as ‘day makeup’ or ‘night makeup’. Feel free to wear your makeup as light or heavy, colourful or neutral as you wish, no matter what time of day.

Myth # 7: You cannot wear eyeshadow the same colour as your eyes
Of course you can! It is true that contrasting colours do make your eyes stand out more, but that does not mean that blue eyes cannot wear blue eyeshadow, for example. Here are some ideas for contrasting eyeshadow colours to try:

Brown eyes: turquoise, mauve/lilac, purple, gold, bronze, silver

Green/Hazel eyes: dark blue, purple, mauve/lilac, silver, turquoise

Blue/Violet eyes: gold, bronze, copper, pink, peach, chocolate

Myth # 8: Warm, yellow tones of foundation are the most flattering
This is true, if you have yellow-toned skin! Pink-toned skin should wear pink-toned foundation. As mentioned before, your foundation needs to match your skin perfectly. The best place to test colour is on your jawline, where it can be compared to both your face and your neck, where it ultimately has to blend in. If you wear a foundation which does not match your skin tone, it will look like a mask. Foundation is designed to look like flawless skin, not foundation.

Myth # 9: Spritzing water on your face will freshen up makeup
Err, no it won’t. Spraying water onto your made-up face will only cause your makeup to run.

Myth # 10: Wear products from one brand/line only
Totally false! Your face does not know you’re mixing brands and neither does anyone else! You may have brands and/or products which you prefer, but using only one means limiting your options. This myth was most likely invented by a cosmetic company to sell more product.

Myth # 11: Always apply makeup in natural light
This is ideal, if possible. Natural light is less forgiving; therefore applying your makeup in it gives the most desirable results. If natural light is not available, use the strongest light possible.

Myth # 12: Only those with large eyes can wear liquid eyeliner
On the contrary, use of eyeliner on the upper lash line can make smaller eyes appear larger. If you feel confident applying and wearing liquid eyeliner, go for it! Applying along the entire lash line is fine, as opposed to the belief that eyeliner should only be applied to the outer corners. However, sweeping up at outer corners lifts the eyes.

Myth # 13: You should never ‘pump’ the mascara wand in and out of the tube
True, this isn’t recommended. Doing so pushes air into the tube, hence drying out the mascara and increasing the risk of bacteria getting in. A more effective way of getting mascara onto the brush, is turning the wand inside the tube, and then gently pulling it out. Because mascara is a breeding ground for bacteria, it is recommended that you do not share it with anyone else. For the same reason, adding water to mascara isn’t advisable.

Myth # 14: Concealor should always be lighter than your foundation
False. Concealor has many uses and its tone depends on its use. You may use a lighter-toned concealor for under eye circles to counteract the shadow, but to cover a blemish you would use a similar tone to your foundation. There are also other tinted concealors available for specific uses, such as green tint to cover redness. Whichever concealor you use, it must be well blended to avoid being seen.

Myth # 15: Redheads can only wear earthy colours and blondes cannot wear blue eyeshadow
Nonsense. I am a redhead and I rarely wear earthy colours! Redheads can also wear black mascara, contrary to being told to wear brown only. Discover your own style and don’t let it be dictated by others!

Myth # 16: You should never pluck hairs from the top of your eyebrows
False. If you have stray hairs at the top, pluck away! However, eyebrows play a very important part in framing your face, so whichever method you use for shaping your eyebrows, it is recommended that you do not stray too much from their natural arch.

Myth # 17: Bright lipstick makes lips look smaller
Incorrect. It is true that pale, glossy lip colours can make lips appear fuller, but wearing bright or dark lipstick won’t actually make your lips appear smaller (it just won’t make them look bigger). Wearing bright lip colour will draw attention to your lips; paler colours less so.

Myth # 18: You should never apply mascara to bottom lashes – it casts a shadow
Fiction. If you apply mascara to your top lashes, you should apply it to the bottom ones also. Mascara will only cast a shadow if it is smudged, or runs. Avoid this by using a waterproof and smudge proof one.

Myth # 19: You must always wear foundation
A complete fallacy. You do not ‘have’ to wear foundation, nor do you have to apply it to your entire face. If you only want to cover up a few blemishes or smooth out skin tone in certain areas, simply apply it where you feel you need it and blend well. If the foundation tone matches your skin well enough, you won’t have to smooth it over your whole face. Then again, if you prefer a strong coverage, applying it to the entire face is fine too!

Myth # 20: Blush is for adding colour, not definition
Actually, cheek colour does both. It can be used to add warmth to your face, to shape and contour, enhancing cheekbones or to make your face appear thinner. More neutral tones of cheek colour can also be used to contour other areas of the face, such as the jawline, temples and the sides of the nose.

Guest post by Cassandra Rae Ferguson - Professional Makeup Artist and Mobile Makeup Artist, specialising in Wedding Makeup in all suburbs of Sydney.

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