The Great Eyebrow Recession

During the 90's the Great Eyebrow Recession began. Brows were thinned out so much that, in some cases, they were completely shaved or plucked off and a pencil thin line was drawn on instead. They were dramatic to say the least, but like all trends, they went out of style. Now, full, and you might even say "bushy" brows are back. To be honest, I think people have learned their lesson. Eyebrows not only serve a functional purpose - to prevent sweat from running into your eyes - but they also are a sign of age. Think of eyebrows the same way you think of the hair on your head. If you see someone who's balding you perceive them as being older and the same goes for your eyebrows. If you have sparse brows it can add as much as a decade to your appearance. Look at animations of fairytale princesses. Do any of them have penciled in eyebrows? No, they have full, lush brows. And this makes them look not only youthful but innocent as well. Don't believe me...just look at the animations of the female villains in those same fairytales.
While we'll all enjoy not having to spend so much time in front of the mirror with a pair of Tweezerman's many of us (myself included) will face a new challenge. Growing back our long abused brows. You see, over plucking is not something that you can just stop and then next week expect to look like Brooke Shields. Over plucking can cause permanent damage and you may not ever be able to fully regrow your brows. Because of this, brow transplant procedures are becoming more popular. Much like a normal hair transplant, about 400 individual hairs are taken from your head and are transplanted to help return your eyebrows to what they once were. But before you bust open you piggy bank follow my tips for regrowing beautiful brows.

Put down the tweezers. This first step is usually the most difficult. For one whole week DO NOT TWEEZE A SINGLE HAIR. This will help you to see where your eyebrows should be. It's also very helpful to look at old pictures (from before you became a plucking addict) to see what your natural brow shape is. You don't want to try and stray very far from your natural shape.

If you don't know, don't pluck. After the first week you'll have a lot of short little hairs that you'll be tempted to yank out. Only pluck the ones that are very obviously outside of your emerging brow shape. The hairs that show up well below your brows can be plucked, but the hairs on the inside and outside ends shouldn't be touched yet.

Achieving the proper shape. You may like the look of dramatic arches but that doesn't necessarily mean you ought to wear your brows that way. Work with what you've got because trying to change their shape can negatively alter the appearance of your face. (Now get out a pencil or other straight edge.) Your brows should begin at or slightly past the invisible line that goes from the side of your nose and past the inner corner of your eye. Allowing the inner ends of your brows to grow a little closer to each other will make a wide nose appear more narrow. The outer ends should stop past the outer corner of your eye otherwise the width of your entire face will look. Using the straight edge, connect the side of your nose with the outer edge of your eye - this is where your brow should end. To find your arch, use the straight edge to make a line from the side of your nose past the outside edge of your pupil.

Regrowing your brows will require patience. It takes roughly 4-6 weeks for the hairs to grow back. But once they've come back you'll save time and product because it won't take so much effort to get them to look groomed and natural. They truly make a world of difference in the way you look. You may even feel like a whole new woman...

Moisturizing. Is It a Must?

How important is moisturizing? And does everyone need to do it? The answer - moisturizing is very important and everyone does need to do it. However, what kind of moisturizer and how much you use will vary depending on your skin type.
Moisturizers are an important step in your makeup routine because it creates a smooth canvas for the products you put on your face. When looking for a moisturizer, try to find one that has easily pronounceable ingredients, preferably natural, and make sure that it doesn't contain mineral oil which is considered a comedogenic (meaning it causes acne). If you have sensitive skin, it is especially important to find a moisturizer for your specific skin type. Cetaphil and Neutrogena are known for being very gentle on the skin. Avoid moisturizers that are heavily perfumed as they contain unnecessary ingredients that can be aggravating. Many people think that if they have oily skin that a moisturizer will only make things worse. Oily skin still benefits from a moisturizer, but only a very thin veil should be applied. Put a small amount, about the size of a pea, onto your fingertip then lightly rub it between your hands before applying. For best results, apply your moisturizer and allow it to absorb for 10-15 minutes before putting on your makeup. If you still have too much moisturizer on your face, just blot it off with a tissue or blotting paper.
Moisturizing at night is just as important and is very effective in providing you with deep moisture that will improve the quality of your skin overall. While you sleep your body is healing itself so this is a great time to give your skin the extra help.
The one area of your face that you generally do NOT need to moisturize is your eyelids. We naturally produce enough oils on our lids that a moisturizer would make your makeup slip and crease. And it could also cause the excess product to run down into your eyes. Ow!

Trina's Current Favorites:
Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin (Daytime)
Neutrogena Visibly Firm Night Cream (Before Bed)

The Importance of Sanitizing

Before we even begin to talk about makeup we must talk about the importance of keeping your makeup clean. Think about it. You're makeup is something that comes into direct, prolonged contact with your skin which is, as we all know, the largest organ of the human body. If you aren't cleansing your brushes and disinfecting your makeup on a regular basis you are spreading bacteria and goodness knows what else all over your face...every single day. That's just gross! Keeping your brushes and cosmetics clean is actually very simple and affordable.

Here's how:

To clean brushes you will need antibacterial dish soap, olive oil, a dish and a towel.

1. Pour a small amount of both the antibacterial dish soap and the olive oil in a dish. A plate or bowl will work. The soap disinfects while the olive oil conditions the hairs of the brush.
2. Swirl brush in the soap & olive oil. Gently brush the hairs of the brush across the palm of your hand, working the cleanser into the brush.
3. Wash the brush under warm water. Make sure to avoid getting water onto the handle or above the ferrule (the metal piece above the hairs) as this will loosen the glue. Repeat until water runs clear and soap is gone.
4. Gently pat the brush dry with towel and lay brush on its side to dry or put on a brush guard and tip upright in a glass with hairs pointing down.

Do this once a week, at least. To keep your brushes clean in between weekly cleanings, wipe off your brushes on a baby wipe and/or spray them with a brush cleanser. Here's the one I use.

To clean your cosmetics (powders, creams, etc) you will need either 99% alcohol or a professional makeup sanitizer. 99% alcohol does the job but it tends to dry out and alter your makeup over time. The professional makeup sanitizers contain emollients that prevent your makeup from becoming dried out.
If you use the 99, simply put some into a small spray bottle. Hold it 6 inches from your makeup and spray. If you'd like a professional sanitizer I highly recommend Beauty So Clean's Cosmetic Sanitizer Mist. If you buy the large bottle it will seriously last you forever. Also, you can use a tissue to wipe off the surface of your shadows, cream products, etc. to help remove bacteria in between cleanings but a disinfectant is the only way to guarantee that you're killing those ucky germs.

If you follow these steps and make cleaning your beauty products a habit, your skin will be clearer and cleaner, and your makeup and brushes will last longer and work better. Do it. Do it now!

The Inevitable Blog

Really it was just a matter of time...

If you've kept up with my goings-on then you know that I've become somewhat of a makeup junkie. It began simply enough. One day I realized what I wanted to do with myself. I wanted to be a freelance makeup artist! So one thing led to another (that's the short story) and I'm now beginning to make that realization into a reality.
Now I've always had a love of makeup. What I lacked for many years, however, was an understanding of it. I look back with a shudder at the evolution of my attempts at self-beautification. I can gladly say that I'm well past the days when I would use magic markers for lipstick. I've learned and have expanded my knowledge of makeup and now my head is brimming over with all sorts of great information. Information that I'd like to share with you...
And that brings us (or you, rather) here - to my blog. This site will serve as a place where I can provide you with product reviews, makeup tips & tricks, tutorials and where you can inquire about my services as a makeup artist. I really hope that I can make this helpful to you and all I ask in return is that you give your honest feedback. An artist needs to be critiqued if they are to excel. So, please, let me know what you'd like to see on my blog!