Your basic skincare regime consists of four basic steps:

With all the available skincare products available today, it can be incredibly confusing to find the right skincare product for you. In addition, you might be confused as to what skincare really is, and what exactly you should be using in terms of skincare. From cleansers to toners, to masks and moisturizers, how do you know which products are right for your skin? It?s time to breakdown the basics of skincare regime, and get you back on track to a manageable and understandable skincare cleansing process.

Your basic skincare regime consists of four basic steps:

1. Cleanse
2. Tone
3. Moisturize
4. Protect

But there are so many varieties of each step - cucumber cleansers, witch-hazel toners, day or nighttime moisturizers and endless products with SPF are bursting out of cosmetic counters. Not to worry, we?ve got your answers.

The first step in finding the right products for your basic skincare regime is to determine what skin type you are. There are three common skin types: Dry, oily and normal/combination skin. Other skin types to consider are sensitive skin, problem skin and acne-prone skin. A dermatologist is best to treat these skin types because s/he can prescribe the proper skin care regime for problem skin.

To start, let's define the four steps of a basic skincare regime.

Cleansing: Finding a cleanser for your skin type is the first step in treating your skin. For dry skin, a creamy or milky cleanser is best. A milky or creamy cleanser provides more moisture for dry skin, thus giving your skin the hydration it needs. For oily skin types, look for a foaming cleanser that promotes 'deep cleansing'. This will ensure that the cleanser will control your skin?s oil production and give your skin a squeaky clean feeling. A normal or combination skin type would benefit from a cleanser such as the Suki Lemongrass Exfoliating Cleanser, which is a gentle cleanser that promotes clear and healthy skin. Regardless of your skin type, the process is the same: when cleansing your face, dampen with warm water and then apply your cleanser. Rinse with cool water to tighten your pores.

Tone: Using a toner is important because it removes any residue that you may have missed while cleansing. Toning also promotes healthy skin because toners work to clean out and tighten pores. A toner can be as simple as witch hazel for oily skin types, or sophisticated such as Juara Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner with moisturizing benefits for the drier skin types. If you prefer natural or vegan products, we suggest you try Aqua Dessa Lychee Tea Refresher Facial Toner which is full of powerful antioxidants, vitamins and skin brightening botanicals. Whichever toner you use, the application process is the same. After cleansing, apply toner to a cotton ball and gently wipe the toner over your face, avoiding the eye area.

Moisturize: A moisturizer benefits the skin for many reasons including moisturizing or hydrating, but it also works to protect your skin from external factors. Choose a moisturizer based on your skin type. For a dry skin type, you will want a deeply hydrating moisturizer that is very creamy and almost heavy in consistency. This type of moisturizer will keep dry skin hydrated all day. A lightweight moisturizer is best for normal to combination skin. A lightweight moisturizer will provide just enough moisture for your skin without leaving your skin feeling greasy or heavy. For oily skin types, find a moisturizer that will control oil and shine throughout the day. New technology in moisturizers for oily skin include, 'mattifiers' and 'microsponges', which soak up excess oil on your skin throughout the day. Choosing the correct moisturizer for your skin type will balance out your skin and give your face the hydration it needs. A moisturizer should be used after your toner on clean, dry skin.

Protect: Protecting your skin is the final step in your basic skin care regime, and arguably the most important. Protecting your skin against harmful UV rays helps prevent skin cancer and premature aging. The easiest form of skin protection is sunscreen. If you work primarily indoors throughout your day, using a skincare product with a SPF 15 is sufficient to protect you from a minimal amount of sun. However, if you are working outdoors or plan on being outdoors for the majority of the day, using a skincare product with SPF 30 or higher is sufficient defense. Sun protection is important for not only your face, but your entire body. SPF can be found in various makeup products including moisturizers and foundations, but it's important to remember that using products with SPF could clog your pores. Using a proper skincare regime of cleansing, toning and moisturizing - as described above - will help eliminate clogged pores and keeps your skin looking healthy and strong.

Remember, a basic skincare regime is really that basic. Four steps are all you have to remember to get started on the road of beautiful and healthy skin.

http://www.makeup.com/

Tips for the Perfect Cheek!

Color suggestions.

If you have a fair complexion try a pale pink or peach blush. Stay away from rich or dark colors. Pale pinks or peach will brighten your complexion without looking unnatural.

If you have an olive complexion you may want to try a deep peachy-pink blush. Deep peachy pinks will highlight and bring out your natural 'flush'. You can also get a beautiful effect by mixing a little pink blush with bronzer - beautiful!

If you have a tawny (or tanned) complexion you might try a golden pink or peachy blush. These compliment yellow undertones and look very natural.

If you have a dark complexion think in shades of rich berry, deep purples, deep rose. Stay away from light or pale shades that will wash you out. The rich deep shades will look very natural and compliment your dark skin!

Work with bronzer.

Since mineral bronzers are so natural looking, more and more people are using them with their blush to acheive a very natural effect.

You can apply bronzer before or after your blush, mix it with blush, use it alone as a blush, or use it to tone down your blush.

Blush application.

When applying mineral blush, keep in mind that you only need the slightest amount to achieve a beautiful and natural effect. (This is not regular powder blush.)

Just barely touching the blush, use your brush to "grab" a tiny amount from the container, swirl the bristles in the lid (or container of your choice), and then tap off all the excess.

For an "apple of cheeks" look, smile and sweep the blush from the apple of your cheeks up to your hairline, ending at your temples.

Then for a face lift, work the blush brush back and forth outside the eye area so that the strongest point of color is there.

For a more "cheek bone" look, apply bronzer over your blush (or alone) blending upwards just along your cheek bones.

Do you need false lashes?

As a makeup artist I go through alot of lashes. Here a great site to order lashes from.

http://www.madamemadeline.com/online_shoppe/index.asp

Check out this site and get some great makeup.

WWW.NIXIECOSMETICS.COM - Enter my Makeup Artist ID #0786. Enter at checkout to receive a 10% discount. GREAT PRODUCT!!!! CHECK IT OUT!!!!

How to apply eyeshadow:

Step1

Prime the eyelids by dusting them with a small amount of loose powder.

Step2

Select a light base shadow. Using a shadow brush, sweep it across your entire lid, from brow to lash line.

Step3

Use a medium-toned shade to cover your lower lids.

Step4

Contour the crease of your eyelid with a dark shade, using a smaller eye shadow brush. This color can also work as an eyeliner (see the next section for instructions).

Step5

Blend shadow by stroking the lid gently with an eye shadow brush. Don't use your finger, you could wipe off the shadow entirely.

Step6

Use a cosmetic puff and a little pressed powder to tone down heavy shadow. Shake any excess powder off the puff, then press it gently on your lid.

Eye Shadow to Line the Eyes

Step1

Choose a medium or dark shadow color to line your eyes.

Step2

Use a small, flat, angled brush for the application.

Step3

Stroke the brush over the eye shadow.

Step4

Start at the inside edge of your upper lid. Angle the brush so that the longest tip follows the shorter end as the brush moves across your lash line. Bring the brush to the outer corner of the eye.

Step5

Create a more dramatic line by wetting the brush before stroking it through the shadow. Mist a small amount of water onto the brush, or dab it into a few drops of water and proceed with the line. The shadow may feel wet as you draw your line, but it will dry quickly.

I found this great info. at "http://professionalmakeup.blogspot.com"

How to Become A Professional Makeup Artist
By Suzann Kale

The creativity and freedom a makeup artist enjoys is alluring. The income can be enough to live on and more. But there are many pitfalls. Know what they are, and get that much closer to success.

Before considering a career as a makeup artist, you must do field research. That's the primary way to avoid pitfalls. Is there room in your geographical area for another makeup artist? What is the competition like? Are you willing to travel for, say, a wedding? How far? Is your car dependable? If you don't want to travel, is your city big enough for you to get the client base you need?

Also get the scoop on pay in your area. It will vary, even in one town, depending on your clientele. Working for a wedding planner, you will make more than working for a mall photography shop. Find out what the highest and lowest income opportunities are.

Freelance or Corporate: Perks and Pitfalls

If your research gives you a green light, the next step is to decide between the freelance life and the employee life.

Working for a company, perhaps being a sales rep for your favorite cosmetics brand, or being the on-call makeup artist for a film production company, you can count on a regular paycheck and perhaps even benefits.

Joining the growing group of freelancers, you'll need to spend at least 50% of your work day on marketing yourself.

Licensing

In either case - freelance or corporate - the next step is to become accredited.

Get the information on the legal, health, and educational certification required by your state, county, or town. Take classes from an accredited beauty school (many have generous scholarship programs).

How to Get Work

Now you're ready for the most critical part of becoming a professional makeup artist: marketing yourself.

If you want to work for a company, you can send resumes to spas, beauty salons, and specific cosmetic companies. Once you get a job, you are on your way to a career. You can make contacts, work your way up in the organization, acquire mentors, and get that most magical benefit of all - experience. If you get a job with a specific cosmetic company, they may require you to take additional classes focusing on their products. Usually they will pay for that.

A plum job with great pay would be one with a special effects makeup company that does film and television work. Getting that job will require additional training, lots of pavement pounding, and living in the right city. L.A., Atlanta, Chicago, and New York are important film industry hubs. Other cities, like Austin, Texas, attract film professionals, but these people often bring their own makeup artists with them.

Choosing the freelance route means that self-promotion becomes a way of life. But once you reach a point where you have a little bit of paying work, you'll find that word of mouth will exponentially increase your customer base.

Freelancing: Special Considerations

As a freelance makeup artist, you can approach wedding planners, photography studios, film production companies, ad agencies, and theatrical groups. Make sure, too, that all talent agencies in your area know about you.

You're creative - that's one reason you're going into the makeup profession. And you can use that creative mind to make a list of marketing ideas. Here are a few to get you going:

• Print up business cards and always have them on you. Leave them with everyone you meet during the day.

• Join a networking group. These groups are extremely effective. You'll meet perhaps once a month either for lunch or happy hour (some troopers have breakfast meetings!), and there will usually be an agenda, followed by a social time of mingling. Some networking groups are free, some charge a fee. If you're just starting your networking experience, definitely join the free groups. You will have to pay for your meal and drinks, though.

• Walk tall and exude success. It always shows. Read books on your own. Study magazines. Try makeup techniques on your friends. Read makeup sites on the Internet. Try My Makeup Mirror and go from there. Get your confidence up as high as it will go!

• Make a list of all your contacts. You have more than you realize. Friends, your accountant, your church or social groups, the shopkeepers you see regularly. Don't worry, you're not going to hassle these people. But you can send them a cute postcard announcing the opening of your new makeup business.

• Which brings us to the next item. Print up some eye-catching postcards (you can do it on your computer), and send them out. Always have extras so you can send them to new people as you meet them.

• Get yourself to any and all beauty-related events in your area. Whether it's a trade show, a trunk show, a store opening, or a book signing, be there with your business cards.

• Put up a website. It's easy, even if you've never done it before. Today, a website is more important than a business card! See Website - Do It Yourself to get started.

• Design and print up a resume-type introduction that you can give to the local spa directors and wedding planners. It must be unique - not bland like a business resume - and colorful. Use your imagination. Make it irresistible.

Today's Freelance Makeup Artist Needs:

The other requirement of being a freelancer is that you'll have to stock your own makeup kit. This is an investment, and if you make money, chances are you'll be able to deduct the costs of your cosmetics.

Many women are going "green" these days, so be sure your makeup kit is filled with earth-friendly, skin-friendly, and non-animal tested products. If you want to specialize and use only vegan products, you could use that as a compelling marketing tool. For extra information on animal-friendly cosmetics, read Internet articles like Makeup Without Cruelty.

Being "known" for a unique niche is also a great way to catch business. You could specialize in makeovers, anti-aging looks, head shots for actors (although many actors prefer to do their own makeup), or runway and catalog makeup for models.

Whether you apply to work for a company or go freelance, remember: there is no guarantee that you will immediately earn enough money to live on. Go into the process with enough money saved up to keep you in the black for at least six to twelve months. And decide ahead of time how long you're willing to go without clients. Market your services with an organized plan, and be persistent.

Going into the makeup artist business can be an awesome life change - financially and emotionally. Do it with care, do it with intelligence, do it with a plan - and you could be living your dream.

Suzann is a technical writer and copy editor, with many pieces published both for the web and in hard copy. A graduate of Northwestern University, she runs the website My Makeup Mirror. http://www.MyMakeupMirror.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzann_Kale
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Become-A-Professional-Makeup-Artist&id=629818

Lets talk Skin Care

Skin care is very important. Practicing proper skin care on a daily basis will help you to decrease acne breakouts. Everyone should cleanse and moisturize their face everyday. It like this " you bathe and shower your body everyday and afterward you lotion your body". Well your face also deserves proper care it's the first thing people see. Bar soap is for your body, so don't use it on your face, it will dry your skin out. Cleansers refreshes the skin and removes the dirt and oils. Moisturizers help to hydrate the skin and helps balance the water content in your skin. I use Mary Kay skin care product and I love it, Oil of Olay is also good for skin care. Whatever product you decide to get is up to you, but please take care of your skin.

Lets talk makeup. Here are some of my favorites.

Foundations:
Mac Studio Fix Fluid & Studio Tech
Makeup forever face and body
Mary Kay Cream to Powder & Minerals

Mascaras:
CoverGirls Lash Blast
Loreals telescopic
Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara

Eye Shadows:
Makeup forever
Mac
Loreal
Maybelline

Blush:
Mary Kay
Maybelline
Revlon

Skin Care:
Mary Kay
Oil of Olay

Share some of you favorites also.

Make-up artists can be well-paying occupations, especially in the modeling and photography world, when one has garnered a sufficient reputation. This is due to the ability to display a face to its full potential as well as establish a working relationship with the actor, photographer or person being worked on. Make-up artists can receive their training in several different ways; they can intern at a theater, they can assist a working make-up artist, or they can attend a school dedicated to make-up artistry. Make-up artists are primarily self-employed (freelancers), but they may also be represented by an agency, or employed by a production company.

However, it must be mentioned that Make-up Artists in general upon starting out spend several years working for limited pay, TFCD/TF or "testing" to build a network of contacts that will assist in securing future work.