BEAUTY PRODUCTS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT!

1. Clinique Lash Building Primer

2. Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer

3. Model in A Bottle Eyebrow Sealer

4. Michael O’ Rourke Size Matters Big Volume Spray

5. Revlon Grow Luscious Lash Liner

6. Vivite Daily Firming Lotion

7. Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzing Powder

8. L’Oreal RevitaLift Radiant Smoothing Cream Cleanser

9. Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes

10. John Frieda Anytime Volume Refresher (Dry Shampoo)

The black areas on the sides and waist of this dress are designed to contour and enhance Kim K’s hourglass shape. The line of black running down the center of the dress elongates and slenderizes her body. Without the black color blocking, the dress wouldn’t enhance her shape as well.

Color blocking is a great way to enhance and slim your shape, especially when the highly contrasting colors are used, like black and white. It’s an optical illusion- dark colors make things look smaller or farther away, while light colors make things look bigger or closer to you. Just like when you contour your face, you can use dark and light colors in clothing to strategically “shade” and contour your body.

Take a look at how Kim Kardashian’s body looks with and without the black color block. Dark colors at the sides of the body visually streamline a silhouette. The black areas at the sides of her dress also curve in a way that accentuate an hourglass figure. (If a woman with a stick straight figure wore this dress, it would still make her appear as if she had more of an hourglass shape.) The dark belt at the waist also helps to make her waist look smaller, which also adds to the “hourglass” effect.

Tip: To make your body look slimmer and curvier, find a color blocked dress with dark colors at the sides that curve in at the waist.

More black and white color blocked dresses that enhance (or create) an hourglass shape:

Arden B. Tribal Diamond Dress, $64

Charlotte Russe Black and White Color Blocked Dress

Contouring your face means to create contrast by using a dark color to make certain areas “recede” and a light color to make certain parts “pop”.

I think the word “contouring” scares a lot of people because it conjures up images of the ’80s, when women contoured with bright pink blush, like Cyndi Lauper.

Rest assured, contouring is definitely more subtle these days (thank God). Matte bronzer is used instead of blush- so the shading looks more natural.

The picture below is a great guide for how to contour and highlight/conceal your face. Use a matte brown powder or bronzer on the dark spots and a concealer or highlighter on the light spots… then blend, blend, blend!

This image is from Kevyn Aucoin’s book ‘Making Faces’
(Contouring shown is before blending)

Below, you’ll see what the contouring technique in the picture above looks like once it’s blended:

Jennifer Lopez, contoured with a matte brown color that mimics the natural shadows in her face.

Kim Kardashian, contoured with a bronzer that is darker and more orange than J.Lo’s

Note 1:
Creating too much contrast in your face can make you appear older, so don’t use a contour color that is way too dark for your skin tone and make sure you blend well!

Note2:
You can use a shimmery highlighter or concealer to highlight your face but NEVER use a shimmery bronzer or shadow to contour your face. Shimmer and glitter make things “pop”, which would totally defeat the purpose of contouring. Also, if you contoured your whole face in shimmer, you’d shine like a disco ball.

I’m a big fan of peplum, whether it’s on trend or not, but this year it just happens to be huge. It was all over the runways at Fashion Week and now it’s available everywhere- even at your local mall.

So what is peplum and why should you care about it?
Well, if you’ve ever lamented your lack of a ba-dunk-a-dunk or wished you had an hourglass shape, this trend is definitely for you.

Peplum is a short over-skirt or ruffle, located at the hips, and is usually found on skirts or dresses but you can also find it on jackets and tops, too. There are many different variations on this trend, from old-school and ladylike to futuristic and architectural, but they all give a woman a very feminine “X”-shaped silhouette. (In other words, it makes your booty look bigger and your waist look tiny.)

Tip: For the best bootylicious results, wear peplum that drapes over your butt and goes all the way around your body instead of just at the front or sides.

Peplum in the past:

Peplum in 2012:

DID YOU KNOW?

Wearing colors that compliment your skin, hair, and eye colors automatically enhances your face. Wearing the right colors will:

• Make your face come alive
• Make you look more youthful and radiant
• Visually lift your face
• Visually reduce wrinkles, shadows, blemishes, freckles, and facial hair
• Minimize the look of double chins, facial disproportion, and overweight appearance

Tip: The easiest way to figure out which colors compliment your coloring the most is to wear the same colors found in your skin, hair, and eyes. The model in Picture 1 is wearing a scarf that matches her eyes and skin. In Picture 2, Ashley Greene is wearing a print that contains the same level of contrast as and similar colors to her hair and skin.

Click here to find out how to repurpose your old wardrobe basics to wear with trendy new pieces and create a whole new Spring wardrobe.