Lo & Co. Blog

Ask Lo - Mature Makeup

Carol from North Carolina emailed me with the following question:

 

Dear Lo,

As a mother of a bride I viewed your web site for my daughter who is getting married but I have a question for 52-year old me. I quit wearing eye shadow because it accentuates the crinkles in my upper lids. How can I get cover these crinkles so I can wear shadow? I have med/fair skin color and my hair is med. brown. The skin on my eye lids is normal - oily.

 

-Carol

 

Carol,

I believe you have a common problem that can be easily resolved.  Mature makeup is something that I love, because it is more about finesse than sparkle!  52 is quite young in the “mature makeup” category as I deal with women from 40 -90 with the same problem

We all know that light colors emphasize and dark colors minimize.  If you thought your thighs were large you definitely would not wear white tight pants. Therefore, avoid light shadows on your lids if they are accentuating crinkles. And, avoid any shimmer in eye shadows – matte is your best friend. The best thing that you can do to emphasize your eyes is to use a dark brown or dark gray liner on your top lashes and then blend this into a medium brown or gray shadow.  This will pull the focus up to the top of your eye and will provide a nice background for your eye color.

As we get older we want to keep makeup soft as harsh lines can age a face. Stay away from pencil liners (they don't stay) and use a gel liner, cake liner, or wet eyeshadow.  These liners stay in place and can be just as easy to use.  Eye primers are wonderful for any skin and are basically matte cream shadows that you apply before your eye shadow.  Go to a counter such as Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier or Trish Mcevoy (my favs) and have someone work with you and show you how to apply these products.  If you don’t have access to a department store then find drugstore that has a return policy for used cosmetics (CVS), then you can buy several colors and try on at home. 

Mature Makeup Mentor

I think that Diane Sawyer looks amazing and is as an example of Mature Makeup (or any makeup) down right.  Her eyes are nicely defined and her skin looks fresh due to a nice pink on her lips and cheek.  I have included a nicely lit portrait shot from a distance and a snap shot with harsh lighting. I know how critical you all are of your own faces and I want to show you how beautiful women look in real life when you get close up.  Yes, you can see her wrinkles around her face, but ain't nottin gonna hide that and she looks beautiful regardless.

 

 

 

Source: ABC/Ida Mae Astute and www.tvpopcrunch.com

Lo’s basic eye

1. Apply cream shadow or eye primer over lid from lash line to crease fading up to the brow
2. Apply a medium color shadow  from your lash line towards the crease (you can go up to the crease or stop below- as long as it is blended in) depends on your eye shape and personal preference
3. apply a tight liner on your upper eyelid
4. soften line by smudging slightly with eyeshadow brush.

Suggested products

Bobbi Brown

• Eye Shadows - Fawn, Taupe, Slate, Cement
• Gel liner - Espresso, Sepia, Granite, Black Plum

Laura Mercier

• Eye Basics – Creme shadow that is a great primer. Choose a color that neutralizes your eye lid
• Liner in Mahogany or Bleu Marine

 
Drug store

• L’Oreal matte shadows- many have a dark shadow to use for a liner 
• Flesh colored cream shadow from any brand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

xoxo,
Lo

Finding a Flaw Mentor

I am asked by my clients to disguise their flaws daily and it has inspired me to add a new category to my blog called "Flaw Mentors". Women constantly pick apart their photographs and obsess about a flaw even though most people have slight facial abnormalities. A photograph is not a true representation of how one looks.  It is a frozen two dimensional image of a face that is three dimensional and fluid.  Some people are very photogenic and others are not.  I am not that photogenic as my right eye is lower than my left and when I face the camera straight on this is obvious. This used to bother me until I noticed that many celebrities - Shannon Daugherty for one - have the same flaw and they still look great.  From that point on whenever I disliked something about my face, hair or body shape I would search for a celebrity who had the same issue and they would become my Flaw Mentor. I encourage all of you to try this out. It is surprising how many gorgeous women have "flaws".   Heidi Klum admittedly has a lazy eye and I think that she is doing okay with her face.

source

Angie sent me an email about her perceived flaws.

 

Lo,

 

 As you can see, my eyes are kind of different in that the bottom lid sort of

slants up whenever I smile, or do anything. It makes me look like I\'m kind

of mean or glaring or something. Also, from certain sides, my face looks

really fat and my cheekbones big. Is there anyway to get rid of that or make

my face look smaller? 

 

 

 

Angie,

 

You have high cheekbones, full lips and beautifully shaped eyes.  These are all admirable physical traits that you need to embrace.  Your face isn't fat it is round and your cheeks may be on the fuller side right now, but they will keep you looking youthful.  I had huge cheeks in my twenties and then around my mid thirties, I finally had some cheekbones. You may not like looking younger now, but you will soon. Remember, photos flatten out your face, so please keep in mind that your face is more angular in person. Your eyes may turn up when you smile, but that isn't a bad thing.  Take a look at Lucy Liu. Her eyes get much smaller and turned up when she smiles and you can see that her eyes don't exactly match.  Regardless, she is stunning.  She has also has high and broad cheekbones which enhance her overall beauty.

source

 

Angie, I want you to find your own Flaw Mentors and start working your beautiful face.  When you appreciate your beauty others will as well - trust me.  Nothing is more beautiful than a confident woman who is comfortable in her own skin.  I would suggest the following to enhance your natural beauty:

• Have your eyebrows shaped:  Groomed brows will give you a more sophisticated look and enhance your eye shape.
• Wear blush:  Blush will add dimension to your face and give an overall boost to your skin
• Wear eye liner on your top lash line:  Eye liner will pull focus to your eyes and give you a more polished look.  Choose a gel liner that won't smudge.  See my favorite products post.

Ask Lo- Wedding Day Nail Polish

 Hi Lo,

I would like to wear a natural-looking, sheer nail polish on my fingers and toes for my wedding.  However, I have a hard time finding a color that doesn't look too white, pink, or yellowish when applied.  

Do you have any suggestions for a good basic shade?  I have pretty fair skin with pink undertones, and medium-dark brown hair.

~ Emily

Great question and no one has asked it before.  I recommend  Essie and Opi polishes as they have a gazillion colors in sheer white/pink and are in most salons.  I like Ballet Slippers and Delicacy for fair to medium skin.  They are sheer  but still give a hint of color and make your nails look "special".    You can play around with doing one or two layers for the perfect opacity.   Some people even layer with different colors, but I try to keep it as simple as possible.  My basic rule for lip color, nail color, cheek color is that regardless of the color family it should make your skin look better.  Avoid colors which look flat or lifeless on you and  or have heavy shimmer or frost.  If you aren't sure - bring a friend with good taste and ask her/him.  

Keep in mind that you can do a bolder color on your toes.  Many of my brides do a neutral color on their hands go with a red or even blue (closed toe shoes) on their toes. Only do two different colors if one of them is a sheer nude polish.  We don't want coral and the hands and fushia on the toes!  

I hope this helps you.

source

Is Your Makeup Aging You?

I was recently interviewed by Kathy Sena for www.makinglifebetter.com about how to avoid common makeup mistakes.  I love Kathy's sense of humor and I am glad that she allowed my cheekiness to come through!  Take a look:

Ask Lo - Concealer and Getting Ready

Here are two questions that I recently received from readers:

 Just a silly question -- what should I wear to get ready in?  Something I can unbutton or easily take off my head so I don't mess anything up?  ~Paige

Sweetheart, there are no silly questions!  You are right about a button up or something with a loose neck.  Not really an issue for me, but for hair.  If you have a festive or cute tank this is a great opportunity to wear it and you will look adorable in photos.

 I have small wrinkles underneath my eyes, I guess I would say mild crows feet? I am paranoid about them showing in wedding pics and I read in a magazine, to ask your make up artist to not put powder over this area because it would bring out the wrinkles. Is this true? Any tips on how to de emphasize that area? I am thinking I might not have any choice in the matter. Thank you Lo! ~Victoria

Great question, Victoria.  I have had to explain this to hundreds of women throughout my career.  Everyone has wrinkles around or under their eyes, but it is important to brighten or lighten the under eye area.  If you look really closely in the mirror you may notice the wrinkles more b/c of the concealer, but no one else sees this.  If they are that close - tell them to back off!  It is well worth the trade off of lightning the area. This is what I suggest when applying concealer:

1. Start with an eye cream to hydrate and prime the area.
2. Apply concealer lightly with a brush on the areas that are dark.  This is generally right under the lash line and towards the inner eye and nose area.
3. Blend out towards the outer and lower eye area with little or no concealer on crinkly parts. 
4. Allow for the concealer to settle. Press the concealer into the skin instead of rubbing. It is natural for concealer to crease because that skin has a lot of movement - just press it in.
5. Set with light powder.  Dust powder over concealer with a ponytail brush or sponge. Only a smidgen of powder to set and blend.

Take a look at Charlize Theron, arguably one of the most women in the world, in close-up photo versus a one from a few feet away.  Yes, even goddesses have wrinkles!  And, if you saw her without the flash in her face you could see even more.  Please back away from the mirror and look at yourself as people see you.
 
 

evilbeetgossip.film.com

 

Stephen Shugerman / Getty Images

Ask Lo

Dear Lo,

Like every other bride, I want to look 'perfect' on the big day and am tempted to hire someone to do my make-up for me but we are getting married in the middle of nowhere and finding someone to travel there without having a huge budget has been an issue - so I'm thinking I'll end up doing it myself.  Problem is, I rarely wear make-up...I'm just WAY to tired/lazy in the morning to do anything with my face before I head to work besides slather on some Neutrogena Tinted Moisturizer and Clinique High Impact Mascara.  So, needless to say, I'm NERVOUS - there are SO many products and now there are HD formulas added to the mix to create even more confusion for me!!  I have no problem investing in quality make-up, but since I have no idea what I'm buying most of the time I end up not liking it and getting discouraged -Ugh. People say my eyes are my best feature, so I want to try and play those up for the big day - but I've tried applying fake lashes before and had a terrible time (I'm a blinker when things get too close to my eyes!) I could be hopeless. 

~ Chelsey

Chelsey au naturel

Inspriration

 

Fashion Critic

Amelia Lyon Photography

Chelsey, 

You are too cute!  You look really great without makeup and it will be easy to make you look even more "natural" for your wedding.  First of all, your eyes are gorgeous and you have great skin and bone structure. Let's just even out your skin tone and and a little definition and dimension.  I love your inspirational photos and this is what I refer to as a "classic eye".  It is all about a sheer shimmer shadow and a tight liner across the top of the lid. False lashes can add extra glam. I did this eye on Carissa in a previous post which has a detailed product list.  The only difference is doing a pink lip instead of a deep berry.

I think this will be a great complement to your halter style dress and summer wedding venue.  However, since you don't wear a lot of makeup we need to see how comfortable you are with this eyeliner.  I want you to go to a Bobbi Brown, M.A.C. or Stila counter with these photos and ask an artist to show you how to do this eyeliner.  All of the aforementioned brands have a gel liner that is perfect for this and easier to use than liquid liner. I recommended trying a dark gray liner instead of black - it will be a little softer.  For the lip try out some of the Bobbi Brown pink glosses layered over a lip pencil.  I love Bobbi's Petal, Pink Beige, and Rose Sugar gloss.  I have used these on countless brides over a neutral lip pencil.  You can adjust the color with the lip pencil.  If you more pink in your lip go with a pinker liner or for more depth use a darker pencil under the pink gloss.  Experiment and find what you feel best in.  Finally, if you feel that the liner is too strong you can smudge the liner and soften the look.  Simply apply a medium gray shadow (M.A.C's Print shadow) on a small eye shadow brush and blend it into the liner.  This creates a smudged smoky line which many women feel more comfortable in.  There is no perfect look for everyone, it is all about what you feel best in.  Trust your gut and don't worry, as an expert I guarantee you are going to look gorgeous no matter what!

xoxo,
Lo

Ask Lo - Blushing Groom?

Dear Lo,

This question isn't for me, persay, but for my fiance. He gets red cheeks really easily (I don't think I have a photo without them there). Is there anything we can do to tone them down? I think I've made him paranoid with all my make-up attempts for our wedding day! He's fair skinned, blond, and blue-eyed if that helps. Thanks!

~ Jane


Jane, thanks for such a great question!  I have covered pimples, sunburn and even added a little bronzer to my grooms.  I even ambushed a Father of the bride and trimmed his unruly eye brows (Bride and Mother were ecstatic!). However, it ultimately depends on how comfortable the guy is with grooming.  I would tell him that every man on TV (including the big bulky sports guys) have on makeup to look good on camera.  I have applied foundation, concealer and bronzer on very masculine models.  There is nothing weird about it, but if your man feels uncomfortable than let him be, respect his opinion because it isn't a big deal.  I have seen many handsome grooms with pink cheeks and it just part of their charm. Being perfect doesn't make for good photographs. Focus on being in the moment and connecting with your man and family. That is what makes good photos and good times.  If he is up for a little "smoothing out" it then I suggest the following.

Tinted moisturizer applied from under his eyes down toward the beard line.  This will even out skin tone slightly and also disappear into the skin, so there is no sign of makeup. Make sure he is freshly shaved and lightly apply with your fingers.  You can then set this with a little translucent powder use a sponge and apply a little over his cheeks and T-Zone area which will also eliminate shine. I love Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer because it comes in a varitey of tones for a perfect match and contains SPF 20. There are many other great brands as well, but check out the label carefully to be certain that there the product contains no illumination or shimmer. That could be bad :-)


www.lauramercier.com

An awful lot of fair skinned people flush easily.  I always tell them that the benefit is that they can save a lot of money on blush and they never look pasty!!!  Best of luck to you and your healthy looking groom!

xoxo,
Lo

Ask Lo - Under Eye Dilemma

I love to help out my viewers navigate the cosmetic world.  There are so many products with false claims and I want to share with you products and techniques that really work.  Linda contacted me about a treated dark and dry under eye skin. This is a common issue, but very treatable.

Dear Lo,

I have dark under eye circles so would love how to minimize that.  But, I have green eyes, so would like to play them up. Also, what would you recommend for under eye & eyelid dryness?  It's only been going on with one of my eyes for about 6 weeks, but eye cream doesn't seem to be helping even though I put it on day and night.

I have seasonal allergies like hay fever and I'm allergic to a variety of other things. Right now I use foundation from Bare Minerals foundation and I've stopped using any under eye concealer because of the dryness under my eyes, it just looks like a mess if I put anything on it. Thanks so much for your help!
  ~ Linda

Linda,

Under eye darkness and dryness is a very common problem and something that usually worsens with age (good times!)  The good news is that we can cover darkness and hydrate the skin.  Allergies, can worsen darkness and cause the skin to be drier due to rubbing watery, itchy eyes.  Also, the skin under the eye doesn't have oil glands, so it will always be drier than the rest of your skin. Here is what I suggest:

• Invest in a super emollient eye cream and use day and night.  I like M.A.C Moisturelush Eyecream, Bobbi Brown Eye Balm, Arbonne eye cream.  All of these are super hydrating and will work wonders.
• Buy a hydrating under eye concealer that has full coverage. Bobbi Brown makes a super moist concealer and I also recommend their pink-based under eye corrector (used first to neutralize gray/purple). Erase Paste by Benefit is also a really nice concealer.
• It is crucial to use the correct color and technique. Check out  my application tips and go to the counter and have an artist test the colors on you. This is a product that is worth splurging on.  It should look a little too light at first, but as it oxidizes it will blend into your skin. You can use a light dusting of translucent powder to set concealer and avoid smudges.

Makeup Tips

• Don't forget to wear blush.  I nice pop of blush on your cheeks detracts from dark circles, adds dimension to your face and gives you a "just ran around the block" glow. Go Blush!
• Avoid purple/plum eye shadow or liners as that will just highlight purple underneath the eye.  Apply eyeliner on the top lash line only to pull attention up and away from the under eye area.
• Curled lashes bring attention up - I see that you do that already - good job!

To highlight your beautiful green eyes use a gold-based shadow.   There are a ton of shimmer shadows in a variety of colors which have a gold base and provide a great background color for your eyes.  M.A.C's Mulch (bronze brown) and Sumptuous Olive (goldy green)are two of my favorites.  Then apply a nice tight eyeliner (dark brown or black) on your upper lash line.  Hello green eyes!

Let me know how everything goes!

PS I have eye allergies and love to use Naphcon A for itchy eyes (OTC), but check with your Dr.

xoxo,
Lo