Beauty advice from people who aren't paid to give it to you
When it comes to your beauty regimen, there are some things you just shouldn’t try at home — like mixing your own concoction of bleach to lighten your jet-black tresses or cutting choppy layers into the back of your own hair. But then there are those seemingly simple tasks that you might be too embarrassed to admit you don’t know how to accomplish. So we called in a few everyday experts to answer some of our most practical — yet pressing — beauty questions. They might man the salon chairs or the makeup counters, but they have beauty tips and tricks that come from their own life experiences.
What’s the best way to apply eyeliner?
Mizery, Boston-based female impersonator and entertainer: The best way is to find a soft pencil — the one I use is “Smolder” from MAC. Keep it very close to the lash line, and then smudge it out a bit with your finger. Put some in the inner corner of the eye, and then glide along the lash line. The process is the same for both the top and bottom of the eye. Some women like to line the inside of the eye versus the outside of the eye; if you do both, it makes the eye look bigger. The “Smolder” eye pencil is so soft and simple. Just sharpen and go, girl.
MAC eye kohl pencil, $14.50 at MAC Cosmetics (112 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.267.0013).
How do you get the most face-flattering shape when tweezing eyebrows?
Mizery: I draw them on; I don’t use stencils — I hate those things. You need to find the right shape for your eye, and go from the brow bone, up and over. A good eyebrow sets the whole look of your face. A lot of women like that thin-thin look — that is so long gone. A good brow is a little thicker, with a nice base starting at the corner, and then thinner as you come down. A lot of people like to use pencils, and then over the pencil, they use an eye shadow or a brow shadow. It all depends on what you feel like.
How should guys approach their manscaping regimen?
Mizery: I don’t want to be graphic, but men need to shave their nuts. They need to manscape. It’s a cleanliness issue. Men feel that they don’t need to; they think it’s the way of the world to have hair down there. But they need to realize that they want people — men or women — to go down there and do all that madness, so they need to keep it clean! Manscaping is not anything gay — it is not a gay issue or a straight issue. It is just an issue. And it needs to be done. Suck it up, buy a clipper, and just do it. Just get a clipper with various grades, so you can trim. You’ll be able to go up or down a grade, depending on how much or little hair you want. It’s up to you what kind of grade you want to be. [Men] want women to be clean and have a landing strip and all that madness, so they should do the same thing in return. Shave your shit! You can use any type of clippers; they don’t have to be expensive. A good, simple clipper and a razor, and you’re all set.
What’s the best way to get rid of razor burn?
Mizery: Tend Skin is the best thing for that. You have to use it very sparingly, on a swab or a Q-tip, because it can burn your skin. If you’re smart and you buy it by the gallon, it’s cheaper, and it will last a long time. Find it at high-end salons. It is the best thing for razor burns, in-grown hair, any bumps on your skin. I use it on my face; that’s why I never have a pimple.
Tend Skin is available locally at Sephora (Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.4200) and Pour le Corps (224 Clarendon Street, Suite 21, Boston, 617.262.8855).
Quick tricks to get rid of blemishes?
Mizery: Toothpaste works really well, but it feels a little weird, and you look a little weird. It won’t completely take [blemishes] away; it will just take the swelling down. Keeping skin clear is about preemptive measures — you have to be able to keep your skin clean throughout the day. Keep your face hydrated throughout the day. When you come home, make sure you wash your face. Make sure your hands are clean before you touch your face. Money is the dirtiest thing on the planet, so I have Listerine and sanitary hand wipes and sanitary gel in my dressing room. A quick wash of the hands will diminish that from getting on your face.
What’s a simple but effective ski-care regimen for men?
Mizery: The best thing for any kind of skin regimen is sleep, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. When I wash my face, I use the exfoliating gloves you can buy at CVS, and a little bit of lemon juice and vinegar, so when I get out of the shower, my skin is very tight. A little Seabreeze [toner] is your friend. It’s old — people don’t think about it anymore because they’re into the high-end stuff — but I find that it works. And then apply any kind of light moisturizer. My favorite is Lubriderm; it’s just very light.
What’s a foolproof way to apply false eyelashes?
Betty Blaize, burlesque performer with the Boston Babydolls: First, know that there are two basic kinds of lashes: strips and individual lashes. For the girl on the go, lashes built onto a one-inch strip are faster and easier. For the girl who wants her lashes just so, individual lashes are more customizable and a bit lighter on the eye. If this is your first time using false eyelashes, plan about 20 minutes into your beauty agenda.
1) Put on eye makeup first. Pay particular attention to getting a nice line of eyeliner that goes all the way to the base of your lashes, right on the lower edge of your eyelid.
2) Curl your eyelashes with an eyelash curler.
3) Apply mascara.
4) If you are using new eyelashes, measure and cut them. Hold the lash up to your eye, lining it up with the inside of the eye (the side closest to your nose); measure the length against your eye. Cut as little as possible; you can always cut more after you re-measure!
5) Squeeze a thin line of glue on the base of the lashes. Only use eyelash glue!
6) Wait for 15 seconds. Blow on it a little. The glue should be slightly tacky but still liquid.
7) Hold the lash at either end, one end in each hand. Close your eye about halfway and slide the false lash along your real lashes, putting it as close to your real lashes as possible. Be sure to press the edges into the corners of the eye.
8) Hold in place gently for 10 to 15 seconds. Hum a little tune.
9) Release carefully and slowly open your eye. This is your chance to adjust the lash’s position before the glue has fully set. If you like the position, close your eye for another minute or so. No need to put pressure on the lash; you’re just letting the glue set up.
10) Repeat on other lash, making sure your lashes are as close to the same size, shape, and position as possible. Putting your lashes on asymmetrically can result in you looking like you’re winking all night ... which can result in some unwanted attention.
11) When you’ve finished, re-curl your lashes if they don’t lay the way you wish.
How do you choose the right shade of red lipstick?
Betty Blaize: I think shade is a matter of color and character. Four-alarm-fire red is great if you have pale skin and dark hair, but it can bleach out blondes, make lighter redheads look deathly ill, and it definitely isn’t for shrinking violets! My trick is to look at the base in the red and pick an underlying tone that matches both skin and hair. I classify reds as three types: orange- red, blue-red, or brown-red. Orange-red is great for very pale skin. Blue-red is great for dark skin tones. Brown-red is more neutral and looks great with fairer hair colors that may be overwhelmed by blue-red and flushed with orange-red. Use intense, dark shades for evening wear, and balance them with a simple eye shadow. Use lighter, more natural shades for day wear, or when you have intense eye shadow that draws focus to your eyes. And never be afraid to mix your own perfect shade!
When you’re dealing with a make-up counter, don’t be afraid to ask to try their testers on the back of your hand. Put a small splotch on the back of your hand and hold it away from your face. Look for the contrast between your skin and the lipstick. Does it bring out the reds or yellows in your skin? Then don’t buy it. Does it make your skin glow or glimmer? Then you’ve found a winner.
Also consider lip liner for a solid, long-lasting base, and gloss for a shiny texture. Then choose a compatible lipstick. Remember that differences in the liner and lipstick can blend to create a new color.
How exactly does an eyelash curler work?
Betty Blaize: They bend the lashes away from your eye, making it look bigger and brighter. They’re sold in most pharmacies in the beauty section and last forever.
An eyelash curler looks like very strange scissors. It’s got handles attached to a rubber curl of metal. As you open and close the handles, you’ll see two bars of metal open and close like a little mouth. The goal is to get your eyelash in between these two metal bars, so that the rubber in between them can gently press your lashes into a curl.
1) Hold the curler with your thumb and index finger in the curler handle. When you hold it, the metal bars should be up and the handle should be down. Your palm should be facing you so that your thumb is closer to your face than your index finger.
2) Begin at the base of your eyelash. Close your eye halfway. Open the curler and bring it around the eyelash. The curler should be straight up and down, and as close to the lash line as you can manage.
3) Close the curler by squeezing thumb and index finger together. Do this very gently and slowly! It’s easy to catch your eyelid, and that skin is very sensitive.
4) Continue to press firmly, squeezing the edges of the curler together.
5) Hold for 10 seconds and release the curler. Do not pull or stretch the lash.
6) Slide the curler out slightly, while open, and curl the lash a second time, rounding its shape.
How do you choose the right shade of foundation?
Dennis Cheaney, artist and principal instructor at the New England Realist Art Center: Skin tones are extremely diverse and run the full range of color. Your skin tone will be a particular intermediary color. It will fit between two main colors but will tend to belong to one main color more than another. To determine your skin color, try to determine what it is and not what you would like it to be.
1) Choose a region of your body that is not regularly exposed to sun, such as the inside of your upper arm
2) Look under natural light coming in from a window or outside in the shadow of a building. Do not use direct sunlight, for it is too intense to judge proper color.
3) Look for an evenly lit surface that is turned up to receive light but without any glare or highlights.
4) Determine how dark or light your skin is, regardless of the color.
5) Relax your eyes and look very broadly for the main color. This will be the dominant color of your skin.
6) Determine the intermediary color. Notice how your skin color is shifting toward another main color. The intermediary color is your exact skin color.
7) Assess the chroma [intensity] of the intermediary color. Determine if it’s strong and intense or more neutral.
8) A foundation should match your skin color; it should disappear. A foundation should be very close to your intermediary color. It should remain as a backdrop for the rest of your make-up. You may adjust your foundation by adding bronzers or blush.
9) Apply foundation to your neck and jaw line, and blend it into your flesh.
10) Look at the tone under natural light.
11) Look for an evenly lit surface that is turned up to receive light but without any glare or highlights.
12) If it doesn’t match, you will need to select another tone of foundation.
How do you choose the best hair color for your skin tone and features?
Dennis Cheaney: In order to select a new hair color that goes with your skin color, you want to choose a color that has in a dominant proportion the same main color as your skin. For instance, if you have an orangey-yellow skin tone and want to lighten your hair, then you will want to make sure your lighter tone stays within the yellow family — the main skin color of this example. You do not want the new lighter tone to shift into a new main color of orange or green. Remember, if you shift to a different main color, then your hair color will clash with your skin tone.
How do you give your hair a trim on the cheap?
Kat Cook, student at Boston University’s College of Communication: The most important thing to remember when trimming is to cut inner layers just slightly shorter than the outermost hairs so that it falls straight, rather than the edges bouncing up and looking ragged. Use a comb or two fingers to mark the angle of your bangs or front layers to make sure you cut on one straight line, usually somewhere between a 25- and 40-degree angle. With bangs, after cutting them downward, hold them all in one sheet and make tiny snips backward, toward the top of your head at exactly the opposite angle that they are cut. This makes them fall more naturally instead of in a blunt sheet (if the bangs are straight across instead of angled, then make these tiny snips straight upward). If you don’t trust yourself to cut on your own, go to Blaine [Beauty School]. You have to sign a scary waiver saying you understand they’re students and you promise not to be mad if they mess up, but they’ll give you a trim for just $5 and they do a pretty good job.
What’s the best way to get rid of unwanted body hair?
Josephine Pra, corps de ballet dancer with Boston Ballet: I’ve been using electrolysis for my legs and armpits. Electrolysis takes hair right from the roots, and hair grows more slowly and thinner after each session. I do it every two or three weeks. And for bikini waxes, I recommend going to a professional salon once a month. You can buy at-home waxing kits, too. Doing it at home is a little bit messy, but it does work.
How do you apply self-tanning lotions without looking streaky or uneven?
Josephine Pra: The face [self-tanning lotion] is actually not too hard to use. Sometimes, in the winter, I do the tanning beds. But usually I’ll use Dove daily moisturizing lotion with a bit of tan in it; it’s meant to be used daily, it’s very light, and it gives a bit of a healthy glow in the colder weather. You just put it on like a regular moisturizer and rub it into your skin.
What are the most foolproof ways to get teeth just theright shade of white?
Jenny Johnson, executive producer of NECN’s TV Diner and star of Jenny Cam: I’d love to say cutting out red wine and coffee, but that’s just not realistic. I used to use Crest Whitestrips, but my teeth would become really sensitive to cold air, cold water, and food after using them for a couple of days, so I could never use them for the full 14 days I was supposed to. I just recently started using Rembrandt Whitening Strips, and my teeth are looking pretty pearly white. You wear them for half an hour for five days. I love Crest Scope whitening toothpaste. It definitely gets my teeth feeling the cleanest; it’s a very fresh feeling. If my teeth start looking a little yellow from the red wine or the coffee, I’d rather use the whitening strips for a few days than give that up.
How do you know when to throw out a tube of mascara? How about perfume?
Richard Laursen, professor of chemistry and director of undergraduate studies in chemistry at Boston University: All cosmetics, drugs, foods, etc., are chemicals, and many of them degrade slowly over time. However, they do not suddenly go bad on the date of expiration. If something is five percent degraded by a certain expiration date, it is probably only about eight percent degraded after two expiration periods. With regard to cosmetics, I would say that as long as they still work, one should use them. I seriously doubt that any of them become unsafe. Obviously if mascara dries out it’s no good, and opened bottles of perfume lose their fragrance over time.
