Both men and women were shown images of models with different amounts of makeup. When only given a quarter second to glimpse the images, the subjects rated the made-up models higher in attractiveness, likability, trustworthiness, and even competence. However, when given unlimited viewing time for each image, the tables completely turned on likeability and trust.

Well duh, right? Did Harvard need to do a study when they could just watch Legally Blond or Pretty In Pink? What they need to do is a study on where tuition costs are going.

So when do frosted lips and French tips work to your advantage? Anything involving immediate return will benefit from a strong first impression. Sales is the biggest. I remember my sister maintaining perfect long red nails when she sold hospital equipment. Now that she’s a professional mom she could give a crap. Social situations involving brief first encounters are another opportunity to try out some jazzy new sparkle. Conventions, balls, bars, and horse races are fine places to powder.

Something like a psychologist, however, may benefit from more of a Bobby Brown natural look. I saw a sleep therapist for a while who would smear on this gloss that was way too cool a pink for her. It was so distracting; I contemplated bringing her an alternative as a gift. To myself.

If attractiveness is your aim, such as with performing, then more is more. Regardless of time viewed, those models in the Harvard cosmetics study with more makeup were seen as more attractive.

By the way, this issue of Psychology Today sports a ‘doodied up’ half-dressed model to accompany a headline on ending self-sabotage.

Such is the walk-o-shame. It is a right of passage; a sacred moment of independent womanhood marked by swollen feet shoved back into ungrateful stilettos and a defining decision of whether or not to put the undies back on. Some may see the person they leave in the morning again and again forever, and others may walk this walk so many times they have it down to a routine.

If you’re part of the latter camp, please let me know any walk-o-shame beauty tips I may have left out here. Of course, being prepared could be seen as being extra slutty, but I don’t think so. People pack extra underwear to go on vacation…why? Do they often soil themselves? Exactly. You never know.

-If you have a big enough bag, throw in a pair of flip-flops. These will come in handy on the way home regardless of what day or time. If it is morning, put the shoes in a shopping bag.

-Pack these items in your clutch or wristlet: Travel moisturizer, chap stick or lip gloss, comb, and concealer. Do wash your face or at least splash it and add the moisturizer in the morning before combing the bodily fluids out of your hair and dabbing concealer under your eyes. If you have a lipstick with you, you can tap your finger on it to get a touch of pink for your cheeks too. All together you should get some health, radiance, and dignity back into your look without carrying much.

-See if you can barrow or keep an old hoodie or jacket. You might be able to pull it off like a casual ensemble, especially if you have the flip-flops with you.

-Make sure your phone is fully charged before you go out. You might need to call a cab, or any assortment of services. The worst would be to look like a meth-crazed hooker AND have to ask a stranger to use their phone.

-And for inner beauty, be a feminist and throw a condom into the secret compartment of your bag too.

This chick’s almost there. It’s a great shot to show the importance of getting those heels in a bag. Knot that shirt in front and stow the heels (lose the weird chain belt thing too), and she’d be pretty straight.

Some practitioners would say that women in Islam shouldn’t wear makeup except for their man or solely around other women folk. But all the ones I’ve known here in the states love to accentuate their exotic beauty whether old or young. In fact, I recently attended an Iranian wedding and every woman there was beautifully made up for the occasion from Grandma to blushing bride. So there.

Here are some tips for staying beautiful through the month of Ramadan:

1. Obviously you need an under-eye concealer. Check out the previous post Exquisite Every Day: Eye Circles of Death for my favorites and a how-to on picking the perfect shade.

2. In addition to using blush to create rosy cheeks, dust a bit of the leftover powder on your brush just under your eyes/on upper cheekbones as well. That’s a tip to brighten up that area and look more awake.

3. Your lips may be getting chapped from the lack of liquid intake. My current balm fav is Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer. It’s perfect for Ramadan too because it adds color almost like a stain for a subtle, pretty look in keeping with your mellow mood.

4. To keep the skin nourished and emollient, try a basic oil like DermaE Vitamin E Oil at night. It won’t clog your pores and will help the skin maintain happy tissue.

5. For late-night dinners with friends and family add a touch of shimmer shadow to your eyelids (shimmer not glitter, ladies). Choose a warm pink or gold to look the healthiest and glowiest like NAR’s Cypress or Cairo.

Follow these easy beauty tips for Ramadan and, much like doing vaginal muscle exercises at your desk, no one will know you’re busy absolving your sins all day.

You don’t really want him or her back. Well maybe you’d consider it, but that’s not really the point. The point is to inspire that twinge of regret. The thought that maybe if they’d just invited you to the family reunion, or let you tie them up for once, everything could have been different….  And it totally works. People love to romanticize an old relationship.

There is nothing quite like a wistful look in the eye as they attempt at some casual affection, or a pause before parting like they want to say something more. Here are a few makeup tips sure to stir that self-esteem boosting regret revenge:

-First, don’t get any radical ideas like crazy big false eyelashes or silver liquid eyeliner. You don’t get extra points for creativity.

-Radiance and happiness are key factors. That means you don’t want your skin super matte. Try a tinted moisturizer and/or bronzers and blushes that have a tiny touch of shimmer. Tiny!

-Bring out the eyes because that’s where intimacy starts. Use contrasting colors. For tips look at previous posts Eye Makeup For Brown Eyes or  Eye Shadow For Gray Eyes . I don’t think I’ve done a post on green, so I’ll just tell you that you want reddish brown.

-Choose a more natural lip that’s not super dramatic or goopy and dripping with gloss. You want them to remember you for you, not for their secret fantasy of doing it with a hooker.  Although now that I think of it, there could be the potential there for a two-in-one result if that’s what you’re going for.

-If you have a few days lead, throw on some teeth whitening strips. A little refresher will add some spark to your smile. And you should smile a lot. Remember, confidence and happiness are amazing regret makers.

When consulting with clients I try my best to discreetly suggest that we stay within these age-appropriate makeup guidelines:

-No false eyelashes until at least age 16

-Unless you’re Oprah, heavy black eye makeup should be reconsidered every 5-10 years. Perhaps a navy or gray would be a nice transition?

-Slutty makeup cannot be pulled off past age 40. I don’t care how much botox or vodka Redbulls you’ve had; the truth is you like crap.

-The expiration on glitter is even younger. The 20’s are really the last opportunity to give the glitter lid its last hurrah. Explore the world of ‘shimmer’ instead.

-Dark lipstick, unless it’s some costumey teen thing, shouldn’t be worn until closer to 18. The upside is that it can be worn all the way to the grave.

-The older you get, the more warmth is lost in your skin tone. Bronzer may seem like a young girls’ thing, but I find a non-shimmery bronzer to be great to liven elderly clients up.

When we’re young, we want to look mature and sexy. When we’re old, we want to look young and sexy. The funny thing is that appropriately playing up exactly how you look now will be the sexiest.

These pics are great examples, although I’m not trying to hate on Pamela. Pamela’s cool. I just think she looks way better sanz the heavy makeup.

Gross:

Cute:

To really show that flag your respect and admiration, today is a great day for red lips. I’m sure you’ve heard of the mysterious ‘perfect red’ that exists for everyone? Well, it’s true. Red is a neutral color, as in it can fit into any color scheme. However, some are warmer (have more brown/orange) and some are cooler (have more blue). I’d like to define your perfect red as not only a color that complements your tones, but also as whatever you like best.

For some it’s obvious that they are cooler or warmer based on their skin, eye, and hair tones. If you have blond hair and blue eyes, you will go for a cool blue red. If you have olive skin and brown eyes, you will go for a warm red.  If your coloring isn’t as clear-cut, you’ll have to try on a few and look at what happens to your skin and eyes. Does your skin become a dull pale in comparison, or softly glow? Very dark skin can pull off either because of that gorgeous high-contrast of the skin color.

Here are some tips on applying red lips. Make sure your lips are exfoliated and hydrated before you start.

For a soft look: Use a lip brush and slowly apply the color starting from the inside and making your way to the edges.

For a precise look: Line the lips top and bottom with red lip liner. Fill in the lips with the liner. You can use this as your complete color, or add a lipstick over top. Use any tiny flat-edged brush to apply concealer along the outer rim of the lips.

Proper blotting: Take a tissue and place it over your lips, pressing a touch as though your lips are stamping the tissue. If you have excess product in your inside rim, open your mouth and close it on a touch of tissue.

Personally, I dig the matte vintage red, but a touch of gloss can sex up the look. Use a clear gloss on the center of the lower lip. Having a fully glossed red lip is a bit…. Messy.

Warm Red:

Cool Red:

No doubt, this is a seriously, heartbreakingly, f’ed up situation that represents a potential for a turning point in our society. Wait, we wanted oil…. But not this bad. Does anyone else kind of get a tiny feeling in their gut that we’re all a bunch of assholes? Like, if we’d known this was going to happen we totally would have worked something else out. BP sucks, regulators suck, and drivers suck. Well, shit.

But it’s not just the drivers. Petroleum is everywhere, so engrained in our lives that we don’t even know it. Especially in our beauty regimens, petroleum is in practically everything from lotion and shampoo to perfume and it’s packaging. Now is a great time to start switching over to products that don’t use the following petroleum-derived ingredients:

-Propylene Glycol

-Isopropyl Alcohol

-1, 4-Dioxane (C4H802)

-Parabens (Methyl, Propryl, Butyl)

-Paraffin

-Mineral Oil

-PVP/VA Copolymer

-Avoid the word ‘Fragrance’

-Petroleum Distillates

Check out the selection at your local ‘health’ store, or even Target has a stock now. There should be plenty of choices, although you may find that some of the products just don’t work as good as your toxic ones. The new book No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products, and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt is a great resource for product suggestions. They dedicated a year to finding the best natural products out there. For a bonus round, look for packaging that doesn’t involve petroleum like glass.

By replacing a product at a time as you run out, you can be on your way to a petroleum-free beauty routine. And not only will that help you reduce your petroleum consumption, but also the potential health risks that include all variety of scaryiness. Totally not worth it.

Easter for grown-ups doesn’t hold quite the same magic, but it’s still an occasion to spiffy up and don a happy face. It is a Christian holiday, so while the rules for any family gathering involving a large meat or soup dish still apply, they can be performed with a little more waspy flair. A touch of frosted pink lipstick, for example, is more than welcome on Easter. Curled hair is practically a must if you want to take it to the next level, even if it’s short. A light dusting of shimmer eye shadow finishes your Easter look. And, if you have some pearls they are the perfect accessories.

You know what I never understood? The ‘real’ hunts, like for real eggs. What are you supposed to do with all those eggs? Personally, I was too high on jellybeans for such child’s’ play.

Happy Easter!

Ancient Persians were among the first peoples, not long after the Egyptians, to use cosmetics with substances like kohl. After the Arab tribes conqured the region and converted it to Islam, the use was scaled back to only being prohibited if the purpose wasn’t to disguise or cause unruly desire. Other than that, it was good to go for a verrrryy long time. Currently Iran is the 3rd largest consumer of cosmetics in the Middle East.

Abu al-Qssum al-Zahrawi (or Abulcasis), a great Islamic scholar of his time (936-1013) and considered the father of modern surgery, dedicated an entire volume of his medical encyclopedia, Al-Tasrif, to cosmetics, which he called the “Medicine of Beauty”. One of his areas of expertise is listed on Wiki as ‘cosmetologist’.

Perhaps the newscasters are in fact causing unruly desire. Maybe it’s the very berry balm and fushia fun blusher that’s actually been causing the street riots. Otherwise I have to say, with all due respect, that I don’t get it.

ahmadinejad's makeover

Homecoming makeup should over-all be light, pretty and colorful. In general, I think the best look is to use dark eyeliner right along the lash line and optionally the inner lid (tear) line, focusing on the outer ¾ of the eye. Then use a shimmery shadow over the entire lid, the color depending on what you’re wearing and personal preference. Finish the look with a lip-gloss that’s easy to touch up as the night goes on.

Here are a few color suggestions based on the dress:

-If your dress is red (like my niece) choose a red tinted gloss like Stila’s Red Apple. Use a golden or copper shadow (Urban Decay has a great selection) with just a touch of black or brown eyeliner along the lash line.

-If your dress has 80’s inspired neon colors, it could be fun to choose one of the bright colors for your lids such as a bright blue or purple. With a neon colored or accented dress, a matte or shimmery choice will look great for the shadow. Max Factor has a lot of bright colors out right now. Choose a hot pink lip-gloss.

-If your dress is black, well then don’t you have all the options? A color-matching idea is to use a colored purse or shoes and match your shadow to that. Another is nail polish. If you’re going to go black all the way, try a metallic shade on the eyes for kicks. L’oreal’s HiP line has great metallic options.

-For colored dresses it’s fun to match the shadow color, but it doesn’t have to be the same shade. If the dress is dark pink for example the shadow can be light pink.

-Ditching the dance and going to a party instead? Start out with the makeup as suggested, but try and bring a pair of jeans and a tee in your over-night bag (you should have already made plans to crash at the party house).

It would really be a shame to ruin your homecoming makeup look by being involved with drinking and driving or unsafe sex. Both have unflattering results.