Beauty and the Best: Lifehacks to stay fab

They say beauty has a price and most people agree, but staying fabulous doesn’t have to take forever.

“Life hacks” aren’t just for household chores and home improvement. “Beauty hacks” are everywhere, too.

From kissable, fuller lips using 3D technology to playing with fire for the perfect eye make-up, here are some of the most useful beauty hacks to stay fabulous without having to spend hours in front of the mirror.

The Eyes

To conceal those pesky dark half-moons under your eyes, try applying your concealer of choice using long strokes radiating from your eye toward your cheeks forming a fading triangle. This will create a better blend with your base make-up and will create a more natural look.

Use white eyeshadow as a base to make colors pop.

For brighter eyes, dab a little white or pearly-hued eyeshadow in the corner of your eye.

Out of gel/liquid eyeliner? No problem. Just warm up your regular eye pencil using a lighter for about 1 to 2 seconds et voila—your home-made gel liner! Of course it goes without saying that you should let it cool down a few seconds before using it on your eyes.

For the perfect winged eyes, use the edge of a spoon as a pattern for an even look.

The Lips

Use a lip liner to outline your lips and then fill it out to before applying your lipstick to make it last longer. This technique will also create a fuller look by emphasizing the shape of your lips. Most people call this shape “cupid’s bow.”

Set your lipstick after putting it on. Place a piece of single-ply tissue over your lips. Using a thick brush with fine bristles, dab some loose powder (preferably translucent) over the tissue. This will set your lipstick and make it last longer.

3D technology isn’t just for movies anymore. It can also make your lips look plumper. Ergo, more kissable. Use some light colored eyeshadow and lightly dab some of it on your lower lip to create the illusion of fullness. For better results, try to put it as close to your upper lip as possible.

Courtesy of miissangiiemariie on Tumblr

The Contour

Before we talk about contouring, let’s first talk about creating an even base coat.

First of all, always wash, tone, and then moisturize. After the holy trinity of skin care, apply primer using your fingers and use concealer on problem zones. After priming and concealing comes contouring.

On a personal note, I’ve never really paid much attention to contouring until I saw what a difference it made (thanks to miissangiiemariie on Tumblr; see her life-changing post here).

Using a shade browner than your skin color, apply some brown foundation below your cheekbones, above your eyebrows, and two rows along the bridge of your nose. Next, using a shade about two shades lighter than your skin tone, put on some lighter foundation on the middle of your forehead, the middle of your nose bridge, below your eyes, under your nose, and on your chin. Just blend blend blend using a kabuki brush (or any thick make-up brush, really) and now you’re ready for war!

To be completely honest, this technique takes practice but it’ll pay off in the end.

The Hair

Never buy dry shampoo ever again—thanks to Shana of Fox Doll and Mod Cloth. Just mix two tablespoons each of corn starch, arrowroot powder, and rice flour, and then add about 6 to 10 drops of an essential oil of your choice. Shake around and congrats, you have your very own dry shampoo ready to use.

If you don’t have the time to go to the salon or if you’re having an exceptionally difficult hair day, try the double pony technique for a fuller and longer head of hair. Make a half pony and then tie your hair below the half pony and let your hair cascade onto each other.

To keep bobby pins in place, put some hairspray on them before pinning your hair.

When using a curling iron, curl your hair midway to make it last longer.

And speaking of curling, wrap your hair in some aluminum foil before using a curling iron or hair straightener for faster, better results.

Use the ‘cool’ option on your hair blower to set your hairstyle.

After washing your hair, please—by all means—do not rub your hair with the towel. Just squeeze your hair using the towel to dry it out. This will lessen the frizz and keep your hair smoother.

Lastly, big and wide brushes are used to untangle your locks, while finer brushes are used to buff your hair and make it shinier.

Photos courtesy of ShutterStock and miissangiiemariie on Tumblr