Our eyes are one of the most important features on our face. Our eyes not only allow us to see, they show emotion…joy, love, fear and even anger. It is said that when we address one another we should look directly into the eyes of the speaker. A baby’s eyes get noticed for being so large and round, a man’s eyes get noticed for their color and expressiveness. A woman’s eyes should get noticed for the same intrinsic qualities, not for the amount of makeup she has adorned them with.

I like to start with the eyeliner. No matter which type of liner you prefer, (liquid, pencil or even powder) get as close to the lashes as possible, staying on the outside of the eye. Do not apply liner inside the lash line, as this could cause the transfer of bacteria into the eyes. Keep this line of color subtle. Gently smudge it a little with the end of an eye shadow applicator or a brush for a softer, more natural look.

It is always a good idea to apply your eye shadow prior to your cheek color. This way, if the product finds its way onto your cheeks, you can simply brush it away. You may want to dust a little translucent powder on your cheeks and under your eyes to make for an easy clean-up. For a simple, natural look, stick to the neutrals.

Choose a midtone shade for over the entire eye lid. Gently blend a darker color into and slightly above the crease. Blend with a soft crease brush, using gentle strokes up and down so that the crease color fades seamlessly onto the brow bone and the lower lid. Use the midtone again on the lower lid and blend up into the crease. If you are feeling daring, choose a third, lighter color to highlight the brow bone. Blending is the key operation here. No heavy lines of color please. For evening, use the same technique but try more shimmery eye colors.

Lastly, let’s not forget our trusty friend, mascara. Apply your mascara last to avoid smudging it when applying your liner and shadow. Also, any loose shadow particles will stick to your freshly applied mascara…not a good look. Waterproof mascara is great for sports or for going to a tear-jerking movie, however, it is difficult to remove. This can cause product build-up on the lashes, creating a cakey look. Worse yet, continuous use of waterproof mascara and product build-up can cause your precious lashes to break, thus causing you to use even more mascara. A better solution would be a water-resistant mascara. It is much easier to remove. So just remember, what goes on, must come off.

The windows to your soul now sparkle with subtle color, making your eyes and you, yourself, impossible to ignore. Those around you won’t be able to take their bulging spheres off of your beautiful eyes.

Have a great day!

Dawn Hull
Professional Skin Care Consultant
http://www.MaryKay.com/ShopOnline

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The Eyes Have It

Remember the dreamy eyes of your first love? Who can resist a beautiful set of eyes? Your eyes are one of your

most important features. Do you treat them like the treasures they are? Even if your eyes are not ‘to die for’, you can make them truly memorable.

Eye Care. Do you care for them the way you should?

Sunscreen on your lids? Sunglasses? Carefully cleaned and stored contact lenses? Makeup remover made expressly for eyes? Adequate sleep? These aren’t merely suggestions. They’re requirements for stunning eyes.

Eye Color. Do you take the time to make up your eyes every day.

Take a minute to add some extra color and your whole face will light up.

Medium and dark complexions can’t go wrong with universal earth tones.

Going to work? Apply brown tones on the lower lids, highlight with a light taupe at the inner corners, sweeping up and outward to the brow bones.

Going out on the town? Add a complementary bronze or deep gold to your outer lid, gently swept from the middle of the eyelash line to the corner of the eyes. Fair faced women should use lighter colors as their basic palette.

Conservative? Use two colors for day - apply medium-gray or mushroom all over the lids to the brow bones, and from the middle of the lash line outward with a coordinating lighter shade from the same family. At night, add a shimmering gold dust overcoating.

Eyelashes and Eyebrows

Let’s talk mascara. Brown is becoming ever more popular because it complements all iris colors. It works on everyone, as does the standard black. And even though it’s available, avoid blue and green tinted mascara, unless it matches your ultra-colorful dye job. Waterproof mascara is really not for everyday, unless you’re especially weepy. A water-soluble mascara leaves your lashes in healthier condition, and healthy is beautiful.

No one has the perfect arch without a little help from tweezers or a lot of help from a stylist. All eyebrows need taming, whether it’s tweezing to remove one stray hair or an all-out waxing at the salon. Tweezing is cheap, which is great. And you don’t need an appointment. Oh, and if you use tweezers…

Did you know that some estheticians (that’s a highly trained skincare professional) will create a template for you to use when tweezing? If you want to deal with your brows on a less frequent basis, investigate having your eyebrows waxed at a reputable salon. It hurts, but many women feel the irritation is worth the gorgeous results.

Eyeglasses. Wear them if you need them?

Of course.

They’re not just an accessory of necessity. Carefully chosen spectacles look great and can draw deserved attention to your eyes. Just think how smart they make you look. And smart is always in style!

———————————————————-

Allison Saunders is a MAC qualified Make-up Artist and the author of an amazing new course, "Hollywood Makeup Secrets" a step-by-step simple video system for maximizing your inner and outer beauty potential. You can learn more about Allison, and subscribe to her free newsletter by visiting:

http://www.hollywoodmakeupsecrets.com/dt/s.php?id=9

(c)2005 HollywoodMakeupSecrets.com. All rights reserved. ———————————————————-

If you’ve ever accidentally put contact lens cleaner in the eye you know what we are talking about. Yes, it itches and it burns and you feel like gouging out your own eyes. What you need to do in such a situation is stay calm (Right! With all that itching, it’s really easy to stay still)

Contact lens cleaner is not corrosive to the eye, though if left inside for a long time can harm it. If you have had such a cleaner accident, remove your contact lenses immediately and liberally splash cold water into your eyes. Wait for sometime before you insert the contact lens in the affected eye again. If itching, redness or watering persists, go to your eye doctor immediately.

How Did The Cleaner Get In My Eye?

Now that’s a question with many answers. Patients have confessed to several reasons how the lens cleaner meant strictly for their contact lenses got into their eye in the first place.

The most popular cause of this kind of an accident with lens cleaner was that they put the cleaner in the eye themselves hoping it would help dry eyes. In other instances, contact cleaner was put in along with the contact lens to help it to settle in the eye more easily.

There is more…. one patient reported that he believed putting lens cleaner in his eyes, while he was wearing his contact lenses would actually keep them clean. Yet another one did not understand the instructions for using the contact cleaner.

A lens cleaner is a special cleaner for contact lenses and helps remove loose dirt and debris from your contact lens. Manufactured by all leading lens makers contact cleaner preparations use several chemicals like edetate disodium and sorbic acid.

To avoid such a cleaner accident read instructions for use carefully and see an eye doctor if you still happen to have an accident.

With so much mis-information and so many contact lens sales sites, Jon Butt’s http://www.the-contact-lenses-guide.com shows how to choose the perfect contact lenses, current safety and legislation, where to find the biggest online discounts and which extras you need to take care of your lenses

Does eye cream really work? While we can not say for every brand out there, but what we do know is that many do in fact help you to lose those crows feet and help to provide you with more skin tone that you can be proud of. What most people do not know, though, is that eye cream works because of what is inside of it being as natural as you will find. The products that defy age work because they are filled with great quality ingredients that would make anything do well.

So, what magical product is inside eye cream that makes it work so well? It is not the ingredient per say but the vitamins that are in it instead. For example, those ingredients that are full of natural antioxidants are full of all the good stuff our bodies need. Many eye cream products are full of just that- antioxidants. These vitamins are super tough. They can help to clean out your arteries and to help you to fight disease as well as just helping to keep your skin healthy looking. In fact, many antioxidants are able to help rejuvenate various types of elements within the body including the eyes and skin. So, antioxidants that are in eye cream can in fact help to improve your look.

When you are out and about looking for the eye cream that you will use, flip it over and find out which natural ingredients are in the product. If you can not tell, you’ll want to look for those products that have a lot of vitamins especially your vitamin E’s. These are full of the antioxidants that your body needs anyway. A hint here; foods that are rich in antioxidants are usually very brightly colored greens, oranges, and other bright or dark colors. These are foods that you want to include in your diet anyway. Eye cream with antioxidants is just what you need.

for more information please see http://www.eye-cream-deals.co.uk

They say there is nothing sexier than a pair of sultry smoky eyes, smoky eyes done so right that they can cause a man to stop dead in his tracks.

But - do you know how to create such a perfect set of smoky eyes?
What you need to get started:
Eye Primer
Loose powder
Dark Eyeshadow
Medium - grey eyeshadow
Black Mascara
Magic Lash Eyelash Enhancer

Now the idea is to be able have smoky eyes, yet not look so much like you forgot to take your eye makeup off last night. Even though, that has been known as a turn on for a quite lot of men makes them wonder what you been up. To start creating the look you must have a base for it. This helps to keep the color in one place. Smooth on a eyeshadow primer, some say foundation is good to use as long as its color doesn’t take away from what you are trying to achieve. Now pat on loose powder setting the base. The real secret to the smoky look is in the color eyeshadow you use.

Tips: If your eyes are blue and you’re blond, then go for greens instead, the darker the better. If your eyes are green then go for blues again the darkest shades of blues you like. If your eyes are brown then you are just plain lucky with your choices of colors. Brown eyed ladies can try any colors you like. Now purple eyeshadow is a color that everyone can try. Just try it in Plum, Berry and others like those.

Rim your eyes with a black or grey pencil drawing a line along both upper and lower lash line. Starting from inner corner of your eyes going outward starting a fine line going into a heavier line as you draw outwards the outer corner.

If black or grey seems too harsh for the look you’re going for, then try either dark brown, plum or taupe instead.

Apply a medium - grey eyeshadow all over your lids, stopping at the crease. Apply your dark eyeshadow into the crease, then take a angled brush and apply the dark eyeshadow onto the eyeliner and then smudge it well with a cotton swab keeping as much of the color at the outer corner of your eyes. The angled brush is great for getting eyeshadow up under your lashes on the bottom which in turn helps keep your eyeliner in place. It’s the smudging that has got to be done carefully. The idea is to blend the eyeshadow and eyeliner together. If you wanted a more "feline" aka cat eyes then using a liquid eyeliner would be best.

Helping to contrast the darkness of your eyeshadow, sweep a pearlized ivory eyeshadow over your brow bones for a wide-eyed look. By applying a little at a time, you are building up the effort gradually till you like what you see. Finishing off the look with one coat of black mascara, one coat of Magic Lash if you want super long,lush lashes to go along with this look, then one more coat of black mascara.

Dark colors trend to make small eyes look even smaller, you can open them up by lining the rims from the inner to the center with a light-colored pencil, rather than dark pencil, pat on pale eyeshadow on the center of each lid. That should cause the small eyes to seem bigger.

For the rest of this ideal look. Finish off by using a tawny blusher or a bronzing powder. Its natural color won’t complete with the rest of your makeup. Sweep it over your cheekbone, blending away to the edges into your hairline. Keeping your lips neutral gives this look its real impact. Go for a pinkish - beige shade of lip pencil and smudge it over your entire mouth for a matte, I justed been kissed yet very understated effect. Now your eyes are ready for whatever you might have planned. This look can be toned down for work but who would want to?

Copyright 2005 Kim Snyder Owner of Overallbeauty.com Great lover of beauty care
and products,never happy without trying to make the world a little prettier for all.
Visit Overallbeauty.com to see the latest in beauty products and skin care.
Attn Ezine editors / site owners. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirely in your ezine or on your website as long as you leave the links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above.

Is it safe to buy color contacts online?

If you compare color contact lens prices at the doctor’s office and at online contact lens shops, you will see that online you can get your lenses 50 to 70 percent cheaper. But you may ask, why such huge difference? Are the lenses sold online inferior in quality? Find out how you can buy discount color lenses and avoid all the pitfalls.

Luckily for you, the lenses you buy online are exactly the same as your doctor would order. Online stores have several advantages over traditional shops that result in lower prices. They don’t have to be located in a busy area where rents are high, and they require less staff. Large online shops also sell thousands of color contact lenses every day, so they keep their prices low in order to hold the market.

One disadvantage of online shopping is that you have to use your credit card. Many people think this is risky. However, large reputable retailers always use secure order forms, so with them your card is as safe as it is when you use it in a local supermarket.

What color contacts are available online?

Online shops offer a great variety of color contact lenses. The most popular are disposable color contacts - Freshlook, Acuvue 2 Colors and Expressions. You will see them in any store. Large online shops also carry a variety of traditional (annual replacement) color contacts, like Durasoft 2 Colors, Durasoft Colorblends and Illusions.

It would be wise to see what color contacts are available through the Internet and compare the brands and prices before you visit your doctor for a prescription. This way you can ask your doctor for a particular brand, rather then leave the choice to him or her.

Non prescription color contacts online

You might see many ads saying “order no-prescription color contact lenses”. In this case “no-prescription” means color contacts with no corrective power for people with 20/20 vision. You can find many of those online. However, to buy them you still need doctor’s prescription.

Actually, you need a doctor’s prescription to buy any contact lenses, including color and even special effect contacts. While ordering, make sure that you order the exact brand and type of lens that you were prescribed. You can’t just order Acuvue 2 Colors if you have a prescription for Freshlook Colorblends. The only thing that’s up to you is the color of the lens.

How to choose the best online contact lens store?

Cooper Vision, Ciba Vision, Bausch & Lomb and other contact lens manufacturers have their own websites, but they usually don’t sell lenses through them. So your only option for ordering color lenses on the Internet is to buy them from contact lens online stores.

Hundreds - if not thousands - of online shops sell color contact lenses, so it is not easy to find the best one. Their prices are usually similar, with only a 1 or 2 dollar price difference, per box of lenses. Some people compare prices between several companies and go with the one that offers the lowest price. However, there are several other things you will have to keep in mind.

When selecting an online contact lens store look at:

• The shipping charges, and if free shipping is available
• How quickly your order will be shipped
• Whether they offer any additional discounts on larger orders
• Whether this contact lens retailer reputable and trustworthy

It might be a bit time consuming to compare many online stores, though. So, for your convenience, there are reviews of color contact lens online stores, where several shops are compared to help you make an educated choice.

Tanya Turner is a contact lens expert and a founder of Contact Lenses Consumer Guide which provides you with unbiased information about contact lenses including Discount color contact lenses, and special effect contacts

The first thing I want to point out is that everyone’s body is different. Wouldn’t it be boring and bizarre if we were all the same So the suggestions I am giving are what has, and has not, worked for me.

I have had what is commonly referred to as puffy eyes or bags under the eyes since I was 26; I am now a 34 year old male in very good shape. I’ve always taken pride in my appearance, so when I started to have daily baggy eyes, it became a concern to me. Naturally, I searched the internet for resources and suggestions. Most of the one’s I found said to try putting ice cubes, cucumbers, tea bags, steak or a cold spoon on the problem area. I even came across a couple of suggestions to try Preparation-H I have read that the Preparation-H suggestion was actually dangerous, so don’t try that.

Which of these worked and which one’s didn’t? I should also note that I have tried a number of inexpensive, as well as expensive, creme’s that are supossed to help puffy eyes. These creme’s are usually found at pharmacies and online health and beauty websites. None of these creme’s helped me one bit. What has worked best for me is tea (black tea) bags.

What you do is boil water and put 2 tea bags in like you would if you were going to make tea. After brewing for 5 minutes, take the tea bags out…ring out the liquid…and now put them in the freezer. You need to have them cool, but not frozen. I say keep them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Now lay down and apply the tea bags over the puffy areas under your eyes.

I try to leave them on for 15 minutes, turning them over 1/2 way through. After, make sure you rinse off any residue with a cold damp tissue or face cloth.

I find this has helped reduce puffiness, but is no cure. I am strongly considering seeing a certified Plastic Surgeon to get a professional opion on how to more permanently get rid of the excess fat under my eyes.

I have this article and others on my website http://www.plasticsurgerysurgeons.com and links to board certified plastic surgeons for puffy eyes and other plastic surgery procedures.

Cosmetic eyelid surgery is right for many people, but it is not right for everyone. How does one know if blepharoplasty is right for them? A good candidate for blepharoplasty wants to restore a more youthful and rested appearance to their eyes. Droopy or baggy eyes communicate to others a sense of fatigue, disinterest, and senescence. Many people simply don’t want their face to express to others these qualities when they feel quite the opposite about themselves. The best candidate for cosmetic eyelid surgery wants their appearance to better communicate their feelings of youth, energy, and vitality.

Many people who are interested in cosmetic eyelid surgery tell Dr. Ebroon that they are interested in blepharoplasty but that they truly are not “vain.” They’re right! Most people are not looking at cosmetic eyelid surgery as a way to just look better. They realize that although cosmetic eyelid surgery does make the eyes look more beautiful, the appearance of the eyes conveys a deeper quality. The eyes express to those we know and meet something deeper about ourselves before we have a chance to communicate in other ways.

Once it is understood what makes a good candidate for cosmetic eyelid surgery, then it is easy to see who is not a good candidate. A poor candidate for cosmetic eyelid surgery is one who doesn’t truly feel energetic, vital, or interested and is hoping that the surgery will make them so. In other words, those who are hoping the eyelids can be brought into better harmony with who they are on the inside do very well with cosmetic eyelid surgery. However, those who hope the surgery will change who they are on the inside are not as good candidates.

Dr. Daniel Ebroon is an Ophthalmic Plastic Surgeon which means he specializes in plastic surgery of the eyelids. Cosmetic eyelid surgery (also called blepharoplasty) is cosmetic surgery that rejuvinates tired looking eyes. In addition to cosmetic eyelid surgery, Dr. Ebroon also performs reconstructive surgery of the eyelids, eye socket, and tear ducts for those patients suffering from diseases related to these areas. This includes patients with droopy eyelids, eyelid cancer, broken bones around the eyes, tearing disorders, thyroid eye disease (Grave’s disease), and other eyelid disorders.

To Learn more about Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery, please visit Dr. Ebroon’s websites at: http://www.ebroon.com and http://www.cosmetic-eyelid-surgery.com

This excess skin can occur above the eyes in the upper eyelids or below the eyes in the lower eyelids. Extra skin and puffy eyelids can be present simply from being born with a tendency to form baggy eyelids.

Saggy, stretched skin can also form as part of the aging process. Medical conditions like sinusitis or recurrent allergies can cause repeated swelling and contraction around the eyes as well. As skin stretches and descends, extra tissue accumulates around the eyes. Furthermore, the firm tissue that normally holds back the natural fat pads around the eyes can also stretch. The weakening of this tissue allows the fat pockets around the eyes to bulge forward, causing puffy bags to form around the eyes in conjunction with the hanging, loose skin.

The goal of Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery, or Blepharoplasty is to revitalize droopy and puffy eyelids so that the appearance of the eyes communicates the energy and vitality that one feels inside. A good candidate for blepharoplasty wants to restore a more youthful and rested appearance to their eyes. Droopy or baggy eyes communicate to others a sense of fatigue, disinterest, and senescence. Many people simply don’t want their face to express to others these qualities when they feel quite the opposite about themselves. The best candidate for cosmetic eyelid surgery wants their appearance to better communicate their feelings of youth, energy, and vitality.

Dr. Daniel Ebroon is an Ophthalmic Plastic Surgeon which means he specializes in plastic surgery of the eyelids. Cosmetic eyelid surgery (also called blepharoplasty) is cosmetic surgery that rejuvinates tired looking eyes. To Learn more about Cosmetic Eyelid Surgery, please visit Dr. Ebroon’s websites at: http://www.ebroon.com and http://www.cosmetic-eyelid-surgery.com

Getting a smokey eye make up tip that doesn’t make you look like a raccoon can be difficult. There are many factors you have to consider. And you will have to practice a lot to get just the right smokey eyes.

You will have to experiment with holding your brush at just the right angle for the application you like best, which amount of pressure to use when applying the colors, what colors you prefer and make your eyes stand out, and how to blend the lighter colors into the darker.

Practice, practice, practice.

I’ll give you the basic smokey eye make up tip equipment and color choices, and you can experiment and pick and choose what you like and what works for you.

Eyeshadow Colors: Using a black or gray eyeshadow without proper application and blending can cause you to look a little "goth", besides, it’s out this season. If you don’t think you want to look this way, I recommend using less intense colors.

Try violet, chocolate, coffee, dark pink, copper, dark green or purple, etc.

Eyeliner Colors: A dark grey, charcoal or black.

Here is the basic smokey eye make up tip technique. Like mentioned above, practice and play around until you get the feel and the look you like.

Step 1: Apply a crystalline or other highlighter shade just on your browbone. Applying it to the whole lid can cause your darker colors to look muddy when applied over it. Apply a little under your eye and right at the tear duct to keep eyes looking wide and “open”.

Step 2: Using a taupe, nude or sand color, apply just to your eyelid.

Step 3: Use a flat edge brush for this part. Rub the side of the bristles in your darker color. Then hold the brush almost vertically, with the flat edge touching your eyelashes. Sweep the color straight up to just above the crease. It’s all about technique here. You need to be able to see this color a little above your crease when your eyes are open.

Step 4: Finally, use your darkest color for this step. It can be a dark brown, metallic colors, darker purples and greens, whatever. Use the same technique and sweep the color from your eyelashes up to just below the crease. Too high and you’ll look like a raccoon.

Step 5: Using a soft pencil eyeliner in black or charcoal, line all the way around your top and bottom lids. Using your finger or a sponge tip, smudge the eyeliner, so it doesn’t have a distinct line. If you prefer, you might want to apply your mascara first, so you can blend any mistakes into the eyeliner. You can also use eyeshadow and an eyeshadow brush to line your eyes.

Step 6: Now use a very dark eyeshadow (black, dark grey, very dark purples or maroons, etc.) and smudge it into the pencil line and out and around your whole eye. (Don’t smudge over your tearduct!)

Step 7: Now apply (a lot of) mascara and curl your lashes. This will finish your smokey eyes look.

Using this smokey eye make up tip and a little practice, you’ll have gorgeous eyes in no time.

Lynn Starner is the proprietor of Beauty Bliss Mineral Cosmetics at http://www.beautyblisscosmetics.com as well as http://www.ultimate-skin-care-tips.com