40 Expert-Approved Beauty Tips to Hack Your Makeup Routine - MarieClaire.com

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1. For full lips go for a glossy look. Try first outlining the perimeter of your lips using a concealer brush dipped in bronzer two shades deeper than your skin tone. Then, top pout with gold, peach, or coral gloss.

2. When your lips look larger, it helps to slim your face down. The best way to beef up your mouth is to dab a shimmery gloss in the middle of your lower lip (on top of a lip-tone lipstick or gloss).

3. Play up your pout— it reminds people you're no pushover—with a deep, dramatic lipstick. Use your finger for a personally stamped finish. Highlight the area above your bow with a brush of gold eyeshadow.


Moisturizing Dry and Inflamed Skin

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1. Rose and lavender work wonders in calming skin inflammation, according to Michele VanLandingham, ingredient information specialist for Dr. Hauschka Skin Care. Olive oil is also a great cure for all things dry, including peeling cuticles.

2. Prevent dead-skin pileup by using a pumice stone in the shower—and don't be tempted into using a razor. That will only cause more skin to grow back. Pamper your feet with moisturizing facial masks.

3. Lance Etchison, skin-care aesthetician at Bluemercury in Washington, D.C., suggests incorporating one new product at a time. "And, since most active ingredients take effect over time, don't give up if you don't see immediate results," he advises.

4. For daytime moisturizing, think layering: Use an antioxidant serum under a face cream, topped off with sunblock. To prevent flaking, consider light exfoliation once a week. Moisturizing without exfoliating first can result in breakouts and dull skin.

5. Water, paper, chemicals: all dry up soft hands. "You have to fight back every day," says Jan Arnold, founder of Creative Nail Design. "Exfoliate to slough off dead cells, then slather on a rich cream to compensate for how few oil glands you have."

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6. Here's a secret for super-smooth, quenched lips: Use your richest eye cream on your lips! Note: Be sure it's a "hydrating" formula, not "firming"—which is code for drying.

7. Sure, it's chilly in the morning, but don't be tempted to crank up the heat in the shower. Hot water followed by cool, dry air leads to rough skin. To lock in moisture post-shower, pat yourself dry, and coat skin in an alpha-hydroxy lotion.

8. For flawless skin choose a cleanser and moisturizer appropriate for your skin type that you can use a.m. and p.m., and then supplement it weekly with a purifying face mask. Also, consider using a nightly skin treatment that exfoliates dead skin cells.


Optimizing Your Nail Care

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1. We love the look of a perfect sheer manicure on long, tapered talons as much as the next woman, but who's got the time? For equally elegant, less fussy nails, go short, round, and dark. File your nails so they line up with the tips of your fingers and round the corners.

2. Low on cash but still want to indulge? Pamper your feet. If you're going to indulge in any spa treatment, go for a pedicure. It costs more than a manicure (though much less than a body treatment), and it lasts for weeks.


Creating a Natural-Looking Glow

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1. Naturally pale but want a healthy glow? The good news is that you don't need a lot of makeup to achieve great-looking skin, says New York makeup artist Paula Dorf. For natural-looking results, apply glow products to the apples of your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, your hairline, and chin.

2. Sidestep streaks by mixing self-tanner with moisturizer before applying. This dilutes the formula so you achieve a more natural, less stripe-like effect. See our guide for the best no-streak self-tanners here.

3. To avoid an orange-y look with self-tanner, after application, wipe a cotton swab or a damp paper towel across your eyebrows and along your hairline.


Counteracting Wrinkles

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1. Treating your neck like your face doesn't work. "Your neck ages in its own way and so has special needs," explains Adrienne Denese, M.D., Ph.D. "Neck tendons shrink through the years and become more visible and the thin skin in this area doesn't respond to lasers and peels as well as your face does." She suggests good posture and neck stretches.

2. "I frequently see women with deeper wrinkles on one side of their face—the side they sleep on, of course," says New York dermatologist Heidi A. Waldorf. To avoid "sleep lines," opt for silk or satin pillowcases and pile on the antiaging products.

3. The choice is yours: Lower your calorie intake by a third or add antiaging resveratrol (from grape skins) to your regimen. Both send your body into survival mode, which can increase your lifespan and help maintain youthful-looking skin. But before you start drowning your liver in cabernet, know that the recommended 2500 mg per day requires 15 glasses of red wine.

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