By Tamlyn Cumings
Say goodbye to hours struggling to get the perfect line, only to have to wipe it all off and start again…
Using one (or a few!) of these super genius eyeliner tricks makes it easy!
Why is it that when you’re already pressed for time on your way out, you can never just nail your eyeliner?
Thankfully, there are ways to simplify this often-dreaded make-up step that will make applying eyeliner easier, and you’ll be out the door in a matter of seconds!
1. Know your make-up!
There are different types of eyeliners, namely pencil, gel and liquid, and they all have different consistencies, making some more difficult to apply than others. Word of caution: if you’re a rookie, stay away from the liquid liner! Pencil liner is usually more forgiving if you don’t have a steady hand.
2. Keep it sharp
You’re making your life exponentially more difficult if you’re trying to do the job with a blunt pencil, so be your own friend and keep it sharp (and no, it shouldn’t hurt your eye… if it does, you’re doing it wrong!)
3. Lean on me!
To help steady your hand, position yourself so that you can lean your elbow on something when you are applying your eyeliner. Balance your pinky finger on your cheek and glide your hand along – that wonky line should be gone!
4. Cheat it
If you don’t trust yourself to get it right free-handed, enlist the help of one of your other beauty tools: your eyelash curler. Simply draw a line with your eyeliner pencil on the part of your curler that touches your upper lash line, and then curl your lashes as you normally would. The pencil should transfer onto your eyelid, leaving you with a perfectly straight line.
5. Join the dots
To make your life easier, start by drawing a bunch of dots or lines (depending on the type of applicator you are using) along your upper lid, just above your lash line. Next, join your dots or lines. They should help you achieve a straighter, more even line as you can see where you’re heading.
6. Stop pulling!
Most people pull the skin on the sides of their eyes tighter in order to get a sleeker line, but then when the skin is let loose, the line is no longer quite where it was. If you need the skin tighter, try focusing your eye on the opposite side; in other words, when you’re lining the inside of your eye, look towards the outside. It takes practice, but we believe in you!
7. Enlist some help for your cat eye
Ah – the cat eye. It looks fabulous, but it combines liquid liner and a flick. And as if doing one wasn’t hard enough, you have to do it all over again on the other side and make it look the same!
In order to get your flicks even, use an old bank card or piece of paper (or something similar) to trace along. Line it up with your bottom lid so that you’re getting the same angle on both sides, and end at a pre-marked point that you draw on beforehand. Easy as that!
8. Remember: make-up isn’t permanent!
When all else fails, remove it and start again. Make-up remover, petroleum jelly, clear lip gloss or even water on a cotton bud will allow you to easily remove the blunder without having to take off all of your eye make-up. Dab a bit of eyeshadow in the spot and cover up with concealer if necessary and start again.
4 Things You Do That Cause Serious Damage To Your Natural Hair
By Happiness Udo
Great hair needs great care. No one would deny the fact that they want a healthy and lengthy hair. But managing a natural Afro kinky hair can be very frustrating when it’s not properly taken care of.
You might be wondering why your hair is dry and brittle. Naturally, hair doesn’t come weak but it can get damaged if you don’t maintain it properly.
Here are 4 reasons why your natural hair is damaged
1. LITTLE OR NO WASH: A dirty hair can prevent growth because the dirt blocks the follicle which makes it so hard for your hair to grow. So don’t be deceived when people say not washing your hair helps it grow faster because it doesn’t.
2. USING THE WRONG SHAMPOO: Stores are filled with shampoos that are bad for your natural hair. Most normal shampoos can wreak havoc because they are drying and can lead to unwanted frizz which in turn causes your hair to lose it’s curl. Therefore purchase a shampoo meant for natural hair and made with natural products.
3. NO HYDRATION: Hydration means water and the only way to get water in your hair is by dampening or wetting the hair. Water is a requirement for curls because they need moisture to be healthy.
4. NOT LUBRICATING: There are a lot of products such as natural oils including coconut oil and argan oil, that can be used as lubricant for your hair. Without lubrication the hair becomes dry and brittle. To avoid breakage and damage, lubricate your strands as this makes detangling very easy.
Your Pores Can’t Be Shrunk, Erased Or Unclogged – But Here’s What You Can Do
by: Marie Claire
Want smaller pores?
I’m about to say something that’s probably going to get me in trouble (apologies in advance to my editor): most skincare marketing is total bullshit. Yup, I’ve said it – let the beauty gods strike me down.
But it’s true.
Somewhere down the line, back when it was considered improper to mention pimples and periods and pus in advertisements, the beauty world developed a bunch of euphemisms to talk about skincare (ie products that ‘clean’, ‘erase’ and ‘beautify’). And even though it’s been a roughly cool 100 years since then, the lingo has stayed virtually the same, resulting in weekly texts from friends asking me how to ‘unclog’ their pores or ‘get rid’ of them altogether. And here’s the simple, annoying, hard truth: you can’t.
You cannot erase your pores, unclog your pores or remove your pores. Nor can you sand them down, scrub them off or empty them out. You can’t even shrink them into oblivion. ‘The number of pores you have, along with the size of each pore, is genetically determined,’ says Dr Mona Gohara, a medical doctor and assistant clinical professor at Yale. ‘The only way to really affect their appearance would be to unwind your DNA.’
Which, lemme be clear, is impossible. And any product that promises you anything different is, most likely, lying.
‘The idea that you can “get rid of” the stuff in your pores is kind of a fallacy,’ says Dr Gohara. ‘People have this notion that their pores are large because they’re overstuffed with gunk, and they think if they remove that gunk, their pores will deflate and disappear.’ But unfortunately, that’s straight-up wrong. And if you’re reading this right now with a pore strip pressed firmly across your nose and your middle finger raised high in the air (ahem, Allison), then I’m not about to make you any happier.
Because (*takes breath*) pore strips don’t actually help your pores. In fact, they’re pretty damn irritating. ‘All you’re doing is ripping off the top layer of your epidermis, which damages your skin barrier, creating inflammation, excess oil production and even more blackheads,’ says Dr Gohara. As for all of those spiky mountains of gunk you see on the strip after you rip it off, they’re mainly just some natural oils and keratin – ie not the stuff you’re actually trying to remove.
‘You think you’re getting the contents out of your pores when you squeeze them, scrub them or rip them off, but you’re really just skimming off the top,’ says Dr Gohara. ‘Your pores are like a bottle of soda – all these products do is take off the cap, rather than empty the whole bottle, so you’re still left with a clogged pore.’
That being said, there are some things you can do to slightly reduce the size and appearance of your pores, though don’t expect any Photoshop-level miracles. ‘It is true that oilier skin types tend to have larger pores than drier skin types, because excess oil in your pores can stretch them out,’ she says. So, logically, if you reduce the oil, you’ll reduce the visibility.
The quickest way to dissolve some of the gunk in your pores is with a chemical peel (administered by your dermatologist, not by you and that shady stuff you bought off Google). The skin-friendly acids found in a chemical peel are lipophilic – ie oil loving – so they’re able to really penetrate the skin and dissolve dead skin cells, oils and bacteria. They won’t empty the whole soda bottle, so to speak, but they’ll give you the closest thing to an ‘unclogged’ pore as possible, which, in turn, can make your pores less visible.
If you absolutely insist on DIY, though, you can try your hand at an at-home peel, like Neogen Dermalogy Bio-Peel Pads in Wine, which are pre-soaked pads infused with natural fruit acids that gently work to break down the oils in your pores. Just rub one over your clean, dry T-zone twice a week, wait a minute and then rinse and apply your moisturiser as usual. You can also incorporate a retinol into your nightly routine (I love Algenist Retinol Firming & Lifting Serum), which, along with smoothing your fine lines, will also amp up your collagen production to slightly tighten pores.
Or, you can just accept that your pores are a permanent part of your beautiful little face, and that there’s zero reason for you to feel compelled to eradicate them from the world. You know – whatever’s easier.