The waterline is the strip of skin between your eyelashes and your eyeball. The easiest and most common waterline to line is the one on your lower lid.

But why would you want to use eyeliner to line it?

• It darkens around your eye without going below the lash line.
• It adds drama.
• It helps create a glamorous look.

Lining your lower waterline looks like this:

Since the waterline is so close to your eyeball though, you might be afraid to use eyeliner on it.

Luckily for you, I made a video to show you an easy and quick way to line the lower waterline without poking yourself in the eye.

Remember! You need an eyeliner that is both sticky and soft.

Are you ready to try lining your lower waterline?

The same goes for Q-tips. There’s a host of uses for them beyond just cleaning your ears.

So, I’ve come up with some cool ways to use the products to help you look and feel a whole lot more beautiful.

Here are four cool things you can do with Vaseline and Q-tips.

Cocoa Lip Exfoliation

I love the holidays, and hot cocoa is one of my many big pleasures. If you like cocoa too, you can use that yummy chocolatiness to exfoliate your lips.

Start with a glob of Vaseline. (Here’s a tip: use a Q-tip to take Vaseline out of the jar to keep the product clean.) Put the Vaseline on the back of your hand.

Mix a tiny bit of powdered cocoa to the Vaseline and mix with a Q-tip. I used Nestle Fat Free Hot Cocoa, just 20 calories per pouch.

Once mixed, rub it onto your lips. The granules in the cocoa will slough off dry skin. Wipe off excess from your lips. You’re left with soft lips with a yummy chocolate flavor.

And, as a bonus, you can make a nice hot cup of cocoa with the leftover powder.

Custom Blush Tint

Sick of your current blush colors? You can create your own cream blush with Vaseline and loose eye shadow.

Add some Vaseline to the back of your hand.

Then, mix in a pretty loose eye shadow shade. I used L’Oreal HiP Shocking Shadow Pigments in Fiery, a nice shimmery pink shadow. Ooooh, pretty.

Then just smooth the new color over the apples of your cheeks. The Vaseline will create a subtle, sheer color and will keep your skin moisturized and dewy.

Remove Makeup Mistakes

Ever make a mistake with your mascara or eyeliner? Instead of removing all of your makeup to fix the one small error, use a Q-tip to get rid of tiny mistakes.

Dip your Q-tip in makeup remover, squeeze out excess so it doesn’t drip, then use it to remove tiny imperfections.

There! Now you don’t have to start over.

This is also a good method if you have a lot of fallout from unruly eye shadow.

Soften Up Your Eyebrows

If you’ve ever used a brown pencil to fill in your eyebrows, you know how sharp the line can be. While that kind of bold drama has its place, it doesn’t always look good for day makeup or soft eye looks.

Instead of the pencil, dip a Q-tip (the pointed Precision Tips are best for this) into matte brown eye shadow or eyebrow powder.

Gently dab at your eyebrows to add soft color that isn’t as dramatic as the pencil.

As you can see, Vaseline and Q-tips can definitely do double-duty. Have any tips of your own? Add them to the comments. I’d love to hear them!

Disclosure: I was provided with Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly, Vaseline® Lip Therapy Original®, Q-tips® Precision Tips™, a $25 gift card and information about the products by RocketXL. All opinions are 100% my own.

If so, you’re in a makeup rut.

While it’s good to find what works for you, sticking with the same tired colors and techniques will make you bored, fast. And if you’re bored, so is everyone else.

But, don’t worry. Here are some tips to help you get out of that makeup rut.

5 Ways to Climb Out of That Makeup Rut

1. Choose an eye shadow color you’ve never tried before. There’s got to be some color in the rainbow that hasn’t graced your lids. Yellow, red, pink, orange…these are all awesome colors that don’t get enough use as eye shadows. Try them out!
2. Wear more on your eyes. Do you usually go light on your makeup? Today, apply a thicker eyeliner line, a darker crease eye shadow shade, or apply shadow to your lower lids as well. It doesn’t hurt to have a little drama now and then.
3. Wear less on your eyes. If you usually go bold for your makeup, give your look a break today. Apply only the bare minimum, such as a thin line of brown eyeliner and a sweep of brown mascara on the upper lashes.
4. Pucker those lips. If you’re used to a subtle mauve, peach or rose shade on your lips, go bold today. Find the boldest lipstick in your collection. You probably have a color you bought but never wore (don’t we all?). Try that!
5. Change with the seasons. Just as the weather grows colder, so should your makeup look. Stay out of the rut by adapting your makeup colors to the seasons. For winter, blues, plums and metallic gold and silver work great. Choose pastel pinks and greens for spring. Rock warm orange, yellow and red over the summer. Autumn is all about brown, rust and deep forest green.

No more makeup rut for you!

Original rut image copyright Dave Spicer and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

When you open up the box, you may be confused by the array of double-barreled syringes. I know I was. “How the heck do you use this stuff?”

Well, I thought I’d be the guinea pig for you. I tested this out and took pictures through the process. With the Brazilian Peel skills under my belt, it’s like I’m a pro now.

Be confused no longer! Here’s how you use the Brazilian Peel for shinier, healthier and hopefully-anti-aged skin.

How to Use Brazilian Peel

Start by washing your face. Get all of the day’s gunk and makeup off to reveal your naked skin.

Take one of the four syringes out of the box. You should use one per week.

Twist off the cap at the tip of the syringe. It only twists one way (counterclockwise) and comes off easily.

Press down on the plunger of the syringe so the goo from both barrels goes into the palm of your hand.

Rub your palms together to mix the different ingredients. The lotion warms instantly. Tingly!

Spread the Brazilian Peel mix over your slightly damp face starting at the top of your forehead and working it down onto your neck and chest. Avoid the eye area!

You’ll be nice and shiny.

Set a timer for 10 minutes and chill out. I read for a while (right now I’m reading “As You Wish” by Gabi Stevens).

As time goes by, your skin will feel tighter and slightly tingly—but not in a bad way.

Once the timer dings, rinse off your face with cool water. Rinse off all remaining peel and pat your face dry.

Done! Now all that’s left is some good moisturizer. If you did this during the day, put on some SPF, too. Protect yourself!

Well, that wasn’t so hard. Now you know how to rock the Brazilian Peel. Let me know how it goes!

See, most women think they can’t pull off red lips. They see other women wearing it and say, “Oh, I can’t do that.”

Guess what: you’re wrong.

Perhaps you really can wear red lipstick, but you’ve just been trying the wrong shade all this time.

I’m here to help you. Together, we’ll find the right shade of red lipstick based on your skin tone temperature.

If you already know your skin tone (cool or warm), then you can skip ahead. If not, it’s time to find your temperature:

How to Find Your Skin Tone Temperature

1. Flip your arm over so you have a good view of the underside of the forearm. Make sure you’re in good lighting. Daylight is best.
2. Have a look at the color of your skin. If you see undertones of yellow or orange, you’re warm-toned. If you have undertones of pink or blue, you’re cool-toned. (This applies to women of all ethnicities.)
3. Still not sure? Look at the veins running along your arm. Warm-toned gals will have a slight green tint to their veins. Cool-toned gals will have very blue, almost purple, veins.

Now that you know whether you’re warm or cool, it’s pretty easy to find the right shade of red lipstick.

For Warm-Toned Skin

Look for lipsticks with orange, yellow or golden hues. These shades will look best with your skin.

For Cool-Toned Skin

Pick up lipsticks with a blue base. The cooler shade will accent the coolness in your skin.

When in Doubt…

If you’re not sure if the red lipstick will look right on you, there are two things you can do:

1. Pick a shade of pure red that falls between the cool and warm categories. When you look at the color, you shouldn’t see a hue of orange or blue. Just pure, vibrant red. This shade should look good on most women, in theory. (This shade is also harder to find, but most good cosmetics companies have a true red somewhere in their lipstick line.)
2. Test it out. This works best if you’re at a department store’s cosmetics counter or at Sephora where you can test the lipsticks on site. Even if you’re at a drug store, you can purchase it to try at home and return it if it doesn’t work.When you test it on your lips, look at your skin and your teeth. Your skin should be vibrant and bright. Your teeth should look white (or as close to white as your teeth can get.) The wrong red lipstick will make you look sallow and your teeth yellow. No one wants that!

Done! If you follow these rules, you should be able to find a shade of red lipstick that looks amazing on you. You’re no longer one of those women who can’t pull it off. You’re one of those women to be envied. Congrats!

“The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise, and so was the greater diversity of bacteria we found on the hands of women…”

Besides bacteria, our hands are covered in dirt and oil.

Here’s my plea to you: quit touching your face!

That may seem like a weird thing to you, but you may be touching your face periodically throughout the day without realizing it. You could swipe your hand across your face to check for any stray food after lunch, or absent-mindedly pick at a newly formed zit.

Touching your face might…

• …irritate skin.
• …cause blemishes.
• …add smudges and dirt.
• …cause infections.
• …ruin your makeup.
• …remove important sunscreen.
• …reverse all the good stuff you do it it.

I bring this up because I’ve noticed myself touching my face a lot more lately. When I use a face mask and my face is nice and soft, I keep touching my face thinking, ”wow! so soft!”

So I say this just as much to myself as to you: stop touching your face!

Photo credit: D Sharon Pruitt

There are lots of things that affect whether you get a second date. Chemistry is a big deal. You also want to have the same interests and life goals.

Though those things are important, how you present yourself is a big deal.

Imagine getting to a first date and the guy is wearing dirty sweat pants, messy hair and smells like an outhouse. First of all, yuck. Secondly, even if you would normally get along extremely well, you would probably run for the door.

Looks matter.

Next time you have a first date, employ these tactics to improve your chance for getting to the second date:

5 Ways to Present Yourself on a First Date to Get to the Second

1. Dress for the occasion.

Find out ahead of time what you’re doing on the date. While a cocktail dress would look lovely at a nice restaurant, it would look out-of-place at an outdoor concert.

2. Test your outfit first.

Have you ever had a shirt that turned see-through in certain kinds of light? This happens a lot with skirts. If you bought a new outfit, wear it inside, under normal light or florescent, and out in daylight to see if it looks good in all situations. Bend over and check if you’re showing anything from behind. It’s probably not a good idea to show your naughty bits on a first date. He’ll get the wrong idea.

3. Lay off the dark lipstick.

Though you may look great in bright red lipstick, think about what you might be doing on a date. Would you want to kiss him if you like him? If yes, choose a less “out there” shade or go for a sheer lip gloss instead. You don’t want to leave him covered in red splotches.

4. Throw on some blush.

You want to seem warm, happy and inviting on a first date. Increase your chances of looking this way by throwing some rosy pink blush on the apples of your cheeks. Pick a sheer blush so you don’t look like you fell into a vat of it. A dusting is enough.

5. Limit perfume use.

A touch of fragrance can be nice, but if you’re swimming in it, your date will stay far away. Your date should be able to smell it when he’s right next to you, practically touching. If he can smell it from across the table, you’ve got problems. Who wants to eat a perfume-scented filet mignon?

Now you’re ready to charm the pants off of your date. You’ve just increased your chances of a second date by 5 points.

Oh, and don’t forget to smile!

You’ve no doubt noticed a steady stream of runners out at all hours of the day. They jog past you as you walk around a park or practically jump out at you while you’re driving down the street.

Guess what? I’m becoming one of them! Sort of, anyway. There’s this jogging plan called Couch to 5K (C25K) where it helps you go from never jogging (me) to being able to run a 5K race in 9 weeks. They even have an iPhone/iPod Touch app that prompts you to “run” or “walk” or “cooldown” while you listen to your music. Yeah, I’ve got that.

Today, as I was alternating between 60 seconds jogging and 90 seconds walking, I got to thinking about the way us joggers (I’m one of you now!) present ourselves. Sure, it shouldn’t matter how you look because you’re just getting sweaty anyway. Then again…

Top Reasons to Get Cute While You Jog

• You might just be running past your future husband.
• People from work/school/chess club could be driving past.
• James McAvoy (or some other sexy famous person) could see you and immediately want to marry you IF you look adorable.
• If you get injured, you’ll at least look adorable on a gurney at the hospital.
• Because it’s fun.

Luckily, being cute while you jog isn’t too tough. It just takes a little planning and just a dash of makeup.

How to Look Cute While Jogging/Running

1. Wear a Sports Bra

You have big boobs? Great! That’s doesn’t mean you should get two black eyes while you run. Nothing looks less adorable than an unsupported chest. Go get a sports bra. I’m large-chested, and I was actually able to find a sports bra with an underwire. Nice!

2. Color Coordinate

You can’t go running in a flouncy sequined dress. It’s just not in the cards. Stick to traditional workout clothes, but try to color coordinate your outfit. Try dark fuchsia running shorts and a light pink t-shirt. Or how about some purple workout pants and a muted yellow tank top? Also, avoid clothes with rips and stains. Not cute.

3. Slather on Some SPF

Sunburns both hurt and look bad. The same goes for skin cancer. Put on sunscreen on your face and body. You have no excuse.

4. Wear an Adorable Hat

If you go for long runs, your scalp is susceptible to a nasty sunburn. Since it’s hard to use sunscreen on your scalp, wear a hat instead. It’ll also shield the sun from your eyes. Go for something adorable yet functional.

5. Use Brown Eyeliner

This is optional, but if you really want to throw out the cute, add a thin line of brown eyeliner to your top lid only. Pick gel liner that doesn’t smudge easily, especially if your face sweats a lot.

6. Wear Brown Mascara

Brown mascara is understated enough that you won’t look like a tramp, yet dark enough to make your eyes look bigger and prettier. If you want a bit more drama, choose brown black mascara instead. Keep it just on your top lashes.

7. Use Tinted Lip Gloss with SPF

Your lips need protection too, so get a lip gloss or balm with SPF. Even better, choose one that’s glossy or that has a slight pink or peach tint. Bring it with you on your run so you can reapply if the sun or wind dries out your lips.

8. Smile

Nothing makes you look better than a smile. Some people get stuck scowling when they run. Every block or so, remind yourself to smile, even if no one is watching.

9. Say Hi to Everyone

Say hello to everyone you pass, whether they’re another jogger, a walker, a cyclist or a mom pushing a stroller. If they have their headphones on, give them a cheery nod or a little wave. A friendly person is infinitely more adorable than someone who’s put up a social brick wall.

Do you jog? How do you like it? Do you have any extra advice for being adorable while you run? Say it in the comments!

Photo credit: Ed Yourdon

Goal

Day 5 of the 10 Days to Ultimate Beauty is all about your outer layer of beauty.

You can put on all the makeup you want, but if you don’t have nice skin underneath, it won’t matter. To be as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside, you need to work on your skin.

Having good skin also makes you look better without makeup, which is always a plus.

Developing a Skin Care Routine

Your daily skin routine consists of two parts: Morning and Night. Although each routine is similar, there are some differences. Here is a general routine for each time of day with the kinds of products you’d use for each:

Morning

1. Wash your face with cleanser. Look for gentle cleansers that address your facial concerns. There are products for dry skin, oily skin, pore minimization and anything else you can thing of.
2. Put on light moisturizer with SPF. You’ll need the extra skin protection throughout the day. Depending on your skin type, your morning moisturizer should be just thick enough to add a layer of moisture. Try not to go much thicker as it will effect how your makeup is applied and could make you look greasy.

Night

1. Use makeup remover to get rid of your shadow, mascara and other beauty products. Pick makeup remover without alcohol, especially if you have dry skin. (Pick up some cotton squares/balls to help remove makeup with this product.)
2. Wash your face with cleanser. You can use the same product that you used in the morning.
3. Use a heavy moisturizer. Since you’ll be going straight to bed, your skin can handle a thicker moisturizer than in the morning. When you wake up, your skin will be quenched and soft.

For your body, look for an all over body lotion that smells great and that smoothes out the dryer patches of skin at your elbows, knees and ankles. Apply this whenever you want, although it’s easiest after you shower and towel off.

Assignment Day 5: Purchase the four essential products listed above: cleanser, day moisturizer, night moisturizer and makeup remover. Develop your skin care routine and follow it every day, morning and night. After a few weeks, you’ll notice that your skin is softer and brighter. You may even notice a reduction in wrinkles or dark circles.

Extra Credit: In the main part of the assignment, you get the skin care basics. If you’re up for the challenge, get some of the extras. If you have oily skin and huge pores, pick up astringent and apply it after cleanser and before lotion. If you have acne problems, try a few different acne treatments until you find the one that clears up your skin best. Afraid of aging? Pick up the anti-aging versions of your morning and nighttime moisturizers.

How’s your daily skin care routine? Do you follow it religiously? Do you ever fall asleep with your makeup on? Tell me in the comments!

If you prefer your natural looks to the overly colorful makeup looks hawked on beauty sites (including this one) and in magazines, that doesn’t mean you need to avoid makeup entirely.

Just a little bit of makeup can turn your naturally beautiful face into a masterpiece without making you look like you fell head-first into a pile of cosmetics. Add these five items to your essential makeup kit.

1. Blush

Apply a sheer, slightly shimmery blush to the apples of your cheeks. Pick a blush shade that is similar to your own skin-tone and color. Light pinks and peaches are a good choice. Powder blushes look best in colder months while cream blushes work great in the summer. Try Nars The Multiple cream-to-powder makeup stick or Make Up For Ever Powder Blush.

2. Natural-Toned Eye Shadow

Use a natural-toned eye shadow to lighten your lid or to blend in other colors into your shadow look. Pick an eye shadow color that is just a shade or two lighter than your natural skin color. You can also use this lighter shade as a highlighter by applying it to the inside corner of your eye and on your brow bone right under the curve of your eyebrow. This will brighten up and enlarge your eyes. Try Revlon Matte Eye Shadow or one of several skin-toned shades from the Elite Pro Cosmetics 88 Eye Shadow Palette.

3. Brown Eyeliner

Eyeliner makes your eyes look larger and more beautiful. Forgo dark, harsh eye liner shades by choosing a brown liner. Retractable, gel liners apply easier that the traditional pencil variety. Apply a line of brown liner to the top lid from the outside corner to a centimeter or two from the inside corner. Even a thin line will improve the look of your eyes. Try L’Oreal Pencil Perfect Eyeliner or Stila Kajal Eye Liner in a brown shade.

4. Brown Mascara

Much like the eyeliner, a brown mascara will make your eyes look better without adding too much drama or making you look unnatural. Most mascara companies have a brown or brown-black shade. Apply this mascara to your top lashes. If you want a slightly dramatic look, apply it to your lower lashes as well. Dior DiorShow Mascara and BareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara both have brown shades.

5. Natural-Toned Lipstick

Lip-stick doesn’t have to look harsh or dramatic. Choose a lipstick shade that is very similar to the natural color of your lips. Applying this color will even out the tone of your lips and add just a bit more beauty while keeping you looking natural. I recommend lipstick instead of lip gloss because the ultra glossiness of lip gloss can detract from your natural beauty. Still, use what you prefer. I recommend Max Factor Vivid Impact Lipcolor or Givenchy Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick in a shade close to your natural lip color.

Use any and all of these beauty products to improve your looks while keeping you natural. Although you can employ the full list of products at once, this isn’t necessary. Instead, you could wear the lipstick and blush during a date and the mascara and liner at work. Makeup is all about experimenting!

Did you know that you could apply eye shadow wet as an eyeliner? I’ve been using this technique in several of my Face of the Days, including my St. Patrick’s Day look and Preen.

Check out this Makeup Files video tutorial to learn the technique:

In this video, I used:

• Elite Pro Cosmetics 88 Eye Shadow Palette
• Cover Girl LashBlast Fusion Mascara

How did you like my first video tutorial?

Do you ever apply eye shadow wet as an eyeliner?

Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Luckily, you can clean your makeup brushes on a regular basis so they apply makeup just as if they were new. This will also get rid of harmful bacteria that may be living in your brushes as well.

I suggest washing the brushes you use most often at least once a week. Wash them sooner if they have a lot of product build-up. For brushes used less often, aim for washing them out every few weeks.

This method works for all bristled makeup brushes, whether for lips, foundation, eye shadow or concealer.

What You’ll Need

You don’t need much to clean your makeup brushes. Gather up…

• Dirty makeup brushes
• Cleaning fluid
• Clean water

You have a lot of options for cleaning fluid. I use antibacterial soft soap. Others use baby shampoo. There are also brush cleaning fluids made by beauty companies such as Sephora Daily Brush Cleaner or Japonesque Professional Brush Cleaner.

Just make sure that you choose something delicate and simple without harsh chemicals. If the soap can be used on your face, it can be used on your brushes.

Cleaning Your Makeup Brushes

Now it’s time to get started!

1. Put a small dab of cleaning fluid in the palm of your hand.
2. Run your dirty brush under the tap or dip it in a cup of clean water.
3. Gently swirl the brush in your palm, mixing the water with the soap.
4. Rinse the brush and swirl it in your palm again.
5. Rinse thoroughly until the water dripping from your brush runs clear.
6. Squeeze out any excess water from the makeup brush bristles and set it down so the bristles aren’t touching any surface.
7. Let dry. This may take a few hours.

Once the brush is dry, you’re ready to use it all over again!

How often do you wash your brushes?

I first learned about applying eye shadow wet when I looked at the back of one of my eye shadows and it said, “apply wet or dry.” I wondered what that even meant. They didn’t teach wet eye shadow application in school, after all. At least not at the non-cosmetology schools I went to.

After some experimentation and research, I’ve been able to successfully create looks by applying my eye shadow wet. While I still prefer applying it dry the old fashioned way, having this extra option really opens up how many makeup looks I can do during the week.

Applying eye shadow wet will give you more vibrant and brighter colors than the same look applied dry. Want to learn how to apply eye shadow wet? Then follow along:

What You Need

Before we get started, you’ll need to arm yourself with a few beauty essentials.

• Clean water. Position yourself near a sink or fill up a small cup with water.
• Soft, stiff-bristled brush. Brushes with less-hard bristles will become floppy and useless when coated with water, so go with something stiffer.
• Eye shadow that’s wet-approved. Not all eye shadow can be applied wet. This is mostly the case with cheaper, inexpensive brands. Look on the back of your eye shadow to see if it can be used wet. If it doesn’t say there, look on the product website as well. If you don’t look ahead of time, you may end up ruining your eye shadow.

That’s it. You don’t need any special product. Some people use a mixing medium instead of straight up water, but that’s a cost that you don’t need to spend.

1. Wet the Brush

When you apply eye shadow wet, you wet the brush and not the eye shadow.

Dip your brush into a cup or stream of clean water. take it out and squeeze the excess water out into a clean facial tissue.

How wet your brush is can vary based on the look you want. For the best blending, make sure that it is slightly damp, but not soaked. Experiment with varying levels of wetness to find the right one for you.

2. Rub the Brush in the Eye Shadow

When working with pressed eye shadow, rub the wet brush into the color. Check the brush head to see if you have enough shadow. When working with loose pigment, gently dip the brush into the powder until there is a small amount on the bristles. A wet brush will pick up more color than a dry brush.

Once you’re satisfied with how much color you have on your brush, it’s time to apply it to your eyelid.

3. Apply the Eye Shadow

Rub the color onto your eye much like you would with traditional dry shadow. You’ll soon find that blending is different when applying eye shadow wet. You’ll be adding color in layers rather than truly blending it together.

The application may take some getting used to. Practice with different eye looks in order to get better at blending wet eye shadow.

Rinse out your brush after every eye shadow color so you’re starting with pure color every time. Once you’re done, you will have layers of color that’s more vibrant than when you applied it dry.

Example Wet Eye Shadow Looks

Here, I applied Urban Decay eye shadow wet from the Eyeshadow Ammo Shadow Box. You can see the progression below:

It’s smoky and dark with some silvery shine.

Here, you can see a brighter, colorful look also applied wet using the Elite Pro Cosmetics 88 Eye Shadow Palette:

As long as your shadow says it can be applied wet, you can create any look you want.

Wet-Approved Eye Shadows

Wondering if your eye shadow can be applied wet? Here’s a small list of shadows that you can definitely use for these looks.

• Elite Pro Cosmetics 88 Eye Shadow Palette, or from any of the other various brands that sell this palette.
• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Ammo Shadow Box.
• Stila Charmed Eye Shadow Palette.
• Any MAC Cosmetics Eye Shadow, both pressed powder and loose pigment.

If you know of any other eye shadows that have been proven to work when applied wet, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

Are you exfoliating your lips regularly? Well you should!

5 Reasons You Should be Exfoliating Your Lips

1. It’s easy. You don’t have to do anything special. Just include the step next time you exfoliate your face. The same stuff you use there can also be used on your lips. Or you could pick up a dedicated lip exfoliator like Philosophy Kiss Me Exfoliating Lip Scrub or Benefit Lipscription.
2. Exfoliated lips give a smooth surface for lip stick. Lip stick will glide on smoother and look better than if you hadn’t exfoliated. You want your lip stick to look good, right?
3. It gets rid of dead skin. Dead skin is yuck. Seriously. Exfoliating renews the skin on your lips and removes the peeling dry skin that can cling to unexfoliated lips.
4. It gets rid of makeup residue. Having a hard time getting rid of that lip stain with a traditional makeup remover? Have no fear. Exfoliate. The little beads will rub your old makeup away.
5. It makes you kissable. Just watch. Once you exfoliate your lips, that guy you’ve had your eye on will be all about it. Or at least there’s a higher chance of that happening anyway.

See? There’s no reason not to exfoliate.

Be cautious, though. If you overdo it, you could damage your pucker. Be gentle when rubbing away your lip impurities.

Late winter and spring are good times to start self tanning if you’re interested in browner skin. While self tanning is much safer than hitting the tanning booth, there are some drawbacks to this method.

Mainly, sunless tanner can cause streaks if you’re not careful. It can also cause darker patches and orange-tinted skin. Though there are preventative methods to avoid this from happening, there are also techniques to fix a tan that totally went out of whack.

Exfoliation

Noticed some dark spots on your knees or streaks on your hands? Exfoliation can help!

There are typically 3 ways to exfoliate away the messed up parts of your sunless tan:

1. Use a washcloth, loofah or shower pouf to rub away at your skin.
2. Use a exfoliating lotion with little granules that scrub away your skin.
3. Use a combination of both.

Try body scrubs like BODY Sugar Body Scrub by Sephora.

When exfoliating, just make sure that you don’t over do it. If your skin feels raw and painful, you’ve gone too far. Be careful or you could damage your skin permanently.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice has been used as a lightener for ages. Women have put it in their hair at the beach to create lightened streaks. You can also use it on your skin to lighten up a botched sunless tan.

1. Squeeze a lemon into a small cup or pour some previously purchased lemon juice.
2. Dip a cotton square or ball into the juice and soak it up.
3. Rub the lemon-soaked cotton on the offending area.
4. Wash off your skin and moisturize.

This method works best for small tanning mistakes, such as dark spot around your fingers or wrist. If you want to get rid of your entire tan, you’d have to go through a lot of lemons. Use a different method instead.

Tan Removers

Beauty companies have realized how often we mess up our sunless tans. Many companies have come out with tan removers, including ModelCo Tan Remover Exfoliating Scrub and Tanwise Exfoliating Self Tan Remover.

Since these products can be a bit pricey, use them as a last resort. Try cheaper methods like lemon juice or traditional exfoliation first to see if that does the trick.

Wait it Out

Still have some dark spots even after trying everything above? That’s too bad.

But guess what? A self tan will eventually fade. It may take a week or two, but before long, you’re botched tan will go unnoticed. Though it may be embarrassing at the moment, just remember that it will be gone before you know it.

Photo credit: Evil Erin