Archive for February 2009

Book Review : Staging Your Comeback

February 26, 2009

The full title of Christopher Hopkins’ book is Staging Your Comeback : A Complete Beauty Revival For Women Over 45.

If you don’t know the book by Hopkins (a.k.a. The Makeover Guy), you have several hours of hugely enjoyable reading and thinking ahead of you. It recognizes our particular needs in a terribly honest way. He’s not too big with indulgence either, the talk is straight up, as in “ …you are not the right temperament for hair color.” Fun moments abound.

You will read some pretty raw admissions (“I am no longer interested in attention from men.”). The makeovers begin with 12 mommies and grannies, women way out at one end of the I-let-myself-go spectrum. He’s got every Before stereotype covered and achieves 12 remarkable transformations.

Check out the Befores right here. See you in about an hour.

Christopher proves that it’s not only certain men and women who can be more attractive than ever as they age. It’s all of us. Every single one. We make excuses for why we don’t care what we look like but the only result is to further and further weaken ourselves.

Nobody cares how old you think you look. We all know that’s a choice. If you don’t want it to be that way anymore, this is the guy to help take you through a transition.He has vision and imagination. There is so much that can be done before you even think about seeing a dermatologist for Botox or fillers. It doesn’t cost that much money. You use face cream anyhow, right? You do get haircuts, don’t you? We all go out in sweats and sneakers sometimes but there are a thousand small differences that matter.

What I love about this book:

1. The women are real. They’re not suspiciously gifted with wonderful skin or fabulous eyes just waiting to be revealed. You know me. I have little use for anything that’s not Real World, unless it’s meant as an entertaining diversion.

2. He’s brutally honest about what age does to bodies but still respects and enjoys the company and confusion of older women. You also know that I love aging, which I see as an opening of doors. And I love older women and their mind-blowing and completely unrecognized (especially by themselves) potential.

3. There doesn’t appear to be any Photoshopping going on, at least not too obviously. A beauty book with a pixel of Photoshop is rendered useless, IMO. Right away, the whole thing is out of reach.

4. He really really gets how to wear clothes, not just for aging but for all body types. Here’s one I never knew, but it’s obvious when he says it as all correct ideas are : The tighter your sleeves, the bigger your chest. OK, I can use that.

5. The pictures are bona fide, cringe-worthy renditions of the I’m-too-busy/old/young/comfortable/ugly/hot – to care. They are not forgiving or concealing anything. I got a few jolts because I think I saw me.

6. He’s not trying to get you to spend useless money. Quite the opposite actually. One of my favorite lines, “In the beauty industry, live and learn is taboo. Forget and buy is the name of the profit game.”

7. It’s comprehensive. The clothes, shoes, bra, buttons, hair, makeup, nail polish… all covered. He hits on every cliché and has noticed every detail.

8. The hair chapter is outstanding. If there’s anything that we all get wrong in every conceivable way, and that ages us the most, it’s hair. He covers it all, from color to cut, with a very comprehensive discussion of the very common problem of thinning hair.

9. He’s heard every comeback. He’ll tell you your fears before you tell him. Your objections get pretty weak when they’re No. 5 and 8 on the Exposing Your Excuses list.

10. His goal is to give you things you can do yourself. He just wants you to see differently, where seeing yourself is the hardest thing of all. He’s never showing himself off.

11. He’s funny. I spewed my smoothie on the line about the biscuits.

12. He can be brutally honest, ( I know I said that already) , almost sarcastic, in trying to get these women to see that they are so much more than they believe. Your best friend can say things nobody else can, not strangers or family, because you know he/she loves you and you can entrust him/her to take care of your feelings. Nothing is held back.

13. He doesnt’ see what is. He see what is possible. Possibility is what it is all about. Learning, change, it’s all in honor of what is possible. And there are very few limits.

See the man himself on YouTube.

He says his frustration with makeovers is that women don’t continue to practice what they learned, they just go back to the familiar. It may be because the transformation is too much of a leap to adjust to, too much like a fantasy. It can’t be incorporated into the woman’s life fast enough, so it just gets forgotten like a dream or a week on a Carribean island. Even I couldn’t maintain myself in the After Pics and I already use all this stuff. If you presently wear no makeup but would like to try, you’ll need a friend who knows how to do this or a makeup artist. Ask around. Book a private appointment, not a MAC counter on a Saturday afternoon.

Another reason women don’t stay with the changes is the time it takes. I don’t know about you but my tightest commodity is time. Change does take time. It takes trial and error and error and error too. So take on one thing at a time, and pretty soon, you’re in a whole new place, looking back and thinking “That WAS me but it isn’t me anymore.”

He writes a blog. I liked this post on aging. Considering the world of appearance that he lives in, he finds a good balance.

His personal experience with plastic surgery, the new addiction, and how easy to go a little too far with just a little more is here.

Enter the Sweepstakes to win a makeover with him!! for US residents only (how could they?).

We’re not trying to look 21. Or 31. We’re trying to look like fantastic 40’s , 50’s , and beyond. OK, maybe a fantastic 60 does look 50, but not 30!!

Sometimes the way you look IS what’ s holding you back. It’s not a symbol of the shallowness and superficiality of our world. This is completely internal. The whole thing is happening inside yourself. It’s your message to your subconscious that you’re slowing down, that you don’t see yourself or your future as worth the effort. If you believe the future looks just like the present, why expend the energy?

What you believe about the world makes it the way it is for you. If you can sincerely say “I like my life and I don’t want anything to be different, ever, not one single thing”, then you’re doing fine. Otherwise, change starts with you. You don’t have to see or know the endpoint. You don’t have to absorb the entire scope of possibility immediately. You are just signaling your subconscious that you’re changing your brain waves. It will get it. It works for every human being and it will work for you. It never doesn’t work.

If you look like you can take on more, this could be the first step in convincing yourself that it’s true. We’ve all seen (or been) the woman who got an amazing haircut but didn’t keep it because she couldn’t match her personality to that cut. Certain behaviors accompany, and are expected of, certain appearances. Amazing, subtle, and true.

Everyone else automatically believes what you believe about you - I mean, what your subconscious believes. You can strut all you like; if your subsconscious has doubts, that’s what others will hear. Can you know ahead of time where the break in the clouds will happen? No, that’s not part of the deal. All you’re doing is saying “I want the cloud cover to lift. I’m ready to think about a new chance.”

By the end of the book, you feel like you’ve travelled a little journey of empowerment with these women. He has given them back so much pride in themselves. In the After pics, they’re laughing and moving and playing in ways they probably never would have again.

-->

If you don’t know the book by Hopkins (a.k.a. The Makeover Guy), you have several hours of hugely enjoyable reading and thinking ahead of you. It recognizes our particular needs in a terribly honest way.
The makeovers begin with 12 mommies and grannies, women way out at one end of the I-let-myself-go spectrum. He’s got every Before stereotype covered and achieves 12 remarkable transformations.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Great Hair, Happiness, Makeup | 10 Comments

When Anger Is The Easiest Way

February 23, 2009

I used to be a very angry person. I wasted two years or so on allowing a poisonous emotion to get hold of me. How embarrassing.

Finding strength in anger

It wasn’t trivial. I think the culmination was that we were forced to sell our farm, and a great deal more besides. I was furious with the world for having taken away what my husband had taken 18 hours a day for 25 years to accomplish. I felt sorry for him. I was afraid that we would lose our home. I felt sorry for myself, plain and simple.

Anger is easier than confusion, fear, and hurt. It gives you enormous strength. It was also the easiest reaction, the “all-about-me “ comeback. Maybe it came from exhaustion. You don’t always have the energy to devise imaginative solutions. It’s easier to pretend that you’re born with a certain personality and you can’t control it, any more than where your freckles are.

It becomes a habit, part of your self-identity. It becomes too comfortable. It’s your crutch, always there when you need it, just waiting for you to call. It’s your new security blanket.

Defining point

Eventually, I refused to recognize that anything good could happen. If it did, I’d feel compelled to add some grudge comment like “Well, it won’t last”.

I had to reach for some kind of other feeling. We all know what that angry woman looks like, inside and out. Sometimes she’s very young. She trusts no one. She’s easily provoked. She’s quick to assign blame and can find fault anywhere. She looks for things to flare over so she can keep the fire stoked. Once the flame starts to go down, the fear of having to take a close look at herself is too destabilizing.

We have watched that too many times and seen what it does to her. It wears her down, keeps her alone, and kills her slowly. I recognize this woman now because I used to be her. It’s like writing about being a teenager… I remember it but I can’t fully understand anymore. When I meet her, I don’t know how to help her.

Anger became her relief valve (and her revenge valve) on a world that didn’t come through. Now, she’s worn out from fighting all the time, though her opponent is usually herself. She drains others of energy because she can’t contain all her anger and some sneaks out irrationally now and again. People are careful around her, and pretty soon, they sidestep coming round at all. She keeps them on eggshells to avoid her nasty remarks. She learned that power play so she got treated gently and her fragility was respected.

If she’s not mad at the world for failing her, then she’s mad at everyone around her for not doing what she thinks they should. Internal conversations are bent on getting them to see things her way. She imagines the world is trying to hone in on the remains of her little piece of the pie and she’s going to protect it if it kills her.

Releasing

I had to choose. It takes big energy to maintain that level of bitterness and exclude all that is good in the world. I was becoming someone I didn’t want to be. Rage excuses habits in the treatment of others that discredits Your Deeper Self, the real you. Feeding fury is self-defeating.

I forced myself to think about what was good. I didn’t begin seeing much of it but there was always something. For a year, all I said was “There’s food in the fridge, the house is heated, the family is fine. I have everything I need.”

This goes beyond composure and restraint. Serenity comes from a deeper spring where no time is given to judging whether the world meets our expectations. We all worry about something but this moment, right now, is sufficient.

We know that angry woman. Don’t be her. Anger and disappointment are the most aging things out there.

Every hand’s a winner and every hand’s a loser. It just depends what you do with it.

-->

We have watched that angry woman too many times and seen what it does to her. It wears her down, keeps her alone, and kills her slowly. I recognize this woman now because I used to be her. It’s like writing about being a teenager… I remember it but I can’t fully understand anymore. When I meet her, I don’t know how to help her.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Happiness | 8 Comments

Demo : Online Color Analysis

February 20, 2009

No personal appearance tool can compete with getting your colors right every time.

You can have any amount of style and the best genetics in existence. If you don’t get your colors right, you will NEVER EVER be your best you. Not in appearance and not psychologically. When a woman has the right colors on, she carries herself completely differently, whether she knows it or not. Her demeanor snaps into place. It takes a whole lot more to rock her and the message comes through loud and clear.

It is in entirely within your power and budget to NEVER make a wrong clothing, makeup, or hair color choice again. To ALWAYS wear the most gorgeous colors on you when shopping for evening clothes.

The color systems are no less true for men. Power dressing will never be possible till you get your colors right. Men spend serious money on their suits and expect to wear them for years. A Winter man in a pea green shirt or a dusty grey suit – that mistake cost him in impression and in cash. None of this is lost on the other men in the workplace though they may not be able to articulate the hesitation. You either look sharp or you look dull. And if this is a good gift for a woman, it is such a good gift for a man, it hurts. They would NEVER take the time to figure this out and following it has to be easy, but they’re the ones who want to make the power impressions foremost.

You met Lora Alexander back in Sites To Know : Pretty Your World.

Lora Alexander

This is the age of the internet, the most accessible teaching tool there has ever been.

Watch Lora do an analysis of me. I filled out the questionnaire on her site . I sent her the pictures you see below, and a few others so she could choose the most useful.

First some general notes from Lora that apply to all Color Analyses:

1. All photos will help me get a general idea of your coloring…depth, intensity, etc. The more photos the better. Even if some are not in the greatest light, or you are wearing a hair color that you later changed, all pictures will help me analyze your coloring. The critical ones are the plain-faced photos (no makeup) in sunlight, and the close-up of your eyes. It is also helpful to send in some photos of you in a color you think suits you, or in several colors.

2. The plain-faced pictures will help me see any obvious undertones in your skin as well as any freckles. The sun reveals the “true” coloring of the skin. Any other light could alter colors dramatically.

3. The very first thing I look for is an obvious sign of one of the six dominant characteristics: Deep, Light, Warm, Cool, Soft or Clear. “Deeps” usually are the easiest to spot. “Soft” is the most difficult, because they can also be a “Light” and it gets more difficult to analyze.

An example of an obvious “Warm” celebrity is Clay Aiken. The first thing you notice (if he hadn’t died his hair a brown color) is his red hair and freckles. Danny Bonaduce ( remember Danny on The Partridge Family?) is another obvious Warm. So the first step for me is looking for that OBVIOUS dominant characteristic. If I don’t see one, and that happens more times than not, then I will automatically eliminate the seasons that they OBVIOUSLY are NOT.

Using Jennifer Aniston for an example, I can eliminate Deep, Light (she’s ‘light’, but not Gwyneth Paltrow “light”). Neither Warm or Cool are blatant characteristics on her. I don’t see a Cameron Diaz-like “Clear”-ness to her either so that leaves “Soft”.

I will then look for photos of her in the traditional “Soft Autumn” or “Soft Summer” colors and see which flatter her most. Along the way if I see her in a color that just makes her come alive…and that color is almost entirely exclusive to a certain season like Black is for Winters, and I’ve already eliminated Winter as a possible season for her initially, it’s back to the drawing board.

4. Regarding freckles : unless someone has been protected from the sun their whole life, they will probably have some sort of freckle or age spot on them. If you are a Warm Spring or Autumn, they will be more pronounced than others since they have less melanin to protect them; and they will be the traditional brown freckles, as Lindsay Lohan had in “The Parent Trap”. So looking for freckles tells me about how the skin reacts to sun. The color of the freckles gives me more information but generally speaking, the freckles are lower down the list of things I look at.

5. Last, the eyes will be the determining factor in most cases. This can be very important.

6. If I’m really undecided about a person, I will ask if they have a photo of them when they were little. Right around 4-7 years old is a time when your coloring is as perfect as any in showing the world your true colors.

Christine

In Christine’s case, eye color was the telling factor in whether she was a “Warm” or a “Deep” Autumn.

She definitely has warmth in her skin, so Warm is her predominant color characteristic. She could be an Autumn (Soft, Warm, or Deep Autumn) or a Spring (Warm type).

No makeup.

If her eyes were a deep dark brown, that could signify a “Deep Autumn”. However, the intensity level was much lighter.

If they were a very light color, that could signify a “Warm Spring” or “Soft Autumn”. But hers are more of a medium intensity, moving Warm Spring and Soft Autumn lower on the list. Yellow flecks in the eye almost always signifies an Autumn.

Eye color.

For a moment, I thought she could be a Soft Autumn, but one photo showing her wearing a pinkish-coral top seemed too “weak” of a color for her, which again signifies that her warm coloring needed stronger (but not too strong) coloring.

PInk top.

So I made my determination that she was indeed a “Warm Autumn”.

Christine’s picture at age 11 helped me determine her intensity level as well. Her hair was not a light blonde, which would have been an indicator that she might be a light or soft season. The picture helps determine the intensity level of the coloring.

Christine 11 years old.

To read 2 other great examples of how Lora does her Color Analyses, follow this link to her Q&A page http://www.prettyyourworld.com/Questions-and-answers.html . These are far more challenging analyses, on Hillary Clinton and Britney Spears.

Wanting a sense of your own colors starts like any change : by WANTING. There is nothing else you need to do. Eventually, you create a strategy that works for YOU. So, what can you do today? Can you send a few pics of you in an e-mail ?

Climb up to the next level of you.

-->

No personal appearance tool can compete with getting your colors right every time. This is the age of the internet, the most accessible teaching tool there has ever been.
Watch Lora do an analysis of me. I filled out the questionnaire on her site . I sent her the pictures you see below, and a few others so she could choose the most useful. There are more ways to do this than by draping scarves.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Color Analysis, Makeup, Sites To Know | 4 Comments

Why Women Love The T3 Hair Dryer

February 17, 2009

My friend Cathy is loving her new T3 Tourmaline Hair Dryer. Here in Canada, this is a $200 blow dryer. I asked her to write a short piece to tell us why she is so pleased with this purchase. Thanks, Cathy, for taking the time to share this with us.

Cathy’s T3

A couple of days before a booked hair appointment, my old blow dryer overheated – never to turn on again. I mentioned this to my stylist and asked what she would recommend. She raved about the T3. I had heard about negative ions and what they could do for your hair but was skeptical. I also could not get my head around paying upwards of $200.00 for a hair dryer. My stylist convinced me that with the warranty and money back guarantee it was a risk free endeavor and to give it a try.

I have always disliked drying and styling my hair. My hair is longish (just past my shoulders) and layered around my face. I have it colored regularly. It is thick and slightly wavy. Typically, I wash my hair 4 times a week. With my old dryer it would take me at least 20 minutes to fully dry my hair and an additional 5 minutes to use the flatiron in an effort to smooth the inevitable frizz.

Wow! What a difference this piece of equipment has made in my day-to-day life. For starters, my drying time is easily cut in half. According to the company website, tourmaline negative ions ”break down water molecules into tiny droplets that evaporate faster … which means that the Featherweight blow dryer dries hair a staggering 60% faster than usual”.

Drying with the T3 leaves my hair much shinier and smoother. Apparently this is due to the negative ions and infrared heat that “close the cuticle and eliminate frizz”. Styling past the drying stage is therefore virtually eliminated, as I no longer need to use my flatiron to tame my hair.

All this and it is lighter and quieter than my last dryer. Better, faster process and an improved end result. For me, feels like a couple hundred bucks well spent! Check it out at Sephora or the T3 Store!

-->

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Great Hair | 3 Comments

How To Have Too Much Fun On An Exercise Bike

February 14, 2009

Exercise bikes can cost about $100 on sale, are small and easy to move around, and really tone your legs fast. Most importantly, they’re easy on the knees and great for the thighs and rear view.

The repetition has a downside, which is the incredible boredom that sets in. How can you make the time more interesting and have a little fun?

Here are the ways I use to distract myself, make time pass, and get more out of the exercise.

Hey, the usual disclaimer right? Don’t drive holding coffee that’s too hot. Don’t do it if your body hates it. Don’t do what you’re not ready for.

1. Incorporate some core work by raising your arms above your head and waving them gently from left to right in a 1 foot- wide arc without letting your pelvis rock. Do it holding a 1-3lb weight and you’ll get it. It challenges the muscles along the side of the abdomen. You’re forced to vacuum-seal your abs against your pelvis to stabilize your body when the weights are off to the side.

Mehdi writes the great strength- training blog, Strong Lifts. He covers a great range of topics from inspiration and nutrition to specific moves for certain muscle groups. There is no hype here. This is a serious but approachable site, geared to injury prevention.

In this excellent article called How To Perform PushUps Correctly , Mehdi describes stabilizing your abs as hardening the muscle as if you were going to take a punch. That can work really well. I also like the visualization of the vacuum seal. Have you ever watched the ads for those plastic storage bags where all the air is sucked out of them and they crinkle down against the stuff inside till it’s tight? That is the image I use, of my abdominal wall sucking in and crinkling down.

2. Raise your arms and practice the feeling of lengthening by pulling up longer out of the hips and waist. The shoulder blades stay in the same place as when your arms are down. As your rib cage lifts up and away from your hips, the sides of your body get longer. Feel how unloading your pelvis takes the weight off your low back and lets your legs move more freely because they don’t have to support the same load.

3. Imagine a weight from your tailbone, dropping to the floor. This is an exercise used when riding a horse in an English saddle. It helps draw the stomach in towards the spine and anchors the pelvis while encouraging a neutral, flexible spine. The spine stays strong but relaxed and can be responsive to the spine of the animal beneath you.

4. Adjust the tension on the flywheel to be very high and stand up on your pedals. Your pelvis does not rock side-to-side. Think of your pelvis as a bucket you grow up out of. Your legs extend long to the ground. Cycle as fast as you can while holding the pelvis stable. You may find, as I did, that it will not be very fast at all.

5. Turn your toes in with the arch of foot on the pedal, weight on the inside of the ball of the foot. Turn your toes out with the heel on the pedal. Do each for 1 whole song. You’ll feel the inner thighs when the toes face in and outer thighs when the toes point outwards.

6. Put your hands on the sides of your butt cheeks and feel the tightening in your glutes (butt) . Activate your gluteal muscles and keep them switched on. Picture a sponge squeezing the fat out like water.

7. Pretend you’re running uphill and pushing the ground away behind you, but here you’re pushing the pedal behind you and pulling it upward at the same time. So the pedal is coming up because you’re pulling on it, not because the other pedal is being pushed down. It’s a feeling of making a distinct circle with the pedal instead of an up-down repetition. Feel your hamstrings tighten up in a hurry.

8. Push your arms together hard in front of you. Try it pushing your hands together above your head, like a church steeple. The more you pull in your abs, the more pressure you can exert between your hands.

9. Increase the tension to rest. Instead of dropping the tension when you need a break, raise it but pedal as slowly as you like (but no stopping!) . When you release the tension to your usual workout level, it will feel much easier.

10. Alternate 15 seconds fast and slow. You won’t lose yourself in this workout because you’re always counting time, but it’s easy to work harder than usual because you get lots of rest periods. Even if you just do it for a song or two, you’ll burn more calories with the sprint intervals and the time goes fast. Practicing explosive speed and power is good.

Do each move for 1 song and you’ve sailed through 30 minutes on a bike. You’ll have worked in some core, cardio, and strength.

Remember to make sensible decisions that reflect your fitness level. Start slowly and work up. If you can’t hold the middle strong, you’ve done too much. Remember to keep the fundament in place: heart leading and open, stomach sucked it till it pulls the butt under a little.

Hey, cupcake, get up! The workout’s not over till the 10 minutes of abs are.

-->

Exercise machines always have great appeal for me because they’re different from how I usually work out. They involve so much repetition of movement that it makes a difference in the strength and appearance of those muscles quite quickly.
The repetition has a downside, which is the incredible boredom that sets in. How can you make the time more interesting and have a little fun?

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Move Thy Body, Sites To Know | 4 Comments

Product Review : Revlon ColorStay Mineral Lip Glaze

February 11, 2009

I’ve been staring at this review for a few weeks. I never post it because I figure the product’s been out for awhile now. The reason you’re reading it now is because everytime I use it, I think “Good product.”

Not dry feeling. Colors are fairly true to the color in the tube.

Revlon’s ColorStay Mineral Lipglaze is not sheer enough to be called a gloss. It contains enough pigment to be closer to lipstick. It begins very shiny but that wears off by the time it’s dry. A soft sheen stays behind to give a little dimension without the super-wet and glossy look that works poorly on a mature face.

It is more comfortable than L’ Oreal’s Infallible gloss, with less of a feeling of something bonded on your lips, and about the same staying power. It is able to retain its texture till it’s gone without getting waxy or greasy. You will have to put up with a little stickiness but it’s a bearable trade-off for much longer wear, whether worn alone or with another more fleeting product.

We’re all looking for long-lasting lip products. I’m not very fond of the 2 step longwear lip products. I’ve tried Almay, MAC, and Clinique. Though the colors were gorgeous, the texture is crumbly within an hour unless you keep your lips immobile. Besides, I don’t want to take the time and it’s messy. The top gloss is always oily and the opening of the tube gets all smeared with the stuff. The 2 ends of the MAC ProLongwear tube actually came apart.

From L, Forever Fig, Unlimited Nectar, a mix of the two.

I bought Forever Fig. For me , it’s a pretty natural lip color when my hair is darker.

Unlimited Nectar would be lovely on a Spring. A caramel-peachy nude color, it’s too light for me on its own but great for combining with too-pink lipsticks to neutralize and lighten them and extend their wear.

As always, a mixture of two colors is always magically better than either alone. It’s true in watercolors and in makeup too.

I know many of you will be surprised to read that it doesn’t last 8 hours. Not 6 hours and not 4 hours. Maybe 2 hours but don’t eat.

Still, these are worth buying.

-->

This is not sheer enough to be called a gloss. There is enough pigment to be closer to lipstick. It begins very shiny but that wears off by the time it’s dry. A soft sheen stays behind to give a little dimension without the super-wet and glossy look that works poorly on a mature face.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Makeup | 2 Comments

THE Brush To Create Beautiful Eyeliner

February 8, 2009

As we get older, our features seem to blend more into our face. Eyeliner can be beautiful to make eyes pop, give the appearance of thick eyelashes, and draw attention to the most expressive part of your lovely face. In fact, it’s essential but easy to overdo and wind up looking like a fortune teller. It’s a softly blurred edge that we want.

The problem with eyeliner

But pencils, they drag. The smudge sponge at the end doesn’t work so well. You can try using the side of your pencil instead of the tip, because that method works well with lip liners, but it’s uneven on the eyes. It’s hard to drive the pencil in between the lashes. The color and line thickness aren’t consistent. The beginning of the line can be blotchy.

Powders are a mess. Adding water to the powder is a worse mess.

Liquid liners look hard, especially in the daytime.

Line on upper and lower lids created with Dino Dilio Brush 5 and Paula's Select Eyeshadow in Charcoal.

The easiest eyeliner tool

I am about to hand you the brush that takes a pencil and turns it into a gorgeous smudged line effortlessly, in 2 minutes, no kidding. It will last as well as the pencil it came from. You ‘d have to plan to mess it up. It just works.

The color can soften a little from the original depending on the product you use and how much you apply. If you use a powder, the application can be very soft but still very effective to add definition to the eye area. The stroke can be intensified by choosing a deeper pencil or powder color or using more of the pigment or by layering. You can build and build.

Dark lines are hard looking and many pencil colors are very dark. This is the perfect way to soften the dark pencils that you own so you can use them again.

You may have pencils in a color you love but the application of which leaves much to be desired. This brush can turn that choppy liner into a thing of beauty.

Dino Dilio

The answer to all your eyeliner frustrations is made by Toronto makeup artist, Dino Dilio. It is his Brush No. 5. This fabulous little brush will get you wearing eyeliner every day again, and wearing it well!

If you need another testimonial, see what makeup artist Erin Carpenter has to say.

Here is the rest of Dino’s makeup brush selection.

Dino Dilio brush selection.

How to create a perfect line

Smudge the pencil on your hand. Draw the brush through it gently. Don’t bend the bristles. You’ll see the color being picked up by the brush.

Angle the brush downwards to deposit some color between the lashes (making them look thicker) and begin drawing a line. Do it in one long stroke or several shorter arcs, doesn’t matter. Add thickness in places, lengthen the line at the end, deepen the color by adding layers, whatever. It will look perfect.

I have no Do’s and Don’ts because it is foolproof.

Pencil smudges on left. Lines with pencil at top and bottom. Lines created with Dino's Brush 5 in the center.

The pencil lines are at the top and bottom. They’re choppy. They’re heavy and the thickness keeps changing, often leaving a glob at the beginning of the line.

This brush line looks like artist’s work. It doesn’t have to be drawn in a smooth perfect one-shot-to-get-it-right line. Composed of several short strokes, it still looks perfect. The pencil color can be softened, as you see above, to look like a colored blur. Want deeper color? Go over the line or apply a thicker deposit the first time or use a darker color. They all work.

Precision eyebrow work

This is a very versatile brush. It is 1 cm (1/3 inch) across. It could be used for any type of precision eye or brow work.

Dino Dilio Brush 5.

Slicker than hot damn.

Where to buy this little dream ? From my good friend, Jenepher Reynolds in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The brown and blue eyeliner colors used to create the lines above come from Jenepher’s AboutFace collection. The brown is Tornado, a terrific pencil that ranges from charcoal brown to a much softer brown depending on the intensity you use. The blue is a fantastic dark teal called Nautical.

-->

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Makeup | 9 Comments

10 Ways To Tell That Your Husband Hates Malls

February 5, 2009

There are no day trips I love better than going to the United States. I don’t buy a lot. I just like being there. I don’t need to go to a mall, though I always prefer it. The people are very nice and so wonderfully pleased to be themselves. It’s infectious. The Canadian angst about having too much fun fades for a day. You can just abandon yourself to being completely happy just being in the world. Americans suffer no inner torment about having too much fun.

Photo by christopher.woo

Unfortunately, and much as it irritates my empowered woman self, I cannot overcome my fear of driving in their cities. The roads are a spaghetti junction of choices, construction, and detours. I need my husband to drive me to the mall of the day. He has a built-in compass. I mean that quite literally. Watches stop ticking within 2 days of being strapped to his wrist. He can slow a computer down too so I keep mine in a room he never goes in.

… but then, I wish he could enter a suspended animation till I’m done. I’m jittery. This is how I can tell he wants to leave :

1. He wants to sightsee and take his time on the drive to get there. I want to speed and get jacked on coffee on the way.

2. He orders the same thing at Tim Horton’s and at Starbuck’s. Psychic barristas that they hire at Starbuck’s, they know better than to get into Venti and Grande with this guy. It’s “Large, black”.

3. If you go into a store together, he takes one trip round and asks “See anything you like?”

4. I get him to take the kids for lunch so I can have an hour alone. I return, sweat running down my back, to find them all lined up on a bench. I told him there was an Apple Store, an EBGames, but alas, no. All lined up on a bench.

5. He is impervious to the word Sale, and a little worried about my reaction to it. The amount of money he sees me changing at the border has the same effect (the worry part).

Photo by Saudi…

6. He has a phobia of dressing rooms and bathrooms. Both represent nothing but a huge inconvenience. This is why all his clothes come from Mark’s Work Wearhouse. He goes in twice a year, hands the girl at the cash the tags he’s ripped off his previous season’s selection, stocks up, and leaves. I must pretend not to notice, so inconceivable is it to me.

7. He’s not interested in the architectural details of the mall construction, skyways and such. I think the whole mood of a mall is very much influenced by the design details. I observe these things. He might notice if the benches were heated.

8. I try again to get 15 minutes alone. I return to find, you guessed it, all 4 of them lined up on a bench. And the kids are hungry. They’re in a Food Court !! How is it possible?

9. There is never anything he wants to buy. JCrew could be giving away merchandise and he’d walk right by.

10. He seems to have developed a new love of people-watching. He’ll sit there for 2 hours, till I cannot stand it anymore and it’s me that’s insisting on leaving.

-->

Much as it irritates my empowered woman self, I cannot overcome my fear of driving in US cities. The roads are a spaghetti junction of choices, construction, and detours. I need my husband to drive me to the mall of the day… but then, I wish he could enter a suspended animation till I’m done. I’m jittery. This is how I can tell he wants to leave.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Outside The Box | 5 Comments