Confessions of a Beauty Editor

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

The beauty editors of Allure Magazine have distilled thousands of makeup-artist interviews down to ten essential points:
"1. Skip concealer beyond the middle of the undereye—it exaggerates wrinkles.

2. Dab creamy cover-up on the inner corners of the eyes, by the bridge of the nose. This is the area that's darkest, and ironically, also the one most women forget.

3. Press loose powder on the T-zone with a puff, paying special attention to the patch between the brows (which can look shinier because of waxing).

4. Curl lashes before applying mascara. It makes fringe look longer and eyes look bigger.

5. Dab the gunky blob of excess mascara from the tip of the wand onto a tissue; otherwise, it'll leave a smudge or a splotch.

6. If you have undereye circles, apply mascara to the top lashes only (on the bottom lashes, it can make dark circles look worse).

7. Apply an extra few coats of mascara to the outer corners of the lashes to make eyes look elongated.

8. Don't line your lips with anything but a pencil that matches your natural lip color. Or skip it entirely.

9. When in doubt, choose a pinkish-brown lipstick, and never apply it beyond the natural lip line or to the corners of your mouth—unless you want to look like the Joker.

10. Before you go out, check your teeth, and rub off that lipstick."

Read full article