jeanine morris

The Trick to Achieving Award Winning Brows

Out of all of the glitz and glamour of red carpet season, I can't help but obsess over people's brows!  As Twitter was raving over Sarah Hyland's Valentino inspired braided updo at the Globes, I couldn't control my brow envy.  I mean, look at them.  I turned to my brow artist, Maribeth Madron, to find out how to properly fill in your brows.  

Whenever I leave Maribeth's chair my brows look like this, but filling them in at home was always a challenge until I learned how.

"Full, bold brows requires a fair amount of product, and you need actual hair to make the product look natural," Madron says.  "A lot of product on bare skin will look too artificial." Therefore, put down the tweezers and if you need help growing them in, try using Revita Brow.  It contains wheat protein and biotin, which help to thicken the hairs you already have and promote new growth.

To fill them in, Madron suggests using a sharpened wax-based pencil like Maybelline EyeStudio Master Shape Pencil and then setting it with a brow powder.  For hold and a youthful sheen, take the extra step to go over them with a clear mascara.

"Always begin in the center of the brow to prevent you from overdoing the anchor at inner corner of eye," explains Madron.  When using the pencil, brush your brows up and fill in any gaps with short upward strokes. They should be fine "to mimic the look of actual hairs."

Everyday Beauty Buys that Make Cluttering Your Medicine Cabinet Worth It

I'll admit it, my vanity is like a rotating door of the "latest and greatest" from drugstores, department stores and specialty stores and I'm rarely ever faithful to one product for too long, unless it really wows me.  Hey, it's my job!  The crazy thing is, in my bathroom Joe and I have four cabinets... three of them are taken up by me!  Even though I don't use all of the products at once, I have to have them all on call for different reasons.  I found some disturbing statistics about how often people clean out their medicine cabinets and have some advice, plus suggestions on new product finds! Being that I'm always shuffling products in and out of my medicine cabinet, I never have to worry about expiration dates because I'm really using them and trying something new.  However, I find that I'm a minority!  In a recent survey by Vaseline, they found that more than one in three women admit to cleaning out their medicine cabinet less than once every two years.  Hello, ladies: products expire!  They also found that 27% of women admit to having a product in their medicine cabinet that has been there for more than three years.  Gross.  I highly recommend staying on top of expiration dates and trying new things!  Here are some of my latest recommendations:

Alterna Bamboo 48 Hour Volume Spray, $24 at Sephora

I use this to add volume at my roots before blowing out my hair.  Unlike other volumizers I've used in the past, it doesn't leave my hair sticky and really boosts volume without weighing my hair down.

Vaseline Total Moisture, $6.99 at drugstores

This lotion actually absorbs into my skin and doesn't just sit on top of it, which is major! It actually does everything so I don’t need to use more than one lotion.  I apply it when I get out of the shower in the morning and my skin feels moisturized, not greasy all day and night.

Make Up Forever Sens'Eyes Makeup Remover, $24 at Sephora

Before washing my face at night I apply this makeup remover to a cotton pad and let it sit on my mascara for a minute before wiping it off.  It removes eye makeup quickly and easily so I don't have to rub it off and doesn't irritate my eyes.

Perricone MD Vitamin C Esther, $120 at Nordstrom

After washing my face before bed I apply this Vitamin C all over my face before I moisturize.  The package comes in four tubes, one for each week, and after a month you're suposed to see a brighter complexion.  I'm on week two.

Q-tips Precision Tips, $2.49 at drugstores

A must!  I don't leave home without them.  I use them to clean up makeup around my eyes and apply lip balm regularly.  I have a bunch of these little travel cases and always throw one in my suitcase, because I hate the ones that have in hotels!

Bliss That's Incredi-Peel, $49 at blissworld.com

Once a week I swipe one pad across my face after I wash and it acts like an overnight facial.  Made with glycolic acid, it works overnight with time release technology to help exfoliate and retexturize my skin.

Tresemme 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray, $4.49 at drugstores

A true, touchable hairspray that leaves my hair shiny.  There's nothing worse than crunchy hairspray!

Renee Rouleau Mint Buffing Beads, $41.50 at reneerouleau.com

I use these microscopic beads as a facial exfoliant about once a week to remove dead skin cells and help keep my pores unclogged.  They're so finely granulated that they feel like the softest sand particles on my face and leave it smoother than a baby's butt.

*This post is sponsored by Vaseline, but all of my actions and thoughts are true.