FACE LIFT: No Knife Necessary

I love this. The wonders of makeup really come alive when you can actually change the look of your face through contouring and shading.

Have you ever wanted a thinner nose? Brighter eyes? A model's cheek bone structure? If you answered yes to any of these questions (and then some!), then this post is for YOU!

Read on to find out some of the coolest tricks of the trade from New York makeup artist Susmta Patel:

Instant Eye Lift
The eyes are a focal point of the face, and when they look tired or gaunt it can have a major affect on the appearance. Instead of visiting your plastic surgeon for an upper eyelid lift, which can cost at least $2,500, visit your local salon for professional eyebrow waxing. Your waxing technician can reshape your eyebrows to produce more of an arch, thereby opening up the eye area and creating the effect of an instant eyelid lift. Eyebrow waxing typically costs anywhere from $25 to $60, depending on the type of salon that you visit.

Brighten Your Eyes
Dying your eyebrows a shade or two lighter than their natural color can also make a person look years younger. The lighter hair will diminish the appearance of dark under eye circles and make the eyes appear more open and alert. An experienced hair stylist should do your eyebrow tinting, and the service generally costs about $30.

Treat Dark Circles
In addition to lightening the color of your eyebrows, you can also use a creamy concealer that has yellow or peach undertones to reduce the appearance of dark circles. Apply the concealer to the area under the eyes up into the inner corner of the eyes. Pat the concealer into the skin using clean fingers or a make-up applicator until it has blended in. Many celebrities keep the area surrounding their eyes a shade lighter than the rest of the face to brighten the eyes. The cost of concealer? About $10 to $60.

Minimize Puffy Eyes
If the skin under your eyes looks too puffy on a daily basis, try purchasing an eye cream or another remedy to reduce their appearance. Eye creams that contain witch hazel, chamomile, or other herbs that reduce inflammation and puffiness can be used once in the morning and once at night to treat the condition. Eye creams typically cost anywhere from $7 to $150. If allergies are causing your puffy eyes, visit your doctor to get allergy medication and eye drops.

Accentuate Your Lashes
The final step to make your eyes look more rested and refreshed is to make your eyelashes pop. There are several ways that you can do this, depending on your budget. The first and least expensive option is to use an eyelash curler and mascara to enhance your lashes; splurging on a heated eyelash curler will make it easier to enhance the lashes. Women can schedule an appointment to get eyelash extensions. Eyelash extensions extend the length of lashes and last for four to six weeks.

Narrow a Wide-bridged Nose
The vast majority of people that undergo rhinoplasty surgery choose to have the bridge of their nose narrowed. However, some simple make-up tricks can also make the bridge appear thinner. Apply a bronzer or highlighter that is a couple of shades darker than your skin in a straight line down the sides of the nose, from the eyes to the tip.  Gently blend the make-up in, but make sure that the bridge is defined so it looks as though it is narrower.  

Minimize Facial Lines
Creamy foundations, powders, and blushes reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles because they contain more moisture than the dry, powdery versions. Once you hit your 30s, you may want to make the change from the powder versions to creamier products.

Lighten the Lips
Dark lip colors tend to highlight facial imperfections rather than draw attention away from them. Dark, matte lip colors also enhance the appearance of lip lines. For a softer look, choose lighter lip colors that come in gloss forms. Lip glosses tend to look more youthful and de-emphasize imperfections.

Augment the Lips
If you have thin lips, you don't necessarily need to run to your plastic surgeon or dermatologist for lip injections. You can use make-up to make the lips appear fuller. First, choose a lip liner that is one shade darker than your lip gloss. Line the lips with pencil, going just outside of the lip line. Apply lip gloss and blend the lip liner using the gloss tip or a Q-tip.

The Simple Cheek Lift

To reduce the appearance of lax facial skin, use a bronzer or highlighter in a diagonal horizontal line just under each cheekbone. Blend the line in so the make-up line is not obvious, but produces more definition in the cheeks.
 
How to contour your face with makeup
You can give your face a mini makeover without resorting to plastic surgery. With the right contouring makeup tricks, create the illusion of a slender nose, sleeker jaw line and all-over slimmer face. Here's how...

How to contour your nose to make it look slimmer
To contour a wide nose to slimming effect, apply the darkest color to the outside of the bridge and keep the center lighter. You can use makeup to achieve a slimmer-looking nose by using two shades of foundation or one bronzer—simply sweep bronzer along the sides of the nose, leaving the front of the bridge bare.

How to contour your jaw line to recede a double chin
To diminish a double chin, use this contouring makeup trick: sweep bronzer under your jaw line to make the area appear to recede. As a general rule, light makeup colors highlight an area, calling attention to it and making it appear more prominent (good for brow bones and cheekbones). Dark shadows create the illusion of a shadow and make areas of the face appear to recede (good for droopy lids and puffy under-eyes).


Don't be discouraged if the outcome isn't perfect the first time, these trade secrets may take a few tries to perfect...