by Tosca Reno with Stacy Baker ~
Because I’m in the spotlight and in front of the cameras so often, readers often ask how I manage to look so young. While great food and fitness habits are fundamental to looking youthful and radiant, we can all use a few tweaks to our routine.
1) PURGE YOUR COSMETIC BAG, DRAWERS AND CLOSETS. Old makeup can be contaminated with bacteria. Throw out opened products more than a year old — or three months for mascara. Most skin care products, such as night creams and sunscreen, have an expiration date on the packaging.
2) CARRY YOUR ESSENTIALS. Carol keeps her five basics in her bathroom, purse, travel bag and gym tote so she can easily transform in five minutes or less. Even just a swipe of gloss or mascara midday can rejuvenate how you look and feel. I buy duplicates of these five basics and stash one set in my purse, one in my home and one at the office.
3) FIND AN ARTIST. Carol recommends using the resources around you, which includes finding an expert at a beauty store or spa in your area. She can work with you to help you use products you have or teach you to apply what you’ve bought. All you need is one session and then you can go back seasonally for updates on new products, techniques, brushes or shades.
4) START WITH WHAT YOU KNOW. Most women have colors that resonate with them. If you’re more comfortable with peach tones, start there because you’re more likely to stick with a routine you’re confident with. Also, rid your cosmetic bag of shades that no longer work for your skin tone or lifestyle. You can explore new shades or products once you’re into a regular beauty habit you like.
5) INVEST IN A GOOD PALETTE. Many brands design their makeup palettes with the idea that the eye shadow and blush colors can be mixed and matched together for easy and coordinated application. Find one palette you like and experiment with the shades — it’s a great place to start to feel more comfortable with trying new colors or techniques.
6) PERFECT A SMOKY EYE. Even though the smoky eye you see in movies and on television and in magazines seems unattainable, it can be really simple to do — and it’s a great way to feel sexy at any age. It’s easiest to start with a palette because your highlighter, lid shades and contour shades are all included. All you’ll need in addition is liner and mascara. The easy how-to:
Apply the lightest highlighter shade from brow to lash to create a canvas.
Use the middle shade — whether smoke, taupe, brown or gray — over the eyelid, then blend it into the crease softly and then toward the outer corner. Softly wing out to elongate the eye.
Smudge the darkest shade from halfway on the lid to the outer corner and out at the edge to add depth and darkness.
Use the dark shade to smudge under lower lashes as liner.
Line top lash line with black liner and smudge. Finish with mascara and light peach, pink, or nude lips
7) FIND THE PERFECT NATURAL LIP COLOR. Look for liners and lipsticks in colors no deeper than a shade darker than your own for the quintessential natural look. Carol loves this look with the smoky eye in the evenings, and it works for day when you need a touch of color.
The above is an excerpt from the book Your Best Body Now: Look and Feel Fabulous at Any Age the Eat-Clean Way by Tosca Reno with Stacy Baker. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy. Copyright © 2010 Tosca Reno with Stacy Baker, authors of Your Best Body Now: Look and Feel Fabulous at Any Age the Eat-Clean Way.
Author Bios ~
Tosca Reno, B.Sc., B.Ed., author of Your Best Body Now: Look and Feel Fabulous at Any Age the Eat-Clean Way, is the bestselling author of the Eat-Clean Diet® book franchise, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. A magazine columnist and fitness model, she has spent the past decade putting her principle of health, fitness and wellness in motion in her own life, and sharing her proven plans with readers through her books, regular columns in Oxygen and Clean Eating® magazines and media appearances. She has appeared on Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, Extra and The Doctors, among others. Visit her at www.ToscaReno.com and www.EatCleanDiet.com.
Stacy Baker, co-author of Your Best Body Now: Look and Feel Fabulous at Any Age the Eat-Clean Way, is a health and fitness writer whose work has appeared in publications such as Self, Shape, Fitness, InStyle, Women’s Health, Family Circle, Prevention and more.