Permanently Beautiful

New Moon, the second eagerly-awaited installment in the Twilight Saga, is opening in theaters. With brooding, blood-sucking hunk Edward (Robert Pattinson) off doing vampire things, will beautiful Bella (Kristen Stewart) turn for comfort — and romance? — to mysterious werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner)? The allure of the Twilight series goes beyond teenybopper fandom. The best selling series by Stephenie Meyer has women of all ages turning pages late into the night. Sensuous and sexual without being explicit, Meyer has transformed sex into the more emotionally powerful yearning. In a Time magazine interview, saga screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg called it “safe sexuality. It’s the ultimate romantic ideal. You have the allure of danger. And yet there’s only so far you can go.”

Who knows how far you’ll go when you slip into New Moon’s mysterious “Twilight Eyes.” The dangerous allure of New Moon’s otherworldliness begins with the eyes. Create Bella’s sensuously tortured look by first defining eyes with a thin line of chocolate eyeliner. Thicken and define brows. Use a pale neutral pink shadow under the brow. Apply russet brown shadow lightly to eyelid, feathering and slightly smudging up toward inner brow terminus and slightly beyond outer eye line. Add a very light swipe of shadow under eye and feather slightly toward cheek; don’t smudge the eyeliner.

Permanent makeup provides the perfect foundation for Twilight Eyes or any look. Lush permanent eyebrows perfectly frame your face. Permanent eyeliner flawlessly defines eyes. Add shadow and you’re ready to prowl!

With the last chocolate bar a fading memory, it’s time to put away the Halloween grease paint and start thinking about your holiday look. Thanksgiving marks the start of holiday festivities. Dress up cocktail parties, family gatherings, office bashes, potlucks with friends, dancing ’til dawn, shopping junkets with the girls – a girl’s got to look good! So what’s hot for the holidays? Sex, smoke and shimmer!

Soft, smoky eyes get the holiday touch with a little shimmery shadow on the lid. Carefully apply then smudge a thin line of deep brown or gray eyeliner to top and bottom lashes. Stay away from black; you don’t want sepulcher eyes (Halloween is over). Add mascara, a swipe of shimmery blush to your cheeks and finish with a light lipstick or gloss. Stay away from dark lips to keep the focus on your eyes. Permanent eyeliner adds depth to your eyes. Smudge a little eyeliner on top to smoke up your eyes.

Go sexy this holiday with deep red lips. Line lips first, then use a lipstick brush to fill with your favorite show-stopping red color. Shimmer a sparkling blush along your cheek bones. For this look, keep the focus on your sexy lips by pairing with a light matte eye shadow that’s close to your skin tone and a swipe of mascara. Permanent makeup creates a perfect lip line for the sexiest lips this holiday. Create permanent lips in your favorite lipstick color or apply new shades over the ideal background for your skin tone.

Let’s face it. Face, hair or figure, certain female physical traits have been considered as classic beauty by our culture for centuries.  Tastes change and politics change. But some things remain the same.

Take hair. We’ve had feminists, mullets and mohawks. Yet most people – male and female – still consider long flowing tresses to be a key part of feminine allure.  Venus on that half shell and Mona Lisa both have long locks just like Brigitte Bardot and Beyonce.

Scientists who have studied trait preferences will tell you it’s because long hair symbolizes youth and vitality. Males are programmed to be attracted to ladies with long hair, large eyes, rosy lips and symmetrical figures.

Scientists will further tell you that all of this is because the attracting traits that signify a young female indicate fertility. It’s those genes talking. But the funny thing is even if a guy doesn’t want any heirs, he’s still attracted to long hair and all the rest.

So why not just follow the rules of attraction?  To turn heads, simply let your hair down and augment your lips, eyes and eyebrows with permanent makeup.

Today’s magnificent lip colors will make your lips look beautiful, soft and natural, just as if you were born that way. No need for that painted lipstick look although you can always put lipstick on over permanent color when you want extra drama. Add some permanent eyeliner and brows, and you’re putting you’re best face forward.  Fluff your hair to its fullest potential. And voila, you’re a classic beauty.

How do celebs look so good year after year?  Take Sandra Bullock. Remember her in Speed with Keanu Reeves? That was 1994. Check her out in her current starring role as role as aggressive executive Margaret Tate in The Proposal.  She looks awesome, totally fit and gorgeous without the uber biceps look Madonna sports these days.

But according to InStyle magazine, Bullock’s trim shape has everything to do with working out. Apparently she does a lot of Pilates, kick boxing and weight training in L.A. with a trainer. When she’s at her Texas ranch, she runs or bikes.

She spent 3 to 4 days a week with a trainer to prepare her for The Proposal.  In order to look sleek and slim in tailored power suits, her trainer had her doing pylometrics along with her weight training, Pilates and boxing. Bullock says the variety keeps her workout fresh and helps her maintain motivation to stay healthy and fit, but don’t think that’s her only incentive. She knows she needs to work it in order to look good on film.  Just like you need to work out to look good in your Facebook photos or YouTube videos.  These days we’re all on film.

No time to work out?  Something’s gotta give. There’s no faking fitness. But ease your time crunch and make more time for crunches with permanent makeup. It’s faster to dash from gym to office if you can skip all that careful eyeliner, eyebrow and lip liner application.  With permanent makeup, you’re always good to go.

As women age, looking good may not mean looking young. Trying too hard to look young can come off as silly or just plain sad. It could be just an outfit that is too juvenile like a halter top atop a pair of Daisy Dukes on a 50 year-old. Or it could be something far worse – too much cosmetic surgery.

Think of fish lips Meg Ryan who is almost unrecognizable now at age 47 compared to sexy-at-63 Helen Mirren who clearly has not had a facelift.

And under no circumstances, should any woman consider cosmetic surgery DIY territory. We recently read a sad tale of a 54 year-old woman who suffered complications from trying to perform cosmetic surgery on herself.

The 54-year-old woman declined to give her name, but told reporters that she ordered a $10 vial of liquid silicone online and injected it into her lips and cheeks a month ago.

She underwent corrective surgery to undo the red swollen results of her DIY project. But because doctors aren’t sure exactly what she injected, they said it could take multiple procedures to fix.

Her photo is so scary that it makes Meg Ryan seem like, well, Helen Mirren.

But even Helen Mirren probably gets permanent eyeliner for a little extra oomph. Permanent makeup is much more affordable than a facelift, much less risky and helps you look your best at any age – without looking fake or silly.

The new summer movie, “My Sister’s Keeper,” puts out there on the big screen what people look like when they undergo chemotherapy.  In the film, the older of two girls in a family has leukemia and the younger sues to stop having to donate her body parts to keep her sister alive. The sister with the illness is realistically shown with no hair, eyelashes or eyebrows.

As often supportive friends and family do, the mother in the movie, played by Cameron Diaz, shaves her own hair so she will be bald like her cancer-stricken daughter. But she still is Cameron Diaz and still looks beautiful. She still has her striking eyebrows and eyelashes. People undergoing chemotherapy don’t. And it can make the ordeal even more devastating. Especially for women who in our culture continue to have a premium placed on their looks.

Permanent makeup can help give anyone facing chemotherapy – a child, man or woman – the chance to feel better about themselves when they look in the mirror. And they deserve every bit of feeling better that they can get. Applied by a professional, permanent makeup can give them eyebrows and eyes that help them look like their former selves.

It may be better for someone who has cancer to have permanent makeup applied before chemotherapy or in the early stages of treatment to reduce stress and promote healing. A doctor’s release should be provided. Alternatively, with approval of the physician, permanent makeup can be applied in the midst of a course of chemotherapy during an off-week when no chemo drugs are administered. Advance approval of the doctor is recommended for all attendees before enrolling in the clinic.

Hot, steamy, summer nights can make straight fine hair go limp and curly hair frizz.  What to do when it’s time to step out for a special summer evening?  Just think, what would Audrey do?

Of course, we’re referring to the one and only Audrey Hepburn. And of course, she’d wear an updo as she did in her classic film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”  Here’s how to get the look.

Get the look:
•    Step one: Blow hair out straight. Add body by setting it in big rollers for 10 minutes.
•    Step two: Pull hair back and twist it up into a loose twist. Clip into place. Pin up any short pieces in the back.
•    Step three: Pull out a section in the front so that it frames your face, which is what makes this style fluid. Spritz in a volume-building finishing mist for hold.

Wear it with..
•    Clip in a bow barrette to take this style from day to night.
•    Add at least one piece of glitzy jewelry
•    Complete the Audrey glam look with permanent eyeliner and permanent eyebrow makeup.  You don’t need a Hollywood makeup artist when you’ve got permanent makeup. And maybe a pair of long over-the-elbow black gloves?

When you’re traveling, it doesn’t make sense to pack your whole makeup bag. Here’s how the experts travel light.

When it comes to packing up a beauty bag for a few days or a week away, no one does it better than a makeup artist. These experts are always on the go and can be found on desert islands with just a tube of gloss and still manage to make someone look gorgeous. How do they do it?  Basics, say the experts at MAC. You’ll need a few basics such as mascara, lip gloss and a base for the skin, then everything else should be dual-purpose.

A good moisturizer is essential, so choose one that you can wear a little or a lot of depending on what your skin needs at any given time. You can also mix moisturizer with your usual foundation or concealer to create a lightweight base that’s more comfortable and beats the parched, dry air of an airplane. For lips, mix lip balm with lip color to create a variety of textures from ultra sheer for day to more intense for the evening.

Waterproof mascara is another favorite. It’s perfect in all climates. Also creamy blushers to give skin a beautiful radiance.

Also make sure to schedule an appointment with an experienced permanent makeup professional several weeks before your departure date.  That’s the best way to lighten your travel makeup bag and still look fabulous 24/7 on your vacation getaway.

We all know that tanning is a no-no. Today’s tan is tomorrow’s wrinkled skin, not to mention skin cancer. But we all still want that bronze-y summer glow. Here’s how the celebrities do it. And you just know that they’re adding permanent make-up for that extra oomph.

Coppery Lips

A glimmering bronze lip looks young and fresh, but still elegant. Paired with tousled hair like Kate Hudson’s, it’s unfussy and perfectly thrown together.

Golden Cheeks

Strategically placed bronzer enhances Eva Longoria Parker’s delicate cheekbones while focusing light on her almond-shaped eyes. “When used like blush, bronzer adds structure,” says celebrity makeup artist Rachel Goodwin. “Neutral shades on eyes and mouth create a modern, monochromatic finish.”

Bronze Lids

Leighton Meester’s deep brown eyes and peaches-and-cream complexion get an instant boost from shimmering 24kt lids. Rose-gold tones are warm and sensual. It’s a shade that brings out highlights and complements this season’s stylish summer dresses.

Faux Tan

The ultimate bronzed bombshell, Jennifer Lopez has perfected an all-over glow. To get the look, apply color in one sweeping motion over brow bones, cheeks, and jawline. It leaves a soft, refined, halo-like finish.

Radiant Decolletage

Celebrity make-up artists agree. Jessica Biel nails this flawless look. How to do it? Maintain uniform color above and below the neck, then add dimension by highlighting the collarbone with a hint of shimmer.

Gleaming Limbs

Whether or not your arms and legs are as long and fit as Charlize Theron’s, there’s no arguing that they’ll look even more toned when sun-kissed. One shade deeper than your natural skin tone is perfect for a night out without overdoing it.

Finding a humidity-proof hairdo for a summer wedding can be a challenge. Get inspired by the gorgeous red-carpet styles of stars like Becki Newton and Eva Longoria Parker and find a ‘do that will keep you looking picture perfect from the walk down the aisle through the reception send-off.

A lot of time and detail went into choosing your dress, ring, flowers, and even your hairstyle. Don’t let your makeup take a backseat. Take the time to go through magazines and pull out makeup styles that you really like, even tear out the ones you really hate.  It could be how a certain feature is played up, or that great lipstick color, or how the skin glows, or even how they used way too much eyeliner. All this is easy to say and show with pictures. It helps tremendously to show you what you like with pictures rather than endlessly describing it. This gives anyone helping you, whether it’s a make-up artist or your best friend or a salesperson at department store counter, the best way to see what you like and don’t like. Remember, two people’s ideas of pink lipstick could be completely different. There is a lot of truth in the adage that says “a picture is worth a thousand words.” It really gives a lot more information with a visual sense.

With all the variables, getting permanent makeup will relieve you of some of the nerve-wracking guesswork. Permanent eyeliner, lip liner and eyebrows can go a long way toward making the big day really picture perfect.