Lately, I’ve been watching quite a few videos by Australian YouTuber, Schellea Fowlwer, on her fabulous50 channel. She focuses on tips and tricks of applying makeup for those who are older. I’m not 50 yet but I have hooded lids and lines around my lips, and she shares tips on how to work with these aspects. There’s almost nothing I love to watch more on YouTube, and she just gives me the most useful tips and they are easy to replicate.

Her '5 Biggest Makeup Mistakes On Mature Eyes Tutorial Over 50 by Fabulous50s' was my introduction to her and I've referred back to it a few times. Since gravity is already working against you to drag the outside corners of your eyes down, her whole point of this video is that you should always look for ways to bring the eyes up in that area and not down. I was doing a few of her "don'ts" so it was nice to see what they were and why some are not flattering. 

Pull away tips:

• A thick line of liner on the mobile lid will make your eyes appear smaller. Tighlining the top lid is better.
• Black liner on the bottom water liner can make eyes look more almond shaped.
• Don’t follow nature when applying shadow! Don’t bring the shadow all the way down on the outside.
• Neutral or nude eyeliner pencil can open up the eye look.
• Eye primer is a must!
• Only apply a highlighter in the middle just under the brow, not all the way across.

Since I’m loving the new PIXI BEAUTY Eye Reflections Shadow Palette in Natural Beauty ($24 @ pixibeauty.com) I thought I’d try it out using some of her tips. The palette has both mattes and shimmers in it so this sole one can be used to create a whole look.

Click the link to see how I did it and what I used!

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Can you believe we still have over a month of summer temps? My biggest problem this time of year when it comes to makeup is the dreaded makeup meltdown. It’s not fun and doesn’t look good. Here are few I like that will help you avoid it this season.

Face Primer – GUERLAIN L’Or Radiance Primer ($74/1oz @ sephora.com, nordstrom.com) – a good face of makeup needs something to adhere to and this one gets my vote.

Setting Mist – SUPERGOOP Supergoop! X MILLY Defense Refresh Setting Mist SPF 50 ($28/3.4oz @ sephora.com) – keep it all in place with a good makeup setting spray. And this one has SPF 50 built in so you refreshing all day will give you a shot of protection from the sun.

Brow Gel – PHYSICIANS FORMULA Brow Last Longwearing Brow Gel ($10.95 @ walgreens.com) – I inherited my father’s brows so my brow hairs get long so keeping them in place is a must. This duo adds a dash of color and the other end combs it all in place.

Blush – I usually go with a cream blush but this CARGO Swimmables Water Resistant Blush ($26 @ ulta.com, dermstore.com) is showing its strength. This one is sweatproof and waterproof so I’m restoring my faith in pressed powder during the summer again.

Anti-Lip bleeding Lippie – MAC Liptensity Lip Pencil ($21 @ maccosmetics.com, nordstrom.com) – I’ve been wearing these as full lip colors and the added benefit? No bleeding! The Marsala shade is a favorite. 

Mascara – BENEFIT BADgal Waterproof Mascara ($19 @ benefitcosmetics.com, hsn.com) – one of my favorite mascaras for bad-girl lashes comes in a waterproof formula so it will totally stay on.

Budge-proof liner – URBAN DECAY 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil ($21 @ urbandecay.com, sephora.com, ulta.com) – liner running down the face couldn’t look worse so prevent it with any of their 50+ shades.

MAC COSMETICS just added new shades of Liptensity Lipsticks ($21 @ maccosmetics.com, ulta.com) and I have them here!

What It Is: A brilliant formula that pushes the boundaries of colour. Each lipstick holds intense amounts of pigment, resulting in extreme colour intensity, clarity and vibrancy. This luxurious gelled base melts on contact, providing fully saturated colour with a satin finish in one stroke.

Yes, yes, and yes, these lipsticks seem to do all of the things in the description. I’m amazed at the one swipe of color and you’re ready to go!

The only thing I can’t seem to get used to since I’m so in deep with wearing liquid lipsticks regularly is trying to get used to the transferability of a traditional lipstick, which these are (an average of 3 vs. 8 or 9 hours). So I wore Clouds In My Coffee all weekend. Baby steps.

From L to R: Ginger Rose (mid-tone blue pink), Fire Roasted (brick red), Brick Dust (neutral pink), Noblesse (purple), Clouds In My Coffee (nude pink).

And they also came out with new Liptensity Lip Pencils, which I’ll be swatching here shortly!

Disclosure: Samples of these items were provided for review purposes.

Makeup tools make an excellent gift for a few reasons:

• You get a lot of bang for your buck around the holidays.
• Most people will buy them for themselves.
• Beauty lovers always need them!

Here are 4 that will make you look like a star gift giver:

1. REAL TECHNIQUES Multitask Set ($19.99 @ realtechniques.com, target.com, walgreens.com) – contains a face brush, cheek brush and eye brush all tucked in a Velcro case.

2. MAC Nutcracker Sweet Essential Brush Kit ($35 @ maccosmetics.com, nordstrom.com) – contains a face blender brush, eye blending brush and small angle brush nestled in a cute carrying pouch.

3. CHELLA Beautiful Eyebrow Tools ($45 @ dermstore.com) – contains tweezers, razor with brush and comb and scissors in a snap case.

4. SEPHORA Glitter Happy Brush Set ($59 @ sephora.com) – how cool is this glittery stand this comes with? Essentials include a blush brush, powder brush, crease brush, concealer brush, allover shadow brush, lip brush and the acrylic stand.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

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It seems like the holiday season arrives earlier and earlier each year, dontcha think? Or do I just say that each year? Since we are all so inundated, I don’t begin my holiday gift coverage until the day after Thanksgiving but I have been known to run an early post here and there, so consider this one of those posts.

So how did I pick these? I really looked at each selection as a, “would I love to receive this as a gift?” So below are ones that I so approve for anyone on your list.

1. BUXOM Stone Cold Babe Set ($42 @ sephora.com) – I’ve always said that if you are looking to buy yourself some new makeup, the holidays are some of the best times to do it and you can really score some serious deals like this set from Buxom. This set contains their limited edition Fire & Frost Eyeshadow Palette with 12 gorgeous shades and a Mini Buxom Lash Mascara.

2. ARTIS Palm Brush ($65 @ artisbrush.com, dillards.com, spacenk.com) – really any brush from the Artis line would be considered a gourmet gift to me. The latest release is this brush that can be used to apply lotion, self-tanner, face cream, really anything that needs max coverage. It was designed to fit comfortably in your hand and feels so luxe on the skin, like you’d expect only from Artis.

3. PIXI BEAUTY Rose Oil Blend ($24/1oz @ pixibeauty.com, target.com) – anything with roses is always an acceptable gift and this one is just so good for the skin. It contains almond, jojoba, rosehips, rose geranium, orange peel and pomegranate seed oils, among others. Use this as an additive to your existing moisturizer.  

4. J.O.I. Spotlite HD ($59.95) Spotlite HD Professional ($89.95) – what you use to put on your makeup is just as important as the makeup you use. Believe me, I know. I grew up with one of those 3-tiered poorly lighted  mirrors that probably did more harm than good! This J.O.I. portable mirror I wrote about a few months ago will make sure you to always have the right lighting at the tip of your fingers. Both @ wearejoi.com. 

5. MAC Nutcracker Sweet Red Mini Lipstick Kit ($35 @ maccosmetics.com, dillards.com, nordstrom.com) – no makeup brand does holidays better than MAC! And every recipient on your list is sure to open this cute box with 4 lippies in it and say, “ohhhh!”. Guaranteed winning set here.

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

You can also follow Cybele on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Snapchat

I think I’ve been around the liquid lipstick block a few times now and with the latest ones I’ve tried being on the indie side, I have some more observations. It seems that just about every brand is coming out with their own version these days, which is great, but not so great when you kinda know what formula works for you, and you don’t get it when you open the tube. If you’re on the liquid lipstick (will abbreviate to LL) bandwagon, do you know which form you like best? I think I do, now that I’ve tried quite a few different brands:

Chanel, Wet N Wild, Tarte, Buxom (part of BareMinerals), ColourPop, Motives, Cailyn Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Make Up For Ever, Stila, Laura Mercier, Merle Norman, NARS, Lime Crime, Ofra Cosmetics, Fyinnae, Maybelline, Ciate London, L'Oreal, Napoleon Perdis, Houglass Cosmetics, CoverGirl, LipSense by SeneGence, Giorgio Armani, Sephora, Kat Von D, MAC, Makeup Monster, LA Splash Cosmetics, Caked, Beauty Bakerie.

Brands on my list to try: The new ones from Smashbox, Anastasia Beverly Hills (I know, I know, I'm like the only one on the planet but I've read mixed reviews), Jeffree Star, Milani (drugstores are always out of the Amore Mattes!), Lonely Planet.

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Ok, I’m done. Done with being Joe-Jentle with my makeup brushes. I’ve been suffering from a bought of dermatitis brought on by bacteria in my makeup brush. Mind you, this has never happened before in my 20+ years of using makeup brushes to apply makeup.

The culprit? My beloved Artis Oval 8. Yes, everyone is bowing down to these brushes like they are Gods, and they are, but have you heard anyone discussing how to clean them? I know cleaning brushes is not that popular a topic besides the standard, “I need to clean mine more often,” however, I don't think the brands that make these brushes are being very informative on how to take care of them.

I noticed the ones shown here were performing as well as they could after a while and were due for a cleaning and not just a light cleaning. I’m pretty religious about cleaning mine but these denser ones are for sure more of a challenge. 

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I’ve really put the lip glosses down in place of the lipsticks in the past few years but these Vamplify lip glosses from MAC might be changing my mind. They infuse a new colour-boosting technology where I don’t think any gloss can touch it when it comes to color saturation! There are 17 shades available and I didn’t have to apply layer after layer after layer of gloss just to get a hint of color. 

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The matte craze is everywhere these days and while MAC has of course had matte lipsticks in their collection for some time, they just put out some new ones for summer.

The Matte Lip – For those who prefer timeless glamour rather than all-out flash, the sophisticated allure of matte reigns supreme. Now, MAC expands its offering of this classic suede-like finish with 12 new shades of Matte and Retro Matte Lipstick. These lipsticks promise a pop of colour that will linger on your lips with impressive staying power.

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Nudes never go out of style and MAC COSMETICS just came out with some amp’d up ones in their Bao Bao Wan Collection. So what exactly is a Bao Bao Wan? (I didn’t know either!). She is one of China’s biggest cross-over stars but probably best known for her jewelry line.

So this collaboration with MAC seems pretty natural and wow, are the colors ever stunning! With rich metallic golds, bronzes, and a dash of bright teal and lavender, most of the items look like they will be perfect next to sun-kissed skin in the coming months. Quite excited!

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