Solutions To Some Beauty Woes

Beauty disasters have happened to nearly every woman: your mascara has clumped, leaving you looking like Tammy Faye Baker. Or maybe your lipstick has feathered so your mouth looks like a gigantic smudge. Or your concealer is cakey and striped looking by mid-morning.

If you've suffered from one of these or other beauty ailments, you're in luck: celebrity makeup artist Sonia Kashuk visits The Early Show to demonstrate how to make your makeup work for, not against, you.

Problem: Concealer that slides down your face halfway through the day.

If you find that your concealer never stays put, and finds its way from your eyes to your mouth by noontime, there's one simple answer.

Kashuk says, "The best way to make concealer stay put is to set it with powder. Powder is the ultimate secret weapon for makeup artists. After you apply your concealer, lightly dust powder under the eye area."

Another key is in the actual application of concealer: Many women rub concealer into their under-eye area with their fingers - a big no-no. Either use a concealer brush to dab concealer onto your skin and blend in with the brush, or, if you have to use your fingers, gently pat the concealer into the skin - never, ever rub.

Make sure not to go over-the-top with the loose powder you use to set your concealer. All it takes is a very light dusting to set concealer in place; anything more could leave your under-eye area looking entirely too cakey and light, Kashuk explains.

Problem: Covering Redness

Whether you have little red patches of skin, or hives, or even rosacea, facial redness is a problem no woman wants to deal with. So how do you tone down redness?

"I recommend using a neutralizer (those green concealers) mixed with your regular concealer," says Kashuk. "This neutralizes the red while covering it at the same time."

If you have larger patches of skin that are affected by rosacea that you can't hide with concealer, look for a foundation with a green base.

Problem: Feathering Lipstick

You apply your lipstick in the morning and your mouth looks great as you head out of the house, but by 10 a.m., you have little lines of red creeping all around your mouth, making you look like bozo the clown. How do you stop lipstick from bleeding? Again, it's time to turn to concealer, of all things.

"Apply concealer over your natural lip line," Kashuk advises. "This will fill in any fine lines or grooves, where lipstick is prone to settle when it feathers, and will help to set the lipstick. There are also many products on the market today that are 'no-feather,' so if this is a real issue for you, try one of them."

Another lip trick - exfoliate your lips every day when they are dry, she says. Use a damp washcloth or a dry soft toothbrush, and slough off some of the flakiness on your lips. Follow immediately with an SPF, moisture-packed lip balm to seal in moisture.

Problem: Clumpy, Overcoated Lashes

If you apply mascara every morning, but walk out of the house looking like Tammy Faye's twin sister, it's time to change your application technique.

"Buy a lash comb," Kashuk advises (they can be purchased at nearly any beauty supply store; metal combs tend to be a bit more accurate in separating lashes, but you can use plastic combs, too). "There is a happy medium between barely-there lashes and clumped lashes.

"Apply one coat of your mascara, then take the lash comb and comb through all your entire lash line. If you feel that there's not a sufficient amount of mascara on your lashes, apply another coat and comb again. Make sure you clean off your comb between each coat!"

If you find that flaking is a problem, Kashuk says, "Mascara is one of those things that is affected by your body chemistry. Each person reacts differently. If you are one of those people, you might have to try different brands and experiment with what works best for you. If this is not a solution, I would suggest trying a waterproof mascara."

Problem: You've Overdosed On Blush

The latest craze in blush today is the cream or gel blush that allegedly makes you look like you've just taken a little, brisk run. Many women find that these blushes make them look more like Bozo the Clown, though. Creams and gels are very hard to control, and it's very easy to overuse.

So how do you fix your cheeks if you've applied too much blush? "Again, the ultimate weapon for fast makeup fixes is powder," says Kashuk. "Apply powder over the blush to help dilute the color. I always suggest starting out with a small amount of blush applied to the apple of your cheeks because it is always easier to add than to take away. If you have applied too much cream blush, you just have to rub the excess off with a clean soft tissue."

Problem: Your Face Is Puffy

Whether it's due to a little too much partying, water retention, lack of sleep, or just genetics, lots of women wake up each morning with a puffy, swollen-looking, tired face. It's not a reason to throw a bag over your head, though. Kashuk has a few quick and easy tips to deflate your puffy face.

"People tend to over-compensate with makeup when they are tired, but in actuality that just makes you look more tired," she says. "The best thing to do is to splash water - as cold as you can stand - on your face, apply moisturizer and then use products that have a shimmer or a dewy texture. This softens up your look. You never want to use matte makeup when you look exhausted. It just accentuates the problem."

Problem: You Overtweezed Your Brows

Yes, we've all done it at one time or another, plucked our brows to the point of no return. Whether you've plucked out a few bald patches into your sculpted brows, or plucked them all the way into thin-brow oblivion, fear not: you can use makeup to make your bare brows gorgeous while you're waiting for them to grow back.

Kashuk says, "I have never done a brow without using a spooly (the tool that looks like a mascara wand) and a pencil. One trick that no one really knows is to use a brow pencil that is one shade lighter than your brow color. This makes your brows look very natural."

You can fill in those bald spots with the pencil, or try a powder with a "brow brush" (it's a thin, angled brush with which to dab on color).