Sephora.com

It's summertime, and you're active. And you know what that means -- makeup melt. You covered up that blemish and added a perfect amount of blush to the apples of your cheeks, but the moment you stepped out into the sweltering heat, you felt like all your hard work was just running down your face. Now, you're just hoping that your sweaty cheeks didn't cause your mascara to run all over.

While I can't guarantee you can keep a perfectly made-up face through a big workout, there are products available to help you look fresh and put together when the heat is on.

• Face. Start with a foundation primer. For starters, it will give your skin a nice, smooth finish so your foundation will go on flawlessly. More important right now, though, it gives your foundation a bit of "stick" -- it's designed to outlast heat and a bit of sweat with ease. I've had good luck with Peter Thomas Roth Max Anti-Shine Mattifying Gel, $35, but for acne-prone skin, your best bet is probably Clear Prep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment, $39, which is designed to give you that smooth finish while treating blemishes.

You know how every pretty face on the red carpet seems to have perfectly sculpted cheekbones, even if the face itself isn't all that thin? For some, it's genetics, but for quite a few people, it all comes down to makeup. Probably that doesn't shock you. But, what might surprise you is the fact that this is something you can do at home, on your own -- no professional makeup artist required!

Darac Beauty offers a product called Feature Focus, and it's a face definer. It's a compact with just three colors, each with a specific purpose. The shimmery beige on the left is designed to forgive imperfections like wrinkles and discoloration. The dark brown on the lower right is used to frame your face (which is where those sexy cheekbones come from). And finally, the light, creamy color on the upper right is to help you forget shadowing -- light makes your face look brighter, smoother and younger, so you want to make sure your face reflects it.


I know what you're thinking -- this sounds pretty complicated. I like playing with makeup, and the idea of using it to change the shape of my face has always intimidated me. Images of harsh streaks of dark blush in the 1980s always come to mind. But, Darac takes the mystery out of how to make it work with a handy cheat sheet.

Source

For many, it's not always so hard to find time for a workout -- what's hard is finding time to get ready for something else immediately following a workout. You can certainly work up a sweat in 20 or 30 minutes, but how do you get your face looking fresh and fabulous for work, or for lunch with your friends, in the few minutes remaining after you take a shower? Not to mention the fact that, even after the shower, you're still feeling a little hot and sweaty. Or, at least, I usually am.

5 Minute Post-Workout Beauty from Kristen Seymour on Vimeo.
Because I care about you so very much, I've done a video (on which I appear with absolutely no makeup) to show you how you can go from completely barefaced to fully fabulous in less than five minutes. Aside from the "how-to," I have some tips for streamlining your beauty routine when you're on the go.

• Keep everything you need together, and remove everything else. I have tons of "fun" makeup, but all of that stays in a separate makeup bag. I only have a few products I use every day, and all of those products live together in their own makeup bag, so if I have to take it with me to the gym, it's easy.
  
• If you're getting ready somewhere other than your home, avoid bringing more tools than necessary. I have a nice set of makeup brushes, but for my "on the go" beauty routine, I only use products that come with their own applicators so I have less to remember.
• Do the maintenance when you have more time. Things like well-groomed eyebrows are important, but try to take care of that at night before bed so you don't have to worry about it when you're rushing. Additionally, do your deep-cleaning routine on days when you have more than five minutes to get out of the house.

Back in the mid-90's, I was looking for a gym to join. A friend of mine got me a guest pass to her gym and I was horrified. The gym was filled with guys working out and women dressed in spandex -- most of whom were just standing around patting their perfect hair, fixing their makeup, or checking out their manicures. Needless to say, despite the stellar equipment the gym offered, I didn't sign up.

Soon, I found an all-women's gym that didn't have half the equipment, but they offered great classes and the women there actually worked out. They let themselves sweat and they didn't worry about how their hair looked. It was the perfect fit for me. (I miss that gym. I moved over an hour away from it and had to cancel my membership.)

Luckily the Jane Fonda-esque spandex era is long gone. But there are certainly still gym-goers that are more concerned with their appearance than their workout. Glamour recently ran an article wondering if their readers gussied-up for the gym or not. It made me wonder about That's Fit readers, too.

Source

Like many women, I love lipgloss. I love the way it goes on so easily, making it feel a lot more casual than lipstick, and I love the way I look so much more polished after applying it. But, I don't love all lipglosses -- I don't like them if they're too sticky, too smelly, too glittery, not shiny enough, or if they bore me in any way. And, the biggest problem: Many of them dry out my lips to the point of being painful.

I recently had the opportunity to try out a couple of lipgloss colors from Cosmoholic Cosmetics, a company started by a woman who had worked as a makeup artist and was frustrated by the lack of vibrant lipgloss colors. She created a collection of seven colors, each with a nourishing "repair kit" for your lips to keep them moisturized and protected from irritants. No fragrances are included, but vanilla and macademia nut oil are used for moisturizing in addition to vitamin E, vitamin C, and antioxidants.

So how did Cosmoholic hold up to my picky pout?

Source

I won't to lie to you -- I don't generally spend a lot of cash on makeup. I buy what you find at the drugstore, and even then, I look for a sale. My reasoning is simple -- I've never used something high end that felt like it was worth the price. If it's not all that different, why would I pay more?

There are reasons to pay more -- being particular about the ingredients is one, and of course, if it's can't-live-without-it amazing, I'm happy to save my pennies. But first, I need to know it's worth it.

I received samples of von Nature's Mineral Makeup Eye Colour, Sunset Light Face & Body Shimmer, and Magnolia Powder Foundation in the mail, and busted out my brushes immediately. For someone who is so involved in fashion and beauty, I have embarrassingly little experience with mineral makeup because it tends to cost more, and without trying it, I wasn't willing to spend the extra cash.

Source

Follow these three tips for buying better makeup brushes to give your beauty routine a boost and help the planet at the same time.

Source

Ever hit the sack without washing your face? You might want to rethink your habits.

Source

It can be hard to be a female athlete, especially one who is really serious about her sport -- she's tough on the court, but that doesn't mean she can't be feminine in her everyday life. And as far as the WNBA is concerned, their girls should be more girly because it'll boost attendance.

Women's sports aren't as popular as men's, but the WNBA is hoping that by helping its athletes learn to apply makeup and look sexier, it will draw more fans. If, instead of only drawing crowds made of girls who dream of playing pro sports the league can bring in the male demographic that attends NBA games, they can increase their profit, and therefore expand the league, giving more girls the opportunity to play ball professionally.

I have no problem with looking girly while working out harder than the boys, but I don't like the idea of it being forced upon anyone. Rookies entering the NBA will receive makeup and shopping training along with financial coaching during their orientation, and while I'm sure some players will be excited about the opportunity, I know a lot of the girls I played ball with would resent anyone trying to make sexier. What do you think?

Source

How often have you seen an ad or read about a new makeup trend in a magazine, only to think, "That looks great on her, but I'd never pull that off with my skin tone?" While it's true that some trends look best on women of particular ages or with certain skin tones, if there's a trend that intrigues you, there's probably a way to make it work for you.

Click through the gallery to see how Fitnessmagazine.com tailored five current makeup trends for specific skin tones -- you might find your new favorite look!

Source

We talk a lot about reading labels here at That's Fit, like how whole wheat bread isn't always whole wheat, and "natural" and "organic" can mean several things. However, more than just your food is labeled -- so are your cosmetics.

In honor of Earth Day this past Tuesday, I wanted to tell you a bit about how you can find cosmetics and beauty products that are truly cruelty-free. After all, causing pain for an animal just isn't pretty.

Companies use several different types of wording to make the extent of their animal testing ambiguous. For example, if the label says Final product not tested on animals, that means that while that particular lip gloss might not have been put on an animal, the ingredients going into it might have. Or, if it says This brand does not test on animals, it could mean that a supplier or lab that brand works with tests on animals.

Source

Generally speaking, if I go to the gym, I try not to plan anything immediately afterward. Ideally, I like to go home for a shower and get ready in my own bathroom, or at the very least, I'll take a full shower at the gym and get ready there. Either way, it takes some time for me to go from hot, sweaty mess to looking hot (or at least not scary).

But then again, there are those times when you get out of work at 5:00, have plans to meet a friend around 6:00 or 6:30 for a bite to eat, and while your house is on the other side of town, your gym is between work and the restaurant. It would be a shame to miss out on a quick workout just because you don't have time to wash your hair and get all dolled up, right?

In that case, check out the suggestions below for overcoming common post-workout beauty complaints (courtesy of FitnessMagazine.com, with a few of my own suggestions added in for good measure).

Source

It seems so simple, getting ready in the morning. How many mistakes could you possibly make? But according to Real Simple, many of us are making common beauty blunders. Fortunately, they're easy to fix.

For instance, if you put on your foundation without giving moisturizer a chance to dry, you can end up with splotchy or poor coverage (guilty as charged!). And if you wait until you're dressed to spray on your perfume, you could leave stains on your clothing. Instead, find something else to do for the 1-5 minutes it takes your moisturizer to soak in and spray on any fragrance while you're still in the buff.

What kind of beauty blunders do you find yourself making?

Source

It's a fine balance, trying to look young and feel your best at work while still being professional and not looking overdone. Not to mention you don't want to have to keep up with a lot of reapplications or maintenance throughout the day, but you don't want to look like a slowly disintegrating mess as the hours go by. Makeup has been a love/hate relationship for women since it was invented, and finding a look that can go easily from day to night is just one piece of the big and sometimes frustrating pie.

The thing that always gets me about makeup is that it's so simple, yet so complicated!

Source

Do you use your cosmetics responsibly? In other words, no sharing and keeping those containers closed tightly when not in use? I hope so -- you never know where that bacterial infection is going to come from.

Sharing cosmetics -- from lipstick to mascara -- can spread bacteria from person to person very easily. While most women don't share their cosmetics, many do. Unless you know where that lip or face has been, you're putting yourself at risk of infection by opening up your makeup case to someone else.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests these tips:

• Never allow other people to borrow your makeup, which can spread bacteria and other germs.
• When trying on makeup at a store, always use a new applicator, or ask the salesperson to clean it with alcohol before using.
• To prevent bacterial growth, keep your makeup closed tightly, and store it in a cool, dry place. Avoid exposing makeup to sun and other forms of direct light and heat.
• If you have an eye infection, stop using makeup until the irritation clears. Discard any makeup you used when you had the infection.
• Throw away old makeup, and any makeup that turns color or develops an odor.
• Try not to inhale powders or aerosol products, which can irritate or damage the lungs.

Source