The 10 Commandments of Beauty

5/7/10

The 10 Commandments of Beauty

A Great Article from AOL Shopping's newest series, the "10 Commandments of Beauty!"

When it comes to beauty and makeup, every woman has her own set of rules. Whether she's learned them from her friends, the pros or the women in her life or discovered them all on her own, she follows them religiously. The inspiration behind this newest series of ours was to learn something new -- to get the creative and unconventional beauty tips that only beauty junkies would know. We looked no further than our loyal readers. In this first part of our Beauty Commandments series, our readers revealed their beauty secrets for a beautiful face. "Wear sunscreen, exfoliate your skin, never sleep with your makup on" (did you just yawn too?)... we asked our readers to tell us something new! Read on and you'll learn the secret to lengthening your foundation, what you can't travel without, which vitamin your face absolutely needs and more!

And stay tuned these next couple of weeks! We've got beauty commandments for your eyes, lips, body and hair coming! Right now, it's all about the face.

	"Thou shall never be shiny again. About half way through the work day, just after lunch, you can feel your face begin to feel like an oil field. Lucky for you, the solution to fighting oily skin is found in the most unlikely of places, the bathroom stall. Fighting oily skin with toilet seat covers is a beauty insider's tip. One cover will quickly blot away the most oily of faces. The best part is you can flush away the evidence! Celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker swear by this beauty fix when they are in a pinch to get rid of oily skin." -- Mariel L. (Los Angeles, CA) Can't go for this toilet seat cover trick? Combat shine with:
	"Thou shalt use hairspray to lengthen the life of foundation. If your foundation tends to wear off before you've stepped out of the house, try lightly spritzing hairspray onto your face before applying. Hair isn't the only thing hairspray keeps in place, hairspray is perfect for keeping foundation from wearing off." -- Brittany Chojnowski (Cleveland, OH) Who knew hairspray had a double duty! Shop hairsprays:
	Thou shalt not travel on a plane without a face mister. When you are up in a plane, on your way to a family vacation or a gals getaway, the last thing you want is to find your skin transformed into alligator hide upon arrival. It's said that the air in a plane is drier than the Sahara Desert, but with a simple mister tucked away in your pocket, purse, or carry on, you can avoid dry skin all together. Simply spritz your face and neck (and any other skin that is showing) with your mister before getting on the plane, and every 1 - 1 1/2 hours during the flight, either in your seat or in the restroom. You'll be so much more fresh when you arrive, and your delicate facial skin will thank you! -- Serena Bartlett (Oakland, CA) These don't have strong smells that will offend other travelers:
	"Thou shalt use tea tree oil as a facial cleanser. Tea tree oil is an amazing natural antiseptic, astringent, and cleanser that fights infections. It is a master at clearing up mild to severe acne without using other harsh abrasives on your skin. If you buy the concentrated tea tree oil, it is essential to dilute it. One of the best products is Aroma Vera Tea Tree and Lavender Facial Cleanser. One bottle will last for months." -- J. Prichard (Olympia, WA) Treat your skin with these:
	"Thou shalt wear tinted moisturizer. Give your foundation and your skin a break! Use a tinted moisturizer under your makeup and you'll find that you don't need as much foundation. Your skin will be healthier because it can actually breathe during the day and you haven't covered all your pores with liquids, creams, and powders. And an insider tip: Men hate when they can tell that a woman is wearing makeup. " -- Emily A Leithauser (Birmingham, AL) Dare to go without foundation! Trust these:
	"Thou shalt feed thy face...vitamin C that is. Vitamin C is the only topical antioxidant that has been proven to prevent oxidation of tissue; in other words, it prevents wrinkles. Use a product like Avalon Organic Botanicals Vitamin C Renewal Face Cream to pump nutrition to your starving tissues. This renewal facial cream is packed with yummy ingredients like sweet almond oil, lemon bioflavonoids, flax and organic white tea antioxidants plus the ever important vitamin C. It goes on light and smells as good as it sounds! Perfect for day or night." -- Slyvie Branch (Cleveland, OH) Starving your skin is a sin! Feed your face:
	"Thou shalt use moisturizer under and over your makeup. After applying your makeup in the morning, take just a little extra moisturizer and dab under your eyes to plump any fine lines and give you a really youthful glow." - Karen Crenshaw We recommend these to hydrate your skin:
	"Thou shalt not have your make-up enter the room before you do. I love self expression but it has its limits. If I can see your green eyeshadow 10 minutes before I see you, chances are you were a little heavy handed with the glitter. I support your use of color, but color has its place, and sometimes it's better left in the crayon box. The colors you choose should always support your skin's natural undertones. Your goal is to avoid hard lines and blend, blend, blend. When you wear fashion colors like green and blue, you want to do what I call "anchoring" the color with a more natural tone. This also goes for shimmery products too (the use of bright silver on the brow bone is so yesterday). Pick one or two places to use iridescent shades then stop or you'll wind up looking like an out of work clown." - Tasha Manigo-Bizzell (Owings Mills, MD) Do your eyes with these steal palettes:
	"Thou shalt not fall for marketing!" A.k.a. that really cute and trendy-looking lip gloss/mascara/I'm not even sure what that is but I must have it now...you know the drill! Strolling down the beauty aisle makes me feel like a little kid in a toy store. How many times have you based your purchases on impulse rather than fact? Admit it, you have spent hundreds (okay, thousands, I won't tell!) of dollars on products that have really great advertising and packaging. You race to get it home, you rip it open with all your hopes and dreams of a new, fabulous you on the line, then comes the sigh of disappointment. Okay, its time to stop the cycle. Make educated, responsible beauty decisions with these steps: 1) Know what your problem is and what you are trying to achieve. 2) Ask for help at the store and be thorough (make a list!)... and then actually listen. 3) Shop somewhere with a good return policy." -- Alison Kaminski (Pittsburg, PA) Shop these established beauty brands:
	"Thou shalt spend more time choosing foundation than a shade of lipstick. Let's be honest, trends come and go as far as lipstick shades, eye shadow, and polish, but the foundation remains the same. Go out of your way to fancy make up counters to choose the right shade and formula that works with your skin. Pack your compact so that you can try on a shade and walk outside to see the color under real light, which is best. When you have a great base for foundation you can go cheap with hot and trendy shades on your eyes and lips to update your look anytime." -- Jenny Alva (Austin, TX) Here are foundations worth checking out: