How to Choose the Right Lipstick Shade for You

Choosing the right colour lipstick is no easy task. Here are a few tips to help you find the shade that works best for you.

• If you have fair skin with blonde, red or dark hair, you will want to choose shades that are cool, like berry, pink and blue-red.

• If you have olive, medium or dark skin, you want colours that are warm, like red, brown and dark berry.

• Lighter shades with a matte or cream finish are best for day wear. Darker shades with a glossy finish add glamour to evenings.

• Think about what kind of eye make up you are wearing before choosing your lipstick. Light shades work best with heavy eye make up and deep shades work better for lighter make up.

When choosing the right lipstick shade, you should also think about what kind of formula would work best for you. Here is a list of the different kinds of formulas out there:

• Gloss: Glossy lipsticks can be thick and sticky, but they are hydrating and good for dry lips. They give lips a shiny look.

• Extended Wear: Long lasting lipsticks claim to last for several hours, but most often have a flaking side effect.

• Lip Stains: Stains give the lips a wash of colour. They can last for several hours, but are only available in a few colours. They also tend to dry out lips so apply lip balm on top.

• Matte: Matte lipsticks can go on feeling dry so apply a lot coating of gloss on top.

• Moisturizing: These lipsticks are the most versatile and add shine, hydration and lots of colour. Use lip liner to keep it lasting longer.

Avon and mark offer more than fourteen different types of lipsticks, including glosses and tinted lip balms. You are sure to find one that is perfect for you.

Taking Care of Your Feet

Did you know that you put enough weight on your feet every day to crush a diamond? That's why it is so important to take care of your feet. Here are a few tips to get you started.

• Wash your feet every day in warm water. Make sure you dry them well, especially between the toes.
• Use a foot file to gently smooth away calluses. This works best right after you have soaked and patted your feet dry.
• Rub lotion on to the tops and bottoms of your feet, but not in between toes. When applying lotion in the evening, wear socks over night to help keep the moisture in longer.
• Wearing socks and shoes will also help to protect your feet from extreme hot and cold and from anything getting stuck into your skin.
• Trim your nails straight across. You can use a nail file to gently smooth the side edges down.
• To keep the blood flowing to your feet, don't keep your legs crossed for long periods of time and make sure to wiggle your toes and rotate your ankles several times a day.
• Make sure to wear proper fitting shoes.

Check out Avon's extensive foot care products. They have everything you need to keep your feet looking and feeling their best.

Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year again when we come out of hibernation and start getting our gardens cleaned out and go through our clothes to bring out our shorts and t-shirts. This is also a good time to go through our makeup bags and throw out any old items that are still lingering around. Here are a few tips to help you figure out what can stay and what needs to go.

Face Makeup - Toss it time: 6 months for liquids, 2 years for powders. Dipping brushes and fingers into liquid makeup can increase bacterial growth and cause breakouts and other skin irritations. Liquid makeup can separate over time, causing an uneven, streaky finish. Powder makeup with botanical ingredients like jojoba and aloe can become crumbly and harder to blend over time as the tiny amount of water they contain evaporates.

Mascara - Toss it time: 3 months. Mascara tubes are dark and wet, a great breeding ground for bacteria. As mascara ages, it can start to break down and become clumpy.

Eye Shadow - Toss it time: 6 months for cream, 2 years for powder.

Eyeliner - Toss it time: 3 months for liquid, 2 years for pencils. Just like mascara, liquid eyeliner tubes provide a good environment for bacteria to grow. Pencil liners tend to last longer because sharpening them creates a clean surface. Just remember to clean your sharpener regularly with rubbing alcohol.

Nail Polish - Toss it time: 1-2 years. Nail polish can become gooey and stringy so toss it as soon as you notice that it doesn't apply smoothly.

Lipstick/Gloss and Liner - Toss it time: 2 years. The moisture in lipsticks and glosses can become potential breeding grounds for bacteria. Plus, with age, they dry out and may not go on smoothly. Long-wearing lipsticks may not last as long as they can have ingredients that evaporate quicker, making your lipstick dry out faster. Like eyeliners, lipliners last a long time because sharpening them removes the old surface.

Skin Care (cleansers, moisturizers, eye creams, serums, etc) - Toss it time: OTC products that contain drugs are regulated by the FDA and should have an expiration date. Cosmeceuticals (products that claim to be anti-aging and skin changing) should be tossed in 6 months. As the base ingredients start to break down, the active ingredients, like retinol and glycolic acid, can become more potent and cause skin to become irritated.

Sunscreen - Toss it time: 6 months. Once the tube is opened, water will start to evaporate, causing the ingredients to become unevenly mixed. This can mean uneven skin protection when you are out in the sun.

Hair Care Products - Toss is time: 1 year. Keeping the caps completely closed will keep your products at their best for a longer period of time. Aerosol cans will keep the product fresher longer.

Perfumes - Toss it time: 2+ years.

Mineral Makeup 101

Avon’s Smooth Mineral Makeup provides medium to full coverage. It will not only make your skin look smoother and blemish-free, but it is also healthy for your skin. Follow the steps below for flawless application.

Mineral makeup works best on clean skin so make sure that you have washed your face and applied moisturizer and sunscreen first. Then let your skin rest a minute before continuing.

To apply the powder properly, you will need a short handled brush called a Kabuki brush (see image at the bottom of this post). Its firm, rounded bristles will buff the makeup on to make it look natural. Shake some powder into the container’s built in sifter and dip the brush in. Tap off any extra powder, then swirl the brush on the back of your hand to work the powder into the brush.

Starting from the outside of your face towards the centre, apply the makeup to your skin in a circular motion.

If you need more coverage, simply go over the area with just the brush. If you have a pimple or broken blood vessel that you want to cover, dip a concealer brush into the powder and tap it over the blemish.

Last, apply a powder blush or bronzer. Using a cream, liquid or gel on top can cause the mineral makeup to become cakey or streaky.

Avon's Smooth Mineral Makeup is made up of 100% pure natural minerals and ground into a fine powder. It is great for all skin types, including sensitive. Here are just a few of the minerals that can be found in this product:

Mica - will make your skin feel soft and smooth and give it a luminous finish.

Titanium Dioxide - has the ability to reflect and scatter light, making it useful when you want to make dark spots look lighter. It is water resistant and provides long-term UV protection.

Kaolin - a white clay with absorbing qualities. It's used to draw out impurities in the skin, like excess oil, toxins and pollution. It also adds missing minerals to your skin.

Zinc PCA - derived from zinc, this mineral is anti-bacterial and helps skin that is prone to excess oil.

Sodium PCA - naturally present in skin, it helps to absorb moisture, making your skin feel supple.

Avon Canada

My sister and her family recently came to visit from beautiful British Columbia, Canada. She also sells Avon and she brought me her Campaign 7 brochure (the current campaign that we are on). Although, the make up products are the same, the brochure covers are usually different and the extras that Avon sells aren't anything that we can find in the American version. Here are a few pages from the Canadian brochure.

Here is the cover of the Campaign 7 brochure. while the Canadian and American versions both feature the new Anew Clinical Derma-Full X3 Facial Filling Serum, the Canadian version has a picture of the bottle and has a white background.

The Canadian brochure also features a couple of condensed product pages where many products are featured without all of the photos.

Here is a Crusade Journal and Pen set. Avon donates all net proceeds of this journal to fund breast cancer research.

Roots, a Canadian clothing and accessory company, often has it's bags and purses for sale through Avon.

In the US, football paraphernalia is popular, but in Canada, it's hockey.

This spring, Avon Canada will be selling this beautiful set of Contempo Collection dish ware and...

this 4-piece embroidered bed set.

I love looking at all of the different things that Canadian Avon sells and have asked my sister to order several things for me. It's fun to embrace our differences while trying to achieve the same goals.

Lingerie Care

In the last post you learned how to find the right fitting bra. Now learn how to care for your bras to help make them last. 

Let's face it, we don't have time to hand wash every bra we own. The first thing you should do is read the care label. Most items should be suitable for the washing machine. Place these items inside a mesh laundry bag and don't forget to attach the hook and eye bands together first to prevent tangling and snagging. Then wash your items by themselves using the delicate cycle, cool water and a mild detergent. Heat from dryers will help to break down fibers quicker so it's best to hang up your items to dry or lay them flat on top of a towel. 

If you have any items that are hand wash only, fill a clean sink with luke warm water and mild laundry detergent and let your items soak one at a time for 10 - 15 minutes. Then gently rub the fabric together and rinse with cool water until all the detergent is gone. Lay items flat on a towel and place another towel on top to absorb any excess water. Next, place items flat on another dry towel or hang to dry. 

A little bit of extra care will help to make your bras and other delicate lingerie items looking their best. 

Finding the Right Bra Size

Finding the Right Bra Size

Did you know that almost 80% of women wear the wrong bra size?  Here is a guide on finding the right fitting bra for you.

1.     Band Size - Measure under your arms, high on your back, across the top of your chest. If this measurement is an even number, this is your band size. If an odd number, add 1" to determine your band size.

2.     Cup Size - Measure loosely around the fullest part of your bust. Then subtract your band measurement from your bust measurement. Each inch represents a cup size. Check out the chart below.

DIFFERENCE (Band Minus Bust Measurement)	US CUP SIZE
Less than 1"	AA
1"	A
2"	B
3"	C
4"	D
5"	DD
6"	DDD (3D)
7"	DDDD (4D)
8"	DDDDD (5D)
9"	DDDDDD (6D)
10"	J
11"	K
12"	L

Once you find your correct size remember that it won't always be that way. Weight loss and gain, menopause and pregnancy will all contribute to breast size change. Every time you need a new bra, measure yourself again to make sure that you are always getting the correct size. 

How do you know that you are wearing the right sized bra for you? Here are a few things to look for:

• The centre part of the bra should lie flat against your chest
  
• The cups should be nice and smooth with no wrinkles
  
• No part of the breast should be spilling out of the cup
  
• You should be able to put two fingers comfortably between the band and your skin
  
• The shoulder straps should not be digging into you
  

and most importantly 

• You should look and feel great
  

Make sure to replace your bras often. Continual washing and wearing will cause the fabric to stretch and lose its shape. Bras will only last for six months so make sure you have several different ones that you can rotate. Avon sells name brand bras like Bali and Playtex. Check out the table of contents in the front of the latest brochure and look for the FASHION section. 

Did you know that the first bra was invented in 1913 by Caresse Crosby? She sewed two hankerchiefs together with ribbon straps. We've come a long way, baby!