Makeover Momma

1.   1-2 Seconds: Start with your eyes to avoid smudging face makeup later. Rest your elbow on a stable surface and gently pull the eyelid taught with your finger. Draw a thin line from the inner to outer corner of the eye using a liquid liner pen (increasing the thickness towards the outer edge of the eye).

TRY: Rimmel Professional Liquid Eyeliner

2.       2-3 Seconds: Take lengthening mascara with a non-clump formula and coat the outer edges of the eyelashes only (to create a “cat eye” effect). Apply several smooth coats and let dry.

TRY: Cover Girl Lash Exact Mascara

3.       3-5 Seconds: Create a smooth, silky complexion with mineral foundation. This looks quick, understated and creates an airbrushed effect. Try buffing a small amount of the powder in a soft circular motion across the face until covered (adding a second layer to areas with additional redness).

TRY: Wet & Wild Ultimate Minerals Powder Foundation

* All product suggestions at Makeover Momma™ can be purchased at your local Wal-Mart, Target, drugstore, or online at www.drugstore.com.

The ladies’ bathroom is probably the last place you have ever thought a beauty epiphany could occur… but once you’re a mother, all previous notions of glamour and glitz fly out the window.

Surprisingly, when you’re short on cash (and time/energy), but high on shine…try grabbing a few toilet seat covers from the bathroom, ripping into small squares and storing in your diaper bag. These toilet-seat covers make for fantastic oil blotting papers (with zero price), which can help keep you from looking tired, slimy or breaking out. Don’t have time to hit your local restroom? Try using coffee filters instead…they will zap oil in no time!

New Momma Mayhem: It is said that pregnancy hormones can make your hair thick, shiny and luxurious…but what happens after the delivery? The majority of us harried ladies may find our hair brittle and dry from the killer combo of decreasing hormones, stress, lack of sleep…lack of nutrition…lack of sanity, and so on. Regardless of the reason, shiny and hydrated hair can be quick and affordable with these simple tips…

THE FIX:

· Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate- Motherhood naturally decreases the amount of times you wash your hair (which can help it retain natural oils), but make sure to apply a deep conditioner to strands every time your hair gets wet. Once per week, apply the cream to dry strands and leave on over night (or while cleaning the house, changing diapers, etc.)

We Recommend: Samy Beyond Repair Professional Hair Mask is good for daily deep conditioning and longer treatments, but doesn’t weight hair down.

• Primp With Product- After vowing to deep condition hair whenever possible, start applying a product post-shower that will make hair soft and silky (from root to tip) on a consistent basis.

We Recommend: Got 2b Stylini Tipsy 24 Hour Root 2 Tip Hair Silkener, which (despite its long name) is a fast and simple way to make hair silky and shiny.

* All product suggestions at Makeover Momma™ can be purchased at your local Wal-Mart, Target, similar drugstore, or online at www.drugstore.com.

Celeb Beauty – Salma Hayek is a beautiful actress and proud mother to daughter Valentina… yet, we at Makeover Momma can’t help but admire her enviably shiny hair.

The Look – Long, dark locks that are supremely straight and shiny.

Who This Look Works For – New mothers who have naturally straight hair or dark coloring should jump for this style, but mothers with wavy, curly or lighter strands should skip it all together (save yourself the extra trouble.) Try to shampoo and condition hair every-other day with products created for sleek styles, and keep locks shiny by adding a thick deep conditioner whenever possible (multi-task by conditioning hair while cleaning the house or feeding baby.) This style is low-maintainence, but high on shine and glamour.

Make It Work For You – To improve straight hair without hours of blow drying, try spraying daily with Nexxus Sleek Style spray, which is said to straighten hair texture slowly over time (in addition to providing potent styling power). Keep strands a uniform (and easy to manage) shade of deep brunette to flatter your skin tone, and avoid high-maintenance highlights in favor of high-shine (try rinsing hair with clear glossing treatment twice per month, like John Frieda Luminous Clear Shine Color Glaze).

   Nearly infamous mother Michelle Williams is a movie and television star in her own right, but also proud and active mother to daughter Matilda. Although it may seem difficult to get shiny hair, preserve color or prevent dandruff as a new mom, but Makeover Momma’s™ sneaky spa moment is as simple as brushing your hair. We have fallen in love with the new Goody’s Styling Therapy brushes, which can treat your hair while you comb (isn’t that genius?) It comes in three varieties (one to preserve hair color, one to prevent and treat dandruff and one to add shine with jojoba oil) and can literally be used while bathing/feeding/burping your child. Its sneaky, its clever and it will do a hair ‘do good.

We recently came across a new term known as a “scuppy”, which refers to socially conscious yuppy-esque mothers (or parents) who embrace eco-friendly everything…without losing their sense of style. These mothers somehow manage to enjoy organic beauty products and aesthetics, without resembling the greasy, hippie image of the past. Makeover Momma™ was inspired by this balance between beauty and enviro-awareness, and decided to do some affordable product investigation of our own.

Try helping the planet and being eco-savvy…without breaking the bank (even if that sounds impossible.) Check out the new Dessert Essence Organics line available at CVS (or www.drugstore.com), which offers an Age Reversal Mineral Sunscreen with SPF 30. This clever concoction claims to both moisturize and protect your skin daily, without clogging pores or irritating sensitive skin. If you need a new nighttime cream, try their Age Reversal Pomegranate Face Serum which is a potent treatment to prevent wrinkles, fight free-radicals and reverse signs of aging…all while using completely natural ingredients. We may be late to hop aboard the evo-savvy train, but we find ourselves inspired to ditch the chemical creams and abrasive acids we hold dear, in favor of something more natural.

·         What Is Your Opinion on the Scuppy Trend? Let us know if you’re down with green or sticking to your creams…

                Perhaps we’ve been watching too many fairy tales with our children lately, but the image of Snow White with her flawless complexion and rosy lips is a beautiful image. Try recreating the look of ruby lips like Gwyneth Paltrow (above)…without taking hours on your makeup.

1.       1-2 Seconds: Start with a creamy canvas on the skin, to create soft contrast to a striking pout. You want skin to look like butter, so smooth on a “whipped” foundation that will create a seamless face.

TRY: Maybelline New York Dream Matte Mousse Foundation

2.       2-3 Seconds: Eyes that are lined in a soft rose color creates warmth to the face, without overpowering the lips. Stay away from dark colors (dark eyes and lips don’t work when in a hurry), and smooth on a small amount of blush that can work for both cheeks and eyelids.

TRY:E.L.F All Over Color Stick

3.       3-5 Seconds: Finish the look with a rosy lip that won’t smudge or budge during busy days. Try using a simple lip stain to achieve a quick and easy look with staying power.

TRY:Revlon “Just Bitten” Lip Stain

* All product suggestions at Makeover Momma™ can be purchased at your local Wal-Mart, Target, drugstore, or online at www.drugstore.com.

Using eye drops may seem like a cliché to rid eyeballs of pesky dryness, but they can also be a surprisingly handy source of beauty tricks that any Makeover MacGyver enjoys.

It goes without saying that eye drops are good for the eyes, but enhancing the whiteness of eyes can make your peepers appear wider and more beautiful overall. (Another way to enhance the whiteness of eyes? Use navy eyeliner on the inside rims of upper and lower lashes.) As if a brighter gaze is not enough, eye drops can also hide pimples. The next time you have an inflamed breakout, try soaking a small Q-tip in eye dropper solution like Visine, and placing in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Place gently over the inflamed pimple for 2 to 3 minutes or until redness reduces. The combination cold and antihistamine from the eye drops will reduce redness and swelling in no time.

New Momma Mayhem: A beautiful blush is typically thought to be a good thing… but many new mothers find themselves with red, aggravated skin due in part to a killer combo of hormones, broken blood vessels, long hours and sensitive skin. Try creating a simple skin care regimen that helps soothe and heal if you’re short on time:

THE FIX:

· Start Protecting – After gently cleansing skin with a calming cleanser, smooth a soothing moisturizer over inflamed skin that includes SPF. Sun can aggravate angry post-partum complexion, so protection is key.

We Recommend: Purpose Redness Reducing SPF 30 Moisturizer, which won’t clog pores, is hypoallergenic and spreads on quickly with just a few pumps.

• Balance Blush- After your skin is cleansed and hydrated, try using a green-toned cream or concealer to counteract and reduce redness (great for spot treating certain areas!)

We Recommend: Eucerin Redness Relief Redness Reducing Concealer – is a miracle pen filled with green cream that can be used over or under makeup and fits easily into any purse. Best of all? It makes a fantastic pimple cover-up too!

* All product suggestions at Makeover Momma™ can be purchased at your local Wal-Mart, Target, similar drugstore, or online at www.drugstore.com.

Celeb Beauty – Jamie Presley is not only a new mother to son Dezi and star of TV’s My Name Is Earl, but she is also rocking an award worthy haircut for any mom.

The Look – A choppy bop that is part elongated pixie cut, part Meg Ryan circa “cute”, and part perfect-mommy-hair style.

Who This Look Works For – Anyone with naturally straight hair (or hair that straightens when it’s short.) This is a fix-on-the-go hair style that can be super flattering and fashion forward, but would not work for wavy haired mommas (unless you are willing to blow dry and straighten for an hour every morning.) What makes this style perfect is that it can be imperfect and still look styled.

Make It Work For You – Make this style work by combing a creamy conditioner through hair while showering like Sunsilk Straight To Perfection Straighten Up Conditioner, before rinsing, Afterwards, apply a straightening cream such as Pantene Pro-V Extra Straight Comb in Cream while hair is still damp, and leave strands alone to avoid further heat damage or styling time. If hair is still not straight, try slicking into a low tight ponytail when ¾ way dry and shaking loose at the end for subtle volume and choppy definition at the ends.