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Kelly Reising

Expert Guru
Kelly Reising is a freelance writer, wife, professional makeup artist and beauty addict with two adorable little girls. Currently, she is the Beauty Editor for Mode, a lifestyle magazine geared towards women in the direct sales industry. You can find her work as a columnist on ImperfectParent.com in her weekly beauty section called “Mother Magnetism” - for Moms who celebrate their outer charm! She is also a contributor at HMCmagazine.com in her monthly advice column, “The Beauty Bite,” and as the “Beauty Editor Mom” in Mom Blogs for WorkingMother.com, the website for Working Mother Magazine. While Kelly’s homemaking skills may not be perfect, at least her lip gloss will be!




10 Tips from Kelly Reising

The Secret To Applying Mascara

Get a hand mirror, and when you apply your mascara, hold the mirror down and look into it. This will allow you to see the root all the way to tips of your eyelahses, making it the best way to apply it to the whole entire lash. This gets the best length possible. Don’t look straight into a mirror because you can’t see your entire lash line, and then you just tend to put it on the ends. Maximize length=look down into a mirror, got it? This is my very best technique, because it really works

Black or Brown Mascara?

In my humble opinion, you should go with black mascara, always black. I don’t understand brown mascara. It’s just unnecessary. The point of mascara is to make your eyes stand out. Black does the trick in the best possible way. Here’s a little quick trivia for you that might come up in a Trivial Pursuit game at some point. The first mascara was invented by Eugene Rimmel in the 19th century. The word “rimmel” still means mascara in French and Italian. Early mascara was made from coal dust mixed with petroleum jelly; probably not very good for your eyes. It came in a cake form that a chemist made for his sister Mabel…which eventually became the company Maybelline. Don’t you just love makeup history class? The modern form of it didn’t get introduced until 1957 by the great beauty pioneer Helena Rubinstein. I don’t think any of the early inventors of mascara would have come up with a brown version. So in honor of them, go with black.

Handcream That Works For Everyone

You have to try Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Fast Absorbing Hand Cream. I adore the original version of this holy-grail hand cream. You remember the commercial for it right? It talked about the Norwegian ice-fishermen that used this stuff? Well, bottom line is that if it’s good enough for Norwegian fishermen, it’s good enough for me! And this new formula absorbs much faster and is just as effective.

Makeup for Tweens and Teens

A little makeup will make any tween or teen feel better about herself, but you want to start with a few subtle basics. Keep this in mind because you don’t want her walking out of the house with a full face of makeup looking like Jodie Foster in Taxi! Yikes! So here is what you start with.
1. Nude or Peach eyeshadow-This is flattering a subtle on everyone. This way she feels like she is wearing shadow but it’s not pink, or green or garish blue. Make sure to get an eyeshadow brush with a handle for her to use with it. It makes it even more special.
2. Blush-something soft and pink. Not outside of what she would normally flush naturally when she is running around. Also once again if you get a nice big fluffy blush brush to use with it, she will really feel like she’s wearing more then she is.
3. Lipgloss-choose a shade only slightly deeper then her natural lip color. A sheer rosy gloss will look pretty, but not overdone. Stay away from anything frosted or shimmery. It just looks wrong on a preteen.

Most kids just starting to wear makeup want to appear older, but that’s not the point. Just don’t tell her that! She’ll just want to keep piling it on! By avoiding heavier makeup like mascara, liner and foundation she will still look her age by starting her off simple. Then when she gets a little older and starts high school, I would take her to a professional makeup artist to get a real lesson in how to apply the stuff. Trust me, teenagers make the most hideous beauty mistakes!

The Right Lipstick For Your Skin Tone

The general rule with lipstick is that warm colors look natural on warm skin tones, and cool colors look most natural on cool skin tones. That said, you can venture outside of your color family. Let’s say that you are a brunette with a warm skin tone but want to wear a cool plum shade. It’s just going to be more vibrant on you because it’s a contrast with your skin tone. Contrast equals bolder, more dramatic color, while complimentary is going to look more natural. Hair color doesn’t play a big role in what lipstick you choose. Unless you are a redhead, which you probably aren’t considering that it’s estimated that only 2% of the population of the U.S. are redheaded. For a great everyday color, pick a color that is only a shade or two deeper then your natural lip color. Here are my favorite no-fail lip colors, they work on practically everyone. Laura Mercier’s Sheer Lipcolour in “Just Lips” or “Healthy Lips”. She says that she created this “special formula that gives you the look you wish your lips had without lip colour.” Also Prescriptives’ new Colorscope Lipcolor in “Rosette” is the perfect rosy brown with a hint of gold shimmer. I could go on and on about easy-to-wear shades! There is just something about a great lipstick. Although the best part about lipstick is that it’s not a handbag or expensive coat, so if you pick the wrong color, you can’t feel too bad. In my opinion you can never have too many lipsticks!

How To Make Lip Gloss Last

Ah, the most common problem with lip gloss—the staying power. Or rather, the NON-staying power. Lip gloss does not have as much pigment or weight as regular lipstick and it does tend to slide off a bit. Although I have found that there are two categories of women when it comes to lip products. There are the “eaters” and the “leavers”. The “eaters” tend to unconsciously lick or bite their lips causing their lip gloss to get nibbled right off. The “leavers” don’t ever purse their lips together or absorb any of the lip gloss into their mouth, so naturally it stays on better. If you are in the first category it’s really hard to reform into a “leaver” and be conscious of your lips. What you need to do is find a lip gloss with more staying power to stand up to the task. You must layer three items. This takes a little time to do, so I only really recommend it for going out, date nights, work, or to a formal function because otherwise there is no way you are going to want to take the time if your have to get your children up and out the door at the crack of dawn for school. It’s too fussy. But, if you really need your lip gloss to hang tight, it’s worth it. First, you need to start with completely dry, clean lips. Then you need to apply a lip stain. My favorite at the moment is Tarte’s Rise & Shine Waterproof Lipstain and Plumping Lip gloss ($21). You can find it at Tartecosmetics.com or my favorite web beauty emporium Sephora.com. It has two ends, one with a stain and the other with a long- wearing gloss. Apply one sheer coat of the stain and let it dry. It’s a pretty deep pinky shade. Then grab a neutral lip liner that is only slightly darker then your natural lip color. Lightly outline your lips and fill them in. You don’t want any distinct lines. Blend, blend, blend! The final step is to take the lip gloss and apply two thin coats, and voila! You have some seriously gorgeous glossy lips that will last. To sum it up in three easy words… Stain, Line, and Shine. Got it?

Skin Care For Men

Major skin care brands are starting to notice that they are missing out on half of the population, so there are some great lines out there that specifically target men. Plus, men don’t really need much. I know most men will wash their face with a bar of Dial soap that’s lying around the shower. You want to start him off easy with just two products- a facial wash (especially one that comes with a pump because it’s easy to use), and a daytime moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15. Men get wrinkles from sun damage, too. It’s just that their wrinkles look distinguished and sexy as they age. Lucky them. But melanoma is not sexy, so you do want to protect his skin as well. One of my favorite skincare lines, Kiehl’s, makes a men’s line called “Facial Fuel”. That’s manly sounding, right? Fuel should remind him a car and men love cars right? My husband does anyway, and I just don’t get it. But have him try the Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash ($17.50). It’s for all skin types and it will remove all the dirt, surface oil, and impurities that are dulling his complexion. As a bonus, it also helps to prepare the skin for a closer shave. Then, have him slather on the Facial Fuel SPF 15 moisturizer ($24.50). It’s non-oily and will absorb quickly but will help improve the feel of his skin, so that it doesn’t feel like dried out leather. Both of the packages for these products are navy and definitely not girly. Have him start out with these two and he will get hooked! Then you can introduce him to some other skincare products like eye cream and a scrub. You better watch out though, his skin is going to feel so much better that before you know it, he might be more inclined to swipe your skincare products. You can find Kiehl’s Men’s products at Kiehls.com or Nordstrom.com under the Men’s Grooming Guide Section.


How To Fix Stained Finger Nails

So if your nails are the color of marigolds and you want them more like lilies there are a few steps you can take to fix them. First of all, step away from the dark colored nail polishes! They will stain your nails yellow after even one application. Lucky for you there are two easy ways to get rid of the discoloration. Grab a cup and soak your nails in 3 capfuls of hydrogen peroxide and ¼ cup water. Sit for two minutes per hand. Then, grab an old toothbrush and dip it into the solution and scrub those stains off your nails. The other way to get rid of stains is to try going to a beauty supply store and getting one of those buffing four-sided nail files. Gently buff away the stains, but don’t overdo the buffing because it will weaken your nails and lead to breakage. Oh, there is one more way to get rid of stains – wait. Yes, just wait and in three to six months they will have completely grown out and will be pristine again. But who wants to wait around with yellow nails? Yuck! Do the first two and remember to apply a base coat before you paint the town red next time.



Where You Should Apply Your Blush

Here is what you need to do: run around the room for about ten minutes, and then jump up and down 20 times or so, singing a silly song. How about “We are the World?” And then after you do all that, look in a mirror. If you aren’t blushing from the workout, you will be from embarrassment. Take a look at your face, and you can tell where you naturally flush. It’s the apples of your cheeks, right? So that’s where you need to apply blush in a swirly motion, right on the apples of your cheeks. That means no streaking lines of blush that extend back to your hairline. It’s unnecessary and will make you look like you are channeling Blake Carrington. Contouring looks silly and only works in photos where everything from the lighting and the perfect face of the model is already taken care of. You just need a little pop of color on the apples of your cheeks. That’s all!


Why Cosmetic Companies Discontinue Products

Well, the reason companies discontinue making certain colors is for one simple reason. They aren’t selling it. You were probably the only person wearing that color and they just couldn’t keep it in the line just for you. How dare they! If you loved that color and want a replica made for you then what you need to do is grab one of your old tubes and send the entire tube to the company Three Custom Color Specialists (www.threecustom.com). They will, in return for 50 bucks, custom create you two tubes of your favorite lip color. They will even keep your new color formula on file so that you can reorder it anytime at a slightly discounted price. They will make sure it’s as close to the original as possible. Plus, they also keep a file of over 7,500 commonly discontinued colors, so that if there is another old favorite that you want new again, they can make that dream come true for you!