Day 5. Polished Fingers, Toes and Teeth!

Polished Fingers, Toes and Teeth
A genuine smile lifts your face. It lights up the room, immediately signalling to the people within that you are healthy, youthful, vibrant, confident and happy!

Teeth whitening
Yellowish teeth, stained, snaggle teeth, little ratty teeth, receding gums and amalgam fillings are ageing and unsightly.
One of the quickest ways to look ten years younger is to have the teeth whitened. Sparkling white teeth are sexy. Anyone can have big, white, perfect teeth.
The good news is that a dazzling white smile is easily bought, and it doesn’t have to come at the cost of a small car. The best news is that if whitening is all you want (if you are happy with the size, shape and condition of your teeth and they don’t require technical dental work) you may find it can be done at your local shopping centre or you can even do it yourself in the privacy of your own home!
Whitening (or bleaching) booths have sprung up in shopping centres around the globe. They provide a professional whitening service at a fraction of what the dentist charges. However, the technician performing whitening procedures in a shopping centre bleaching booth is unlikely to have graduated from university with a degree in dentistry so any issues relating to the health or condition of your teeth will not be picked up, identified or addressed.
Dentists strongly advise us not to have our teeth whitened at retail whitening booths in shopping centres.
However, the procedure at a retail whitening booth is similar to chair-side whitening treatments by the dentist. A gel solution is painted over the natural teeth and then a cold-light whitening accelerator is directed over the solution. One session is guaranteed to whiten the teeth from two to six shades lighter, although this varies from person to person.
The procedure removes most staining, can reduce the visibility of crowns and veneers, and takes around 20 minutes.
The result is instant and it lasts for 6 – 12 months although the brightness can fade a little. It may take more than one treatment to achieve the level of whiteness you want.
Whitening treatments are excellent for teeth that have undergone root canal surgery where the tooth is beginning to blacken. The treatment does not bleach or lighten any dental restorations you may have.
The downside of chair-side whitening treatment is the gel solution contains bleach that may burn sensitive gums. Stretching the mouth to insert the bleaching trays may split the thin skin in the corners of the mouth.
If chair-side or ‘Hollywood’ bleaching is not for you another solution may be to a whitening tray custom fitted by your dentist so you can whiten your teeth yourself in the privacy of your home. The dentist will take an impression of your mouth and then commission an upper and a lower tray to be made to fit exactly over your teeth. To whiten the teeth the trays are filled with a whitening gel solution and popped into the mouth. It takes anything from an hour to all night, depending on the level of peroxide or bleach the gel contains. Home whitening trays are popular; once the trays are fitted it’s easy to do a touch up as and when you need it.

Here’s the thing:

• The whitening solution has to be in contact with the teeth for at least twenty minutes for the chemicals to penetrate the enamel deeply enough to whiten the teeth.
  Whitening toothpaste from the supermarket makes teeth feel clean and freshens the breath, but the toothpaste is not in contact with the teeth for long enough to change the colour, although it may help remove some stains.
  Specially formulated whitening toothpaste and tooth polish will help maintain the white, bright look of whitened teeth.
  Whitening trays sold in kit form by supermarkets and mass retailers are uncomfortable and ineffective. They come in just one size and a one size tray does not fit every mouth!
  Too much whitening can cause tooth sensitivity to heat and cold – don’t become a ‘bleach-a-holic’!
  


• Bleaching trays when worn to bed are not sexy!
  


• There are effective whitening strips you can wear against your teeth for half an hour twice a day manufactured by Crest who are owned by Proctor and Gamble in the US. Each strip is impregnated with solution which takes away the guesswork on how much product is needed. Crest Whitestrips Premium give fantastic results in around three days. The strips are long enough to cover the six front teeth.
  Crest Whitestrips Premium are available from nearly all the mass retailers and drugstores in the US for around USD30, but the bad news is that they are not available from retail outlets in Australia. I was unable to find a US retailer who ships them internationally.
  The good news is that Crest Whitestrips can be purchased on line from an Australian website for around $106 Australian dollars, plus delivery costs.
  

Smile Rejuvenation
A great smile is a fashion statement and one of the must-haves if you want to look ten years younger! Cosmetic dentistry addresses the problems that could have been corrected in our youth. Unfortunately dentistry was not very technically advanced when many of us were younger; appearance related concerns weren’t considered serious issues and were often dismissed as teenage vanities.
Our gums recede as we get older; consequently our teeth seem to look longer - hence the saying that a person is “a bit long in the tooth”. Not the most flattering expression you’ll agree! On the other hand, if we grind our teeth and wear down the enamel the teeth become shorter and eventually form an even line across the top which is also very ageing. In a perfect world when the two upper front teeth are a few millimetres longer than the rest of the teeth we look younger. A cosmetic dentist has solutions to eliminate any crooked, chipped, overcrowded, gappy, and discoloured issues we may have. The procedures aren’t always invasive.

Invisalign
Braces that are almost invisible and undetectable could be the way to correct and realign crooked or crowded teeth. The braces are clear or transparent and worn over the teeth at all times except when you are eating, drinking or brushing your teeth. The braces, which are more like a mould or tray that covers and encloses the teeth gently moves them into alignment little by little.
The procedure is not a quick fix. Every two or three weeks a new tray or mould has to be fitted to keep the teeth moving, and it takes about a year to completely straighten them. It costs between $4,500 and $9.000 so shop around! The good news is that the teeth are not drilled or traumatised in any way. Many modern dental centres have virtual 3D software that allows you to see the end results before you start treatment.

Veneers
Porcelain veneers are like clothes over the teeth. A thin, individual porcelain shell is bonded onto each tooth. Porcelain is smooth, strong and durable – porcelain veneers last for up to twenty five years. Porcelain resists stains and the veneers can be made to cover over every issue. Crooked, overlapped, snaggle, chipped; missing, worn down and stained teeth will all disappear. The veneers are secured to the existing teeth with cement. Sometimes the natural tooth has to be drilled or filed down so the porcelain veneer can be attached, but one of the side benefits of veneers is that the technician can build out your front teeth which will push out and plump your lips! Porcelain veneers reflect light translucently, casting a beautiful pearly glow in your mouth.
In Australia and New Zealand porcelain veneers are commonly called ‘Caps’.
Check out chic dental centres offering medical and cosmetic dentistry, some are also able to provide free consultations and offer interest-free payment plans. A discussion with your regular dentist is a good place to start if you decide to go down the porcelain veneers route, but do shop around for prices.
Porcelain veneers cost between AUD$900 and AUD$2000 per tooth. It may well be worth considering having porcelain veneers on your front teeth and a bonding treatment on the rest. Costs in the UK are similar, except in pounds.

Cosmetic Dentristy Abroad

The cost of cosmetic dental procedures in some countries (Spain and Thailand for example) can be considerably less than the costs are at home. If you are contemplating having a lot of cosmetic dental work done it is probably worth checking out international locations on the internet. Some travel companies specialize in cosmetic procedure holiday packages where they have investigated the best deals, checked out hospitals and doctors credentials. Some build after care and a nursing service into their charges. Cosmetic dentristry is just one of the procedures on offer.

Bonding
Bonding is a procedure when a soft malleable plastic resin is painted onto an existing tooth. Once it hardens it can be shaped, sculpted, filed and polished. The resin has the appearance, colour and consistency of tooth enamel and covers stains and discolouring. It can be sculpted to correct the appearance of crooked teeth, to fill small gaps and repair chips and it can even lengthen and widen the teeth.
On the minus side, bonding resin doesn’t last in the mouth forever – expectancy is around five to seven years; and it’s porous, so red wine, black coffee, colas and food such as raspberries and blueberries can stain it.
On the plus side: bonding is cheaper than porcelain veneers and costs around AUD$350 to AUD$500 per tooth. Get a quote!

Maintenance
Respected Sydney dentist Dr. Brett Dorney advises his patients to check in with him at least every twelve months. “Fortunately for us, modern dentistry is mostly preventative dentistry. We promote healthy teeth through dental hygiene education.” says Dr. Dorney, who was a dental consultant to the international athletes for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. “Soft drinks are one of the worst accelerators of tooth decay, and contrary to popular belief, diet soft drinks are full of chemicals that are harmful to tooth-enamel. Diet drinks are just as bad as fully loaded sugary soft drinks. Regular checkups are essential for dental hygiene. Any problems or issues can be less painfully addressed if they are caught early during a regular check up. Too often a tooth is lost because attention came too late.”
Dentin is the soft dark tissue underneath the tooth’s enamel. If the dentin has greyed or discoloured as a result of taking medication or from trauma or illness, or if you have eaten a lot of lemon and the acid has penetrated through the tooth enamel to expose the dentin, no amount of bleaching will reverse it. Go whiter with bonding or porcelain veneers.
Hard toothbrushes are abrasive on the tooth enamel and can erode and severely damage it. Invest in a soft toothbrush, switch it with a new one every twelve to fourteen weeks, and brush your teeth morning and night for at least one minute to promote healthy teeth.
Flossing your teeth and gums can apparently help you live longer! Studies in the US showed that people who floss have a lower incidence of heart disease! Who would have thought? Apart from that, flossing removes the junk and plaque that builds up between the teeth and helps prevent the giveaway of age - gum recession.
Dental professionals recommend that teeth be cleaned and plaque removed every three months by a dentist or dental hygienist.
Some old fashioned dentists still use silver amalgam to fill cavities. Newer dentistry uses white fillings, even in the back teeth where silver fillings were traditionally considered stronger.
White coloured filling formulas are just as strong, stable and durable as the old silver formulas and are less obvious. A mouth full of amalgam fillings tells people we have been around for longer than we want them to know. If your dentist will only fill your teeth with silver it is time to switch to a modern (and probably younger) dental practitioner.
Ask your dentist to check that any silver fillings in your mouth are sound and firm when you go for your regular 6 monthly or 12 monthly check up.
Dr. Dorney doesn’t replace silver fillings in healthy teeth simply for the sake of it. “Our teeth in our middle years don’t need unnecessary trauma or damage risk,” Dr Dorney says, “But if there is any reason to replace silver fillings, I will always replace with white.”
If you cannot bear to be awake when you are undergoing dental treatment (you’re not alone, a lot of people can’t!) confirm with your dentist that white fillings are to be used. You don’t want to go through all that and then wake up to find your tooth filled with silver metal.

Smile again: A quick re-cap:

• Acidic food such as lemon can eat away the tooth enamel to expose the dingy grey dentin beneath.


• Use a soft toothbrush and change it regularly.


• Brush your teeth morning and night for more than 30 seconds each time.


• Floss your teeth.


• Have your teeth professionally cleaned by a hygienist every few months to remove plaque and keep them healthy.


• Have regular check ups with your dentist – minimum once a year.


• Have amalgam fillings replaced with white fillings as necessary.


• Avoid chewy lollies that can dislodge fillings and veneers (Caps).


• Stop drinking soft drinks and go easy on the sugar.


• Shop around and obtain quotes before signing up for any cosmetic dental procedures.

Time on your hands
We can plump, Botox, collagen, illuminate and artificially enhance our faces to give the impression of incredible youthfulness but hands are always a dead giveaway of age.

Look at the hands next time you see a photograph of a mature celebrity. You may well find hands are not out there on display, often everything possible is being done to conceal them. They might be behind her back, tucked beneath an escort’s elbow, dug deep into pockets or hidden beneath an artfully draped garment. These are all clever tricks you too can use to keep your hands as unobtrusive as possible.
When our attention is deliberately drawn to hands – perhaps in a jewellery or nail polish advertisement - you can bet your bottom dollar that the hands in the photograph will have been de-fuzzed with a hair removal product, then they’ll have been exfoliated, professionally manicured, moisturized, smoothed with foundation, and they may have also been plumped with injected filler. And that’s just the procedure for younger hands before the picture is photo shopped and airbrushed!

As hands lose their fullness everything beneath the skin starts to protrude or show. Veined hands, bony hands, ropy hands, long nails, discoloured nails, fake, scary red painted talons, and, the worst thing you will hear - sun spots, age spots and liver spots - all reveal the decade of your birth.
Short of having laser treatment, filler injections or undergoing chemical peels there isn’t much we can do to remove the evidence of time from our hands. So we must deflect attention away from them.
To keep your hands looking groomed and polished:

• Use sunscreen from this moment on. It is never too late! Slather on SPF30 in the morning and reapply it during the day, even on dull days.


• Apply hand cream containing retinol at night.


• A weekly manicure and the daily use of pampering lotions keeps the hands soft, silky and looking groomed.


• To keep your hands looking natural and healthy paint your short, clean, neatly shaped nails with neutral-coloured nail polish. They’ll remain unobtrusive; and attention will be drawn to the areas where you want to encourage people to look.

Jewels, not tools!

• Lose the habit of using your nails as tools to pop open soft drink cans (use a teaspoon handle instead), peel things (use a small sharp knife, even if you are removing stickers), to open boxes (knife again) or pick up, scratch, pinch or tweeze anything.


• Wear gardening gloves - you should be anyway - all those bugs!


• Rub cuticle cream around your nails at night then drench hands with a thick gooey moisturizer. Slip them into a pair of cheap, soft cotton gloves to soak while you sleep.


• Have a manicure every week. Do it yourself or go for 30 minutes of professional pampering by a trained manicurist.
  

Nailing it
Even though we have been applying and wearing nail polish since Adam was a cowboy the method of application has changed. Newer formulas, glamorous, longer-lasting easy to use products make do-it-yourself manicures a breeze.
I know that you know how to apply nail polish and I don’t presume to tell you what to do, but here are the five simple steps to remind you how to give yourself a manicure and achieve professional looking results.
Step 1
Wipe off any existing nail varnish with a cotton wool ball soaked with nail polish remover. Don’t skimp on the nail polish remover; make sure there is plenty on the cotton ball.
Run the soaked cotton ball beneath your fingernails too. Nail polish remover is excellent for removing stains, discoloration or gardening grime that’s trapped under the nails.
Shape your nails with a fine-grained nail file. Nail files intended for acrylic nails are too abrasive to be used on natural nails.
The ideal shape for natural looking nails is “squoval”, not quite square, not quite oval and definitely not pointed. A square/oval shape is flattering, strong, durable and practical.
The ideal length for natural looking nails is just slightly longer than the finger tip. This length gives a groomed youthful look and still enables you to use a keyboard or accurately tap out text messages on your mobile telephone!
Acrylic nails look more natural when they are short too.
Step 2
Gentle buffing stimulates the blood flow to the base of the nail which helps it to grow healthily. Buffing creates an even base for nail polish and is an essential step to smooth away any natural ridges or bumps.
Lightly buff the entire nail with a very fine grade nail buffer. The nail will take on a natural sheen as the oils in the nail bed are stimulated.
Your shaped, cleaned and buffed nail should be starting to look good.
Step 3
A base coat protects the nails from stains and helps the nail polish colour last longer. Don’t be tempted to substitute clear nail polish as a base coat. Base coat -specific products are sticky and create a key for the nail polish to adhere to. Just one thin coat of base coat on each nail will do the trick.
Step 4
Now for the best part – painting on the colour!
Give the bottle a shake to ensure the nail polish is mixed well.
Load the brush with nail polish and use several small painting strokes to cover each nail with a sheer coat. (The old three-stroke method gives thick, clumsy, results.)
Start on the pinky fingernail on one hand and work through the fingernails to the pinky finger on your other hand.
Re-load your brush and apply a second thin coat. That’s enough! If you apply any more coats the polish will take forever to dry.
Step 5
Slick a layer of glassy top coat over each nail to boost the shine. Top coat helps prevent cracks and chips, protects your nails against daily wear and tear and prolongs the life of the nail polish on the nails. Allow the polish at least 15 minutes to dry before you start poking around in your bag, cupboards or drawers!

Nail colours
Light coloured nail polish elongates the appearance of your fingers and nails.
Bright, vivid coloured nail polish can make your fingers look short and stubby.
Dark polished finger nails are high maintenance, draw attention to your hands and if the nails are long and talon-like they can be down-right scary.
Save outrageous colours for your toenails after you’ve had a spa pedicure.
Seek out gorgeous sheer pinks and beiges to take your fingernails from a business lunch to a wedding via the beach!
Dark and vivid colours are tough to maintain. These colours are particularly susceptible to highly visible nicks and chips that are difficult to fix. Sheerer, natural and lighter colours do still chip and nick but aren’t noticed so readily and they are easier to repair while deeper coloured nail polish repairs tend to be more visible.

French manicures
Ooh la, la. Gorgeous. And extremely difficult to do yourself!
The trick is to apply a very thin tip in a soft white colour, not a thick, stark-white tip.
The nail polish colour covering the nail bed should be soft, luminous pink.
A better trick is to have your French Manicure done professionally by a nail artist.

Fake nails
We’re not talking about the glue-on scary-looking pre-painted plastic numbers purchased in bulk from party shops. We’re talking about a thin layer of acrylic or gel applied over the top of natural nails by a trained technician in one of the nail bars that have burgeoned in almost every Australian and New Zealand shopping centre.
Acrylic nails are low maintenance. Once applied, provided you don’t damage them, nothing has to be done for 2 to 3 weeks after which the nails need to be in-filled (or back filled) where they have grown out. .
In terms of cost, acrylic nails are on the upper end of the expense scale - around $55 to have a full set applied and then it costs around $30 every 2 to 3 weeks for the in-fills.
Acrylic nails are strong and permanent. The nail is created by mixing acrylic powder with liquid chemicals to form a thick solution that is brushed in a thin coat over the natural nail. A false tip can be glued onto the natural nail to extend it, and the acrylic solution is applied over the false tip to give strength. The acrylic dries quickly, and then it is buffed, shaped and polished.
Infills are a sort of back-filling. The wet acrylic mixture is applied to the gap between the cuticle and the grown out nail, blended into the existing acrylic, then the entire nail is buffed, shaped and polished.

• Acrylic nails can be removed professionally.


• If you want to apply acrylic nails yourself, D.I.Y. kits are available and good results can be achieved with practise.


• Nail Art looks fantastic on teenagers and tap dancers. It looks daggy on everyone else. Don’t go there.


• Glitter nail polish is not cute on anyone over 8 years old.


• Chipped nail polish shouts ‘careless’ to the world.


• Metallic nail polishes – gold, silver, bronze and platinum polishes painted on toes look gorgeous and will make you feel like a million dollars. Go for it!


• If you really love an expensive nail polish make it last longer by using it less! Buy a cheaper nail polish in a similar colour and apply that as a first coat over your base coat. Cover with a coat of the more expensive polish and seal the lot with a strong glassy top coat.


• The current trend for black painted fingernails does not flatter older hands. In fact it draws attention to hands we are trying to keep unobtrusive. If you love the idea of black nail polish have a pedicure and apply black nail polish to your toe nails.


• No matchy-matchy, your finger nails and toes nails don’t have to be coated with the same coloured polish; in fact it is chic to have them painted with two very different coloured nail polishes.

Twinkle toes
The foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 120 muscles, ligaments and nerves. Our feet work hard; they take around 9,000 footsteps every day so they deserve to be treated well!
If you suffer from problem feet you’re not alone, over half a million Australians suffer from heel pain alone each year. Age and gender increase the chance of foot pain; women are more at risk simply because of high heeled shoes. Any affliction should be regularly attended to by a professional Podiatrist or Pedicurist.

Here’s the heads up on some of the things that happen to the feet as we get older, with some solutions:
Bunions.
What are they?
A bunion is a painful bony protrusion that takes years to develop on the outside of the foot usually near the big toe. You won’t get a bunion from wearing one pair of uncomfortable shoes just a few times. What you will get is sore feet!
Bunions are generally caused by the continuous wearing of poorly fitted, high heeled, pointy-toed shoes.
What to do about them:
Stop wearing those high heeled pointed stilettos!
Have your feet measured to establish your correct shoe size. Shoe stores have foot gauges to accurately estimate the length and width of the feet. As we age our feet flatten out and expand so you may well find you require shoes in a size larger than you’ve previously worn.
Choose footwear in soft materials with a bit of ‘give’. Shoes made from stiffened fabric are usually rigid which provides durability, but they seldom stretch. Natural fabrics like suede and leather are better options for stretchability.
Shoe inserts help to keep the foot from rolling inwards and putting pressure on the bunion. Custom made orthotics are available from Podiatrists, or you can purchase non-prescription insoles from a chemist.
To cushion an existing bunion try non-prescription suede or hide cushions available from the chemist.
Debilitating bunions can be surgically removed. Expect to spend 5 – 7 days in hospital and allow several weeks’ recovery when you must stay off your feet. Schedule surgery for a time when your social calendar is sparse.
Sore soles
What are they?
It’s not your imagination; our soles do ache more now than they did when we were dancing through the night. As our feet widen and flatten we lose some of the fatty padding that protects the balls of our feet. If it is any consolation, men lose their fatty sole cushioning as well!
What to do about them:
High heeled shoes do not help sore soles. If you must wear high heels – and let’s face it, heels make us look taller, our legs look slimmer; and we feel elegant, youthful and sexier when we wear stilettos – find shoes with extra built-in padding to cushion the balls of the feet.
Alternatively, inserts will help, both the common garden over-the-counter variety, and custom made orthotics from Podiatrists.
Try switching high heels with lower heeled shoes throughout the day.
The obvious answer is to wear low heeled or flat shoes whenever you can!
Heel spurs
What are they?
The actual spur (plantar fasciitis) is a bony growth on the heel bone. It is seldom the cause of discomfort; the culprit is usually the inflamed tissue surrounding the heel spur. Heel spurs are likely to occur from standing or walking on hard surfaces for long periods, or if you are overweight, have tight calf muscles or if the foot arch is flattening.
What to do about them:
Unfortunately they won’t disappear overnight which is not what you want to hear if you are one of the hundreds of thousands of Australians who suffer from the pain of this condition. Resting the foot and avoiding prolonged activity such as walking and running will help, as will weight loss or supporting the heel with sport strapping tape. The most effective treatment is to wear orthotic insoles.
Heel cracks
What are they?
As the fatty cushion on the soles of the feet thins, so does the outer layer of skin on the feet. It gets drier too, causing painful and unsightly cracks around the heels. These cracks make us look decidedly elderly, and are a giveaway sign of a person who has scant regard to grooming.
What to do about them:
Keep your heels exfoliated. Rub them with pumice or pumice sponge in the shower every morning to remove dry skin; follow immediately with a generous slather of moisturizing body lotion and massage it into the warm, dry-but-still-soft cracked heels.
A moisturizing face mask applied twice a week helps soften the skin. Apply the mask and slip on a pair of thin, loose cotton socks for an hour or so. Hasten the smoothing process by using a lotion containing glycolic acid which is an ingredient that helps slough off dead rough skin.
Callous and corns
What are they?
Callous develop under the ball of the foot, under and around the heel area and under the big toe. A corn is a form of callous that develops between the toes and on top of the toes. Callous and corns are caused by constant friction and rubbing on the foot from narrow, ill-fitting shoes (high heels – again!).
Conditions such as bunions, arthritis, over-pronation (flattening of the arches) and hammer toe can cause callous and corns.
How can they be treated?
Essentially corns and callous should be professionally treated or removed by a Podiatrist or Pedicurist. Self treatment pads available from the chemist can be effective, but seek the pharmacist’s advice. Orthotics help prevent them re-forming by reducing pressure and friction.
Thickening nails
What are they?
Thickening toenails happen naturally as our circulation slows down. Yellowing of the nails can also occur and the nails are more prone to fungus between the nail and the nail bed. Isn’t ageing a wonderful thing!
What can be done about it?
Frankly, not much. Check with a Podiatrist or Pedicurist to discuss concerns about the condition of your toenails.
Be diligent and have regular pedicures. Nail polish conceals yellowness and thickened nails.

On the subject of pedicures…
No matter how misshapen or unattractive you consider your feet to be, their appearance will benefit from a pedicure.
Pedicures can be either cosmetic or medical.
Cosmetic pedicures are carried out by nail artists, beauticians and nail technicians in nail bars, nail salons and beauty salons, and it’s not difficult to do yourself! A cosmetic pedicure is a treat but it is not curative and does not address any podiatric problems. The benefits are purely visual with the feet cleaned, the cuticles pushed back, toenails cut, shaped, buffed and polished, and if you’re lucky, a foot and calf massage thrown in!
If you are having a salon pedicure be vigilant that instruments are sterilized and the foot basin is scrubbed out prior to it being used for your pedicure. Fungal, bacterial and viral infections spread easily in warm, unsanitary bowls. Do not allow any tools to be used on you that could cut and draw blood - such as a skin shaver.
You may prefer to take your own instruments and to wipe out the bowl with an antiseptic towelette before it is filled for your pedicure. If you do it nicely, with a smile and without any judgements, it is quite acceptable.
Medical pedicures are done by certified Podiatrists and Pedicurists who treat calluses, corns, ingrown toenails, cracked heels, spurs and other minor (although painful!) afflictions. Some health insurance companies cover the cost of a medical pedicure if it is carried out at the Podiatrist’s premises. Medical pedicures do not usually leave your feet looking pretty and polished but they do address foot issues. The cost of a cosmetic pedicure is rarely covered by health insurance.

Ten step D.I.Y pedicure:
Even the most neglected feet can be transformed into summer stunners with a little effort. This tried and tested do-it-yourself pedicure will have you sandal ready in no time!

1. Remove old nail polish with a cotton ball or cotton pad soaked in nail polish remover. If you have problems removing dark nail polish place the soaked pad on the nail for 15 seconds to allow the remover to dissolve the polish, then sweep it across the nail from the cuticle to the tip.


2. Shape the toenails with clippers, paying attention to the corners of the nails. Round the corners evenly (even if you are creating a square look) otherwise the sharp edge will cause discomfit if you squeeze your feet into shoes. Finish shaping with an emery board or nail file to smooth out any snags or rough edges.


3. Apply cuticle remover to the root of the nails and then soak your feet in hot water for 5 – 10 minutes. Gently push the softened cuticles back using an orange stick and small circular movements. Be careful as the cuticle is softer than the rest of the nail and if you damage this area you can cause white spots (they will grow out with the nail). A drop or two of tea tree oil added to the soaking water calms the feet, neutralizes odours and acts as an antiseptic.


4. Buff the nails to remove staining or ridges. Buffing should only be done every few months; too much buffing can lead to thinning of the nails.


5. Exfoliate the feet with a scrub and remove any hard skin on the heels with a callus-removing foot file, pumice or pumice sponge.


6. Massage foot cream or moisturizer into each foot.


7. Go over the nails again with nail polish remover to ensure all traces of varnish and any creamy moisturizing residue is removed.


8. Pick a nail polish colour and paint it on. Apply a clear basecoat first, then two coats of nail polish colour. If you need to separate your toes use rolled up kitchen towel. Allow each coat to dry before you apply the next coat.


9. Apply a final coat of top coat polish.


10. Clean up any polish around the nails and repair any uneven lines with a cotton bud dipped in nail polish remover. Allow 10 – 15 minutes drying time and your pedicure should last for a few weeks.

Sweet feet

• Spike a lukewarm footbath with a spoonful of Epsom salts or just plain ordinary salt to soak tired feet. Add a few drops of oil – eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, lavender or tea tree oil all aid rejuvenation.


• New shoes often equal blistered feet! Wash the blister with soap and warm water, and apply a few dabs of tea tree oil. The natural antibiotics in tea tree oil help prevent infection. Leave the blister open to the air so it heals quickly.


• Grapefruit is an excellent and luscious exfoliant.


• Soak your feet in warm water then rub slices of grapefruit over them. Massage some sugar into the feet to help exfoliate the dead skin, wash it off in the warm water, pat the feet dry and then massage in a rich body lotion.
  

Not-so-sweet feet
Our feet have more than 250,000 sweat glands so it’s no wonder they can smell cheesy when they’ve been trapped inside footwear all day!

• Switch your boots and shoes around so they have a day or so to dry out and air between wearing.


• Make a paste from baking soda or corn flour mixed with a little water and massage it into your feet. It works just as well on foot odours as it does on refrigerator smells.


• Soak smelly feet in a footbath or basin filled with cool water spiked with half a cup of apple cider vinegar.


• Prevent foot odour by spraying feet with antiperspirant deodorant every morning
  


• Mean and green
  Recycled toothbrushes are terrific little tools. They are indispensible when they are used:
  
  As a comb for eyebrows and to de-clump applied mascara.


• As an applicator for hair colour and root touch ups.


• To exfoliate knees and elbows.


• To clean eye liner and lip pencil sharpeners, combs, tweezers and around the lids of foundation and hair product containers. A toothbrush is especially useful to clean the nozzle of a can of hairspray.


• To gently brush away stains and grime around fingers, cuticles and from beneath nails that have been gardening.


• To blend mascara, eye shadow or foundation into hair re-growth.


• Plump up thin lips with a moist toothbrush by gently brushing the lips for a few minutes.


• Clean jewellery. Make sure you put the plug in the sink in case a loose gem is dislodged. Brush the piece lightly under warm water to soften grime.


• To fix any little hairs that stray around your hairline. Put a little dab of hair gel onto the hair and brush through with the toothbrush.


• Pop an old toothbrush into a sturdy re-sealable polythene bag with a sample tube of toothpaste and carry it in your handbag to freshen your mouth after a garlic-laden lunch, a workout at the gym or after work before you go out.

Retail details and magic products
Teeth
WhiteGlo Whitening Toothpaste 150g $4.50, from Supermarkets
Pearl Drops Extra Whitening toothpaste 100g $4, from supermarkets
Prowhitening - chair-side bleaching using a cold blue light, in shopping centres $149 for the first treatment, $75 if you need a second treatment, or call 1300.707372 for a home visit or to find the Prowhitening franchise nearest to you try www.prowhitening.com.au
Chair side bleaching from your dentist $500 - $1,200.
www.crestwhitestrips.com.au
Invisalign braces between $4,500 and $9,000.info@greenwoodnorthsydney.com.au
Porcelain veneers, implants, laser dentistry and Invisalign www.smileconcepts.com.au
Nails
Cutex Nail Polish Remover 100ml $5 from Coles, Woolworths, supermarkets and mass retailers
Persona Nail Buff Lustre 3 Step $2.60, 1 per pack, from Coles and supermarkets
Manicare Nail Shapers $4.25 for 2 in a pack from mass retailers
Manicare Crystal File $12.95 for 1 in a pack
Cutex 3 in 1 (Base coat, top coat and clear nail polish) $7.30, from Priceline,
Revlon Colorstay Topcoat $12.50, 1800 025488
Revlon Classic Nail Enamels $14, 1800 025488
O.P.I. Nail polishes $20 1800 358999 from David Jones and Nail Bar Outlets
Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour $39, 1800 242635, or 1300 242635, try “Rouge Noir”, a dark colour for toes, or “Gold Fiction” for metallic glamour. “Particuliere” is a great beige shade with a hint of mauve that works on all skin tones.
Revitanail Nail Strengthener $30, 03-9676 1800, follow the instructions for strong healthy nails in a month.
Sally Hansen French Manicure Kits $26, from David Jones and Myer. Comes with everything you require to give yourself a French manicure at home
Lotions
Keri Lotion 500mls $13.00, from Priceline and pharmacies nationally.
Nivea Antiaging Hand Cream 50mls $6, 1800 103023, from Priceline
Sorbolene Cream, fragrance-free, containing 10% glycerene 600mls $3, from Priceline
Feet
Sally Hansen Foot Mask available from Priceline, David Jones
Manicare Pumice Sponge from pharmacies nationally, $9
Scholl Foot File $16, from pharmacies nationally
Orthotics – www.footlogics.com.au for a huge variety of shoe inserts, around $28 - $37 free postage
Elastoplast Sports Tape – around $9 for a 10 metre roll from Coles and Woolworths

Find your skin tone.
Everyone, regardless of ethnic background and skin colour, has one of two skin undertones. You will fit into either the warm skin toned family or the cool skin toned family.
Warm toned skin has a yellowish look and a golden caste to it.
Cool toned skin has a blue look and a pink caste to it.
When you are buying make-up you can avoid costly mistakes when you know your skin tone.

Here is a simple test to establish your skin tone:
Place a silver bracelet on one of your wrists and put a gold bracelet on the other. Disregard any personal preference you may have to gold or silver and study the effect each metal has against your skin.
Answer honestly which looks best?
If it is the silver bracelet then you are cool toned.
If the gold bracelet looks better then your skin is warm toned.


What comes next?
Colouring in! We tend to fall into a make-up routine and stick with it. Many of us have applied our make-up the same way since we were teenagers – cleanse, tone and nourish (on a good day!), slap on a layer of foundation, swipe on a bit of blusher, swish a few strokes of deep black mascara onto the eyelashes, maybe draw a nice thick line of eyeliner, dab on some lipstick and hey presto, you’re good to go!
Well, no, you are not good to go!
We haven’t actually finished with primer yet, other primers are available to help us to get gorgeous!
Eye shadow primer – with the texture of velvet. It comes in a flesh coloured liquid and covers all those little veins, blotches or redness’s on the eyelids. A dab of eye shadow primer on the upper eyelid can smooth and fill fine lines, creating an evenly coloured neutral base for your eye shadow to glide over and cling toall day. Camouflage cream works just as well if you don’t have a designated eye shadow primer immediately available.
Mascara primer is a must-have product to help thicken the eyelashes. Essentially it is a clear, conditioning undercoat applied prior to mascara. Every little bit of help counts when it comes to fattening the eyelashes!
Lip primers tend to dehydrate the lips. An alternative is a little camouflage cream pressed around your lip line prior to applying lipstick or gloss. Set this with a light coverage of translucent powder.



The eyes have ‘It’
We’ve all seen glossy advertisements featuring young poodle-haired models with thick feathery eyelashes weighed down with white mascara rimmed with creative slicks of shimmering crystals and we think ‘Wow!’



And it is wow. But it’s not wow for us!



Pared down eye make-up works best for us fabulous people in our summer years! Our make-up is most flattering and youthful when it’s present but not overpowering. The newer look is soft, subtle, luminous and pretty.
So, sadly the time has come to jettison those wild colours you’ve hoarded in the depths of the cosmetics drawer in the hope that they’ll come back into fashion! Anything deep purple, emerald and sapphire or metallic has to go, (along with the hot pinks!).



The Golden Rules of Eye Make-up

• If you wore it the first time around; you’re too old to wear it the second time around. (This applies to clothes as well!).




• Don’t match your make-up to your clothing. Ever. The progressive way is to tone your make-up to complement your clothing. Matchy-matchy makes you look oldie-oldie.




• If you are in doubt about eye shadow colours go neutral or light.




• Make yourself a promise that no glittery, sparkly, pearly, frosted, candy coloured or glassy looking eye shadow will ever touch your eyelids again. As gorgeous as these finishes are, they do not enhance or flatter eyes that are looking at the summer of their life.




• A little sheen is fantastic. Light bounces off the soft-focus pigments in the product and provides a touch of dewy freshness.




• Apply a dab of eye primer to cover tiny veins, blotches, redness or discoloration and to blend the skin tone on the eyelids before smoothing over the eye shadow.




• Powder eye shadow is the more current product. Creamy eye shadow settles into the eye creases, slips off the eyelids and does not provide the same longevity that powder eye shadow will give you.
  

Things worth noting about eye shadow:

• Loose powder shadow such as mineral eye shadow can be difficult to control when applied with a brush as it has a tendency to scatter and flick all over the place. It behaves better when applied with a foam-tipped applicator.




• A pan of compacted matte textured powder shadow applied with an eye shadow brush or a foam-tipped applicator is a better choice than loose powder shadow.




• Powder shadow that is too matte will give your eyes a dry, chalky, lifeless look. Use power eye shadow containing a little sheen (sometimes known as ‘silk’).




• Three stripes of eye shadow swept horizontally across the eyelid is an old-fashioned look. We left the rainbow behind in the eighties.




• Matching your eye shadow with your eye colour is out-dated and not particularly successful. The colour of the iris plays a very small part in the overall face and hair colour scheme.




• Blusher used as eye shadow makes the eyes look squinty and bloodshot. Blusher formulas contain too much red pigment to make a successful transition to eye shadow.




• A streak of stark white shimmery eye shadow swooping across the bone beneath eyebrow is very dated, very drag queen.

Shadowing your gorgeous eyes:
Smooth silky eye primer over your eyelids to camouflage imperfections and prevent your eye shadow from sliding off.

Blend two neutral coloured eye shadows onto the eyelid. Use colours that complement each other, your skin tone, eye colour and your hair colour. Many cosmetic houses offer multi-coloured eye shadow pallets that have been carefully harmonized and colour blended by professional colourists.

Use a broad soft eye shadow brush or a good quality foam-tipped eye shadow applicator to cover the eyelids entirely from the roots of the eyelashes to the bottom of the eye brows with pale neutral coloured matte eye shadow.

Both warm and cool skin tones benefit from neutral coloured eye shadow containing a little warmth. Beige, taupe, pale peach, ivory or vanilla are useful neutral colour names. Chose a colour that is close to the skin colour on your eyelids.

Translucent or opalescent whites look ghostly and do not cover imperfections.

Apply a second, darker shade to the crease of your eyelids from the inner corner to the outer corner with an eye shadow brush. The darker colour gives depth and definition, and contours your eyes.
Smudge the edges of the second colour (the darker contour shade) to blend subtle shadows into the base colour with a designated eye shadow contouring brush or use the edge of an eye shadow foam applicator.

A quick brown word
Do you prefer to wear neutral-looking eye make-up? Many women do as brown shades look good on everyone regardless of their eye colour and skin tone. There are more brown-toned, brown based eye shadows on the market than any other colour.
Brown eye shadow is useful to contour the eyelid creases over a base coat of light pink-toned eye shadow.
If your eyes are green or hazel apply contour shades in brown-khaki, brown-gold or bronze-green to complement but not match your eye colour.
If you have blue eyes nearly all the browns will enhance your eyes. Try beige-pink eye base shadow and contour with one of the lighter browns such as taupe or medium brown-grey.
If you have brown eyes try the darker brown eye shadow pallets such as charcoal, chocolate and red-brown (mahogany) for a smoky look. Gold and tan shadows are great natural-looking contour colours, beige is always a great base colour.

Eye Liner
Do you remember your first bottle of eyeliner? I so remember mine. It came with a brush attached to the inside of the lid. The idea was to paint the shiny black liquid in a thick line close to the upper eyelashes where it was supposed to gleam all day and peel off in one strip at night. By lunchtime most days it had flaked; and by evening when I caught the bus home my creation, so artful in the morning, had disintegrated to a few shreds dangling in my eyelashes.
I persevered until the family cat leapt through the bathroom window and sent the bottle crashing to the floor, ending my Hollywood aspirations! Probably not a bad thing!

Today’s most flattering eyeliner comes in a soft, beautifully colour pencil that has a melting texture enabling the colour to glide across the eyelids. The edges are then gently smudged into the base eye shadow already in place to give a subtle natural look.
The goal is to draw a thin line as close as possible to the eyelashes so it appears you aren’t wearing any eyeliner and your lash line is naturally dark and lush. Jet black pencils make mature eyes look small and severe; softer colours such as black-violet, black-gold, deep brown or smudge-black are more flattering alternatives.
The trick is to have a steady hand, a sharp pencil and a magnifying mirror. If the pencil is blunt and too rounded the resulting line will be thick and dated. You don’t need me to remind you why the magnifying mirror is a necessity!
When you’ve drawn a thin line, smudge the edges into your base coat of eye shadow with a smudging brush, a cotton tip or the edge of a foam tip eye shadow applicator for a soft and natural look.

How to draw the line
An eyeliner pencil that can be sharpened with a pencil sharpener will always provide a good pointy tip to work with. An automatic wind-up eyeliner pencil that winds the product out of a tube never seems sharp enough.Make-up pencil sharpeners are useful to sharpen lip liner pencils and eyebrow pencils too of course!
Start in the middle of the upper lid and draw tiny soft strokes close to the eyelash roots to create a fine line from the middle of your eyelid to the outer corner. If you find your little short strokes waver all over the place, draw tiny dots close together. Some make-up artists recommend drawing the line from the outer corner inwards but it is difficult to do this yourself.
Return to the middle (where you began) and use just a few fine strokes to extend the line in the other direction, towards the inner edge of the iris. It is best to stop there, if you go all the way to the inside corner you’ll make your eye look smaller.

Here’s a trick for eyelids that are starting to look droopy:
Go to the middle of your eyelid and draw another fine line above the one you’ve already drawn close to your lashes, from the middle to the outer corner. This creates an optical illusion making the eyes look lifted. The idea is to keep the emphasis and colour close to the iris and not focus attention on the eyelid.

If the under-eye can stand the attention (that is if you do not have puffiness, dark circles or bags beneath your eyes) draw a very fine line in among the lashes from the inner iris to the outer corner.
There’s no law that says you have to use the same colour you used on your upper lids. Have a go with a brighter, lighter or totally different coloured pencil and see how you like the result.

A hint of colour will make your eyes pop:
If your eyes are green or hazel try forest green, minted green, black-violet, black- gold or chocolate eyeliner pencil.
Blue eyes look great with charcoal, navy, dark purple or dark brown eyeliner pencils or kohl.
Brown eyes are enhanced by smudge black, chocolate brown, eggplant and navy eyeliner pencils.
Always smudge and blend your eyeliners.
A pearly white, ivory, beige or icy pink coloured pencil used on the inside rim of the lower lashes will ‘open up the eyes’.


None of the following are a good look:

• A full circle of eyeliner around the eyes – too heavy.




• Extended cats-eye tails – unless you are Paris Hilton.




• Dark pencil lining the inside rim of the lower lashes visually closes the eyes and makes them look smaller. So eighties! Use a translucent white pencil on the lower rim to open the eyes up.




• More make-up applied below the eyes than applied above them.




• Bleary eyes and red eyes – along with our teeth and nails, the whites of our eyes lose their brightness and can appear cream or ivory as we age. The tiny red veins within the whites of the eyes can ‘pop’, giving a red-eyed appearance. Use eye drops to regain youthful sparkle.

Luxurious Lashes
Picking your way through the myriad of mascaras on the market to find the one for you is daunting to say the least.
Amazing mascaras claiming to add volume, length, fatness, curl or texture to your natural eyelashes are available at every price point plus there is an overwhelming choice of colours!
Well, forget the colours. Cobalt blue, aquamarine, magenta and violet mascaras look fantastic on the stage, on teenage girls, and in the Mardi-Gras. Leave them there!
The ideal mascara colour for most women in their summer years is black. Why? Because it subtly defines the eyes and looks natural (have you ever seen anyone with naturally green eyelashes? I don’t think so!). If black is really not your thing, deep navy helps the whites of your eyes appear whiter and brighter.
If you are fair and black mascara is a little too harsh for your colouring try dark brown mascara.
We want our mascara to give our eyelashes length and volume. We’re after a sultry frame of long thick eye lashes to flatter us, to make us look youthful and to make us look awake! What we don’t want is a sad fringe of dated brittle-fibred clumps.
So, to get gorgeous eyelashes make your choices and follow the directions!

Make-up artists advocate curling the eyelashes prior to applying mascara. Curled lashes open up the eyes. Mini eyelash curlers are manageable by everyone.

• It is a very bad idea to heat eyelash curlers with a hair dryer; it’s dangerous to have hot metal so close to the eye area.


• Curl your eyelashes before you apply primer or mascara, eyelashes are prone to breaking if mascara is applied first and then an eyelash curler is used. Can you afford to lose even one eyelash?
  

Mascara primer is an essential to visually thicken skimpy thin eyelashes. There are many brands on the market, look for one containing a built-in lash-hair conditioner designed to prepare the lashes for mascara to follow. Primer thickens and lengthens the eyelashes and provides a base for mascara to glide over. Unlike the rest of the body, we want the eyelashes to appear fat, so mascara primer is one of the few must-haves in this book!

Have you hung onto a faithful old tube of mascara that has seen better days but can’t let it go because you just know there is still some mascara left inside?
Do you run the tube under the hot tap or soak it in a cup of boiling water for a few moments to loosen the mascara clinging to the insides?
Did you know that a well maintained tube of mascara has an average life of about four months before it starts to ‘go off’?
One of the reasons mascara clings to the inside of the tube is that the formula has thickened and become sticky from being pumped. We all do it, move the wand in and out of the tube in an attempt to rid the brush of excess product or to pick up more mascara on the brush. But pumping also introduces air into the tube, dries out the product inside and makes it lumpy, bumpy and clumpy. Stop pumping!

• Begin mascara application strokes at the base (roots) of your eye lashes. Many of us have slipped into the habit of applying mascara from half way up our lashes, or just to the tips of our eyelashes.


• Fully cover every single lash from the base to the tip.


• Wiggle the brush around the base of the eyelashes and gradually draw it to the tips to visually open up the eyes. Apply as many coats as you like although usually just a couple are enough. Application to the upper eyelashes is more manageable if you tilt your head back slightly and look along your nose into the mirror.


• It is just as important to apply mascara to the bottom lashes as it is to apply mascara to the top lashes to complete a full frame for the eyes.


• Application to the bottom lashes is easier when you tilt your head down and look up into the mirror. The late Princess of Wales perfected this head down, eyes up, beguiling look that’s ideal for bottom lash mascara application.


• If mascara smudges from the eyelashes onto the eye area, allow it to dry and then tip-sponge the smudge with a cotton bud or an eye shadow foam applicator dipped in a little skin toner.


• Water resistant mascara is easy to remove with cleansing creams or make-up remover pads.


• Waterproof mascara which is exactly that - water proof. Use oil-based eye make-up remover to remove Waterproof mascara.


• Cosmetic houses constantly reinvent mascara with fat brushes and thin brushes, long wands and short wands, and formulas to volumize, lengthen, separate, curl, thicken or fatten your eyelashes. Look for the magic words – “thicken” or “fatten” when you are buying mascara!
  

Eyelash tinting
Perhaps the spiky look of mascara is not for you? Do you prefer a silky, natural look but feel your eyelash colour is too light?
Many beauticians and hairdressers provide eyelash tinting services at a reasonable cost.
Do-it-yourself eyelash tinting kits are available from mass retailers, but tinting formulas can irritate the eyes so it really is a treatment best left to the professionals who know what they are doing.

Faking it
False eyelashes are fabulous! They are fabulous for filling in gaps where the natural eyelashes have fallen out, fabulous to ramp up the ante from au naturel to outrageously glamorous; and fabulous to bring sexy drama to the eyes!
Contrary to popular perception, false eyelashes are not the domain of the young and the beautiful! There is no reason why mature women shouldn’t wear them.
Eyelashes with names like “Von Teese, Marilyn and Miss Flirty” are designed for everybody! Some false eyelashes such as the heavy, sultry, ultra thick lashes with diamonds and jewels along the lash line are like coloured mascara and best left in the Mardi-Gras.
Individual fake lashes look youthful. They come in clusters of about ten lashes or on a strip that you can trim to your own requirements.

Individual lashes are easy to apply. All you do is take a cluster from the pack with tweezers and dip the end into a tiny blob of eyelash grip then glue it in among your own eyelashes. If you’re concerned the individual lashes can be detected as fake, just trim them to the length of your own lashes and no one will be any the wiser.
Add a few clusters to the outer corner of your eyes, about five clusters per eye are generally enough. Brush mascara over to meld the fake lashes with your own lashes.
To remove the fake eyelashes moisten the base with glue remover and simply peel them off and put them back into the box they came in and then remove your eye make-up as usual. Most faux eyelashes can be re-used around ten times before they become too tatty to wear.

Luscious lips
Lipstick is the cosmetic to transform your mood and express your personality. Studies have found that lipstick sales increase in times of financial stress when women struggle to find ways to reassure themselves that luxury is still within their reach.

The power of pink
Light, luminous, hydrating, clever, natural, gorgeous, kissable pink lipstick is
the only colour to wear!
The correct pink brings light and luminosity to your mouth and gives the illusion of a glowing youthful complexion and young white teeth.
Cosmetic houses update their lipstick ranges seasonally. Not all the new colours are appropriate for the mature woman – wild purple and deep scarlet won’t work, but any light and pretty shimmery shades are absolutely spot on for us.
The ideal lipstick has a velvety texture, and contains a hint of shimmer in a pink slightly lighter (one shade lighter) than your natural lip colour.
These are dozens of pink shades waiting for you to try at the lipstick counters. The most youthful and chic lipsticks are sheer and pretty, or shimmery or glossy.
If your skin tone is warm steer away from icy pinks. Wear lipsticks containing a dash of peach, apricot, gold shimmer or a hint of spice.
If your skin tone is cool then icy pinks are great for you, or try pinks containing hints of blue or silver/crystal shimmer. Keep away from lipsticks containing a lot of gold, yellow or warm colours (corals and browns).

Another quick brown word - about lipsticks
Brown coloured lipsticks are always included in lipstick ranges. Unlike brown eye shadow, brown lipsticks are best approached with extreme caution! Many look natural and pretty in the tube and have shimmery textures and pink-sounding names such as ‘Tea Rose’.

Unfortunately brown pigment blends quickly into mature lips, bleeds into any fine lines or cracks around the mouth and needs constant re-touch attention because it becomes invisible making you look as though you’ve forgotten to put your lipstick on.

Brown lipstick shades are seldom flattering.
Pink is our very best lipstick friend!

Little lippy things for you to know:

• Even if they haven’t worn a skerrick of make-up for years, most women have worn lipstick at some stage.


• The average shelf life of a tube of lipstick is about four years after which it can start to shrivel up, separate, break down or become rancid.


• Light, glossy pink lipstick suits everyone; it is just a matter of finding the correct mix of warm or cool pinks for you.


• Dark coloured lipstick is a red flag of old age. It makes the lips look thin and mean. It’s a look that does no favours to mature lips that have started to lose collagen. Go pink!


• Dark coloured lip liner filled in with light lipstick (or not filled in at all) was done to death in the eighties. Use a natural pink coloured lip liner and fill in with a gorgeous feminine pink lipstick.


• Pink lipstick that’s too dark may bleed into any fine lines around your lips.


• Pale pink lipstick can make you look washed out. The right pink visually plumps up your lips.


• Mauve lipstick makes us look old, sick and sad.


• Orange lipstick makes us look as though we’re trapped in a time warp.


• Nude lipstick is never flattering; wear clear glassy lip gloss instead.


• Ditch purple, burgundy, crimson, mahogany or any other deep, horrid colours and throw away the matching lip liners while you’re at it!


• Texture is important. Frosty and opaque lipsticks are outdated, metallic textures weigh heavy on mature lips, and matte lipsticks are dull and flat because they don’t contain light reflectiing ingredients. Audit your make-up drawer and re-stock with light glossy pink replacements.


• Lipstick lasts longer on the lips than lip gloss but why not use both? Apply lipstick to the lips and slick gloss on the top to give the appearance of full lush lips.


• Shimmery, shiny, sheer, creamy or glossy are sophisticated elegant lipstick textures that enhance youthfulness and bring luminosity to the complexion.
  

Lip enhancers
Lip enhancers temporarily plump up thin lips. Any other way to pump up the lips for more than a few hours will involve collagen filler injections or collagen regeneration laser sessions, both of which need to be done by accredited specialists who will relieve you of considerable amounts of money - especially for the latter which is also painful.

• Massaging your lips with your fingers or an old toothbrush irritates them and inflates them for a while.


• Some lip glosses contain lip enhancing ingredients such as cinnamon. You’ll know when a lip gloss contains enhancers – it makes your lips tingle.


• The illusion of a full, plump pout is best obtained with the use of glossy pink lipstick, a lip liner to match the natural lip colour and a tube of pink lip gloss. Apply the lip liner, fill in with the lipstick, blot the lipstick on a tissue and apply another coat, then top with the lip gloss.


• Lips look bigger when lines are drawn slightly above and slightly below only the middle (the cupids bow) of your lips and not the entire outline.
  

Long-lasting lip stains are available from some cosmetic companies. The stain is brushed onto the lips and then topped with a coat of glossy lip shine. A steady hand is needed to apply the stain because the formula is usually thin and watery. It takes a few moments to dry during which time the stain can travel or bleed into any feathery lines surrounding the lips. And there it will stay; drawing attention to those lines and no amount of scrubbing will remove it.

Lipstick is always a more flattering alternative.

Ruby red lips

• Attention grabbing and dramatic red lipstick is sometimes considered the epitome of glamour.


• Red lipstick is the most difficult colour to pull off – unless you are Dita von Teese.


• Red lipstick was last fashionable in Europe, in the 1980’s.


• Red lipstick looks absolutely amazing on celebrities in photographs taken in controlled conditions.


• Red lipstick in the light of day looks crap on nearly everyone else; especially the woman who has left her thirties.


• If you have a burning desire to wear red lipstick experiment with light, sheer shades and textures or wear translucent red lip gloss.

Fast track to fabulous lips

Ready!
The first thing when applying any make-up is to ensure the surface is exfoliated and moisturised. Lips are no different. Include your lips when you’re exfoliating your face. Gently rub the exfoliant product over your lips to remove any flaky, peeling or cracked skin. Wash the exfoliant off and moisturise your lips with a lip balm such as Blistex or Chapstick or your usual nourishing moisturiser.

Steady!
Concealer or camouflage helps prevent lipstick from bleeding into feathery lines around the mouth. Blend a little around the edges of your lips to fill in the lines and provide a barrier.
Lip liner gives the illusion of fuller lips. Quite honestly, the older we get, the more help we need to keep our lips on the front of the face (as opposed to disappearing into the mouth!
Lip liner when skilfully applied makes the lips look well formed and full.
Your lip liner should be the same colour as your lips, or a little lighter, but never darker.
Nude-sounding names are often a useful guide to lip liner and lip pencil colours. Mature lips have usually lost a little colour so the products we use on them - lipsticks and lip liners- need to be lighter than the products we wore ten years ago.
It’s important to use a lip-liner because no one has a perfectly symmetrical mouth - have a close look at the mouth next time you see a photo of your favourite celebrity!
A dark line drawn around the lips with a half-used-up almost forgotten deep plum coloured lip liner you rescued from the back of your make-up drawer makes you look like a cast member of the Addams Family!
Use a sharp lip liner pencil or lip liner crayon to outline the natural outer edges of your lips and to correct any naturally smudged or wobbly lip lines – that’s what lip liner is for!
Fill in the upper and lower lips by bringing a few strokes of lip liner pencil across the cupids bow on the upper lip and the fuller part on the lower lip. This provides a key for the lipstick and if it slides off during the day at least you’ll have some colour and defining lines left from the lip liner.
Lip liner pencils (encased in wood) last longer than lip liner crayons (the thin stick of product you wind up out of a cylinder).

Go!
Apply lipstick or lip gloss or both. Lipstick lasts longer when it’s applied, blotted with a tissue to absorb any excess oils in the lipstick and then re-applied.
Models use a trick to shine under the spotlights by applying a dab of lip gloss to the upper bows and the lower fullness of the lips. A more manageable way is to cover the entire lips with a coat of lip gloss.

The Toolbox
A set of make-up brushes made from soft natural bristles is a lifetime investment. Brushes distribute product more evenly than hard-pressed cotton buds or foam applicators and there are brushes designed for every cosmetic application.
Start your brush collection with a broad rounded soft-haired eye shadow base brush. A lipstick brush is another useful investment to collect the product from the base of the lipstick barrel.

• Add brushes to your collection as and when you can. Make-up brushes are great gift suggestions!


• Wash your brushes regularly with liquid soap or shampoo and allow them to dry naturally.


• Wipe brushes with a tissue after using to get rid of gunk and any dust and bacteria.


• Variety stores sell individual brushes at reasonable prices, or wait for the sales. Cosmetic companies sometimes offer reduced price brush sets during promotions when new products are launched or as complementary companions to other products.


• Hard-pressed cotton buds are useful disposable tools for blending eye shadow and smudging eyeliner. They are ideal for dabbing camouflage and concealer over blemishes and a cotton bud dipped in a little toner will correct any eyeliner, eye shadow or mascara smudges.


• Foam applicators are handy little semi-disposable tools. They come in packs of at least 10 and can be washed with liquid soap, squeezed out, left to dry and re-used several times.


• Store make-up brushes, pencils, mascara and long tubes of make-up upright in an old coffee mug in your bathroom drawer.


• Store lipsticks with the shade and brand information facing up in an old plastic tub or plastic aerosol cover (if you can find one!).
  

Good to Go!
Now you are almost good to go. Follow this step by step guide to a professional looking make-up.

• Step 1 Skin
  Apply foundation primer all over your face, including the eyelids and the area below the eyes.
  Follow with foundation. Warm a small amount on the back of one hand; use the other hand to smooth it evenly over the primer and into your jaw line.


• Using the pads of your ring fingers, gently smooth concealer onto the under-eye area and blend the edges into your foundation. Smooth a little concealer around your lips to fill in fine lines and provide a base for lipstick.


• Shake a little brightening powder into the lid of the container. Use a medium flat brush to pick up a dab and then flat-press it under the eye area on top of the concealer to lighten and brighten the eyes.


• Take a thin-tipped brush and lightly apply camouflage where you need it – to cover any redness around the nose, blotches, sunspots, freckles, scars or whatever. Blend the edges into the surrounding foundation.


• Shake a little translucent powder into the lid of the container and use a velour powder puff rolled around your middle finger (like a taco) to transfer the powder onto the puff. Rub the puff against the back of the other hand to work the powder into the puff and then roll and lift it over the foundation on your face.
  

Step 2 Eyes

• Apply a small dab of eye shadow primer to the upper eyelids. Use the pads of your ring fingers to blend and smooth it from the roots of your eyelashes to the eyebrows to form an even base for the eye shadow to follow.


• Use a broad, fat brush to apply eye shadow base all over the upper eyelid from the eyelashes to the eyebrows. Blend the base into the foundation around the bridge of your nose, and into the outer corners of the eye area.


• Draw short light strokes or tiny dots next to each other as close as possible to the roots of the upper eyelashes with eyeliner pencil. Smudge the edges with an eye shadow applicator or cotton tip so it blends into the base eye shadow colour. Apply a very thin line in amongst the roots of the lower eyelashes, then blend and smudge it.


• Take a second eye shadow colour and brush into the eye creases to highlight the contours.
  Tilt your head back and looking down your nose à la Marilyn Monroe, apply a coat of mascara primer to your top eye lashes.


• Now, doing your best Princess Diana imitation, lower your head and look up into the mirror to apply the mascara primer to the lower eye lashes.
  Repeat the performance with a coat or two of mascara over the top.
  

Step 3 - Eyebrows

• Brush or pencil your eyebrows with short strokes to give them depth.
  

Step 4 Blusher

• Gently blend blusher into the apples of your cheeks and smooth the edges into the surrounding foundation. Dab any extra off with a dry tissue.
  

Step 5 Lip liner and Lipstick

• Using small strokes, apply lip liner where it’s needed on the outer lips. Draw a few extra strokes on the fleshy part of your lips to blend the lip liner and the lipstick that follows.


• Slick on lipstick or lip gloss.
  

Eye brows
Full-looking eyebrows are a sign that you are still very much in the game, but getting them right is one of the trickiest things we ever do! Perfect brows don’t stand out and they don’t call attention, they are refined, sophisticated and the shape remains the same. We notice eyebrows that are badly shaped or in poor condition. There’s nothing flattering or attractive about untidy, bushy, shapeless, thin, pencilled-in or grey eyebrows!
Eyebrow shapes and thicknesses go in and out of fashion and are best left to models to play around with. Eyebrows are not made to be thickened and thinned at fashion’s whim. They take forever to grow back, unfortunately by this point in our lives most of us are stuck with the eyebrow hair we’ve got and can’t grow them another way anyhow!
Well defined, groomed brows and clean arches flatter the face.
No doubt at some stage you’ve come across the confusing pencil trick to determine the brow arch. You know the one –you place a pencil along the outside of the nose to the forehead and establish where it intersects with the eyebrow at each end and that’s where the eyebrows should begin and finish. The problem is that as clever as this trick may be, it doesn’t allow for puffiness, a little extra face padding, or the size or shape of the eyes. And then you have to work out the shape…

Wow-brows
The smart ways to shape your brows are to have them done by a brow professional, or to use an eyebrow stencil kit to shape them yourself. These little gems are easy to use:
Select the stencil that’s the nearest match to your real eyebrow shape and line it up on your brow. Then either cover the hair within the stencil with wax or colour it with a pencil, remove the stencil and pluck away any hair that was out of the stencil (the hair that’s not waxed or coloured) and sabotaging your perfect eyebrow shape. Flip the stencil over and attend to your other brow. When you’ve finished plucking remove the wax and reveal your clean new eyebrow shape.
It’s an old wives tale that you should never pluck any hair above the brow. If hair above your brow is wrecking the shape, tweeze it. Your face won’t fall off!

Alternatively visit a brow expert to have your eyebrows professionally shaped. Brow experts use different hair removal methods – tweezing, waxing, and some may use threading – a quick technique to remove hair by pulling it out with twisted cotton threads.
If you decide threading is for you, discuss the eyebrow shape that will best suit your face shape and your eye shape with the technician. Ensure the technician knows is proficient; eyebrow threading is seldom a temporary eyebrow solution! I had my eyebrows threaded when I was in my late twenties and the hair has never grown back.
Waxing can damage the delicate skin above the eyes, but it does remove a good wad of hair in a single whip. This reason alone makes waxing best done by a professional. Eyebrow hair takes at least 6 weeks to regrow – if it’s going to grow back at all.
Tweezing is by far the quickest, easiest and most precise way to remove eyebrow hair. Tweezers are small enough to fit into your make-up bag, glove box or office drawer so they are instantly on hand to attend to stray eyebrow hairs as they appear. If you stay on top of stray hairs you’ll maintain your eyebrow shape.
Buy a pair of good tweezers (or several of pairs if you intend to keep them in different locations). Slanted tips work well, flat tips are okay, but don’t bother with pointed tips because they don’t grip the hair properly and can slip and stab the skin. Tweezing is less painful when a warm water compress is held over the eyebrow before you begin. Wet a washcloth under hot tap water and press it against the brow area. Or, tweeze after a shower when the warm water has softened the skin and relaxed the pores so the hairs come out more easily.
The perfect eyebrow shape has a moderate width and a longish tail tapering slightly at the outer edge.

Here’s the thing:

• If you have discomfort issues you could numb the brow area by applying a topical mouth ulcer anaesthetic such as Bonjela five minutes before you begin tweezing.


• Switch brows – pluck a few hairs from one brow, then a few hairs from the other.


• Always pull the hair in the direction of the hair growth.


• Avoid mad shapes like too rounded (clownish) or tadpole (where the inner brow is thick and tapers off to a tiny thin tail extension).


• Longer tails look more youthful than short stubby tails.


• If you colour your hair, the chances are your eyebrows should be coloured as well. Discuss it with your hair colourist; blondes and brunettes should go a shade or two darker on their eyebrows. Redheads look great with the same shade.


• Pluck and shape your eyebrows prior to colouring them yourself. Apply a coat of Vaseline to the surrounding skin so any dye dribbles are easily removed, and allow the dye to set on the eyebrow hair for just a few minutes.


• It’s tempting to tweeze out those annoying grey or white hairs and we’ve all done it, but it’s not a good thing. Alas, those hairs aren’t going to go away and they’ll increase in numbers as the relentless body clock ticks on. If you pluck out hair just because it’s grey you’ll end up with bare patches in your eyebrows. Instead, colour it in with an eyebrow pencil, eyebrow powder, hair dye, eyebrow gel or eyebrow mascara.


• When you find one or two annoying hairs suddenly grow too long in your eyebrows, don’t pluck them. Trim them with scissors. Sparse eyebrows can’t afford to lose even one hair.
  

Some department stores have a Brow Bar, usually located in the cosmetics area where you sit on a tall stool to have your eyebrows shaped and plucked by an expert technician. It is well worth taking the time to observe and establish which technician’s work you prefer before you leap in to have your brows done. You may need to make an appointment if you plan going during busy periods such as weekday lunch breaks or sales times.
Most eyebrows issues are caused by zealous over-plucking. Hair that has been tweezed, waxed or removed for too long (most likely in a teenage attempt to emulate a movie star or celebrity) won’t grow back. Over-plucked eyebrow gaps can be filled in with eyebrow make-up. Eyebrow pencil topped with eyebrow powder or gel is the longest lasting combination because the wax from the pencil forms a key for the powder to stick to.

• Use products specifically formulated for eyebrows. Brown eyeliner pencils or eye shadows aren’t neutral enough and black mascara is too strong - even when it’s used sparingly.


• Use a sharpened eyebrow pencil to draw in colour in where there are gaps in the eyebrow hair. Use little feathery strokes to emulate the real thing.


• Apply brow powder with a slanted eyebrow brush.


• Set the brows with brow gel or brow mascara for true wow brows!
  
  Five common brow mistakes:
  1. Shaping too thin. Skinny eyebrows are ageing and add an illusion of heaviness to the face.
  2. Zooming into the brows with a magnifying mirror when you are tweezing can cause you to obsess about every single hair and you could end up over-plucking.
  3. Matching the eyebrows exactly to the hair colour. This is a tricky one. The eyebrows should complement the skin surrounding them, not match the hair. Go a shade darker than the hair colour. Dye kits are available for the eyebrows.
  4. Snipping at your brows when you don’t need to. Being scissor-happy makes the brows uneven.
  5. Pointed tweezers can break the skin and cause scabbing and scars. Use slanted tweezers to pluck your eyebrows.

Retail details and magic products
The following prices pertain to Australia. Most brands are available world-wide.

Skin Primer
Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer $28, 1800 025488 or from Priceline and mass retailers
Australis Primer $14 from Priceline
Rimmel Antiredness Recover Perfect Skin Primer $10, veil and brightener, from supermarkets and mass retailers or call 1800 812663 for stockists


Foundation
CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation is a product that’s so smart that it adapts itself to your skin tone. By now you’ll know were your skin colour falls - light, medium or dark, so test the closest foundation colour. Supermarkets, Department stores and mass variety retailers such as K-Mart, Target and Priceline
Avon Ideal Shade Liquid Foundation $30, 1800 646000
L’Oreal Paris True Match Super-Blendable Make-up $31, 1300 659259
Max Factor Second Skin Foundation $36, 1800 181040
Tinted Moisturizer
Australis Tinted Moisturizer SPF15 $14, Priceline and mass retailers
Face of Australia Tinted moisturizer SPF25, $12 in light, medium and dark shades
Concealer
Benefit boi-ing hides everything. 3g Three shades – light medium and dark, when in doubt choose the middle one (number 02)) $35 from Myer
Benefit ‘lemon aid’ correcting cream $35 from Myer
Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer $34, 1800 061326 use after foundation to cover under-eye blemishes
Max Factor Erace Concealer $23, 1800 181 040
MAC Studio Finish Concealer NC15 – NC50, NW15 – NW50, with SPF30 $32 – full coverage concealer, 1800 061326
MAC Studio Finish Blot Powder $36 – full coverage powder, 1800 061326
Brightening powder
Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder, around $78 (lasts a long time) 02-9663 4277 From David Jones and Myer Department Stores


Eye Primer
Laura Mercier Eye Basics in peach, $30, 02-9663.4277 Myer, David Jones
Eye shadow
Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow - smoothes on beautifully and comes in pallets containing four complementary shades, two applicators and application hints (what to put where) on the back of the pallet. Priceline $15, 1800 025 488
Eye Liner
MAC Eye Khol comes in a vast range of colours from David Jones and Myer. Try Violet Underground, or Minted $32, 1800 061326
Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Pencil in black violet, black aqua or black gold $60 (lasts forever!) 02-9663.4277
Elizabeth Arden Eye Pencil – Umber 02 is a great brown $32, 02-9409.7700
Estee Lauder Eye Defining Pencil Softsmudge Black $32, 1800.061326
Benefits eye bright pencil in pink $34, from Myer, use on the inside of your lower lid to open your eyes.
Max Factor Masterpiece Glide & Define Liquid Eyeliner $21, 1800 181040
Mascara Primer
MAC Prep + Prime Lash $35, 1800 061326
Estee Lauder Lash Primer Plus Full Treatment Formula $45, 1800 061326
Mascara
Benefits BADgal blue mascara, thick formula with a big brush 8.5g $36, from Myer
Maybelline Great Lash Mascara Soft Black $16, 1300 369327
Max Factor False Lash Effect, comes in water resistant and water proof formulas, in black and brown/black with a big fat brush to make lashes look bigger. $22 from most retailers or www.maxfactor.com for your nearest stockist

Eyelash Curlers
1000 Hour Heated Eyelash Curler $19 from K-Mart
Manicare Eyelash Curler $12, from mass retailers
Fake Eyelashes
Gorgeous Cosmetics ‘ Madam Lash Eyelashes’, choice of twenty five styles, free application and removing lesson when you purchase, $18 for a full set of lashes or set of individual lashes, $17 for a tube of Lash Grip.
Gorgeous Cosmetics – Melbourne 03-9654.9422, Sydney 02-9231.2500, & Brisbane 07-3220.1505
1000 Hour Individual Lashes Lash Extensions $9, from K-Mart
Eylure Lash Extend Individual lashes $17 from Priceline, includes adhesive and remover, and re-usable lashes
Eye drops – from pharmacies, nationally. Check the Use-By date.
Clear Eyes Redness Relief 15mls
Optive Lubricant Eye Drops, Allergen Australia

Lipsticks
MAC ‘Chic’ is a useful pink for warm skin tones $36, 1800 061326
Estee Lauder Michael Kors Lip Sheen in Bungalow Pink $44, 1800 061326, David Jones and Myer
Estee Lauder Michael Kors Lip Gloss in Hollywood Gold $42, 1800 062326, just gorgeous! From Myer and David Jones
Transfer-proof lipsticks
Max Factor Lipfinity 2 step lip colour in 22 shades www.maxfactor.com for stockists
Lip Liner
Revlon ColorStay Lipliner Pencil $23, 1800 025 488

Lip Hydrators
Chapstick 7g $4 from Coles, supermarkets, mass retailers
Blistex Lip Conditioner 7g $4 from supermarkets, mass retailers
Lip Enhancers
Sally Hansen Thin Lip Collagen Boost $15 from K-Mart
Sally Hansen Volumizing Formula $15 from K-Mart increases lip fullness

Eyebrow Stencils
Colourescience In Perfect Shape Stencil – 1 stencil $25 www.myshopping.com.au
ModelCo EYEBROWS Designer Brow Kit $48, 02-8354.6700. All you need in one chic compact kit – 4 re-usable stencils, brow wax and powder, tweezers, brushes, grooming wand and easy to follow instructions. www.modelco.com.au for your nearest stockist
Bonjela Mouth Ulcer Anaesthetic 15mls $7 from supermarkets

Brow Bars
Benefit at Myer, George St, Sydney $36 for eyebrow shaping
Eyebrow Dye Kits from Priceline and pharmacies or Price Attack around $14
Makeup pencil sharpener
Manicare $4.50 from Priceline. Dual sharpener to sharpen thick and normal size make-up pencils
Make-up Tools
Manicare foam applicators pk12 $4.50, from K-Mart, Priceline and mass retailers
Various Make-up applicator brushes at various price points from mass retailers, make-up stores and bars, department stores