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5 Easy Skincare and Makeup Tips for Latinas

5 Easy Skincare and Makeup Tips for Latinas
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Shopping for skincare and makeup products has always been hard. Besides the usual does it work question, I also have to ask, will it work on my olive skin? For a long time the answer was no. For my beauty needs, I ended up blending items to create something that would work. Sometimes I used things like my abuelita's beauty regimen, Pond's and a dash of Avon lipstick. Other times, I would tear open every magazine I could find to find one model, one spokesperson that somewhat looked like me so I could run out and buy what they were using. There weren't very many and a lot of times I ended up looking like a payaso.

Thankfully, times have changed. Gorgeous Latina celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, and Penelope Cruz have made the beauty industry boom with many options for Latina women. With so many options, you have to decide which fits your needs the best. Here are a few easy skincare and makeup tips and products that I have personally tried out and saw they worked great for Latinas:

  • Use SPF! The common misconception is that since our skin is naturally tan or dark, that our skin doesn't burn and that exposure to the sun doesn't hurt us. So wrong! The minimum SPF recommended is 15, and yes, this means winter months too. You want to preserve that golden olive skin? Best SPF up! I recommend Neutrogena's Oil Free Moisture with SPF 35 and Artistry Essentials Balancing Lotion.

  • Don't shy away from bronzers and blushes. If anything, use them every chance you get. Not only does it highlight your gorgeous skin tone and cheekbones, but it hides any imperfections. Here is a great list of bronzers and blushes perfect for olive or darker skin tones.

  • Dark eye circles, be gone! The very first step is use eye cream daily! Don't think that because you're young you don't need eye cream, you still do. It's recommended to add eye cream to your regimen before you hit 30. My favorites are Artistry LuXury Creme LuXury Eye (so worth the price!) and Salma Hayek's Nuance Anti-Aging Eye Cream. The next step is a great under eye concealer. The key to finding a great under eye concealer is finding one that matches your skin's undertones. I had my makeup done by a celebrity makeup artist once who recommend an apricot tone or slightly reddish. While you want to complement your skin tone, you also don't want the dark circle hue to mix and cause a greyish look. I've been swearing by Cover Girl + Olay Balm in Medium lately.

  • Don't overpluck! The shape of your eyebrows defines the shape of your face. One bad pluck and your whole look is changed, and not usually for the better. Most Latinas tend to have full brows which just need some cleaning and light shaping. Look in the mirror and define your brows by the shape of your face. I tend to have my brows waxed and shaped once a month, with only some light tweezing in the unibrow area and the arch of each eye.

  • Love your lips, make them pop. Yet another misconception I heard years ago. Most Latinas have full lips and they should avoid bold colors. Let me tell you, I lived in such lipstick doldrums that last year I itched to try a bright bold Mary Kay Really Red and it has become my signature color. Love those oranges and peaches? Great... make it work. Try not to over match with your attire, instead look for clothes that complement your lips. Some suggestions are Cover Girl Blast Flipstick in Stunner and L'Oreal Paris Infallible 8 Hour Plumping Gloss in Plumping Rose.

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