Make Up Your Eyes for Evening

When evening calls for a glamorous look, you want to focus on making your eyes amazing. Here are eight simple steps to making up your eyes for evening.

   1. Prep your eyes with concealer. Concealer can be used to cover up under eye circles or just the bluish discoloration just under your inner eye. To cover dark under eye circles, apply three dots of concealer under each eye. Start at the inner corner where skin tends to be darkest, then under the pupil and the third on the outer edge.

   2. Apply eye base to your lid Eye base is the secret to keeping your shadow in place for hours. Without properly priming your lid first, your eye shadow will likely end up a greasy line in your crease.

   3. Apply shadow. It's great to use a three-toned shadow and build from lids to brow. Allowing them to merge into each other like a rainbow is graceful. Start with a light color that almost matches your lid. brush the color across the lid and up to your brow bone. Follow with a medium color across your lid only. Build on this with a darker color in the crease. Blend the colors well.

   4. Follow with eyeliner Dark eye shadows work great as eyeliners. Wet a slanted brush, and then dip in a dark eye shadow. Line eyes as close to the upper lashes as possible from the inner corner to the outer corner. Follow with liner on bottom eyes, but only line from the middle of the eye out. Smudge the bottom line with a Q-tip or your finger. You don't want a prominent line. For a smokey eye, use a brush to pat in a dark eye shadow along the upper lid and below the lid. You don't want a stark line, instead you want to blend it so it's 'smudge-y.'

5. Brighten your eyes with a highlighter. This step involves only the inside part of the eye. With a gold or pink highlighter (white is too bright), draw a v-shaped shape that follows the inner corner of your eye from top to bottom. Blend with your fingers. This will help make eyes 'pop.'

   6. Highlight your brow Take the same highlighter and dab it on your browbone, concentrating on your mid-brow outward. Blend with your finger.

   7. Curl lashes An eyelash curler will make even long lashes look more gorgeous. For added effect, you can heat the curler under a blowdryer for a couple seconds. Test curler before applying to lashes because you could burn yourself.

   8. Apply mascara Place the wand of your mascara brush at the bottom of lashes and wiggle back and forth. Follow with another few sweeps of the wand. Apply to bottom lashes as well.

Ahmed Ali Butt To Host Lux Style Awards 2013

Famous Pakistani actor, hip hop rapper and rock music keyboardist, Ahmed Ali Butt, who rocked the LUX Style Awards as a host last year, makes a triumphant return to the stage in 2013. Chosen to host the 12th LUX Style Awards for the second year running, Ahmed has a big ask to keep the audiences engaged and entertained all during the long show when Pakistan celebrates and honors the best in Music, TV, Film and Fashion.

Ahmed Ali Butt, seen these days as the host of the popular music show Cornetto Music Icons, is best known for his awesome sense of humor, and stole the show at the 11th Lux Style Awards with his hilarious jokes and brilliant re-enactment of Akon's 'Smack That'. The audience laughed and sang to “LSA, let’s celebrate, LSA just love don’t hate, LSA it’s all okay,LSA everybody.” 

The annual event of Lux Style Awards, slated to be held next month, celebrates and gives out awards in 28 categories for Fashion and Entertainment. Watch this space for more on Ahmed, LUX Style Awards and the best of Pakistan’s music, fashion and television.

Juggan's Mehndi Pics

Fashion & Style

How To Do The Basic At-Home Facial

There’s nothing better than getting a professional facial, but they can be expensive. To maintain your healthy skin between professional treatments or to do them yourself, try this basic at-home facial once a week. This basic facial works on oily, dry and combination skin.

And don’t worry, I’m not going to make you whip up a batch of egg-whites and oatmeal, but you will save money if you do your own mask. I list a bunch of organic, natural Homemade Face Mask Recipes for every skin type. But if you don't want to make your own, you can buy a great mask at health food stores or even your local drugstore.

Time Required: 25-30 minutes

Here's How:

1. Cleanse the skin
   You’ll want to wash the face, neck and ears with a good facial cleanser to remove any grime or dirt.
   Don't forget to remove eye makeup with a makeup remover. My hands-down favorite is Clinique, butNeutrogena's eye makeup remover is a great drugstore option.
2. Exfoliate
   Using your fingers, rub a gentle exfoliating facial scrub in a circular motion on your face. Concentrate on the areas around your nose and forehead or if you have combo skin, work harder on the areas that tend to be "greasy." Rinse your face well since exfoliating scrubs tend to be drying.
3. Steam
   There are several ways to steam your face. You can fill your sink with warm water, dip a washcloth in and press to your face repeating 2-3 times or you can take it further by boiling water in a teapot. 
4. The mask
   For oily skin, use a clay-based face mask. For dry skin, go for a hydrating gel or cream mask.
   Apply the mask, avoiding the areas around the eyes. Keep it on for 10-20 minutes (or, according to the directions on the product). Rinse completely. You can even make your own face mask.
   
   
5. Moisturize
   Smooth on a soothing, basic moisturizer over your face and neck.  
   Tip: Stay away from strong moisturizers containing retinols or acids. These will over-exfoliate your skin.
6. For another great facial, try my friend Janine's "When You Can't Afford the Spa Teapot Facial." It's only 3 steps and Janine's been doing it for years and I tell you the girl looks a good 10 years younger than she is.

What You Need

• Gentle cleanser
• Exfoliating scrub
• Warm water & a washcloth
• Clay-based or cream facial mask (based on skin type)
• Basic moisturizer

How To Get Smokey Eyes

Smokey eyes have been a big style for quite awhile and there's no sign this particular trend is dying. Here we show you step-by-step instructions on how to get the perfect smokey eye.

The key to the perfect smokey eye is proper blending. You want to make sure colors are blended together flawlessly. Also, it's important to pair light base colors with rich dark colors. Nice mixes include: Soft gold base with deep purple on top, champagne base with bright blue and peach base with green hue.

Here's How:

1. Prep the lid. The key to keeping eye shadow from melting into your eyelid crease as the day goes on is to kept eyelids oil-free. To do this start with an eye shadow base (also called "primer"). Simply swipe the primer across the eye and let it dry before you continue to the next step.
2. Apply eyeliner. If you're going for a typical black, brown or gray smoky eye, apply liner in one of those colors above the upper lash line, drawing line thicker in the middle of eye. If you're opting for a jewel-toned eye (violet makes a gorgeous smokey eye), line eyes with a purple, blue or deep green liner.
3. Blend in color on bottom lashes For color on the bottom (a key smokey eye look) you'll want to use a eyeliner pencil because they're easiest to smudge. Once the line is drawn, run your finger over it to smudge the line. You can also apply a bit of shadow to get full smudge effect.
4. Apply light base color Again, the key to a smokey eye is pairing a lighter base with the darker hue. I prefer a nice cream shade for my base. Sweep a light, shimmery shadow over the lids to your brow bone. I love Stila's whipped eye shadows. The moist "mousse" consistency seems to stay on forever. My favorite colors are taupe and pearl.
5. Blend in darker color, but keep dark color below the crease. Now that you have the base and eyeliner on, it's time to get the smokey effect. You need a darker eye shadow shade. Using an eye shadow brush blend in color starting at your lash line, blending up. Make sure to blend color into the lash line so the eye liner disappears. Stop deep color at crease. The key here is to blend, blend, blend.
6. Double check your work Make sure eyes match and blend color with a Q-tip if need be.
7. Finish with several coats of mascara. You'll want to apply a few coats of mascara so lashes are thick and dark. If you don't have naturally long, curled lashes, curl them with a lash curler first.

Tips:

1. Remember to keep lips nude. When applying strong makeup (like smokey eyes or red lips) put the focus on either eyes or lips, never both. (Think Angelina Jolie: She either plays up her huge eyes or her huge lips, never both. If she did, she'd look like a clown).
2. Liner doesn't have to come in pencil form. Makeup experts know eyeshadows make some of the best eyeliners. To do this take an eyeliner brush (available at Sephora, MAC or any dept store), wet it, then dab wet brush into the dark shadow. This allows for a deep, precise line. You can also use the dark shadows without wetting brush first. Either way, eyeliner is necessary for smoky eye.

The Trick to Making Your Eyes Look Bigger

Ever look at those pictures of celebrities before makeup and after? My favorite celebrity is Gwyneth Paltrow and I was thrilled one day to see her without makeup. Her eyes just disappeared. Yet in photos, she has luminous eyes. So what's the secret?

There are actually several. To get huge eyes try these tricks:

Curl Eyelashes

If you don't have naturally long, perfect eyelashes,curling them before applying mascara will really open up your eyes. You can actually curl lashes AFTER mascara is applied, as long as your mascara is dried (a good tip to know if you want to curl your lashes later in the day without removing your mascara). I usually blast the eyelash curler for 3 seconds with a hair dryer for extra staying power. Just test the metal to ensure it's not too hot before you clamp down on your upper lash.

What to Do With the Bottom Lashes?

Many makeup experts avoid mascara on the lower lashes because they believe it actually closes up the eyes. This is true for some women, but for others, mascara and eyeliner on the lower lashes can make a dramatic difference. Try it out for yourself and see if you like it.

To apply mascara on lower lashes, hold the brush vertically, then sweep it back and forth. If you wear eyeliner on the lower lashes, try a pencil eyeliner, which tends to be softer. Then smudge the line with your finger so it looks more natural than a straight line.

See my lists of the best mascaras and eyeliners.

Don't Be Afraid of False Eyelashes

Individual false lashes are exotic, gorgeous and can look natural if applied correctly. Large cities offer "lash bars" in the hottest department stores. (Henri Bendel, Bergdorfs and more, for example) but I expect the counters at most department stores will have experts in false lashes. Ask at yours.

Don't want to go to department store? Drugstores carry false eyelashes. If they're too long, you can trim them with scissors.

Why White Shadow is the Makeup Artist's Secret

When I go out for the evening, I always put a bit of light eyeshadow right at the inside ridge of my eye, where the upper lid meets the bottom lid, near the tear duct. It's amazing how that bit of white brightens my eyes and makes them look whiter. This is a old beauty secret of makeup artists and if you look closely at photos of celebrities on red carpets you can see that tell-tale light shade in the inside corner of their eyes.

Yves Saint Laurent's Touche Eclat: Another Makeup Artist Secret

A few years ago when everyone was going ga-ga for Yves Saint Laurent's Touche Eclat calling it the "best concealer ever," I bought it thinking I'd use it to conceal any spots on my face.

I hated it. It hardly concealed anything and I couldn't see what the big deal was. I went back to the store to return it when the women at the counter told me it's actually supposed to be used as a highlighter, not a concealer. She did me up and I was blown away by how awake I looked. It's now a beauty staple in my arsenal and I use it every time I go out.

To use: Dot along the browbone just below the brow and blend in. You can also dot along the bottom of eye and even above the browbone. One trick with Touche Eclat is to fill in the shadows that naturally occur when you tuck your chin and look into the mirror. Tuck your chin, look into the mirror and swipe a line of Touch Eclat where the shadows lie. Blend the lines with a tip of the finger.

Keep Your Brows Manicured

You'd be amazed at how manicured brows can transform your face. I've seen it happen with so many women. They think their brows are fine even though they never get them tweezed or waxed. Perhaps they're afraid of over-tweezing or they are unsure of what shape is right for their eyes. They don't realize how much better they could look until I convince them to get their brows done. Wow. It's perhaps my single most important advice to you: Get thee to a professional for waxing, tweezing or threading and then keep it up with touch-ups with your own tweezers by following the "map" they create.

Beauty for darker skins: the perfect red lipstick

Scarlet lips are a focal trend this season, but why are so many of us still so reluctant to embrace this striking look

Red lipstick on any skin tone has the power to mesmerize. Photograph: Flamingo Photography/Getty Images/Gallo Images/Roots

A crimson pout. It should be so simple – it's been a trend for centuries. Our primitive ancestors were smearing scarlet-hued berries on their mouths to capture the perfect red pout before they even discovered the loincloth. Which makes sense, evolutionally speaking. Recent research found the higher the contrast between the different parts of our facial features – ie the colour of our lips compared to our foreheads – the healthier–looking and more attractive we appear. But the simple red lip, for a good few of us, is fraught with conundrums. Ones that need to be settled, for good, before we digress on to skin tones.

First: "Is there an age limit on red lipstick?" To which the answer is always a resolute, unquestionable no. We're talking red lipstick here, it's timeless; a true beauty classic and all women deserve to wear it with abandon. The next quandary: "My partner/friend/husband/colleague/daughter says I don't suit it." I can't really help you if you let other people tell you what to do, sorry.

My final point is spurred by comments from rapper A$AP Rocky, who was quoted as saying that only fair-skinned women suit red lipstick. Untrue, deplorable and frankly, none of his concern. I know women, fair-skinned and dark, who feel positively reborn just by slicking on their favorite red. A red lip on any skin tone has the power to mesmerize and stop you dead in your tracks. That's why it has passed the test of time, and its transformative powers are second to none.

Left to right: Dolce & Gabbana, Mac and Tom Ford

Posted: Hina Ahmed