The Basics of New Makeup Products Your Mom Never Knew About

Because most of you who know me see me as the cartoon image to the left (which is entirely accurate, except for the missing laptop), I firmly believe you should probably not listen to a thing I have to say about beauty! But what I realized is that, by trying all of these samples and reading mag rags and Sephora.com and everything else regarding beauty, I've learned a few things. And I discovered this week that a lot of women just don't know what all these new products are that help with our beauty regimen or, at the very least, help with our perceived imperfections and thus give us a little confidence booster, if you know how to use the product. So let's talk products for a bit - some of the latest and greatest that can help with whatever your particular issue may be:

Primer: This is a product you put on your face prior to any colored makeup (tinted moisturizer, foundation, powder, concealer etc.). The purpose of primer is to give you a flawless canvas to start your makeup with. It reduces the appearance of fine lines and pores because ... well ... it sinks into them like spackle before paint. There are so many different kinds of primer, that you can actually select ones that provide additional benefits then just the silky-smooth base. For example, green ones counteract redness. Peach ones even out your skintone by counteracting discloration and dark spots. Purple ones brighten dulled or yellow skin. Bronze ones help with darker skintones. This is personally my number one product that wasn't available to our mothers that is a must have for our generation.

Facial Brightner/Illuminator: This is another one of those products where you can easily go "When the hell do you use this and what is it?" Well, I personally don't subscribe to a lot of "rules". I think that you use these things where they work best for your skin. Let's start with the "What is this product?" question. Who doesn't want their skin to look more "glowy"? More bright? Less discoloration? Your skin just looks younger and healthier when it attracts light. There are several products to accomplish this goal. Today, I tried the new one from Murad - Active Radiance Serum Featuring Resiliant-C Complex. I didn't care for it at all. If you put a brightener on your face and your face doesn't look instantly brightened ,more evened out, with a healthy glow - then it didn't work ... period. You should put this product on and go "Holy cow! I have to have that!" That's when you know a product of this type works. Obviously, if you are dealing with a product designed to work over time, then this would not be response. I'm a huge fan of Philosophy Divine Illumination. However, this is a moisturizer too, so if you don't like your products too thick, this would be all you could use and there is no SPF protection. But, it has a natural shiny nude tint to it and it feels phenomenal. It is on my Must Have list. My favorite all time, however, is Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation. It's light. It's silky. You barely know it is on your skin and it instantly brightens you. The brightener is what I like to call a "pre-moisturizer". You put it on right after you have cleansed your face and before your moisturizer. There are fading gels, brightening cleansers, illuminating masks, etc. This is why I recommend you try your own samples though. There are tons, TONS of these new products to try and it's like there is a new one on the market every day! But that's also what I'm here for ... to keep sampling to keep you in the beauty "know"!

Finishing Powder: No, no, no ... not powder ... finishing powder. Probably one of the most popular companies starting this idea was Bare Escentuals with their BareMinerals Mineral Veil. Designed to help your makeup stay fresher longer and to give you a smooth, silky finish and softness to your skin, you put a finishing powder on after everything that you want to set. Some say only put it on after your foundation. No me, I prefer it on after everything - bronzer, blush, eye shadow, etc. Everything but your lipstick/lip gloss. My favorite is Makeup Forever HD Microfinish Powder. First off, it is white/clear - not colored. Secondly, there is just nothing like it and nothing like the feel. Just see for yourself at Sephora. Feel them both on your hands. Put them both on your face. You decide. The point is, even though they also feel fantastic, go through your day without using one and then go through a day using a finishing powder. See how much better your makeup still looks, even just at lunchtime, with a finishing powder. If you don't see a difference - it didn't matter that much to you. My hunch? You probably will. The other thing to look for is how great this type of product is at reducing the appearance of fine lines. It's the silica in the tiny particles. Personally, this is a must have for me and I definitely notice the difference.

Obviously, there are plenty more products that I love which are also new - reverse lip liner, lip plumper, eye shadow primer, eyebrow wax and stencils, eyelash primer, various mascaras, bronzing illuminators, etc. The above represent what I think are the must haves that just weren't available back in the day. I wish you luck finding the right products for you because they really change your feelings about your face and beauty. I know when I feel my face looks better or my perceived flaws are diminished, I feel more confident and comfortable. What can I say?... I'm a girl!