A Little Holiday Sparkle for My Beauty Routine

I remember the days when I used to wear makeup every day to work, and extra-special makeup for going out and events. It always made me feel a little more “put together.”

These days, I feel like I’m doing good if I take a shower in the morning. AND wash my hair. Oh, how things change when your children’s hygiene takes over all that extra time you used to spend on your own hair and makeup routine.

Well, it’s the holidays, folks. I twirled sparkly garland around our Christmas tree and  twinkly lights on the front porch to greet our guests. Why not put just a tiny bit of sparkle on my face? Is that really so terribly indulgent?

My thoughts exactly, when my friends from the Johnson’s Baby CARES Council offered me this treat: custom makeup patterns, created specifically for moi by celebrity makeup artist Tia Dantzler, using Neutrogena®, KORRES and JOHNSON’S® Baby products. All I had to do was follow Tia’s go-to makeup tips catered to my specific needs and–oh yeah–take pictures.

These are the beauty products they sent me to work with — lots of lovely neutrals and enhancers:

Here’s the amazing makeup how-to chart I got from Tia:

And the step-by-step directions she provided for me to add some holiday razzle-dazzle to my look:

To really bring out your beautiful eyes apply Neutrogena’s Crease Proof Eye Shadow in Constant Copper directly onto eye lids and blend upward toward the crease.

For lush lashes, try adding some Johnson’s Baby Powder to a clean mascara wand moistened with water, then swipe through your lashes to create fullness. Next layer two coats of Neutrogena’s Healthy Lengths Mascara in black for lush, long and defined eyelashes.

Next, line your upper and lower lash line with Neutrogena’s Eye Liner in Cosmic Black for a rich and defined eye. Begin lining lash line from outer corner to where lashes end, moving toward the nose. Finish off by using the blending brush on the end of the eyeliner gently blend the color under the lower lash line for a soft smokey eye effect.

To brighten up under the eye area use Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Brightening Eye Profector Broad Spectrum which does wonders if you skipped a few hours of sleep. This concealer really reveals a refreshed look free from puffiness.

To even out your skin-tone I recommend using Neutrogena’s Skin Clearing Mineral Powder with a large powder brush for an even and flawless finish.

I would love to see your cheeks slightly contoured a bit by using Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Custom Glow Blush & Bronzer to contour right underneath your cheek bones. Softly apply the blush color right on the apples of your cheeks for a subtle glow. Then softly contour in the hollows of your cheek bones with the fluffy brush by using the bronzer.

Give your cheeks a sweep of color with Korres Philia Rose Cheek Butter for the perfect hint of color.

Lastly, apply Korres Mango Butter Lipstick in the shade Natural Pink to complete your look.

I thought the final look turned out pretty darned sparkly for this 37-year-old busy working mom. And Hubs (a.k.a. my photographer) didn’t even Photoshop these pics, so what you see is the real deal (wrinkles and all). I wouldn’t mind following this beauty routine every day for a more put-together me.

Bonus tips from Tia

For situations  when you’re running short on time, use some JOHNSON’S baby powder as a “dry shampoo”. Apply to your scalp and brush it through to help absorb excess oils and hair grease.

Finally, when it’s time for all the makeup to come off, use our JOHNSON’S Baby Washcloths to remove in a mild and gentle way!

My sincere thanks goes to Johnson’s Baby for compensating me for this post and the gift of beauty products and advice. I truly appreciate it.