Shop With Style

Today we are going to look at the best ways to dress a rectangle body shape. If you are a rectangle you should be very pleased as you are one of the easier body types, with many different styles suiting you or fitting you well. A rectangle body shape tends to have no defined waist with hips do tend to have a similar width to the shoulders. Rectangles also do not have a lot of curves, with a bust that is small or average and your bottom tends to be flat. Many rectangles tend to gain weight around their tummies, especially after the menopause. You will want to create curves and define your waist as a rectangle. If you have a rectangle body shape you will want to avoid shapeless clothes as you will want to be creating the illusion of curves, therefore anything shapeless will make you look shapeless overall, and to this end you will also want to avoid straight dresses such as tunics.

What to wear on top?
When selecting a dress you will want to go for a shift dressor an empire line as these will suit you rectangle body shape the best and when selecting either a dress or a top you will want to select block colors. When selecting items to wear on top you will want to choose one’s which define your waist and tailored jackets and coats which are belted at the waist will help to create the illusion of curves. Choose a good bra to define your bust and medium to high neckline tops will help to flatter your body shape, especially if you have a smaller bust. Tops which a detailed neckline, pockets or frills will create the illusion of a large bust, as do halter necked tops.
What to wear on the bottom?
If you are looking for a skirt, select an A-line skirt, as these will pull in at the waist before flaring out, creating the illusion of a small waist and curvier hips. Rectangles will want to create the illusion of curves so a skirt of this style is perfect for rectangular body shapes. You will suit any style of jeans or trousers but something such as flared jeans will look particularly great and for shoes something curved with a rounded toe will suit you best, think of ballerina flats or a pair of court shoes or rounded toe boots, either flat or heeled.

You’re seeing it everywhere right now. The dark lip trend is in magazines, on the runways, even strutting up and down the city streets and sipping at the local coffee shop. You might be thinking, “That trend isn’t for me. I’ll never be able to pull that look off.” But guess what? You soooo can!  And here’s how…

• Pick the right shade – Rest assured, there is a lush, dark hue for each and every skin tone out there. If you have fair to medium tone skin, try versions of purple-based merlot colors. For those with medium to olive skin tones, try hues of burgundy with a more terra cotta base. Deep tone skin can really push the boundaries of deep and dark, so try a merlot with a bit of black or brown.
• Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate – You’ll hear this tip in almost every lip color guide…because it honestly makes a huge difference to how color glides on and looks. If your lips are dry, cracked, and flaky, any lip color will get stuck in the cracks and crevices…but a dark lip color will look positively atrocious. Scrub gently with a product like Fresh Sugar Lip Polish, or Bliss Fabulips. You can also use something simple like olive oil and sugar. Then wipe with a warm, damp cloth and follow with a non-waxy moisturizer.
• Check your upper lip – You may not think it will make a difference, but trust us, it will. Wearing a dark lip color will draw attention to…yep, you guessed it…your lips. Not only can the dark color get snagged on the tiny hairs, but the hairs can also cast a shadow on that upper lip. Both of which will draw the wrong type of attention. And bleaching the hair won’t work. So, go the distance and remove the hair completely.
• Let your skin glow – Dark lips will tend to highlight any blotchiness or imperfections in the skin, so even it up and make it glow as much as possible. That means scrubbing and exfoliating your face, removing any little patches of dry skin, then applying a skin brightening BB or CC cream, which will also help to even things up and get you glowing. After all, you want a clean, even canvas for those bold lips!
• Even the base – Everyone’s lips have some sort of natural hue, and sometimes, that hue can throw off a perfectly wonderful deep Winter lip color. So after applying foundation, dab on a bit to your lips and blend. You’re not looking to completely white-out your own hue, you just want to tone it down a bit so that the lip color reads true when you apply it.
• Strategically line – Lining when applying a dark lip color can be tricky. If you make a mistake, it will be very The best way to line a dark lip is to start with a nude color. Line just outside your natural lip line and blend away from your lip. The will not only help to keep the lip color from running, it will also make the color itself pop. Next, apply a liner in a similar shade to your lip color to just the area of your cupid’s bow and the middle portion of your bottom lip. Next, apply the lip color with a lip brush, to give you more control over color placement.

And there you go! Perfectly luscious, perfectly beautiful deep, dark lips for the Winter season.

Not even the most die-hard makeup artist is completely perfect when it comes to their own makeup habits. We all get busy, forgetful, lazy. But there are some makeup missteps that could end up being detrimental to not only your makeup, but your skin. Thankfully, though, these are all easy fixes, and once you incorporate them into your routine, you’ll be back on track in no time!

• Not cleaning your brushes – Not only can this lead to bacteria growth in the brushes, but it can also end up costing a fortune! As dirt, dust, and makeup accumulate on the bristles, bacteria can thrive there too. And that same accumulation of gunk can cause the bristles of your most loved (and most expensive) brushes to break and fall out (sometimes sticking to your face during application). Yuk! Be sure to give your brushes a good cleaning with a mild cleanser every month or two.
• Blowing on your brushes – You’ve picked up a little too much product? Might as well give the brush a little blow to remove some of it, right? Wrong. Blowing on the brushes can transfer bacteria from your mouth and the air onto the bristles, which grows with each subsequent blow. Try tapping the brush on the side of the product or the edge of some other hard surface instead.
• Not washing your makeup off before bed – You’ve heard this a million times, we know. The reason you’ve heard it so much is because it’s true. Not only do your pores need to breathe, but your skin will have a harder time making room on the surface for new, pretty skin cells while the old, gunky cells are caked there. If you are really, really exhausted, using makeup wipes will do in a pinch, but you’re better off making it a practice to wash your face properly each night before bed.
• Not moisturizing before applying makeup – You might not think you need to follow this little practice, especially if your skin tends to be oily. But moisturizer has nothing to do with adding oil, and everything to do with keeping your skin hydrated. Also, skin that is not moisturized can often effect makeup application, making it look uneven and blotchy. Try adding a light daytime moisturizer with SPF to your routine before applying foundation. That way your skin stays hydrated, receives foundation more smoothly, and is protected from those harmful UVA and UVB rays.
• Using your hand to match your foundation color – Newsflash: your hand is not your face. It’s not even near your face. So why would the skin there be a good indicator of the skin on your face? The skin on our hands is exposed to sun and the elements a lot more often than that of the skin on your face, so it will almost definitely be a different color. If you’re out shopping and don’t want to mess up your makeup by swatching a new foundation across your cheek, try turning your head and applying a vertical line of foundation that is closer to your ear and one along your jawbone area. Those will give a better indication of a true match.
• Pumping your mascara – We admire your thriftiness. You want to get every last drop of that mascara out of the bottle. Or maybe you just want a little extra product on the wand. Either way, the only thing that pumping the mascara wand is doing is pushing air into the bottle…which is making the product dry up quicker. Opt for swishing the wand around the sides of the bottle instead.
• Matching your eye shadow to your outfit – Ok, so we all did this as kids. As far as we were concerned, it was a major cool thing to do. Then. But now, we know better…or, at least we should. Eye makeup, particularly shadow, is designed to make the most of your eye color. And its application is meant to make the most of your eye’s shape. So don’t cut your potential beauty short. You can Google the best eye colors/eye shadow combos, or just check out a color wheel to see what colors opposite your eye color will best make your peepers pop!