Beauty Fix: The ideal blush for deeper skin tones and more answers to your beauty questions

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

I have some dark spots and minor imperfections that I want to treat and cover up. How can I go about doing this?
Dark spots, hyperpigmentation, acne scars, dark circles, fine lines… everyone has something they’d like to diminish while hiding it! Thankfully, recent innovations have resulted in plenty of multitasking products that help treat and hide pigmentation problems. Take a look at Lancôme Teint Visionnaire Skin Correcting Makeup ($60, sephora.ca), which is a two-step makeup that involves a liquid skin-correcting foundation and a spot-correcting concealer in the lid. The foundation formula contains molecules that penetrate through multiple skin layers to correct wrinkles, pores, UV damage and acne marks. The concealer, which is colour-matched to the foundation, contains vitamin C to lighten dark spots while providing full coverage wherever you desire it. Bonus: you can toss the concealer portion of the bottle in your bag for touch-ups on the go!

What’s an ideal blush colour for medium-deep to deeper skin tones? A lot of colours don’t have enough colour payoff or are too powdery—verging on ashy—when applied.
This is an excellent question! Depending on the blush formula being used, you’re absolutely right in that some blushes simply do not pack enough pigment to make the desired impact on skin. In regards to an ashy outcome, this can happen with any shade that is too light for your skin tone, so finding a pigmented colour with an appropriate shade depth is key. As for a fail-proof application, try applying in a gradual fashion with a light hand—this is your best bet for building up to a level of colour you’re pleased with. Marc Jacobs Beauty Shameless Bold Blush in “Tantalizing” ($36, sephora.ca) is a super-pigmented and stunning deep-magenta shade that will flatter you regardless of how much or how little you apply. The formula contains bio-lipids and amino acids, so the texture is much richer and less powdery than the standard blush.

A lot of face creams burn my lids, so what can I use on them that won’t irritate them?
As we all know, the eye area is delicate as can be and should be treated accordingly. It’s actually comprised of thinner skin, so moisturizers that are formulated for the face can actually be too strong or aggressive in their ingredients for the eye area to handle. The key is to look for the right ingredients that are gentle, yet effectively moisturize this sensitive zone of skin—which generally means using a different product than your typical moisturizer. Bliss Firm, Baby, Firm Total Eye System ($68, sephora.ca) is a duo that addresses eyelids with a gel formula and the undereye area with a lightweight cream. Both formulas are actually aloe-based, as opposed to water-based, making them extremely soothing upon application, and contain peptides and hyaluronic acid to smooth and plump skin.

I love the look of smoky eye makeup, but it seems complicated to achieve. Any tips?
Keep it simple! The smoky look can have a ton of variations, but generally speaking the idea is to emulate a smoky haze via a gradient of shadow going from dark to light. Grab Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smoky Long-wearing Shadow Pencil in “Black Smoke” ($10, well.ca) and trace your lashline liberally with the creamy black shadow stick, then use the smudger to soften the line so that the darkest area is right at the base of your lashes and gets lighter as you move towards the midpoint of your eyelids. Curl lashes, load on some mascara and you’re good to go!

When I wash my very thick hair, my hair feels stripped afterwards. What can I use that will add moisture back into my hair?
While we all love shampoo for its ability to cleanse our hair, sometimes things can feel too squeaky clean while still in the shower and in the end, we’re left with hair that feels more like straw than we ever bargained for. Clearly, a higher dose of moisture is required! Try Shu Uemura’s Moisture Velvet Haircare Collection ($46-66 each, shuuemura.ca), enriched with camellia oil, which is rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids to help hair regain and retain moisture, as well as stimulate scalp circulation. The end result is hair that feels soft and supple—no straw in sight!

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