Daily Makeover™ Give yourself a virtual makeover with celebrity hairstyles, makeup and accessories. Find tips and reviews on cosmetics, beauty products and hair styles and share your new looks with our fashion community.

Every New Year millions of people make promises that they just can’t keep. “I’m going to lose those last 5 pounds,” “I will learn how to live on a tighter budget,” “I will learn how to speak Spanish,” and many other resolutions are sworn out loud, but they never seem to stick.

I’ll make it easy on you this year. Try some beauty resolutions that are simple to keep and they’ll improve the way you look and feel. Here is my list of resolutions that work:

Vow to remove your makeup before you crash!
credit: sephora.com

1. Compliment at least one stranger a week on their appearance. You have no idea the positive effect this will have on a person and it will make you feel good too. The best part: no starving, sweating, saving or studying needed.

2. Wash and moisturize your face every night–no matter what!–before you go to bed. You have no idea how many women confess that when they’re exhausted, they crash without washing their face. Not only does your body rejuvenate itself while you sleep, but so does your skin. Allow it rest in a pristine state and it will look young and fresh for years to come.

3. Clean your makeup brushes. Want to know why you still breakout or why your blush and eye shadow never look like the color in the container? Dirty brushes. Start to clean them at least every couple of days and see how much better your skin and makeup will look!

4. Burst out of your makeup rut. Try a new shade of lipstick or a new eye shadow palette and feel good about it. Change is great, so learn to take a few beauty risks.

5. Make that appointment with the dermatologist. I know many women don’t think about it or put it off because it can be pricey, but getting checked for skin cancer is priceless. I believe in dermatologists more than facialists any day.

6. Clean up the clutter. Streamline that crazy makeup bag or drawer and get rid of the madness. I’m sure there are hoards of samples, gift with purchases, broken eye shadows, never-used lip colors (almost all the exact same shade, but not quite) and makeup from 1989. Toss it. It will feel great to start the New Year off clean.

In The Family Stone, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker)
keeps her makeup classic for a family holiday weekend

When it comes to party makeup, there is a big difference between going a party with your best friends versus a holiday get together with the family. I’m sure your mother-in-law may be a bit shocked if you showed up in gold metallic eye shadow, but your friends would totally adore it! Here are a couple guidelines:

- Keep the makeup experiments to your personal social events. Try rocking a cool Gucci eye or a total body shimmer for your office party or a friend’s holiday bash. This is where you can totally get away with it.

- When its family time, go demure. Don’t worry, you can still maintain your sense of individuality. I like to incorporate the trend of the moment in a more subtle way. For instance, instead of an intense red lip, try a lip stain like Revlon Just Bitten and keep the rest of your makeup simple. It won’t have the impact of a full red lipstick, but it will look more appropriate around the dinner table. I know you have that crazy aunt who probably wears screaming pink lipstick at these family functions, but that is why you all think she is crazy!

As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.

Honestly, the never ending process of brow maintenance can be a pain. And with so many hair removal options, how do you know you are doing the right one?

If you have fine brows, tweezing is the way to go. Plucking allows you to take out one or two hairs at a time, giving you more control. This is perfect for ladies who don’t need too much grooming. Go for Tweezerman tweezers for flawless precision.

If you have thick brows, then waxing is definitely the way to go. This method can remove a large area of hair at once, but make sure you go to a real pro who won’t take off too much. If you tend to get red and bumpy post-wax, do it at the end of the day and not before anything important like a wedding, dinner or special occasion. To calm down redness, apply a cool compress to the area or mix a little tea tree oil with water and dab it onto sore areas.

If you have very hairy brows or if they grow straight down from the hairline, threading, a technique developed in ancient India, can be ideal for you. I’m always amazed at how flawless a woman’s brow looks after threading. They have some way of twirling the threads together and removing many hairs very quickly and the results are perfect. Ardell makes an excellent kit.

At the end of the day ladies, all hair removal methods a basically the same thing: a hair is being pulled from the follicle. And remember, no matter which method you use, it’s a myth that hair can grow back thicker, because follicles don’t multiply and only one hair sprouts from each follicle. But, if you wax, pluck or thread in the opposite direction that your hair grows, you could wind up with new growth going in the wrong direction, making facial hair appear thicker.

Keeping a great brow will ensure your eyes will be framed in loveliness!

As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.

Ever want to know what goes on behind the scenes of one of my TV shows or video shoots? It’s always early call times and lot’s of multi-tasking but really fun. I have to be the host, the makeup artist, the script supervisor, the expert and the client, so it’s a lot of work. The other day I shot a series of beauty videos with the focus on fast easy tips. I had to arrive makeup-ready but the fabulous hairdresser Noah Hatton whipped my do into shape.

I then began applying the makeup on the models, but leaving out the main tip I was to discuss in each video. The gorgeous Kindra Hansen allowed me to enhance her naturally gorgeous skin with a little liquid foundation and highlighter. I used Sally Hansen Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy Your Skin Makeup, Nars Cream Blush in Gold Member on top of her cheekbones and Mac Blot Powder in Dark. The look we gave her on camera was the smoky eye, so the lips stayed nude.

My good friend and stylist Chrissy Lloyd adjusted my dress on set while Noah made his finishing touches on the hair. Kindra took a before photo and then we began shooting.

Of course I always do my own makeup and I have to make sure to remember to do my own touchups too. Sometimes I am so focused on the model I forget that I get pretty shiny under those hot lights.

I love teaching women how to apply easy secrets and tricks to make their life easier. One of my favorites is to keep a little concealer brush that has been dipped into foundation handy at all times when doing your makeup. This is like a magic eraser to eliminate any mistakes without undoing any of your handy work. Perfect when creating a smoky eye that may get a little messy. My favorite concealer brush is by Amazing Cosmetics.

Last take of the day I have shown tips on everything from how to go from day to night in mere seconds to creating a perfect long wearing red lip. These can be long days but I have such a blast doing it that it’s really like playing and not work!

As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that I truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.

A rich shimmery shade of deep green looks great on everyone. No matter what skin tone or iris color you have, a simple sweep of this emerald shade will glam up your eyes and get you noticed. The rich shimmer of Mac Brushed Metal X in Verdigris (shown at right) almost looks wet on the eye creating a very cool look.

The key to getting the green eye right is all in the sweep. First, take an angle brush and drag the shadow across a green eye shadow, then apply it close to the roots of your upper lash line, starting at the inner corner and sweeping it back towards the outer corner. Don’t apply any color under the lower lash line because keeping it simple makes this look modern and wearable.

Add a champagne highlight under the brow, on the inner corners, and a little dab on the lid. Black mascara is a must, so apply it on top and bottom lashes. A peachy pink blush and lip color is perfect to polish off the look.

This look is totally universal and is great for a holiday party!

As an established makeup artist, many beauty brands send me samples of their latest products for consideration. I only write about the items that i truly love and I always abide by Daily Makeover’s Editorial Ethics Pledge in each of my Positively Beautiful posts.