Celeb beauty blunders (and how to avoid them)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012   |   Leigh van den Berg

Lippie on your teeth As it turns out, even Paris Hilton gets lipstick on her teeth. To avoid it happening to you, insert your finger in your mouth after you apply your lipstick, pucker up and pull it out. This way any lip colour that happened to get on the inside of your lips is now on your finger. Clever, right? Scene stealing concealer Many women don’t realise that certain ‘concealers’ (Lancôme’s Touch Eclat for example) are actually intended to be used as highlighters. As a result, when they’re photographed, their radiance-boosting particles reflect the flash and create a ghostly white look under a flash. Nicole Kidman learned this the hard way. To ensure it doesn’t happen to you, always take a quick snap (with flash) after applying any new concealer or foundation to ensure you’re in the clear – in case the paps find you. Shiny skin Being spotted with a super-shiny T-section is embarrassing. To avoid ending up like greasy-looking Gwyneth Paltrow, keep oil control tissues in your handbag or use a specially formulated blotting powder throughout the day. Bad contouring Was she trying to slim down a puffy looking face? Did she want to distract the judge? Nobody knows what Lindsay Lohan was thinking when she arrived in court with two brown stripes running down either cheek; it just looked ... weird. In all, contouring is tricky and many of the most experienced blush or bronzer wearers won’t attempt it so if you don’t know what you’re doing, best back away from the brush. Over-plucked brows Gotten carried away with the tweezers like Pamela Anderson? To minimize the damage, fill in your scanty brows with a matching brow pencil or eye shadow. If you’re in doubt with regards to the colour, opt for a lighter shade to make sure you stay on the safe side. Dirty hair Don’t get caught with greasy locks like Jessica Simpson. If your hair’s in desperate need of a wash but you don’t have the time, simply add a little baby powder to the roots. It’ll help absorb the oil and any excess can be brushed out. Even easier? Try something like dry shampoo. It does pretty much the same thing but comes in an easy to use aerosol can. Too much make-up This shot of Nicki Minaj says it all. Make-up is a great tool to help enhance your natural beauty, but too much of it is just plain ugly. In essence, less is definitely more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
	Leigh van den Berg Leigh van den Berg is a freelance beauty writer and avid blogger (Lipgloss is my Life). She's addicted to all things glossy and glam and currently has eight MAC lipglosses rolling around in her handbag.

Free beauty tips straight to your inbox.
Special giveaways exclusive to subscribers.