Beauty Advice 21

To minimize your makeup bag, pack only the essentials: moisturizer for luminous skin, rehydrating elixir to refresh your makeup, powder to de-shine your T-zone, an eyeshadow palette, lipstick, and mascara.

Our makeup expert makes it easy for you — never leave the house with a makeup bag the size of your purse again!

Beauty Advice 20

Sidestep streaks by mixing self-tanner with moisturizer before applying. This dilutes the formula so you don't look stripey.

Already have dark skin? You should still go faux if you want to go darker — read up on why there's a high fatality rate for skin cancer in those with darker skin.

Beauty Advice 19

Even if you didn't get enough sleep last night, your skin doesn't have to give you away. Nothing wakes up a face like bright cheek color. Consider a cream blush with red or pink overtones. Blend into the apples of your cheeks and set with loose powder.

Beauty Advice 18

To sop up oil and refresh makeup, lightly mist your face with toner, then pat with a tissue, says Eva Scrivo, makeup artist and owner of the eponymous New York City salon. Finish with a dusting of loose powder.

Beauty Advice 17

"I frequently see women with deeper wrinkles on one side of their face — the side they sleep on, of course," says New York dermatologist Heidi A. Waldorf. To avoid "sleep lines," opt for silk or satin pillowcases and pile on the antiaging products.

Beauty Advice 16

When covering up blemishes, select a color for what you're covering up. For example, orange-tinged concealers counteract blueish under-eye circles. A mint-green concealer hides the redness of a pimple. The idea is that concealers act as neutralizers. Unlike foundation, concealer is mostly made of pigment, so you need only a little bit.

Beauty Advice 14

Surprise! Concealer is only half the battle when it comes to fixing flaws. To perfect your complexion (no matter what your skin tone), try lipstick in a warm pink. "It distracts people's eyes from blemishes and other imperfections," says makeup artist Morgan Schick.

Beauty Advice 15

For daytime moisturizing, think layering: Use an antioxidant serum under a face cream, topped off with a sunblock. To stave off flaking, consider light exfoliation once a week. Moisturizing without exfoliating first can result in breakouts and dull skin.

Beauty Advice 13

Plump up your lower lip! When your lips look small, the rest of your face looks larger by comparison. The best way to beef up your mouth is to dab a shimmery gloss in the middle of your lower lip (on top of a lip-tone lipstick or gloss).

Beauty Advice 12

Lance Etchison, skin-care aesthetician at Bluemercury in Washington, D.C., suggests incorporating one new product at a time. "And, since most active ingredients take effect over time, don't give up if you don't see immediate results," he advises.

Beauty Advice 11

When applying fake eyelashes, put a little more glue on the edges than the rest of the lash, since they're more likely to come loose. Blow on the glue for a few seconds for a better hold.

Beauty Advice 10

Want to make your small eyes look bigger? Stay away from dark eyeshadows. Start with a nude base, then apply shadow a shade or two darker than the base to your crease and use your finger to blend the color up toward your eyebrow.

Beauty Advice 9

To add length or volume to your hair, steer clear of extensions in not-found-in-nature colors and textures that don't blend with your own. Also, since it's difficult to disguise the point of attachment, use hairpieces just to lengthen a ponytail or fatten an updo.

Beauty Advice 8

Treating your neck like your face doesn't work. "Your neck ages in its own way and so has special needs," explains Adrienne Denese, M.D., Ph.D. "Neck tendons shrink through the years and become more visible and the thin skin in this area doesn't respond to lasers and peels as well as your face does." She suggests good posture and neck stretches.

Beauty Advice 7

Want eyelashes that are full and thick, not clumpy? Use an eyelash curler only on clean lashes, and start at the roots.

Beauty Advice 5

To keep eye shadow from creasing, eliminate as much oil as possible from your lids. To do it, use an eye shadow base or pressed powder before applying color.

Beauty Advice 6

Naturally pale but want a healthy glow? The good news is that you don't need a lot of makeup to achieve great-looking skin, says New York makeup artist Paula Dorf. For natural-looking results, apply glow products to the apples of your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, your hairline, and chin.

Beauty Advice 4

We love the look of a perfect sheer manicure on long, tapered talons as much as the next woman, but let's face it: It takes time, patience, and money to keep it up. For equally elegant, less fussy nails, go short, round, and dark. File your nails so they line up with the tips of your fingers and round off the corners.

Beauty Advice 3

If you're looking for a dramatic eye, try liquid eyeliner. Choose an eyeliner brush that's small with angled bristles for a cleaner line.

Beauty Advice 2

Prevent dead-skin pileup by using a pumice stone in the shower — and don't be tempted into using a razor. That will only cause more skin to grow back. Pamper your feet with moisturizing facial masks.