That is a great tip, Purple! I actually do that quite often and I agree that it works really well. I usually do it when I'm running late and need just a bit of coverage really quickly. On the off chance my skin is a bit dry (once in a great while if I use too many acne products at once), I'll do this. It goes on more easily and hides flakiness.

Also, as the article says, it is a much better way to get a tinted foundation that matches your skin tone. I have a really hard time finding the right color when colors are limited. I think it's because I have a really warm skin tone. Anything with pink in it looks TERRIBLE on me. They used to rarely make foundations that weren't pink, so when I started experimenting with makeup in highschool, I couldn't understand why all shades of foundation looked terrible on me. The tone was the problem. From what I've found, most tinted moisturizers come in a limited range of colors that are cool or neutral rather than warm toned, so they never quite match my skin. Mixing my MAC or Loreal True Match foundation (it comes in warm, neutral, and cool, love it!) works great.

This is for those of you who do your own nails.

This is my manicure after a week.There's no chipping or tip wear and virtually no shrinkage. It's a little dull. Normally I would apply another topcoat about halfway tthough the week to keep it shiny but I wanted to see how well it would hold up without.

I'd say it held up well.

I saw this on the nail boards at MUA and decided to give it a try. I used CND Super-Stickey base coat,  2 or 3 coats of color, a coat of Revlon's Colorstay topcoat and then Seche Vite topcoat.  This is the second time I've tried this. It held up just as well the first time ( I used Poshe topcoat then.) 

Revlon Colorstay topcoat is only sold in a two pack with one of the Revlon Colorstay colors. The choice of colors is really limited; none of them are anything I'd wear but it seems to be always on sale so you can afford to toss the color if you don't like it. There's speculation that Revlon is discontinuing the product. Someone sent them an e-mail asking about this and got a "Thank you for inquiring about our product; we're glad you like it" response so who knows. I've already stocked up.

I'm super impressed too Purple!  You have very nice nails!  If I ever have the time I'm going to do my nails.  I like the color too!

How do you mix the serum and the night cream? Do you mix up a "fresh batch" every night on the back of hand and then apply it to your face?

I, too,  followed  PurpleRules' link and read The 15 Beauty Fanatic's information on how to blend your moisturizer with your foundation. I did a 50/50 blend of my DHC moisturizer with my Revlon ColorStay foundation.

Great results! Great tip! Thanks, Purple.

Judy: I did it for three days and the dry flaky skin near my nose is now gone, as well.

pas71: I started doing the same thing with a new tube of Prestige Lash Matrix polymer mascara I just got. Maybe it was old, but it flaked off really bad right from the start - not at all like the first tube I was replacing. I now apply Maybelline Define-a-Lash over it and all the flaking stopped.

Here's another really great tip that I got a few days ago in an "Eva Scrivo's Salon Tips" e-mail. l do it myself using Olay Eye Lifting Serum and highly recommend it if you don't want to apply foundation or concealer under your eyes throughout the day.

I always keep a small travel-size eye cream in my handbag. It makes me feel refreshed and younger when applying some mid-day or before going out after work. I just pat a few drops around my eyes, going almost to the temple bone, and whatever concealer or eye makeup may have gathered seems to disappear. Try Nutri-Contour by Yon-Ka. It's light, thin, and easily blends with makeup. Perfect to carry in your purse.

Judy

love your review of theJohn frieda's weather works. I've been usign frizz ease, but I am going to give the light cream a try thanks to you!!

I agree, Judy. I wonder why that is.

Someone who used to cut my hair had an interesting theory about why new products seem to work better. He speculated that even rinse-out products such as shampoo and conditioner leave a trace of product on your hair; not enough to be noticeable but enough to build up over time and eventually make your hair lank and dull. Then you switch to a new shampoo and conditioner that removes the build up from the old shampoo and conditioner so your hair looks and feels great again for a while but then the new products start leaving a trace of product on your hair, which builds up over time... and the cycle continues. He recommended that his customers have at least two sets of products to use and that you switch as soon as you thought your hair was getting dull.

He told me this way, way back when I was in college. Shampoo, conditioner and hairspray (which no one used because they were all awful) were the only hair products on the market at the time. If you used the hairspray, you just washed your hair a couple of times to get it out.

I'm looking for tips on applying lip gloss. If you're applying a gloss that's got a sponge-tip applicator, and you're applying it over lipstick, how do you avoid contaminating the the gloss with the lipstick that gets on the applicator? I've been wiping the sponge tip of my Laura Mercier gloss on my finger and dabbing it on but it's messy  and doesn't work that well.  I paid $30 for the gloss so I don't want to ruin it. Normally I wouldn't worry that much but it's clear and I use it with a bunch of different lipsticks. Any suggestions? I tried a lip brush but it's the wrong shape and it picks up way too much or not enough gloss.

Purple

you can try the trick the girls at sephora do when using stuff on different people.

Fill a spray bootle with alchohol (70%), and when you are done with the lipstick, spary it and clean it with a tissue. It prevents color and germs from getting into the tube.

If you've got a lipstick that's too dark, too opaque, too matte or just "too" something, try putting it on over lipgloss. It softens up the color, gives it a nice shine and makes it sheerer.

I got the idea to try it here:

www.elkevonfreudenberg.com/100BeautyTips_ElkeVonFreudenberg.pdf

It's worth reading. There are 99 other tips; you're bound to find one or two that you can use.

That seemed iffy to me too. I'll stick with mixing moisturizer and foundation. (I don't even own toner.) Her tips on working with color are good though. If you like to play around and try different things, you can get all sorts of new looks from products you've already got.

Thanks, PR.  Very helpful tip sheet!