FIND A RESCUE FOR :

Washed-out complexion

If your complexion is looking dull or tired, it’s time to re-energize your skin! Use a gentle exfoliator like a facial scrub with micro beads once a week to brighten up your complexion. For more mature, tired-looking skin, try makeup with invigorating ingredients like caffeine and/or with light-reflective micro-spheres to revive your look. Instant Age Rewind Foundation can help awaken and illuminate your complexion. Use bronzer to wake up skin and create a healthy natural glow in addition to the foundation.

Uneven complexion

Foundation can be the best fix for uneven-looking skin tone caused by blotchiness, freckles and spot scars. First apply your makeup along your jaw line to ensure the shade is right for you. Then blend it into the rest of your face using your fingertips or a sponge for a flawless, even look. Mousse or cream foundation glide on easily and provide the medium-to-full coverage that is perfect for correcting the look of an uneven complexion. We recommend Dream Matte Mousse Foundation for smooth coverage that blends effortlessly. Apply a yellow-toned concealer or spot apply foundation only on needed areas.

If you have hyperpigmented skin (dark spots and patches), apply a full coverage concealer, such as Cover Stick Corrector Concealer, then blend on a foundation in a shade lighter than your skin but darker than the concealed spot.

Some women have lighter skin toward the centre of the face and darker skin around the edge of the face down to the neck. To even out skin tone, you’ll need two foundations: a lighter foundation that matches the lighter part of your face and a darker foundation that matches the darker part of your face. Mix the two foundations, then apply the mixture over your entire face until you get an even-toned complexion.

[Note: if you have light skin at the centre of  your face, adding a light foundation will only accentuate the lightness of your complextion]

Dark under-eye circles

Dark circles are a stubborn problem that’s often hereditary. But you’ll be up to the challenge with this three-point plan. 1. Get a healthy dose of sleep and moisturise the area. 2. Use concealer to cover up. 3. Use light eye shadow to draw attention to your eyes, not the circles under them. Here are the details:

Hide dark under-eye circles with a combination of yellow-toned corrector and concealer in the shade that’s closest to your skin tone. First apply a hydrating eye cream and wait until it absorbs into your skin. Then for the best coverage, dab on a stick yellow corrector and gently blend from the inner corners of your eyes downward. Avoid the outer corners of your eyes to prevent emphasising crow’s feet or fine lines in the area. Top off with concealer in the shade closest to your skin tone. The Cover Stick Dark Circle Corrector in yellow and Cover Stick Corrector Concealer can help your dark circles go undercover with complete coverage. Illuminate the eye area by sweeping a light shimmery shade of Expert Wear Eye Shadow onto the lower lid and near your inner eye area alongside the bridge of your nose.

Blemishes

The best way to handle blemishes is try to prevent them. Wash your face twice daily, in the morning and at night, with a cleanser that’s oil free and fragrance free. Use oil-free makeup products like those from the Maybelline Pure range and always remove your makeup at bedtime.

A concealer that has blemish-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid can cover and treat your skin in one step. Pure.Concealer has maximum strength blemish-fighting medicine and can help cover, treat and help prevent blemishes. Select a shade that’s closest to your skin tone and apply it directly onto the blemish. With your fingertip, wipe any excess concealer and, if necessary, apply another coat. Gently brush oil-free loose powder such as Shine Free to set the concealer.

Oily skin

You can effectively reduce oiliness by cleansing your skin with lukewarm water and soap and/or a mild astringent skin cleanser—both are great oil solvents. Add a clay or mud mask once a week to your skincare routine to temporarily absorb oil. Choose makeup that’s specifically formulated for oily skin; shine-control water-based cosmetics are made to absorb and cover oiliness so your skin doesn't look as greasy. Consider Pure.Makeup, which is formulated with 50% water instead of pore-clogging oils, which can cause breakouts. For a fresh-yet-matte finish, an oil-control powder like Pure.Powder or Shine Free Powder worn alone or over your foundation can absorb oils. Gently sweep the powder puff over areas of your face that are prone to shine (especially your T-zone).

Fine lines and wrinkles

As skin ages it loses elasticity and gets drier, which results in fine lines and wrinkles. Most people start developing them by age 30 to 35. Excessive sun exposure is known to accelerate the aging process. To combat fine lines and wrinkles, use gentle exfoliators, hydrate face with nourishing moisturising creams daily, preferably at night. Always protect your skin with an SPF 15 or higher sunscreen. You can find an array of makeup that’s geared to minimising the look of aging while protecting your skin from the sun's rays.

Instant Age Rewind Foundation contains caffeine for firmer-looking skin, micro-pearls for radiance and SPF18 to help protect skin. Follow with a concealer to conceal dark circles and to illuminate your eye area. A product like Instant Age Rewind Concealer is formulated with caffeine and silk to instantly lift under the eye area and with radiance pearls to brighten up tired eyes. And don’t forget about your lips, which are also susceptible to fine lines. Moisturising lip products can protect, nourish and beautify. Moisture Extreme Lipcolor provides lip-balm like moisturisation for up to 8 hours and SPF 15 sun protection in in a dazzling array of sumptuous, colour-rich shades, one to match every skin tone.

Redness

Redness occurs when the tiny blood capillaries on your face get inflamed due to various factors, like excessive sun exposure, alcohol and caffeine overindulgence and smoking. To camouflage the look of redness, use a concealer that’s dedicated to the cause, like Cover Stick Redness Corrector in green and follow with a foundation that’s suitable for your skin type.

No time for touch-ups

Not a problem anymore for your hectic lifestyle! Truly long-lasting makeup can become your best ally. Eliminate touch-ups during the day with the four most important long-wear products in any makeup routine: foundation (such as Superstay Silky foundation), mascara (try Unstoppable Mascara), eye liner (try Unstoppable Eye Liner) and lip colour (try Superstay Lipcolor). Check out Makeup Artist Tip #7: Get Your Long-Wear Look On for more information on the kinds of products that are available and how to apply them for lasting results. Remember: faithfully following long-wearing product application directions ensures the most beautiful, no touch-up look and wear!

Be sure to take your long-wear makeup off at the end of the day with a remover specially formulated for the job, like Superaway Lipcolor Remover, Expert Eyes 100% Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover for Unstoppable Mascara.

Dry lips

If your lips feel dry and tight, try exfoliating them weekly to get rid of any flaking skin. Gently brush off dry skin with a baby toothbrush to keep your lips smooth, soft and healthy. For an extra moisturising effect, put a little moisturiser or lip balm on a lip brush before applying lipcolour. Then apply moisturising lipcolour and/or lip gloss to soothe dry lips and to help prevent chapping. You’ll also find there are lip products out there that can both hydrate and deliver beautiful colour. We recommend Moisture Extreme Lipcolor for up to 8 hours of moisturisation and SPF 15 sun protection in a variety of shades, one to match every skin tone.

Chapped lips

Sun damage and/or loss of moisture can lead to chapped lips. Reach for a moisturising lipcolour with sunscreen to soothe lips and to prevent harmful sun damage. A lipcolour like Moisture Extreme combines SPF 15 with the active anti-chap ingredients of a lip balm for deep moisturisation and lips drenched in colour. For severely chapped lips, carefully apply an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.

Bleeding lipstick

If your lipcolour bleeds or feathers into any fine lines around your mouth, lip liner is a must to kick off your lip look! Lining lips gives your mouth a gentle shape and helps provide a “boundary” for your lipcolour. After you line the natural contour of your mouth, fill in the entire lip area before applying lipstick. Your lip liner shade should either match your natural lip tone or lipcolour, so as not to stand out.

Uneven lips

If your lips are a tad uneven­, use a pencil lip liner to compensate by slightly under- or overdrawing where needed. To avoid a tell-all line, gently blend in so your lips look naturally even. Then apply your lip colour as usual.

Eyelashes thin, short, too straight?

You’re not alone—very few women are happy with their eyelashes. Maybelline New York, the #1 mascara brand, has a solution for all your needs.

If your lashes are thin, try a volumising formula. For natural-looking volume, try Great Lash and Full N’ Soft. Both condition lashes while creating buildable, natural-looking volume. Dial up the volume for a more dramatic look with Volum’ Express or Volum’ Express Turbo Boost. Or for bold volume with a unique comb application, try Lash Stylist.

If your lashes are short, consider lengthening mascaras. New Define-A-Lash Mascara creates added natural-looking length while it defines—and no unsightly clumps! If you want our most dramatic length plus volume, your best option is XXLVolume+Length or XXL Intense Volume+Length. For a long-lasting, lengthening option, try a waterproof mascara with a long-wearing formula like Unstoppable.

If your lashes are too straight, try a mascara formula that curls and lengthens lashes. Sky High Curves could be just what you need. An easy trick to boost your lash curve is to use an eyelash curler before you apply mascara or after it’s completely dry.

Tired eyes

Wake up tired eyes by washing the eye area with cold water throughout the day. Also try soaking a cotton pad in warm tea and placing it over the eye area for 15 minutes. Under-eye concealer can help hide the look of fatigue. Try a yellow-toned stick concealer that can completely cover dark circles. We suggest Cover Stick Corrector Concealer in yellow. For more mature skin, use a concealer that can invigorate and cover the eye area. Instant Age Rewind Concealer is formulated with caffeine and silk to instantly lift the eye area, while radiance pearls visibly help conceal dark circles and brighten tired eyes.

Next illuminate the eye area by sweeping a light neutral shade of Expert Wear Eye Shadow onto the lower lid and near your inner eye area alongside the bridge of your nose. For a luminous look, try Dream Mousse Shadow in Vanilla Veil or Ivory Illusion along your browbones and a neutral shade of Expert Wear Eye Shadow on your upper lids.

Red eyes

Red or bloodshot eyes are usually caused by dehydration, eye strain, allergies or more serious medical conditions, which need to be treated by a doctor. If you consumed too much alcohol or are just plain tired, place cucumber slices under eyes for 10 minutes to hydrate the eye area. Redness-relieving eyedrops can help reduce redness. Then deflect attention from the eye area with a concealer that has light-reflective ingredients. Formulated with caffeine and silk, Instant Age Rewind Concealer instantly lifts the under-eye area while radiance pearls visibly help conceal dark circles and brighten tired eyes. To brighten eyes, turn to shimmery eye shadows for illumination. For the best results, add a lustrous look to the eye area by sweeping a light, neutral shadow onto the lower lid and near your inner eye area alongside the bridge of your nose. Apply Expert Wear Eye Shadow in shimmering Vanilla on the browbone and any neutral shade of Expert Wear Eye Shadow on the upper lid.

Nail biting

It’s a hard habit to break but there are methods that can help. First, make up your mind to stop. Second, keep an emery board handy. Use the emery board, and not your teeth, the moment you notice a snag. The best way to stop nail-biting is to stock up on hand cream and nail colour in your favourite shades so you can treat yourself to hand treatments and regular manicures. When your hands and nails are groomed, you’ll have fewer snags and more incentives to keep your nails looking their very best.

Stained nails

Stained or “yellowed” nails can result from pigment deposits from wearing dark nail colour, smoking or a medical condition. If the following treatments don’t help, consult a doctor. The easiest way to get rid of stained nails is to always use one or two applications of a base coat such as Express Finish Base and Top Coat under your nail color. Sometimes the pigment still stains your nails. Rubbing a lemon wedge over nails or soaking them in the solution of one part hydrogen peroxide and four parts water for 10-15 minutes can help remove stains.

No time for treatments? No problem. Apply sheer nail colour such as Express Finish Base and Top Coat or Express Finish 60 Second Nail Colour in Sheer Chrystal Dash to hide the yellow undertone in your nails.

Old nail polish

Polish can get goopy or overly thick when it gets old. Did you know a little nail polish remover can go a long way to extend the life of your polish? Just pour a few drops of remover into the nail polish bottle, tightly screw the cap back on and shake. Add a little more polish remover to the polish, if needed, to attain the desired consistency.

Nail polish wear-off

Here are a few simple tips to help prevent chipped polish. First, make sure to clean your nail surface with nail polish remover before applying colour. Then, buff your nails to smooth the nail surface. One to two applications of base coat afterwards can help your polish stay on better and last longer. Finally, follow with your favourite nail colour and top coat. Let polish dry completely between coats. To keep your manicure perfect and to prevent nail colour turning yellow from sun exposure, reapply the top coat daily or every other day. And if you have to do chores, always use rubber gloves. Household chemicals can destroy your nail polish.

If you get a chip, don’t despair. Buff the chip gently with the less abrasive side of an emery board or a buffing disk. Brush a small amount of nail polish on the chipped area only. After the polish has dried, apply one coat of the same nail polish colour over the entire nail and then follow with a clear coat of nail polish such as Express Finish Base and Top Coat to prevent future chipping. If your manicure starts chipping after one week, skip the chip fix and go for a fresh start.

Nail polish on cuticles

Polish smears on your cuticles can ruin the look of a manicure. Here’s a handy tip to get perfect polish: Leave a little room above the cuticle before you begin each brush stroke, then move the brush down a bit before continuing up to the end of the nail. If you still get nail polish on your cuticles, take a cotton bud and dip it in nail polish remover and gently clean around the edges of your nails.