Ever had a really specific beauty question you need answered? The kind of stuff that can't be easily punched into Google?
Things like, why is my makeup slipping off my face? How do I know if I should get injectables? If I'm diluting my skincare, is it still effective? Etc., etc.
Well, we've got you covered.
Because we asked our wonderfully knowledgeable You Beauty host and resident beauty expert Kelly McCarren (you might have heard of her before!) to answer some of your most pressing beauty questions. And guess what? She did!
In a very bloody helpful You Beauty Bite video series for Mamamia subscribers, '5 Minutes with Kelly' goes through a whole heap of tricky beauty questions, where Kel shares her top thoughts, tips, and hacks.
Below, we're going to break down some of the biggest golden nuggets she answered from the You Beauty community.
Ready? Grab your beauty blender and let's go.
1. 'I'm 59 years old and suffer from hot flushes, which makes my foundation melt. Is there a foundation that can withstand severe sweating?'
Whether you're slinking on through menopause and struggling with hot flushes, or just happen to be dealing with oily, misbehaving skin - we can all agree that we'd prefer our foundation to stay on our faces as opposed to sliding down to our chests.
So, what's the best way to... keep it on our faces?
"The thing is - you can find a great foundation, but if you're not prepping and setting your skin properly, it's going to melt, regardless," said Kelly.
"If it's got illuminating, hydrating, or its oil-infused, or any of those sorts of words, steer clear - your makeup will just melt off. So, always look for something that's more mattifying or pore-mattifying."
She recommends trying something like POREfessional by Benefit Cosmetics, $56 - it's a cult product for a reason!
"It's so mattifying and really blows out your pores - and it just will make everything stick to it. I'm also absolutely loving the Milk Makeup Grip Primer, $59. So anything you put on afterwards is not going to move."
Image: Mamamia.
Now, the setting powders. This is the next step.
"To set your makeup properly with powders, you pick up a big fluffy brush, open the lid, dust it in there, tap off the excess, and then lightly buff it all over your face," explains Kelly.
"I would actually try [this] with what you've got at home, but in this correct order. So, make sure you're priming, then you're applying your long-wear foundation, and then you're setting it properly with powder."
2. 'I have started using tubular mascara. It's fantastic and I no longer have panda eyes. The only problem is I really struggle to get it off at the end of the day. Do you have any tips?'
If you've recently jumped on the tubular mascara bandwagon and LOVE it - but find it hard to get it off your lashes - there's a little bit of a trick to it.
According to Kelly, the easiest and quickest way to remove tubular mascara involves one particular product.
"It's as simple as an oil cleanser," she said. "If you get a gentle oil cleanser, it will not irritate your eyes at all - obviously don't pump it into your eyes."
Note taken, Kel.
"Any oil cleanser will do - as long as it's not super hectic, you'll find that most of them are quite natural."
She goes on to explain that she basically pumps some oil cleanser into her hands and rubs it in between her fingers, sweeping it side to side along her last line, until it emulsifies.
"Then I'll start rub it downwards - and because it's tubular, the mascara actually comes off like little socks."
Socks. For your lashes. CUTE.
"By doing that after I've worked the oil cleanser into my lashes, they just slip right off."
"So, take off your socks at the end of the day, like you do with your little toots."
Best. Answer. Ever.
3. 'Please give me some tips to make me look polished for work without having to spend ages getting ready. I feel like when I spend time on my hair and makeup, I still look frazzled.'
Hands up who else can relate? Right in the FEELS.
"We're all so busy, and we often don't have time - and we don't want to waste time spending hours doing our hair and makeup."
"I've got two hacks for you."
We love a good hack!
"The first is a Slick Stick, $24.99 - or, there's a bunch of similar products on the market now. But it's basically a little hair wand that's going to bring all your frizzies back."
"That means that you don't ever have to worry about doing your hair, because you can just chuck it up into a bun and it's going to look really neat, which instantly makes you look more polished and less frazzled."
"These sticks are so cool - I don't know what kind of sorcery is in them, but it's so quick and easy."
"That way you don't really have to worry if your hair is oily or clean or not, because you're hiding a multitude of sins, making you look instantly more polished."
We love to see it.
Image: Mamamia.
"Second tip - a red lip. If you've got a red lip on, no one is going to notice anything else, and it will instantly make you look like you've put in far more effort than you actually have."
"Applying a red lip doesn't have to take ages - I apply it straight from the bullet and then use a lip liner afterwards to neaten it up."
Image: Mamamia
It would honestly take, like, less than a minute to slick your hair back and apply a red lip.
So, there you have it!
4. 'When I use a night cream, I break out on my jawline and neck. What can I use on this area that won't make me break out?'
As someone who also tends to break out on their chin area, Kelly said, "I would never put like a really thick night cream along this portion of my face."
Eeeep!
Instead, she said she saves the thicker night cream for her forehead. For her chin, she applies a gentle chemical exfoliant every night - something like lactic acid.
"On the areas that you do get hormonal acne or breakouts, I would use jojoba oil - because jojoba oil is anti-bacterial, but it is still going to make sure that your skin is lovely and nourished."
Are you taking notes?
5. 'I'm a 68-year-old woman with pretty decent skin. I'm lucky to have good genes, but have really deep 11 [lines] in between my eyes. Is there anything I can do to minimise them that doesn't involve injectables or fillers?'
The short answer? "No, not really," said Kelly.
"However, there are definitely things that you can do in the morning - or whenever you put your makeup on - that will sort of help the appearance," she shared.
"Just to cover the basics, make sure you're using a good skincare regime, so that your skin is really hydrated and really moisturised."
Because obviously when your skin is dehydrated or dry, any lines are going to be way more pronounced.
"One thing that I could recommend that you do is really massage in your products with oils or hydration products in the morning into this area - depending on dry vs dehydrated skin."
Image: Mamamia.
Otherwise, Kelly said anti-wrinkle injections or filler may be an option if it's something that really bothers you.
"If you are worried about that frozen face look, it wouldn't really do that. You'd still - hopefully (if you're seeing the right person) - have a lot of movement in that area, and everywhere else."
6. 'Is micro-dosing products (e.g. like micro-dosing retinols) worth using for results?'
Yes, this is a thing! And chances are - you're probably already doing it without realising.
If you're using a specific product and you know it's good for your skin, but at the same time can make your skin freak out a little (hey, retinol!), micro-dosing could be up your alley.
"If my skin reacts a little or I don't want to go too heavy-handed, I will mix it with an oil or mix it with a cream - so I'm not using heaps and I'm sort of diluting it, which is basically micro-dosing."
The only drawback?
"You're not going to get the effects you would if you were using it all over your skin and then waiting for it to dry and popping something else over the top or waiting for it to absorb," said Kelly.
"But you will still get some of the benefits of course, because you're still applying a little bit of that product. It's a really fantastic way to introduce a new product if you have sensitive or reactive skin.
"So, hell yeah! Micro-dose the sh*t out of your products!"
7. 'I would like to know for us older ladies if there is anything for those wrinkly bits that appear overnight in the decolletage. They look like a river system.'
Does anyone else wake up with a crease-y chest? Cause SAME.
"I also get them when I wake up in the morning if I've been side sleeping without a pillow," shares Kelly.
Enter her number one tip to avoid decolletage wrinkles - wedge a pillow "in between your ta-ta's".
"What you do is you just sleep with the pillow wedged [in between your boobs]."
If the pillow trick is not for you, there's also a glorious range of products on the market for this very thing. Most notably, the Wrinkle Schminkles Chest Smoothing Kit, $79.20.
"It literally just sits on your chest. They come in a variety of different price points - but the idea is that it basically just smooths out that skin and they really do work."
We'll take 10.
"Obviously it's only short term - and they're not cheap - so you're not going to be able to do it every single day, unless you're rolling in the cash."
We'll take... one.
8. 'Will retinol break down fake tan? If so, when should these products be applied?'
It's a big fat yes, friend.
"Retinol, like many other wonderful things that we plop on our faces, is a chemical exfoliant. This means that it's going to turn over our skin cells faster and take off anything that's on our skin - because that's literally what we want it to do," explains Kelly.
"I just don't bother tanning my face."
"Instead, this is where having a foundation or coverage wardrobe comes in handy."
Yes, a foundation wardrobe!
"Rather than just having the one product that you use all year round, that's in the same skin tone, you have a couple."
Image: Mamamia.
Kelly goes on to say that despite diligent sun protection, most people's skin tone will change throughout the year - so it's good to have a couple of different shades on the go!
Sounds... expensive, but remember - spendy foundation doesn't always mean better!
"They don't need to be expensive products. Head to Priceline, head to Chemist Warehouse and stock up on a couple of your faves in different shades."
Want more? Head here to take a peek at our You Beauty Bites, exclusive to Mamamia subscribers.
Do you have a beauty question you'd like answered? Pop it in the comment section below.
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