Like her BFF Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner loves to spill the details on her skincare and makeup routine—and we love every second of it. Who wouldn’t want to see exactly how models get ready? It’s like peeking into the chicest medicine cabinet. In a Vogue video, Jenner takes us through her routine, which includes the RCMA Makeup Highlight and Contour Palette.

In the video, Jenner blends the first and the third shades with a concealer brush and applies it under her eyes. “I’m like, so, not a professional,” she says. “You’ll see all the differences between me and Kylie. Kylie is like a legit professional and I’m like, you know what? This works.” And it does. She continues to apply the blended colors in between her brows, down her nose and in a full triangle under her eyes to highlight and brighten the areas.

“I can do my makeup in 15 minutes or less, 20 tops,” she says as she blends the concealer into her skin with a makeup sponge. “Kylie and I are very different because she is, you know, full beat, and I respect it. It takes a lot longer but you know what? She looks fire.”

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YouTube.

The RCMA Makeup Highlight and Contour Palette is available in Light and Medium/Dark colorways with five colors in each. You can blend any together to get your perfect under-eye shade, zit concealer and contour color. It’s pretty much an all-in-one.

RCMA.

Instead of using it for contour though, Jenner grabs a bronzer stick from her collab with Kylie Cosmetics. “I just like to be able to apply it like a marker,” she says as she defines her cheekbones, forehead, jaw and nose. “My biggest fear is having lines on my face because I didn’t blend it,” she adds, buffing the color out with a powder brush.

Because we know you’ll want to try the palette to see what all the fuss is about, we got you an exclusive discount code just for STYLECASTER readers. Use code STYLECASTER for 25 percent off now through December 23. It’s the perfect gift for yourself this holiday season.

When I was writing my book, Parents of Adult Children: You Are Not Alone, I found that the major source of discontent – on both sides of the generational divide – was the disparity between the parents’ expectations and their grown offspring’s sense of obligation. This disconnect has only been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Parents, especially when they live alone, feel keenly the isolation that accompanies lockdown orders. “No wonder solitary confinement is reserved for the worst criminal offenders,” one woman wrote to me. “These days I often have the urge to scream, if only to hear the sound of a human voice!”

Connecting with Adult Children

Unable to engage in our usual activities outside the home, be it yoga, concertgoing, shopping, going to the office, or eating out at restaurants, parents find that time hangs heavy on their hands. And with more time to think, many of us find more time to brood over which one of our offspring called and which one didn’t.

Our grown children, for their part, are also struggling during this difficult time. They may have children at home who need help with schoolwork while at the same time they’re supposed to be putting in a full day’s work.

Or, like so many millions of others, they may have lost their job or business and are panicked about how they’re going to pay their bills. While they’d like to do right by their parents, they are simply overwhelmed by their own Covid-related problems.

Does that absolve them from paying attention to us and, if not, how much attention is reasonable to expect? That’s a big question that each person has to answer for herself. This fall I heard of adult children who called every day, who drove by with Thanksgiving dinner, who flew five hours for a brief visit with their parents, outside and masked.

At the same time, I heard of other adult children who barely remembered they had parents, so preoccupied were they with just getting through the day in these challenging times.

We have no agreed-upon social compact that dictates how grown offspring are supposed to treat their parents, and that’s what causes the trouble.

You may have thought you were setting a good example through respectful behavior toward your own parents, but your kids my be interpreting “Honor Thy Father and Mother” much more casually.

10 Things You Can Do to Stimulate Connection

Rather than sink into the quicksand of hurt feelings, know that there are things you can do to promote the familial interaction you crave:

Schedule It

If you don’t have standing appointments with your grown children, chances are that weeks could slide by without contact. It might feel contrived at first, but appointments work.

Up Your Electronic Game

Get good at Zoom and Facetime and embellish with photos, videos, and other kinetic features. It’s a graphic world out there, and you want to show you’re part of it.

Play Games

Finding games every age can enjoy, such as Bingo, helps family members stay connected. Many are easily adaptable for online play.

Share Your Passion

Bringing your children and grandchildren into your hobby, philanthropic work, or occupation can form the basis of a good discussion.

Give Lessons

My husband and I were recently put in charge of our grandchildren’s religious education because their Sunday school closed down. We are learning as much as they, and it’s helping us bond despite the miles that separate us.

Send Little Gifts

Finding small, nostalgic things for your kids around the house or online, says “I care.”

Meet Outdoors

If you are in driving distance of each other, having a short in-person visit – even by rolling down the windows – can be a real upper.

Text Away

This is the way the younger generation communicates, and it increases your chances of getting an answer to your queries.

Feel Safe

If your grown children invite you for a visit, but you don’t feel comfortable traveling right now, decline, diplomatically of course, rather than spending the whole time on pins and needles – or quarantining in their basement.

Be Upbeat

When you do speak with the children and grandchildren, don’t complain about your situation or their lack of attentiveness. Your bid for their sympathy is a losing strategy if ever there was one!

I would love to think that I am uppermost in my kids’ minds during the Covid crisis. Yet, that’s simply not realistic. I have come to terms with being the more pro-active about staying in touch, and I have also decided that they probably need more shoring up during this difficult time than I do.

My advice is that you do the same. Don’t keep score as to who called whom last and who said “How are you doing?” more often. As the saying goes, “We’re not here to see through one another but to see one another through.”

How often do you connect with your grown children these days? Do you help them with grandchildren? Do they help you in some way? Please offer your thoughts below!

Tayshia Adams’ Pink Printed Pleated Cutout Dress on The Bachelorette

The Bachelorette Season 16 Episode 11 Fashion

Tayshia Adams’ pink printed pleated cutout dress during her date with Zac on tonight’s episode of The Bachelorette was the perfect choice to wear while taking a trip to his “hometown.” And lucky for us it’s still up for grabs and ready to take on a IRL(!) hometown date to your closet in a Palm Springs New York minute.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Amur Dress

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And Here For Even More Stock on Sale

Click Here to See Her Sold Out Alexandre Birman Sandals

Originally posted at: Tayshia Adams’ Pink Printed Pleated Cutout Dress

Do you have a round face and want to achieve the chiseled cheekbone look of today’s fashion? Following fashion trends is like shooting at a constantly moving target, so put on your big-girl pants and let’s talk contour!

Besides being unbelievably easy to mess up, contour is over-used by our younger counterparts with the heavy-handedness of an axe murderer. Just try to emulate most Instagram makeovers, and you’ll look like you smeared dirt all over your face. Not a pretty sight.

That being said, done properly, it can add the stunning high-cheekbone, chiseled jaw, and on-trend look that makes our hearts flutter. Here are my four tips on how to contour a round face.

Get the Right Shade of Contour

To return to the dirt analogy, using a contour shade that is too dark, too yellow, or too pink, can ruin the whole look. Finding the correct shade is simple if you follow these guidelines.

First, check the color of your breastbone. Most of us get some sun on our breastbone, giving it a warm hue that is perfect to match in a contour. Does your skin turn a bit reddish? Does it become a darker yellow tone? Or, if you have pink undertones, does it go pinker?

This, of course, can change with the amount of time you spend in the sun, so be mindful if you are either darker or lighter than normal.

My daughter, Riley, has rosy undertones and doesn’t tan, therefore I use a color two shades darker than her skin with a matching rosy undertone. To use a yellow-ish contour wouldn’t work on her.

In contrast, my other daughter, Rachel, tans easily and has a yellow/warm undertone so her contour follows accordingly. You get the drift.

Should you use a powder or cream contour? It’s up to you, and what you are most comfortable with. Powders require a brush, and creams blend best with your fingers, so buy the product that best fits in with your personal style and taste.

As a side note, I often use a face powder as contour rather than a product designated as contour. In truth, contour is just a darker color, and this can be a darker foundation, face powder, or even foundation powder as long as the shade is on point.

Where to Put Contour on a Round Face

The idea with using contour, is to create depth and shape where there is less than we desire. For example, in the diagram, you can see that under the cheekbones, in the upper corners of your forehead, along the jawline, and even the chin area are good spots to apply contour.

The trick here is blending. Try to keep the contour in a small, distinct area without it looking like a line. In the video, I demonstrate how to do this with both a powder and a cream contour.

As you work with the product, make every effort to keep it in the area you want, rather than allowing it to spread to too large an area thus losing the chiseled look. For a wonderful powder contour try Bobbi Brown Medium Bronzing Powder, and for a cream try Well People Bio Bronzer Cream Stick.

What About Highlight?

Highlight works in conjunction with contour to add shape. For a round face, add highlight in the middle of your forehead, on your brow bones, above your cheekbones (and blush), and in the middle of your chin. Just remember, dark recedes and light brings out.

But beware; highlight that contains too much mica (the shiny bits) can set in fine lines and look garish. I prefer a cream highlight used after I powder the face, as powder can diminish highlight. My favorite highlight is YSL Touche’ Eclat, and I love it so much that if there were a fire I’d grab it and then my children.

More Advice for a Round Face

In order to add angles to a round face (thus lessening the roundness), fill in your eyebrows and create a sharper point at the top, rather than a sloping edge for a more angular face. (Please see the video tutorial above for a demonstration of this technique).

For example, I have an angular face, so I want my eyebrows to be soft and have a gentle curve. For a round face, I would sharpen the edges up a little in order to create a more angular look. Don’t go crazy though, too many sharp edges on your eyebrows, and you’ll look like you hit the wine a bit early.

This same advice goes for clothing. If you have a rounder body or larger bosom, try wearing V-neck tops and narrow, sharp lapels on your jackets as they give the illusion of a more angular body.

The benefit of the constantly moving target of fashion, is that it forces us into learning new tricks to look current, and not like we stuck our head in the dirt, slurped the wine, and went out. With today’s mask mandate, you might just get away with that!

Whatever you decide, you’ll love the benefits of a well-applied contour, even if it’s only over a Zoom meeting.

Do you try to stay current with makeup trends? What’s the latest thing you’ve experimented with? Have you tried to contour your face to lessen the roundness? Please share your favorite contour products and how you use them to your best advantage!

Have you applied for Social Security benefits only to find that you will get less than you expected? Many government workers are shocked to learn they will get a lower payment when they retire.

Why Is My Social Security Payment Lower?

The payment decrease is caused by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). It is in place to prevent government workers from collecting a full Social Security payment as well as their pension. This puts them on par with those who work in the private sector and stops them from obtaining a “windfall.”

How Can They Do That?

If you are eligible for a public pension – firefighters, police officers, teachers, and others – and have not contributed to Social Security while working at that job, and worked at another job where you did contribute to Social Security, you may be subject to the WEP.

If you have worked at another job and paid into Social Security and earned at least 40 credits, you are eligible for benefits, but your expected monthly Social Security payment may be reduced significantly.

Why the Decrease?

Social Security calculates your benefits by taking your 35 highest earning years. Any years you didn’t pay Social Security tax are calculated as zero. If you are a teacher or firefighter, the total amount you contributed over your working lifetime will be low, and it will appear that you are a low-income worker when you are not.

As part of the Social Security formula used to calculate your monthly benefit, lower-income individuals receive a higher percentage of their contributions back. This means that the government worker’s monthly payment would be calculated at a higher rate than it should because these workers have been contributing to a pension fund and are not actually low-income.

The Windfall Elimination Provision prevents government workers from collecting their full pension and a full Social Security benefit at the same time. The Social Security benefit is recalculated using the proper income level, which lowers the payment.

People Get Blind Sided

The real problem here is not the policy; it’s that many government workers are not aware of it and don’t take it into account when calculating their retirement income.

Because Social Security calculates your estimate from the amount of payroll tax you pay, they may receive a statement from Social Security that estimates the higher amount. If you are not paying the tax at your current job, Social Security doesn’t know you have another source of income.

Maximum Deduction

Each year, there is a maximum amount that your payment will be reduced because of the WEP. The amount of your reduction is determined by the number of years you worked and paid into Social Security. For 2020, if you paid Social Security tax for 20 years, the maximum reduction is $480 per month. The amount is lowered the longer you work.

The decrease is calculated based on your payment amount in the year of your eligibility (age 62 is the earliest) before adjustment because of early or late filing as well as cost of living. The Windfall Elimination Provision will never be more than one half of your pension.

There are many government positions where employees do pay into Social Security and the Windfall Elimination Provision does not apply. However, if you worked internationally and paid into a foreign nation’s pension plan, your U.S. Social Security benefits may be subject to this provision.

The WEP may seem unfair, but it is actually just leveling the playing field between those who get a government pension and those who do not. The most important thing is to know – before you retire – that you are subject to it, and not to overestimate your income. Proper planning can lessen the stress of retirement and allow you to have a brighter future.

Another regulation to beware of is the Government Pension Offset. It is similar to the WEP, but affects Social Security survivor benefits for those receiving a pension. I’ll talk about that next time.

Have you or someone you know been affected by the WEP? If you work in a U.S. government job are you prepared for it? Do you think the WEP is fair? Please add your comments to the conversation.