Make up but don’t look made up

Have you seen women who look like they are permanently wearing a mask? Their real skin or beauty is hidden under layers and layers of make-up. The worst part about this is that everyone knows they look that way (good or bad, I won’t say) coz of tons of make-up! This defeats the whole purpose of applying make-up. Read on to learn how you can look beautiful without making it too obvious…


Less is Better

Make-up should be used to conceal your flaws and enhance your natural beauty. You should try to look as close to your natural self as possible, at least on a regular day (this excludes parties and special occasions). The rule is ‘less is always better’.



That being said, your overall look depends on quite a few things. So, before beginning your make up routine, you should assess the following:


Your skin condition

How good/ even is your natural skin? If your skin has a lot of breakouts, no amount of concealer is going to give it a polished look. You should take good care of your skin to maintain a smooth complexion. Read 13 Secrets to a Smooth Flawless Complexion for further details.


Your skin type

Is your skin oily, dry or combination?

– For oily skin, avoid cream based make-up. Use powder based make-up to get that shine-free look.

– For dry skin, use a lot of moisturizer before applying make-up. Then go in for cream based products to bring more life into your skin.

– For combination skin, you can go with cream or powder based product depending on how you want your final look to be.


Product quality

The one thing most people ignore is the quality of the products used. We must always remember that these are all chemical products and prolonged use is definitely going to cause some damage to the skin. This can definitely be reduced, if not prevented, by making sure only good quality products are used. You might think you are saving money by going in for the cheap stuff but the damage it’s going to cause to your skin is going to leave you spending significantly more on skin treatments!!


Product colors

Play with colors that compliment your natural skin tone. Don’t do anything that doesn’t blend in or looks awkward. A sapphire eye-liner is a great alternative to the black. It’s subtle and defines the eyes the same way as a black eyeliner, but with an extra touch of glamour. But a light blue or green might not have the same effect on everyone. Similarly bright red lips aren’t for everyone or every occasion. So, if you want to play safe, stick to colors that go with you natural skin tone.






Applying Make-up: Follow these steps

Once you have chosen the right kind of products for you, here are the steps to be followed to apply those products:


Face

– Start with a dab of moisturizer (more if you have dry skin and less if you have oily skin). This prepares the base for applying make-up.

– If your foundation doesn’t have a Sun Protection Factor (SPF), it’s a good practice to apply sunscreen separately. It protects the skin from sun damage. (Note: If your skin is oily, you can skip the moisturizer and just start with the sunscreen.)

– Then choose a concealer one shade lighter than your natural skin tone and apply it under the eyes or any other area that needs to be evened out.

– Then apply the foundation. This can be a little tricky. Choose a color very close your complexion. Usually, a liquid foundation is used but that can leave an unwanted shine. Now-a-days, you get spray foundation that you can apply using sponge. This will give a smoother finish.

– Face powder – This can be applied, if the foundation has left your skin looking oily. Otherwise, it is not needed.


Eyes

Once the face is all set, start with your eyes:

– Use a brow pencil to correct your eye-brows, if needed

– Apply a highlight just under your brows and on the insider corner of your eyes.

– Then apply an eye liner touching your upper lash line

– You can use a light earthy eye-shadow for daytime and use a darker shade over your upper lid for smoky nighttime look.

– Then finally apply mascara only on the upper lash for daytime and on the lower lash as well for nighttime.






Cheeks

For your cheeks

– Use a brush to apply blush on the apples of your cheeks.

– Always, always, use a powder blush.

– The blush should belong to the same color family as the lipstick – don’t mix an orange blush with a pink lipstick.


Lips

Finally the lips

– You can use a bright lip color, during daytime, since your eyes will not be the focus.

– For the evening, if you are doing smoky eyes, use a light or nude shade on the lips. This will keep the attention on the eyes.

For more tips, read It’s always either Eyes or Lips – Never both

Just follow these simple rules and look absolutely gorgeous!! Remember, the proof of good make up lies in keeping people guessing whether it’s your make-up or your naturally beautiful self!


Summary

– For a regular day, less is always better

– Take into account your skin condition, skin type, colors that go with your skin tone while buying products

– Stick to good quality products – it’s your skin we are talking about

– Start with polishing your skin before applying make-up on eyes, cheeks and lips

– Focus on eyes or lips – never both


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