As we live in a day and age of social media and with the focus being on keeping up with all the latest looks, it can make people feel like the pressure is on to look flawless. Whatever perfection actually is or thought to be, will vary from one person’s perception to another. Some people seem to aim for perfect eyebrows, perfect eyes, perfect lips, but that perfection can often detract from actually looking natural at times, when working too hard on the ideal, rather than focusing on working with what features a person has in the first place, and what can be achieved by enhancing what they actually have in order to make themselves look unique, rather than coming off a conveyer belt like that of a manufactured shelf item. A perfect example of this is the fashion trend of eyebrows where people can purchase stencils to shape the brow to give a precise shape by pencil, shading and powdering in, not allowing any brush strokes of upward and outward strokes. It seems even some men go for this shaping by shaving, cutting or plucking to perfect precision which takes away the natural look. In the actual fact of original hairdressing, barbering and beauty trade, eyebrows are not meant to be scissor cut freehand and they are not meant to be plucked from the top of the brow. Any cutting of the brow should be done like that of a professional barber or hairdresser with correct barbering cutting technique used.
So let’s look at amazing evening or special occasion glamour make up with a natural zest.
One should start by good skin preparation in order to create the perfect clean, smooth base as canvas for all the artistry. Cleansing the skin thoroughly by exfoliating to remove all the dead skin cells will make a big difference. The skin will look fresh and radiant. You can add some sugar granules to your usual cleanser, massaging and working small circular movements with your fingertips in upward movements towards the centre of the face and then wash off. If you want that extra pamper of natural marine extracts to plump and hydrate the skin at the same time, there is always the Cetuem exfoliating Gel Mask which can be found at www.cetuem.com. Follow with a toner and moisturiser. Allow the moisturiser to absorb and settle in for 5-10 mins or so before applying any make-up.
Step 1 – Apply any colour correctors in areas that require it using a brush. These are often used in the professional world for photography, stage, television and cinematography. For example, any red areas on the skin can be corrected by using a green colour corrector cream and purple and blue areas, like those under eye circles, are covered with a yellow concealer to neutralise. There are others but this is a good basic to start with. Next apply your foundation which should be a close match to your skin tone. Apply over the colour correction colours and to any uneven skin tone pigmented areas. There is no need to cover the entire face if not needed; sometimes the forehead, nose or cheek may not require it. Apply with a cosmetic sponge and dab and roll gently to avoid wiping away colour correctors. A great range of brushes and sponges are like those of Royal Cosmetics www.royalcosmetics.co.uk – the dome egg shaped sponge is latex free and perfect for blending and can be used wet or dry to adapt to your foundation type. For colour correction, a good kit to try is Maybeline Master Camp colour correcting kit.
Step 2 – Apply some loose mineral matt powder to set and hold all the foundation and correctors in place. It also covers and blends the covered and non covered areas. Some good mineral powders are Sheercover www.sheercover.co.uk or Bare Minerals www.bareminerals.co.uk Use a large powder brush and work in small, light, circular movements.
Step 3 – Define and shape eyebrows but make them look natural. Draw strokes upwards and outwards with a fine liner brush. Wunderbrow is great as it is waterproof and holds out through hot clammy weather situations. It can be purchased at your Boots store or at www.wunder.co.uk Do not do block colour like one would do in a colouring book!
Another option is to apply a little eyebrow wax and powder or pencil. Avon make it easy with their Glimmerstick for eyebrows. It combines colour and wax in one which also gives that 3D effect. Use a colour to match your hair and skin tone; lighter is better than dark for a softer look.
Step 4 – Apply liquid eyeliner for evening or glamour make up. This is where definition is required. Hold the skin around the temple and upper brow area up before drawing a line upwards and outwards. Start with a thin line at the inner corner, gradually getting thicker to outer corner for a modern Cleopatra. Good liquid eyeliners are Givenchy, Maybelline and Rimmel.
Step 5 – Keep eyeshadow simple with 2-3 colours max. Use a rounded pro pointed eyeshadow brush and apply a light colour on centre of eyelid and to top outer corner near brow. Use a warmer complementing shade above the outer crease line. Use a darker colour on outer corner into socket line, like a V, turned sideways. This should work on eye line and then into a natural looking crease on eyelid. Use an angle tip firm eye make up brush for your V line crease work. Use charcoal grey or brown for a smokey eye look or another colour for a hazy match to your choice in clothing or colours you like. Great eyeshadows to try if you don’t want frosted colours are Lick and Lash Beauty www.lickandlashbeauty.co.uk; their range in matt colours are phenomenal and with great holding power.
Step 6 – Apply a lip liner and work a lip shape to balance natural lip line. Lean slightly on inner or outer natural line of lips to create a desired lip shape. This will also hold lipstick in. Fill in with a lip colour of your choice that works with your eyeshadow. If you wear pinks in eyeshadow colour, avoid red lip colour; pink or plum would work better. If you chose grey or browns for eyeshadow, bold reds or wines will complement. Some nice colours to try are Cetuem Pink Camelia or Perfect Plum. Using a highlighter lipstick or even cream eyeshadow, apply to centre of lips to create a seductive pout. Add a little gloss to emphasise.
Step 7 – Finally, blushers can be a little dated. Instead, use a multi colour bronzer or multi tone corrector pearl or powder compact. With a large powder brush, add a hint of tint over prominent areas that would hit the sun, i.e. nose, cheeks, forehead and chin. Using the same brush, very lightly dust over the face to add a hint of warmth. Take a look at Guerlain which can be purchased at Selfridges, although a little pricey for some. Royal shimmer bricks work equally as good and can be bought at many outlets. See www.royalcosmetics.co.uk
You can always dab a little highlighting colour as mentioned before to any areas you want to highlight and emphasise. This will automatically contour the other areas, keeping on trend.
Unique, natural looking glamour is far more beautiful than looking like a manufactured doll!
Be-You-Tiful !