Makeup 101: 10 Things Not To Do

 

Should you be charged with crimes against beauty? We’re here to set you straight.

 

As seen in Filly.ca

Remember in high school, when passing the part of the building where the bad rocker girls smoked in the bathroom? Remember their magnificent floating heads of ginger just to their jaw lines and then, ffsstt!, white from the neck down?

Was one of those girls you? Admit it. Some of you have never graduated past those dark and lonely days.

Well, it’s time to put on your mortarboard and bid farewell to high school habits. Think of me as your valedictorian and take notes: 

Dark and light: foundation match

1. Take a deep breath and trust your professional cosmetician to divine your skin tone. Don’t spend 5 minutes insisting you’re dark and lovely if you make Cate Blanchett seem swarthy. Accept what you are – and then work with that palette. If it’s a deeper or bronzed skin color that you desire, don’t be tempted to go with a dark foundation. Although it seems counter-intuitive, match it to your skin tone, adding a powder or gel bronzer. 

When applying a bronzer (Tarte “Sunkissed” is my fav), think of how the sun kisses your face naturally. Pass your powder or bronzing brush at the forehead, cheekbones, across the nose and at the jaw line. If you feel the need to have that deeper skin tone in a liquid form, use a tinted moisturizer. They are meant to be sheer, they blend nicely on the neck and they will make your skin tone more believable than brazen.

2. For those dolls who crave the porcelain look, but clearly have a deeper skin tone, never fear. Remember the ginger-faced girl from the first paragraph – don’t be her Geisha Girlfriend. If it’s a brightness that you desire, try adding a liquid highlighter to your foundation or a powder highlighter on top of the foundation you have applied. Application of powder highlighters are applied in exactly the same manner as the bronzing powders – with care and love.

Eyeliner and mascara

3. Calling all gals who lived through any part of the 70s, 80s or 90s! Let’s talk about eyeliner. Remember junior high school when you first discovered this strange and mysterious product? Remember the great application techniques that you had: rimming the table of your bottom eye lid; putting your liner at the base of the bottom lash line and either smudging it out or leaving it as it was? Wow. That was a great look.  Nothing says “Talk to me!” like a nice, heavy bottom lid that makes you look tired, miserable and unapproachable. 
If your eye is large enough, go ahead and continue with the “smudge” technique, but add something to the top lash line. Smudge in a little liner to that lash line much the same way as you are doing to the bottom. You’d be surprised at how much happier your eyes look. 

On the other hand, those of you with smaller peepers should retire your bottom liner technique completely. It’s only making your eye look smaller. Instead, just add a little liner into the base of the top lash. Pop! Go the peepers. A light highlight shadow color on the eyelid will open them even more.

4. As for mascara, make sure that you are cleaning your eyes properly at night. Adding mascara to your lashes from yesterday and the day before produces three or four big spikes, a la Tammy Faye. If you are a mascara aficionado (and who isn’t?), invest in a good eye makeup remover, one with oil (the kind that the liquid separates and are generally blue in color). Don’t worry; the oil won’t give you zits around your eyes. Apply your mascara from the base of the lash, just hitting the tips. This technique works for everyone. It’s amazing how your lashes will keep separated by doing this as well.

 

Eye shadow and frosted brow bones

 

5. Can we talk about the urge to match? Just because you are wearing a purple suit doesn’t mean that you have to do up your whole face in purple. 

 

Do you remember, around grade 5 in art class, when you learned the color wheel? If you can find it in your catacombs, haul it out. Otherwise, visit your nearest Loomis and Toles to purchase one. This is your new oracle.

 

The simplest thing here is to remember: “opposites attract”. For example, you will notice that on the wheel, the opposite of green is red. I’m not suggesting to wear red eye shadows with green eyes, but anything that contains red (such as orange, purple or pink) will suffice.

 

6. Toronto Makeup Artist Lindsay LaRocque would like to remind you of frosted eye shadow on the brow, saying to “remember age appropriateness. If it looks crêpy, then don’t do it.” She’s right on the money, here.  When you think frosting, think birthday cake. And if birthdays fill you with more horror than joy – leave the frosted look for the kids. Don’t feel bitter, they won’t get away with it for too much longer.

 

Brows

 

7. What gives a great frame to an eye? Yes, you are right. A good brow. While a small percentage of you out there are hard to find within the forest that is growing around your eye, I know that most of you readers are not. If anything, you may suffer from the plight of walking a thin line. At this point, please refer to my article, The Fine Art of Brow Beating. Learn to get a great brow in a few simple steps.

 

Blush

 

8. In the cinema in my head, there’s a one-song soundtrack forever playing in the background. It’s Peggy Lee’s “Fever”. Blush too close to the eye will make you look ill. Do you have the desire to look like you are constantly suffering a fever of 102? 

 

Look at yourself in the mirror. Smile. Place a little blush just where the top of the cheek pops out. This will provide a soft and youthful appearance. If it’s an evening look you’re striving for, add a little more blush onto the cheekbone and pop a little more above the temple, not in the temple. Remember, no fever. 

 

Lips

 

9. No offense to our fabulous Miss Pam Anderson, but overdrawing the lip just leaves you with a moustache after your lipstick or gloss has fled. If it’s fullness you desire, research local doctors and find a master filler. However, if you are lacking the necessary funds for lip injections, don’t compensate with lip liner. Go ahead and draw a little fuller over the lip if you have a non-existent lip, just at the top of your lip line and be sure to blend it in. Use lighter lip shades and a little gloss just in the middle of the lip. Over-glossing on any lip just gets messy and bleeds out past the lip line quickly, giving you a look not unlike a clown. And everybody knows that clowns are frightful. 

 

And finally…

 

10. Don’t be so attached to what you think looks great. It may have looked fantastic 20 years ago but remember that, as you graduate, so must your makeup.

 

These are the absolute, bare essentials, girls. Once you’ve mastered where you need to go with this, then go ahead and experiment.

Color Theory

(as seen in the fabulous online magazine http://www.filly.ca)

Jake Surette

Oh You’ve Got Green Eyes, Oh You’ve Got Blue Eyes… Sung to the tune of the classic New Order song, Temptation. Am I dating myself again? Let’s hope not. What’s more important is that you are not dating yourself. Of course, I mean in your makeup.  

I’ve talked enough in the past about what eye shadow colors are best for your specific eye color. I like to call them the “best ofs”. I’d like to go on the record now as saying that whatever your best ofs are, it does not mean that you are limited to these colors. Remember this mantra and you will be fine: the only rule to makeup is that there’s no rule.

Remember when you, your mother or your grandmother had their “seasons” done back in the 70s and 80s (and, sadly, still continued into the 90s and into today)? Forget about what season you are. Those of you who did have their seasons done should take those little swatches of fabric and chuck ’em. You are only limiting yourself. I think that whole idea was far more destructive to a woman’s psyche than it was a positive thing. Nothing like telling a woman what she can’t have to make her feel empowered.

That said, let’s review those simple little “best of” colors and follow them up with what else is great with each particular eye color.

Old blue eyes

As I’ve mentioned in past articles, brown, bronze, coral, orange and yellows are the best ofs for your baby blue peepers.

Have a look at these combinations:

 
Blue Eyes: Shadows: Bronze at the outer corner and lining the bottom, Copper in the crease, Coral over the eye lid.

Now, change it up a bit. Also smashing for blue eyes are every other color that does not involve blue, such as pink, purple, burgundy, copper and green. The sky’s the limit really. Well, not sky blue. (Sorry to all of you that learned from someone in the past that blue eyed gals should wear blue. It washes out the color of you eyes.)

 

Blue Eyes: Shadows: Soft Lavender over lid, Medium Lavender at lash line around the eye.

Brown eyed girl

Greens and blues are your ‘best ofs’. Have a peek at these combinations:

 

Brown Eyes: Shadows: Light Green on the eyelid, Aqua in the corner and lining the bottom eye lid. Black Kohl liner to define.

Don’t stop there! Other beautiful colors for brown eyes: pink, purple and burgundy. For example… 
 

 

Brown Eyes: Shadows: Aqua blue over the eyelid, Purple in the outer corner, into the crease and in the bottom lash line for definition.

 

 So you’ve got green eyes

The best ofs for green or hazel eyes are purple, pink and burgundy eye shadows. Check out these combinations:

 

Green Eyes: Shadows: Purple Classic Smoky (all over the lid and into the bottom lash line)

 Also great for green eyes are blue, brown, bronze, coral, copper and orange eye shadow.

Let’s take a look…

 

 Green Eyes: Shadow: Bronze eye shadow over the entire eyelid and into the bottom lash line; Copper shadow continued into the crease for a more intense smoky look.

Don’t be afraid to play

Application of eye shadows vary. Play around with the various combos that I’ve used above. For example, where I’ve played with a classic smoky eye in purple eye shadow for Green eyes, apply it the same way for brown eyes with purple shadow or for blue eyes with brown shadow. 

Don’t take it seriously. It’s only makeup; very easy to take it off if you’ve messed it up and very easy to start over again.

Have fun!