As a representative for Bare Minerals makeup, I travel around the southeast doing beauty demonstrations and giving professional beauty tips to women of all ages. In a few months I will be attending the Mothers and Daughters Retreat, which is designed to educate young women on how to prepare themselves for the workforce. One of the greatest hurdles facing the underprivileged ladies that attend these retreats is that they don't know how to apply makeup for a work setting. In the first sections of my article, I will give tips on how to apply makeup for work and daytime, then teach you how to translate that to an evening look.
"Professional Beauty Tips" does not always mean beauty tips from a professional, but can also be read as "beauty tips to look professional." Many women think that to look beautiful, they need more makeup, but the opposite is often true. Let's start with the foundation:
Before you can even think about applying makeup, it is essential to have a clean foundation. To wash my face, I use DHC brand Mild Soap, but you can use any face wash that suits your skin, as long as it is not a bar of body soap or liquid hand soap. These are too drying, and by washing all the moisture off your skin, your cells will try to re-hydrate themselves by producing excess oil. You know you have a good facial wash when your skin feels clean and slightly tight, but not drawn or flaky.
Next, re-introduce moisture in the form of toners and moisturizers. Unless you have very oily skin, don't use a toner with alcohol. I recommend DCH Olive Leaf, with has a smooth liquid consistency that can sometimes be substituted for moisturizer during very humid days. Finally, pat (not rub) your moisturizer of choice on your skin. For younger women, if oil and acne is a concern, use a light, oil-free moisturizer. For older ladies, a heavier cream can hydrate better. Both Philosophy and DCH make a great range of products for dry skin, while Dan Kern's Acne Solution moisturizer is perfect for breakouts.
Before you begin your makeup routine, take a look at your equipment. Michelangelo didn't paint the Sistine Chapel with dime store brushes; you can't create a work of art on your face with cheap brushes and pads. Both Bare Minerals and DHC offer reasonably priced makeup brushes, but other quality brushes will do just as well. They should feel soft yet sturdy, and still retain their bristles when you pull on them gently. They should also be sturdy enough to be cleaned regularly, which is essential to stopping the spread of bacteria from your face to your makeup, and back again.
Now you are ready to apply your foundation. With my method, you will use the same foundation technique for work, evenings, and weekends, and adjust your color areas, such as eyes, cheeks, and lips, according to the location and time of day. Since I use a mineral line of cosmetics, I use the same product for foundation as well as concealer. I simply use a smaller brush to apply a concentrated amount to bumps or red spots, then use a larger brush to lightly brush over the rest of my face. Bare Minerals also makes a great concealer "bisque" that can be used on particularly discolored skin.
If you chose to use a liquid foundation, be sure to choose one that matches your skin. It's difficult to gauge the how well a color in a bottle, lit by the fluorescent lights of a drug store, will look on your skin in natural light. If you can, dab a small bit on your jaw line and look in a mirror to see how well the colors match, then step outside and check again. Some companies now make "adjustable" foundation bottles that you can turn to create your own custom shade. Matching is very important; no matter how high the quality of your foundation is, all your beauty efforts will be ruined by the dreaded "orange line".
Applying foundation:
Conventional wisdom calls for a woman to apply dots of concealer, then spread foundation over the rest of the face. But think about it -- isn't the concealer being spread too, to areas where it's not needed? When using the same mineral product for both purposes, the order is not as important, as you can always go back and brush on a little more on trouble spots. What I like to do with liquid foundation is apply an even coat over the skin, the follow up with under-eye concealer in a slightly lighter color. Blend the foundation in smooth, even strokes, from the eye area down. Don't end with one solid swipe across the jaw line, as this can create a noticeable color divide between your neck and face. Instead, blend this area with gentle strokes or circles. Whether for day or evening, only use enough foundation to even out your skin tone....never try to change to color of your skin with foundation.
Cheeks -- Daytime:
For day or for work, you want to create the look of a natural blush, or having just enjoyed a weekend in the sun. Chose a high-quality bronzer that is no more than four shades darker than your actual skin, and lightly brush it on your cheekbones and the ridge on your forehead, wherever the sun naturally hits you. If you want to create the illusion of higher cheekbones, mix the bronzer with a lighter powder and brush in an upward motion under your cheekbone to create the illusion of a shadow. This shadow should only be a shade or two darker than your skin, or it will look unnatural.
Use blush on the apples of your cheeks rather than across your cheekbones, and apply with a light hand. If you are young, and naturally have rosy cheeks, you may be able to skip this step altogether. The same goes for foundation: girls and teenagers may only need to use it in small spots, rather than all over, if their skin is naturally bright and firm. The goal (especially for daytime) is a natural, effortless look.
Cheeks -- Evening: Here you can have a little fun beyond the basic bronzer. If you are using a pale pink during the day, you can use a bolder rose for evening. Still, it is important to apply lightly, as nothing ages you more than too much blush in the wrong places. For going out in the evening, you may even use a little shimmer to highlight the cheekbone. For older ladies, a light powder with light-reflecting minerals would be more appropriate than a shimmering gel. And never use glitter, unless you are going to a costume party.
Eyes -- Daytime: For work, and during the day, it's best to keep eye makeup simple. For one, bright light magnifies the color on your face, and unless you are performing on stage, you don't want to look like a showgirl at work. The best eye treatment for daytime is a light coat of mascara and eyeshadow. I prefer to leave eyeliner for the evening. When picking a shade of eyeshadow, try to pick a color complementary, rather than matching your eye color. Browns and tans look great with blue eyes, golds with green eyes, and purple and pink with brown eyes. For daytime, I suggest just using one shade at a time.
Eyes -- Evening: Nighttime is the perfect time to play up your eyes with bold colors. I like to use a "rainbow effect" for the lid: Start with the darkest color for the eyeliner, the second darkest for the lid, then blend a lighter color into the browbone. For the more daring, using opposite colors for the eyeline and lid, but keep the browbone pale or neutral. If you line the lower lid, make the line thin, and blend well, as a heavy outline around the eyes will make them look smaller.
A great way to open up the eyes is to use a shimmering highlight on the interior corner, between the eye and the bridge of the nose, and also at the most prominent point on the brownbone. Once you have applied all the colors, use a small brush or q-tip to gently blend the lines.
Lips -- Daytime: Again, less is better, especially for the office. I actually recommend to my clients that they use a tinted lipgloss during the day, rather than a thick lipstick. For some older women, lipstick does work better to create a smoother appearance, but should not be very dark in shade. And unless you are skilled at its application, skip the lipliner -- it can create a clownish outline effect, and doesn't make your lips appear any bigger of fuller. Only use lipliner sparingly, and only on areas where the color of your lip appears to blend directly into the skin, and needs definition. In these cases, the liner should match the lipstick, rather than be a shade darker, which is a mistake many women make.
Lips -- Evening: When going out at night, it's ok to choose a bolder lipcolor -- just make sure you aren't doing bold eyes, cheeks, and lips. The difference between looking like a professional makeup artist did your face and an amateur is knowing when to play up, and when to tone down. A professional makeup job emphasizes one area, eyes, cheeks, or lips, without competing with other areas of your face. When in doubt, use less makeup, and apply small hints of color.
