This is just a quick summary of some various ideas about makeup.
Powders, creams or lotions?
If your skin is oily, work more with powders than creams or lotions.
If your skin is dry, work more with lotions or creams. Use powder sparingly because it might not soften.
Soften the top step Usually not necessary for oily skin.
For drier skin:
Just as foiling is a concept for eye makeup, dampening the face after applying product softens the edges, mutes a powdery look making it appear more like skin, not makeup.
Damp, not wet.
A damp sea sponge offers a bit more control than spritzing with a product that might not be as even.
Dark recedes; Light or bright brings forward
This concept works for every part of your face: eyes, cheeks, nose...
You want to lift, not drag down.
Contouring the face
Use the concept Dark recedes; Light or bright brings forward to your advantage.
If you are very fair, like me, contouring might tend to look like dirt on the face. It is more subtle to use bronzer (matte in hollow of cheeks) (with some glimmer along edges of face) or a slightly darker shade of powder in those areas.
Contouring can be done with very defined edges, as Oprah's face is contoured. You can examine her cover pictures to see how contouring is laid out, because it is defined enough that you can see it. This looks good for magazine shoots and TV, but too made up for RL unless you are a star.
More subtle: follow the outlines, but with less difference in tonality.
Highlighting the face
Highlight wherever light would touch your face (the high points) and up the center of your face to draw the eye. This can be done with powder, creams or lotions.
Go for a mix of these two ideas
In general, whatever is under your top layer, looks like your skin
This creates an optical illusion that looks like your skin.
Most people are not aware of this concept or how well it works.
Use a cream or powder blush and highlighter/contouring under your last step (powder or mineral.)
If you are using a cream or liquid foundation, use a cream or liquid blush under your finishing powder. If you try to use a powder blush at this point, it will most likely grab and not go on even. Cream or lotion works better.
OTOH, if you are using minerals in a powder form, you can use cream, liquid or powder in this step, then finish with your sheer setting powder.
Whatever is on top of your last step, looks like makeup, not your skin
Putting some color under your last step, means you can use less in this step. Therefore, while you have color, you look less made up.
Highlight or contour with powders or minerals at this point. Use a cream or lotion, if you have drier skin.
Blush can be powders, minerals or creams depending on the look you are going for and what your skin type is.
Lips
Highlight just above the dip in your upper lip to draw the eye to your lips.
If one lip is smaller than the other and you would like to balance them more, line just outside the smaller lip line with pencil. Be sure to fill in the whole lip with pencil so it holds better and doesn't just leave you with an outline. This can match your lipstick or match your lip line. Experiment with how far outside you can go and still have it look natural.
Contour the lips to make them look fuller by using darker shades at the outer edges or highlighting the center of the lips with gloss or something that glimmers.
Nose
To slim a nose: use deeper color on sides than top; use a slightly lighter color along ridge of nose.
Nose too long: This sometimes happens with aging. Use deeper color on tip.
Chin
Use the same theory as for the nose. If your chin is too prominent, use a little contour.
Cheeks
You are looking to make high cheek bones, rosy cheeks, and slim hollows.
Use light and bright along apples of cheeks and above.
Use deeper in contours of the cheeks, if you wish to try contouring, to slim the hollows.
Karin
Originally posted 2009-03-17 10:16:52.
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