Glamour

How to Apply Make-up tips

For African-American women, the cosmetics world has come a long way. Gone are the days when black women were expected to “make do” with products geared toward the Caucasian market and had to mix, mix and mix again to get that right shade (which, much of the time, still wasn’t exactly right). With that in mind, African-American women have many options available to them when it comes to makeup and they should explore all of those options.

When applying makeup, the general rule of “blend, blend, and blend again” is always true. There’s nothing worse than having a visible line between the makeup and the face. This is especially true for foundation.

There are several cosmetic companies targeted to black women, where the shades of makeup follow the range of skin tones, from very light to very dark. When choosing a foundation, it’s imperative to find one that perfectly matches the skin. This is much easier when buying from a department store, where knowledgeable salespeople can help. There, it’s possible to try a few shades and look in a natural-light mirror (or even step outside into daylight) to see which color will work for you. In a drugstore, where products are packaged and are not meant to be sampled, finding a perfect match for your skin may be a more difficult task.

Once you find a foundation, you should decide how you’d like to apply it. There are cosmetic sponges specifically made for this purpose, but some women prefer to use their fingers. It depends on which method you’re most comfortable with. (If using fingers, it’s important that your hands be clean.) It’s best to start lightly, as it’s easier to apply more makeup than wipe off too much and start all over again. Dot your forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin with foundation, then blend. You should blend enough so there is no visible line where the makeup starts and your face ends (this is especially true around the jaw line). Makeup should enhance your beauty, not hide it; it’s not supposed to look like an unmoving mask. After applying foundation, your face should appear even in complexion and still natural.

A light dusting of loose powder can follow. It’s good to find a large, natural-bristle makeup brush to apply the powder. Dip the brush into the powder and then shake off the excess. Lightly brush all over the face. Your face should appear smooth and natural.

Some women are lucky and don’t have to do more to their eyebrows than brush into a neat shape. For the rest of us, shaping may be necessary. Any tweezing or waxing should already be done. Some women need to pencil in sparse areas in their brows; do so with a matching pencil made for this purpose. For most black women, a brown, gray or black pencil will do. The pencil should be for filling in areas only, not for drawing a complete set of eyebrows.

Daytime eye makeup is different than nighttime eye makeup. For day, one or two coats of mascara (after using an eyelash curler, if necessary) will suffice. A neutral shade of eyeshadow and a very light application of eyeliner will finish the look nicely. For light-skinned women, peach, taupe, and subtle golds work well for eyeshadows. For medium-brown women, mauve, brown, and gray are good choices. For dark-skinned women, deeper colors like rich violet, chocolate, and navy will work. Still, the application should be light. Eyeliner should be applied to the upper lids and, if desired, very lightly to the lower lids.

For nighttime, the colors can be applied heavier and deeper. Another coat of mascara can be added (and the eyelash curler really helps in making the eyes “pop”).

Blush comes in powder or cream form. For powder form, again, a good brush is essential. Smile to find the apple of your cheeks and then brush a light coat of blush on the apples. Cream blush should be applied right after foundation, but before overall facial powder. Cream blush is usually best for women with normal-to-dry skin, and powder works best for women prone to oily skin.

There are perhaps more lipstick shades than any other cosmetic. Here, women can go wild choosing among the huge selection. A lipstick pencil helps in preventing the lipstick from “bleeding,” that is, running outside of the lip line. The lip pencil should match the lipstick closely and not be too dark or too light. If you want to make your lips appear larger, you can draw a line just outside of your natural lip line. The trick is to draw it right outside of your lips, not a whole centimeter out. On the flip side, if you want your lips to appear smaller, draw a line just inside of the natural lip line. You can apply lipstick straight from the tube or with a lip brush. A lip brush gives you more control over how much color goes on your lips.

Gloss is a better option for night than for day. Again, with nighttime, “going out” makeup, richer, brighter colors and shiny lips are more appropriate than in the office from nine-to-five.

Seasons are another thing to keep in mind. Spring and summer call for lighter colors and light application. Some women forego the foundation altogether during the humid summer months and opt for a concealer for only those spots that need it (typically under the eyes and around the base of the nose). A fully made-up winter face can look odd during the easy, carefree days of summer.

Whatever the season or time of day, remember that makeup should be fun, a colorful addition to your overall look and should enhance, not overpower, your beauty.

A Note on Brows

Take a look at your brow shape, and see if you need to clean it up by tweezing, or waxing. If you do wax, then schedule an appointment with a professional eyebrow waxer because it is very risky to try it on your own. No matter which you choose, waxing or tweezing, remember to go slow. You don’t want to take off more than you have to.

If the eyebrow looks good, but sparse, fill it in with an eyebrow pencil or shadow. Remember to use a light hand. Try Revlon’s Brow Fantasy. The pencil comes in three shades; Brunette, Dark Blonde, and Dark Brown, so you’ll be able to get the look you want to relative ease.

Clothes that flatter all body shapes

It’s not a Herculean task to look smart and sassy provided you wear the clothes that flatter your body shape. We often make terrible mistakes wearing clothes that are trendy in vogue but can look either shabby or vulgar. Women often make big blunders by wearing clothes that do not suit their body type. Don’t we laugh our hearts out when we see women with heavy love handles trying their level best to look hot. No one is perfect and I don’t negate that. All I stand by vehemently is, dressing smart is the only way to look hot and confident. So before, deciding on the clothes you pick up , it is mandatory to understand your body type. Therefore, an essential understanding of your body will enhance your beauty and make you a wisely dressed person.

Be brutally honest with yourself. Don’t over estimate or under estimate yourself. After all, you would be kidding no one other than yourself. Think of your body as a shape or even a vegetable . When you know your shape you can dress better and look beautiful.. Take a good look at yourself in a mirror and figure out what shape you are. Once you have figured out your shape you can follow some of the tips for right selection of clothes that will enhance your beauty.

Petite Size If you are shorter than 5 feet 3 inches. The only thing you may have in common with other petite women is your height. You can be petite and still have an hourglass or boyish figure so you may have to combine dressing strategies for petite and hourglass or petite and pear shaped. It is important to tailor clothes which makes you look super tall. Flared long skirts, turtle neck tops and boleros look hot for short women.

Plus size
If you are a plus size does not mean you can’t look gorgeous. You may have a smaller top and larger bottom or vice-versa. You may be petite and plus sized or tall and plus sized so you might have to combine strategies for different body types. The goal for dressing your plus sized body is to make you look thinner. It is crucial that you wear fitting clothing that enhances your curves to make look super curvaceous. Fitting coats, tight boot cut pants, knee length kaftans and pencil shaped skirts look perfect for plus sized women.

Pear shape
These women have hips that are wider than the chest and shoulders. The goal to dressing a pear shaped body is to draw attention away from the bottom and up to the chest and face. Backless , halters and cleavage revealing outfits work best on this body type.

Boyish shape
Measurements are pretty equal for the chest, waist and hips so the goal in selecting clothing is to make you look curvier. Avoid wearing clothing that accentuates the waist. Stick to sporty jackets, A- line skirts and super loose kaftans.

Hourglass figure
Bust and hips are the same size and the waist is 8 to 10 inches smaller. You clothing goal is to select clothes that accentuate and show off the figure. The universal truth is that anything looks great on this body type.

Long and Lean
A Long and Lean body is often tall and narrow with few curves. Women with this body type are built like most models so you can wear just about anything. The goal for buying clothes is to add some curves to enhance your great figure.

With the tips given to you, follow these style rules like a well accepted ritual as you can stay hot perpetually!