Fear of makeup, you ask? Yes definitely. I have made up two very good friends in the last few days and both have commented to me that they had never seen themselves all made up before! Are you kidding me? That notion is so foreign to me as I've worn a full face of makeup since 8th grade (I'm not exaggerating).
As I continue to think about those comments, I realize they probably haven't been fully made up because they don't know how or are scared, or even a combination of both. I understand now, that part of my job as the artist is to teach the person at the same time. Everyone is different but there are a few things that can be done that apply to most people and I'll get to that later...
Also listening is very important. I spend a lot of time creating based on what a client wants, not just by verbal but also non verbal listening. For instance, I was doing a winged eyeliner on my friend and I knew one side was ever so slightly different than the other, so I gave her the mirror and let her choose if she wanted to leave it or I would fix it. I could tell she really wanted it fixed but was telling me it was fine, so I fixed it anyway. It was not much trouble at all and I don't mind doing those small fixes if it satisfies the woman in the chair. Also remember that fixing just means you tried and it needs work...it doesn't mean you give up. We women tend to neglect ourselves and take care of everyone else, so allow yourself some time to play and be you...don't give up on you. My husband always whines about how long it takes me to get ready, and my truest response is that it's my private time that I take for myself. Even if you don't want makeup to be your private time, you owe it to yourself to take care of you...it renews your own self worth and recharges the batteries we all run on.
We all want to be happy with how we look. So I'm going to continue with a few tips that work well for everyday. To start, foundation is a matter of personal choice; whether you skip it completely or want opaque coverage, it is totally up to you. For most people, a sheer lightweight foundation and powdered just in shiny spots works well for everyday. Another tip is to put your foundation (and that includes tinted moisturizer) on first before you conceal anything. That tip changes if you have very dark spots that need a lot of concealing, but most of the time concealer goes on last because foundation in itself creates some concealing effects. Concealing dark spots is best done with peach or orange colored concealers. Concealing of acne is done with a half shade or full shad lighter than your skintone concealer and it's usually lightly yellow but sometimes yellow/peach mixed. Green concealers can be used to counter act redness but that takes skill. Yellow concealers do the same job to cover redness, if not better, and definitely easier.
Choosing a foundation is fairly simple if you know what you are doing. First step is to look at all your skin, not just your face and try to figure out your undertone (essentially the color behind the shade of your skin). Red heads for example tend to have blue/red undertones so any type of foundation that is yellow can make them look sallow or jaundice in worst case scenario. True blue/red foundation is difficult to find, so as a backup pink undertoned foundation can be used. I say pink because pink will match up with some of the red from blue/red undertones without being too obvious (if you have this skin then use either invisible setting powder or very slightly pinked powder; yellow will turn orange with a pink foundation). Very light pink undertoned foundation looks almost white and without any tint of yellow, just as a guide.
So other than very dark or very light people, most people have some yellow in their skin. If this is you, mainstream foundations will be fairly easily matched for you, just find the right depth of color for you skintone. As for powder in this category, choose invisible or very slightly yellow translucent powder to set. Again if you choose a pink powder with yellow foundation, you will turn orange.
Next, Indian or Middle Eastern skin sometimes has a mix of yellow and green. Most of the time you can get away with a yellow toned foundation. If there is a lot of green, I would suggest getting a custom made foundation. You can also try mix a little green concealer with your yellow foundation and see if that works for you. Powder here should be kept super translucent or invisible, but definitely slightly yellowed instead of pink.
African American skintones vary quite widely. They can be yellow, peach/orange, blue/red, or just red in the undertones. Yellow is easy, just follow the steps above if you are only yellow. Peach or orange undertones are dealt with in two separate ways and it depends on how peach or orange you are. If you are mostly yellow, then go with a yellow foundation and a slightly red powder. If you are more red than yellow, go with a red foundation and slightly yellowed powder. Blue/red and Red toned skin is usually the darkest of the dark toned skin types. Red and slightly blue/red dark skin needs a red toned foundation and invisible or very translucent powder applied with a light hand because you don't want to look ashey. Some red dark skinned women will wear a red foundation with red powder, but only do that if it matches your skintones perfectly. Deeply blue/red usually needs custom foundation, which can be found in some department stores or an artist can show you how (I have heard that Iman Cosmetics and Black Pearl Cosmetics may carry good quality foundation for hard to match dark skin). Custom foundation here may also include a mix of two foundations to counter act facial masking if there is any. Any African American skin can have facial masking though. It is dealt with in two ways:
By applying orange concealer on the dark spots and covering with matching foundation. Or it is done by mixing a somewhat lighter foundation onto the dark areas, and then a slightly darker foundation onto the light areas so when blended together they look like the same color all over. Don't forget that undertones matter the most with dark skin as anything wrong will appear bright and ashey on the skin just because dark skin shows contrast very easily. We don't want contrast when it comes to foundation, we want cohesive and harmonious.
Now that you are all matched and ready to go eyes, cheeks and lips for everyday wear are next. A medium shade brown eyeshadow (shimmer or matte depending on preference) can do wonders. Just sweep over lid and under the eyes. Then you blend into the crease, add highlighter shade under brows and mascara....voila! With this particular eye, you can choose any blush and lipstick in the same color family...say peach cheeks with peachy or red/orange lips or pink blush and rose or bubblegum lips. For more drama, use a hot pink blush and true red or blue/red lips.
For a more sophisticated look, there is a three-piece eye that is fairly simple. First, highlighter or light shade all over the lid. Medium shade in the crease, and then a shimmery or matte highlighter shade under the brow (looks best if the light shade from the bottom is different than the one you put under the brow). For this eye choose any sort of color family you want, but use the light and medium shades of that chosen family...unless you feel more artistic and bold as I often do and break that rule. If you want more info and how to break that rule, I can answer that some other time as it is really more of a tutorial.
Stuck on what colors to choose? The most natural looking colors are ones that match your natural coloring. Say again, red heads look great in golds, peaches, and oranges. You can wear colors that do not match your skin tones but keep in mind it will appear more dramatic, and that is to say dramatic is not wrong. There are very few things in makeup that are really wrong, and if there is, it's fixable and tweakable. For most people, I would suggest if you want to try a color that doesn't match your skin tones, try it on only the eyes or only the lips and keep the other matching. If you have unmatched eyes and lips together, for most people, it looks overly dramatic (and there is a time and place for that, always).
Well I hope I have dispelled some of the fears of the unknown with what I have written. I know there are a great many more details to share that pertain specifically to each skintone, but I tried to give the general knowledge version this time. The most important thing to remember that Kevin Aucoin is quoted as saying, "Noboday ever learned anything by playing it safe". So play around with colors you like even if you think they won't work...if it doesn't, try to figure out why it didn't work or what can be mixed to make it work. Worst case scenario, wash it off and start over. Nothing in makeup is permanent, so why not take a risk? Or experiment? I know that's part of my job and it's easy for me to say, but remember I have been the novice too. I have made makeup mistakes. I have had to start over, large and small. So I understand where the fear comes from, but fear is just not a good enough reason not to try.
I mentioned:
Black Pearl and Iman Cosmetics; these can be easily found online and then you can find where it's sold locally close to you.
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