Over the next number of weeks I will be posting a step by step guide designed to teach you the basics of makeup application and how to use it in a way that works with your life. My goal is to educate you on the types of makeup products, their purpose, how to choose quality items, and when and how to use them, or if you even need to use them at all. But first I want to start off with a little perspective on the role of makeup in the every day goddess’s (<–that means you) life.
USING MAKEUP TO ACCENTUATE WHAT YOU LOVE:
Unfortunately, it is human nature to fixate on anything that we perceive as negative or anything that disrupts the “flow” of someone’s appearance. This basically means that if there is a blemish on your cheek or chin… an area where your skin is red, darker circles under your eyes, etc… it distracts from the rest of your features and ends up catching more attention than is merits. And to the human eye, something such as dark circles ends up stealing the show, so that it is harder for people to notice the beautiful eyes that the dark circles accompany. The role of makeup is NOT to CHANGE your features and structure. It’s not to make you something you are not,… it is simply meant to guide the eye of the viewer to the features you want to emphasize, the same way that a good artist composes a painting so as to focus the eye where they desire.
Good makeup makes people notice YOU….not your makeup.
SO THE QUESTION IS: WHAT IS YOU?
What do you love about yourself? What makes you feel like “signature” you? Is it a quirky smile,… the color of your eyes? Your full cheeks? The arch in your brow?
Put focus on the features that make you feel unique and alluring. Make those features the star of your face. Your feature focus will influence how you choose to do your makeup.
Do you know what you love about yourself? Do you not love anything about yourself? If you haven’t learned to love what is uniquely you,…ask those you trust to tell you what they love. It’s likely that they see you in a way that you may not be able to see, and they can help you change your attitude about the features the universe has blessed you with.
YOUR QUICK ESSENTIALS:
Everyone should have an essentials list for makeup application. This is your quick and dirty five minute beauty job when you’re barely able to get out of the door in time. It is based off of your face’s particular needs and your favorite features. It’s made up of “oh my god I would die without,” and “my face just lights up when…” sort of items. And it’ll probably have one or two items that you never even thought of.
Your essentials list is going to be different than everyone else’s, so there is no perfect list for this. Don’t get hinged up on whether you’re doing things “right.” Makeup application isn’t a science, it is an art, personalized to each person. If it works for you, it’s right. If it makes you feel beautiful, and your face and skin happy, it’s right. That is your only qualifier.
How will you spend your quick few minutes? It depends. Someone with complexion concerns will spend more of their 5 minutes on prepping their face. Maybe you love your lips and want to spend a little more of that time accentuating them. Perhaps defining your upper eyelids help make your eyes come alive.
Your focus determines what products take priority.
In the next post I will begin to go through the basic list of products in (approximate) order, what they are used for, and when and how to use them. You most likely don’t need to use all of these products all the time.
Stay tuned!