Make up artist classes

I think my posts have been a bit on the heavy side lately, so I’ve decided to talk today about one of my more superficial loves: makeup!

I have pretty much been addicted to makeup ever since I walked in with eyeliner on for the first time in the 8th grade and Eddie Zuniga looked at me like he’d never seen me before and said, “You look so different…” LOL…

I also love makeup because it is, like clothing, a wonderful and fun way to be creative and express yourself on a daily basis. How do you feel today? Strong and confident? Feminine and girly? Sultry and mysterious?

Now while I do realize that I’m no Gisele Bundchen or beauty expert, I do think most women my age have figured out a thing or two about beauty. In my case, I learned those things the HARD WAY. Boy, have I had a LOT of beauty disasters!

First, there was the time I hated my thick eyebrows in high school and decided that I would just tweeze them off into non-existence. Scary. Then, there was the time I decided to perm my already very curly hair and ended up with doubly frizzy hair. Oh, and then there were the years when I wore the wrong shade of makeup and looked a ghastly shade of grey. That coincided with my red lipstick phase, which is not necessarily a bad thing on its own, but which in combination with the pale makeup gave me the unfortunate look of the un-dead. I guess that one wasn’t really my fault since makeup for brown people didn’t really evolve until really the last decade. But, that still doesn’t explain the nearly black lipstick phase or the Tammy Faye mascara phase, which soon followed. Yes, that was all me.

Anyway, it’s been through (a lot of) trial and error that I’ve finally figured what to do in the makeup department. (I have definitely been a makeup “dummy” in the past!) I’m so good at it now that I’ve even had the distinct privilege of doing one of my sisters’ makeup on her wedding day. I also did a bang up job at my own wedding…I know it was good because I still like my pictures from that day, 10 years ago now.

People sometimes compliment me on my makeup and ask me for tips. (I’m not kidding!) So, I thought I’d write this post and just give a few pointers about makeup that I’ve learned over the years. These are things that took me FOREVER to figure out. Maybe they’ll save you the effort and maybe even prevent an embarrassing makeup “don’t”…

1. Take care of your skin. See a dermatologist, wear sunscreen all the time, don’t go to sleep without washing your face, drink water (I’m so bad with this!) and moisturize. The better your skin, the less makeup you need and the less “fake” you’ll look.

2. Don’t overtweeze! Get rid of the unibrow and make an arch by plucking a few hairs under the highest part of your brows, but otherwise, leave them alone! If you have hardly any brows, just slightly darken them with a brow pencil. Don’t paint in thick brows!

3. Get your face makeup exactly matched to your skin by an expert. MAC is great and I’m sure there are other great brands.

4. Moisturize with an SPF lotion before putting on makeup. I like Anthelios SPF 15, available at CVS.

5. Use face makeup (concealer/foundation) ONLY where you need it. I read this in a magazine somewhere and have been doing this ever since. Most people don’t need makeup everywhere and by applying it only where you need it, like say, under your eyes or in problem places, makes you look more natural and less caked on. This way, most of your real skin shows through and you can look more “glowy” and natural, instead of powdery. Finish with a light dusting of face powder. Skip the powder if you are older and have dry skin. I like looking shiny–it makes you look younger!

6. Apply blush to the apples of your cheeks (the roundest part) if you have a long face, or under the apples with an upward sweep if you have a round face.

7. Eye shadow is complicated and probably deserves a post of it’s own someday. For the purpose of this post, I’m just going to say that you should find a neutral shade with a little shimmer and just sweep it over the entire lid. Line your upper eyelid from inner to outer corner with any color eyeliner and apply a coat of mascara. There are all kinds of things you can do to add more drama which I won’t go into today.

8. Lip makeup also probably deserves a post of it’s own someday. Always make sure your lips are moisturized. There is nothing worse than dry, cracked lips. And, for everyday, I think a pink/peach lip gloss with shimmer is best. You don’t need liner or a mirror to apply it, so it’s pretty low maintenance.

9. As a final rule of thumb, if going dramatic in one area (like the eyes or the lips), stay pretty low key in the opposite. The only exception to this rule is if it’s Halloween, or if you’re performing at the VMA’s.

OK, well that’s all I can think of for right now. Stay tuned for Part 2 when we delve deeper into dramatic eye makeup…and Part 3 when we talk about bold lipstick…If anyone else has any great tips, please do share! We girly girls need to help each other out…