Makeover Tips Part 1

One of the hardest things about makeup is figuring out exactly what makeup is for you.

What colors should you choose?
What brand should you wear?
Where can you find it for reasonable prices that don't break your bank book (and your heart) in one blow?
How should you apply it, so you look like a lady and not a....well.....un-lady?

I don't claim to be an expert in this area, but I have found many tips and ideas from my own researching and experiments. This is not to say that makeup alone makes a lovely complexion--as my mother says, "A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear." But, for those interested in makeup advice, read on.

Myths about makeup
Some women seem to think that in order for makeup to look good, one must wear alot of it. This is simply not true. The keys to a successful makeup look are

A. choosing the right colors
B. the right application
C. well-cared for skin.

A woman may wear very little makeup, and and still look fantastic, if she is wearing colors that compliment her own natural coloring, and applying her makeup correctly. Moisturizing one's skin on regular basis aids in helping create a smooth canvas to work with.

This will be a 3 or 4 part article series, and today we will start with Foundation colors:

---CHOOSING THE RIGHT COLORS
Foundation is intended to help create a smooth overall look, that you make apply color to. It's important that matches your natural skin tone.

The easiest way I have found to do this is to look at the veins in my wrist. If the veins look more blue you have cool skin, if they have more of a greenish tinge you have warm skin. If your skin is too dark or you can't easily see the veins, hold a piece of paper or fabric to your face in cool and warm shades (such as blue and then orange) and choose the one which looks best on you. If it's blue, you're probably cool, if it's orange you're probably warm.

Check your facial tint also--if you have more red in your face, go with a more yellow-based foundation shade to help even it out. If you have more yellow tint in your face, go with more of a pink-based shade to help even it out.

Many makeup companies such as Maybelline and Cover Girl offer free online quizzes to help you determine your skin color.

Warm foundation shades are ones like buff, neutral, beige, nude, etc.

Cool foundation shades are ones like ivory, natural ivory, fair, etc.

I know that when I was trying to find out which foundation color I wear, I often had to buy various kinds to see which looks best. Most people will tell you to look for samples of various shades, but some places don't always carry them.

So, I have found that places like Dollar General or Dollar Tree often carry foundation for $1 to $2 a bottle. By buying 2-3 shades there, you spend much less than what you normally pay for a regular bottle of foundation, and you may go check out the shades at home, to see which is closest to your skin color, without buying 5 bottles at Wal-Mart, only to discover you've wasted $25 on shades that don't work. If the ones at the dollar store don't work, you've spent much less and may have a closer idea of what you're looking for.

We will continue with part 2 next time.

--Deb