THE MYTH OF MAKEUP
Last week whilst watching Lisa Eldridge’s video with Sophie Dahl, I was inspired by something Sophie said. With two kids under the age of three she doesn’t get much sleep and referred to her transformation with Lisa as “the myth of makeup”. It got me thinking and it really is true, you can use makeup to pretty much transform your face and change any features that you might want to change. I’m all for natural beauty, but I’m also for using makeup to naturally enhance your features to make you feel more beautiful.
THINNER BROWS //
I’m pretty lucky that I was a very lazy teenager so unlike my friends who plucked most their brows away, I left mine to be full and bushy. Fast forward ten years and big brows are back in fashion! If your brows are a little sparse though (and mine are right at the front) the Hourglass Brow Sculpting pencil is great. It has a spoolie on one end to tame the hair and keep them in place and then a really nice pencil on the other that combines the formulae of both powder and wax. It’s easy to apply, doesn’t budge all day and the shades are really natural.
SPARSE EYELASHES //
I have a couple of things I like to do to make my lashes look fuller and healthier, especially on minimal makeup days. I start by using a very dark brown eyeliner in the tight line of my upper lash line and then I also run it very close to the lash line on the top. I almost press the liner into the lashes to fill any empty spaces between them. It also help to curl your lashes and I like to use the Shu Uemura lash curlers and if you feel your lashes don’t hold a curl I’d recommend using a waterproof mascara.
TIRED SKIN //
When I’m tired it really shows on my skin, I get dark circles, small red eyes and dull looking skin. To perk myself up I like to use a glowing base like the Clarins Instant Light Complexion Perfector or the MAC Strobe Cream and both of these add some extra light to the skin that shines through the foundation beautifully. To tackle the dark circles I like to use a salmon coloured concealer to cancel out the blue and my all-time favourite is Bobbi Brown’s Corrector in Light Bisque. Finally, to brighten up the eyes I like to highlight in the inner corner with any powder or cream highlight shade and line the waterline with a nude eyeliner. My most recent favourite is the Smashbox Always Sharp 3D liners, it’s soft to use and self sharpening which is really handy.
NO DIMENSION //
Sometimes adding a bit of dimension in your makeup can make all the difference and contouring will give you those supermodel cheekbones. I mentioned in this post last week the products I like to use to contour.
NO CUPIDS BOW //
I have never had a defined cupids bow (thanks Dad!) and although it’s never bothered me it’s nice to know I can always draw one in if I wanted to. If you want to define your cupids bow, give yourself a fuller upper or bottom lip then invest in a good lip liner and draw it in yourself. As long as you blend it well with your lipstick and keep it natural, noone will ever know!
There’s so much more that can be done with makeup, but these are just a few of my tips! I think the myth of makeup is why so many of us are obsessed with it, it’s so exciting and there’s always something new to try. How do you use makeup to adjust your features or look?
