Makeup Tips 03 July 2011

Sunday, July 03, 2011

[TIPS] ARE YOU AFRAID TO PUT ON MAKEUPS?

Sometimes I try to persuade (the right choice of word would be "force") my friends to buy makeups. These people are those who don't wear makeups at all. Those who already wearing makeups don't need my persuasion to shop for makeups, ain't it?

Their usual excuses are:

1. I don't wear makeups.
2. I don't know how to put on makeups.

And my replies:

1. You can start wearing makeups. Majority of the girls do. So why bother stick to the minority.
2. You can always learn. Even the greatest makeup artiste don't born with the skills.

It is alright to enhance your look, make yourself look more beautiful than you already are. Like it or not, at least a few times in your life you'll need to put on makeups anyway. Need me to name some occasion? First date, prom, job interview, meeting the parents, weddings (your friends, your own, or whoever's wedding), and many more.

So, is there anymore excuse you can come up with to avoid learning how to put on makeup for yourself?

C'mon! Face it! You're afraid. Just admit that you're afraid putting on makeups. You're afraid you might look bad because you don't have the skill. You're afraid of changes because the person you see in the mirror is not the usual look you see yourself. Fear is the one thing that holding you back.

Whatever reason it may be (I might be wrong, maybe you sincerely don't like to look beautiful), I will provide you some baby steps so you can slowly adapt to makeup life.


1. Start with the basic - foundation, loose powder, mascara, eyebrow pencil, light blush.

2. Get professional help to find the best foundation to suit your skin. Most major brands carry the all the different ranges of foundation, so you can start with which brand you love the most. If you really don't know which brand to get, go for the prettiest packaging. If you decide you don't like it later, at least it still looks pretty as a deco on your dressing table. But a better advice is to ask around. Your friends will give you different opinions. Decide on your main concern -price, skin type or texture finish. My friend Michelle wrote a good blogpost on the basics of foundation. If you want more info you can check out <<here>>.

3. Loose powder - this is to set foundation. If you can't decide which one to buy, you can always go with the same range as your foundation.

4. You don't actually need to invest a lot on mascara. Drug store brand such as Silky Girl or Maybelline is fine. As you go on later, you will know which effect of lashes you want. Then you can upgrade to buy more expensive mascara that gives you the effect you desire.

5. Shaping your eyebrow is crucial. C-R-U-C-I-A-L!!! I don't know if I stress that enough. If you have droopy eyebrow, it will make you look sad. If you have bushy eyebrow, you will look like you don't even care if you have washed your face. And I admit, shaping eyebrow can be a very tough job. I solve that problem by tattooing my eyebrow so I have a permanent outline already. It saves me a lot of time, but at the same time it sucks because it's permanent on my face. I recommend you to use stencil. I don't know where you can buy them, but I'm sure I saw it in some Taiwanese beauty shop. I will buy some for you girls to try if you want me to.

6. Remember that strong pink blush can make your face look like a baboon's ass. Stick to light pink and gentle stroke them on the apple of your cheek. If you have warm yellow undertone skin, stick to orange blush. Pink blush is too risky to put on for those who have warm skintone. Pink blush only compliments on warm skintone when there is a matching eyeshadow to go with.

After you have enough of experiences with the 6 steps above, you can go on with eyeliner to define your eyes. Once you master that, go ahead and try create different looks with eyeshadows.

Don't be afraid to walk in to a makeup store and ask for help. If you let them know that you're a first timer, they will treat you even better because... just imagine the amount of stuff the can sell to you. I would recommend MAC if you're a first timer. Their sales people are makeup artiste themselves. These people really know what they are selling to you. Unlike those shopping mall counter, those people don't have a professional qualification to sell makeup products. They are just trained to sell. So you might get persuaded to buy stuff that don't suit your skin or stuff you don't need.

Treat this like a painting hobby. You'll soon fall in love with makeups because there are so many things you can play with.


(Photo is from MAC)