Makeup can give your face a smooth finish, conceal flaws or blemishes, and add expression and color. Never borrow cosmetics or share yours with other people. Discard those that are older than a few months; they may harbor bacteria.
If your skin is dry, use an oil- or cream-base foundation. For an oily skin, choose a water-base or oil-free foundation. Before you buy, test a foundation shade by dabbing a bit on your face and neck, in natural daylight if possible. The right shade will almost disappear as you blend it into your skin. If you use a concealer (for hiding blemishes), choose one that’s slightly lighter than your foundation.
Cheek color needn’t match lipstick exactly but it should be in the same color family. Coral (orangish-pink) cheek color, for instance, shouldn’t be used with bluish-pink lipstick. For oily skin, powder blusher is preferable; people with dry skin can use cream rouge.
Preparing your skin
Before applying cosmetics, wash your hands, pin back your hair and, using soap and water, cleansing cream, or lotion, cleanse your face and neck; rinse well. Dab breakouts with a cotton ball or swab dipped in alcohol, witch hazel, or an astringent lotion. Next, apply moisturizer, preferably while your face is slightly damp.
A concealer stick or cream can be used to hide pimples, dark spots, fine lines, or spidery veins. Apply the concealer; then blend it in, taking care to leave no line between concealer and surrounding skin. To minimize dark circles under your eyes, cover them with concealer; pat to blend. Applying foundation and powder To give your face an even color, smooth on a bit of foundation with your fingers or a slightly dampened sponge. Stroke upward and outward away from your nose. Blend foundation to your hairline (don’t get any in your hair) and just over your jaw to avoid a demarcation line at the neck.
Keep several foundations on hand in shades a bit lighter and a bit darker than your basic color, so that you can match your skin when you get a tan (or lose it). Use these extra shades to experiment with facial contouring. For a receding chin, dot a crescent of slightly lighter foundation over your chin, then blend it with the main foundation shade on your jaw and cheeks. Pull back a protruding chin by doing the same thing with a slightly darker foundation. Check your contouring in daylight to be sure it looks natural; blend a bit more if it doesn’t.
Powder-type blusher and eye shadow work best if you powder your face before using them. If you use rouge and shadow with a cream base, apply them first; then dust with powder. Apply loose, translucent powder with a powder brush; use a powder puff or cotton ball for pressed powder. Contouring with blusher or rouge Apply a blusher or rouge to the outside of your cheeks, temples, and forehead. To position it, locate the “apples” of your cheeks (the parts that are most prominent when you smile) and the hollows (the areas just below the intersection of cheekbone and jaw). Then shape your face into a more perfect oval. To make a long, narrow face appear wider, stroke the color from the outermost hollows of your cheeks toward your ears. To slim a round face, put color on the apples of your cheeks in tiny crescents below the eye area. Soften a square face by brushing the undersides of both apples back toward your ears and along the jawbone. Keep cheek color two fingers width from your nose and above the nose’s bottom.
Next come eye shadow and mascara. Finish off with lipstick. First, outline your lips with a lip pencil. Apply lipstick with a lipbrush.