DON’T LET YOUR MAKE-UP GET YOU DOWN - PART 2: A Color Conundrum
Nov 21, 2011 Posted by Corrie Shenigo
Last week we prepped for the holiday party season with a refresher course in our old and dusty friend restraint. And while we don’t drag the old-gal out of the closet for most parties (let’s face it restraint is dull as a dryer sheet) – she is exactly what’s standing between you looking the image of fresh party perfection and you looking like a badly-aged Bozo the Clown.
The facts remain: too much or poorly applied make-up can make any gal who isn’t 20 look about 10 years older. I’m not okay with that. Nor should you be. So let’s assume that your canvas is primed and your face is framed (If it’s not please refer to our prior posting here.) – how can a gal spice up her party appeal without looking like she climbed out of a clown car?
Another key word in conquering this cosmetic conundrum (Ah… sweet alliteration. I heart thee. – ed. note: obvs.) is stay-put-ness. Okay, I made that word up – but you get the idea. Getting older means the inevitable make-up mess of any product pigment sliding south with the cruel force of gravity, directly into the fine lines and wrinkles, essentially stealing the spotlight from what you meant to highlight in the first place.
One good way to avoid this natural disaster is primer. Yes. More priming. If you’re planning on sporting any eye-popping shadow color, the best way to avoid any crepey-ness or overdone weightiness is to apply a thin layer (No pressure, but restraint is watching you. And judging you.) of clear primer prior to applying your color of choice. And if you’re opting for au naturale, don’t think you’re free-and-clear in the youthful-look department. Oily lids can do just as much to age you as cakey make-up. Try a beige-toned primer to keep those oil glands under control. (I will not be a slave to you oil glands!)
One sure fire way to put some pizzazz onto your party face is to change up your lip color. Let go of the nineties neutrals for a night and try red. Or if red is your everyday go-to gal, try pink. Just trying a new hue can give a gal a whole new look. (This is where restraint can kindly shut her cake hole.) Letting a color age you is less about the color and more about the application. Just remember that anything that is too severe or overly applied is what makes you look weathered.
If the thought of rocking a sexy red kisser still strikes fear into your very heart, read on.
The most heinous of cosmetics crimes is the inability of lipstick to stay on your lips without drizzling it’s way into the little creases that start to form around your pout, but does that mean you’re forever trapped in the land of clear and neutral toned lip color? NO! A red pout is sexy and show stopping and I refuse to give it up. I just won’t do it. And neither should you. Instead, invest in a good lip pencil to stave off lipstick trying to feather it’s way outside of your lipline and always – ALWAYS – apply with a lipstick brush. Why, you ask? (Roll in the restraint.) Because extra lipstick likes to migrate away from your lip borders, and since said lip borders soften with age, you’ll have a hard time corralling that color if you apply strait from the tube. Instead dip your brush into the lipstick and dab a little onto the center of you lips – then spread the rest into the corners. Voila! A perfect stay-put pout.
The same concept applies to trying a nice-new hue on your lovely lids. Just because your over 27 doesn’t mean that your stuck wearing the dried out desert tones of brown and bone. In fact, (*you’d better sit down for this one) brown has yellow and red pigments in it which can make you look tired, and bone is often too light to conceal any discoloration – making both colors fair weather friends at best. Why not try a striking blue or green eye shadow? Or sit somewhere in the middle with a pretty sage? According to the aforementioned Good Housekeeping article, sage (and other jewel tones) cancel out red and yellow tones, making the whites of your eyes look fresher and brighter, which, in turn makes you look younger. Oh, Good Housekeeping you are indeed a true friend.
So there we have it, a prime strategy for avoiding the pitfalls of an overly made-up face while still looking festive and party-perfect. You’re welcome, my lovelies. You’re welcome.
The facts remain: too much or poorly applied make-up can make any gal who isn’t 20 look about 10 years older. I’m not okay with that. Nor should you be. So let’s assume that your canvas is primed and your face is framed (If it’s not please refer to our prior posting here.) – how can a gal spice up her party appeal without looking like she climbed out of a clown car?
Another key word in conquering this cosmetic conundrum (Ah… sweet alliteration. I heart thee. – ed. note: obvs.) is stay-put-ness. Okay, I made that word up – but you get the idea. Getting older means the inevitable make-up mess of any product pigment sliding south with the cruel force of gravity, directly into the fine lines and wrinkles, essentially stealing the spotlight from what you meant to highlight in the first place.
One good way to avoid this natural disaster is primer. Yes. More priming. If you’re planning on sporting any eye-popping shadow color, the best way to avoid any crepey-ness or overdone weightiness is to apply a thin layer (No pressure, but restraint is watching you. And judging you.) of clear primer prior to applying your color of choice. And if you’re opting for au naturale, don’t think you’re free-and-clear in the youthful-look department. Oily lids can do just as much to age you as cakey make-up. Try a beige-toned primer to keep those oil glands under control. (I will not be a slave to you oil glands!)
One sure fire way to put some pizzazz onto your party face is to change up your lip color. Let go of the nineties neutrals for a night and try red. Or if red is your everyday go-to gal, try pink. Just trying a new hue can give a gal a whole new look. (This is where restraint can kindly shut her cake hole.) Letting a color age you is less about the color and more about the application. Just remember that anything that is too severe or overly applied is what makes you look weathered.
If the thought of rocking a sexy red kisser still strikes fear into your very heart, read on.
The most heinous of cosmetics crimes is the inability of lipstick to stay on your lips without drizzling it’s way into the little creases that start to form around your pout, but does that mean you’re forever trapped in the land of clear and neutral toned lip color? NO! A red pout is sexy and show stopping and I refuse to give it up. I just won’t do it. And neither should you. Instead, invest in a good lip pencil to stave off lipstick trying to feather it’s way outside of your lipline and always – ALWAYS – apply with a lipstick brush. Why, you ask? (Roll in the restraint.) Because extra lipstick likes to migrate away from your lip borders, and since said lip borders soften with age, you’ll have a hard time corralling that color if you apply strait from the tube. Instead dip your brush into the lipstick and dab a little onto the center of you lips – then spread the rest into the corners. Voila! A perfect stay-put pout.
The same concept applies to trying a nice-new hue on your lovely lids. Just because your over 27 doesn’t mean that your stuck wearing the dried out desert tones of brown and bone. In fact, (*you’d better sit down for this one) brown has yellow and red pigments in it which can make you look tired, and bone is often too light to conceal any discoloration – making both colors fair weather friends at best. Why not try a striking blue or green eye shadow? Or sit somewhere in the middle with a pretty sage? According to the aforementioned Good Housekeeping article, sage (and other jewel tones) cancel out red and yellow tones, making the whites of your eyes look fresher and brighter, which, in turn makes you look younger. Oh, Good Housekeeping you are indeed a true friend.
So there we have it, a prime strategy for avoiding the pitfalls of an overly made-up face while still looking festive and party-perfect. You’re welcome, my lovelies. You’re welcome.