When a young girl first begins to use make-up, she may end up using more than she should. It is best to ‘play down’ the make-up. Experiment with make-up as this helps in knowing what really suits you and also gives you practice in applying it. However, for a teenager, an over-madeup look can really spoil the entire effort. Very dark colours like dark maroon and dark brown can also have an ageing effect and you will end up looking older than you are. The effort should be to accentuate your features and achieve a natural look.
Today’s trends favour the ‘natural’ look —sheer and translucent, with subtle use of foundation and bases. You can leave out the foundation, especially during the day. After cleansing, apply an astringent lotion, wait for a few minutes and then apply powder.
Translucent powder, like a baby powder, is good. Avoid applying too much and pay more attention to the oily areas of the face, like nose, forehead and chin. Press powder all over the face and neck, with a slightly damp sponge. This helps it set and last longer. Avoid using too much powder around the eyes. Brush off excess powder with cotton wool.
Cover up techniques
Foundation can only be used to cover-up pimples. The best way to do this is to take a little bit of creamy foundation and apply it directly on the pimple or scars. Avoid rubbing or smearing. Instead, pat it into the skin and then apply loose powder on top, blending the powder with the rest of the skin. Powder, in fact, can help control oil and produce an even colour tone. For oily skin, you can also use a pressed powder (powder compact) instead of foundation.
If you want to use foundation at night, choose a water-based one. Adding a drop of water will give you a lighter coverage. The colour tone should be even. The entire effect should be natural and should not have a mask-like look. Then apply powder to ‘set’ the foundation, brushing off excess powder with cotton wool. Again, pressed powder (compact) can be used instead of foundation.
Use a blusher, but be subtle. The aim should be to give the complexion a healthy glow. Use a powder blusher as it is easier to apply. Apply on the cheekbones and slightly below it. Pink or peach blusher would suit most skin tones. Your choice of colour will depend on your colour tone. The best effect is achieved with a little experimentation, by mixing colours till you find the shade which is just right for you. For fair skin, try pinks and reds. Avoid orange if you have sallow (yellowish) skin. For olive complexions, try rose pink or coral. For dark skin, plum, wine or bronze colours would suit.
Eye spy
For the eyes, use a brown eye shadow on the eyelids. Try using the same brown shadow under the lower lashes, instead of eyeliner or kaajal. Take a darker brown eye shadow and apply it on the upper lid, close to the upper lashes. The entire effect will be natural. If you want to line the eyes, use an eye pencil, rather than eyeliner. For a young girl, dark smokey eyes, loads of mascara and false eye lashes would be ‘too much’ and rather unnecessary.
Pretty pout
For the lips, a plain/ fruity lip balm is enough for the day, or add a touch of gloss over a light pink lipstick. But go easy with it, because too much gloss would highlight the lips more and draw more attention to them. Choose a light colour, like light pink or mauve. Avoid using lip liners and just brush the lips with lipstick, going for shades of pink, from pale pink, to rose or tawny pink. At night, you can go for rose, coral or just stick to plain gloss. Avoid dark red or maroon lipstick for the night. They make you look much older.
Rapunzel effect
The natural look needs to be complemented with hair that has a healthy, sleek and shiny look. Avoid an elaborate hairdo or a ‘set’ look. If your hair is long, you can leave it loose, or wear it in a pony tail. In fact, you can use a satin ribbon, co-ordinating it with your clothes. Avoid looking overstyled. For short hair, straight layered styles and a broken texture are ‘in’. It seems the new trend will be long hair, with curls and waves at the ends. Varied lengths of fringing are also in, but you need to decide if it suits you. Girls with long hair have also been going for simple straight cuts. Straight hair with jagged edges, whether short or shoulder length has been ‘in’ for some time, but now the soft, layered style ending with waves and curls is the new trend.
The nails should not be too long and have a clean look. Use a clear, light pink, mauve, light brown or beige nail varnish. Finally, use a light flowery or lemony fragrance.
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