Make-up for a chiselled look

do it yourself

Have you ever wanted to get a perfectly sculpted look that dazzles? Learn these four techniques to use make-up effectively and score at the next big party.

Bronzing

Baked bronzers endow a sun-kissed look to your face and make it appear more tan. It can be applied all over for a shimmery effect.

Dos: Draw a numeric ‘3’ using your bronzer which covers your forehead, cheekbones and jawline, and blend perfectly.

Use only baked mineralised bronzers  to get the perfect look.

Don’ts: Never use bronzers excessively! Blending is the key for this product.

Never use a bronzer which is more than two shades darker than your skin tone.

Avoid applying a bronzer on your nose — no, it does not make your nose look thinner.

Blushing

Brush away your chubby-face woes by applying chocolate-brown blush on the hollows of your cheeks, below the chin and on the edges of nose. This will give your make-up a three-dimensional effect by creating shadows.

Dos: With shades of pink and peach being popular choices, one should them wisely. Opt for pink if you have a fair or olive complexion and peaches if you are more yellow or tan in tone.

Strong blushers are out of fashion but contouring with a dark brown hue below your cheekbones, on your chin and on sides of the nose could be done.

Use sponges to apply your blush as it will lead to a superbly blended and all-natural effect.

Don’ts:Don’t create very harsh lines.

Avoid using a blush that is in contrast to your lips. Instead, choose from the same family of colours that you have chosen for your lipstick.

Using cream blush is a definite no-no for this season.

Highlighting

If you are already blessed with sharp features but still want to appear more chiseled, highlighting is what you need. Apply a highlighter that has some amount of sheen on the upper part of you cheekbones, nose and chin. You can also go a bit further by using some of it on your lip’s cupid bow as well.

Dos:Use an iridescent colour palette for highlighters. Pearl and gold highlighters are ideal for the festive season.

Use a matte finish foundation to make the highlighter hues show better.

Don’ts:Never use a highlighter on the centre of your cheeks or forehead, or full nose; it’ll only make your face appear made-up.

Silver, copper and rust are a big no-no when it comes to highlighting.
Glossy and shimmery highlighters are passé – try highlighters with a luminous sheen to infuse luxury to your make-up.

Luminising

The luminiser is usually white and sparkling and can be applied on any
part of the face that you want to draw attention to.

Dos:Use a matte make-up base to enhance the effect of the luminiser.

You can apply it on the corner of your eyes if you have dark circles to make your eyes appear brighter. You can use it on the corner of your lips, above the cheekbones and eyelids too.

Try to get a shade that matches your skin tone. A shade lighter would also do.

Don’ts:Avoid applying luminiser all over the face as it can be shinier than it seems.

 Don’t use luminisers in huge quantities.

(The author is the executive director, Alps Beauty Clinic, Delhi)