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Pageant Beauty Makeover Tips & tricks |
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Makeup Brushes vs. Art Store Brushes
by Sheila Robertson-Bantz
Call me kooky but I buy my makeup brushes from makeup companies and my
paintbrushes from the art store. Makeup brushes tend to be denser because they are made to pick up powder as opposed to a thick wet paint. I suppose that if you want you can buy makeup brushes from the art store, just make sure that they are the right size, thick enough, and not too long. Some people cannot tell a difference but I find that I get better shapes and sizes when I buy brushes that are made for makeup, even though they are similar. Occasionally I have wanted a brush and not found it within the makeup industry, these times I always turn to my art supply store.
When to Use the Fingers and Other Stuff
When it comes to blending, the only tool that I have found to be as effective as a brush is my finger. The fingertips can be used to do extra blending, especially around the eyes and mouth. Be careful not to use the fingers too much though, as they can often over blend, break apart makeup, or rub it away. We often end up with more products on our fingers than our faces, and it can be messy and unsanitary. Please do not use your fingers to get foundation onto your face. Your fingers can transfer oil or dirt into the product. When oil and dirt get into our makeup products we can see many problems from spoiling, to color change, to hardening. Although I will show some application techniques that use the fingers, most of them will be with brushes.
SKIN
The most important part of any makeup is making the skin look as perfect as possible. I very rarely come across a perfect skin, and when I do it is usually attached to a very young person. Almost everyone I work with has something to be evened out, especially around the eyes. Whether or not you wear a dab of foundation or a fair amount of coverage, it is imperative that it looks smooth and natural. The skin must look healthy, never masked or made up. This is the reason that color is so important in foundation products, if the color is off, the skin will look painted.
Creating Perfect Skin: Finding the Perfect Foundation
Foundations come in a vast array of formulations; creams (in jars, compacts, or sticks), liquids (in bottles, pumps or tubes), or powders (you have cream powders and water-activated wet-dry powders). Each one of these foundation types will have three components that are important to us: color, texture, and finish. These are what truly matter in finding the perfect foundation for your skin. Color refers to the exact shade of the product and its relation to the individual skin-tone. Texture involves the ingredients in the product, and how that product is applied. Finish dictates how that product looks once it is on the skin. Only by understanding how all three of these factors affect each of our skins, can we pick out the perfect product for us.
Laying the Foundation
What foundation should do?
1. Even out the skin by covering tiny imperfections. Generally applied only to the areas that need to be evened out, a foundation should help the skin appear to be one continuous color.
2. Make the skin appear smooth by blending into the skin.
3. Wash off easily, without the use of heavy machinery.
What foundation should not do?
1. Add color to the face.
2. Be highly visible to the naked eye.
3. Clog pores or collect under the hair on the face.
4. Change the basic nature of the skin, leave that to skincare.
5. Rub off, streak, separate, or change color.
6. Smell (everything smells a little, no makeup product should overpower you.)
EYES: The Basic 1-2 Eye
The Basic 1-2 Eye creates a simple shadow look that is both attractive and classic. Throughout time this particular shadow technique will never fade in and out of fashion. It is timeless. I have found this shadow combo worn in magazines from the 40's. It is the most basic eye. It is also the most foolproof eye, as I have yet to find anyone that this combination does not flatter in some way. Of course, sometimes it must be altered to fit the particular eye shape and style, this is usually done with color and depth, rather than with placement.
NEEDS:
Light shadow shade.
Medium shadow shade.
Blender brush.
Small layered shadow brush.
1. Using a large shadow or blending brush apply light shadow into the skin underneath the brow bone, and down to the lid area. To do this, press one side of the brush against the shadow and gently squiggle it back and forth to pick up product. Once shadow is on the brush, press it against the skin where you want it to be. Do not dust it back and forth as you will have shadow all over everything except your eye. Press and "squiggle" and place the color. If the shade is very light do not worry about covering the whole eye with it as it will lighten the darker shade that we use with it. Instead, simply focus the color along the underside of the brow and down into the crease of the eye.
2. Work your medium shade onto a shadow brush and press it into the skin on the lid. Start where the lashes are and work the color up to the natural crease of your eye.
LIPS: The Art of keeping it put
One trick to keeping lip color on is to put on several thin layers rather than coating on one thick one. Too often we put a ton of lipstick on thinking that it will stay on longer and end up with it all over our teeth and chin. By applying thin layers we can keep it from moving around as much, and let's face... who wants to ingest their own lipstick. It can't be very nutritious.
How to layer? Start with a very thin layer of lipstick followed by lip liner. You want just enough lipstick to give the pencil slip, but not a finished layer. The pencil is more of a base. (Steps 1-4 as stated above.) Repeat this step filling in the entire mouth with the pencil both times, except the center of the bottom lip. Once you have done this twice you should have four layers of product on. Blot the lips with tissue if they feel too moist. This can be followed with gloss or shimmer if needed. For night, I put three layers of lip products on and rarely have to touch up. For day I usually use two.
Makeup tips for women of color:
• As women age, they sometimes get darker skin around the eyes, forehead and mouth. To even out skin tone, use a foundation that is the darker shade and blend.
• Avoid Concealor. It often looks ashy on dark skin.
• On full lips, liners can look too dramatic. Pass on lip pencils and focus instead on finding the most flattering lipstick shades. Before putting on lipstick, use a moisturizer.
• To make eyes stand out, mascara works wonders. To apply properly, begin at the root of the lash. Too often, women only apply mascara to the ends of their lashes.
• To highlight the cheeks, use two shades of powder blush. The darker shade should be applied in a line from the end of the nose to the earlobe. Contour with the lighter shade.
• Keep lots of sponges and powder puffs around. Even if you apply foundation with your fingers, sponges can help blend around the edges. I think of them as erasers for makeup.
About the Author: A California native, Sheila moved to Texas in 1990. Upon her arrival to the Loan Star state, she became involved in pageants. She is the current Ms. Texas Galaxy 2006 and she has held the titles of, Miss San Jacinto USA, Miss Bay Area USA, and in 1999 she was named as a top 12 finalist at Miss TX USA pageant. Currently she owns Image Consulting & www.pageantfaces.com, a professional personal grooming and communication development company, and travels across the United States working with pageant contestants. In addition, she is the official makeup artist for the Houston Texans Cheerleaders. Her work has been featured in media such as MTV, ESPN, "E" TV, Teen Magazine, Your Prom, Pageantry Magazine and Texas Monthly.
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