There comes a time in every woman's life when you slowly start lowering your guard about things like makeup and skincare and everything you may consider really not worth your effort. My first serious thought about this came when i attended a conference a year after i started graduate school. i had no idea whatsoever about makeup and moreso an everyday use for cosmetics. Like every other indian girl i loved my eyeliner and kohl and stuck to it. i strongly believed everything else was unnecessary. But, for special occassions like weddings and receptions there is no way we can go without any makeup. A Nude look is NOT no makeup but it is makeup done smartly so as to appear as close to natural as possible. One reason why most indian girls are scared to venture is the sensitive skin we have. Home remedies and face packs are the best to keep skin healthy unless you have an extremely severe acne or skin problem that needs a dermatologist's attention. I agree but learning and being aaware of why this is done and not that is of great help when the day dawns when you finally need good makeup. Over the past few months i have reviewed material on the internet and have really loved reading makeup blogs by indian women. some of my favourites are - askamakeupguru, indianmakeupdiva,roopcafe,anindiansmakeupmusings. They are free and provide invaluable tips for makeup suited specifically for indian skin. My own experiments with makeup have taught me a few valuable lessons and i decided to share them like i did in my previous blog about fitness. I guess this is quite a bit of digression from what i have in my previous blog post but i really hope this helps women who are clueless about where to begin. Lets split up and talk about the Basics for the Face, eyes, lips and cheeks.
1. Face -
Most indians use a really horrible ghostly like foundation on theri skin thinking it will make them look fairer. Foundation MUST and ABSOLUTELY must match your skin tone. So look for shades that disappear when you streak it on your cheek just above your jaw and not on your hands or wrists. Brands like MAC, Bobbi Brown etc make good products. It is meant to even out skin tone but shouldnt feel like a layer of paint on your face. The next issue is if this photographs well since thats what we need for weddings and receptions. Unfortunately almost all foundations come with SPF in them. Even MAC had its foundation with SPF 30. All these have titanium dioxide that works great by reflecting off sunlight but look ghostly and a different shade in photographs. i have seen that in wedding photographs and even celebrity photos-a white layer on your face. For me, it got worse with time. The latest foundation from MAC is SPF 15 and the most natural. I however have a personal favourite from VASANTI COSMETICS which has no SPF. The company is run by 3 indian women and caters to colored women and indians because we have yellow undertones(warmer than the usual colors sold out here abroad) and makes foundations that do not have titanium dioxide. otherwise one can use MACs moisture cover concealer and set it with a powder. Again, choosing a concealer is tricky. Indians have really dark circles. To some extent, an orange-red based concealer does a great job of covering up. I need two different concealers for under eyes and spots.
2. Eyes -
The best feature for us. We have lovely big eyes and for most occassions our eye makeup is heavy. Askamakeupguru has a lovely video on asian wedding eyes. She uses a shimmery shadow on the lid and a Matte darker shade in the crease and blends it out to give an additional depth. Also, highlight on the browbone is important. Use a highlighter (benifit,lorac or eyeshadows that are very light and shimmery like MAC Ricepaper). For everything blending is really the key.
After that, apply liner and kohl and try to shade a little and smudge out in the bottom of your eye. Curl your lashes and use a good coat of mascara or experiment with False Lashes which are lovely, although i am yet to try this out.
Brows - need to be neatly shaped but need not be so paranoid about it that they are super scanty. A well placed arch really looks amazing but a lot of desis do the curve which is very weird looking. Kareena kapoor's look has thick eyebrows that arent perfect but still full and look good. Fill in with a dark brown but not black and use an angled MAC brush.Dont overfill brows.
3.Lips
Keep them moisturized always. Use a liner and then fill in the color and top off with gloss. Mostly i only wear gloss. And if your eyes are really heavy go with nude lips. Usually we must try and stick to one strong feature. Lot of brides wear strong eyes and bright red lips. For red lips the other features kind of fade in the background.
4.Cheeks
One of the other big big mistakes most desis make is to apply this big blob of "rouge" on to look like a clown. Golly, that is so weird looking. Blush should give you a slightly flushed look and is extremely light. Mostly its the color you would be if you were pinched on your cheek. I apply this pinkish color on the apple of my cheeks and blend towards the temple. A tiny tiny bit is all you need. The other option is to contour using a bronzer or darker shades of blush. They need to be applied below your cheek bones and blended for added depth. Also use the darker shade on your temples. Finally apply shimmer on the cheeks and a little bit on your chin and tip of your nose. Too much isnt good. You will sparkle like a christmas tree.
These are the basics for the good healthy look that will make you look fresh and bright. And if the colors are mostly nude it would be perfect for a natural daily work look. A little bit of concealer and liner plus kohl is all you need if you are in a hurry. Dont forget moisturizer for your face and lip gloss. And the more elaborate for special occassions. Sadly, very few people back home pay attention to all these factors. A lot of people start off looking good at their receptions but as the day wears on it cakes up and faces get too oily. Using a blotting paper is great and regular touch ups helps. FOllow these tips and experiment with various looks and learn how much is too much before really using makeup and you will find that you are a pretty good artist yourself!Good luck!
