Pretty woman

Here’s how to highlight your pluses and camouflage your minuses with make-up

Beauty Basics Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

There are three good reasons for applying make-up.

1) To make yourself prettier, naturally. This does not mean you should use minimum make-up. Perhaps, you should use more than what you now use.

The trick is to be sure that the shades and texture you choose make you look as if you are naturally lovely.

2) To highlight your good points and camouflage your bad ones.

3) Make-up protects your skin by acting as an insulator against the elements, if chosen correctly to match the texture of your skin.

Before applying make-up, the skin should be scrupulously clean. Apply moisturiser on dry skin and astringent on oily skin.

Foundation To choose the right colour, apply a little on your cheek. It should blend in. Apart from that, you should have a shade that’s darker and lighter. Apply the lighter shade to cover the dark circles and lines on the forehead and the nose to mouth line, on the sides of the face for a round face, on the jaw line for a large jaw line, on both sides of the nose bags under the eyes for a broad nose and on your neck and ears.

Powder Translucent powder is best as it forms a veil and does not cover.

Rouge Skillfully-applied rouge brings a realistic blush to the cheeks. Beige or golden complexions should go for colours such as tawny coral or amber. It should be applied where your natural blush should be. Never apply rouge too close to the nose.

Eye make-up

Eyebrows Start by having your eyebrows neatly shaped. If your face is round or pear shaped, the outer tips of the brow should point towards the hairline. In case of a long or oval face, the tips should arch down.

Eyeshadow Apply a colourful eyeshadow all over the eyelid area. Do not extend outside the natural shape, and do not take it above the eye crease. Highlight the brow area with white eyeshadow. Contour the eye by applying brown or grey. Those with naturally-shadowed lids, eyes with dark circles or wrinkles can skip eyeshadow.

Small eyes Pastel or white shadow. Smudge brown in the socket.

Prominent eyes Deep, dramatic eyeshadow.

Almond shape Pale shadow all over the end and smudge faint brown in the socket.

Deep set No socket line. Pastel colours for eyelids and up to brow bone. No dark shadow.

Eyeliner Eyeliner should be a very thin line drawn close to the lashes.

Lipstick It should be applied with lipstick brush. Outline the lips first then fill the colour. To make lipstick last, blot lipstick powder lightly, and apply lipstick again.