Fatima Faheem looks into the blunders and wonders of make-up
Photographs by Choudhury Safwat Gani
Make-up is yet a mystery to many of us, particularly because the question still comes to mind ‘How much is too much?’ Here are a few common mistakes made by women while dolling up
Base Make-up
Applying base make-up is the best technique to smoothen out blemishes and even out the overall appearance
Don’t
Matching foundation shade on the back of the hand is a complete no no! The skin on our face is very different from the one on the back of our hands given that both the complexion and the texture is different.
Often people forget to blend the foundation with the neck.
Do
Match the foundation shade to your jaw line.
Use a primer to smooth the skin. Make sure you blend the foundation well.
Navin uses the concealer only on the areas where the foundation fails to cover up.
Contouring
Contouring enhances the areas of the face that naturally stand out.
Don’t
Not blending your bronzer can be disastrous. Wiping it along the jawline and not diffusing the colour will leave nothing but two harsh bronze streaks on your cheeks.
The blush used for contouring should not contain shimmer. Matte formula always looks more natural.
Do
Suck in your cheeks and then use a brownish flesh coloured blush to accentuate the hollow of your cheekbones. Make sure it is one or two shades darker than your skin tone.
Navin’s trick is to have the client smile first. Then she applies the blush on the raised part of the cheeks and blends it well with the contour colour. She even asks her clients to smile so that she can locate the exact spot.
The highlighter is used right on top of the cheekbones to define them further.
Choose contour colours that are barely darker than your skin colour, peachy or pinkish toned blush to the apple of the cheeks and finally highlighters which are usually light in colour and contains light reflecting particles.
Eyebrows
The eyebrows are very important in framing the face.
Don’t
Very sharp lined eyebrows can give a very bold and unreal look
Avoid sharp, angular lines too, they look unnatural.
Do
A few light strokes with an eyebrow pencil will do.
It is very important that there are no harsh lines and the brows look well blended and natural.