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OttersSwim -> RE: makeup advice (8/15/2009 11:54:53 AM)
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Yea, gotta agree with this - start with a boy first, then then get tips from the Ladies.
So I wear makeup and have come fairly proficient in doing it on myself to the point that women have complemented me on it. Here are the basics of what you want to do:
Start with a clean face - work in some sort of facial skin cleansing to your shower every day. Combine it with an exfoliating facial scrub that you use once or twice per week depending on how your skin reacts to it.
Shave with a blade, finish with an girl's electric - hot shower, new blade, good shaving cream. Shave your face close. When you get out of the shower, use one of those personal shavers that girls buy to shave their private parts - they are usually a cylinder with a fine mesh screen. This is really good for those areas where your blade may not cut as closely.
Moisturize your face - After all that cleaning and shaving, your face is going to be dry and a good moisturizer like pure vitamin E, or Oil of Olay will help to keep it soft. It also helps to provide a base for the makeup - especially the vitamin E.
Good Light, Good Mirror(s) - Get a makeup mirror if you can - one of those with the lighted ring around it, and a mirror that rotates with a regular mirror, and a magnifying mirror. If you cannot, then make sure that your bathroom, or where ever you do your makeup has good light and a descent clean mirror.
Foundation and Beard Covering - Girls use foundation to even out the skin and cover blemishes - we do the same, but we have some extra dark skin to cover namely our beards. Even shaven, some guys need a special beard cover (basically heavy covering foundation) to make the shadow of their beard disappear. I am fortunate that my beard and hair is light enough that shaving and foundation covers mine just fine, so try it out and see. If you are dark haired, and your beard is heavy, you may need beard cover as well. It is tricky to apply so you don't look all "caked" - practice. Your foundation should be fairly covering and not overly sheer as guy skin is just going to be a bit rougher than a girls. I personally go for a shade that is about 1 value on the dark/light scale lighter than my skin normally is. Lighter makes less shadow in lines and such. Your results may vary, so get a few and experiment. Practice putting your foundation on - dot it on your forehead and then blend it out, dot it on your cheeks and nose and blend it out, dot it on your chin and neck and blend it out. It should appear even and not cakey. Apply the foundation down past the neckline of whatever outfit you will wear. I put it everywhere - over my eyelids, blend it into my ears, and even a bit on my lips as it helps lipstick and eyeshadow stay in place longer.
Powder and Blusher - Next, I apply a thin layer of a translucent powder with a makeup sponge, and some blush with a brush. I blend it all out with a large soft makeup brush. Blush should be applied starting at the bottom of your cheekbone and brushing upwards and outwards towards your temple hairline. You want just a hint of color, not rashes or burn marks on your face. The overall effect should again, not look cakey, but even and pretty.
Eyes are fun! - I then start in on my eyes. I apply either a brown or black eyeliner, taking it about 3/4 of the way across the top, and just over 1/2 of the bottom. The top is applied heavier than the bottom and the overall effect weights your eyes outward. I blend it out a bit by going lighter on the side closer to your nose. I use an eyeliner pencil that twists out, but it is a personal preference, and you can use pencils, liquids, etc. depending on the effect you want. Next, I do eyeshadow and that leads me to your eyebrows.
I pluck my eyebrows and I recommend that most guys who want to wear makeup do so too! You don't have to get them pencil thin or overly feminine, but regular plucking to keep them shaped nicely and maybe just a little thinner than what a guy might normally have is good! Stay away from creating too much of an arch or you end up with that perpetually surprised look that so many women have. If you do it, and keep them maintained, no one will ever notice. And while we are on the subject of hair...no nose hair...ever....get a pair of grooming scissors or a nose hair trimmer and eradicate it!
Eyeshadow is such fun! You can do all sorts of colors, but the general rule is that you want light up towards your brows and the color can darken and intensify as it goes down to your eye over the lid. So I will do a very light shade of cream or pink or purple at the area over the eyelid and up to the brow, and then blend in a darker compatible hue over the lid. If you like, you can use an even darker value at the lash line, or inside the lid crease out towards the outside of your eye. If you go beyond the outside of the eye, again you want to do it lightly and sweep the color upwards to your temple. I don't recommend allowing color to go beyond your brow into the temple area. I prefer cream eyeshadow as they are really dramatic and great for evening makeup which is typically darker and more dramatic than daytime wear. Revlon makes some great ones that you can get from Walgreens. I apply my eyeshadow with a small brush and I wipe it out on a tissue when I change colors.
Mascara comes next. You can use black or brown, you should not keep it around for more than 6 months as it tends to grow stuff. My Lady has a separate brush that she keeps around that is clean in order to separate the lashes better after you apply it and it really works great! Don't want clumpy looking lashes. If you wear contacts, you might want to do some research on mascara that works well with contacts. I don't seem to have a problem, but I have heard that some do.
Hot Lips - no...not the character from Mash...your lips! Lip color is a matter of personal preference for most. Some like neutrals, some pinks, some reds, some plums, some none at all...then there is texture right, shiny, not shiny, staining vs. non staining, plumping or non...and let's not forget taste! Some lipsticks taste like YUK! And do you want sticks, liquid tubes with applicator wands, or masher tubes with an angled plastic applicator lip? So get a few and play and decide what works best for you and what you like best with your look. From a color perspective, it would be good to have on hand, a neutral pink, a pink, a plum, and a red - those will go with most outfits and color schemes. I have fairly thin lips and so I like to apply a lip liner pencil around the edges, and I draw just outside the lip line to make my lips look a bit larger. Then fill in, and tamp (take a piece of TP or tissue, fold it over on itself, press your freshly painted lips into it). I like shiny look, so we have a couple of overgloss sticks too.
So that is just a basic overview and I hope that helps you. [:)]
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