There are pretty much two makeup looks that women are sporting this decade, and that seems to be one of two extremes, which fits a great many shapes and sizes of face very well. It also of course depends on one’s personality and preference.
However, you can also switch off between the two, especially if you have one of those versatile types of faces where you are conducive to lots of makeup, but also look pretty darn good going natural here and there as well.
Au naturel is minimalist – or at least it appears that way. Au naturel can be minimal eye makeup with a lot of help from a foundation and great concealer and blush, or if you have naturally great skin that has few blemishes, you can use a minimalist powder like Bare Minerals and a little blush and then apply your minimalist eye makeup.
I prefer to use a liquid foundation and solid concealer in the winter time, especially as I get older, because it gives my skin much better coverage and makes me look younger. The summer, when I may have a little more natural color to my face, is when I can go a little more bare faced without looking “older”.
Usually the minimalist look uses very little eye makeup. This is the key to looking natural and minimally “made up”. Usually there is mascara involved, and may be a light peach, brown or nude eyeshadow swept across the lids to create a bit of color and depth. Eyeliner should be used sparingly if at all.
You may want to use a brown eyeshadow, swept under the lids with an eyeliner sponge. This way, you don’t risk the solid, dramatic line that can be seen with an eyeliner pencil or liquid eyeliner. I’ve found this technique to be very natural and flattering – plus it saves me my eyeliner pencils for when I really need them.
There should be no lipstick, only a tinted peach or light pink color on the lips with a little slick lip gloss applied over it for some sheen and volume.
With the “diva” look, you can have at it with all the fun colors in your repertoire. You should use the liquid foundation for this look so that the skin isn’t overpowered by the eye makeup. I don’t like to use lipstick with this look, as it can tend to look like too much, so rather I would just use a lip liner in a lighter shade.
Eye makeup may be applied generously, and usually three colors in a complimentary trio can be used, such as blues, purples, greys, browns, or greens. The idea is to swipe the dark color on the deep part of the eyelid, the light color on the front of the lid, and on the top and the medium color on the corners for depth and drama.
You can follow with a powder or liquid liner, rimmed dramatically on the top and bottom lids, then smudged with a professional sponge. Following with a little mascara is good too, but you need minimal mascara when you have lined the eyes so generously.
