Natural makeup for the camera versus natural makeup for the human eye.

quality of skin No one's complexion is perfectly uniform in tone (at left); naked skin is by nature imperfect (at right, no foundation). You always sacrifice naturalism for coverage. Depending on the needs of your complexion, it's up to you to decide where to strike the balance, but even if you've got a lot to cover, err on the side of less. Foundation technology has come a long way—often the pigments are luminous, multi-dimensional, and very fine, the base provides maximum slip, so it blends seamlessly as possible into the skin—but it never looks like you were genetically blessed with gorgeous skin, which boasts a lit-from-within radiance that no highlighters can quite mimic. Yes, my complexion is more even-toned with foundation, but you'll notice that without it, my skin has more dimension, a natural radiance.

If your skin is good, a little concealer is quite sufficient, to brighten the weakest points of the face: the darkness under the eyes and around the nostrils. A very sheer dusting of loose powder, either to blot shine or impart a glow, adds a polished texture without coverage. Neither registers as makeup to the human eye.

Tinted moisturizer, too, is relatively inoffensive. It's subtly perfecting, an excellent option for adding life to dull skin, but not quite fully evening out the complexion. Once you make the switch to a light-to-medium foundation, it starts to look like makeup, no longer so fresh. Foundation is not designed to cover everything. Instead, blend out foundation into thin, thin layers, over a primer to ease the process, so that there is no telltale trace of pigment on the skin. Then, deploy concealer, judiciously, only where it's needed. Even if you've got acne, don't slap on full coverage all over the face, in hopes of obliterating all offenses; that never looks natural.

making your eyes pop The eyes claim the greatest variation in techniques, but as with your complexion, play to your strengths, if you've got them. At minimum, everyone benefits from some impact at the lash line: tightlining, some dark pigment blended softly between the lashes themselves, and black mascara on curled lashes. Some women find themselves transformed by a thin flick of gel liner; it all depends on eye shape. In photographs, false lashes are the ubiquitous device to magnify eyes beyond their natural proportions, as you see above. Eyeshadow doesn't quite look natural, but you can get away with a sheer wash of very fine, flesh-toned shimmer, one that brightens and opens up the eye, or a satiny taupe swept into the crease (if you've got one), then blended well, to add dimension to the eyes. If you're lucky enough to have a striking eye color, they will hold their own against a complementary neutral: amber golds, peaches, plums, mauves, warm browns.

defined brows If your brows are quite distinctive, then all you need do is to keep them neatly groomed. Otherwise, tasteful maintenance best suits naturalism: find a brow shape that fits your face, not too distorted by overtweezing, and fill in any patches (powder is softer than pencil), or all over if your brows are fair, but never too strong. Unless you've got strong brows naturally, heavily drawn brows look very obvious.

the illusion of health Nothing perks up the face quite so well as blush. When chosen well, the perfect shade instantly, undeniably brings life to the skin, and yet it does not register as makeup. If people can tell you're wearing it, then you've miscalculated your color. Keep in mind that cream blushes meld better into the skin than powders, if you're not too oily, and that the same shade can be dabbed onto lips for some easy, natural color. Alternatively, a favorite lipstick can serve on the cheeks. It needn't be the same product, at long as both your cheeks and lips are within the same color family. Again, individual preferences do apply. Some people do have high color; their skin flushes easily and blush is redundant, while those whose lips are naturally quite pigmented may need only some lip balm. Others have richly pigmented skin, with lighter hair, and look better in bronzer.

Naturalism, for me.

Labels: chanel, cover girl, estee lauder, guerlain, laura mercier, shiseido, the beauty primer

1/25/2011 [4]

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