Face Makeup Tips

Costume parties are great fun. I was inspired by this picture of Danielle from America’s Next Top Model, for my next costume party, to be a girl puppet. You can recreate this look at home using regular makeup with the following makeup tips.

Foundation

Start off with a foundation a couple of shades lighter than your own.  Think of someone you can borrow from, like a good friend or relative. Top it off with the fairest powder shade you can find. Go a little overboard with this to make sure you are exaggerating the look and not forgetting your actual skin tone. Be sure to apply the foundation like an oval around the face, leaving an outer rim of your face and your neck bare. Extra foundation and powder around the eyebrows to create the illusion of pencil thin eyebrows.

Eye Makeup

For the eyes, start with a good base that will help your eyeshadow stay on without creasing. Pat on a light blue eyeshadow all over the eyelid using a flat eyeshadow brush, up to the crease. Using the same brush, apply darker blue eyeshadow close to the top lashline, blending upwards into the light blue. Using a blending brush, fade off any hard edges with windshield wiper motions. Apply black eyeliner to the top lashline. Apply white eyeliner to the inner corners of the eyes and the bottom lashline. Use white eyeshadow to highlight the browbone. Apply the same white eyeshadow with a blending brush under the eyes to brighten them, fading downwards, until about ¾ inch from the lower lashline. Line the eyebrows thinly to create the effect of drawn-in pencil thin eyebrows. Apply mascara to the top and bottom lashes. Apply false eyelashes.

Cheeks

The cheeks are distinctly colored. Find the brightest pink and go over the apples of the cheeks in circular motions with a blusher brush. Using the same brush, pat on a slightly darker shade such as rose inside the pink circle.

Lips

The lips should be lined with a lipliner just outside the actual lipline. Colour them in with a dark pink or cherry red lipstick. Finish with a gloss for a more glamorous puppet look!

Enhancements

If you’re feeling a little more creative, draw in a teardrop for a sad clown look or a cheerful sun for a happy clown look, just on the cheekbone. You might like to wear a wig, a fun hat, or a large bow, whichever matches your costume best.

Turn up your best party attitude and have a ball!

Have you ever pickup up a lipstick or blusher-stained white blouse at your favourite boutiques? Ugh. Or worse yet, have the embarrassment of turning one in at the fitting room! It doesn’t take a genius to know how to prevent the guilty feelings of messing up a dress you don’t intend to buy. It just takes a little preparation before heading out to the mall. And by this I literally mean just a LITTLE preparation. In this case, the rule LESS IS MORE definitely applies.

Skipping the foundation altogether is of course the surest bet in practicality. Go bare if you dare, but this does not mean you need place a bag over your head when the hottie you’ve been eyeing happens to walk by.  A smidgen of concealer under the eyes and a dab of it with a small wand on the dark spots will leave your skin looking fresh and flawless, without the heaviness. A good concealer should blend right into your skin. If you have a tinted moisturiser like Stila’s Tinted Moisturiser with SPF 15, all the better. Apply and use your fingers to pat away any excess. Once it sets, check using a dry tissue that it won’t smear.

You can play up the eyes with white or a shimmery nude eyeshadow in the inner corners of the eyes. Using your fingers or a taut eyeshadow brush, blend in a tan matte shadow just on the lower outer corners just behind your eyelashes. Line the eyes with smudgeproof eyeliner, and finish them off with tubing mascara such as Blinc or waterproof mascara in dark brown or black.

Skip the cheeks to prevent any accidents, but drink lots of water and a cup of juice to keep you going throughout the day and keep your skin hydrated and in the pink of health. Use cherry or watermelon lipgloss, fix your hair in an easy high-ponytail or something fuss-less, and you are ready to go!

For the day out at the mall, a little goes a long way to perfectly practical yet pretty! Have a guilt-free shopping trip and go have fun with your girlfriends!