Dear
Suzanne~
My
wedding is coming up soon and I have very little experience with makeup. I think I am going to do my own wedding makeup,
but how do I know what kind is good for me and what isn't?
How do I pick colors once I know?
First
of all, I would strongly suggest that you work with a professional makeup artist in
selecting your foundation and color palette for your wedding. This is going to be one of the most important days
of your life, and captured forever in your photos and video, and you want to be sure that
your look captures the best of your features, beautifully and naturally, through the right
kind of makeup. This isn't the time to be
learning first hand all about makeup, and to be proficient enough to apply it without
undue stress on your wedding day! Your
professional artist will help you find products that are compatible for your skin, while
creating a color palette that will enhance your natural coloring, features and undertone. A good artist will also require a consultation
session with you for this very purpose prior to the wedding, so that you can have trial
run with your wedding makeup. Learn all you
can in this selection and application process, and have the makeup charted for you. This way you can have a reference for the future
to build upon as you pursue a more personal experience in makeup selection.
Even
if you decide you still want to do your own bridal makeup, I still strongly suggest you
take some lessons from a professional, to learn how to select foundations and colors that
are best suited to your skin type and undertone, and
learn basic application techniques. It
will be the best investment you can make in your bridal beauty regimen. Trial and error can be so time consuming and
expensive, not to mention frustrating if you bounce around from makeup counter to makeup
counter, getting conflicting advice and product choices from sales people. It is best to go armed with a clear understanding
of your undertone, and range of colors that will be best suited to enhance your own
natural coloring and features. You will be a
lot more successful in your product selection and application technique if you work with a
pro first.
Dear
Suzanne~
Help! I have these terrible dark circles under my eyes,
an inherited characteristic from my mothers side of the family, and I am so self conscious
about them. I am getting married in a few
months, and I wish I could find a more effective way to hide them besides using the usual
concealer route! Is this possible? Please
help!
This
is a problem that I often come across in my professional work as well, so you are not
alone! You first must determine if this is a
true skin discoloration or eye socket structure that does not reflect light naturally in
that area. If it is skin oriented then I
would try using both a neutralizer and concealer in the area. Depending on the scale of gray in the area,
I would use a pink to peach range of colored neutralizer (this can be either a cream or
powder based product) and sparingly cover the area. Then
follow with a concealor that is at least 2 shades lighter than your foundation, and
sparingly layer that over the neutralizer. If
you find that the discoloration is more bluish then go for a light orange to reddish
orange coverage in your neutralizer. Finish
with your foundation and powder. Please
understand that this cannot completely eliminate the discoloration to the human eye, but
at least reduce the look of it considerably. In
photo media it can trick the camera eye to visually cancel it out completely, so that is
your best goal!
If
your problem is more eye socket structure, then a light reflecting type of concealer works
best, to bounce more natural lighting in this eye area.
In this case I would apply a concealor on top of the foundation and powder,
and one that sets well and moves with the makeup without becoming too dry. Make sure this concealor is no more than one to
one and a half shades lighter than your foundation, for a more natural finished look.
Dear
Suzanne~
I
have scars and some pitting on my face from my teenage years of acne. I am not happy with anything that I have tried in
the past to cover them up. With my wedding
coming up soon I wish that I could find a method of coverage that would help me look my
best for my wedding day. Any ideas or advice
is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
First
of all, have you looked into the new methods that have been developed in dermatology for
skin planing? There are so many new and
proven techniques available now for reducing and even eliminating acne scars and pitting
that leaves skin with an uneven texture. This
is truly worth reviewing with a dermatologist into if you are wanting a long term solution
to your problem.
There
is no way to cosmetically take out the "texture" on skin that scarring creates
short of the medical removal mentioned above. There are methods that can be used to
visually reduce the look, and even out some of the texture of acne scarring on the face. But, it is best left to a professional artist that
is trained in some basics of paramedical makeup, and can apply these products and methods
most effectively for your wedding. One
effective method involves using a special type of skin plastic in very tiny amounts, then
a sealer is applied and then covered with a special type of camouflage cream. All this is done before you apply your
foundation. Again, this is a very advanced
makeup technique that is best done by a professional artist. I have found this method for covering scars
to be extremely effective in coverage for a film or photo shoot. This is something that I would not recommend for
every day usage, but just for very special occasions such as a wedding.
In
addition, there are also highly pigmented professional makeup concealers and camouflage
products available that can reduce the visual effects of any discoloration caused by acne
scarring. I strongly recommend you work with
a professional artist in learning how to find and apply these specialized products for
your particular needs.
Do
you have a beauty, makeup or skin care question, or just want to share an opinion or
comment? I'd love to hear from you! Email me at:
CreativeArtistry@aol.com
