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· August 3, 2007 10:29 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
· August 3, 2007 10:45 PM by
Dain
· August 3, 2007 11:49 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
· August 4, 2007 12:20 AM by
Dain
· August 4, 2007 12:39 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
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Posted by Dain, Friday, August 03, 2007 12:09 AM (Eastern)
I feel rather repetitive in writing about skincare, but it must be done as prefatory material. A good skincare regime will inspire the confidence to "go naked", or close to it as possible. The better your skin, the less cover you need, and as nothing completely mimics the appearance of real skin, a more intelligent strategy would be to focus on skincare, while concentrating your face products to a few strategic points. Practically everyone needs a good undereye concealer, and all but the most ruddy will look instantly better with the perfect blush, as these two products pinpoint two major areas of the face that benefit most from improvement.
An undereye concealer should have a cream, blendable texture, slightly lighter than your overall skintone, but not too light, or you'll have the reverse raccoon effect. I also find a slight peach tone cancels out discoloration under eyes. Application is easy: prep the skin with moisturizer beforehand (I have never found this personally necessary, but others may require something to provide a bit more slip so that the concealer glides on evenly), concentrate the concealer on the inner corner of the eye, and blend with your ring finger (it has the least amount of pressure. If necessary, you can dust on some powder to make sure it lasts and prevent any eyeshadow fallout. You could use a concealer brush instead of your finger, but I think it's a waste of effort, not to mention that a brush harbors germs. A good concealer should erase all signs of fatigue but look completely natural. If you're willing to make the investment, Clé de Peau Concealer is the absolute best—no other even compares—and I've also found the price is misleading, one stick lasts (my Stephane Marais double is at year three and still going strong). Though you've only targeted a small spot on your face, the difference is really enormous, because practically everyone looks like crap there. : )
I've always maintained that according to necessity, only one shade of blush is required, provided that it is perfectly suited. It is an old-fashioned notion to treat blush as a color cosmetic, one to match a "look", like peach blush with green eyeshadow or plum with violet eyes. Rather, the blush ought to match you—give your face a healthy, balanced, and fresh appearance. Like brows, I don't consider blush to be, strictly speaking, a color cosmetic: it is essential to a well put together face, in fact I would say eyeshadow is far less important than either blush or brows, but when done right, shouldn't match your makeup but rather your face. I've written a guide to choosing the perfect shade of blush, which is rather technical, but accurate. A few outstanding shades, in decreasing universality: Becca Amaryllis Creme Blush (probably the most universal shade I've seen, as it mimics the rush of blood to the skin, but tempered somewhat and far easier to blend than Benetint), NARS Desire (a somewhat less universal shade, as it's better suited to high contrast coloring, i.e. those with dark hair), La Femme Golden Dew Amber (on the same level as NARS Desire, but better for those with low-contrast coloring with light hair), MAC Fleur Power (great on olive-undertoned Mediterranean complexions, darker Asians, basically anyone with deeper skin tones), NARS Sin (the cool alternative to Fleur Power). The ultimate test is a practical one: when applied, the perfect shade of blush instantly brings your face to life. Application rather depends on formula, but for most people, application should concentrate on the apple of the cheek (the fleshy part of your cheeks when you smile), swept out to your cheekbones, with a little on the temples and the chin (a Kevyn Aucoin trick, and an effective one, as these are parts of your face that naturally flush and the overall look is more balanced). Since I have a round face, I tend to angle my blush upwards to elongate the face, while a nearly horizontal angle is useful for those with long faces.
I think the combination of undereye concealer and blush is enough for those who have good skin. Blush disguises minor flaws, making foundation unnecessary, and adds to the natural glow of naked skin rather than hiding it. But not everyone is born with perfect skin, and require more help, for which there are a few different strategies. Overall, I think foundation is to be avoided. I prefer a cream foundation like Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer applied selectively to problem areas, or, for all over unevenness, a light liquid with a skin-like finish, or tinted moisturizer, like MAC Face & Body (a staple among makeup artists). Yet another option is a face powder with coverage, like Caron Poudre Peau Fine, which additionally cancels shine without feeling occlusive.
As for blush, it is still halfway a color cosmetic. Your perfect shade of blush should be your guide to choosing lipcolors. Chances are, if you look best in pink blushes, your favored lipcolors should have some pink to them. But it's not the blush that matches the lipcolor, but the other way around. In addition, there are any number of special effects possible with blush. For a sunkissed look, a bronzer (or likeminded blush, like NARS Malibu or Lovejoy) can function as an alternative to your everyday blush. A bronzer also looks good with peaches, golds, coppers, and greens, so if you gravitate towards these shades, it should be a sign that you might look better in bronzer than blush. For a subtler look than blush, a highlighter or supersheer shimmery blush may be used instead; this is particularly useful in photography (it gives skin a beautiful finish), but also when your look requires a muted blush so that it does not overwhelm strong eyes or lips. And finally, an in-from-the-cold flush, perhaps not appropriate for everyday, requires a stronger color than your quotidian perfect blush; the aforementioned MAC Fleur Power and NARS Sin will do that splendidly.
PRODUCT COUNT: Two, undereye concealer and the perfect blush will cover your needs. Back it up with foundation if necessary, but the less you can get away with, the better.
Labels: beauty notes, becca, caron, cle de peau, kevyn aucoin, la femme, mac cosmetics, minimalism, nars
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August 3, 2007 10:29 PM,
I agree with much of this... I've been getting away with not using concealer for quite some time. To this day I don't use it. I probably should though, soon. Eh. I've been getting good results from my eye cream (I use a men's eye cream, which imo is better, perhaps on the assumption that men aren't going to use concealer).
As far as blush, the form is rather key. Until I tried the Nars Multiple one, I always went with the powder form (creams don't tend to last on me). But the Nars stick form truly changed my opinion of blush, from "an extra step, a hassle" to "part of my daily routine."
August 3, 2007 10:45 PM,
I think this is true of most of the stuff I've blogged about so far as things that ought to belong in anyone's stash. Once you find the right one, you can't live without it. Err... not that that is supposed to be a bad thing.
August 3, 2007 11:49 PM,
The One True Blush. :D
August 4, 2007 12:20 AM,
Neutrogena has come out with a 3-in-1 concealer for eyes (called, of all things, 3-in-1 concealer for eyes), intended to be concealer, eye cream, and spf 20 all at once (nothing really that inventive). It looks interesting, though, Neutrogena has good shades. I wonder if it's any good.
August 4, 2007 12:39 PM,
Hmmm...you know it occurred to me last night, I wish they made cosmetics for men. I don't mean "pretty" cosmetics necessarily, but something like concealer.
My reasoning is, I've used a men's eye cream for three years. It hasn't been discontinued (it was "reformulated" once but it's the same product), it's easy to find, the tube lasts more than a year, yadda yadda...and it's reasonably priced.
If they made concealer for men, wouldn't it be like that? It would be a no-brainer.
As it is...if I do go for concealer...I'm reluctant to start using it, unless...it's something along the lines of a no-brainer. It has to be a product that's not going to be discontinued three years from now. I'm willing to pay more if it's something I can just pick up locally, the thing has to last at least a year, preferably longer than that, and just fit into my everyday routine, the way the Nars Multiple did.
I'm still thinking of not bothering with it until I absolutely have to. :)
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