As the saying goes, you dress for the job you want, not the job you have and the same goes for make-up! Here are some easy beauty tips for a quick day make-up routine.
The Idea
You don’t want to wear too much makeup at work; you simply want to enhance and polish your features so you look put together in an effortless way. This look will do just that and it’s uncomplicated enough that:
It won’t take you long in the morning (10 minutes approximately).
You won’t be rushing all day to touch it up either.
What You’ll Need
Foundation, concealer, loose powder (if you want them)
Blush
Eyeliner or grey eyeshadow
Mascara
Lipstick or subtle gloss with colour
Achieving the Look – Foundation and Concealer
Start with foundation and concealer to give yourself smooth, clean, perfect skin. Foundation comes in many different formulations now – cream, liquid, loose powder, wet/dry, mineral powder, airbrush, pressed powder – and what you use depends on what kind of skin you have – oily, dry, sensitive, combination, ageing – and how much coverage you require. How much you apply depends on how much you need, but you want to look as natural as possible. Use your chosen formulation as instructed.
If you need more coverage anywhere, that’s when concealer comes in, but you should only use concealer if you need to, where you need to and after you apply foundation. This means any darkness around your eye, any blemishes, redness, or dark spots. A clean lip brush doubles well as a concealer brush for blemishes and hard-to-reach areas (eg. around your nose) and your little finger works well for applying concealer on dark circles under your eye.
After you apply foundation and concealer, you could set it with a loose powder. Use a large powder brush to ensure light even coverage. Setting your make-up with powder ensures it will last longer and if you have oily skin at all, the powder will help to keep the shine at bay.
Achieving the Look – Blush
Nothing makes you look fresher, younger or healthier than a soft glow on your cheeks. Apply blush lightly to the apples of your cheeks. To find the apples of your cheek, smile widely – that fleshy part of your cheek is the apple.
Tip: For a more natural, lit-from-within glow, apply your cream or liquid blush before you apply foundation.
Achieving the Look – Eyes
To play up your eyes in a soft, professional manner, all you need is a dark eyeliner or dark eyeshadow (which you’ll use as an eyeliner) or alternatively, a soft grey eyeshadow.
Line your upper eye as close to the lash line as possible with the eyeliner or an angle brush and dark powder eyeshadow. Smudge it into the lashline to soften the look.
Tip: You don’t have to stick with black or brown for your eyes, you can choose purple, green or even blue, as long as the colours are dark enough to look almost black from a distance. A subtle hue will enhance the colour of your eyes and is much softer than black for the daytime.
For the grey eyeshadow, simply smudge the colour softly across your eyelid, blending it up into the crease. This is a slightly less natural/more professional look; just remember to go lightly and keep it soft and translucent.
If you want a little extra on, you could apply a natural colour of eyeshadow too.
Apply a coat of mascara.
Achieving the Look – Lips
For your professional look, lipstick is ideal as it looks far more natural than a gloss, but a subtle gloss, like a tinted lip balm-style gloss, has a similar effect.
Choose a medium-toned natural pink colour. You don’t want something that will look out-of-place on your soft, natural-looking face, so avoid anything too pale or too dark or too bold a colour.
