I’m (finally) getting around to finishing the second half of the Spring/Summer makeup post that I started last month. You can read Part I to catch up. I left off by sharing how I was so inspired by the health and beauty tips at an Essence panel, that I set up some time with my great friend/an amazing makeup artist “Solame” to do a makeup purge and to buy some Spring/Summer makeup. I learned some helpful tips along the way which I will sprinkle throughout this post.
I clicked a “before” picture in the morning when I woke up. I wanted to have a “no makeup at all” look to compare with the full makeup look.
Then, I met up with the lovely Solame at Starbucks before we went on our shopping trip to MAC. She had told me to bring the makeup that I already use. I just brought everything that I had accumulated. She encouraged me to throw out about half of what I had. Then, we came up with a MAC shopping plan: concealer, foundation, pressed powder, one neutral eye color, one blush, two lip colors (bright and a pink gloss) and a different colored eyeliner. (If she would have had her way, we would have added another blush, bronzer, etc. BUT I’m on a budget…and I needed to somewhat ease myself into the full face makeup look.)
I asked Solame what she would suggest that most people get from the drugstore versus MAC and other department store makeup lines. Her answers:
Buy mascara, eyeliner, and foundation for darker skinned women at drugstores. Solame especially mentioned Black Opal and Iman for Black women because they don’t make the skin look “ashy”. (Those are the same two lines that Sam Fine consistently mentions.) For the more adventurous beauty folks, she also recommends single false lashes from the drugstore and DUO eyelash glue. For everything else, she recommends cosmetic counters at major department stores. I’m not the expert (she is!), but I think that budget shoppers can find almost everything at the drugstore…if you experiment enough. (Having said that, I am eager to try the Cle de Peau concealer…Solame and many other makeup artists declare that it is the BEST.)
We had a lot of fun “playing” with the different makeup items at MAC once we arrived. I knew a little bit about makeup (courtesy of giving away…I mean selling…Mary Kay for a brief stint), but I learned so much more including the following eight tips.
1. Pick a foundation that matches your neck, not your face. Solame picked a darker foundation for my face than my facial skin tone in order to match my neck. (Many women of color have darker necks than facial skin.) Before, I had just tried to match my facial skin tone.
2. Blend, blend, blend. Using wedge sponges makes a little foundation go a long way.
3. Use your fingers or a concealer brush to dab on concealer.
4. Set makeup with sheer pressed powder by using a brush. (If you’re using pressed powder without foundation, moisturize first and then put the pressed power on with a wedge sponge for a bit more coverage.)
5. Bronzer looks nice on a variety of skin tones including dark skin.
6. For a more natual blush look, smile and place the blush on the apple of your cheeks in small circles. (Use a blush brush when using powder blush.)
7. When applying mascara, wiggle the wand from the root of your lashes upward.
8. Try something different with your eyeliner color. Since I’m so conservative, Solame suggested a indigo/dark blue liner with white eyeliner in the inner rim of the lower lid.
At the end of our time together, I walked away with this look:
So what am I doing makeup-wise now…approximately a month later? I’m doing a mixture of the before and after shots. I still don’t like a lot of makeup. I prefer a clean, moisturized face on a day to day basis. (It helps that my husband prefers the “before” shot. He’s not a big makeup fan.) However, I like to do my makeup when I go out to various work and social events. I have a lighter touch, but it’s a pretty polished look. The biggest surprise to me was that my favorite new thing is the thing that I resisted the most – the indigo eyeliner. I love that it’s not glaringly obvious but that it does add a little “extra”. I find myself in conversation with some of my girlfriends and in the middle, they will stop, stare at my eyes and say something to the effect of, “Is that blue eyeliner? I love it!” In any event, it’s fun to know how to pull off different makeup looks when I want to. Thanks Solame! (I’m trying to convince her to start her own beauty blog. She’s really good and passionate about what she does. She would make a great information resource!)
So…what is your favorite Spring/Summer beauty item this year?