Makeup - an everyday look

In this tropical nightmare climate we have to be careful how much make up to put on, and we also have to be careful not to walk out of the house looking like a cavewoman who hasn’t yet discovered fire much less kohl. It is important that we do not embarrass ourselves by walking around looking frumpy and like we don’t care, which is why I feel it’s important to go over some basic skincare routines and make-up for our busy lives in this ridiculously hot caldron we call a city.

First things first, your skin must be clean! That means waking up in the morning and using an appropriate cleanser, toner/astringent, and then a moisturizer with SPF30. Because of our climate we can’t afford to use anything less than SPF30. There is no need to use anything higher. I recommend L’Oreal UV Perfect. Most imported lotions will be heavier and have less SPF, but this one was designed for us, which makes it lighter in feel and heavier in protection.

Once your skin is prepped, you can move on to makeup. Here are the basics I think every woman needs to wear and not much more:

1 – Concealer. Get rid of your dark circles. They are unattractive and darkens your face. Cover that shit up! Use just what you need to lighten your under eye circles and if you have any pimples or red spots, go ahead and touch them up lightly. No need to go heavy on the concealer. The idea is to look healthy, and beautiful. Your face, but better.

2 – Powder. Because it’s hot and sticky the powder will help keep the shine away and set the concealer. Be careful not to put too much or you’ll look strange and unnatural.

3 – Blush & Bronzer. Because we live in a tropical climate you can easily replace your blush for a healthy bronze color. Make sure you don’t get carried away and put too much or you’ll end up looking like an alien, or in the very least, like you put your makeup on in the dark. Apply on all the high points of your face where the sun would touch: forehead, cheek bones, nose and bridge, chin. Add a little to your lids as well as this will even out the look, not too much though. You can add a tiny bit more on your cheek bones, a TINY bit more. If you’re using blush, apply a little to the apples of your cheeks to give that healthy flushed look. I recommend pink or peach, or an apricot (which is a pinky peach).

4 – Lipstick or Gloss. I love gloss for the day to day or a sheer lippy with a happy color. No muddy browns or champagne, those can be reserved for the night. Go pink, peach, sheer raisin. Keep it happy.

5 – Mascara. Because we all need it, trust me. I love a seriously glorious mascara look, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for everyday use. I would suggest one or two coats on the top lashes only, unless you’ve got blond lashes in which case use a lot of good mascara on top and bottom. Make sure to comb through your lashes so they don’t glob up.

I don’t think eye shadow is necessary, but if you want to brighten your eyes, go ahead and use a vanilla or ivory shade with a bit of shimmer if you prefer. Save black, blue and dark brown for when you’re really dressing up. If you insist on wearing eye pencil, which I want to state for the record is not necessary at all, but ok, use just a little on the top lid only, and make sure it’s just dotted in between the lash line, then smudge away.

And so I leave you, my lovelies, with these thoughts:

“Kiss and make up – but too much makeup has ruined many a kiss”. Mae West

“The best thing is to look natural, but you need makeup to look natural”. Calvin Klein

“It is better to be beautiful than to be good, but it is better to be good than to be ugly”. Oscar Wilde

“Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference”. Aristotle

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it”. Confucius

“The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum”. Alexis Carrel

“Nature gives you the face you have at twenty, but it's up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” Coco Chanel

“..it was the height of arrogance for a woman to think that she smelled good enough to go out without perfume”. Coco Chanel