Sunday, September 6, 2009

Makeup Tips For Teenagers

When a young girl first begins to use make-up, she may end up using more than she should. For a young girl, it is best to "play down" the make-up. It is helpful to experiment with make-up, as this helps in knowing what really suits you and also gives you practice in applying it. However, for a young teenager, an over-made-up look can really spoil the entire effort. Young skins look fresh and natural with less make-up. Very dark colours, like dark maroon and dark brown can also have an aging effect and you will end up looking older than you are. The effort should be to accentuate your features and achieve a natural look.

Actually, today's trends favour the "natural" look - sheer and translucent, with subtle use of foundations and bases. The skin should not be covered with foundation. In fact, you can leave out the foundation, especially during the day. After cleansing, apply an astringent lotion, wait for a few minutes and then apply powder. Translucent powder, like a baby powder, is good. Avoid applying too much and pay more attention to the oily areas of the face, like nose, forehead and chin. Press the powder all over the face and neck, with a slightly damp sponge. This helps it to set and last longer. Avoid using too much powder around the eyes. Brush off excess powder with cotton wool.

Foundation can only be used to cover-up pimples. The best way to do this is to take a little bit of creamy foundation and apply it directly on the pimple or pimple scars. Avoid rubbing or smearing. Instead, pat it into the skin and then apply loose powder on top, blending the powder with the rest of the skin. Powder, in fact, can help to control oil and produce an even colour tone. For oily skin, you can also use a pressed powder (powder compact) instead of foundation.

If you want to use foundation at night, choose a water-based one. Adding a drop of water will give you a lighter coverage. But remember to blend well to get a smooth finish. While applying foundation, the main aim is to achieve a natural look. The colour tone should be even. Apply it on the face, forehead, nose and cheeks. Using a moist sponge, spread it evenly, going outwards. Apply foundation on the eyelids too. Blend well. Then, apply it on the lower part of the face, on the chin, and on either side, along the jawline. Again spread evenly and blend. Remember the neck too. Apply and spread evenly from the chin downwards. Blending is very important to achieve an even and smooth finish. The entire effect should be natural and should not have a mask-like look. Then apply powder to "set" the foundation, brushing off excess powder with cotton wool. Again, pressed powder (compact) can be used instead of foundation.

Use a blusher, but be subtle. The aim should be to give the complexion a healthy glow. Blushers come in powder, cream and even gel form. Use a powder blusher, as they are much easier to apply. They usually come with their own applicator brushes. Blushers are best applied with a brush. Apply on the cheekbones and slightly below it. You can use your finger tips to dot the area with blusher. Then, blend with the brush, outwards and slightly upwards, making sure there are no harsh lines or a blotchy effect. Choose a shade that would subtly enhance your natural skin tone. Pink or peach blusher would suit most skin tones. Your choice of colour will depend on your colour tone.

For the eyes, use a brown eye shadow on the eyelids. Try using the same brown shadow under the lower lashes, instead of eyeliner or kaajal. Take a darker brown eye shadow and apply it on the upper lid, close to the upper lashes. The entire effect will be natural. If you want to line the eyes, use an eye pencil, rather than eyeliner. Give your eyes a light touch of mascara. Make sure the lashes do not stick together. Brush them with an eyelash comb. For a young girl, dark smokey eyes, loads of mascara and false eye lashes would be "too much" and rather overpowering.

For the lips, plain gloss can be enough for the day, or add a touch of gloss over a light pink lipstick. But go easy with it, because too much gloss would highlight the lips more and draw more attention to them.

The natural look needs to be complemented with hair that has a healthy, sleek and shiny look. Avoid an elaborate hairdo or a "set" look. If your hair is long, you can leave it loose, or wear it in a pony tail. In fact, you can use a satin ribbon, co-ordinating it with your clothes. Avoid looking overstyled. For short hair, straight layered styles and a broken texture have been in. It seems the new trend will be long hair, with curls and waves at the ends. Varied lengths of fringing are also in, but you need to decide if it suits you. Girls with long hair have also been going for simple straight cuts. Straight hair with jagged edges, whether short or shoulder length has been "in" for some time, but now the soft, layered style ending with waves and curls is the new trend.The nails should not be too long and have a clean look. Use a clear, light pink, mauve, light brown or beige nail varnish.Lastly, use a light flowery or lemony fragrance.

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