tools are necessary to achieve our best, our classiest and our most fabulous selves.
Here is a practical list of the essential makeup tools:
1. Mirror, magnifying if necessary
2. Q-tips for smudging and small cleanups
3. Kleenex for removing excess product and working product into the brush
4. Brushes
And here are the essential makeup products:
1. Eye Shadows: Most are powder, although there are crème eye shadow formulations. I personally find that powders work the best. Very often the crèmes “move” and creep into the crease of the eye. The various brands of powder shadows will apply a little differently, and their “stay” ability will vary. An eye shadow primer might help your eye shadow adhere better and stay on longer.
2. Eyeliner: There are liquid, cake, pen, pencil, gel, and crème formulations. I find that crèmes are best for an older eye. With liquids, cakes, and liner pens, the application must be extremely accurate because those lines cannot be smudged or smoothed out. They’re there to stay. These formulations also tend to look harsh, which makes them aging. An eyeliner pencil is both easier to use and forgiving; the line can be smudged. However, pencil doesn’t stay on very well. The crèmes are my personal choice; they can be smudged and are easily applied, they have great staying power, and they create a flattering softness that liquids and cakes cannot create.
3. Mascara: Waterproof, lengthening, thickening, some with fibres in them, curling…there are so many formulations, it can be confusing! Personal preference will dictate a favourite. Colour is the key to using the most flattering mascara. Very black will be harsh on the majority of women and can look especially harsh on a woman with soft colouring. Brown and grey are better choices. Although grey can be difficult to source, for a woman with cool, soft colouring it’s worth the search. Brown is best for a woman with a warm undertone. I suggest a touch-up of black to the lashes to add drama at night. (But, if you plan on doing this, don’t apply too much mascara before, as it may then clump at the tips.)
4. Bronzers: There are powder, liquid, and crème formulations. All three of these are very popular, but I lean towards the powder for myself and for my clients. The bronzer shapes and frames the face. The key to the best application with a powder bronzer lies in using the proper brush. I find that a lot of women just want colour, but a bronzer can shape the face and give you the best of both worlds, as colour and a pro-aging application pop the cheekbones, thus lifting and shaping the face.
5. Blush: Blush can be powder, crème or liquid, with powder and crème being the most popular. Both work very well and can be easily applied. Using a crème over a powder could create a “sticky” situation; use crème blusher over a crème foundation, and powder blusher over a powder foundation.
6. Lipsticks: Lipstick comes in matte, frost, satin, tint and stain—and then lip glosses and lip glasses, which give the biggest gloss and shine of all. There is also a whole new line of lipsticks that have all-day stability. So here again, there are so many different formulations, it can be confusing, never mind choosing the right colour! (Although that’s something I can help you with). One hint: the more moisture in the lipstick, the less time it will spend on your lips. Some women love the long-staying lipsticks, but others find them too drying. Personally, my long-wear lipstick is one of my favourite cosmetics!
7. Lip Pencils: Some are more long-wearing than others, and some, more or less moist. You can either line your lips to define them or fill in the whole lip and use a lip balm over top. This will stay on quite well.
8. Foundation, Formulations and Coverage: These come in several forms:
• Liquid foundation is good for normal to dry skin and will give you maximum coverage. If you prefer a more matte look, apply it with a sponge or a brush.
• Powder foundation is convenient for medium to maximum coverage and is always applied with the proper brush.
• A tinted moisturizer is good for normal to dry skin for a sheer natural look. It delivers a healthy glow with minimum coverage. It can be applied with your fingertips or with a sponge.
• Mineral makeup is a “natural” makeup free of preservatives, talc, oil, fragrance and synthetic colouring. It gives full coverage while allowing the skin to breathe. Mineral makeup comes in many formulations, but powder is the most common. The type of application depends on the formulation chosen.
• Primer is often colourless and primes and readies the skin for foundation (similar to prepping a wall for painting). It is applied with a sponge or fingertips.
Brushing Up Your Beauty
Three factors are essential to efficiency in applying makeup: the makeup itself, the brushes and the application. If one of these factors is inferior, your makeup isn’t going to look as fabulous as it could.
Brushes are the most important aspect of actually applying makeup, yet many women ignore brushes as a tool. It’s surprising how many women I have seen apply eye shadow with the tiny, useless applicators that come with shadow. Please, throw them away! A Q-tip will serve you better.
Your hands and fingers can certainly be used on your face. As a matter of fact, using a finger to tap the concealer used beneath your eye is perfect, as the warmth of your finger will help melt the concealer into your skin.
However, if your skin tends to be oily, then brushes are a much better option. Nor will your fingers do the fine, precise work brushes are designed to do.
If you find it overwhelming to try to figure out which brush to use for what, this is the section for you! I’m going to demystify the whole process of brushes and brushwork.
Here we go.
The different hairs and different shapes of the brushes determine the use of each brush. But, first and foremost, the brush must feel fabulous on your face. If it doesn’t, don’t buy it or use it.
Brushes can be made of natural hair or synthetic hair.
In the past, synthetic hair brushes were used only with crème products and liquids because synthetic hair didn’t grab or pick up powder products. But they’ve come a long way. Now, my favourite and softest brush is synthetic. It feels like mink and applies foundation powder product perfectly.
There are, however, downsides to synthetic. Because synthetic brushes for powder are relatively new, there’s no information on how long they will last. I’ve had some of my natural hair brushes for fifteen years, and I use them professionally. Synthetic hair also stains more than natural. When you wash natural hair brushes, the powder colour comes out, but this isn’t the case with the synthetic hair.
There are many types of natural hair brushes to choose from: goat, pony, sable, squirrel and badger are among the most common. And among these different hair types are subcategories. For example, sable comes from mink, and there are three types of sable—Kolinsky (the best), red sable and sable.
Different hairs are also shaped differently. A brush made of pony and goat hair will not come to a point. These are flat at the tip, and they’re wonderful for applying blush and powder. Sable and squirrel hair brushes, on the other hand, are conical in shape, coming to a point, which makes them fabulous for applying eye shadow.
There are prepackaged sets of brushes that seem to have a few that even I, as a makeup artist, can’t figure out what to do with! Why
