How can I stay fresh, pretty and professional all at the same time despite my professional and hectic business schedule? I do not have time too worry about my makeup or personal appearance, but I need to be confident that I look my best at all times!
This is a common concern for many working women.
Worry no more, ladies!
You don’t have to go through trainings at the Mall and “beauty makeup workshops” to perfect the art of every day makeup that looks simply beautiful and professional and that will last all day!
Here are some tips and ideas in achieving simple yet sophisticated makeup look you can wear at work. Take it straight from me, a professional makeup artist in DC.
Before we begin with makeup tips and ideas, make sure you familiarize the basic rules in choosing the right makeup for a day at the office. Your makeup should:
- Last long so you don’t have to do a lot of retouching
- Be low-maintenance and easy so you can complete the look even in a rush.
- Enhance your natural beauty and not alter your features.
- Not be distracting (skip distracting bright colors or too shimmering and glossy products)
- Make you feel comfortable, confident and beautiful.
The Look:
Start with the base and perfect foundation then we will build up from there…
Laying the base and perfect foundation: Light, blended with a flawless finishing!
- A situation that develops in most women is dull, dry and lifeless skin appearance. For this I would strongly recommend exfoliating your skin in regular bases. This will help you to get rid of the dead cells that lye on the surface of your skin making it look dull and dry. Once you do this, the appearance of your skin will dramatically improve making it look fresh, glowing and completely renew.
- On everyday bases we need to make sure we have a clean and moisturized face before applying any makeup. After cleansing your face, apply a moisturizer that suits your skin. Hydrating your skin is especially important during cold weather season. If you have oily skin a good makeup primer will need to be applied, this will help you with oil control making your makeup last longer throughout the day.
- If you are blessed with naturally good skin then skip foundation, use hydrating concealer instead. Dab the concealer then pat into your skin in light taps especially around the nose, underneath the eyes (if necessary) then blend it in. Set the concealer with powder. HD Microfinish Powder by Make Up For Ever is one of my favorites. If your skin is not as flawless and there is some tone and/or undertone discoloration, you can apply a sheer foundation before applying the concealer. The important thing is to not use heavy formulas or too much product. Only applying foundation and concealers if necessary and where these are necessary.
Natural Glow
Choose blushes and bronzers with neutral shades and looks natural on your skin tone. Some of my favorite Blushes for a work environment are the Bobby Brown Blushes, they come in different colors and shades. Apply blush lightly on the top apple of your cheekbones on circular motions – upwards. For contouring and to show the architecture of your face, apply a bit of bronzer underneath the cheekbone and underneath the jawline and a little bit up on the temples and near to your forehead hairline. Laguna by NARS is without a doubt one of my first picks! Then apply a bit of highlighter on the cheekbone and down the nose.
Accentuating the Eyes
- Curl your eyelashes to open up your eyes.
- Apply Champagne or Taupe color eye shadow, one of my favorites is Valhalla Eye Shadow by NARS over the lids using a perfect sheer crease blush. Then apply a slightly darker color eye shadow on the outer corner of the eyes and to add a little definition with the same darker eye shadow frame the crease of the eyes. Do not let this appear too strong, use an artist brush to blend them in as much as possible. Then apply lightly a dark charcoal eye shadow along the lash line (Typographic Eye Shadow by MAC) and on the outer corner using a 212 Flat Definer Eye Brush by MAC. If you wish you could skip the eyeliner, in most cases the dark charcoal eye shadow would be enough to define the eyes.
- Apply mascara for extra definition, one of my very favorite mascaras in the market is LastBlast by CoverGirl.
- Do not forget to polish your Eyebrows. For this you could use an eyebrow pencil (Veluxe Brow Liner by MAC), it comes with a very handy eyebrow brush. Do not forget to brush your eyebrows before the pencil application, and to blend the color for a more natural appearance you will need to do a second time brush after our eyebrow pencil application. This work like magic!
Professional Pucker
Use a lip liner that matches the color of the lipstick. Pink nudes and subtle coral shades of lipstick always look great for a professional look and works on any skin tone. You can always apply a lip balm right after that, RoseBud Salve (available at Sephora) it is simply the very best! Or if you prefer you could apply a lipstick of your choice. Applying lip liner first before the lipstick makes the lipstick adhere better.
If you need more in depth advice or training for your personal appearance, I give private personal hair styling and makeup artistry training for your personal appearance. Contact me, I will be glad to work with you!
Pro Tip from me, a trusted makeup artist in Washington, DC:
Invest in a good set of makeup brushes. It will make a big difference on your everyday makeup applications.
