Looks for the faint hearted?

Make-up is a magical tool. It can totally transform a face, tired eyes can become bright and lively, blemishes can disappear, faces can look thinner and more chiselled and people can get a huge confidence boost from having a make-over. What I wonder is, why are too many women scared of make-up?

Are they worried they will look like a drag artist? like they have been punched in the eye? like they have been tangoed? I have asked several women who have contacted me about bridal make-up, beauty tips, make-overs and make-up lessons and have found that they simply dont understand make-up and what it can do. They feel that all foundation is heavy and will make them look and feel as though they are wearing a mask, that eyeshadow will make them look as though they have done 12 rounds with David Haye and that lipstick will make them look like a hooker. The reason a lot of them feel like this is because of the way their mothers or grandmothers wore make-up. There was a time when thick blusher AND heavy eyes AND full on lips was en vogue, but not in the noughties.

When approached by a woman with these type of concerns I ask her what she feels is her best feature, what she dislikes, what she would like to accentuate, how much time she is willing to spend on her make-up each day and then I talk her through the best application techniques, colours and products for her. Each woman is very different in all of these aspects. What works for one lady won't necessarily work for another.  Here are a few of the basic tips that I give to my clients depending on which feature they wish to accentuate.

Eyes

There are several different eye shapes, just as there are face shapes, body shapes, lip shapes etc, depending on what shape eye you have depends on how you should wear your make-up. Eye colour, skin colour and hair colour also affects the eye shadow you are able to pull off. As this is for basic tips I will stick to a neutral palette, which tends to suit almost everyone. This is the basic application that works for almost all eyes. There will always be some exceptions to the rule and I will cover these in individual blogs and tutorials over the coming weeks.

Choose 3 colours, from the same colour palette, you can often buy trio shadows which make choosing the right colours much easier.

1. Sweep the lightest colour over the whole lid area, from the lashes to the brow bone.
2. Apply the second shade, the slightly darker one, from the centre of the lid to the outer edge and blend blend blend, so that you can not see a solid line between the 2 colours.
3. Apply the darker shade to the outer corner of your eyelid in the shape of a C/backwards C. Blend it along the lash line and into the crease, you can even take it along the lower lash line if you wish. But so stick to the outer third of the eye and do not extend too far out, past the brow.
4. Apply eyeliner from the same point as the 2nd eyeshadow and keep as close to the lash line as possible for a natural look. Use a cotton bud/Q-tip to smudge the eyeliner slightly so that it doesn't look as harsh.
5. Apply mascara as required.
6. If you are feeling brave or want a little more of a dramatic look you can try this technique with more colourful shadows and even add a highlighter to the inner corner of the eye and on the brow bone.

Lips

Wearing a lip colour is a very personal thing. Some women adore wearing lipstick, lipgloss, lip stains/tints while others are not fans of lip products. Lips also come in a variety of shapes and sizes, colour can make small lips look larger or large lips look slightly smaller. Colour can also help even out unevenly sized lips. Again, this is the basic rule for applying lip colour and there are exceptions to the rule which I will cover at a later date.

For a neutral look stick to a colour that is within 2 shades of your natural lips colour. If you wish to go for a bolder statement you will need to take your colouring into account.

1. Start by using a neutral lip liner. Apply by using short "feathery" strokes, avoid drawing around the lip as this will look harsh and fake
2. Once lined, use a lip brush to fill in the colour
3. Blot with a tissue and then reapply the colour
4. you can then follow with a gloss if you wish

If you just want a little colour and a light gloss, you can simply apply a tinted gloss straight form the tube for a softer look

Cheeks

Cheeks can help change the shape of a face. Applying colour correctly can make round faces more streamlined, cheekbones pop out and look more contoured and help balance and finish the overall look.

Cheek colour should be soft and pretty, not strips of colour on either side of your face (unless you are walking in a fashion show!). Depending on your colouring different shades will suit you best. 

1. If you want a sunkissed look a light bronzer dusted along the cheekbones up to the temples, on the tip of the chin and down the nose can help add a bit of life. But apply a small amount at a time, otherwise you can end up looking very orange!
2. For a rosy glow, opt for a colour that is similar to the colour your cheeks go when you have done exercise of when you are hot. Apply the shade to the apples of the cheeks. To find the best spot, smile whilst looking into the mirror and apply to the part of your face that is "fleshy". You should apply a small amount at a time or risk ending up looking like you have had a slap across the face! 
3. If you want to contour your cheeks to make your cheekbones stand out you will need 3 shades. One for your cheek area, a lighter one - almost whiteish for highlighting the cheekbone, and a shade that is slightly darker than the middle tone for contouring under the cheek.
1. Start by applying your medium shade. If you suck your cheeks in, as if you were making a fish face. Apply the blush lightly and in soft strokes along the cheek area.
2. Get your highlighter and feel for your cheekbone, apply the highlighter to the cheekbone very lightly keeping it above the middle powder, but not too high so it is right under the eye. You will need to blend the 2 colours together so they are not obviously visible as 2 separate colours. There should be a soft transition. 
3. Take your darker shade, the contouring shade, and suck your cheeks in again, apply just under the middle colour. You will need to apply this darker colour very softly and subtly to give the effect of a slight shadow. Then blend to ensure the colours are not obviously separate.

Wedding Mania

So wedding season is rapidly approaching, along with the mayhem of wedding fayre planning and organisation. This is great news as it means a good regular income, but it can be a tiring time. Some brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the brides can be complete divas, therefore making life of a make-up artist, hairstylist, wedding planner or anyone else they come in contact with utterly manic. That is the downside of the job. I have been extremely lucky so far, I have not had any crazy bridal parties to deal with.

I thoroughly enjoy weddings. I get a chance to be a part of someones "special day" and to make them feel stunning and confident. The feeling of satisfaction is immense when a bride looks at her finished look and beams with delight. It makes the little stresses all worthwhile. I like to give each bride a personalised look and not opt for the standard bride look. I ask each bride to fill in a booking form and questionnaire upon booking their trial. This is to find out their likes/dislikes, skin type/tone/colouring, what they usually wear and what they want to achieve. I then go to the trial fully prepared and the brides feel comfortable with what we are about to create. At the trial it is a chance for them to play with the look until it is totally perfected and also allows them to test the products and ensure they last and do not have any adverse affect on them. Once the trial is over, if the bride is happy with her trial and wants to continue with a wedding booking I then go on to design the look on a face chart and email it to the bride, along with any other looks for others that are required. If she wants to make changes then she has the look to refer to and to remind her of the trial.

The other side of wedding make-up is advertising. There is no better way to advertise than  word of mouth and recommendations. I have also found that getting a spot at a wedding show or wedding fayre is also a great opportunity to meet potential customers. These fayres can be expensive, but if bookings are gained then they pay for themselves in no time. I love the process of designing the stand and the promotional materials for each event and meeting and greeting the exciting brides. It is a great opportunity to showcase my skills, I tend to take a "model" along for the day or weekend and have them sit for me while I give them make-overs. The brides seem to like seeing me at work and it encourages them to hang around for a little longer.

I have attended one show this year and have a spot booked at the largest show in Essex booked for late in 2010. I am extremely excited and can not wait to get the Worby Ltd brand out there for the world to see! Along with my bridal work coming up, I have several fashion photoshoots in the pipeline, am planning a major new move into the world of business (will disclose more when the time is right!) and networking like it is going out of fashion!