In the nude

INatural makeup is never out of season. It only varies in intensity and hues. It most definitely enhances the features of your face in a very subtle way. It’s natural beauty in a different level. One of Spring 2006’s looks is nude makeup which means wearing makeup but making it look like you have nothing on. It means wearing earth-tone colors and using them to enhance and define your features. It’s trendy and at the same time, it gives the entire look a different kick to it. The colors that you use are very important in sporting this look. This should appear like you have nothing on but radiant skin and neutral colors as your palette. Think chocolates, golds, bronzes and caramels. Playing with these shades makes a world of difference specially when intensity is the main thing.

It starts with a good base, the skin. Your skin has to look as radiant, as healthy and as flawless as possible. This will help achieve the total nude look. All you have to do is to apply minimal amount of foundation (unless your skin needs a tad bit more). Make sure you follow your skin tone’s color exactly, not a shade whiter or darker. If you apply the wrong color of foundation, then you won’t get this look. The common mistake of women is using too much pink undertones. Majority of women have olive undertones so wearing a foundation with pink undertone will make the color of your face different from your neck.

Getting "radiant" skin is, of course, achieved with the proper diet, skin regimen, exercise and good sleep. Don’t we all wish we could do all these in a snap? A trick to get this "radiance" is by using a radiance cream. This is a kind of moisturizer/vibrant cream that has pearlized pigments giving your skin a kind of "glow." As a makeup artist, I love using this product on clients because it makes their skin look so vibrant especially on tired skin. When applying radiance cream, make sure you avoid applying it on the eye area (It will emphasize your wrinkles if you do) and on the T-zone (especially with oily skin, it will make you look more oily than usual).

Trend is the key word here, and one of this season’s trends is having well-defined eyebrows. Having eyebrows that are too thin will make your face look older and dated. So grow those babies out and just keep them well maintained and groomed very neatly.

Your eyes will help do the talking so make them come out more by using a chocolate brown eyeliner and line the entire eyes. This is a very subtle way of defining your entire eyes. Use a bronze color as your eye shadow and apply it on your lids. Give your brow bone area some gold highlights. Curl your lashes from the base up. Apply your mascara and you’ll see how your eyes come alive.

Make your eyes stand out even more by using a nude lip color. My all-time favorite is a caramel colored kind of nude. This color just makes the look.

Apply the blush as your finishing touch. Less is more so just make sure you "sweep" minimal amount of color on your cheeks. The blush that you use is very important. Using the wrong kind of brown undertone will make you look old and lifeless. Use a very minimal peach colored blush on your cheek as your final touch and you’re all set.

This is my all-time favorite makeup look. I love giving this look to my clients. I have to stress, however, that this look is best achieved with the right color palette that you use. These colors are the updated and improved "browns" that we usually use. Try combining these colors and see the difference. Improve. Enhance. Define. These are the main things you have to remember when doing this look. It’s following detailed tips that will help you "cross over." Make that first step and experience the better and improved you, on the other side. What are you waiting for? Get in the nude!

Get this look:

• Cleanse. Tone. Moisturize if needed.

• Groom eyebrows.

• Even out skin tone with foundation/concealer.

• Set with loose powder.

• Apply bronze eye color on lids.

• Use gold color under the brow bone.

• With a brown colored eye pencil, line entire eye area.

• Curl lashes from the base going up.

• Apply black mascara.

• "Sweep" the face clean with loose powder.

• Finish with a caramel lip color.

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(E-mail the author at beautyssecrets@yahoo.com)