Nailing the natural makeup look
Hi, Regina!
I’m an 18-year-old college student. Please give me some advice on how I can do the natural makeup look.
Eionise
The natural look is all about looking polished, but not overdone. The key to that is great-looking skin. Opt for tinted moisturizer instead of foundation. (I like Laura Mercier’s, or Myra’s VitaGlow.) It will help even out your skin tone without looking or feeling heavy; it’ll just be as though you have extra nice skin. And, as a bonus, most tinted moisturizers have SPF, so you can skip the sun block (which you should be applying daily) if you’re not going to be outdoors. Cover up blemishes and dark under-eye circles (if you have them) with concealer.
Another important factor in nailing the natural look is having groomed, defined brows. Your eyebrows frame your face, so make sure to have them shaped every now and then. If you have thick brows, waxing or threading should suffice; if your brows are a little more sparse, fill in the spaces and help define their shape with a brow powder or a brow pen. (Use a light hand, and pick a brown shade to keep your brows from looking contrabida scary.)
Curl your lashes to open up your eyes (crimp at the base of the lashes, in the middle, and close to the tips for a more natural-looking curl), top them off with a coat of mascara if you think it’s necessary, then finish off the look with a dusting of blush on your cheeks and a swipe of lip gloss, or use a lip-and-cheek tint instead.
Regina
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RX: A nickle-sized dollop of sunscreen a day
Dear Rissa,
I am one of your followers on Twitter and when I was still living in the Philippines, I love reading your column every Wednesday. I just want to ask if I am using a powder foundation with SPF25, does it mean that I don’t need to apply a separate sun block anymore?
Also, if I want to try using primer, could you recommend a good one for my oily face?
LOVELY (Singapore)
That’s a big skin myth! If your makeup has SPF, it does not mean you no longer need sunscreen — you still do! It’s awesome that most makeup brands offer foundation or mineral powder equipped with SPF, but most women do not actually apply enough of the product to provide adequate coverage. Most women typically apply pea-sized dots of makeup with SPF on their face. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends a generous nickel-sized dollop of sunscreen for the face. If you were to depend on your makeup alone for adequate SPF protection, that would be one serious mask of makeup! So yes, you still need to apply sun block even if your makeup contains SPF.
As for a good primer for oily face, please try the MAC Mineralize Charged Water Moisture Gel, which I recommended in my last column. (Visit www.philstar.com to view our latest and previous Style SOS columns — perfect for readers like you who are based abroad.) It’s one of the lightest moisturizers I’ve tried. It preps the skin even better than most primers. I have combination skin and this has kept my T-zone shine-free while giving me an ultra-smooth base for makeup. This alone, combined with just face powder, never fails to give me a flawless finish.
Rissa
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How to achieve the Sophia Loren eyes
Fine line: Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner has a tip so fine it gives the most precise line. Use it to get a gentler version of the Sophia Loren winged effect. Dear Lucy,
What is an easy liquid liner to use?
Monette
I never lined my eyes with liquid liner before because I could never get it right. But just last week, someone gave me a Maybelline Hyper Sharp Liner and I became an instant fan! I use it every day in the corner of my eyes to give them the Sophia Loren winged effect, a gentler version of it.
Lucy
Send e-mail to Lucy Torres-Gomez at ltg@pldtdsl.com. E-mail Rissa Trillo at stylesos_rissa@yahoo.com. or follow her on Twitter @RissaMananquil. E-mail Regina Belmonte at vivatregina.tumblr@gmail.com.
