Makeup Tips for Dark Skin

Hi Sweeties ,

Welcome to the end of September. So excited because  it's a special day for me. I hope you enjoyed all the holiday's fun, sure I did. It’s is a rainy day here…best way to get through it, is to grab a cup of tea, sit back, relax and read my blog  . Okay, today, I’m sharing makeup tips for dark skin women. I hope you enjoy reading  .

Dark skinned women usually have plump lips, nicely toned skin and piercing eyes so there’s a million ways to go to flaunt it all. Besides, makeup is playing, it’s self-expression, it’s fun – use intense colors, make bold choices, make it your own in every way!

Foundation

Because, for dark skinned women, getting an even skin tone is an absolute imperative, buying an adequate foundation may be the most important thing. Find the one that looks natural, even if it means mixing a few different foundations. Makeup artists recommend using a shade ever so slightly lighter than your own skin tone.
Try your best to apply it evenly. You may want to use a brush or a cosmetic sponge, for extra control, although many girls find it easiest to use their fingers to get it everywhere evenly and blend it out nicely. As the name itself says it’s simply – foundation – it should be very light and not feel like you have a ton of it on your face.

Celeb Buzz on Foundation:  New mom Beyoncé has NARS Sheer Mate Foundation in color New Orleans to thank for her flawless complexion. Might be a bit pricey but its fab!

Powder

Dark skinned girls usually have a problem with oily skin. Yes, it’s a huge bummer, but – there are a lot of products that can solve, or, at least, lessen this problem! When in need of a quick fix, try using some good old powder. It will give your skin an instant, fresh look. Be sure to pick a translucent powder without any yellowish, or any other similar remnants. Take time to choose, in some cases a quality powder can even replace foundation.

Celeb Buzz on Powder: You know what brand of powder Nicki Minaj likes the most? Well, it’s M.A.C. Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC40! And also, Nicki’s no stranger to oily skin problems, but you wouldn’t be able to tell would you?

Blush

It might seem exaggerated but dark skinned women can really benefit from using blush. Since in fair skinned women blush is so frequent, it usually seems kind of casual. When a dark skinned woman uses blush it automatically reads as elegant and stylish. Colors that work best are darker shades of red and orange.

The way you apply your blush determents what’s accentuated on your face. Example: if you have high cheek bones put blush right on top of them, if you have fluffy cheeks and a rounder face shape suck in your cheeks and apply blush right in between your cheek line and your jaw line.

Celeb Buzz on Blush: Hot Latina J Lo likes using M.A.C. Powder Blush in Tenderling. To make it look like this girl does smile to find the apples of your cheeks and apply your blush to them, then, blend it softly up to the hairline for a natural flush.

Although contrasting colors can be fun, using an extra light color of lipstick on your lips is a total no – no for dark skinned women. You will not look chic, more likely, you will look sick. Try to minimize the contrast by choosing colors like deep purple, wine, brown and, of course, the classic – red. No matter the color, transparent lip gloss will intensify the look and add sensibility to your lips.

Celeb Buzz on Lipstick: Until just recently Rihanna stirred up the scene with her fiery red hair and often – a nice red lipstick shade to match. Rihanna has an olive skin tone so she can pull it off like no one can! If you want to knowwhat her favorite brand is, its – yeah you guessed it – CoverGirl!

Eyes

Flaunt your eyes! If, in other cases, contrast was seen as slightly risky, but this is where it starts to get interesting. Your dark skin is actually a playground for different eye shadows. While on fair skin bold mixes can seem like too much, you have the luxury to experiment with deep colors.

You can easily pull off the bronze look with some shimmering eye shadow and colors like pumpkin, gold, or pink that will look great against your complexion. Make sure to use shiny eyeliner, maybe silver, which will look great and accentuate your lovely eyes. Also, black eye shadow and the smoky eyes look will look absolutely enticing on dark skin and eyes!

Celeb Buzz on Eye Shadow: Speaking off smoky eyes, Armenian beauty Kim K sure knows how to rock this look doesn’t she? There are lots of YouTube tutorials showing you how you can pull it off too, don’t be afraid to experiment!

How to Make Foundation Stay Longer

Note: foundation & concealer are makeup must-have to mask flaws, even out skin tone, & fake a good night's sleep, it's a huge disappointment when they seem to slide right off your face halfway through the day!

Therefore, in order to prevent any disappointment, Preparing skin/face for makeup application should come first, as the true foundation of any great makeup look is good skin care. How you take care of your skin & prep it for makeup has a big impact on how your makeup applies, looks,& wears. Here are face care basics to keep in mind:

• Use a gentle cleanser appropriate for your skin type to remove excess oil & impurities that can interfere with the performance of foundation & concealer.

• Exfoliate to make skin smoother. Whether you choose an AHA or BHA exfoliant or use a scrub, getting rid of dead cells & flakiness can do wonders for making foundation apply & look better.

• Moisturize. All skin needs a mix of d skin-repairing, cell-communicating, & antioxidant ingredients that are found in the best moisturizers. It's simply a matter of finding the right moisturizer for your skin type.

• Dry skin does best with creams; combination skin may need a cream and lotion; oily skin does best with a liquid or gel moisturizer; and those with normal skin can choose based on personal preference.

• Foundation primer. Possibly, but most often this is an optional step, & likely unnecessary if ur other skin care products are doing d job already. The idea behind primer is to create a surface that makes it easier for foundation & concealer to glide across & adhere to, so application is easier. A good moisturizer or serum can do the same function.

Most importantly,& we can't stress this enough, if your foundation doesn't contain sunscreen with SPF 25/greater (& greater is better), then you need to apply a daytime moisturizer with sunscreen after primer. It also doesn't hurt to apply a sunscreen, a moisturizer with sunscreen, a foundation with sunscreen, and a pressed powder with sunscreen! Now that's great daytime protection, especially in sunny climates.


       APPLICATION TECHNIQUES AND SETTING MAKEUP

How you put on your makeup is just as important as what makeup you use. Proper techniques will ensure your foundation & concealer perform at their absolute best.

The first & most important things you need to know are that less is more & you need to blend, blend, & blend again. Start applying foundation in the center of the face, then blend it out toward the edges with beauty blender, being careful to avoid ur hair, but getting it close enough to not leave a visible edge there. Also watch out for your jawline,too! Start application from the middle of d face & work your way out,  to avoid these problems, creating a more natural and flawless look.

Beauty blenders/Sponges ensure smoother application, & can be used to dab away excess foundation. The idea is to get even coverage that appears as natural as possible, which means trying to get your makeup to match with your skin.

When it comes to concealer, application is fairly straightforward. With your fingers, or a brush, gently dot concealer on d areas u want to cover. Pat the concealer in place, making sure not to drag it over skin.

As with foundation, start out with a light amount, then build to get the coverage you want. Pat the concealer in one direction, repeating this step until it sets. Don't use a back-and-forth or rubbing motion, as this basically just wipes concealer away as soon as you apply it, leaving you with spotty to no coverage.

Afterwards then powder application. It's just a simple truth that both foundation & concealer last much longer if you set them with some sort of powder & we promise there are powders out there that won't make your skin look dry or overly made-up.

Some people choose translucent powders, while others prefer highlighting powders, and some prefer loose powder, while others like pressed powder. No matter the type, your makeup will last longer with powder over it. We don't mean a thick layer of powder (which can emphasize fine lines and dry spots on the face); just a soft dusting brushed on areas where foundation and concealer have been applied, and you can brush on a bit more over shine-prone areas.

Extra effort to keep makeup on for the day.

OK, so you have chosen the right foundation & concealer for your skin type, applied them the correct way, & set them with powder. Are there any extra steps to make sure your hard work lasts the day?

Yes!!!

Most important, even though it sounds incredibly basic, is to mak sure u don't touch your face. People actually touch their faces hundreds of times during the day, & each touch takes off some makeup.

Guilty?

Given how often we touch our faces, it's no wonder makeup doesn't stay put! Try your best to be conscious of where your hands go, and avoid rubbing your eyes, scratching your chin, brushing your cheek, or doing anything else that could disturb your makeup, such as resting the phone against your chin.

I hope this post as been helpful to someone today!!!