makeup : because we are all worth it

A few years back as I turned 30, I came across many blog posts with titles like "10 things 30 year olds should not do, or should do, or should have done already." 

while I don't believe that age is something that should define what we can or cannot do, I think having a basic understanding of makeup and how to use it to your own advantage, to enhance your own self is something every girl/woman/lady should know.

And so a group of us got the know-how from Mansi @hairsprayandartist , who works out from her makeup and hair studio in Dona Paul, and has wielded her magic over many a bride and model with her makeup brushes.

the participants ranged from teenager and college student Veeral, who even at 19 has a huge social media following, to 30 plus, working mother like me.
Mansi began by explaining the essentials in our makeup kits; brushes, colour pallettes, foundations, primers, lipcolour, kajal, and so forth.

She prefers to start with eye makeup even before prepping the rest of the face, as she feels this helps wiping of the grime that falls in the inder eye region and can help prevent those ghastly panda eyes at the end of the day.

She demonstrated a day look, which was to subtly enhance the nice features and cover up the not so good bits. featherlight touch and constant blending meant, that even though it took 40 minutes to achieve this "no make" look, it truly looked as if her model had very little touchup.

The above picture is after the first look. and I realised that Makeup is not about hiding your blemishes , so much as enhancing your true beuty. once Mansi had covered all the scars/pimples and zits, once she had worked on the uneven skin tone, the scanty eyebrows,and under eye shadow, I was taken up by the naturally beautiful colour of her eyes, the sharpness of her nose, and the brilliance of her smile. have a look at the gorgeous eye colour, which was till now not getting it's fair due.

Makeup is not 'lying', makeup is not about 'hiding behind a mask', it is about letting people see the real beauty that is you. Helps them look beyond your flaws.

The next look was the daring smokey eyes. which was further amped by the use of false eye lashes.
Now none of us 5 participants had ever used false eyelashes. and yes it is every bit as difficult as it looks, especially if you are trying it on yourself. but a real nifty gadget was the eyelash curler which I havent used before. and that really works too.

so 5 nifty tips I learnt at Mansi's makeup workshop.

1. use the magic of colour : the colour wheel of complimentary colours suggests the use of complementary colours on top of each other dims the effect of the colours. what does that mean? if you have a red pimple, use green corrector to hide it, if you have purple coloured veins under your eyes, use orange or yellow corrector to hide them. 

2.Use translucent powder to set your makeup. after prepping with foundation, moisturiser and primer. use loose translucet powder for long lasting effect.

3. Use a lip liner for the entire lip for even tone, especially if you have uneven lip colour, or dark outline of lips. Mansi suggested a colour by lakme; 

4. use an eye lash curler , it doesnt hurt. use mascara on both on top of eyelashes and below for greater impact.

5. while contouring, less is more, try and blend and move brush upwards and outwards for sculpted cheekbones. 

After Mansi's class, we were invited to try out all the lessons we learnt, and it was a hilarious session of smoking the eyelids, and glueing on fake eyelashes. I attempted the strongest most out there look that she had shown. because lets face it, on an average day, i leave home with just a kajal and lipstick, but it is the evening parties when one needs something more dramatic, and something I wasn;t comfortable trying.

this is my before and after, half face makeup picture. as you can see, that makeup enhanced my nicer features such as my eyes, helped reduce my undereye circles, contouring helped bring forth my cheekbones, and blush added a healthy glow.. My skin tone, didnt need much working on, and Mansi suggested I let my freckles and sunspots stay as they are.

Having a basic understanding of what works and what doesnt, for you yourself, goes a long way, whether it is makeup, or anything else in life. dont let anyone tell you that you are too old to learn a few new tricks.