Frame of your face – Eyebrows

I am very particular about my eyebrows. I trim my brows almost every night, I ensure that I tweezed away the strays and I draw my brows to fill in the gaps.

For one simple reason – eyebrows frame my eyes. It also enhances my overall appearance.

It is important to get professional help to trim your brows when you loose the shape of your brow. I would usually visit my makeup artist once every 2 months to get the right arch back in place.

CLEO (Singapore) April 2008 issue stated that, “If all you see when you look at a person are her brows, they are obviously in need of some grooming. You should balance the thickness of your brows with your face shape. If you have a broad or round face shape, avoid anything took thick or full. You should also try to achieve a fair amount of width so that there’s enough room for your eyeshadow.”

Check: are you eyebrows a little too bushy now? There are many professional help at cosmetic counters like M.A.C, Shu Uemura or Lancome. So, no excuses for unkept brows.

Makeup is an art – learn the right strokes

Makeup is very much an art to me. It needs inspirations, skills and talents. I am lacking a bit of everything. 

To make things a little more confusing, makeup talks about different strokes for the different type of products like cream-based, powder-based etc.

Here are some great guidelines from SimplyHer magazine – now you can also stroke like how the pro does it!

(Source: MAC) 

 

Stroke #1: Eyebrows – use soft, feathery strokes and work from the inner brows outwards, drawing in the arch and filling in brows. Use your fingers or eyebrow brush to smoothen the hard edges of the pencil or powder.  Go easy on the inner brows – never apply too much!

Stroke #2: Eyeshadow – using a brush, dad on colour in quick, light strokes, starting from the inner eye corners. To blend the powder across the eye, use long strokes.

Stroke #3: Mascara – for spiral brushes, apply in zig-zag manner (left-to-right motion). For comb-like wands, use an in-to-out brush stroke (start combing from the roots).

Stroke #4: Blusher – for powder blush, use circular strokes on the apples of cheeks, then move towards the ear with short strokes. Aim for a tear-drop shape that tapers off at the ear. For cream blush, dab with fingers in a teardrop shape.

Stroke #5: Concealer – dab onto problem spots, then feather out at the sides with quick, short strokes.

Stroke #6: Foundation – using a sponge, pat outwards towards the hairline. This keeps facial hair flat and helps makeup blend better. Start with the nose area, but don’t run the sponge across your cheeks as this will cause your foundation to streak.

Stroke #7: Lipstick – apply in long strokes, one curve at a time, starting at the centre of the upper lip. Or use a brush for a more precise application and to save on your lipstick.

Stroke #8: Lip liner – draw in the tricky cupid’s bow with short strokes, slowly building up into a line that curves along your natural lip shape.