Make Up: The Essentials (Part I)

As a girl gets older, she discovers that one of her best friends will become make up! I'm not saying that it's vital to wear make up because sometimes the natural is the most beautiful. I'm just hear to help out with the basics of make up and what each make up product does and how or where to apply it. In order to do this we're going to work from the base of the skin to the details of lips and eyes. Let's just call this a simple guide to make up!

Part I : Skin

Before even thinking of wearing foundation of any kind, discover what kind of skin type you have. The main types are normal, dry, oily or a combination of dry and oily (or sensitive skin). This is important because there are different types of foundation that work better for different skin types. After discovering your skin type, make sure you have the necessary skin care products to protect and keep your skin healthy. Now we can move onto foundation.

The key part of foundation is selecting the right shade - the almost exact shade as your skin tone. As InStyle's Getting Gorgeous states, "Always test before you buy" and "don't settle". So, as you shop for foundation select a few colors and try them, take a good look and even get some feedback from friends. Don't buy bottles and bottles of the same color though, you change and so does your skin. It's never going to the be the same color for a long time so be prepared to shop for new foundation. In my experience, since foundation is the layer right above your skin, usually getting expensive foundations from stores like Clinique or Yves Saint Laurent are worth it.

**Primers: What are they? What do they do?**
They are lightweight, transparent gels and lotions which glide onto skin and help manage to hydrate your skin, and make pores appear tighter. Thus creating a smooth, uniform surface which helps to apply the rest of your make up. Only a few people really need this 'high-performance' make up. It's not really necessary but it helps!

Okay, the different types of foundation!

• Tinted Moisturizers
• Liquid Foundations
• Stick Foundations
• Cream/Mousse Foundations
• Cream - to - Powder Foundations
• Powder Compact Foundations 

As a young woman, I would aim for the tinted moisturizer; our skin is still fresh and doesn't really require a lot of foundation. Too much foundation causes pores to clog and even pimples! However, light amounts of liquid, cream/mousse, or powder is a good alternative. Alpha's favorites are: 

        Clinique Derma White

  Moisturizer/Liquid Foundation

Yves Saint Laurent 

Powder Foundation

Make-Up Forever HD

Liquid Foundation

Concealers come in three main forms : light creams in tubes, slightly drier sticks and opaque, potted versions. Each tackles a specific problem; undereye circles, blemishes, discoloration, redness. (We'll go into how to properly apple concealer later). 

There are four major types of powders: bronzing powder, pressed powder, loose powder, and iridescent powder. Each powder has a specific duty yet all help to keep foundation and concealer in place. This helps to create a smooth canvas for blush and eye shadow. It's also the classic instant touch up! 

Blush! That stuff that makes you red. Well hopefully not too red! Just like when selecting foundation, try out different blushes. According to InStyle, determining whether you are warm or cold skin helps to select a blush. Their test! "Check the veins on your inner wrists. If they appear greenish, you have warm skin. If they look blue, you have cool skin. Consider how you skin reacts to sun. Warm skin tends to tan; cool skin tends to burn. Slip on a silver bracelet, then a gold one. Silver looks better on cool skin; gold complements warm skin."

 There are actually four different types of blush (Powder, Cream, Liquid and Gel).  However, powder blush is the most common and usually the easiest to apply for young women. Alpha's favorite blush has to Givenchy. The cute case as well as the different shades, designs, shimmers Givenchy offers clearly receives the Alpha seal!

You may have heard of the five different face shapes. Knowing your face shape is beneficially as it will help you to apply your foundation, powders, and blush in the right places to really make your face shine and look gorgeous! So go on! Take a look in the mirror. Which shape do you have? 

That's all for the basics in skin! Read Part II for the essentials in eyes! 

Love,

ALPHA