SKIN CARE

Skin-deep beauty
Everybody is born with a good skin. But over the years, it is abused by dust, pollution, harmful cosmetics, improper care and neglect. *The first step for skin care is cleansing and treating it with toner and moisturiser twice a day. Apply a sunscreen lotion before leaving home since most skin problems arise due to exposure to harmful sunrays. Wearing a foundation on top of a sunscreen provides it a groomed look and also acts as a double covering from pollution. After returning from the day's work, the skin should either be carefully wiped with a wet tissue or washed with the help of a light spray of water, followed by reapplication of moisturiser.
*Acne erupts mostly on oily skins. Using a cleanser meant for oily skin prevents their occurrence. Frequent touching of face should also be avoided.
*One must take care to drink at least six glasses of water a day. A balanced diet rich in fibres, fruits and vegetables helps to keep skin problems away.
Understanding your skin:
Is your skin ivory, pink, olive or brown? Or does it have an in-between shade? Note the texture of your skin and the size of pores. Examine if the skin is normal, dry, oily, a combination of dry and oily, toned or blotchy. Is it ultra sensitive? Are there any blemishes like black heads, white pimples or acne? Select the make-up which best suits your skin type and complexion to achieve the near-perfect look.

Dark and New Contouring
Contouring is a way to dramatise the face with light and dark shading. Any lighted place seems to come forward and looks more prominent. Darker areas will recede into shadow and appear smaller. Contouring can be used to emphasise beautiful bone structure, elegant cheek bones, cleft chin and dimples. Dark and light contouring can also be used to change face shapes and correct structural flaws.

Make-up for contouring
The easiest make-up for contouring is a brown blusher (without undertones) two tones darker than the skin colour. If foundation has to be used, it should be darker than the regular base colour in brown family. For light contouring, use a frosted white powder shadow. Cream highlighters can also be used for dry skins.

Contouring with dark shadows
Feel the cheekbone with fingertips, slowly inching the fingers down the bone until the hollow under the cheekbone can be felt. With the dark blusher, apply dark shadowing in that hollow. Be sure to take the shading all the way out to the ear. Blend the contour with the foundation. No lines should be visible and the effect should be subtle.

For round face: Slim the roundness by applying dark contouring to the outer cheek areas. Blend well with foundation.
For square jaw: Place the square outline of the jaw in shadow and brush dark contour along the jawline at the outside of the face.
For double chin: A plump chin can be made less obvious by dark contouring under the jawline, from one ear to the other. Feel the bone using fingers and brush the shading under it. Lift the chin for better visibility. Blend the shading down into the neck and up to blend with the foundation.
For wide nose: A broad nose can be chiseled by using the slant-tip brush. Apply brown shading in two lines down the sides of the nose. Blend the lines with the base, using the fingertips.
For long nose: The length of a nose can be shortened with a dark contour. With a slant-tip brush, apply shading at the end of the nose, under the tip, over the nostrils.

Highlighting the face:
Brush a spot at the centre of the forehead and a spot at the centre of the chin. Brush some highlighter just above either cheekbone, directly down from the outer corner of the eye. Blend with foundation. A receding chin can be accentuated by brushing highlighter over the entire chin. Start from under the mouth and bring the highlighter all the way out to the jaw. It should cover the whole chin. Blend with base.
Understanding your face:
A proper and complete study of one's facial features is essential before deciding on the make-up. Find out if your face is oval, round, heart-shaped, square, oblong or an inverted triangle. Is your neck long or short, firm or wrinkled? Look at the colour of your eyes. Are they deepset or protruding, close together or far apart? Are the lids heavy or narrow or red rimmed? See if there are dark circles or bags under your eyes. Examine your eyebrows and decide if they are bushy, naturally arched, thin, straight, far apart or meeting over the nose. Look at the size and shape of your nose. See if it is thin, broad or crooked. Are your lips full or thin, are they distinctly outlined or blurry shaped? Consider if you have a pointed chin or a square, receding, strong or heavy jaw. Note the width of your forehead. Even if some of the features are unattractive or 'bad', they may lend a uniqueness and real character to the face. Identify these features which define your individuality.

 
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