Ladies...Ladies: What's Up With Your Makeup?

Does Your MakeUp Make You Look Like You Work For A Circus???!!!

Can we openly and honestly chat for a minute about makeup do's and dont's? I'm a girly girl who loves the color pink (and green), going to the salon, doing some shopping, buying cute shoes, and buying makeup. But, girl, believe me, I've seen some mistakes, which have lead some women to look like sideshow or circus clowns. Or perhaps, they could have applied to teach at the highly esteemed Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in Sarasota, Florida.

I know that makeup application can be tricky. What works for one lady may not work for another. There are different skin complexions and facial features such as lips and high cheek bones to consider. I had to pass down my tips to friends and family who don't wear much makeup. I've been having fun shopping for makeup at department stores and drugs stores since college. I've spent time experimenting with what works and what doesn't. But I will say is that I don't think everyone has to wear it, because it is a woman's personal decision to wear cosmetics or not. Family and friends have approached me about helping them, because they were either trying to prepare to take some nice pictures at a photography studio or were preparing for a ball, a prom, or a wedding day. They had no inkling on what to do. They didn't know the makeup brands, what shade to wear,or the differences in foundation. Just nothing. So, I put together the following tips. Please feel free to add some yourself:

Makeup Tips:

1) My #1 tip is that everyone really doesn't need makeup. Makeup is used to accentuate one's features. But no one should be made to feel like she has to wear it, especially if she doesn't want to. But if she does, I hope that she will use it responsibly and sparingly. Folks with beautiful complexions, please don't mess up your skin with a palette of circus clown colors. Some folks can get away with just wearing a little powder to cut down the shine and maybe a little bit of lip stick or lip gloss.

2) Please don't let department store makeup clerks or Mary Kay ladies con you into buying the whole makeup and cosmetics line. That stuff can get really expensive buying those whole packages, which may consist of: foundation, pressed powder, compact powder, blush, mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, lipstick, lip gloss, eye cream, facial cleanser, facial moisturizer, facial mask, etc., and on and on till the break of dawn. Some of that stuff such as the mascara, eyeliner, cleansers and moisturizers can be purchased at a discount store for far less.

3) Experiment way before you have a social engagement to determine what works for you and what doesn't. Also determine which stores or venues (Mary Kay, Avon, etc.) are the best for you to purchase items according to availability. For example, some stores like W.almart and T.arget have some of the best prices, but once the inventory gets low, sometimes they don't reorder for a while. Department stores are better at staying stocked up, but be sure you want to pay those prices. Side Note: I love MAC's lipstick.

4) Don't try to look like somebody else. Folks are forever trying to look like Halle Berry or Janet Jackson or Beyonce'. But folks are unique. We can never really look like anybody else. So, why don't we just focus on accentuating our own features?

5) Don't be afraid to consult a cosmetics professional for more complicated things (waxing eyebrows and mustaches...arching eyebrows...dyeing eyebrows, etc.). Have you seen some ladies who purposely shave or tweeze their eyebrows and then try to draw it back? Or have you seen other ladies' eyebrows that look like McDonald's golden arches or Joan Crawford's eyebrows? I know my limits. I can do some things on my own, but I leave my eyebrows alone. Fortunately, my eyebrows don't need much work, but if I needed help, I would have someone else shape them for me. But if you can do it well, go on with your bad self.

6) Blend, blend, blend. I love Patti Labelle's music. She one of my most favorite stars. And I think she's a really nice and gracious person. I had the chance to meet her some years ago at a book signing. She was nothing but humble and stayed late to make sure she signed everybody's books. But one time, one of her makeup artists needed to be ashamed of himself. He needed to be play slapped and punched. At another event, the makeup artist had Patti looking like a french clown, because he made her face look 10 times lighter than the rest of her body. She was wearing an off the shoulder dress, so it looked sort of strange to see her face one color, and her neck and hands another color. I just hope that she'll stick to another makeup artist the next time.

7) Try to take excellent care of your skin. Don't sleep in your makeup; be sure to wash it off thoroughly everyday. Wash your face with a cleanser appropriate for your skin type (sensitive, dry, oily, or normal). And follow-up with an astringent that's not harsh to the skin to wipe away the makeup that the soap didn't get. Then follow-up with a great moisturizer. And be sure to take a rest from the makeup sometimes. I have fun wearing makeup to work, but I don't wear it at home or on the weekends. The pores got to breathe.

8) For sanitary reasons, never ever apply makeup directly to your skin at the cosmetics counter at the store where everybody else has touched and used it. Can you imagine trying on lipstick that everybody else has used on their lips? Many department stores have samples or simply hold up the color beside your skin without putting it on your skin.

9) Find out the proper techniques. I've seen a couple of ladies look burgundy, because they applied blush all over their faces as if it was foundation.

10) Makeup doesn't have to be so dramatic. A little can go a long way. Actresses on broadway need dramatic makeup so that people seated far away in the theater can see them. And clowns wear dramatic makeup to look silly.

11) I will say this again. Determine what works for you. Learn to love yourself so that no matter whether you choose to wear makeup or not, you're satisfied with just being you.