Balancing Beauty
By Robert Closs

A young girl cashed me out the other day wearing so much eyeliner I thought she was a quarterback. I was going to tackle her, get her in a half nelson, and buff her eyes down, but then she gave me my croissant and I became distracted. I have nothing against aggressive eye lining (Diana Ross’s signature look) it was the rest of her naked territory staring me in the face… an uneven skin tone, dry lips and a couple of lonely cheekbones available for coloring.

I see too much of this - an unfinished face. She looked like some poor soul was in the middle of a makeover and security walked in and broke it up, I’m not suggesting for a minute one has to be over zealous in front of the mirror at five thirty in the morning. But life is a balancing act and so is beauty! If you had three children, you wouldn’t dress just one of them and send the other two on an outing. (That was my childhood). Your babies are your eyes, cheeks and lips. Dress all three and there will be no divorcees.

Big Tip #1
Don’t get lippy when your eyes are doing the talking!

If your eyes are the focus of the makeup look, keep the other two color areas softer. Dark eyes and dark lips are extremely stylized, and few can pull it off. Let one of the three color areas of your face take center stage while the others do backup. Don’t underestimate back ups. Backup dancers made Madonna’s girly tour famous!

Giant Tip #2
Fast Formula for Fabulousness!
Base, Brows, Lashes & Lips

This is a partial but complete look from top to bottom. Partial doesn’t mean compartmentalized.

Your base: Whatever format of foundation you choose, it should be a color and texture to match to your skin. Color matching will allow you to place your foundation ONLY in problem areas – not ear to ear. This will make your skin sing with minimal product. Texture matching will keep your own personal moisture level uniform. If you have an oilier skin type, and chose an opposite texture format to your base (i.e. dry powder foundation) this will look contrived and patchy since it is so polar from your own skin’s moisture level.

Solution: Choose an oil free liquid foundation that will co-exist with your skins natural glow.

Have your brows groomed by a professional: I personally am a huge fan of traditional trimming and tweezing. Once your natural brow has been assessed and brought up to speed (that LA – Hollywood brow) just a bit of simple finessing with color in the morning will frame a minimal makeup look into a natural beauty.

One minute Mascara application! Wipe your mascara wand with a Kleenex. Too much product loaded on the brush will ensure a lumpy, clumpy drive into the office and potentially impair your driving. It takes very little product to build your lashes…trust me. When the tube gets slightly dry, add a couple of drops of 99% alcohol to the tube. It will help re-liquefy it and kill some bacteria.

Lush up your lips! There is an array of stains & glosses out there like never before. No excuses for a naked mouth. If you have no idea what shade you may indulge in, here are some clues to your new beauty adventure – if your hair color is light, then lighter, softer lips shades are more favorable. If you have darker hair, then more vibrant, richer lips are in place for you. The cooler your hair color is…stay with cooler shades on your mouth. And the warmer your hair color, warm up your smile. If you are not sure on the color status of your do, ask your hairdresser what category you fall in.

Good luck beauties, I’ll be watching.

Originally published in B Magazine, October 2007