Make up

[LaceyDee]

How have you girls learned to apply your make up with out looking trashy? I am sure that most of us just want to blend in when we are out en fem, not look like a street walker on a day off. It just seems to be a difficult task for me to accomplish...finding the looks good, but not over the top point.

[EricaCD]

Practice

Take lots of photos

(This is important) Review photos critically. Take off the rose colored glasses and examine clearly how you actually look - not how different you looked or how sexy you felt at the time.

Repeat.

[tekla west]

“Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.” -- Martha Graham

Seek out read and follow all the advice you can get. There is a ton on the net. More in all them glamour magazines. A good basic make-up book might help too.

Get help. Most GGs did not learn about makeup alone and by themselves. They helped each other, or had older girls, big sisters, people who KNEW help them.

LESS IS MORE - I'm sure about this one.

pay attention to what others (in real life, not in glamour mags) are doing and copy, copy, copy.

“People who write about spring training not being necessary have never tried to throw a baseball.” --- Sandy Koufax

[Nikki Dee]

Practice...Yes.!!...and lots of it.!!..golden rule of make-up...less is more.!!..try observing GG's in your local Mall..or work colleagues perhaps, to get some ideas.
Nikki

[Brianna Lovely]

Besides practice and taking photos (outside in sun light), also check out the beauty tips on makeup sites, like Almay or Covergirl. Look for something like a demo or step by step for a "daytime look" or a "natural look".
Many makeup companys have a coordinated makeup line with concealer, foundation, face powder, blush, lip stick and lip liner.
Hope this helps.

[SherriePall]

Yes, practice, practice, practice. Observe. Read. Ask GG's or if you have enough nerve (or just plain oblivious like me), check out a cosmetics counter or store and ask questions and get some lessons.
Then practice, practice, practice.

[veronica7]

any tips on beards?

[Karren H]

Don't know if anyone noticed but I do mention practice a lot. I practiced my makeup almost every day for two years, in the morning, then washed it off and went to work! Get a good book, watch Carmandy on What Not to Wear (I just love her!!), and go to the mall and do some homework. If you see something you like, run home and try it out!! And BTW if you don't make mistakes, your not doing anything. Hehehe. I've got gigabytes of ugly photos to prove my point.


Love Karren

[MarinaTwelve200]

One trick I discovered that helped me a LOT is to take photos and THEN dial down the color saturation or intensity on a photo processing program. ---You will see what happens if you use more muted colors with your makeup---as opposed to the brighter, more garish shades we tend to gravitate towards.

This seems to make me more braver to go with the lighter tones and achieve a more realistic effect when I see the interesting results using this trick. (Dont mind my avitar)

[Marlena Dahlstrom]

Read (as Brianna said, there's lots of websites with info -- Paula's Choice (http://www.paulaschoice.com/learn/article.asp?PAGETYPE=MAKEUP) has some good pointers and there are others (http://www.tgcosmetics.com/tips/tips.htm) specifically for CDs -- practice, and take photos to see what you've done.

As a general rule, less is more. Normally, you want people to say you look great, not that you've got great make-up. Granted CDs usually have to wear heavier foundation, but otherwise you can generally take the same approach that a GW would. Also remember, there's a difference between "day" make-up and "evening" make-up, which is more dramatic because of poorly lighting conditions at night.

Blend, blend, blend. Whether it's foundation, blush, eye shadow, etc., you normally want colors to blend seamlessly into each other. Otherwise you end up with the "racing stripe" look.

If you're up for it, a makeover and/or make-up lesson is well worth the time and money. Be sure to take lots of pictures so you've got a reference guide for the future.

[LaceyDee]

Thanks for all your comments. The web page: Paula's Choice, is very useful. Thanks much!!