Health and Fitness

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive when delivering make-up lessons is; How do I take my daytime make-up look to an evening look. I always respond that it isn’t necessary to remove all your make-up and start again – great if you are going out straight from work! Instead, you simply need a few key tips that will add glamour to your usual look.

If you feel your make-up has lapsed over the day, lightly cleanse your face but don’t remove your eye make-up.

Re-apply your skin adjuster to even out the skin tone. Follow this with an application using a light sponge, of your foundation. Using a sponge ensures an even coverage. If required, apply concealer over the foundation to lighten an area. Concealer is not a good product to disguise blemishes as it is generally lighter than our skin tone, so use the skin adjuster first for that purpose.

Even if you don’t usually use powder, apply loose powder which will keep your make-up in place all evening and give you a glamorous finish. Use a cotton pad to apply the powder, pressing it into the foundation then remove any excess with a large powder brush.

Re-apply your eye liner. You can use a darker shade than your daytime look if you wish but do make sure you are still within your colour palette.

The evenings are the times when you can be heavier and brighter and more sparkly with your make-up colours. So, why not try a brighter accent colour to provide interest and focus to your eyes. Then use a gold or silver (depending on whether you have warm or cool undertones) in the centre of the eye which will give a real look of glamour.

Re-apply your mascara and make sure you focus the colour on the outer lashes to lift the eye as much as possible. You can apply your mascara heavier for an evening look than your usual daytime look. To add oomph, take the mascara brush to the root of the lashes and zigzag it through to the ends of the lashes. But if black mascara is not in your colour palette, don’t be tempted to use it – simply apply your brown or navy’s in a couple of coats to give a glamorous look.

The correct shade of blusher should blend effortlessly into the skin. If you have warm undertones to your skin ensure your blushers are warm shades and if you have cool undertones, that your blush powders are cool shades. Apply your blush powder to the top of the cheekbones. If you wish, you can use a darker shade just below to give additional contour.

Apply lipbase to the lips before any other lip products. This will give your lip products increased staying power as well as keeping the lips moisturised.

Define the shape of your lips with a lip pencil. You can opt for a brighter or darker shade than usual for a bold statement. Use the lip pencil all over the lips.

Your lipstick will make or break your look, so choose wisely. For an evening, you can choose a shade which is brighter or darker than your usual shade. It is essential that you use a lip brush to apply your lipstick to ensure accurate and richer application. To add additional glamour for an evening look, add lip gloss to the centre of the lips. Do not apply all the way to the edge of the lips. Finally, a slight touch of highlighter to the cheekbones, cupid’s bow and brow bone will add subtle sparkle which will be picked up by the light.

The key is to accentuate one feature only; so not heavy eyes and heavy lip colour – one or the other will be far more striking. If you are unsure of great make-up colours for you or feel you lack application technique, why not book to see your local Image Consultant for a Make-Up Lesson.

Sarah Gray is a Senior Image Consultant with Colour Me Beautiful Image Consultants. Located in Warwickshire, Sarah offers advice on all aspects of personal image such as colour analysis, style consultations and Make-Up Lessons. She also offers wardrobe weeding, personal shopping and corporate presentations.