Face of the future
Fashion
By Suneeta Bahl

HASN’T it ever occurred to you that a particular dress that looks good on probably everybody else may not be right for you? Or that a dress, you wear in the evening or night, might suddenly look grotesque during daytime?

As any designer will tell you, style is important. But what is infinitely more important is the colour. The colour you wear must reflect well with your skin tone and furthermore, with your make-up. In either case, the time of the day and lighting conditions also play a major role.

Today, make-up artistes would advise that there is a distinct difference between make-up for the day and one for the night. Natural sunlight could be quite unkind to skin flaws, regardless of whether you are pink or yellow, and within these types, are fair, wheat or dark complexioned.

If you want to confirm which group you belong to, hold the colour close to your face in natural light and watch the way it reflects on your skin. Depending on whether it perks up your complexion or makes it look sallow and sick, you could draw your conclusion.

In broad daylight, make-up should be the barest minimum. Start with massaging equal quantities of oil-free moisturiser and oil-free foundation till they blend perfectly with the skin. Then gently dab a puff, with translucent powder all over the face to set the foundation.

For women who use a sun screen, there is no need for the moisturiser or foundation. The translucent powder, in that case, can have a hint of colour. Also, use a natural lip colour to outline the lips and then fill them up with a lip balm or vaseline.

For eyelids, use a pearly highlighter, which should also be massaged in. The eyebrows should be combed and then brushed with grey or black eye-shadow. For he lower lids, a little black eye shadow on the tip of the little finger can be smudged at the outer corners.

Stronger make-up colours tend to look good in artificial light. Foundation should now be applied directly with the finger tips and if there are blemishes, a concealer will help. The face powder should have a gentle hint of shimmer and should be applied all over the face to set the foundation.

The best way to apply blusher is on the cheekbones so as to achieve a youthful look, which is currently very popular. Blend the blusher well into the skin to prevent a patchy look. The preferred colours of lipstick are plum, maroon and honey. Glossy lips are back in fashion.

Accord-ing to make-up experts, the look of the future is one with a slightly imperfect face. Even the eye shadow, which has a cream base, should have a bit of glitter. The popular shades are golden, beige and bronze.

These days, it is common to mix gold and silver for the eye-shadow since women do so even with jewellery. The gold eye shadow can also be dabbed on the cheeks and over the lips for that subtle sparkle. Many may, however, prefer a direct application of tinted lip gloss.

Ultimately, colours are meant to highlight your complexion. Even with clothes, when worn in right proportions, the illusion can be very flattering. Just as a dark complexioned person should avoid very dark colours, grey and earthy shades do not go with a wheatish skin tone.

A fair skin can take practically any colour in its group so long as the person is not on the heavier side. All dark shades give a slimming appearance. The best bets are black, brown, grey, navy, rust, wine, maroon and purple.

If it’s prominent hips you want to conceal, go for these dark shades. Pastels and white add inches to your figure. Therefore it is safer to go for the medium and dark shades if you really need to look trim and slim.

It would save you hours of slogging at the gym! — MF