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Is makeup stuck in a time warp?

Written By: Brigitte on January 10, 2010 Comments Off on Is makeup stuck in a time warp?

I am fascinated by the fact that there is so much outdated information about makeup and application techniques being touted in the media. I read “experts” tips in books, magazines and online that are 10-30 years past their due date. I see makeovers on television that are so old hat that the candidates look better before than after.

Do you recognize quotes such as: “the face is an empty canvas…” “start your eye makeup by applying a white base from your lash line to your eyebrows..” ?

How about the concept of “midtone, deeptone and highlight” as the holy trinity of eye shadow application? As if no other techniques had evolved since the 60’s!

Since then, our taste in music, media and fashion has evolved. We certainly look different today than we did then. Thanks to the internet, what we see and what we know is different than 10 years ago . What could make anyone think that we should apply our makeup in the same style or the same way as in the 80’s? Isn’t it obvious there are new ways to do makeup in the 21st century? In the world of beauty, products have changed so much it has opened a whole new world of possibilities.

As a fashion makeup artist I have to reinvent my approach with a couple of fresh ideas every season to complement the current fashion trends. And in fashion, if you don’t move forward you get stuck and dated. Truth be told not all looks remain from season to season, but some can transcend the short-lived hot trend gimmicks and become the new big thing that feels excitingly modern. Let me give you a few examples of trends that were very avant-garde at one point but are now here to stay: shimmer powders/luminizers, the berry lip stain, the tan face, the smudgy smokey eye……..

Therefore, I invite everyone from regular makeup users to professionals, to get out of their comfort zone and drop their habitual way of applying their makeup and experiment with another technique altogether.

Like the foundation nice and thick? Work on making it translucent and subtle.

Always used three tones for the eyes? Try a combo of smudged pencil liner and a single eye shadow.

Love a dark lip liner contouring a lighter lipstick? Get a different lip color and drop the lip liner, or pick one that matches the lipstick.

Hopefully you’ll get excited, something akin to the feeling when you get a pair of sizzling new shoes, the latest must-have handbag or a fabulous belt right out of a magazine: you feel modern and new.

You’ve finally dropped your 80’s mullet, right? You’re ready to venture into a whole new world of today’s makeup fun. That’s the idea, makeup as fashion for the face!

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