A beautifully made-up face should enhance the features you like and conceal the bits you want to minimize, so you’ll love these timeless beauty tips. I was delighted to interview Australian make-up maestro, Ant Adams from anthonyadamsmakeup.com, who was a mine of dazzling information about cleansing, priming and ‘making up’ on a blank canvas – YOURS.
Ant Adams has been an international make-up artist for over 20 years working with clients from Barbara Eden and Kimbra to Christine Anu and Deni Hines. He’s worked in film, television, and print creating glamorously understated beauty for many women, so he has a few timeless beauty tips of his own. Ant made an interesting point about the difference between male and female make-up artists. He has observed that men, who generally don’t apply makeup to themselves, seem to approach a female face as blank canvas. He says it’s because women are used to doing things a certain way, because they do it on themselves. Interesting theory. That’s not to say he doesn’t admire female makeup artists – Rae Morris came to mind – it was an interesting point.
Image courtesy of huffingtonpost.co.uk
So we talked about make-up brushes, and which is used for what. Fascinating! Did you know that the brown bristled brushes are usually real hair and the white or cream ones are usually synthetic? So what else can Ant Adams teach you? What are his timeless beauty tips? Well, there’s LOTS but I’ve paraphrased a few key ones.
The biggest mistake many women make is selecting the wrong foundation.
The wrong formula can be aging so Ant suggests NOT testing foundation on the back of your hand. test it along your chin-line as this will be the closest colour match to your natural skin tone. If you are tanned, DON’T match foundation to the dame depth as your tan. Choose a lighter, and therefore brighter, formulation especially if you will be photographed.
Every woman needs three basic products in her makeup bag.
Concealer – perfect your skin-tone and hide blemishes. Choose one that is dewy not powdery, or it will age you.
Mascara – define your eyes with a mascara you love. Usually it’s the BRUSH not the formulation that seems to work best so play around with mascara wands and find one that suits you. DON’T wear waterproof mascara everyday as it will weaken your eyelashes.
Lip Color – gloss, matte, coloured or clear – it’s the finishing touch that makes you look polished. Take into consideration your skin tone and colour preferences to choose the colours that suit you best. Wear lighter shades with a touch of pink or coral as you age. DON’T wear very dark brown, purple, dark red or orange lip colours if you are over 40. They WILL age you. Find more flattering alternatives, don’t follow trends.
Image courtesy of ellebeauty.net
These are the ageless three.
Concealer, mascara and lip colour, in the right shades, will bring instant radiance and a youthful glow to your skin. To have longer lasting lipstick, choose a long-lasting formula, apply a lip liner thinly to the outer rim of your lips and lightly feather in to add colour. Blot, then apply lipstick. And keep out of the sun, of course.
Image courtesy of harpersbazaar.com
Getting a holiday glow… even when you’re not on holiday.
Combine a little bronzer and blush to your cheeks. Always apply to the ‘highpoints’ of your face, where the sun would kiss it – temples, chin, bridge of the nose and apple of your cheeks. DON’T overdo the bronzer and don’t match your face to your body skin when tanned, especially if you will be photographed.
Image courtesy of emporiummelbourne.com.au
Practice the cat eye flick
It does some practice to perfect a cat eye line flick, but it can be done. Use some tape or the edge of a teaspoon to define the line and practice, practice, practice. This stunning eye flick – think Adele – can be dramatic or more subtle paired with jeans right up to a ball gown.
Smokey eyes aren’t just black
if you thought a smokey eye could only be achieved using grey, black or brown, think again. Adapt your fave colour palette and add depth to achieve the perfect smokey eye for you.
Image courtesy of vogue.com.au
Be confident, be fashion forward, be adventurous and be independent. That’s the sexiest look of all. Ya gotta take a selfie 😉
Image courtesy of smh.com.au
For more great makeup, skincare timeless beauty tips see absolute best mineral makeup, brow beauty and how to fix mistakes, and sneak peek behind the scenes at Cannes
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