Let’s get it clear for once and for all. Men do wear makeup. Maybe you just didn’t know about it. So to list out a few tips and tricks that every makeup wearing man should know, we at The Week caught up with Binita Shah from Glow to Glow, The Beauty Studio in Bhatkeko Pul, Kathmandu. She helped us form a complete makeup guide to get the no-makeup look for men. Read on to find out what she had to say.
Importance of a primer
Be it a woman or a man, applying a layer of primer before applying any kind of makeup is extremely essential. Primer helps your makeup look smoother and last longer. It also creates a barrier between your skin and your makeup. This barrier checks your foundation or BB cream from getting clogged in the pores preventing any kind of breakouts.
Flawless foundation
If you are a person who has been suffering from blemishes, think of it as a thing of the past. According to Shah, foundation can do wonders in covering up those uneven areas of your face. “Dab the foundation onto your skin with your finger tips instead of applying it like a cream,” says Shah adding that this helps in getting full coverage and a flawless effect.
It is also important for men to choose the foundation that matches their skin tone perfectly. According to Shah, women are allowed to take a foundation that is one or two tones lighter because it can be corrected with other products that are applied on top of it. But for men, the foundation has to be the exact shade of their skin tone.
The basics of concealing
This step is important to hide your under eye bags, dark circles and redness. First, look into the mirror and apply a small amount of concealer on your dark circles. Again make sure that your concealer matches your skin tone. Then you can use a sponge or your finger to blend the product into your skin. According to Shah, if you have any kind of redness around your nose or any other part of your skin, you can apply a concealer to cover it as well.
Makeup mania: The art of extreme makeup
Contouring and highlighting
Contouring and highlighting do not always mean creating fake cheekbones or altering your skin completely. According to Shah, this art can also be used to add dimension to your face and make it glow. If you want to look natural yet create an illusion of a thinner nose or highlight the high points of your face to bring some brightness in it, then you need to master the art of contouring and highlighting.
To highlight, make sure you highlight the bridge of the nose, forehead area just above your nose and your cheekbones. You do not need to use a lot of product. Then take a contouring color and apply it on the sides of your nose, jaw line, cheek bones and sides of your forehead (just above your temples). If your forehead is small then you do not need to contour it.
Lastly, just stipple the products with a brush. Make sure your products are blended well so that you have a natural look.
For masculine beard
Don’t worry if you have thin or patchy beard. We have some simple makeup hacks that will help you get a fuller and darker one.
According to Shah, first, you need to take an eyebrow powder or an eye shadow that matches your hair color. Take a small yet thick brush and add the color into your beard in circular motions. Make sure you keep it within the lines of your facial hair and also make sure that the color is blended well.
For this technique to work, you need to make sure that your beard is not too long so that your facial hair does not look powdery. Also, take matt powder that does not have any shimmer in it.
For sharp eyes
We all know your eyebrows can completely change the way you look. If you are not happy with the natural shape of your brows, you can pluck them with the help of a good pair of tweezers. You can also go to a salon nearby to shape them.
To darken your eyebrows, use an eyebrow pencil in the shade of your hair color. Make light strands with the pencil to get the desired finish. Lastly, you can use a brow gel to tame your brows. Brow gels will make your brows look combed and, hence, neat.
If you have small eyelashes, Shah suggests you use a layer of mascara to make it look bigger and fuller.
Soft lips
Lastly, to get soft and good looking lips, you need to apply lip balm or some Vaseline on them every single day. Make sure the balm you choose includes a small amount of SPF to protect your lips from the harmful rays of the sun.
“When you buy a chap stick, buy one that does not have a shiny finish,” says Shah. If your lips are dark and you wish to make them slightly pink, you can gently dab some tinted lip balm on them and use your fingertips to blend it in.
