Single Girl's Guide to Makeover Magic
Let's face it, girlfriends. Thanks to cable TV, we're now addicted to endless episodes of makeover shows where each "Plain Jane," with her closet-from-hell, learns to choose the right clothes, makeup, and hair style, then right before our eyes, transforms into a real beauty! And, ever notice how looking great makes her feel empowered? And, all in less than an hour! Amazing! But, what if this new self-confident charmer is one of the millions of your single sisters on the hunt for Prince Charming, who happens to be on the hunt for his Princess Charming? Well, in that case, this might be the perfect time to check in with your mirror, mirror on the wall to see how you fair with all this growing competition. You know, Cinderella had this so easy. With the wave of a wand, and a bit of "bibbity bobbity boo," her fairy godmother morphed her from rags to riches, then sent her off to the Ball looking like the Princess she was about to become, and the rest is history! In the real world, this all gets a bit more complicated. For starters, chances are your prince will first see you dressed for the mall, not the Ball. Plus, your chances of being the next TV makeover are pretty slim. You could hire a fashion savvy godmother, AKA a fashion consultant, but if a fee of $200 + is not in your budget, what's a girl like you to do when the whole point is to leave a first impression that leaves a potential prince wanting more? Well, a girl like you will take charge of her life. Presenting the I'll Do It MYSELF Makeover! You start with your face. Of course, if you're thinking, "How 'bout I start with something else," remember Cindy Crawford's immortal words: "Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford." So, again, your face is your focus, specifically the colors of your face. I promise you, when you learn how to use the power of color to compliment your eyes, skin, and natural hair color, just like on the makeover shows, magic will happen! Those eyes will sparkle and your complexion will glow. And, glowing is definitely a plus for first impressions, especially when your prince will remember forever the first time he saw your face. On the other hand, glowing is practically impossible when you wear colors that clash with your own. For example, if you have watercolor eyes, translucent skin, and hair the color of soft wheat, imagine the catastrophe of deep bronze makeup, double black eyeliner, and a dayglow dress with dark chunky jewelry. Right! Not good! The strong colors overpower your own, and POOF! you disappear. Wearing colors paler than your own washes out your natural glow so you look tired and older than you are. Again, not good. To go for the glow, here are the "must knows" that make it happen! UNDERSTANDING BASIC COLOR ANALYSIS Many fashion consultants rely on the Munsell Color System to accurately determine a client's color palette. This scientific system is based on three components: HUE, VALUE, and CHROMA: HUE is simply the color's name.
Simple Hues: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple.
Compound hues: Yellow-Red, Green-Yellow, Blue-Green, Purple-Blue and Red-Purple.
VALUE: How light or dark a color is.
The more white in a color, the higher the value. True black has the lowest value, true white has the highest.
CHROMA: The clarity or strength of the color.
Muted, grayed colors have low chroma; clear, vibrant, bright c0000104Eolors have high chroma. HOW TO DETERMINE MAKEUP COLORS FOUNDATION: Match to the skin tone at the outer corner of your eyes. Blend the makeup on your face and neck, and then match to your skin tone in both indoor lighting and sunlight. Hint: To ensure you choose the correct foundation color, take a friend along for a second opinion. EYE MAKEUP: Use your lash and brow color for everyday mascara, eye liner and brow pencil. For a more dramatic effect, increase the makeup's color value. Choose eye shadow in your eye or brow color. Hint: Your eyes contain a rainbow of complimentary colors. Use a magnifying mirror to see the full spectrum. LIPSTICK and BLUSH: Match to your cheeks and lips. Gently pinch both cheeks and lips, noting if the color goes pink, red, or orange. With a bit of practice, your makeup routine will take you from ordinary to glowing in five minutes or less. HOW TO DETERMINE WARDROBE COLORS |
