Friday talk: Makeup mistakes

I've decided that Friday will be the day to fix makeup mistakes found 'round the world. OK, not so much, but as I was putting on my face to go to small group last night, I thought about some of the biggest problems I used to see. If you have any suggestions for problems you'd like help with, feel free to leave a comment.

I have one makeup crusade, and that is eyebrows. Ask anyone who knows me now and didn't four years ago (besides my husband and children), and they'll tell you they've never seen me without them properly filled in. Once on a retreat, I took them off to show my friends Jen and Karen what I look like without them, so they were privy to a sight that no one has seen from that day on. Heck, I wore makeup to the hospital to have the Look Alike, then put it right back on after washing my face the next morning. I'm hardcore, I guess. :)

So today's Mistake to Avoid is neglected brows. There's a reason I feel this way about brows, and it's slightly embarrassing. The week that I started at Lancome, I got a fresh hair cut and color. Remember, I was in the same store where a week before I'd been a Big (Headed) Manager who Everyone Respected (or Pretended to Respect). The people I worked with at the counter, whether they liked me or not, still didn't consider me to be "one of them", and who could blame them? So you can see why it would be a little intimidating for one of them to critique me, even though I knew nothing about makeup. I didn't even WEAR makeup before I started at the counter. So Nikia, kind soul that she is, said loudly in front of God and everyone, "Your hair looks good. Now what are you going to do about those eyebrows?".

Huh?

My brows were perfectly shaped and waxed the day before. Who knew I was supposed to do something ELSE with them? I asked Nikia what I should be doing with them, and she sat me down in the chair, whipped out a brow pencil, and got to work. After several minutes of intense focus on her part, she handed me a mirror.

I was shocked. My eyes stood out. When they say brows frame your face, they mean it! I mean heck, check how good my brows look in my profile picture (and please ignore the rest of my face, especially the hormone-wracked complexion). I was a believer from that day on.

My tips for dealing with brows:
1. If you've never had them professionally shaped, go get a waxing or a threading or hit a makeup counter and have them show you the best shape for your face.

2. If you color your hair, make sure your brows match that color. Generally the rule is to go one shade darker than hair color for blondes, one shade lighter for everyone else. I like Lancome's Le Crayon Poudre

3. Invest in a good pair of tweezers, and make use of clear brow gel or mascara. My favorite is Anastasia Clear Brow Gel. A good mirror will also help you catch stragglers before they get too crazy.

4. Experiment! Draw the line a little longer than you're used to. Thicken up the line, try the arch in a slightly different place. You'd be surprised what a tiny change can make in the look of your whole face.

I think that's it for brows today, but I'd love to hear what changes you make to yours!