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I recently returned from New York City, where I attended The Makeup Show at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan. Aimed at professionals in the industry, it provided a showcase for products and techniques, many of them geared to women like me. I'm a late baby boomer and I consider myself to be a member of the "I want to look good without surgery" set! Today's beauty industry is paying attention to us with a plethora of products geared to "seasoned" women.
I know a bit about makeup, having graduated from a makeup course at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Ont. Although I enjoy making other women feel better with makeup, I shy away from applying "face paint" to myself. My makeup routine is a snap -- lip gloss and blush. I prefer the natural look. When I told this to Kevin-James Bennett, two-time winner of the Emmy Award for makeup design, while I was at The Makeup Show, he shook his head and told me that was my first mistake.
"Women over the age of 16 can never achieve a natural look," he says. "You'll never go back to when your skin was that perfect. Women of a certain age need to realize the look they are after is not natural, it's neutral. At a certain age, women can look fantastic going for a neutral look that focuses on evening out the skin tone, filling in some lines and playing up their best features."
Just what is this neutral look? And can I achieve it in 15 minutes? I decided to sit down for a lesson from one of the best. Bennett has designed faces for Law & Order and As the World Turns. Using products from up-and-coming Canadian company Face Atelier, Bennett proceeded to transform my uneven, moisture-starved facial canvas from drab to fab.
Want to try to achieve this neutral beauty look yourself? Here are a few tips I picked up while in the makeup chair:
• Study your face. Decide what feature you want to highlight. Your smile? Eyes? Cheekbones? Skin? Focus on what you like about your face and build your makeup plan around bringing out that great feature.
• Make sure you have the right tools. Foundation, blush and lip brushes, as well as eye-shadow flat and angle brushes are classics. Add makeup sponges, Q-Tips, tissues and maybe an eyelash curler to the kit and you've got all of the basics needed to help create a beautiful look. (Read about the essential makeup brushes.)
• Schedule a makeup lesson. Debbie Bondar, President and CEO of Calgary-based Face Atelier, recommends going to someone who doesn't just want to sell you products. Shop around and gather ideas from makeup professionals, then purchase a few products you know you'll use. Don't forget to occasionally clean out your makeup bag to make a fresh start.
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