POLOKWANE – These should be according to one’s skin tone.
“As a Make-up Artist I believe that your undertone is the true colour of your skin. The sun burns our faces, and sometimes gives us acne as well, and that changes the colour of our natural skin, but the true colour of our skin lies beneath, and acne can also change the surface colour of our skin and make it look darker or scaly, but the undertone never changes at all,” she explained.

She further explains that there are usually three tones of our skin, which is usually the warm, cool and neutral tones. “When you go to a store, they usually sell or have those three different tones to make it easier for us to choose from, they’re usually divided into three categorised tones. We need to know and understand our colour tones so that we know what suits our colour skin tones best,” she added.

Apart from recognising one’s undertone, one should be very observant when buying foundations.

“When you buy a foundation or concealer, firstly test it on your skin before buying because there’s always tester bottles or containers at make-up stores where you can test on your skin before ‘guessing’ the perfect skin colour tone. It also helps if you ask one of the make-up artists or assistants in the store to do a ‘Face-Beat Make-Up’ tutorial on your face so that you can have an idea of what colour to purchase. And in that way you also get a free make-up face beat for the day, so why not,” she jokingly added.

According to Noxolo, the goal of a concealer is to even out the skin tone by focusing more on the small areas. “Most areas that you must target are under your eyes because we normally have dark circles under or around our eyes, so when you apply a foundation, just make sure that you apply it on the right spots. Also when buying a foundation or concealer, apply at least three stripes of concealer and foundation shades to see which colour best suits your face tone. You can also use a foundation that is one shade lighter than your skin colour, then blend it in with a concealer that is your skin colour or tone,” she concluded.

How to apply foundation and concealer:

• Firstly, you’re going to need a foundation that is the right colour of your skin or a shade lighter.
• You will also need a sponge or a foundation brush applier to dab some foundation on the skin. You can even use your fingers if you do not mind the make-up smudges and stains on your fingers.  
• If it’s a liquid foundation, try using a damp sponge to avoid soaking up the foundation, in this way it will last you longer.
• Dab the foundation around your eyes, eyebrows, mouth, nose and around your cheeks, basically around the darker areas on your face.
• By using a sponge or a foundation brush, blend it into your skin, making sure you cover your whole face, including your neck so that there’s no line separating your face and neck.
• After applying the foundation, repeat the same steps when applying the concealer.
• Blend it into your face, also using the sponge or the concealer brush, so that the concealer covers your whole face, also covering some bits of your neck to have the same colour as your face tone.
• After applying foundation and concealer, use a flat powder sponge or brush to dab some powder on your face (powder should also be the same tone as your skin or a shade lighter), also applying some powder on your neck.
• Finish your look by applying some mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadows, blush and some lipstick (all of your choice). You are good to go!

anne@nmgroup.co.za