A natural 'no-makeup' look is fashionable for faces at the moment, says Auckland makeup artist Sophie Tabakas.
The key to pulling it off is taking good care of your skin, she tells Jesse Mulligan.
Photo: Kelly Sikema / Unsplash
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Sophie Tabakas Photo: Beauty By Sophie
If you can, Sophie recommends investing in skincare sold by a beauty therapist, but the supermarket brand Simple is also good.
If you're shopping in the personal care section, skip the St Ives apricot scrub, though - "way too harsh".
If your skin is exfoliated and hydrated, any foundation you're wearing will go on much easier, Sophie says.
"It will just glide on seamlessly if you've got a really good moisturised base."
If you want to invest in a good-quality foundation, she suggests taking home a sample before you buy the full-size product.
On mature skin, light, sheer foundations work better as they contain more moisture, Sophie says.
"Anything heavy is going to stick fine lines and enhance them even more. Anything that is quite drying and matt will enhance fine lines, as well."
The packaging on foundation and most other makeup will indicate the number of months the product is meant to be used - Period After Opening - inside an image of a little jar with its lid removed.
When it comes to eye makeup, 'smoky eyes' are still as popular as ever, Sophie says, sometimes with colours like copper or gold.
Mature women are best to stick to natural shades of eyeshadow and keep it light, Sophie says.
Blush is a good idea if you're using foundation and concealer as these can cancel out your features and blush adds dimension back.
For a natural-looking flush, smile into the mirror to find the apple of your cheek, add some blush there then blend it upwards towards your cheekbone.
If you're wearing any makeup it's important for your skin that you cleanse it off properly, Sophie says.
She "double-cleanses" her face - once to remove makeup and once to clean the skin.
Rather than disposable face wipes, Sophie recommends cleaning your face with a moist facecloth or makeup-removing microfibre cloth.
Eye makeup can usually be removed with a cotton pad soaked in micellar water then worked into your eyelashes. Eye makeup remover might be required if you wear waterproof mascara.
Sophie Tabakas owns the mobile makeup artist company Beauty by Sophie.
