by Kelley Gecik

Created on: June 25, 2008

Few women are blessed enough to pull off the no makeup look and still be gorgeous. Most who try look very mousy, too young (like a plain Jane fourteen year old) or pious. Makeup is not meant to completely change the way you look. It is there to enhance what you already have. Some lucky women have perfect glowing skin, no pores and obviously have never spent a minute in the sun since they have no lines or spots. Who are these women? The airbrushed beauties that we only see in magazines. The reality is, even the most beautiful women in the world might be taken down a notch or two when they don't have their makeup on. The transformation with makeup can be amazing. I wakeup in the morning with faint but visible brown spots on my skin, bluish purple bags under my eyes and the odd zit or two. If I go out like this, not only do I feel horrible all day, but I'm treated differently. Women find you to be more invisible (as you seem less threatening since you aren't so attractive) whereas men seem to be friendly, but to the point about things, rather than borderline flirting.

If I take the ten minutes in the morning to apply a thin layer of foundation to the brown spots, followed by concealer under the eyes, blush, liquid eyeliner and mascara, it's like I'm a different person. My skin looks shiny and fresh, the color is even, my eyes seem twice as big and the color is enhanced by the deep brown of the eyeliner. People notice me, not because I am some naturally stunning woman, but because I have now enhanced what I have. As always, makeup should be used with a light hand since too much of it can detract from your good looks and actually make people focus on it, instead of on you. It is equally important to make sure that you know the proper techniques for applying makeup and have the right tools. A good eyeshadow, blush and powder brush are key. Women should take care of their brows and keep them in check. Your makeup can look great, but if your brows look like a hot mess all that work was done in vain. Lastly, you need to make sure that you are enhancing with the correct colors. Just because reddish pink eyeshadow is trendy doesn't mean it looks good. If I were to put it on I'd look like I had a serious case of pink eye.

Using makeup is a balancing act. Too much is bad while too little can render you invisible. Some women are comfortable taking on more (and their styles and faces can handle it) while others don't like the feeling of it on their skin (and probably aren't trying to glam it up every day of the week.) Makeup, like genes, varies from person to person and should be left to the discretion of the user.

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