I need a make over!! Please help.

Jan 24, 2014

Lisa M.

@Yanet.. Ikr? That irked the Hell out of me as well!!

Jan 24, 2014

Lisa M.

Nathalie, The reason I've only had hair recommendations is I'm right with you in not really knowing what to do with my eye shape. The type of eye we have is called "Hooded Eyes" & to find makeup videos or picture tutorials on "Hooded Eye Shapes" & actually looking @ your eyes you seem to have more "Partially Hooded Eyes" than fully hooded. Traci was right on about the YouTube videos being easy to follow & you find one that is too fast or not talking, just find one that does talk through the steps & is slower. There are numerous ones to pick from!!

Jan 24, 2014

Terri K.

Nathalie!

First off, don't think you are not beautiful, that is the first step towards being unattractive! I though you were gorgeous even from that morose picture of yourself you put up! So much of beauty has to do with our character and self-love, if you think you're beauty and you exude that confidence, it really shows. Makeup is just a fun way for us to try on different styles of ourselves but it is never a mask that we put on so we can pretend to be 'someone else'. I hope the fun art of makeup can help you realize this as it helped me :)

As for your qualms, there are soo many options so I'll just list off a few.

Hair: I would start using more intensive hydrating shampoos and conditioners (I dyed my hair twice and use Retread from Lush and it brought my hair back to life) It will help moisturize and smooth out your hair. Also, I would try parting your hair to the side, giving yourself some long side bangs, and layering out the ends of your hair a bit to give it some life and shape. Find a hair salon with great ratings and try out a consultation, if they don't vibe with what you are looking for just try a different salon! I did that and I love, love, love, the girl that I found.Since spring is coming you might want to lighten up the brown a little bit and add in some low lights. Ombre can seriously frizz up your hair and damage it, and I think your look is a bit more sophisticated than would go with ombre.

Makeup:
Eyes:
I understand your pain, I have an intense monolid myself and had to go through many trials and errors of looking ridiculous to find my technique. For your eyelashes, hold your curler at the base of your lashes for about 5-10 seconds, and squeeze as you move up to the tips. This will help produce a more gradual curve. Use a non-waterproof mascara that is fairly thin (Benefit's They're Real is amazing) and apply one coat (just one!) lightly. Let this dry before opening your eyes. Then apply your second coat gently and let dry, continue until satisfied. This way, your mascara will be nice and dry and not smudge on your brow bone (which I am so jealous of by the way! I wish I had eyes like yours!)
Hooded eyes can be tricky, only a portion of your eyelid shows when you open them but, have no fear, you can still have a lot of room to play with. Be careful of applying eyeshadow on your brow bone, it will swallow up your eye and make it look smaller. The basics to opening up your eye will be:
1: apply primer from lash line to brow
2: lightly shade a sheer highlight color from inner corner to middle of eyelid, you can blend upwards to the brow bone if you want
3: apply darker shade from outer corner to middle, and blend where the two colors meet
4: this darker shade can be a little on the brow bone but just make sure that it is higher on the outer corner than the inner corner
5: if you want to go for a smokey look, add a darker color into the crease and down towards the lash line, do not shade in as a solid rectangle but create an angle (lash line towards end of brow, then turn 45 deg to towards the inner corner and shade into crease) BLEND THIS VERY WELL! if you practice you will see what looks too much and what looks smooth and nice
6: Apply eyeliner if you wish or just apply mascara heavily at the base of lashes to simulate eyeliner
7: For you in particular, I would apply a great highlight (eyeshadow or liquid) to the brow bone, this will really wake up the face

But eyes are only a part of the recipe for a bright, fun look
Face:
1: Cleanse and Moisturize!!
2: Apply primer all over (not necessary but is great if you want your makeup to look fresh for longer)
3: Use a hydrating concealer and blot underneath eyes and on ridge of cheekbones, you can mix with a highlighter or choose a slightly lighter shade (you just want this area to look brighter)
4: Your skin really looks fine, I personally can't see any blemishes, so I would just use a BB or tinted moisturizer to protect your skin from the sun and to hydrate/smooth out any lines
5: Lightly dust with a fine powder (I might recommend Bareminerals radiant, they are very pretty very subtle)
6: You can go for a light blush, choose a shade that complements your skin, but this isn't necessary for an everyday look if you want to keep it natural
7: Lips are so much fun! Choose whatever color you want

Brows:
Yes, I understand your pain here completely...my friends and sister have perfectly planar eyebrows and that bewitching arc is pretty much impossible to simulate without shaving off their eyebrows.
We have what we have and, personally, I still love how they look! But here are some tips...
1: Your brows are so dark already, who said you even needed to powder or fill them in?
2: if It really bothers you, you can go to a threading salon and have them shape and trim them for you (but in the long run it might just be easier to learn to love em!)
3: I would use a tinted brow gel just to keep all the hairs in place and make em look smooth (Anastasia has some GREAT gels, choose a dark brown or whatever color looks natural)
4: To use the gel, brush upwards to the 3/4 mark of the brow and downwards from there on. If brows are curly or unruly you can gently. gently. carefullyy. CAREFULLY. trim them!

Remember, these are just fun tips and tricks but they will not suddenly transform you into a beautiful goddess! That feeling of being beauty, of loving how you look and seeing people notice your looks, that will be from an inner feeling! The more you laugh, the happier you are, the healthier you are (especially to give your skin some inner glow!). I mean, crazily enough, sometimes I like to wake up by saying, man I am awesome. (Believe me, it took me a looooong time to get there, and truly, makeup did help!)

Anyways, I think you're beautiful and have so much potential for some really fun makeup looks. If you have ANY questions at all, just ask me!

All the best!

Jan 25, 2014

Nathalie C.

Hi girls,

thank you so much for all your replies. You are really making my day.

@Abha A. @Kris F., Laura J. thanks you for the compliments :-)

@Yanet B. you are probably right about the mascara. I use they're real by benefit. It gives me very fine longer lashes, which I love, though. Any tip of a volumes mascara that is not clumpy and the lashes stay fine and natural looking? I am a bit scared to get my brows professionally done. As much as I don't like them now, as much as I wouldn't want to look like myself anymore. I already went to the Bobbi brown counter for a foundation demo, and that really paid off. I actually have an appointment for eye shadow next week. So excited about it.

@Lisa M. would you mind posting a pic of your eyes? I would feel less lonely. Thank you for the hair pics. I don't really like any though :(

@Jacqueline H. you are so right! I look like her (except for the jaw line)! I would always the same grave and sad look on my face too. That is really scary! It's quite interesting, I have the same originins as her as well. I will try to look at pics from her to inspire myself for makeup. Too bad I don't really like her style.
My hair is already darkened quite a bit although it has faded a lot by now, normally I have brown hair. I have been darkening my hair for the past two years and to be honest I am fed up with it. Unsure I am so lucky to have that face though... :/

@Terri K. wow thanks so much for your long message! I already use the best shampoos out there but I didn't cut my hair for almost a year that is why it looks bad now. I really like how Khloe Kardashian ombre looks like. But I know my hair would get so damaged, it's always the case when I go lighter... so it makes me hesitate. Here the salon are very bad. They don't do consultations, they don't die your hair properly. The two last time they forgot to dye part of my hair... That is why I want to change. Unfortunately the others are not better...
I do not have a lash curler because I found that my lashes are too curly. Which one would you recommend?
For the eye makeup, I don't really follow you. I think I need the contrary light on the lid to bring it forward, and darker on the brow bone to make it stand out less. At least that is what I thought. If I put dark on my lid, I look really awful... Maybe you could post a pic of what you mean, that would be clearer?
Regarding the face, I do have foundation on!! I do have a few blemishes because I squeezed pimples (oops). I have dark lids and undereye, so I need loads of concealer. I love Bobbi brown, her products look so natural... it tricked you, even! As for the lips, I also have lipstick on. It doesn't change my lip color so much though.
I put powder in my brows on the pic too, it doesn't change much from natural in this case, but I love to do that if I put on a bold lip.

As for the comment on self esteem, don't be hard on her, Jennifer S. saw right through me.

Thank you all for all your help!