Whether legitimate or not, we all have flaws we’d like to downplay. Practical, efficient, and effective, makeup can hide countless flaws and help you put your best face forward. Thanks to world-renowned makeup artist Jemma Kidd, who shared her invaluable expertise via Styleite, you too can achieve the ultimate in symmetrical perfection. Become a master at contouring, shading, blending, and highlighting. Employing these techniques together lets you manipulate light and shadow on your face to create illusions. Kidd shared tips on correcting irregularities like small eyes, thin lips, and a strong nose :
Small Eyes. The average space between a pair of eyes is approximately the width of one eye. If your eyes sit less than the width of one eye apart, you have close-set eyes. To create the illusion that the eyes are farther apart, Kidd says, “Apply a light color to the inner corner of your eyes and three-quarters of the way across your lid. Apply a darker color to the outer corner of your eyes and blend it outward to “stretch” the eye. Highlight under the brow-bone and in the inner corners. Apply eyeliner to the outer corner of the top and bottom lids only and smudge inward to soften. Open up your eye and create the illusion of larger eyes by applying beige or white eyeliner around the inner rim.”
Thin Lips. Lip shape affects not only how you apply lipstick but also the colors you should wear. For the perfect pout, Kidd says, “Lips should be completely symmetrical — the depth of the fattest part of the upper lip should be equal to that of the lower lip, and the left and right halves from the center of the Cupid’s bow to the center of the bottom lip should be mirror images of each other. Lip pencil is an invaluable tool in achieving perfect symmetry, enabling you to ‘correct’ any irregularities by drawing a hair’s breadth inside or outside the lip line.” She continues, “For thin lips, use sheer, shimmery shades; dark colors make a mouth look severe, while lighter shades make lips look fuller. Using a lip-liner than matches your lipstick, accentuate your lips by drawing on the outer edge of your lip line. For a fuller pout, add a dot of shimmering gloss at the center of the lower lip and blend it out by pressing your lips together. Lastly, plump up your pout by wearing lip plumper alone or under a lipstick.”
Strong Nose. Dark colors shade and push areas back, while light colors highlight and draw areas forward. “A heavy brow ridge can cast a shadow on the nose bridge which looks as if you are frowning. Place highlighter on the deepest part of the shadow and soften by blending at each edge. A shimmer product is inappropriate, so don’t look for a light foundation or powder. Don’t blend highlighter too high or the correction effect will be lost. A touch of highlighter down the center of the nose will make a wide nose look narrower, but be careful not to extend it to the rounded tip.”
Small Eyes. The average space between a pair of eyes is approximately the width of one eye. If your eyes sit less than the width of one eye apart, you have close-set eyes. To create the illusion that the eyes are farther apart, Kidd says, “Apply a light color to the inner corner of your eyes and three-quarters of the way across your lid. Apply a darker color to the outer corner of your eyes and blend it outward to “stretch” the eye. Highlight under the brow-bone and in the inner corners. Apply eyeliner to the outer corner of the top and bottom lids only and smudge inward to soften. Open up your eye and create the illusion of larger eyes by applying beige or white eyeliner around the inner rim.”
Thin Lips. Lip shape affects not only how you apply lipstick but also the colors you should wear. For the perfect pout, Kidd says, “Lips should be completely symmetrical — the depth of the fattest part of the upper lip should be equal to that of the lower lip, and the left and right halves from the center of the Cupid’s bow to the center of the bottom lip should be mirror images of each other. Lip pencil is an invaluable tool in achieving perfect symmetry, enabling you to ‘correct’ any irregularities by drawing a hair’s breadth inside or outside the lip line.” She continues, “For thin lips, use sheer, shimmery shades; dark colors make a mouth look severe, while lighter shades make lips look fuller. Using a lip-liner than matches your lipstick, accentuate your lips by drawing on the outer edge of your lip line. For a fuller pout, add a dot of shimmering gloss at the center of the lower lip and blend it out by pressing your lips together. Lastly, plump up your pout by wearing lip plumper alone or under a lipstick.”
Strong Nose. Dark colors shade and push areas back, while light colors highlight and draw areas forward. “A heavy brow ridge can cast a shadow on the nose bridge which looks as if you are frowning. Place highlighter on the deepest part of the shadow and soften by blending at each edge. A shimmer product is inappropriate, so don’t look for a light foundation or powder. Don’t blend highlighter too high or the correction effect will be lost. A touch of highlighter down the center of the nose will make a wide nose look narrower, but be careful not to extend it to the rounded tip.”
