Kitten Vixen - The Look

Secrets: Bare Face Beauty Youth Indicators Jewel Tone Eyes Nude Lips

Geraldine Shaker, leading Hollywood make up artist & founding partner and creative director of Kitten Vixen Cosmetics, shares some tips of the trade

Bare Face Beauty
In make up terms, skin is usually the backdrop to the drama you’ve created in your eyes lips or cheeks. But it’s the kind of support, that if overlooked can ruin your entire show – in other words don’t neglect your skin!
Here are a few basic skin tips to keep you on the straight and narrow:

Skin care (in my humble opinion) is way more important than any foundation you’ll ever buy. Look at your skin care regime as an investment. In my many years as a make-up artist I have had the pleasure of applying make-up to some of the most beautiful women in the world, and believe me when I tell you a good skin care regime is the great equalizer between the young, the middle aged and the old. I can spot neglected skin on a twenty-something a mile away AND I have been totally floored by the most stunning skin on an ageing woman who has invested and looked after her skin. A great facial should leave you glowing, relaxed and revived – don’t settle for anything less

Most of us avoid the sun for fear of wrinkles, but even the most neurotic among us has a summer and winter shade. That means at the very least you should alternate between your two complexion shades every six months

Finding your shades can be a daunting task – but put your game face on and dedicate a bit of time to testing different foundations. Its an absolute must, if you are going to find the perfect shade that you test the shade on your jaw line and (like Elvis) leave the building – you must see the shade in daylight. Remember - the lighting in the department store is not your friend!

Lastly, keep foundation as sheer as you possibly can. There is nothing worse than foundation that you can chisel off and nothing more beautiful than glowing skin veiled in a sheer color correcting foundation

Youth Indicators
Youth indicators are certain features and qualities that give away a woman’s age. Understanding where they are and how to enhance them is key if you want your make-up to look younger and fresher

As we age our features fade away. Pigment in the lips and cheeks fade, eyebrows and lashes thin out and lines around the mouth and eyes add another distraction to our once very prominent features. Ok – enough of this depressing information – here’s the good news, here are my steps to make your youth indicators tell lies:

Add a glow to your skin with a light reflective tinted moisturizer or foundation – nothing screams youth louder than a shine line on the apple of your cheeks or your cheekbones

Hide under eye circles with a dab of concealer. I prefer peachy/yellow tones as yellow is a great universal tone and peach knocks out blue circles quicker than you can say youthful glow!

Add a splash of color to the apple of your cheeks. Sheer pink is great on pale skins, peach is fantastic on medium skin and fuchsia is yummy on darker skins

Define those lips once more – use a nude tone lip liner and put back what nature gave you and time stole! If you are not comfortable wearing nude alone, use it as your base and dab on a subtle lip-gloss over the top for more vavoom! Note, using a nude lip-liner as your base will help prevent the lip-gloss from collecting in the fine lines around your lips

Fill in those brows. Remember you don’t necessarily want to go back to the darkness of your youthful brows, just fill them in so they are thicker. Thicker and softer in color for maximum punch is what you should aim for

Thicken up that lash line. I prefer to use a dark brown or black pencil and smudge the line with a Q-tip – softness and drama here are key!

Although these techniques are youth indicators, it’s important to mention that I use these techniques on women of all ages. They are basic beauty techniques that all women can and do greatly benefit from

Jewel Tone Eyes
If you’re old enough to remember the eighties the thought of blue and green eye shadow will conjure up negative thoughts, but this season’s color palette has shone a sophisticated light on the garish colors of the past. Whilst the eighties were all about experimenting with make-up and loud colors, today’s sapphire, emerald and ruby tones are darker and applied with toned down elegance that any woman can look striking in.

Here’s my easy guide to choosing the right tones:

The perfect sapphire has a lot of black in it and can look almost navy. The biggest benefit of using a dark blue around the eyes is that it makes the whites of the eyes appear whiter thus making the eyes appear fresher and wide awake (fake awake in make-up terms). If you cannot find a blue that is dark enough, apply black liner to the upper and lower lash lines and smudge it into the blue with a sponge tip applicator

Emerald green looks amazing on all eye colors and gives off an air of intrigue. The darker the shade, the more dramatic the effect, so opt for the darkest green you can find for a sizzling effect. Again, if you cannot find a green dark enough mix with black eyeliner along the lash line and blend with a sponge tip applicator

Ruby tones can look breathtaking on all eye colors. Ruby adds richness to the eye color that brown simply can’t match. Like the sapphire and emerald colors of the season the ruby tones need to contain a lot of black in order to achieve the desired effect. If the ruby tones you’re finding just aren’t cutting it, help it along with the black eyeliner trick mentioned above

Color match your eyeliner and mascara as this creates a more polished look

Now that you’ve nailed the eye color pair it with a sheer lip gloss – nude and subtle tones always work best and a hint of blush for a look that’s daring, sophisticated and SO Now!

Nude Lips
The perfect nude lip color is the make-up equivalent of the little black dress. Every girl should know and own their perfect nude lip shade. Why? Oh SO many reasons – here are just a few:

You don’t have to have Angelina lips to pull this look off - nude shades look great on all lip shapes and sizes

For the daily grind, pair nude lips with a sheer tinted moisturizer and a touch of cream blush for a fresh dewy look that says ‘I just wake up looking gorgeous!’

For the big night out, smoky eyes never fail - topped off with a nude lip and your make-up will scream, “I’m so sophisticated it hurts!”

Using a nude liner will magically stop gloss from traveling into fine lines around the mouth (if like me you’re old enough to have them)

You can passionately snog your better half in public safe in the knowledge that neither of you will be wearing a hideous bright stain over your face when you both come up for air!

Now we have established that the perfect nude shade is timeless, effortless and packs a huge make-up punch, here are a few tips:

Like many lip colors nude is not forgiving on dry lips – so use your toothbrush as a lip exfoliator. At night, after brushing your teeth brush your lips gently with your toothbrush

Apply a good moisturizer and go to sleep reassured that tomorrow your lips will be the softest lips within a five-mile radius!

When you can, moisturize your lips with a regular face moisturizer instead of lip balm because the majority of lip balms are paraffin based and contain other chemicals that will dry out your lips

Avoid shades that could double up as your foundation, you’re not going for ‘Laura Palmer’ chic!

Remember as we age our features fade away, so rule of thumb when choosing the perfect nude - the question you want to ask yourself is ‘Do my lips look healthy, plumped and ready for action?