Corallista's Delhi Workshop on Make-Up Basics

Hello Everyone!

As some of you know, I am a late entrant into the world of make-up. I've been largely on my own, trying to figure things out by watching DIY videos and playing around with the stuff in my dresser. So when Ankita of Corallista.com announced that she was conducting a workshop in Delhi, I decided to sign up.

I am a firm believer of "You can teach an old dog new tricks", so I said to myself, "It's never late to learn new things."

So, On Saturday, 3rd October 2015, I set off from home, on the way assailed by self doubt.... The workshop will be populated by PYTs (Pretty Young Things).... I'll be the oldie.... and such like. Then I reminded myself that I can be taught new tricks! :-P 

Ankita's session began with a discussion of skin care routines. What emerged was:

1. CTM (Cleanse-Tone-Moisturize)
2. Cleans your skin with a gel based cleanser, steer clear of face washes that lather too much. They dry out the skin and force it to produce more oil, aggravating oily skin further.
3. Protect your skin with a good SPF product. It is good to apply an SPF even when you are at home, since UV rays penetrate through windows as well. SPF 15 should be good for indoors.
4. Be gentle with your skin. The Japanese touch their skins as we handle infants!
5. Using a face mist quickly re-hydrates the skin and refreshes make-up.

The Make-Up session had four parts:

1. Base
2. Look 1: Smokey Eye with Neutral Lip
3. Look 2: Winged Liner with a Bright Lip
4. Blush, Contouring and Highlighting.

Make Up Session 1: Base

a. Cleanse and Moisturise your skin to prep it.

b. Primer to suit your skin-type/problem

c. Types of correctors were discussed and that everyone does not need a corrector. 

d. Foundation needs to be chosen carefully. It may take a while for you to find the right shade and product, a lot like having to kiss many frogs before you find your prince

e. Do not allow store assistants to force you to buy a product you are not 100% sure of.

f. Always check the foundation in natural light before buying. High end makeup stores will give you samples on demand.

g. Blend and buff the foundation well, ideally with a brush suited to the product type

h. Do not dip the brush on the product directly, it will pick up too much and won't apply well on the 

    skin. 

i. Concealer should be applied only to target areas. Matte concealers ideally around the nose and mouth. Those with dark shadows under their eyes will do well to apply a shimmery concealer in the under-eye area to brighten it up.

j. Set base with loose powder.

Make Up Session 2: Look 1:Smokey Eye With a Neutral Lip

a. Simple, 3 products: Kohl pencil, deep brown eyeshadow shade from your favourite palette and loads of mascara.

b. Apply and lightly smudge Kohl on upper and lower lash-line

c. Apply your favourite dark brown eyesahdow. Fill entire upper lid, taking care to stay under the crease of the eye and inner corner of eye.

d. Beginners should avoid black eyeshadow.

e. Complete the eye with lots of mascara, at least 2-3 coats of your favourite!

f. Go for soft browns and pinks for your lips, taking care that they should neither be too bright or too      light for your skin tone.

g. The look was tied together with a matte blush, suitable to one;s skin tone

h. The focus should be the eyes only in this look.

Make Up Session 3: Look 2: Winged Eyeliner with a Bright Lip

a. Easy, 3 products: Gel/Liquid liner, Gold/Copper/Bronze eyeshadow (to celebrate the festive season) and loads of Mascara

b. Start with the eyeshadow, blend into upper eyelid, keeping the colour within the crease.

c. Line the upper lash-line, starting from the middle of the upper lid. Wing it prominently from the outer corner of the eye.

d. Fill in a thin line to the inner corner of the eye.

e. Apply 2-3 coats of your favourite mascara.

f. Apply a bright pink/red lipstick to brighten up your face.

g. Tie up the look with a shimmery blush or darker shades of your highlighting palette/wheel/brick.

Session 4: Contouring and Highlighting

a. Ankita demonstrated how to contour the hollows of your cheeks, jawline and hairline (avoid hairline if you have a small forehead) and how to make the nose appear thinner. and sharper.

b. She then went on to show how to apply highlighter on the high-points of the face- top of the cheek bone, the bridge of the nose, cupid's bow and the brow-bone.

We picked up a lot of tips and tricks along the way. All-in-all, I think, this dog definitely learnt some new tricks!

What you see above is the Winged Liner Look. I forgot to click a picture of the smokey eye.. :-(

Think and Stay Beautiful!!