Makeup for Dark Skin

Foundation:

Choose a creamy or liquid foundation. Water based foundation is preferred.

A sheer foundation and a good concealer are important for creating the illusion of perfect skin. The foundation should not be lighter than skin color.

Dark skin shows up layers of make up much more than fair skin so mixing should be done carefully. Add a drop of water to foundation before applying it.
Powder:

Use a light powder after the foundation. This gives the skin a shine and is not too heavy. Avoid applying too much powder. Dust off the excess powder.
Blusher:

For blushing use colors like coral, rose and deep orange. Avoid brown and peachy shades. For very dark skin shades of bronze, plum and wine are suggested. Blend the blusher over the cheekbones as it brightens the skin color.
Eye-make up:

Dark purple and blue colors look good on dark skin colors. Dark metallic colors also look good. Use eyeliner and black mascara in the end.
Avoid white or light color eye-shadow.
Highlighter:

It is used on the bridges of the nose, around the eye area, above the cheek bones and upper lip for dark skin people.
Lipstick:

Medium and dull shades lipsticks look better. If you have dark lips, apply some foundation and powder before lipstick. Lip colors such as caramel, blackberry and purples can be applied by dark skin people.

How to Apply Makeup

Makeup

Playing with makeup can be great fun. It can also be a terrible disaster, especially if you don't know what you are doing — you could end up looking like Frankenstein’s ugly sister. Get the basics right, first time.

The Basics

The beauty industry has loads of beauty secrets and visiting a makeup artist for a makeover can be a great way to learn some of their tricks. But, if you can't afford a makeup artist, here are some quick tips you can start using today for flawless makeup application.

Step 1
Always ensure your face is clean before applying makeup. Cleanse, tone and moisturize before you apply your makeup. Use a warm cloth when cleansing as this opens the pores and allows you to apply moisturizer that will soak up before your foundation goes on.

Step 2
Conceal it. If you have blemishes or problem spots on your skin, cover them up by dabbing a bit of congealer over them.

Step 3
Begin your application with foundation, applying it with a clean foundation brush. This will allow you to apply foundation more easily and without wasting any. Never use your hands as they can contribute to oil and the spread of bacteria. Foundation sponges are also a good option.
Step 4
Finish off your foundation with a matching powder, blending it in circles to give your skin a finished look.

The Fun Part


Step 5
Now you're ready to play and have some fun. Starting with the eyes, begin to apply eye shadow, starting from the inside corner of your eye and blending it outwards. If you want to add some highlighting effects, apply a shimmering shade just beneath your eyebrow arch and blend it in.

You can use a trio of eye shadow that has three different shades. The lighter one would be used for highlighting and can also be applied to the inside corner of the eyelid. The second, darker shade would then be applied on the middle section of the eyelid, while the darker shade will be applied to the outer corner of the eyelid. The golden rule of applying eye makeup trios: Always blend in the shades to create a finished off look. The last thing you want is to have hard, defined color points, especially on your eyes.

Next, apply eyeliner and finish it off with mascara. Always ensure you apply mascara when you have finished making up your eyes.

Step 6
If you'd like, you can subtly apply a blusher. Don't go too dramatic. Remember, your blusher should only brighten up your cheeks, but should always look natural. Again, blend, blend, blend.

Step 7
Complete your makeup application by applying lip-liner to your lips and finish the look off with a matching lipstick and lip-gloss.

Check the mirror one last time and fix up any flaws before packing your makeup-tricks bag away.

Day and Evening Make-up

There is a major difference between evening make-up and day make-up. Most people think they can just add more make-up and they are done ...
There is a major difference between evening make-up and day make-up. Most people think they can just add more make-up and they are done with their evening look. I’m sorry this is not the case. The major reason for this difference is lighting.
Throughout the day we are subjected to different light sources, whether it is at work where most of the light is fluorescent lighting or in our homes where there is incandescent lighting. The nature of the light sources causes these differences.
Fluorescent light is a blue light. This will affect people differently. People with blue eyes generally have more redness in their skin which will be accentuated under blue light. People with brown eyes will see that their skin appears to be more yellow or green. As you can start to understand this is what is affecting the look of your make-up.
Incandescent lights are going to have different affects because the light is yellow or red in tone. This red light tends to soften all colors, like when a photographer does a portrait they use soft light or warm light to hide imperfections and make the photograph appear flawless. This is why you need to change your cosmetics for each case, or for the light source you will be under at that time.
Now that you can understand what causes these changes, let’s look at what needs to be done so you can look your best all the time.
Let’s start with day make-up. If you have blue eyes you will generally need to use colors that are like our Ultra Shimmer #30. This very natural tone is not that dramatic. Use a color like this under blue light because the blue light sharpens all colors. For the evening you can add or replace it with the #31 or the #31 and the #17 together. Again since the red light softens all colors you need to add more contrast so the colors show up. Like I said earlier light affects us all, so a person with brown eyes will want to choose a color like our #14 for the day time, then use the #9 or the #10 with the #17 to add more contrast. This way the red light will not soak up all the color.
Another example of this would be for someone that is going dancing in a night club. This is a place where there is very little light, so you will need to over dramatize your make-up in order for it to be seen by others. People that perform in the theater are another good example of what I mean. They must do their make-up almost like a clown, so you can see it with the stage lighting that shines on them.
Now you can understand why you need to make changes to your make-up throughout your day. If there was only one type of light, there would be no need for "Day Make-up" and "Evening Make-up".