We’ve seen in history, whether it’s depression or recession, there’s nothing like a nice tube of lipstick   to help a woman feel better about herself.  Even if it’s momentarily to uplift her spirits.

When we think of makeup for African American skin, we have to take into consideration our melanin.

Melanin is is what gives us our pigments. It determines how the use of color will be handled as far as our skin is concerned.

The Beauty of Lipstick and African American Skin

The better the condition of your skin, the less makeup you will need. When you want to add or enhance it, sometimes a nice lipstick, eyeliner or shadow is all you need. When you consider color, ruby red lips are the first thing that’s often thrown in your face, but there are so many color choices when it comes to lipstick.

Each season, the same color takes on a new name, so instead of it being Exotic Red, it may be Sangria. My mom used to refer to this as “Same soup, warmed over”.  It may be marketed as a color that invokes a sense of glamor and adventure.

Something like Aurora Red might be marketed as more sophisticated in its shade and adds a little spark. Mauve Mist which is being touted this year is more of a romantic shade of color and it has an elegant purple undertone that might remind you of the art decor era.

Radiant Orchid might be captivating and enchanting. Whether it’s Radiant Orchid or Exotic Red, one of the things to be taken into consideration is how it wears on your complexion.

The same colors used in lipstick can be found in nail polish. But if you’re looking at just nail polish most colors will work. You might like Sangria Red for your nails but as a lipstick in the tube, you might see a person you don’t recognize.  Once you put any color on your lips, it’s really about projecting more color and are  yo comfortable wearing it.

Wearing Your Color Cosmetics With Confidence

When it comes to cosmetics, you have to be comfortable wearing color in order to carry it off. Otherwise you’re going to carry yourself in a way where you’ll have this particular color on but you’re body language will exude uncertainty.

Confidence will have you walking square shouldered and head erect. As with anything, it’s important how you carry yourself.  As a woman you have a naturally feminine mystique that’s reflected when you dress. When you enhance that with a lip gloss or lipstick,  it becomes more of a projection of your mystique and who you are.

Foundations and African American Skin

Looking at skin tones, in cosmetics they’ve now done enough testing to know when something’s going to work well. With facial cosmetics, the color of a product (foundation) will be infused with benefits that are going to enhance the complexion of your skin. You’ll want to make sure that a product that’s been purchased is not going to irritate your skin.

Another thing about a makeup base is that you don’t have to use a lot of makeup in order to achieve desired results. Just a light covering is going to give you just enough of a shield on your face so it will enhance your natural glow and you won’t have that appearance of being made up.

There was a time when being made up was the trend, but it also brought a lot of problems for skin of color. Now you can wear a light layer of a foundation and it will enhance your beauty instead of you masking your beauty.   Being “made up” is masking your beauty.

When using makeup, the better the condition of your skin, the lighter the application, the better and more natural the look you’re going to achieve.

When we talk about glowing skin and providing a natural look to your skin, a light bronzer on your face can sometimes be all that’s needed. When you’re looking at bronzers, study the different shades carefully and don’t purchase right away. Test!

Get someone to allow you to sample a certain color wave on your skin, go outside of the store, into the sunlight and have a mirror so you can see how the color is being reflected back in that mirror.

Also, be very conscious of the fact that when you’re purchasing makeup, there are different seasons in the year but your shade of makeup will change based on the season. You go darker in complexion in the summer time because you’re out in the sun so the color you wear for late spring and summer into early fall is going to be a different shade of what you’ll wear from early fall into spring.

The same applies with moisturizers. You want to go with a lighter moisturizer in the summer and a heavier moisturizer in the winter. All of this will be relevant to the climate you live in.

That’s it for this week,  As always …

Dedicated To Your Beauty!

Juliette Samuel,

Esthetician/Publisher/Author

Nyraju Skin Care