The "Natural" Look

   When we think of a natural look, we often think of minimal makeup, if at all. Nothing on the eyes, maybe a little color on the cheeks and a balm or light tint on the lips. Some may call it the "taking the kids to school" look or perhaps the "sporty mom" look.  It is rare however, to see the truly effortless beauty we strive for in our usual attempt of the natural look. 

There are many women who say "I don't like/need makeup. My husband (or I) like the way I look without anything added." Some women simply don't like skin care or makeup, just as there are others who don't wish to carry a purse or wear anything other than sneakers. There are plenty of makeover shows for people just like them. :-) Come on, admit it, we can take the show or leave it but most can't resist the final minutes of the "big reveal" to see the transformation. The goal with makeup or fashion is not to change the individual but to enhance their natural beauty and style.  The experts who get it right are standing next to a person who is thrilled and will be able to maintain, that's the ultimate achievement.

I've heard from many people in the beauty industry that say this: "Men say they don't like makeup but they really have no idea what they are looking for when they see a woman's face." 

This is quite true. If you ask a man to evaluate a woman's look, do you think he will be able to notice that she's wearing warm-toned eyeshadow or created cheekbones by using bronzer? Highly doubtful. If you ask him how he thinks she looks, most likely he'll say, "Oh she looks great!" The difference between absolutely no makeup and the ideal "natural look" is significant.  9 times out of 10, if you ask a man, he will say he prefers a "natural" look on a woman, or specifically "no makeup". What they don't realize is that very "natural" look they prefer does indeed take some product and skill to achieve. Heavy eye and/or lips = clown face in a man's mind. If only they knew what it took to look natural and beautiful.....

The natural or "every day" look can be quite simple. Skin care and facial hair/eyebrow maintenance is a given in this post. After that, the basics should be filling in the brows, mascara on top lashes(bottom lashes optional), cheek color and lips.  If there are areas to conceal such as under eye circles or blemishes, that step should be added as well. In my opinion, the difference between a natural look and a "full face" is the lack of foundation. Skipping the foundation cuts down on time, effort, and of course, the overall look will be far less "done" or polished.

I often think of Kate Hudson as a "natural" girl. She's carefree, relaxed and always has a smile. Above is a picture from a magazine and below is a photo of her at an awards show.

Do you think she's wearing more or less in either picture? Most likely she's wearing the same amount. The makeup artist in each instance,  kept in line with her natural style, both for the magazine layout as well as the glamorous awards ceremony. We don't see anything noticeable. No heavy eyeshadow, the cheeks are a soft flush of color and the lips are a pale pink in both pictures. She could go out shopping with her kids, to dinner with her husband or to the Oscars.

I love this photo of Lori Loughlin for a few reasons. It's a spontaneous pose, catching the hair from her face, the sun is shining bright and she is glowing. But besides the obvious, do you know what else I see? I see the bronze shimmer on her face and décolleté. I see the peachy color on her fabulous cheekbones. I see the goldy pink of her lip color and the very subtle mascara and shadow on her eyes. She looks radiant but it's not because she rolled out of bed and threw that dress on and went into the sun. Every little bit adds to the overall appearance. There's no attention drawn to each and every detail but the result is, "Wow she looks wonderful." She could be out to lunch with friends, visiting relatives at a party or going to work and her look would be appropriate in each scenario.

Here we have Penelope Cruz. Brunette, big dark eyes, full lips and plenty of Spanish flair. Above, she's shown very natural. Eyes lined in kohl, winged liner and mascara. Her skin shows through, a flush of warmth to her cheeks and lips lined and glossed in that full pout.  She didn't roll out of bed like that but if only we all looked that way first thing in the morning, right? ;-)

Below, she has contoured shadow, eyes lined and mascara in her typical style, foundation, light color on the cheeks and a nude lip. With hair and ensemble, she looks polished and pulled together. The overall appearance of both still falls under "natural". Her eyes are the same style in both photos. Her lips are natural hues in both. One shows her sultry and glowy, the other shows her polished and "done".

 

Even the most simple makeup routine can be used to create the every day look as well as the evening or "polished" look. Foundation and setting the makeup is the biggest difference but there are tricks and details to "amping it up" for evening or special occasions without adding extra products. Every morning is a chance to look better than you did when you rolled out of bed, better than you did after your workout and of course, your work or social appearance is enhanced as well. The goal is not for people to notice the details of what you used or why, but to say, "She's just taking her kids to the (insert place here, because we're always doing something with the kids, right??)  but look how good she looks!"

 

 

*If you would like assistance with product techniques and/or recommendations, please contact me directly and I will be happy to give you some ideas.