RUBY RECOMMENDS | KNOWING YOUR FEATURES

When applying make-up, it’s important to take into account that each side of your face is different. Nobody has a completely symmetrical face. Each eyebrow is shaped slightly differently, hence the phrase ‘sisters, not twins’… so if you did exactly the same make-up on both sides, it's not going to look as natural. Look at both sides of the face individually and work to bring them together, rather than match them up.

Like I said, no face is symmetrical, so we often use make-up to even things up as much as possible. For example, one eyebrow may need extra product as the hairs are a little more sparse, or it might be a case of lengthening one slightly to balance them. Balance it as best as you can, but try and keep it natural. 

Everybody’s face is a slightly different shape, so there are no one set of rules to where and how to apply make-up. In the past, face shapes were split in four categories: oval, square, heart-shaped and round, with the ‘ideal’ being oval. People would heavily contour and highlight to try and achieve an ‘oval’ looking face. This approach is now deemed outdated, and there shouldn’t be one ‘ideal’ that we all strive to look like. Everybody is individual, and should focus on embracing and enhancing our own unique features. 

We all have certain features we don’t love; whether it be our nose, lips, forehead.. it’s often little things that others wouldn’t notice, but that bother us when we look at ourselves in the mirror. With the help of strategic make-up, there a little tricks we can do to help mask and draw attention on to something else, to help us feel as confident as possible in our own skin. Ask yourself: what do I want to enhance, what do I not want to enhance and what are you willing to accept?

For example: 

• If you have a wider jaw, rather than using heavy contour along the jaw bone to make it look narrower, slightly lengthen your brows to give illusion of a wider eye area, balancing the face. 
• If you have prominent cheekbones, try applying cheek colour on the apple of your cheeks, blending upwards and outwards. However, for someone with a rounder face, or small cheekbones, this would make your face look wider. You want to be applying check colour slightly higher, just underneath the cheekbone, to help lift and define.
• Colour can be used to enhance your features, making them stand out whilst you downplay other areas. A bold lip choice can draw attention away from tired eyes and add a pop of colour to your face. Choose a vibrant shade that compliments your skin tone. If you aren’t a fan of your lips, use a bright pop of pink on the cheeks instead. 
• Small eyes? Using a nude or white eyeliner on your lower waterline can give the effect of larger, more awake eyes. If applying eyeshadow, use a brighter shade on the inner corners of the eye to give an extra pop.

I prefer using make-up to enhance what I naturally have, rather than completely change my face altogether.. so these are just some small tricks I’ve learnt that we we can all use to boost confidence and help embrace our natural features. 

If you have any problem areas you’d like some help with.. please let me know below and I’ll do my best to help ♥️