A beautiful beginning

• Countless women with bare faces fail to realise that doing nothing is like declaring self-neglect. The simplest act of kindness you could ever do to yourself is shape, define and draw in your eyebrows, because they are what differentiate the sophisticate from the bumpkin, and to take care of your lips
• Times are hard. That is, however, not a reason. People sometimes treat you depending on how much they perceive you to be worth
• We always think we have to go everything ourselves. Let me redefine Superwoman for you. She is the woman who gives the appearance of doing/having all

Make-up has got to be the most intimidating part of looking beautiful. In the 2012 remake of Steel Magnolias, Jill Scott’s character plays a glamorous salon owner with one mantra: “There is no such thing as natural beauty.”

Countless women with bare faces fail to realise that doing nothing is like declaring self-neglect. The simplest act of kindness you could ever do to yourself is shape, define and draw in your eyebrows, because they are what differentiate the sophisticate from the bumpkin, and to take care of your lips.

I’m sorry, but someone had to tell you. However, go further. It is not enough to simply splash water on your face every morning. Even if you only ever interact with more than one person in a day every day for all eternity, start somewhere.

Work with a budget

Times are hard. That is, however, not a reason. People sometimes treat you depending on how much they perceive you to be worth.

Buy the most basic of necessities: eye pencil, eye liner, mascara, lip balm/gloss/stain/colour/stick. Any respectable 30 and above female should not buy the cheapest product on the counter.

Invest in quality. Your skin needs TLC. Eliminate cosmetic clutter and a 20-year-old’s experimental attitude. Keep in mind that though you spent a small fortune on them, cosmetics do not last forever.

Good taste, however, does prevail. This is why the box of many eye shadows remains unopened to date. Unless you are a fashion model doing plenty of fashion shoots, chances are that entire spectrum of blue will never be used.

Get help

We always think we have to go everything ourselves. Let me redefine Superwoman for you. She is the woman who gives the appearance of doing/having all.

What you need to do is consult a highly-recommended make-up artiste who preferably offers classes or does not hesitate to have one-on-one sessions with you from Suzie Wokabi of Suzie Beauty to Muthoni Njoba’s of Make-Up Lounge right down to the Lintons Beauty World at Westgate.

Find out from an expert precisely what your skin needs. What is your skin tone? How do you apply day make-up? How do you transition to night make-up without going home to change?

What, exactly, is the right eye shadow that when you wear you will still be taken seriously? And why you must never wear blue eye liner even if you are a spunky 19 year old in the wildest campus in Kenya.

Find balance

With good cosmetics must come good skin care. It is not enough to spend your money on a Mac or Black Opal Foundation then use the cheapest bar soap you can find to cleanse. Get a range of skin care products that works for you.

A good cleanser is critical, and while the debate on whether or not toners are a necessary expense rages on, buy one anyway. It works in tandem with the cleanser. Then use the kind of product that your skin needs to nurture it at night.

Don’t just buy pretty colours. Make-up can function underneath the gloss. Get a product that works hard and note that there are plenty of skin care products that indicate they can be used underneath your make-up.

Master the art of layering your products and cut it down to essentials. This not only saves you time, it saves you money.