The basic beauty products you need to look stylish
Beauty companies are forever trying to convince us to buy more stuff, but when it comes to looking well-groomed, you can cull your arsenal down to just a few key products.
Hair
Good hair is 80 per cent of the battle to looking good – such is the negative impact of a bad hair day. Find a cut and style that suits your actual hair texture (not the texture you wish you had) and commit to getting it trimmed every two to three months. You'll need to go much more often if you have short hair, so factor that into your style choice.
If you want to be low-maintenance, either don't colour your hair or choose a shade fairly close to your natural hue. Sharp, unintentional, colour contrasts due to regrowth make you look instantly unkempt.
You need one good styling tool you can easily use, whether that's a heated brush, straightening iron, curling tong or just your hair drier, plus a styling product that works well with it.
If your hair tends to run wild, an accessory such as a headband, clip or even a stylish hat, is great to have on hand for bad hair 'emergencies'.
Skin
Unless you have problem skin, you really only need a good cleanser and moisturiser, and perhaps some rosehip oil to use at night.
To look polished, the main point with skin is to have your foundation, BB cream or tinted moisturiser in the right shade for your face. Get someone in a store to colour-match you so you avoid the classic trap of having your neck a different colour from your face. If you occasionally have blemishes or dark circles under the eyes (i.e. most of us) then a little concealer won't hurt either. A brush to blend your foundation is also helpful.
Makeup
Groomed brows give your look instant polish. Get them done once by a professional, then maintain the look at home with tweezers.
As for the rest of the eyes, choose a look you can easily master. Mascara would be the minimum (go for brown if you prefer a natural look), but choose liner and cream shadow or powder shadow if you can easily apply it and it suits you.
On lips, bright colours can be best left to experts – soft peach, rose or beige will never take your look into garish territory.
For nails, invest in a manicure set so nails are clean and clipped reasonably short. Simply buff, or add nude or clear polish.
What you don't need
They're trendy and fun to experiment with, but are definitely not essential for a polished look.
- A contouring kit
- An eye palette that has more than four shades
- More than three lipstick shades (work, evening and weekend)
- Specialty makeup-artist type products, such as primer, finishing spray or colour corrector
- False eyelashes
- Multiple hair appliances
- Multiple hair styling products
Written by Melissa Williams-King. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.