So you are not allowed to wear make-up

*letter from 2004 to a friends daughter

Recently I was doing costuming for a group that included young teens. As I was doing make up I was surprised at the times I was asked by young girls to teach them how to do make up so natural their parents couldn’t tell they had it on.

While I am most sympathetic to those young girls dying to join the adult conspiracy of face painters. I also remember my father ordering me "Back up those stairs and scrub that muck off your face young lady."

Of course it was not long before I was able to wear make up and now as an adult I spend thousands of dollars trying to look like I don’t.

There is help if your parents have laid down the make-up law. There is a way you can be happier with the face that you find in the mirror.

1.
Study after study has shown that people react more positively to a clean and even smile. I still remember a guy from my favourite football team coming across the cafeteria to ask me who my dentist was because he thought I had an amazing smile. Funny thing. My teeth are crooked. It was a bluing tooth powder I had been using. It had bleached my teeth. It also removed the top layer of enamel.

My dentist tells me that there are myriads of safe cleaning and bleaching alternatives today. Check with yours before buying any product off the shelf.

A healthy smile is still one of the main attractions to boys. Ever see a toothless super model?

2. Make a hair appointment.Nothing takes the place of a good cut. Your hair is the one accessory you wear with everything! It frames the face and can even lead the eye to your best features.
Not all hair salons are created equal. Discount places often have apprentices or have quotas on their chairs. Hair stylists have to do a certain amount of cuts a day to keep their chair. These people are too hurried to listen to what you have to say.
Go to an established hair salon. Watch the styles coming out. If you hate what the people look like coming out then that is not the place for you. Don’t be afraid to ask people who exactly cut their hair.

I once spent thirty minutes in front of a salon because I was really impressed with the fact that the men were all coming out with hair perfectly suited to their faces. I brought my son there and the next day people at school were stopping him in the hall to compliment and talk about his hair. A good stylist is one who doesn’t tell you what you want but helps you decide what you want is what you are looking for. Don’t be intimidated either. Ask questions. Listen to what the hair stylist is saying and always remember that the model in the book is not you. Every cut and length look different on different people.

Ask your stylist how to take care of it and spend a little extra money on the styling products. They don’t have to be top of the line but most times you really do get what you pay for.

　
3. Moisturize, Moisturize and ProtectJust because you are young does not mean you shouldn’t protect your skin. I still think Petroleum Jelly is the product of the millennium. Carry a little around with you. They even make roller tubes. Apply it or lip balm to your lips every chance you get. It will protect your lips from chapping and help moisturize them as well as giving you the same shine you find in leading lip glosses. Make sure you have sun screen on first though. Your lips are one of the most delicate places on your body and need to be protected from harmful rays and potential skin diseases.

Sun screen every day and make sure you reapply. There are a lot of moisturizing sun screens on the market now. They not only protect you now from the sun but give your skin a touchable softness. Don’t use harsh cleansers that can leave your skin dry and red. You can’t scrub out dirt. You can wipe it away. Skin regimes can be as simple as soap and water with a little sun screen and moisturizer to follow. Some harsh cleansers can actually increase break outs.

For extreme acne you can talk to your family doctor. A lot of people think they have acne and find that their break outs are sensitive skin reactions to the perfume and dyes in products.

4. Get an eyelash curler.Though it looks like a torture device it really is the best tool you can have. It crimps the eyelashes and makes them stand up. It takes getting used to but once you learn how to use it you will never want to be without one. Male actors have asked me to teach them how to use it after I’ve shown them how it increased the look of their lashes. Imagine what it can do for yours.

I like to warm the metal ones in a glass of lukewarm water. Make sure the sponge in it is clean, soft and in place. Place eyelashes in it, about one or two millimetres away from the lid. I find it is easier to keep my eyes partially open and focus on the mirror with the uncovered eye. Squeeze the clamp shut and hold it for a slow count to ten. Let go. It makes your lashes easier to be noticed. That’s why they are always advertising eye mascara that curls the lashes.


5. Get some tweezers

the best you can do is just clean up your natural lines.

To find your natural line, take a pencil and place it straight up from the side of your nose.  This is where your eyebrow should start between the brows.  Then place it diagonally from the side of your nose to the corner of your eye.  Follow the line up to your brow and this is where your brow should end.

Never pluck above your brows, but do clean up the dark hairs between and underneath them. Never, ever get impatient and shave between your brows. It will look awful when stubble begins to grow back in.

Never pull chin or lip hair. It will grow back and it will be a full time job trying to keep up with it. If you have a thick moustache, talk to your parents about professional bleaching or even electrolysis.

Most of these tips will require you to talk to your parents about how you feel and what you would like to do. You might be surprised to find they are not against make up but just the overuse of it. Ask if they will let you try these simple solutions. They just might not want you rushing into adulthood full force. They also just might think you are absolutely perfectly beautiful just the way you are! After trying these things you just might feel the same way!Until you are old enough to get your parents permission to have your eyebrows waxed Make yourself a dentist appointment.