5 Beauty Don’ts That You Must Do

There’s so much regurgitated content on beauty in magazines and on the web that after a point we keep rewriting the same rubbish without questioning it. You know the usual: wear blush on the apples of your cheeks, highlight the high points of your face…blah, blah blah. After writing on the subject for more than a decade, I’ve realised two things – that our idea of beauty is changing every few months, and most don’ts can be dos if done right. Here’s my list:

• Don’t wear makeup on acne prone skin
  I think this was suggested by someone who has never broken out in their lives. Bad skin gives you low self esteem, low self esteem leads to bad skin, like a vicious cycle. Of course you need to use the right skincare (more on that in another post), but wear makeup to conceal and camouflage. It will make you look and feel better. Also, because you have makeup on, you won’t pick at your skin. Use products that are labelled non-comedogenic. My favourite concealer to cover a spot? The Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Concealer. Pat it on a breakout or scar, and then dab, dab, dab till it disappears. Like this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXUZllVip_0&feature=youtu.be

• Don’t wear a darker lip liner
  If you draw a sharp outline of your lip in a darker colour it will look hideous. BUT if you draw a ‘V’ shape on the outer corners of your lips and then blend inwards, it will give you a perfect rosebud pout. This trick was used by a big Bollywood star who is also the face of a beauty brand.

Stay away from oils
I know so many women who instruct their cooks to prepare their food in a teaspoon of oil. Sure, it will make you slimmer but it will also rob the radiance from your face. Want to lose weight? Then practice portion control, and exercise. Treat yourself to a healthy glug of extra virgin olive oil, a smear of ghee, a splash of coconut oil. Trust me, your skin will thank you for it. And if you don’t stay in a humid climate, then dab on a face oil, because your skin needs both moisture and lipids. Apply it as the last step of your skincare. My favourite face oil is the Decléor Aromessence Rose D’Orient. It calms redness, reduces spots, and blurs scars from old breakouts.

Don’t wear uneven liner
Like really, who cares if one wing is more angular than the other? Even professional makeup artists aren’t perfectionists when it comes to eye liner. Makeup guru Mickey Contractor, who has made up every Bollywood star (from Kajol to Aishwarya Rai), once told me that nobody ever notices it because our face is always at an angle when we’re talking to someone. And if the line is too uneven, smudge it with a brush or Q-tip, but please don’t waste any time perfecting it. In this photo, my eyeliner is uneven. Do you think its making a huge difference?

Don’t use the extra goop at the tip of a mascara wand
For me that’s where the goods are. I like to scoop out all the goop and then swipe it on the base and length of my lashes, in a windshield wiper motion. Like I show in this video (I screw up a bit towards the end but I’m not perfect ok!):