It’s time to get back out there but things are looking a little different – and so are we! With face coverings now essential how do you find the right one? ESP’s stylist Karen Miller brings you her top tips…
So, it’s looking like face masks are here to stay for a while, I have to confess it’s something I struggle with due to my asthma (and crooked nose!), however, I find that the ones made from natural material, either cotton or silk tend to be more wearable for me.
Brands very quickly caught on to designing some beautiful colours and prints, so if you’re that way inclined you could have one to match every outfit!
Believe it or not there are a few things that can make wearing a mask more flattering, so I’ve put them together for you along with some of my favourite picks to match all price points.
Choosing the Best Colour
For those of you who have had a colour session with me this will be super easy, you’ll have lots of colours to choose from in your own unique pallet. However, there are some general tips that will help if you haven’t had your colours done: Colour analysis is based on your natural skin, hair and eye colour, so the easiest thing to look at without the detail is your underlying skin tone, I’m completely oversimplifying this for ease, so generally the following applies:
If you have a pink tone to your skin, (you can see this by the colour of the veins in your wrist – blue is cool, green is warm) colours with a cool undertone will work best for you, such as blue, black, pink, green, purple turquoise, should work well. (There are lots more but this is just to give you an idea).
If you have a warm undertone to your skin (a yellow undertone / green veins!), colours like brown, orange, yellow, cream, camouflage prints, khaki, will generally suit your colouring.
Style Signature boutique has a great range of masks that are 100% cotton in lovely colours (see above) they are £9.99 and can be purchased by emailing them at marsha@stylesignature.co.uk I have a couple of these and they are lovely, good quality and go with most outfits.
Print or Plain?
Generally the best indicator of this is to think about your overall style, do you tend to have quite a classic style personality or are you quite bold / fashion forward in your dress sense? Do you wear a lot of patterned clothes or do you tend to stick mainly to plain clothes? I’d advise you go for the opposite to the majority of your wardrobe, e.g: mainly plain clothes/patterned face mask – patterned clothes/plain mask unless you like a full on colour, print clash this is my best tip to get the most versatility out of your masks. Also think about if you wear glasses and the colour of your frames, it’s not necessary to match the frame colour just make sure that the colours you choose compliment them.
Leopard print mask – £10.00 www.hush-uk.com Pack of 3 face masks – £10.00, John Lewis
Focus on the Eyes!
Unless you’re like me and wear sunglasses everywhere! (no I’m not kidding) the only part of you that people see when wearing a mask is the eyes. We communicate a lot through our eye movements, the eyes are the only way you can actually smile at people that’s why making them stand out is always a good idea.
If you’re not used to wearing eye makeup you can keep it very simple, start off with either an eye makeup primer or a long wear concealer (for primer I’d recommend Smashbox they do a variation of shades, light, medium and dark. www.smashbox.co.uk/product/6025/17797/eyes/photo-finish-lid-primer and for concealer, Estee-Lauder double wear concealer is amazing.
After your primer I’d advise a neutral shade all over the lid, Bobbi-Brown eyeshadow in Taupe is good or if you just want a neutral palette Urban Decay Naked Pallet will enable you to create lots of different looks as well as just a basic/quick shadow.
Blend a darker shade into the socket of the eye and blend to ensure there are no visible lines, finish off with a couple of coats of volumising mascara (my absolute fav is MAC 3D volumising mascara or Diego Dalla Palma in ToyBoy www.diegodallapalma.com, the packaging on this one is really odd but the pay-off of the formula is amazing).
Not forgetting the eyebrows as these can make a huge difference and frame your face, for a really natural definition I like a powder applied with a brush, there are lots of different formulas on the market but if you’re a complete beginner Ruby Cosmetics is a winner www.rubycosmetics.co.uk it even comes with a stencil to help you perfect the shape.
So there you have it, a super simple eye makeup look, obviously if you’re used to applying makeup then you don’t need me to tell you how to apply it, enjoy and have fun being creative.
Wearing Glasses or Sunglasses
Anyone who’s used to wearing glasses will be familiar with the common problem of them steaming up, being able to see one minute and then nothing the next! Wearing glasses or sunglasses with a mask can be an absolute nightmare, however there are a couple of things that can help.
A mask that has a snug fitting bridge over the nose allows you to place your glasses/sunglasses over the top of the mask, this really helps to stop the glass steaming up. Purchasing an anti-fog glasses spray will really help, Amazon have a whole range of cheap options or your optician will be able to advise you if you have sensitive/ problems with your eyes.
Finally a mask with a wired nose ridge can be helpful, although not always the most comfortable, so again if you have any difficulties with your breathing you might want to think twice about this one. (I’ve avoided it but if that’s not an issue for you then it can work well).
I hope you’ve taken something from these few tips and that they help you when it comes to choosing a suitable mask. The masks featured are not medical grade (we have been asked not to purchase medical grade masks so that the NHS have enough supplies.) If you’d like some help or have questions then feel free to drop me a note, in the meantime, happy shopping.
Karen Miller