Powder Room

The Sunday Age

Sunday May 11, 2008

Natasha Hughes

Wearing the same face every day is easy but boring, says Natasha Hughes. It's time to morph.

How you do your make-up is down to your mother. The type of products she used, how she applied them and how often have all shaped your adult beauty routine.

"Most mothers don't intentionally teach their daughters, but children watch and learn over the years," says Dean Nixon, Estee Lauder's Melbourne-based make-up director. "That's where it starts." And this is not usually a good thing. "Most mothers were taught by their mothers who taught them very basic things and they have never expanded on it," says Nixon. "Most of our mothers do the same thing every day. They perfected one look years ago and that's it. The colour might change, but it's the same look and it has been as long as you can remember. So many women end up with just one look."

But is this so bad? "It is important to have different looks and play with it. People do it with their hair so why not make-up?" says Nixon.

A beauty rut can make you look dated or older than you are or you may be wearing inappropriate make-up for the time of day or occasion.

And different looks can be a treat. But they do take time, effort and thought, of which there is little available in the mornings.

"My philosophy is, you need three looks, but you don't need a whole heap of different products to achieve them," says Nixon. "You get the basics - tinted moisturiser or foundation, bronzer, a couple of eye-shadow colours, mascara and liner - and just increase the application to create a different look."

A natural day make-up requires just a light tinted moisturiser, lip gloss and mascara -"a fresh, clean and polished look for going down the shops or lunch on Sunday. Really casual," says Nixon.

"You need to be a little more sophisticated for work," she says. "Use foundation, lipstick, eyeliner, eye shadow. It's a more dressed, made-an-effort look. (At night,) knock yourself out. Night is more glamour, about taking time and caring and dressing up."

Nixon says every woman needs the basics and should interpret trends, such as with colour, a smoky eye or this season's matte nude lip. "Think of it as your wardrobe - you buy one or two things every season to update it. Look at make-up the same way."

He says make-up has become more accessible ("you can get your make-up done at any cosmetic counter") and women should have some fun with it.

"If you're a busy mother it's easy to let it slide and just put on lipgloss. If you're not very good at it, make-up's not a priority. Who's going to sit in front of the mirror and have a go? But you've got to experiment and play."

And that goes for all mothers, whatever their age.

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