Alicia Keys is an inspiration to women, including me. She is beautiful, talented and gifted. As a nature girl, I love and adore women like Alicia Keys who are not afraid to bare their naturally beautiful face without makeup. In this era of makeup obsession, Alicia Keys is setting the pace in embracing one’s natural beauty. Watch out, she’s creating a trend that will soon take over!
I am still blogging about natural beauty and I am still very much inspired by the French makeup, which is natural, laid-back and chic. I love the fact that French girls dedicate an awful amount of time to nurturing their beautiful skin, as against using lots of makeup to mask imperfection, which is what a lot of people do. Within the past few weeks, I have been comparing Makeup on French girls with counterparts in the U.S. and elsewhere, and I must confess that I adore French makeup for its effortless chic and the casual way French girls wear it. I think we wear way too much makeup!
While makeup is meant to accentuate our natural beauty, we have turned it into flaws perfecting tools that mask aspects we would rather not see. This tend to scare girls who love simple, all natural makeup, believing that too much makeup is the only way. Well, no it is not!
If you love natural, simple and casual makeup, welcome to my world. Natural makeup makes one look way younger and for the mere fact that it is easier to put on, I recommend it for busy professionals or busy women.
Here is my guide to natural beauty – Pt II
Skin first! Nurture your skin above all things. If you have beautiful skin and nothing to mask, then it would be easier, faster and convenient to wear simple and casual makeup. I exfoliate day and night with sugar and turmeric. I have an oily skin that is prone to acne and breakout, so turmeric acts as my astringent and defense against free radicals.
I scrub my face and neck daily with sugar + turmeric scrub and on weekends, add body oil to polish my body. It is also essential that you eat well. For more on nutrients that nourish our skin, go to
Tone and moisturize!
I can not do without my Flori Roberts Enlighten perfect tone toner and moisturizer for oily skin as it gives me perfect complexion free of discolorations and acne. It is a natural skin lightening product range that provides even skin tone, which women of colors need.
Tame your brows
Well groomed eye brows frame our face so go to a specialist to have your brows trimmed and shaped monthly. This way, your brows are neat and easy to manage.
Brightening concealer
Concealers don’t just hide imperfections but brighten our complexion, especially dull eyes. You can do without foundation but you must not go without concealer, which you must apply under your eyes. Because I hardly use foundation, I always apply a little concealer under my eyes to keep my eyes fresh, bright and “awake” all day; I also apply concealer on my forehead and chin, which makes a simple but effective highlighting for me.
Tinted Moisturizer
Tinted moisturizers are great if you do not wear foundation at all. They are moisturizers which are tinted to suit different skin shades but provide the much needed subtle sheer and coverage for natural, casual beauties. Mary Kay tinted moisturizers come in shades of Bronze 1 and Bronze 2 for women of color.
Choose a simple makeup regime
For a simple, all natural makeup, you can choose to use only foundation or pressed powder alone.
MAKEUP COMBINATIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:
1. You can choose to use tinted moisturizer with pressed powder and you are just good to go.
2. You can choose to use only cream to powder foundation formulations as the foundation turns to powder once it dries.
3. You can choose to use only liquid foundation as in Mary Kay medium coverage or Timewise foundation, which once dry, stays perfectly well without powder.
4. You can choose to use only luminous foundation as they give you a sheer, luminous glow that our skin needs. For example, Mary Kay luminous foundation
5. You can choose to use only pressed powder.
Why bronzer is a must
Bronzers are perfect for highlighting because they give a sheer highlight that slims our faces and make us look brighter. Always go for soft, light bronzing powders that do not shine too much because sheer is what we are going for. You use the bronzer by sweeping it lightly on your forehead, cheeks, the tip of your nose and chin.
Do not let blushes scare you
Blushes add to defining and slimming our face. I know hot pink and rosy cheeks scare people away; you need not go strong on blush either. Rather, go for natural looking shades that are accents of your complexion. Check out my guide on selecting shades of blush and how to use bronzers for highlighting.
BLUSH AND HIGHLIGHTING FOR DARK SKIN
BLUSH AND HIGHLIGHTING FOR MEDIUM SKIN
BLUSH AND HIGHLIGHTING FOR LIGHT SKIN
And on the eyes… Because my eyes are nude, I always rely on color eye pencils to line my eyes for a pop of color.
And my lips, I am still loving my red lipsticks – I have Mary Kay true dimensions Fire Crack, Flori Roberts Tomato and Revlon true color shades of red. I also have orange lipsticks and a variety of colours. It is totally up to you how you want your lips to be.
I hope this post helps. Please do share if this has helped you.
This is the concluding part of this month’s E-zine. I have been mighty busy so I couldn’t submit the posts on all of this month’s topics. Thank God, I am finally here.
I am a natural girl; I love my natural beauty so much that I devote more time to caring and nurturing my skin than do wear makeup. But I would not consider myself a plain Jane.
Plain Jane is the all natural girl who wears no makeup at all, has a laid -back sense of style and is probably clueless about makeup or totally being fashionable. Plain Jane is the simple girl – the girl -next – door a lot of guys grow to fall in love with. While your man may love your easy-going, predictable nature, there are quiet a number of reasons why some men love women with your kind of nature:
– You are truly a refreshing change from a world full of plastic girls.
– Your guy truly loves natural beauty.
– Your simplicity makes you easy to get a long with.
However, there are other reasons why men love simple minded Plain Janes:
– Your predictive nature makes it easy for your man to control and mould you into what he requires.
– Some men find you easy to manipulate.
– Some men think that your simplicity simply translates into your nature being easier to relate with, less complex, less complicity and less intimidating.
This however does not mean that you are weak, but this is how you are perceived by some men.
For a lot of men, too much makeup is a no-no; in fact, most men are averse to women who put themselves all out for them to see. Meaning, give them something to look forward too. So I say to myself, if men love the all natural women so much, why do they cheat on their women with material girls many years down the line? So the question goes: how does plain Jane lose her man to the material girl?
Material girls are street smart, wide eyed and know every trick in the book; where you might know nothing. You may think that your man loves you as simple as you are right? – I mean, he says that repeatedly. Then why does he lust after his sexy vixen colleague of a woman? Why? After all, he was meant to hate the false hair extensions, the false lashes, the false nails and the false God knows what! And oh, that made- up face with sexy smokey eyes luring him at office dinner parties. That is why when he can no longer resist the temptation, he would fall for her, and not only begin a wild adventurous relationship with her but put his marriage and your heart at risk as well.
So, you begin to ask yourself if he might have lied to you when he said he loved you just the way you are. But here is the truth:
Men care about your face, your hair, your nails, your fashion style and your overall grooming.
So, while you were busy being au natural and not taking care of yourself and appearance, some girl some where is spicing things up for him.
Here is the dish:
Because you know that your man loves the simple, all natural you, you have let yourself go. The predictability in you which he thought was a plus, has become boring. I know women who do not take time out to groom themselves properly, to look fashionable and trendy because they think that is what their man want.
But guess what? In so doing, you have not only become boring, predictable and plain, you have become unattractive.
I was raised tomboy, so I can relate with this topic quiet well. I know my husband loves the fact that I am a natural beauty but I also know that he is happy and proud when I am fashionably dressed and looking sexy. As a young girl, I thought I could never wear any shoes if there weren’t Adidas trainers.
My all time fav
I still love my Adidas; I speak about this shoe gushing with emotion and excitement because I could never divorce myself from these shoes. And just like Adidas, I love my skin. I spend good time and money nurturing my skin. As I grow older, I have come to appreciate the role good grooming and good fashion style plays in the business world. No longer am I laid -back and as I put in more care and attention into how I look, it has helped my marriage because I realized every man wants to be proud of his woman and wants to find her sexy.
It is so important that your man finds you sexy because if he no longer does, he will find sexy elsewhere.
So, am sure you might ask, how do I get sexy back?
– By being unpredictable. You have to shake up the routine sometimes Without informing him. Men are like kids; they love surprises. So instead of dinner at home, you can surprise him to a romantic dinner for two far away from home.
– Groom, groom, groom! Be like French girls – I adore them for their laid-back all natural makeup – and the signature red lips of course! And French girls can do this because a perfect skin is all important to them. Get your hair done regularly ; change your hair style from time to time too; your man is already tired of your predictable hair do! And take care of your skin. A well nurtured skin needs very little makeup and men love a natural glowing skin. Stop being cheap and go for spa treatment once in a while.
– Spice things up in the bedroom now! You know those sexy lingerie you think only bad girls wear? Guess what? Your man is secretly dreaming of it on material girl! No lie!
– Wear some makeup. Makeup is meant to accentuate your natural beauty; not replace it. Always go for light-weight luminous foundation for that glowing, sheer look. Play it safe with natural makeup.
– Move out of your comfort zone once in a while to drive your man crazy. Wear shoes with heels sometimes. Take it from an Adidas trainers loving girl like me, heels are sexy!
Faith Blue suede shoe
Don’t let this scare you; you can begin by wearing low to medium heels
Medium heel
Excuses you should get out of your head:
– Makeup is bad
– Sexy is bad
– I love comfort
– I don’t have the body for that
– I am not that confident
– It’s my nature
From one natural girl to another, a little push out of your comfort zone can turn your relationship around for the better.
Wanting natural beauty presents its own kind of responsibility because if you desire bare face all natural beauty, you must take care of your skin.
1. Eat right. Nutrition affects our skin so please eat a well balanced diet. Eat foods rich in vitamins A,C and E. Eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and drink lots of water.
2. Take care of your skin by using the right beauty products. Buy the right kind of moisturizer for your skin type and don’t keep experimenting with just about any beauty product. Stick with what works for you.
3. Always use sunscreen as it shields your skin from harmful sun rays. Always buy skincare and makeup products with SPF. Zaron makeup powders and foundation contain SPF 15.
4. Live a healthy lifestyle. By exercising and staying away from smoking and alcohol this will help your skin a lot.
5. When it comes to makeup, light is better. So always buy light weight oil-free mineral or water based makeup.
6. Keep your makeup simple, quick, easy but elegant.
“Be true to that which exists nowhere but in yourself – and thus make yourself indispensable.” Andre Gide.
Sometimes when I look around myself and see people trying to be like somebody else but themselves, I wonder if we humans take the time out to see the individual that is inside of us, that unique person that makes us who we really are.
Many – a – times, people tend to join a bandwagon, copying a particular trend or style. I believe this is so, because the society, made up of you and I, have set a standard that gives little room for uniqueness, individual style and distinction. Or maybe, this happens because some manufacturers or producers, who wish to sell their products, simply indulge in good marketing that says using their products or indulging in the trend they have created makes one stylish, acceptable and “cool”. You look around yourself and you find that living or style of living has been homogenized. This is so, because man as a social being seeks acceptance. And in so doing, the individual is crushed to be replaced by a factory – made exterior entirely.
Man has two complexes, which are inferiority and superiority complexes. These two are very much related because behind “that” person with superiority complex lays an inferiority complex caused by fear or threat of envy, jealousy and competition. Once you harbour the thought that someone’s personality is a threat to yours, you develop a superiority complex that makes you arrogant, proud and pompous. Soon enough, sycophants would surround you, because you have created a style or class for yourself. It becomes sadder when one’s disciples become a replica and in turn, “oppress” others. So, it becomes a vicious circle, as the oppressed become an oppressor. The truth of the matter is that, people who aren’t sure of themselves tend to be proud and pompous and that is because they are scared of being caught unguarded. It is like a big effort to protect one’s self from others, while at the same time, proliferating one’s so called superiority over others. Naturally, people who are wealthy tend to be pompous and naturally too, people who are less privileged get intimidated by wealthy people. It is quiet surprising when one meets a wealthy person and all you can do is feel sympathetic because some of them are hardly themselves. It is all an effort to be “posh,” be in the “in” crowd and be accepted. When the desire for acceptance becomes very great, the sacrifice is loss of self. When I look through tabloid and society magazines, sometimes, all I do is laugh. I honestly do admire the men because no matter the wealth, men always do manage to look elegant in their simplicity. Certainly, there are some exceptions, but it is the women that amaze me more, because all in the bid to look beautiful, glamorous and be called a “diva” they end up starving themselves thin, douse their bodies with body oils that leave a false polished skin. Have you ever seen a woman look so beautiful in her natural self and admitted that she stood out in the crowd of factory made beauties? I have never met Nike Oshinowo, Nigeria’s one time beauty queen but I believe she is one of the world’s most beautiful people because she does not need too much to be beautiful.
The bottom line is, while craving for acceptance, one loses touch with one’s natural self and what one sees is someone who is entirely different from the natural beauty that the creative God had perfectly made.
By creation, God has put uniqueness in us that others do not have. Hence, we can be like someone but never that someone. The problem is that we spend so little or no time at all in discovering whom we really are. Each of us is unique and special. The individual is that person within us that really is us. The exterior is perishable but never the interior because the interior is the soul of man. I once knew a girl who told me she hated herself because she didn’t see anything special about herself. I had told her she was wrong but she preferred to count other people’s “pluses” against her “loses.”
I believe strongly that for as long as I have the same members of the body as others; and have equal opportunity given to every one of us by God, I don’t think I should ever think less of myself. Probably the only advantage others may have over me is financial but that can’t determine one’s destiny
The individual is our true beauty and is all that matters so I say this: You are who you are; nobody can change that. Clothes beautify but can’t add or remove the uniqueness that God has created in you. You are special, so celebrate you today!
Ennewrites 