WHAT COLOUR SHALL MY POWDER BE?

Otago Witness, Issue 3995, 7 October 1930, Page 59

WHAT COLOUR SHALL MY POWDER BE?

“What colour powder?” and “What colour rouge? ” seem to be troubling questions to a great many women (says Barbara Stanwood, in the Ladies’ Home Journal). The shade of powder which most closely matches the natural colour of your skin, the rouge which comes closest to the glow of your blood under your cheeks are what you should choose. We are no longer trying to make ourselves into something entirely different with our cosmetics; we arc merely trying to make the most of what Nature has already done for us in the way of looks. So before you buy your next box of powder look at yourself closely in a mirror. Despite the fact that white powder is not only manufactured but actually sold, there are very, very few of us whose basic skin tint is dead white. Almost all of us must admit either to a tinge, however faint, of red purple, the colouring of the true blonde type, or of yellow-orange,, which gives the brunette her glow and beauty. In many cosmetic specialty shops, beauty salons, and cosmetic departments you can nowadays have powder blended to your own particular shade by an expert. If necessary you can do it yourself, buying two or three boxes of the nearest shades and experimenting until you reach the in-between shade which exactly suits you. Watch the proportions of each shade which you mix with great exactness, trying out a small quantity first. When you have found exactly your mixture, 'combine the powders in a box which closes very tightly, then shake long and thoroughly, so that your mixture will be as perfectly blended as possible. Among the very subtle fine points of powdering is the use of a lighter powder first, over which a faintly darker shade is applied. Try this sometime for a special occasion. It will give a lovely luminous transparency to your complexion. A darker powder —but. by no means a really dark one, for degrees in powder shades are very, very fine —-used around the eyes gives them a brilliancy and light which the very judicious application of rouge also achieves. For evening a somewhat lighter powder is an excellent choice, but be sure to try it out under artificial light. And when you are buying evening powder be sure to buy a liquid powder in the same shade To use on arms and neck.

Another matter which troubles a great many women is powder consistency. Alost powders are manufactured to suit as many skins as possible, so that you need not worry about powder consistency in general unless the manufacturer states on the container that the powder has been created for a particular skin type. One very good powder is made in two types, one of the normal or oily skin and one for the dry skin. The difference is more apt to lie in the powder base which you use than in the powder itself, so that if you buy a reliable, established brand of powder, thus eliminating the risk of impure ingredients and inadequate mixing, you will probably find that the texture does very well if your powder base is correct-. Just a word about the correct application of your powder: don’t just dab it on your nose and let it go at that. Work over the entire face and neck, letting the faint velvet bloom lie eyenly and naturally over the skin. Apply only with the very cleanest of powder puffs or, better still with a swab of- cotton which can be thrown away. And don’t forget, by the way, to match your dressing-table box of powder with a compact of the same shade, or to fill your loose powder compact, if that is

what you carry, with some of the same powder. As for rouge don’t depend on the colour of your hair for a colour guide, any more than -you do for your powder shade. If you already have colour in your cheeks, but want to add a little more, analyse the glow already there for its basic colour tints. If you have no colour at all rub your cheeks smartly with your hand and watch the resultant colour. The same tendency of brunettes to yellow-orange tints and of blondes to red-purple will be noticed. In general, women, particularly older women, make the mistake of using too purple a rouge. The brighter yelloworange shades are much younger, brighter and becoming, and so lean in that direction if you are going to shop for rouge. Buy your rouge, too, with direct relation to the lipstick shade that you prefer, or vice versa. Any divergence in the colour tendencies of rouge for the cheeks and rouge for the lips immediately looks artificial and unattractive.

There are three kinds of rouge—powder (compact), cream and liquid. Liquid rouge is undoubtedly most lasting in effect, but it is also the hardest to apply. Dry powder rouge is undoubtedly the most natural in its effect, but it docs not, on the other hand last indefinitely. Alany women consider the cream rouges a happy medium. A cream rouge for use at home at your dressing table, and a compact of dry powder rouge in the same shade to be carried in your bag and used for renewals is a good arrangement.

I have put the cart before the horse in speaking of powder first, for your rouge, of course, goes on directly after your powder foundation and before the powder is applied. For applying rouge, as for powder, stand or sit in a good light, and look at yourself in profile as well as full face.

Rouge is very helpful in subtle alterations. In general, your rouge should be applied in thin half-moons on each cheek bone, the cusps of the half-moons shading gradually off towards the nose and towards the temples. Rouge shotild always be so carefully blended into the skin that no hard edges are visible. A very faint touch of rouge just under the line of your eyebrows will add brilliance to your eyes, and if the lobes of your ears show, touch them lightly with, rouge too. But individual faces demand individual methods of rouging and one must always remember that colour makes prominent features recede. Hence if you have a very long face, deepen the colour on your cheeks, and run the rouge along the outer curve of the ears if they are exposed. A faint touch of rouge at the point of your chin, just faintly carried up, will shorten it, and a touch just under the tip of your nose will tend to shorten it too.

If your face is too broad, however, you can lessen its width by deepening the rouge tone near the nose. On a square face the rouge is placed very high and blended on the outer sides of the cheeks in order- to emphasise the curves. By the same token, a deep colour beyond the eyes widens a thin face. On a round face rouge should be less spread and more concentrated in the centre of each cheek. Too much care can’t be given to getting the rouge on exactly right. Apply just a little at first, adding more and more to it and building your effect as an artist does.