Back to the Field Makeup Solutions

My years in Washington, DC gave me the opportunity to work with amazing women who have dedicated much of their careers to working overseas. Whether they are professional humanitarians, Peace Corps volunteers, government, NGO, or U.N. workers, returning from a long stint overseas often means a big readjustment to the beauty routine. Power suits and professional makeup and hair are a must in that town so you need to kick it up a notch! This weekend I did a makeup lesson, hairstyling lesson, and guided shopping trip with a woman who works for the State Department. She will be spending the next seven months in DC for language training before returning to a new assignment in a hot and muggy Asian country so the focus was preparing a beautiful professional look to beat the heat.

A common thread amongst nearly every returnee is the toll it has taken on the skin around their eyes. EYE CREAM people! PLEASE! This woman's skin was also prone to breakouts so I recommended an oil-free budge-proof regime. She had been using mineral makeup but I convinced her to ditch it because it was the kind that needs to be buffed which would only enhance the shiny look. A nice alternative might have been a pressed mineral compact (not as messy and no need to buff) but I didn't think she'd get enough coverage from it. We visited the Laura Mercier counter where I had her try on the long-wearing buildable coverage oil-free foundation. It looked gorgeous but I still recommended that she walk around with it on to see how it felt after time. It held up well through the day and felt lightweight so she ended up purchasing it. I also recommended Laura's undercover pot which is a trio of her beautifully creamy undereye concealer (my favorite out of all brands and great for eyes that need moisture), a drier concealer for facial blemishes, and a translucent powder to press on the concealer and set it. We decided that something simple for everyday would be best on eyes so I showed her my favorite all-day-wearing cream shadows from MAC, Bobbi Brown, and Benefit. She has brown hair and blue eyes so she can wear both browns and greys. Benefit's pewter colored creaseless cream eyeshadow (a warm grey with a brown olive tinge) in skinny jeans was the winning color and the perfect middle ground. I showed her how to use her pinky to apply it darker on the outer half of her eyelid first and then keep it more sheer on the inner half. Warning! This product sets very quickly so you have to work fast to blend it properly. Waterproof mascara, some highly pigmented powder blush, and Smashbox's limitless long wearing lip gloss in infinite finished up the lovely and long-lasting look.

Like many people who have thin oil-prone hair, she does not put any product in it. That only makes it worse! We determined that her shampoo and conditioner were weighing it down from the start. Our key theme for hair was VOLUMIZING. She needed volumizing shampoo and conditioner (only use on the tips of hair if tangled-not at the scalp) and volumizing mousse to add body and help stop oil production at the roots. I begged her to blowdry it upside down in the months that weren't too hot just to give it some body. Another option is to sleep with wet moussed hair in the hotter months. It will need a little re-styling in the morning but will have much more body than just wash-n-go. I'm looking forward to getting my post-report from her on how everything is working out!