Makeup tips for dark skin tones

Dark skin absorbs light. It’s beautiful au naturelle, but good makeup for us women of colour that does justice to dark skin tones can be hard to source. These makeup tips for dark skin will hopefully give you some little ideas for future creativity…

There will come a point in your life where the only reasonable option on a particular occasion is to wear a little bit of makeup. OK, a lot.

White people tend to find it a tad easier locating makeup to suit their skins. Black girls will no doubt find sourcing good makeup harder. Because our dark skins absorb light, black girls need to find makeup that will not only make our dark skin look flawless, but also defy the light absorbtion that our skin is performing. Here are a few tips to help with finding the right makeup for your beautiful dark skin.

1) Yes, black is a great colour, but black makeup sometimes gets boring.

Black eyeliner, black eyeshadow and black mascara. Where’s the colour? When did life become so monochrome? Don’t stick to just one colour, even if it’s black. Yes, you can’t go wrong with a little black eyeliner and mascara. But if you use the same colour every single day, where is the fun in that? You don’t have to have thick black eyeliner around your eyes to put your point across. You can easily do it with a little bit of pink. Even if you don’t want to give up your black eyeshadow, mix it with another colour to achieve a fantastic smoky effect.

2) You can be classy AND experiment!

Yes, your skin is darker than all your friends – but that doesn’t mean that you have to use only a certain colour to make you look fantastic. Light blue makeup will work as effectively on your dark skin tones as it would on caucasian skin – probably even better, if you know what you’re doing.

3) Girls with dark skin do not have to stick to dark-coloured makeup.

As I said before, dark skin absorbs the light, so using dark colours will not be as effective as using say, a nice emerald green, or a tawny bronze.

4) Makeup for dark skin tones requires experimentation

Experimenting – whether with eyeshadow or foundation – on what colours look lovely on you and what colours scream “I do not suit your face, please wipe me off” will make your makeup know-how increase in vastitude to the point where you will always display a flawless look. Try different methods for putting on your eyeshadow. If you normally use a brush to apply your eyeshadow, try using your fingers. You will find that you get an entirely different effect.

5) Stick to quality (eg. mineral) makeup for dark skin tones

I agree, cheap eyeliners and mascaras are great. But when it comes to full-on makeup with the foundation and blusher and everything, get a good makeup set. Try to stay away from mousse foundations as they have ingredients in them that tend to make your face really oily and break out in pimples. Powder foundations are much better. ‘ are fantastic. Try foundations from Aromaleigh as they have natural minerals in them and i can proudly say that they have never given me a spot.

6) You can still keep it simple if you prefer!

You can never go wrong with a fresh clean face with just eyeliner and mascara. You have no obligation to go and put on bright neon pinks and greens and blues if you feel it does not suit you.

Makeup is all about enhancing your great features, not trying to make new ones.