I know how, often, it is difficult to dress en femme at home, much less heading out to the mall dressed and ready to go.

There are ways to be really discreet about wearing makeup that might satisfy, at least a little bit, your desire to go out with makeup on.

Mascara

Wearing mascara might seem a crazy idea if you are trying to be hidden about your makeup usage, but give me a second to explain.

One does not need to start with covering the entire lashes with mascara, but just the very tips can be touched with the brush, offering the tiniest hint of darker ends of your lashes. I recommend this method when getting used to mascara in the first place and it can be a great way of titrating into a full lash of mascara (if that is your desire). Having the tips of your lashes colored can give you an immediate sense of change as, really, only you can see and feel the difference.

Also, do not use black mascara unless you really have black lashes already. Use the color closest to your own lash color. For most of us, that is brown. Even brown-black can be too dark.

I would also suggest you consider whether you want waterproof (which is great in humid weather) or regular. Waterproof, you have to take off with soap and water or, better yet, makeup remover. Regular comes off rather easily, which is a good and bad thing… bad if it comes off on your cheeks if it starts to rain, good if you need it off in a hurry. You choose what works best for you!

Concealer

Concealer can be something you can get away with, claiming you are covering a blemish of some kind. Different concealers do different things… some are for dark circles under the eyes and others are for spider veins or birthmarks. Here is a great page for learning what color concealers you should use for your skin tone.

Concealers are awesome ways to smooth out the different shades and shadows on your skin, making you look healthier on top of more beautiful. Some people find they want to use a foundation on top of the concealer to really bring it all together, but you experiment and see what you can do on your own.

One of the best things about a concealer is if someone finds it and questions you, you can honestly say you want to get rid of the dark circles under your eyes without ever disclosing you are really wearing makeup.

As always, you can experiment with these things at a makeup counter, either near where you live or when you go out of town.

Part 2 talks about using Powders & Lip Stains. See you soon!