Who needs plastic surgeries? Fix flaws with makeup

Who needs plastic surgeries? Fix flaws with makeup © Margaret Ambrose
Admit it. At some stage in your life you've stood in front of the bathroom mirror, lifted the corners of your eyes with your fingers and thought, "Wow, this is what I'd look like if I had a face lift." (Shame on you.) Or perhaps you're guilty of pulling your ponytail that little bit too tightly so as to give you those almond eyes you wish nature had provided. (That was just the way my mother did my hair when I was growing up.)	Most of us have at some stage entertained the idea of cosmetic surgery, although most of us are turned off by pain, or convince ourselves we're being too vain. In any case, there's a cheaper way out: according to make-up artists, a risk-free face-lift is only as far away as your make-up case.
Instant Nose Job When it comes to creating the nose of your dreams, keep in mind the golden rule of camouflage: dark colours recede, and light colours bring out. If your nose is slightly larger on one side, dab on some foundation that is marginally darker than the foundation you use for the rest of your face, or alternatively, apply a lighter shade to the smaller side. If your nose is broad, use a light shade for the upper nose line to make it look narrower. Blending is the key, especially when using a shade even slightly darker than your natural colour. If you're conscious about the size of your nose in general, another suggestion is to not start pencilling in your eyebrows at the nose - begin a little further into the brow, to take the emphasis away from the nose. Cheekbone Implant Look-alike Thanks to nature, we all have cheekbones - it's just a case of "drawing them out" with blusher. If you fear blusher and the stripe potential it holds, start with a natural shade, say a brown or a pink. The natural depth of your cheek extends from the middle of your ear to the corner of your mouth. Start applying the blusher at the cheek and work up, applying a little bit at a time. If you still don't look like Helena Christensen, add a dusting of light powder to the cheekbone to draw it out. A powder with a sheen is best, as sheen adds the illusion of light.	Eye Improvement In A Flash Eye Lift: Nothing lifts the face like almond shaped eyes. A common mistake is for people to extend their eye make up out (a la Cleopatra), when they should be thinking up. Don't take your eye shadow right to the edge of the lid. Stop short and then blend upwards to the brow area. Deep Set Eyes:If you have protruding eyes and the goldfish look is not what you are going for, apply a dark colour to the lid. This will give your eyes the appearance of being deep set. If you want extra help, apply a lightish colour to the area just below the brow - this will further emphasise depth. Eyes Wide Open: Fancy Heather Graham's wide-eyed-wonder look? You're not alone. Most people want larger eyes, yet they insist on circling their entire eye with eye-liner. This "closes" the eyes and makes them appear even smaller. Apply a white eyeliner pencil to the rim of the eye - especially the corners, and then a darker one just outside it - this will really open your eyes. You can even apply some dark eye shadow along the fold between the eyelid and brow, to bring your eyes out further. Finish off the look by curling your lashes with an eyelash curler (hint: warm the curler first with a blow waver, for an all-day curl).
Immediate Collagen-looking Lips If you saw Barbara Hershey post-collagen injections (less bee-stung and more back alley brawl), you'll know why makeup is the safer option. The general rule is, to make lips appear larger, apply lip liner to the outside the natural line of the lip. And of course, if you want to reduce the size of your lips, apply the lip liner to just inside the lip. You may even feel one lip is too big and the other too small. In those cases, combine rules. Skinniness Minus Liposuction Sorry, no can do. But we had you going for a second, right? The important thing to remember when choosing make-up over cosmetic surgery is that just as you can take plastic surgery too far (a la Jocelyne Wildenstein), you can take make up too far. Start with a light foundation or tinted moisturiser and add the correctional make up a little at a time until you achieve the results you want. And if you really want to send us the thousands of dollars you've just saved on surgery, we'll readily accept it.	In addition, the type of lipstick you choose can do even more to give you the lips you want. Glossy lip sticks accentuates the lips making them appear larger and poutier, and matte lip sticks can make your lips appear smaller than they actually are. Spot Reduction Straight Away While you wouldn't have plastic surgery to hide a pimple or two, some people go to pretty drastic measures to hide them, which is the worst thing you can do. If you cake on concealer, then foundation, then powder, you could be making the blemish more obvious. Try a green concealer (think, green counteracting red) beneath a fine layer of foundation and dusting of powder. Scar Cover-Up Without Laser Surgery: If you have an obvious scar or discolouration on your face, it can make you feel self-conscious, and tempted to reach for the heavy-duty cover up. Products such as Dermablend are specially designed for people with scars, providing an opaque cosmetic coverage - great for those heavy scars and portwine birthmarks. But what if you don't need such a harsh look? Try applying your cover-up straight after moisturising or after spraying your face with Evian mist.