Our Expert Your Queries

Questions by Eesha :

Q) I have seen many YouTube gurus who recommend no eye make-up whereas some recommend some neutral/ nude make-up, a little darker for night time. What eye make-up one can wear with red lips?

A)You can wear any eye shadow you like until you are comfortable about yourself wearing it. Also keep in mind the event and then decide as well. I personally prefer tight lining the upper lid and putting lots of mascara, maybe doing the crease a bit and highlighting the inner corners. This is a fail safe look, apply a flesh toned shimmer eye shadow all over the lid in  colors like soft gold, beige, bone etc. Then define the crease with a bit of matte warm brown (cool brown if you have a cool red). You can try Audrey Hepburn like liner if you like to get dressy. Apply loads of mascara only on the top lashes keeping the bottom ones plain. This opens up the eyes wide and looks beautiful.

For blushers, opt for light toned shimmery bronzers or matte peaches for warmer reds and matte raspberry pinks for cooler reds. A modern way to also wear a red lipstick is to gloss it over and you can also use creamy shimmers on eyes. Chanel Ombre D’eau is amazing and so are Shiseido’s Hydro powder eye shadows in natural looking colors. An ideal palette for eyes which I like is the Clinique Eye shadow Quad in Spicy as the colors have the right texture and the right intensity.

Q) I have seen a lot of YouTube gurus applying concealer after applying the foundation, but whenever I got to MAC Store to buy a concealer (Studio Finish) they always tell me to buy Moisture Cover and tell me to apply it before the foundation. I got influenced by it and bought Select Moisture Cover in NC 44.5 (One that came with Mickey Contractor collection) to hide dark circles/ spots and apply it after  the foundation, but what I notice is it really doesn’t cover the dark spots well. I use a sponge to apply foundation and do stippling/ dabbing rather than swiping. My query is concealers, to hide blemishes & dark spots should be applied before the foundation or after the foundation and which concealers do you recommend to cover up dark spots? (I am NC 37-40 for reference)

A) There are two schools of thought over this. Using concealer under foundation can hide dark circles better and the foundation helps the skin look even toned. Concealer over foundation is another good option because you can judge how much coverage you need and what your problem areas are after the foundation so that you do not overdo it. To highlight the fact, Select Moisture cover is not to hide acne or dark spots. It’s just for under eye circles and a bit of unevenness. You can use primers like MUFE HD primer to start off as a base to make the impact of foundation better. Use drier formulations of concealer to hide any dark spots or blemishes as they are pliable yet they sit at the place you want them too. Don’t forget to use a tiny liner brush to do the spot concealing. You can go for MAC studio fix concealer instead and the better part is that concealer has SPF. Please remember to do spot concealing instead of applying too many layers of foundation to hide skin discolorations.

Q) I have baby hair on my cheeks and I have a bit sensitive skin. Bleach doesn’t suit me and the golden hair look horrible on me and in the pictures they look even more terrible and I have been told by many of friends that face waxing is an absolute no!  Do you recommend bleach or face waxing or any other solution to remove or hide baby hair? Does baby hair on face vary the foundation shade?

A) I do not advice neither. You can apply the foundation in the direction of the hair to keep them settled and don’t use a lot of powder as it settles in the hair and looks gaudy. You can take an appointment with a Dermatologist to deal with the problem. Another tip is to avoid applying blush in that area as well as bronzers in both liquid and powder forms as it would highlight the hair even more. Concentrate on the good features like eyes and lips while keeping the blush and foundation etc. minimal

Q) How to coordinate cheeks and lips with eye-makeup?

A) Trust your instincts coz always what written in the magazines and beauty books is not right. You can couple anything and everything as there are no beauty rules until you can carry that look off. Makeup can be as natural as you want, with accents on eyes or lips or really avant garde. For a beginner (if you are) go for blushers that are neutral or flatter all complexions like Clinique Precious Posy or MAC Style. It’s fun to experiment makeup but do it well in advance before the D-day.

Few makeup rules I follow are;

1. Blending the pencil eyeliner into lash roots to create an illusion of fuller lashes.

2. Accentuate the eye crease subtly

3. Always and always groom your brows as they are the only ones to add dimension to the face

4. Use a hint of bright blush on the face for a healthy look

5. Highlight the cupid’s bow of the lip to create an illusion of fuller lips for thin lips and

6. Highlight inner corners of eyes to create sophisticated complete eye makeup.

Otherwise makeup is all about creativity and creation.Go ahead and experiment by creating your own eye shadow formulas also and that too mixing them at home, same with lipsticks.

If you have any questions feel free to mail me at .

Image source – google

21 comments

  1. Eesha says:

    Thank you so much Dr. Neeraj for taking time out and answering each and every question. I am very clear now. 🙂
    Thanks to you too Rashmi, for taking an effort to start this feature on IB. Cyber hug to you 😀
    Eesha recently posted..

  3. Parita says:

    I too have lots of baby hair on my side locks and i seriously hate it! I agree waxing is not good though i have done that too but its highly painful and you get small boils on your face which def wont look good though they subside after few hours..threading is naother option but that too i find very painful and do it only if required. I too have extremely sensitive skin and bleaches have never suited me but i recently tried Gold Bleach from aroma magic on continuosly pestering from my parlor lady and was pleasantly surprised at the result..it did not do any harm on my skin..so you can give it a try if you like….there are few facial hair removal creams available..i have used only Andrea’s facial hair removal cream and really liked it as it actually reduced the hair growth on my side locks and never caused any side effect but sadly you dont get this cream in india..I had got it from swiss…last option would be to go for laser hair removal but that too is advised only if you have really thick hair and not for baby hairs..hope this helps 🙂
    Parita recently posted..

  4. shilpa says:

    dr neeraj…i have a query……..i m really fond of wearing red lips and smokey…..not together always…..
    wen i wear only russian red sans any eye makeup i look washed out……and again….if i wear heavy smokey eyes but pair them with nude lips……i again look washed out…….i just cant makeout…..where am i going wrong……?
    and is it possible to pair smokey eyes with red lips without looking gaarish and too made up????

    • Neeraj says:

      Hi Shilpa,

      Smokey eyes need not be with dark colors only. Use a soft bronze or soft brown color and then tightline the eyes with black kohl and apply lots of mascara. If u feel washed out go for a candy colored blush (preferably a gel or cheek tint) and then apply some clear gloss over ur red lipstick. ITs more cheerful and wipes off tiredness from ur face.
      Neeraj recently posted..Beauty Bloggers United

  5. nidhi says:

    I really love to wear red lipstick but always feel it will look to bright during day time. I usually couple red lips with champaign and soft brown eye look with tons of mascara 🙂
    nidhi recently posted..Products of the week

  6. gowri bala says:

    Hi Rashmi
    Am new to make up world.. dont even have much make up stuffs… just two foundations in wrong shade a compact and some lip glosses.. can u pls suggest me what make up should i get for my wedding function.. i hear there are many shades of foundation and compact even for duskier skin tone in MAC. am dark means really dark complexioned .. Am new to MAC after reading your blog i think u have a very good idea about the products.. i think am asking u too much but pls can u suggest what foundation,compact and concealer should i get.. there are many ranges available na so am confused.. i dont have any friends with make up knowledge too… do i need a primer.. Rashmi i want to look natural with minimal make up kind ah look with a glow on my best day.. your reply is a lot to me .. I will appreciate the help

    .

    • rashmi says:

      Hello Gowri

      First let me apologize here for my mail , dear we have recently started this session and getting mails from anonymous persons and little weird questions, so its better to be safe rather then sorry 😀 😀 am so glad you like this place … so stay around honey …
      and I want Neeraj to answer your query but from my exp.

      I personally dont like MAC for their foundations and as its your very first time I would not suggest you to buy MAC
      go to your nearest beauty store / lifestyle/ shoppersstop and look for Boujois and MaxFactor , both makes excellent foundations
      and for loose powder if you have Clinique buy That its worth investing in honey and they will give you complete consultation as well

      and for concealers … i use The Balm and its so perfect for me but you can try MAC studio Fix as Neeraj mentioned.

      Do buy a primer and you can go for MUFE HD if you are in Mumbai or if you buy online there are so many on strawberrynet.com

      and an eye primer from Elizabeth arden is awesome and priced at 850/- approx. available in Shoppersstop …

      i hope i am clear enough .. no foundation from MAC , buy Bourjois healthy mix or Max Factor Second skin
      concealer – MAC Studio Fix
      Primer – MUFE if you get ( also in straweberrynet.com if you dont mind buying online)

      i know you asked about makeup but honey pls go for good CTM 😀 😀

      hope this helps

  7. gowri bala says:

    i understand u clearly..really no issues.. thanks for the friendly response instead of ignoring the mail completely.. i m chennai based.. i believe i will get all the products here except MUFE… will definitely try.. waiting for the doctors answer… Rashmi am too a doctor.. fresh outtah college..

  9. Zara says:

    Awesome replies neeraj…even i hd d same query on foundation and concealors and i hv my answer nw 🙂

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