Makeup Tips and Tricks for Girls of Color

At Penn State there’s a great deal of diversity, and no matter where you go to, whether a party of just class, there’s bound to be at least one minority. But being a girl of color myself, there are some difficulties when it comes to mastering the perfect look for your own race or ethnicity.

So here’s a shout out to all my girls of color who are having a hard time with their makeup. Struggling girls just like you have given their best advice for overcoming the biggest problems they’ve had. Just remember sometimes these looks won’t come over night and practice most definitely makes perfect.

Middle Eastern

According to Sahar Almarzooqi, freshman, one of the biggest struggle for Middle Eastern girls are their dark eyebrows. Shaping and shading them can often be difficult without having them look overdone. Almarzooqi strongly suggests investing in good brow make up such as Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade. This product in particular will give a softer, unique definition to the eyebrows without overdoing it. Also using brow stencils could greatly help you find the right shape for your facial structure.

Asian

Being Asian myself, the number one thing I struggled with are my mono-lid eyes. For those of you who are lucky enough to have avoided this frustrating trait, mono-lids are eyelids that don’t have a crease. This means if makeup is improperly applied, upon blinking the makeup can look as though it has disappeared. Frustrating right? In order to combat the “case of the disappearing eyelid” you should apply the eye shadow above the point where your crease folds inside each other. As each eye is different this will take some practice but eventually you’ll get it. Another way to battle the mono-lid is to wear warm metallic eye shadows. Marlena Roman, freshman, says that “gold eye shadows always work well.”

Black

Unlike Asians who struggle with their mono-lids, many Black women have trouble finding the perfect makeup that fits their skin tone. Yasmin Ahmad, freshman, says “the hard part is finding a foundation. I’ve only ever found one from L’Oreal.” Those going through the same problems should try buying these products in bulk for future use or even attempt to buy these products online where there is a wider range. For those who are not foundation wearers, Ahmad suggest wearing bright colored eye, which gives a pop of color to your darker eyes. This can mean anything from white and gold eye shadow to even a bright blue eyeliner.

Latina

Latina girls can range from a number of skin tones to different hair types. This being said it can be hard to find the right lip color for your skin tone. Monique Rohrbach, freshman, says that what normally works best for her and the other Latina girls in her family, are orange, red and frosted lip colors. While oranges can be harder to work with depending on your skin tone, definitely stay away from pinks as they fade against the skin tone. When it comes to the eyes Rohrbach says you should try using earthy tones such as golds, browns and greens and to “play up the eyes with false eyelashes.”

While this is definitely a good start to finding ways around your frustrating make up problems, there are definitely other ways around it also. Tools such as YouTube videos helped many of these girls above as well as just constant practice. But don’t feel limited if some of these makeup tips don’t agree with you. Makeup is a form of expression and no matter what race or ethnicity you are, go beyond the boundaries and just express yourself.

Photo by Sabine Clermont