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How to look pretty this Diwali
As you flit from one party to another, and smile for your 389th Diwali-wali group photo, make sure your make-up keeps up. We've tackled a few problems you might encounter while you put your game face on this year.
At a MAC event recently, make-up artist Mickey Contractor was asked a question that’s probably on most women’s minds at Diwali:
“When it comes to glitter, how do you know when to stop?”
His answer: “Why would you even start?”
With weeks of hectic partying ahead, there’ll be sparkle everywhere: in the decor, on the clothes, in the smiles of loved ones and in the eyes of the people you meet. So will you go easy on the glitter or smother yourself in shimmer? Whatever you choose, we’ve tackled a few problems you might encounter while you put your game face on this year.
Keep make-up looking fresh through long hours of parties and dinners
Most experts will tell you to keep it simple. Layer too much and you risk your make-up caking or smudging.
The trick is to moisturise (wait for it to sink into your skin and wipe off the excess) and use a light hand with longwearing make-up. If you don’t need much covering up, combines both steps. But if your foundation tends to leave the party early, give it a few more hours of staying power with a primer like underneath.
Set off your shimmery eyes (because, who does matte eyes on Diwali?) with a pigmented no-nonsense lipstick like . For matte lips, will survive smiles, snacks and soirées.
Try this backstage trick for colour and glow to your cheeks: start with a cream blush like and set it with a dusting of gold highlighter.
Lock kiya jaaye? after you’re done so your look lasts longer.Look good in photo after photo
Cameras are cruel. They’ll record everything in high definition and throw colours off with ugly flash, making you look grey, not glowing. Fight back with foundation that doesn’t contain SPF (you don’t need it after dusk and it tends to make skin look ghostly in pics).
Blend out the edges of your eye colours so no tide marks appear when photos are enlarged – has sparkly new shadows that make the job easy.
Remember that eyeliner is your best friend – even if you’re wearing eye shadow – as it gives eyes definition in photos.suggests colours that have a black base – such as a black-blue or a black-brown which are easier to wear.
Don’t forget mascara – has one with both a sparse and bushy wand, so you can pick the intensity you want.
If you’ve never filled in your brows, you’ve never known the difference they make in photos. Use a (or even a nice black-brown shadow) and use short light strokes to create an arch that opens up the eyes in pictures.
You may want to look dewy – but that often shows up as oily on camera. The solution? A which smoothes out skin and adds a glow when dusted lightly (lightly!) over your made-up face.
Work multiple party looks with minimum fuss
Of course you’re going to do gold eyes one evening, red lips another and you’ll struggle with some sort of smoky eye after that. Yawn!
Add more variation, why don’t you? Switch deep browns, purples or even shades of peach for your smoky eye (with help from pre-coordinated palettes by and ).
Try a wash of rose gold shadow (every brand seems to be making them now, choose one where the shimmer doesn’t overpower the colour) over eyes one day, cheekbones the next.
Or use a cream product like as a shadow one day and an eyeliner the next. To really amp up your look (and have people wondering how you did it), don’t be afraid of false eyelashes. Make Up For Ever makes ones light enough to not weigh down your lids. 
Keep your skin looking good too
Your slap-it-on-take-it-off make-up routine night after night will take its toll on your skin. Cleanse like the experts (by which we mean French models) with a light but hardworking cleanser like . Lazy types don’t even need to it rinse off. (If your chemist doesn’t stock it, get ). Or coax long-staying colours off with creamy cleansers from They offer a spa treatment without a spa appointment.
Make serums your best friend this season. works well under make-up, is designed to figure out what your skin needs (and doesn’t) and gets to work. claims to be especially formulated to brighten Asian skin.
Put together a survival kit
You’ll need touchups – in the car as you rush from Party Two to Party Three, in the hotel’s rest room, on the elevator ride to someone’s house.
Stuff your bejewelled clutch with a compact (Sephora’s is fine, matte and cheap enough to misplace), a chunky matte lip pencil that works as lipstick, liner and blush (Chambor has new ones), a tiny freshening face spritzer like Avene’s, and, if you get shiny easily, oil blotting sheets like ones made by Inglot, to dab it all away.
Need one palette to rule them all? Make it a brown-nude one (like ) to use as a shadow and a cheek bone highlighter. That’s it. You’re all set!
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From HT Brunch,October 19
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