Make-up Tips – Advice on how to get a Professional Look

Dressing for success is so much more than simply choosing an outfit that looks fresh, casual and yet professional. As I’ve come to learn from the Fashion for Business event created by Biz magazine, your professional image should not be underestimated, especially if you’re planning to advance in your career and achieve your goals.

The thought and care you put into your image as a career woman should not be limited to the outfits you choose for your business meetings, but should reflect in every aspect that ties together the whole ensemble.

A challenge many young women face nowadays is choosing a professional casual makeup, hairstyle and outfit that don’t overpower their look and let their skills and talent shine. When it comes to your place of work, less is more in terms of makeup. However, no makeup is as bad as too much makeup, as this reflects to your clients, investors and customers that your professional life casts a shadow over your personal one, that you don’t care too much about yourself to properly groom and take care of your image.

A woman’s professional appearance needs to support her professional accomplishments, which is why looking competent and confident is incredibly important. I for one, can’t imagine doing that without makeup and studies show that women who wear makeup at work are more likely to get promoted.

But before you get ahead of yourself and announce that you’re buying tonight, let me first give you some tips on how to achieve a professional, casual business makeup.

Business Make-up Looks

Groom your eyebrows and prep your skin – as per usual, makeup looks much better when your skin is healthy and clear. Keep a skin-care routine fitted to your needs, make appointments to see your cosmetician once a month and keep your eyebrows groomed and styled at all times.

Use professional makeup products – not only are these better for your skin, but they also wear better and help you maintain your look perfect for the entire day.

Keep it simple – you have to be able to do your makeup each morning, before you go to work, in about 10-15 minutes.

Keep it natural – less is more when it comes to a business makeup, therefore try to emphasize your natural features rather than distract everyone you talk to with an accent feature.

Choose a color scheme that compliments your features – the best color options for an office makeup are not the color trends of each year, but rather a range of neutral tones and complimentary shades, that make your eyes and hair color stand out.

The best eye shadow shades are beige, champagne, golden rose, vanilla, taupe, brown, camel, peach, plum, gray, chocolate, cooper, bronze or charcoal. 

Choose warm tones for the office – the fluorescent lighting in most office buildings is cool (bluish white). Because this tends to bring out pallor in the skin tone, you need to use makeup to your advantage to counteract sallow undertones and brighten the complexion.

Thus, regardless of your skin tone, choose warm tones for your eye shadows – golden beige, vanilla, peach, plum, chocolate browns, rather than blue, gray, greens, pink or purple shades. This applies to both lipstick and blush, so choose carefully!

Carry blotting tissues for touch ups – after lunchtime, I recommend stripping your skin of excess oils by blotting some touch ups tissues rather than powdering and caking your face. You can find some at MAC, Sephora or MUFE.

The most important aspect of your office makeup should be a flawless complexion, that stays perfect all day, regardless of bad weather or hot days. With that in mind, my strongest advice for a business casual makeup is that you pay attention to your complexion.

By choosing a good foundation according to your skin type, you can cut down on touch ups between meetings or in the office elevators and focus on the task at hand.

Make sure you apply a face primer before your foundation, and always blend the later below your jaw line to make the transition invisible to the naked eye.

Next, get rid of the dark circles under your eyes, that make you look like you haven’t slept all week. These send out the message that you are too tired to focus on your job or that you don’t have an organized life. To avoid any misconceptions, please invest in a quality under-eye concealer. If you have any skin issues at the moment, like blemishes or acne, you should try to conceal these spots as well. Stress and bad eating habits are contributing factors to these issues.

After your face is a perfect canvas, apply a sheer dusting of loose powder to set your makeup and make it last all day. Matte is always more appropriate for the office than a dewy complexion. A touch of peach toned blush and you already look more competent, fresh and ready for action.

Tips to Look Great on a Low Budget for Female Entrepreneurs 

In Patti Stanger’s book Become Your Own Matchmaker: 8 Easy Steps for Attracting Your Perfect Mate , she did not consider folks operating on a low budget. She tells her readers to get their butts to the salon anyway. While this advice is given to women looking for a mate, I believe Patti’s intense wardrobe and self-care doctrine should be given for small business owners as well. Whether you are a man or a woman—if you work for yourself every time you go to a networking event you are representing your brand. Fortunately for some and unfortunately for others first impressions matter.

In my early 20s, I wasn’t an entrepreneur yet but I was somewhat of a stereotype. I was surrounded by stunning models, perfectly suited bankers and La Mer covered PR mavens. It was humbling to say the least. Along the way of trying to come up with a look that worked for me I made many mistakes. I bought a lot of “fast fashion.” Over time I figured out how to look the part without going into debt—and now that I’m an entrepreneur I use my own cost saving techniques without skimping on fashion.

Don’t worry—I know you might feel stressed out—feeling like you could really use a gift certificate from Bloomingdales right now (and the last time you got one of those it was your Bat Mitzvah). Don’t worry! Today we’re going to get you suited up on a budget—a real budget.

1. Full priced is fool priced. At a certain point I realized “why should I pay full price for something when I can get it for less? The millionaire next door doesn’t throw money at full priced goods just because they can afford it. They became a millionaire by keeping their costs manageable along the way. Nordstrom Rack, Loehmans, and designer clothes for less stores are an amazing resource. In the age of Ebay why pay full price if you don’t have to? But beware, just because it’s a Diane von Furstenberg dress doesn’t mean you should buy it. No one cares if your tutu is designer—you might look a little too Swan Lake for a business networking event.

2. Make ONE thing pop. Big necklace, no earrings or big earrings, no necklace. You don’t need to dress in head to toe designer clothes (that have the label on them in huge letters), bags and shoes—you just need to be presentable. Don’t come off as “trying too hard” by overdoing it. Make one accessory stand out.

3. Don’t buy shoes if you’re hobbling around in them. While heels are sexy, there is nothing less sexy than watching a woman look like she’s hobbling across the street on stilts. We don’t want another Jennifer Lawrence Oscars situation.

4. Get your nails done, but don’t get all the add-ons. It’s important to look clean. You don’t need to get the most expensive items on the menu, but make sure the nails are well kept. If you can’t keep your nails up yourself I encourage you get a professional to do it.

5. Make-up: less is more. If you ask men what they like, most of them will say women who don’t wear a lot of make-up. We’re so over-marketed to by the cosmetics companies. When we over-do it with the layers of product—we can look clownish. Light make-up is very pretty. If you want to make something standout, leave something else “unpainted.” Dark eye shadow, light lipstick. Dark lipstick, light eye shadow. You get the idea.

6. Clean your bags. I do believe every person should have at least one nice bag and you don’t need to break the bank to score one. I never buy a designer bag full-priced. As a side note, buy the leather cleaner so your bags last longer.

7. Go to the shoe cobbler instead of buying new shoes. While it’s really important to look nice, you don’t want to go into debt over a pair of shoes—I don’t care what Carrie Bradshaw would have done. If you’re thinking of buying a standard pair of black heels consider going to the cobbler to see if you can clean up an older pair. 

8. One versatile black blazer. One very elegant blazer can add a professional seal on your outfit. Black blazers are incredibly versatile, and you can change up your look just by rolling the sleeves up just under the elbow. Pair a blazer with a pencil skirt, slacks or even a long shirt and yoga pants. Just make sure it’s classy.

9. Ask for help.  Wander through the department store and ask the make-up artists a million questions. Ask them to try different looks on you. I don’t have a face that takes to make-up easily. Over the years I learned what is flattering and what is not. I consult with make-up professionals, estheticians, hairdressers, retail sales people.... it’s free advice—and they will tell you the truth unlike your friends.

Whatever you decide to do, know that underneath all of this you must feel good about who you are in your heart. No amount of fashion, make-up or jewelry can give you the confidence you have when you really love yourself.

But....the look can definitely put you in the right frame of mind!