Applying Make Up

Many sighted people may not be able to imagine a blind woman applying her own make-up without looking like a circus clown. Even some blind people can’t fathom the idea. There is a blind woman I know who has her husband go around shopping with her, and he puts on her make-up before work every morning. I don’t think it is fair to your partner, just because he is sighted to take advantage of him, making him into your personal stylist.

On another occasion, when I was getting my guide dog, one of the students wanted one of the instructors to help her put on her make up. I told her that I could show her how to do it herself, and she replied, “But you’re blind too.”

I learned at a center I attended how to put on make-up. Another lady who was also blind taught me. In the program, we had to live with counselors for the summer. The counselors would show us things around the apartment after center hours ended.

Although you may need a sighted person to assist with choosing colors, you should be able to memorize in the future what is best for you, and handle it from there.

You can put Braille labels on the individual compacts so that you won’t forget which color is which. The way I keep my make-up organized is to put all the coordinating compacts in one zipper case together. I have one zipper bag with earth tones for everyday wear situations. I have another set of coordinated colors in a different set that is more vibrant for parties, an evening on the town or anytime I want a little brighter color.

Foundation

The first thing I put on is foundation. I place two fingers over the top of the bottle, completely covering the entire hole so the foundation doesn’t leak out anywhere. Then, I tip the bottle to where the liquid comes out onto my fingers. Not much should come out, maybe a few drops. Then I take the amount that comes onto my fingers and place that on my forehead, I do not rub it in yet. I place my fingers back over the hole of the bottle, and tip the bottle again. I put this amount on my nose. I repeat this process for my right and left cheek and my chin. Now that I have put dabs of foundation on my forehead, both cheeks, my nose and chin, I take both hands, and rub them all over my face. This will make the foundation blend in all over with my skin. Sometimes I have found that it is helpful for me to get my hands a tiny bit damp before working in the foundation. It seems to help the foundation spread more easily over my face.

Powder

I use the pressed powder that comes in coordinating colors to the foundation. There is usually a puff in the compact with the powder. You may need to get advice on how much powder is good for your skin, but after that, you can memorize the rest for future occasions.

First, I count how many strokes I need while putting the puff in the powder. For example, I use five strokes. I take one side of the puff, and count five strokes as I load powder onto the puff. Then, I do five strokes with the puff on my forehead. I move the powder puff from top to bottom on my face. This will look the smoothest. The tiny hairs on your face will catch extra powder if you apply the powder from the bottom up.

I repeat the whole procedure for the various sections of my face. After I have my whole face covered with the powder I will use a clean cotton ball or tissue to gently blend the powder into my skin and remove any extra.

Blush

To figure out where the blush goes, make your face into a huge smile. Find the spot that your cheek sticks out the most right under your eye. That is the place that you will start with. The blush will go from that spot along your cheekbone to just in front of your ear.

I use the same application concept of counting strokes as I get make up onto the blush brush. I take the applicator brush that is in the blush packet, and I count five strokes as I dip the applicator into the blush. I count the number of strokes I want on one cheek and apply it. Then I flip the applicator over to the side with no blush on it yet, and repeat the strokes as I put more blush on that new side. Then, I count the strokes again as I apply the blush to my other cheek.

I blend the blush in gently with the brush. You can tap the brush gently on the edge of the compact or sink to get any extra powder off first. I will usually apply the blush from my cheek horizontally back toward my ear. When I am blending the blush I will use short strokes from the top of my cheekbone downward. Be careful not to go very far down, maybe just two inches or so. You don’t want the blush to cover the entire side of your face.

Eye Shadow

I use the same procedure of counting how many swipes of the applicator I need to get the amount of eye shadow I want to put on. I close both of my eyes. Then I count the number of strokes as I do my right eye. I start in the middle of the eyelid and work the make-up to the corners of my eye. Using this technique I will get the most eye shadow in the center of my eyelid, right where it should be. If your compact has several shades of the same color, generally the darkest color will be on the left hand side of the compact. If you choose to use more than one color the darkest color goes closest to your eyelashes. The lighter colors go higher, nearer your eyebrow.

Now for the other eye, I flip the applicator over to the side that has no eye shadow on it. I repeat the count as I load the applicator and as I put the shadow onto my other eyelid.

Lipstick

Lipstick is very easy. You just have to trace the lines of your lips with the lipstick, and make sure you also get the corners of your lips too. I find it easiest to apply lipstick with my mouth slightly open and my lips relaxed. Lip balm is applied the same way.

If I feel like I accidentally went just a bit outside my lips, I just dab that area with a paper towel or with a damp wash cloth. You can press your lips together to make sure the lipstick is even over the entire lip area.

Mascara

To get the right amount of mascara on the brush, twist the brush inside the bottle once or twice. Then pull the brush out of the bottle. I was told by a cosmetologist, who is also blind, not to pump the brush in and out of the bottle because this will add air into the mascara. The extra exposure to the air will make your mascara dry up faster. Dried out mascara is more difficult to work with. It will clump more easily.

Now to get the mascara onto my eyelashes… I hold the handle of the mascara brush like a pencil in my thumb and first two fingers of my right hand. I rest my pinky finger against my right cheek to do the right eye. I rest my pinky finger against my nose to do the left eye. If you are left handed you will do the reverse, left pinky finger on the left cheek and so forth. My pinky finger acts as an anchor to keep my hand steady. It also keeps me oriented as to exactly how far the brush is from my face.

Then I slowly and carefully bring the brush close to my eyelashes. When I feel the brush touch my eyelashes, I blink. As I blink my eye it pulls the mascara off the brush and onto my lashes. You may have to reposition the brush slightly to get mascara on the lashes closer to the corners of your eye.

Try to remember how many times you blink. Repeat the whole procedure on the other eye. Use the same number of blinks on the other set of lashes to ensure that the amount is even.

The Right Look

You will need to experiment with colors, amounts and blending, until you get the look you are happy with. You may also want to experiment with different amounts for different occasions. Make up for evening occasions tends to be darker and more vibrant than it would for the office. Colors and styles also change over time. When I was in high school bright blue eye shadow and fire engine red lipstick were very fashionable! Now natural, earthy shades are the trend. Many women also change to more muted shades as they get older. There is a lot of variety and preference involved in the art of applying make up.

As you can see, it is very possible for a blind woman to do her make up. I know several blind women who work for Mary K or Avon who do make up parties on a regular basis. They show customers how to apply make up and discuss what types of make up are good for their particular skin. So sight is not essential in learning how to apply make up and look good.

If you are nervous about putting on make up for the first few times, it’s not bad to have a trusted sighted friend or family member who will be honest observe you and perhaps give you tips if they find that something is wrong. After all, even sighted women give each other tips or ideas. Once you have the information, you will feel confident enough to apply it independently and know that you look good.

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