Makeup Rules for Your Daughter

Photo: Ben Ritter

Turn on the TV, and there are the gorgeous Gossip Girls. Flip through a magazine, and all the models are airbrushed. This pressure on young girls is nothing new, but it has evolved. When you were a teen, did you upload your picture onto Facebook to share with all your peers?

Makeup artist Bobbi Brown says she sees a trend of girls wearing more makeup at a younger age. "I used to reserve black eyeliner and a little bit of a smoky eye for 18-year-olds, but there are plenty of 15- and 16-year-old girls that wear it now," she says. "Ten years ago they would never, but almost every girl now wants black eyeliner."Brown isn't against makeup on young teens if it's done the right way. "All girls are beautiful—what it takes is time," she says. "Find what makes you special." Then, use makeup to enhance that natural beauty.Brown suggests looking for role models who are truly beautiful, like tennis champ Venus Williams, golf pro Morgan Pressel and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."Strong is beautiful," she says. "Skinny is not."

At its best, foundation can make your skin look more even-toned and smooth. At its worst, it can cause your face to look masklike and dry. Luckily, we have plenty of options that cater to our individual skin types and preferences.

In fact, some might say we have too many options to choose from, which can feel overwhelming when you're staring at rows and rows of foundations at Sephora. Fret not, we're here to help.

The first thing to consider is your skin type (is it dry, normal, oily or combination) and your desired coverage level (do you want the finish to be light, medium or full). Now look for those corresponding keywords on the labels.

Once you've narrowed things down to the formula that best meets those criteria, it's time to find your shade match. You can do this by picking up two to three shades that you think most closely match your skin color and swatching them along your jawline. Then, grab a mirror and head to your nearest window (or step outside for a second) to see which one disappears into your skin. Note: If you have freckles, match the shade to your overall skin and not the freckles themselves.