6.3 how can I learn makeup tips for goths of color?

From: Erica
Ok make-up. First off, STAY AWAY FROM WHITE FACE. That's almost like a given. You'll end up looking awful. If you want to go lighter, get a foundation that's maybe two shades lighter, but women of colour need to beware, because most of them have yellow undertones, and make sure you don't buy anything that's too yellow-y or orangy, because you'll end up looking pretty sallow.

Also, a lot of women of colour have uneven skin tones, so it also helps if you possibly splurge a bit on foundation... Prescriptives works wonderfully for my normal skin. I've found that cheaper foundations tend to look yello-y and cheap. A little trick that a friend of mine does is that she mixes a tiny bit of bronzer or light goldeny (key word -- gold not yellow or orange) powder (just a very little bit) with her everyday moisturizer. It looks beautiful and shimmery on her dark skin tone.

As far as lippies, eyeliners, and such, all-over black (black eyes and lips) tends to be a little too harsh. Charcoal grays, deep wines, and forest greens work beautifully on darker skin tones. Another look that I think looks great on darker skin is a silver or gold (but not too much gold) theme. A bit of silver liquid liner on the eyes (I have some by Nat Robbins), a little shimmery dark silver shadow, paired with a very dark pewter lippie (I mix my own with a combination of Wet 'n Wild's black and silver), and with a big sprinkling of glitter here and there, can look wonderful, and the same sort of thing can be done with gold. Shimmery eye make-up and lippie shows up beautifully on dark skin.

As far as a more muted look, deep purple lippies (ex: Revlon's lavender smoke, StreetWear's heartless, my new fave, L'Oreal's plumage), or burgundys (ex: Revlon's blackberry) look good too... add some dark lippie with a bit of grey/black/plum or whatever liner and you're set.

Also, a lot of women of colour (at least ones that I know) tend to have dry/sensitive skin... make sure you take off your makeup before you go to bed, and invest in a good moisturizer (I like the one I get by Origins).

Honestly, women of colour don't really need foundation all that much, just a little one the uneven spots. concealer can even help with that... once again I am fond of Prescriptives.

Hair... hair is a toughy... a lot of women of colour get their hair chemically straightened (as do I on occasion). The problem with this is that it TOTALLY wrecks your hair, and it can make it very hard to colour it. You cannot use most permanent colours or bleaches on freshly chemically straightened hair. You usually have to wait a few months before you could put your hair thought anymore damage.

As far as styles to me anything goes, as long as you like it and it's flattering... if your hair is long, you can put it in little braids, pigtail it, put it up in an elegant bun, braid ribbons into it, wear hats, even just a plain ponytail or braid... it really all depends on what you want to do with your hair and what's flattering to your hair and face type.

I have a friend that shaves her head and wears pretty little tiaras and crowns. She also has a wonderful hat collection and fabulous wigs. But shorter cuts can look GAF on goths of colour... I have a black goth friend that has her hair in an adorable pixie, and she can wear it so many different ways. She spikes it, slicks it back, puts barrettes in it... anything goes really.

For styling products, I suggest you go to a salon that caters to african americans to get good products. Also, especially if you dye a lot or get it chemically straightened, condition a LOT, because it will keep your hair from getting dry and brittle. A really good conditioner that I can recommend is the Body Shop's Brazil Nut Conditioner. It's not a bad price, and it really keeps your hair moisturized.

From: Vaysh
I'm medium brown in complexion, and have never been much on makeup. When I go out, I usually use a foundation and translucent powder a shade lighter than the more natural shade I use for work. (NO ONE looks good in white face except Sting and Brandon Lee, neither of whom really count for obvious reasons.) I stick to darker lipsticks like L'Oreal Matte Bordeaux, but I've also got a few deep reds, metallic colors, etc.

For the eyes, I'm currently using a light peach blusher and going 70s heavy and pointy with the eyeliner. I've also been known to play with smoky greys and shiny metallics and... well... that frosty blue.

I have done everything humanly possible to my head without ever going completely bald, although there were a few scares :) I've had weaves and braids and knots and twists... oh my. It's been every color under the sun too, thanks to the help of a mother who herself strips her hair to a really cool pale yellow-white every other Saturday morning. Right now, it's relaxed (read: chemically straightened), and I'm letting it rest from a bout with some Dark and Lovely Midnight Blue. (Don't use this! It looked great for about two days, but fried my hair and shampooed itself to just about nothing in less than a month.) Previous to that I had been using Eugenie Natcha which was lovely.

From: Pauline
The dark lipstick and dark eyeliner can be done. If you saw the intro to the Cover Girl seashell commercial, Tyra Banks wore an Ebony Wine kind of color with heavy smokey eyes. Remember that Black Opal's Ebony Wine was originally geared toward women of color.

From: just julia
Pale face, is bad. Dark lipstick rocks the world. Check out black cosmetics lines sometime, they're a great place to snag lovely deep colors. Also, silvery glimmery makeup can show up way more metallicy on darker skin so you can look sneaky and cyber. Ditto for glitterific makeup. Then there is the fun of doing cat's eye makeup, super liquid eyeliner, etc. Or lots and lots of pretty gold makeup. Oddly enough, some of the pastel makeup (like lavender) can look really funky and doll like.

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