Goops, Gels, and Powders with Low Vision Part 2

Part 2: How the heck do I get this stuff on if I can’t see what I’m doing?
Very carefully.
Don’t laugh, it’s true. There are two basic values you need to know for your application of goops and powders and gels: how much, and where?
These two are very subjective values, unfortunately, and vary from person to person. I personally prefer the “less is more” rule. It’s easy to add a little if you don’t have enough, but hard to take extra off. This applies to hair products, face and skin, and make-up. ESPECIALLY MAKEUP!
Hair products are fairly straight forward. If you have short hair, don’t use a lot. If you have long hair, use a little more. Hair is a rather tactile thing, most people do shampoo and conditioner and other products by feel anyway so we’re not at much of a disadvantage. Hairspray, to get whispies and the like, can be a bit trickier, but still easily manageable. Just run your hand about a quarter-inch above your hair, and if you find stuff sticking out in weird places, pat it down and spray. If you’re unsure, ask a friend or family member for a hair-check.
Face and skin, I swear by the “less is more’ rule. Even if it’s not toned it can still cause problems like excessive oiliness or dryness if you get too much of something on. For total coverage without vision, make sure your fingers have rubbed, touched, brushed, blended, whatever, over every bit of face, a little below the jaw line, and up into the hairline. Those are the catch-spots; jaw line and hairline. You miss those, you’ve got weird lines on your face. Make sure you rub up a tadbit into the hairline, and down onto your neck so you don’t have a weird shadow-effect along your jaw. And, of course, easy on the eyelids. Those bruise and discolor really easily, and that’ll throw your whole look off.
Sunscreen…slather it on, rub until it feels normal, or be lazy like me and use a spray-on, instant soak-in, waterproof sunscreen. You’re generally safe with that. For face, spray a bit into your hands and then rub your hands onto your face, carefully avoiding your eyes.
Make-up. Oh, it’s a tricky thing. I personally hate wearing it. Well, no. I hate putting it on. It’s time out of my day to do something that is in my mind very trivial. I could care less if you see a couple of blemishes on my face, or if I look exhausted because of dark circles, but I have come to realize, through the multiple patient explanations of my mother, that for job interviews, concerts (I sing and play piano), presentations, formal events, and other such shindigs makeup is a necessary evil. It’s part of maintaining a professional appearance. And the stage thing, it’s to make you look less like a paper doll with no facial features under the bright lights and in the ubiquitous black concert attire directors and conductors are so fond of.
When you’re choosing colors for makeup I highly recommend you find someone who has nearly identical taste in appearance as you do. It makes all the difference if you’re a more conservative, natural-appearing person and you ask a more “glamour” look person what colors to wear. I got very lucky. My roommate has just about as close to identical taste in makeup to mine. She and I are both on the conservative, more natural look side of things, with a very infrequent, tiny flair for the dramatic. Another couple of friends invited me to a Mary Kay party and I tried a few colors there, then went home and asked my roommate what she thought.
Application of colored items like foundation, blush, eye shadow, liner, mascara, and lipstick is a very difficult thing when you can’t see what you’re doing. I personally skip eyeliner and mascara altogether. They’re not necessary, I prefer less, and if I absolutely have to have them I’ll just ask a friend for help. We ladies love helping each other with makeup and hair stuff  Mary Kay offers a 3-in-1 goop that I prefer because it cuts down on the number of products I have to have around (I’m a minimalist, can you tell?). It’s got moisturizer, facial sunscreen, and foundation all mixed into one goop, and I generally find goops easier to apply than powders, so it works out rather nicely. Once again, use the “full contact” rule to make sure you cover every bit, run up into the hairline a tiny bit, and get that jaw line smoothed into the upper neck. Trouble areas can include nose and chin, so take the extra minute to make sure those are covered fully. With the powders, it’s really a matter of practice and muscle memory. Have a friend move your hands along in the right motions the first one or two times you use the powders, then practice for a couple weeks, asking your friend to check your work before you leave the house. Once you’re getting a consistent first-time “ok” (consistent being 4-5 days in a row) you’re probably good to go. If you’re like me and won’t wear the stuff more than a dozen times a year, you’ll have to pick it up a few times extra just to stay in practice. Here again, I swear by the ‘less is more”. If you’re not careful it’s very easy to look like you just odn’t know what you’re doing with powders, cried all your mascara out, or gave yourself a china doll look (bright pink cheeks).
Lipstick is just tricky in general. If you close your lips, then press outward and carefully cover the exposed area in lipstick, that’s generally safe. Then you rub your lips together, making sure the waxy stuff gets all the wait o the corners, smack them together a couple of times, and go for a lip- check (that does not mean kiss your boyfriend, that means ask your girl friend if you made a mess or not!).

So those are the basics of gels, powders, and goops. There are a lot more “finer points” to discuss but those will come only if requested. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a minimalist who prefers a natural look so I don’t use the stuff very often, only when I have to, and only to stay in practice. And besides, Prada doesn’t like it when I wear extra stuff. She tries to lick off lotions, sunscreen, and even makeup if I lean in too close!