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Style Advice by Betsy Lowther
Style Advice by Betsy Lowther
Your style columnist fears just two things: the resurgence of acid-washed denim jeans and the jam-packed aisles of Sephora. For the latter, we sought out Hollywood makeup artist Sam Fine, who has built an impressive roster of first-name-only clientele — Halle, Tyra, Beyonce — and has just released a how-to makeup DVD for women of color, “The Basics of Beauty” ($25, samfine.com). “The trick to shopping any beauty department is to first prepare a grocery list of what you need,” Fine says. For African-American skin, he suggests gravitating toward cosmetics lines — Stila, Nars and Smashbox are favorites — known for strong pigments that will stay vibrant on darker skin. Surefire bets include brown shadows for day, greens and blues for evening — and just about anything with gold shimmer. (But stay away from silvery shades, which can look ashy.) Another Fine tip for dark skin tones: Skip traditional blush, and instead reach for bronzer, which gives cheeks a luminous glow. Unfortunately, we did not think to ask Fine about how to ace the acid-washed look.
E-mail Betsy your fashion questions, or join her at noon on June 19 for a live chat!
