"Putting on make-up is
tricky enough if you have practised in front of a mirror for years. But how do
blind people do this most visual of things"?
"I
use a brush, do five swirls across my blush and tap it to remove the
excess," says Christine Ha in a YouTube video which shows how she applies
make-up without a mirror. Ha is blind and received much attention after
becoming the winner of the US series of Masterchef in 2012. "I smile to
find the apples of my cheeks, and then lightly brush [the blush] on from the
apples to my temples." "Like my cooking," Ha writes on her blog,
"it all comes down to sense of touch and lots of practice."
She
lost her sight slowly as an adult and had to relearn how to make herself up.
With eyes, she says, "Once you feel the brush on your lashes, that's when
you know to start stroking the mascara on." Becoming familiar with the
length of the mascara wand beforehand helps her to gauge the approach towards
her lashes. Some feel that a shorter wand, like a sample-size one, makes it
easier to apply the make-up accurately.
If
you can't see, applying make-up is not simply about working at it until you
achieve the look you want. It's an exercise in trying to look your best using
your sense of touch and methodically counting the number of brush strokes or
finger swipes to ensure an even coating.
Blind
people develop innovative ways of doing daily chores. If something accidentally
drops on the floor, for instance, the best way to find it is to systematically
sweep hands in a wide circle to make sure no part of the surface is left
unexplored. A similar method can be used for applying foundation.
Here, Christine Ha shows how to put on mascara and blusher.
Visually
impaired fashion blogger Emily Davison, who was on this month's Ouch podcast,
puts her make-up on in front of a "very large magnifying mirror which is
freestanding", to take full advantage of her remaining eyesight. She says
eye make-up gives her confidence because it takes the focus away from how they
look and from that often asked question: "How much can you see?"
As
well as clothes tips, she also gives make-up advice to her readers. For eye
shadow, she says, you've got to resist the natural urge to use your fingers,
adding: "You will never achieve as much definition as you would with a
brush."
People
who have never been able to see need to be shown some real basic techniques,
and to learn from others before practising on themselves. Davison gives
instructions like: "Place your index finger on the outer corner of your
eyelid and pull it slightly so that the eyeliner glides smoothly across the
surface." She urges visually impaired women to avoid liquid eyeliner and
instead opt for the more crayon-like products as they glide on smoothly and dry
quickly, which helps avoid smudging.
Eyeliner
can be tricky to put on without sight, because you experience little sensation
in your eyelids, making it difficult to feel how it has been applied. Some
blind people get liners permanently tattooed on for this reason. Lips are more
sensitive and so lip liner is easier to do.
Davison
says that "blending in make-up is particularly important for blind
people", who can't see where lines have appeared between colours, or where
foundation ends and skin or hair begins. If make-up is done well she believes
it helps to kill off any ideas people might harbour "that blind people
don't know what they're doing."
Cara
Gibbons lost her sight suddenly through illness at 19. She started wearing
make-up again in her 20s, when family told her that she looked pale and tired. She
has a secret weapon for avoiding a common lipstick problem. When it's on and
smudges have been blotted with a tissue, she says: "I put my finger in my
mouth and pull it out. This takes any lipstick off the inside of your lips that
could otherwise end up on your teeth."
She
says that for clothes, hair and make-up, having at least one trusted, honest
person to rely on is vital. "My friends are happy to check whether there's
eye shadow on my cheeks or if I have managed to apply my make-up evenly, but
they are much more subtle than mum and my sister, who will say straight out if
something looks horrible on me," she says. But she doesn't live with them,
so her motto when going it alone is "keep it simple". She asks at
make-up counters in shops about which foundation suits her skin tone and says
that "for eye make-up, I stick with browns and creams, which I think suit
everyone".
While
Gibbons plays it safe, Emily Davison likes to change her make-up with the
seasons. "I wear coral lipstick in summer," says Davison, "and
plums in autumn and winter." She says that you can get seasonal changes
and trends right without sight, by reading fashion blogs and new product
reviews, "and talking to lots of different make-up counter consultants
until you find one who wants to help rather than give you the hard sell. Take
it from somebody who has bought lots of make-up and regretted it."
Culled BBC News.
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