13.5 Make-Up Application, Eyebrow Contouring and Lash Services

Make-Up Application, Eyebrow Contouring and Lash Services

Exam Focus: The corrective contouring principles and the face-shape table are directly examined. The New York-specific content is the lash and brow dye prohibition in § 160.27(e), which has no equivalent in most states, and the § 160.20(g) hygiene rule that governs how every make-up product is dispensed.

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1. Makeup Color Theory & Facial Contouring Principles

Professional makeup application utilizes foundational color theory and optical illusions to balance facial proportions and enhance natural features.

The Color Wheel & Harmonious Undertones

• Primary Colors: Red, Yellow, Blue (cannot be created by mixing other colors).
• Secondary Colors: Orange, Green, Violet (created by mixing equal parts of two primary colors).
• Tertiary Colors: Formed by mixing equal parts of a primary color with its neighboring secondary color (e.g., red-orange, yellow-green).
• Complementary Colors: Colors positioned directly opposite each other on the color wheel (e.g., blue and orange, red and green, yellow and violet). When placed side by side, complementary colors intensify each other; when mixed together, they neutralize each other.
• Skin Undertones:
  • Warm Undertones: Yellow, golden, peachy, or red undertones.
  • Cool Undertones: Pink, red, or bluish undertones.
  • Neutral Undertones: Balanced blend of warm and cool tones without prominent yellow or pink.

The Principles of Highlighting and Contouring

Contouring uses optical illusions based on light reflection and absorption:

• Highlighting (Light Tones): Light shades reflect light and bring facial features forward, making areas appear larger, wider, more prominent, and lifted.
• Contouring / Shading (Dark Tones): Dark matte shades (1 to 2 shades deeper than skin tone) absorb light and push facial features backward, making areas appear smaller, narrower, receded, and minimized.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     CORRECTIVE CONTOURING BY FACE SHAPE                     │
├──────────────┬────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┤
│ Face Shape   │ Physical Characteristics       │ Corrective Contouring Plan  │
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│ **Oval**     │ Length is 1.5x width; forehead │ **The ideal face shape.**   │
│              │ slightly wider than jaw        │ Requires no major correction│
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│ **Round**    │ Broad forehead & jawline;      │ Contour along temples, outer│
│              │ rounded cheeks & chin          │ cheeks & jaw to slenderize; │
│              │                                │ highlight forehead & chin   │
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│ **Square**   │ Broad forehead & strong,       │ Contour angular corners of  │
│              │ angular, square jawline        │ forehead & jaw to soften    │
│              │                                │ hard edges; highlight center│
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│ **Heart**    │ Wide forehead & temples;       │ Contour wide temples &      │
│ (Inverted Δ) │ narrow, pointed chin           │ forehead sides; highlight   │
│              │                                │ jawline to widen lower face │
├──────────────┼────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│ **Diamond**  │ Narrow forehead & jaw;         │ Contour prominent outer     │
│              │ widest at high cheekbones      │ cheekbones; highlight       │
│              │                                │ forehead & jawline          │
└──────────────┴────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘

Corrective Eye & Lip Techniques

• Close-Set Eyes: Apply light highlighter shadow to the inner corners of the eyelids and darker contour shadow toward the outer corners, extending slightly outward to create the illusion of wider spacing.
• Wide-Set Eyes: Apply darker contour shadow near the inner corners of the eyes and bridge of the nose to make eyes appear closer together.
• Small / Thin Lips: Outline slightly outside the natural vermilion border with a matching neutral lip liner, fill with medium to light glossy lipstick, and place a dab of gloss on the center of the bottom lip to create fullness.
• Large / Full Lips: Line slightly inside the natural vermilion border and use soft, matte, muted lipstick shades.

2. Skin Undertone and Colour Analysis

Colour selection begins with undertone, the colour beneath the surface, not with how light or dark the skin appears.

Assess in natural daylight where possible. Salon lighting shifts colour perception dramatically, and a foundation matched under warm salon light frequently looks wrong outdoors. Match foundation along the jawline, not on the hand or wrist, and check the result in daylight before committing.

3. Face Morphology and Corrective Work

The oval is treated as the reference proportion, and corrective make-up moves other shapes visually toward it using two tools:

• Highlighting — a lighter shade brings a feature forward and makes it appear larger.
• Contouring — a darker shade makes a feature recede and appear smaller.

Eye and lip corrections follow the same logic: light shades open and enlarge, dark shades recede and narrow; a liner drawn slightly outside the natural lip line enlarges, slightly inside narrows.

4. Eyebrow Contouring

The brow frames the face, and the design uses three reference points found with a brow pencil or brush held against the face:

1. Inner corner — a vertical line from the outer edge of the nostril upward gives where the brow should begin.
2. Arch — a line from the outer edge of the nostril through the outer edge of the iris gives the highest point of the arch.
3. Outer end — a line from the outer edge of the nostril through the outer corner of the eye gives where the brow should end.

The inner start and the outer end should sit at approximately the same height, with the tail no lower than the head.

Technique: comb the brow up and trim only the hairs extending well beyond the natural line, using scissors that are new or sterilised for each customer under § 160.20(k). Remove hair from below the brow to preserve the natural upper line; removing from above generally reads as unnatural. Tweeze in the direction of growth with the skin held taut. Work slowly and step back frequently to check symmetry — brows are sisters, not twins, and over-tweezing cannot be undone quickly.

5. False Eyelashes

Safety and hygiene:

• Patch test the adhesive before first use — lash adhesive is a common source of contact reactions.
• Never apply over an eye infection or inflammation. Conjunctivitis, styes and blepharitis are absolute contraindications; refuse and refer.
• Never apply to a client with an active eye condition or recent eye surgery.
• Use disposable applicators, decant adhesive onto a disposable surface, and never return unused product to the container — § 160.20(g).
• Strip lashes are removed with an appropriate remover, never pulled.

6. The New York Lash and Brow Dye Rule

19 NYCRR § 160.27(e) — no appearance enhancement licensee is authorised or permitted to apply dye of any kind to eyelash or eyebrow hair. The only exception is products containing silver nitrate colour additives authorised by the FDA under 21 CFR § 73.2550, used to tint lash or brow hair, and applied exactly as the manufacturer directs.

This mirrors the federal caution statement required on every coal-tar hair dye label, which warns that the product must not be used for dyeing eyelashes or eyebrows and that doing so may cause blindness. There is no waiver, no consent form and no level of experience that changes it.

7. Make-Up Hygiene

§ 160.20(g) governs every product on a make-up trolley:

• All fluids, semifluids and powders dispensed with a shaker, dispenser pump or spray container.
• All creams, lotions and cosmetics kept in closed containers and dispensed with disposable applicators.
• Product removed so as not to contaminate the remaining portion — decant onto a palette, and never return unused product.

In practice: disposable mascara wands, one per client and discarded; lipstick decanted with a spatula onto a palette and applied with a disposable brush; pencils sharpened before and after each client; powders decanted rather than brushed directly from the pan; sponges are prohibited under § 160.18(a)(9), along with non-disposable powder puffs; brushes cleaned and disinfected between clients, since they contact skin.