There are many areas on the face that can be beautified with the application of cosmetics. Most women will apply some sort of base make-up to the skin before they apply other cosmetics to the eye, cheeks and lips. Some women layer cosmetics thicker than others because they have facial imperfections that they want to hide from the rest of the world.

A general rule of thumb to follow when cosmetic are applied directly to the face is less is better. Some women do not feel comfortable unless they have applied cosmetics such as a make-up base with a color added to it that is complimentary to the natural skin tone. Other women refuse to leave the house without having mascara on their eyelashes. Even these cosmetics can be overdone and a light hand is highly recommended when using them.

Many women are not skilled in the application of cosmetics and fail to get the desired complimentary effect that cosmetics offer. These women might have chosen a base make-up that is too dark or too light and the cosmetic enhancement is ineffective at best and at some times the efforts to look better will not be noticeable at all. Some women apply too many cosmetics to the face and end up looking like a clown at times, which is something they never intended to do.

There are cosmetics made that are suitable for all skin tones and others are made for a specific type of skin. Some people might consider their skin to be quite normal but do not account for certain areas of the face that have a tendency to get oily. When normal skin cosmetics are applied to oily skin areas, they have a tendency to pool and make these areas very shiny. If cosmetics choices for oily skin were used in base make-up products, then they would have additives in them that would dry up oily areas of the face.

These rules apply to cosmetics used on the eyes and mouth too because oily surfaces can appear in these areas. Fine age lines around the mouth will show up more if the wrong cosmetics are applied to this area of the face. Some chemicals and nutrients have been used as additives to creams and powders to make skin look healthy and to treat problem areas more effectively. The cosmetics that people use can cause their skin to break out if the skin surface is not healthy before application.