What follows is the intro section to my online makeup course written handouts...

First - a reminder

All of us have different skin, we are all different people, please do not compare your skin and features to those of anyone else. You look like you, which is exactly as it ought to be, so love yourself, love your skin and only ever be kind to yourself and the reflection you see smiling back at you from the mirror. 

A special note about ‘ageing’ and magnifying mirrors.

I have almost come to the conclusion that magnifying mirrors belong in the trash bin. Please use them sparingly only where absolutely necessary to support eyesight where precision is required (eyeliner, lip liner). Otherwise push them away, do not scrutinize your face close up, picking apart every microscopic perceived flaw. That is an absolute recipe for misery. Beauty, and in our particular case, makeup, is seen as a global whole, you need to see the whole picture to get an accurate sense of the beauty and harmony you are creating. Zeroing in on one specific part of your face is like staring down the barrel of a microscope when you sit down to watch a beautiful live performance - you need to keep your head up, your eyes open and take in the whole of your appearance. 

Yes the details of course matter, but the details are in the precision of your makeup work, this is a skill issue, and has nothing to do with the size of one's pores, the red spots on your cheeks or the wrinkles around your eyes. Keep your eye on the prize! The prize of fun and confident use of makeup to help you look and feel your very best. 

AF Beauty - Philosophy and Approach

What is shared here is simply information, take what works for you, discard what doesn’t. Do what feels right to you, ignore the rest. This is not the gospel, these are not hard and fast rules. These are guidelines that I have found to be helpful for myself and what I have seen be positive and helpful for the many women I’m lucky to work with. 

Makeup is an art, makeup is artistry, so you’ll find as many approaches as you will makeup artists.

Yes there are some reasonably concrete rules and guidelines that one can and perhaps should follow, but like any great artist, the good stuff happens when you know the rules, then ignore and break the rules and do your own thing, put your own stamp on what you’re doing. So I encourage you to do the same thing here. Let these lessons be inspiration to get you flying in your direction. 

My basic approach can mostly be summed up as:

Keep makeup fun, don’t let it feel too serious, it’s definitely not worth feeling grouchy or frazzled over. 

Makeup washes off, so don’t be scared of making mistakes. 

Here in Calgary we live in a dry climate so much of my makeup centres around dealing with dry skin and helping to create the appearance of plump, dewy skin.

Much of what we’re aiming to accomplish with daily makeup is to support the appearance of health, less about majorly transformative makeup effects. Our goal is natural looking makeup, you just better, a little more polished. And yes, with a dash of sparkle and major glam when the occasion calls for it!

Daily makeup should be light handed, casual and elegant. 

Big bold makeup is best saved for evenings / special events. 

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Thanks for reading. This selection reflects the foundation of how I think about makeup, and that everything we do here is done with the heart and soul of helping you feel your most confident and look your best.

This is part of a new larger body of work I’m working on developing. It builds on the same philosophy you’ll recognize from my lessons and teachings over the years—while bringing everything together in a more streamlined, way to make understanding how to do your daily makeup as simple and effective as possible. 

I’ll be sharing additional details in the months ahead as things take shape. For now, consider this an invitation to keep makeup light, kind, and enjoyable—and to trust your own eye as much as any guideline.

More soon.