Make It Easy On Your Man: Gift Giving 101

It's getting to that time of the year when we have to think about giving people (and our significant other) gifts. Of course, the main gift we are focused on giving is the one to our baby. And of course, we want them to love it. Now, we all know that men usually have more troubles picking out gifts for their girls. So... make it easy on you, and your man, and send him this post. Guys, if you're checking this out- keep reading! I'm gonna try to make this as short and sweet as possible for you. This will help you so you can put that beautiful smile and get that cute blush you're wanting to see from your girl.

Before we start, I want to de-code a few things for you. I live with guys, so I know that you don't always know what products are used for, especially when it comes to makeup. Here's the quick run down.

Eyeshadow: Looks like colored blush. It's powdery, and you use it on your eyelids mainly.

Mascara: For eyelashes. The little wand and tube.

Eyeliner: Like a pencil, you use it to line your eyes.

Blush: For the cheeks.

Lip products: Gloss- liquid. Stick- will be in a stick, like chap stick. Stain- will look like a Sharpie.

We aren't going to go into things like foundation, moisturizers or primers, because that would be the worst cosmetic gift you could give. Women are very picky about what products they use on their face, so if you are gonna give her a cosmetic gift, you want to give her an eye product, cheek product, or lip product. We want to make sure she can use it! Women typically aren't as picky about cheek, eye or lip products as face products.

Picking Colors:

Now, this is probably the hardest thing for guys. What color does she want? It can be a little overwhelming, there are literally BILLIONS of colors and shades of cosmetics. We are gonna start with basic colors, like for blush (cheeks) and lips. Here's a little guide you can follow:

If she has...

 Red Hair:

Girls with Red Hair may be more rare than blondes and brunettes, but they have the most commonly RED HAIR features. Very light, very whitely pigmented skin, typically freckles, and usually hazel or brown eyes. If she has blue or green eyes- don't freak out. These colors will go well with all colors of eye with a red head.
 COLOR SWATCHES: You are gonna wanna stick to Corals or Peaches.
  Think of a orange pink. Or, the color of a Papaya Fruit.

 This is a peachy pink. You can go a little more orange than that. Usually, a peach or coral shade will have a hint in the name, look for words like "Beach", "Tropical", "Peach" or "Shell". (Each Cosmetics Shade Will Have Their Own NAME, just like paint.)


If she has...

Blonde Hair:
 Blondes are one of the hardest people to buy cosmetics for. There is such a vast array of hues and shades of blonde hair. The WORST color you can get for a blonde is Peach or Coral. The Best Color You Can Get Would Be: PINK

 Think of a baby shower. Look for words like, "Baby" "Candy" "Girl" or "Petal" in the name of the product.

If she has...

 BROWN HAIR:

You're lucky! Brunettes are one of the easiest people to pick colors for! Seeing how they have brown hair, they will most likely look good in any natural shade or hue. Think out door-sy. Like trees, grass, water, fire.


COLOR PICK: RED 


Don't freak out! Just cause she looks good in red, does not mean you have to buy her stop sign red lip stick or stop light glowing red blush. There are lots of nice, calmer reds that are much easier to use. Reds are hard to find, because red pigments are so tricky, they sometimes turn out looking like pink or purple. The WORST color you can get for a brunette is pink. If you aren't digging the red colors, go for a coral or peach like the red hair picks.

HINT: Watch out for and stay away from hot pinks or dark purples!



 Now that we've gone over her color scheme, it's time to put some eyes and real color in the mix.

Here's a guide to picking out the best eye make up for her that will make her gorgeous eyes sparkle!


If she has:

 BROWN EYES:

Once again, you're in luck. You can pick the most common colors to you; Browns, Charcoals and Bieges. Once again, think out-door-sy colors. Like tans, browns, and greens. You're pretty much set! With eye liner think browns, dark, dark browns. When it comes to brown eyes: Just don't get Greys. Get black before grey, but try to stick to Browns.



If she has...

Green Eyes:

You're gonna want to get her: Purples and Greys.
 You want to stay away from BROWNS. NO BROWNS! Brown shades are harder to pick out for ladies with green eyes. You're gonna want to get her deep purples, bright purples, even sheer purples. And greys... light greys, dark greys, any color of grey or purple really. Think PLUM. When it comes to eyeliner, go for very dark grey or an ONYX. (Onyx is like a black pigment, but water down with grey.)

If she has...

Hazel Eyes:
 You're gonna want to go with: Naturals. 

Naturals are gonna bring out the brown in her eyes, making them look better. Go for ONYX or BROWN eyeliners, as Black eyeliners can dampen her eyes, or even hide them. Don't go for too dark colors- because her eyes are most likely not very STRONG- so you want to go for softer, natural colors. (Think of sand, the inside of trees, or even sheer shimmers.)

If she has...

BLUE EYES:
 Most people think that if you have blue eyes, you can never wear blue. That's not true at all! I've found, that lots of times, if you have blue eyes the most STUNNING color you can wear IS INDEED BLUE. For her, you're gonna want to stick to colors like:

BLUES, GREYS, AND SMOKES.

 Think of blue, like the ocean or your favorite T shirt, and grey like Hanes boxer briefs or custom truck rims. For smokes, think of coal, tires, or actual smoke. For blues, try to get a palette that has multiple shades of blues. Like, a graduation from light to dark blue. When it comes to eyeliner: Get Black. Don't go with brown or grey. Black makes blue pop and will also make the white of her eye appear whiter, which will contrast with the blue, making her eyes look amazing.



 IF YOUR GIRL HAS A MIXTURE OF COLORS IN HER EYES:

The most common color mixture is: GREEN AND BLUE.
 If she has a mixture, just take the two obvious colors, (I'm using green and blue as an example.) and you can use any of those two selections. For example:
 If she has blue and green eyes, get any of the blue OR green shades. Purples, Greys, Blues or Blacks.


 Does picking out all these select products seem like too much work?

Well, there's a solution to that problem too.

1. Go to your nearest Sephora store. They have them in most larger malls. Specialist work there and can help you pick out the perfect cosmetics for her. Also, if you're thinking of getting PERFUMES, which is ALWAYS a big hit. At Sephora, they have a computer, (like Call Of Duty: Black Ops for women.), and you just click the categories of what she typically likes, and it tells you what scents would best fit her and what she would like best. Can't get any easier, right?

2. If you want to do this all on your own, you can do it from your coach. If picking colors seems too complicated, and you are worried about not getting something she will like. Get her one of the below palette options. Any girl I know would absolutely die for one of these palettes. Or all 3 of them!

 (Just click on the name, it's a link and it will take you to amazon.com where you can view and/or purchase it.)

~BH Cosmetics 120 Color Palette: 3rd Edition

~Coastal Scents 88 Color Palette, WARM

~Urban Decay NAKED Palette



 If you're having troubles, don't freak out. She will love it because she loves you! I know gift giving can be a hassle, especially for her, with us dropping hints you can't figure out, and being all complicated about what we want. If a guy got me cosmetics or perfume, I would be impressed just because he went there. Most guys wouldn't even GO THERE. Good luck boys and have fun!

 XOXO, Manda Mae