Acorn

This week, I decided to try something different. Instead of preaching about what designers are doing, what shoes to wear and how to dress for an interview, I decided to open up the floor to you.

I was surprised at how many questions dealt with beauty issues, as well as attire. Here are some of the puzzlements readers expressed.

Dear Diana,

I?ve always matched my eye shadow to my shirt, thinking this is a really great way to tie my looks together. My eyes are blue, so I like to wear blue shadow while wearing a blue shirt. This happens a lot.

The other day a friend told me I looked like a ridiculous clown. Could this be true? Is matching my eyes and eye shadow such a terrible thing? If so, what should I do about it?

Bozo the Blue-Eyed Clown

Dear Bozo,

Comparing you to a clown is a bit harsh, even though your friend is right that all that blue is a bit much. When getting dressed, it?s natural to choose colors that complement your skin tone, hair color and, of course, eye color.

It?s true that a blue sweater on a blue-eyed beauty is stunning, but similarly-hued eye shadow just crosses the line. Instead, try tones like green, brown or purple to enhance your natural eye color.

The goal in using eye shadow and other eye products is to bring the attention to your eyes, not your makeup. The colors I?ve listed will be your eyes? best friends, not their rival.

Dear Diana,

Like many others on the East Coast, I am just about as pale as a ghost. Apart from my German heritage, I blame the dreary overcast weather. It?s tough to look alive in this dead season. Self-tanner turns my skin too orange. Should I try a tanning salon? Can you help?

Pessimistically Pale

Dear Pessimist,

I second you in the proclamation that being pale is not the greatest feeling at this time of year. The sky is gray, the snow is gray ? why does our skin have to be gray, too?

Well, don?t fret. There are plenty of ways to look alive during the winter. I would first like to say that whatever you do ? avoid the tanning salon. The harm it does to your skin out-weighs the undesirable carroty tone you would achieve. In 20 years, you will regret it.

Self-tanners are okay, but very tricky. It almost becomes not worth it, and from experience, I know that random splotches make it painfully obvious.

There are better (and healthier) ways to look a bit sun-kissed.

Your best bet is to try a warm blush. Powder is the most commonly used type, but recently I have found that mousse blush works wonders. Not only does it stay on all day, but it is also unbelievably easy to apply.

I especially like Clinique ?Touch Blush.? Pick a tone that subtly livens up your skin. If your skin is fair, try a peachy color. If you are medium or olive-toned, go for tawny pink shades. If you have dark skin, use a hot pink shade to give you that constantly flushed glow.

Apply the blush to the apples of your cheeks. If you try the cream blush, blend in a vertical motion to avoid looking like Raggedy-Ann. Blush is a great way to add instant kick to your glowing personality ? even on your not-so-glowing days.

If you need more than blush, try a powder bronzer. Pick a shade with a bit of shimmer, but not a Baywatch-esque sparkle. No David Hasselhoffs, please and thank you.

Using a very large, fluffy brush, sweep the bronzer over your nose, the prominent parts of your cheek bones, on your chin and right next to your hairline. This will make you look like you went to a sunny Sunday baseball game rather than your little cousin?s ice hockey tournament.

Whatever you do, don?t go overboard with the products. Look natural, embrace your fair skin and look forward to that warm sun on your face ? it?s coming!

Dear Diana,

This weather has really thrown me for a loop. It?s sunny, it?s windy, it?s raining and it?s about to snow all at the same time. You just never know what will happen.

Likewise, I have no idea how to assemble outfits that can take me from the morning when it is 29 degrees to the afternoon when walking back from Brothers College feels like taking a stroll through Dante?s Inferno, thanks to my puffy coat, vest, scarf, turtleneck and flannel-lined pants. How can I dress for this ever-changing weather without freezing or burning to death?

Cold, Cooked and Confused

Dear Thermostatically Challenged,

This weather is certainly bewildering. Waking up to freezing temperatures only to receive May-like afternoons is a bit of a wardrobe crisis. But don?t lose your hat (or maybe you should).

This weather calls for one of my favorite outfit tricks: layering. I don?t mean layering your parka over your vest, which then goes over your sweater over your eight tee shirts and your Lycra body suit.

I am more referring to a coat over a warm cardigan over a comfy tee over a tank top. You don?t have to go crazy with the feathers and the excessive shirts.

Wear enough to get to class and then remove some articles if you?re in the jam-packed BC lecture hall. A helpful hint if you get really cold is to try a lamb?s wool sweater instead of a cotton cardigan. The warmth is unreal and it will insulate better than you can imagine. I?m balmy in mine right now!

So keep in mind that piling on 25 layers to walk to the Commons may seem like a good idea in your room ? and even on the pathway ? but once you reach your destination, you will want to relocate to an Antarctic location immediately, with dogsleds and everything.

Be sensible with your choices in fabric and quantity. Getting dressed in the morning shouldn?t feel like climbing Mount Everest, and you shouldn?t be dressed like that?s your goal, either!

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