By Al Varela

After 20 years of working in the world of cosmetics and skin care I have always been able to answer questions posed to me on a one-to-one basis. I want this column to reach many women with the same cosmetic questions and problems and provide them with viable solutions.

My career in the makeup world has allowed me to work with a long list of very recognizable faces, famous photographers, hairdressers and stylists that reads like a who's who in popular magazines of the trade. Yet it seems that the look achieved has not so much to do with beauty as it does with a professional skill that enhances the eyes, lips and face. Throw some clever photography into the mix and the result is incredible.

There is no "one size fits all" in the world of makeup. Any professional makeup artist worth his "blush" knows that the art of applying makeup involves problem solving and trouble shooting techniques used to accent the positive and diminish the less desirable features to obtain the desired effect appropriate to the occasion.

There is more to creating that new look than simply buying a new lipstick just because you fell in love with the color of the cosmopolitan you drank at dinner, or because your best friend was wearing a shade of red that looked fabulous on her.

The style of makeup you wear to a cocktail party hopefully is different from the look you wear to a board meeting and certainly the kind of makeup worn to the grocery store would not be as effective in those pictures for the love of your life's desktop.

So I'm here to answer any questions or concerns you may have about the art of makeup and maybe together we can prevent you from ever having to plead your case to a jury while sporting a new "macarena" look.

And for those women who insist they don't need makeup, I remember a woman at a seminar who jumped out of her seat to let me know that her husband didn't allow her to wear makeup. She concluded by saying her husband left her for someone who did.

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