Dear Melissa: Makeup for olive skintones?

I have dark hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. What makeup advice can you give me?

The great thing about your features is that you can look great with or without makeup. You can go without and let your bold features and natural beauty do the talking, or you can pretty things up with some great mascara and a good lip gloss.

Take a good look at your skin. You say you have an olive complexion, like me. If you look carefully, you can see little hints of olive, brown, russet, and gold all smoothed perfectly into your skin. God designed every inch of that beautiful face, so let's make the best of it!

The idea here is to take the natural earthy colors that are already blended into your skin and use them in your makeup. Think warm, rustic colors like rust, olive, and chocolate. Of course, you're very lucky -- brown eyes go with almost all colors -- so feel free to have fun and break the mold! I like trying a little blue or green in the summer and a soft smoky eye in winter. Try new things and don't go overboard.

I consulted a Covergirl makeup consultant for some extra advice. She suggested that you: "Extend sparkly eyeshadow across your eyelids, apply eyeliner and mascara, line lips carefully and blot, and finish with matching lip gloss." She also suggests CG Eye Enhancers 3-Kit Shadows in Shimmering Sands or Dance Party for your skin tone.

YOUR BASIC MAKEUP BAG:

• Black mascara. It was made for you. If you still don't feel comfortable with this, go for brown-black.
• Plum lip gloss. It looks great on everyone.
• Black eyeliner (optional). Use just a little bit on the outer corners of your eyes (no wings) to make them instantly pop!
• Natural eyeshadow. Brown, neautral, olive, and a little plum or dark pink. Rust is also good, but not with the plum or pink.
• Extra eyeshadow (optional). Blue, green, or purple.