Oh, how we loved finger-painting when we were children. Luckily for us women, we can still play with paints, only now we use lovely brushes and we call our paints cosmetics.

First, learn your skin type - normal, oily, dry or combination - and its characteristics. Skin is composed of a combination of proteins, collagen and elastins, so the first step in skin care is to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise. If this seems a little like biology class, you’re right! Skin is the largest organ in our bodies, and the skin on our faces can be especially vulnerable. So we have to learn how to treat it right.

Speaking of intelligence, you can improve your cosmetics confidences by taking good care of your skin. It’s the largest organ of our bodies and serves important purposes to keep our internal workings inside us, and to protect us from outside hazards such as bacteria. So it deserves our best attention.

Start by learning your skin type - normal, dry, oily or combination. Then set up a daily routine of cleansing, toning and moisturizing your skin. It may seem like a lot of work, but it actually only takes five minutes twice a day. Do this routine faithfully twice a day and there will a healthy “canvas” for your cosmetic art.

Then comes the part that always makes women a little nervous: selecting the right shade of foundation to wear. Somehow those shades that can look so beautiful in the bottle in the store just don’t match well when we use them. Ever wonder why? Chalk it up to two things.

Selecting the right shade of foundation makes most women, even experienced cosmetics buyers, anxious. That’s because shades can vary from brand to brand, and skin tone changes, depending on how much sun you’ve hand lately and whether you’re in good health.

Many beauty consultants advise women to choose cosmetics that complement with your tone and hair color. Fair-skinned blondes look good in neutrals and pastels, while “California girls” with their sun-bleached hair and deep tans can go for deeper tones. Dark-haired women with fair skin can look terrific in dramatic cosmetics (think Catherine Zeta-Jones, for instance). Women with dark skin and hair are stunning when they use cosmetics to bring out highlights.

Remember what we said at the start about learning some medical facts for choosing cosmetics? Here’s a little more: Buy the best cosmetics you can afford. Why? Because in most cases, cheaper cosmetics can contain chemicals that are bad, bad, bad for your skin! Even higher price doesn’t necessarily mean good quality, so read the labels. Watch for such things as fragrance, chemical colorings and the like. Most good-to-best quality cosmetics don’t use such things, but always check to make sure.

Finally, when choosing cosmetics, it’s always a good idea to have a friend along. For one thing, selecting cosmetics or getting a quick makeover at the counter is fun! For another, it’s good to get a “second opinion” on whatever the beauty consultant may offer you, or something that may be enticing. After all, you want your cosmetics to enhance your natural beauty, not turn you into a nightmare.