Apart from helping women look more beautiful, the art of applying makeup, according to experts at Makeup Forever, can also enhance their chances of gaining fame and fortune.

Based on the principles of Chinese geomancy, which aims to maintain harmony between positive and negative forces, feng shui for makeup sets guidelines for balancing various colours and textures to correct and improve a person's chances of finding happiness and success.

Under feng shui, the shape of one's face is an important indicator of what's ahead. According to Nantawat Munkong, a feng shui and face-reading expert, the face is the sum of everyone's past, present and future.

"In the old days, when everyone was covered in thick, long clothing, the face was the only visible feature. There're also other features to be considered, like the shape of the body, tone of voice, breathing, manners and physical gestures. And together, they reflect a person's characteristics and what's about to come," he says.

Makeup Forever's idea of makeup feng shui begins with an analysis of the face. There are three main regions on the - the celestial (forehead), human (eyes, eyebrows, cheeks and nose) and earthy (mouth and chin). Once these are taken into account, the appropriate shade of makeup can be prescribed to help de-emphasise flaws and highlight attractive features. The idea is to balance all three regions.

Age also plays a large part in determining which region should be emphasised, like the celestial region is of importance for women between the age of 15 and 30, the human region for ages 31 to 50, and the earthy region those over 50. If these features are kept in balance, it is believed the person will lead a good life without too many upheavals. If any of these regions is significantly larger or smaller than the other two, it means the person's fate could be better or worse during the corresponding period of life.

Besides the study of the three regions, the art of face-reading also takes into consideration the balance of five face shapes and the five natural elements - gold, water, fire, wood and earth. These, too, need to be in harmony with facial features and complexion.

Before one starts learning this fortune-enhancing makeup technique, Nantawat offers a word of advice: "We must, bear in mind that it isn't about creating symmetry but balance, for there's no such thing as the perfect face. Everyone's face is a combination of several elements that work for and against one another at the same time. So don't be alarmed when someone singles out your bad features, because you need to look at the whole outcome.

"Sometimes nine ill features and just a single good one can be better than nine great ones and one crucial bad spot. We must begin by first accepting what we already have, and then use makeup to finetune it. If what you have is too much, it can always be played down, and vice versa. Always look for balance, and not perfection."

Rangsita Sirivanich

The Nation