What to wear to the festival

Decide what to wear depending on the role you will be playing.

What you need to know:

The nature of a festival is that it is colourful, noisy, and on the move. You will, therefore, need to capture all these in a delicate balance, comfort being your guiding principle, writes Eunice Rukundo.

Let me start off by saying, sorry but your colourful heels will not cut it this time. Neither will your shorter-than-pockets shorts, over-tight jeans, mini dress-cutting-right-under-the-butt, loose wigs and weaves, flip flops, or your lovely ground-sweeping dress.
You don’t want to be the one that trips other revellers with your clothes or spend the entire time pulling your short skirt down rather than focusing on the fun.
Now, let us get into what will best work for an event as hyper as a carnival;

Jeans or shorts. You will need to be comfortable. What better way is there to move around with ease than in a pair of comfortable jeans?
Maintain the decency levels if you opt for shorts so you don’t attract attention for the wrong reasons.
The hair. Base your hair on what you plan to do. One of the things that will stand out at a carnival are the glamorous hairdos. You want to contribute to this glamour and drama, but beware of the upcoming heat and wear your hair appropriately. Even better, style your hair in a way that you can leave it loose or hold it up when necessary.

Wear flats or sneakers. You are going to do lots of walking. Whatever shoes you choose therefore, make sure they are shoes you will walk in comfortably without blistering your feet or straining your ankles. Sneakers, pumps and the like would be idle. Slip ons are comfortable but you risk them breaking easily due to the continuous movement or being inappropriate should you have to contend with the rains.

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For accessories, keep it simple. You want to enjoy your night and not worry about keeping up with jewellery. Wear a bracelet or necklace that is cheap and you would not freak out if you lost it. Have a cross bag or small back pack as you are going to be on the move and will need something convenient to carry.

The makeup. The ideal would be not to wear any makeup; it is much too hot even in the night owing to the crowds and the constant movement. But, you also want to look good so makeup might be a necessity. If you must wear makeup therefore, find good makeup that will not run with the sweat. There are masks and party festivities in supermarkets such as Capital Shoppers, and at Aristoc Booklex.

For minimal makeup with results that cannot be missed, focus on the eyes with bright eye shadow and mascara. Depending on what role you are going to play, you can have your face painted or wear a colourful accessory in your hair to brighten up the head area without necessarily wearing makeup to make you hot.

Pull out your cute graphic T-shirts and Bohemian items. T-shirts with funny sayings are a fun way of pulling off street smart. You can also do your flowered gypsy skirt, or try out your Bohemian chic look.

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How to wear your make-up to suit the carnival

Immaculate Birungi, a make up artiste, advises on making up to suit the weather and activities at a festival.

Powder Vs foundation
Since Uganda is mostly warm, there is no need to wear foundation to an outdoor event such as a festival. Perhaps a bit of powder would be better, because it doesn’t clog the pores and is lighter to wear than foundation. Blotting paper or face tissue will also help remove the shine, occasionally. You may also need to wear sunscreen to prevent sun burns.

Eyes
The easiest eye make up to wear on hot days would be eye pencil. Apply a thin layer just once to avoid having “panda’ eyes, unless that is your preference. Eye liner is meant to outline and give the eye definition.

If you must wear eye shadow, since it’s a carnival, we can break the “not-too bright colour” rule, and go for happy bright colours that can be coordinated with your outfit. However, stick to one or two colours. Apply a base colour like silver or gold, and then on the ball of the eye, apply your bright colour and blend the two. Again, do not use a very heavy hand. Unless you are looking for a dramatic look then by all means go ahead with a heavy hand.

Lips
Ordinarily, for a day look, you want to be subtle and keep the lips neutral or use a light pink, brown, red or purple, depending on your preference and skin tone. But again, because it is a carnival it is a party atmosphere. You can go for darker shades. However, because of the heat, tinted lip gloss is more preferable because it is lighter on the lips and may stay on longer. You don’t want the lips to compete with the eyes and you end up looking like a clown. So if you make the eye heavy or dramatic, the lips should be a more subtle shade. We still want to keep a classy look even if we are at the carnival.

If you have a subtle eye, then go ahead and have a bold lip. Again keep in mind which of the two is your better feature and emphasis that.
Before you apply the lip gloss or lipstick, remember to apply a lip balm. This helps to keep the lips moisturised and supple.

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