How do you begin a good make-up routine? Any products that should be avoided?
Always begin with clear skin by using your favourite cleanser, followed by your go-to skin toner applied right after. Follow your daily moisture routine, and apply some under-eye cream. A general skin care routine will always include products with SPF. I suggest considering a little sunscreen base if your products don’t already have SPF in them. No matter what your skin tone is, all skin types and tones need sun protection and prevention against pre-mature aging!
This also goes for any products that contain parabens and harsh ingredients. After following this basic routine, wait about five minutes for the products to sink into your skin, and then you can start with the fun stuff – applying your make-up!
Let’s start with the basics – prep and prime!
Always start by applying a colour corrector to cancel out any redness, sallowness or discolouration on your skin. Prep and prime using a MAC highlighter pen, or try a Caryl Baker Visage colour corrector, I actually use both in the medium tone because I have olive skin, they have great products!
The next step is foundation. I use both the MAC Matchmaster foundation and the Caryl Baker Mineral Matte foundation, I love both! Use a damp beauty blender to apply, such as the Sigma F80 Kabuki Brush from MAC or any beauty brush that is cost effective.
I use concealer under my eyes to conceal any dark circles or blemishes on my face. I recommend setting the concealer with a translucent powder or any loose or light-weight face powder. I use the Medium Plus Skin finish by MAC to set my concealer and foundation, it’s finely melded texture gives a gorgeous, natural sating finish. Simply press the setting powder with a sponge or brush onto your skin, avoiding fast movements because this can smudge the make-up that you just applied.
Make the eyes pop!
Before pulling out all your pretty eyeshadow palettes, you want to start with a base for your eyelids. I recommend the Prolong wear concealer by MAC, but any eye primer of choice will help keep eye shadow in place all day without creasing. Eye primer will also make all your eye shadow colours pop, so there’s definitely some great benefits to using it! My go-to is the MAC Paint Pot in the Laying Low shade.
After priming the eyelids, I go right ahead with a soft neutral colour such as a soft matte, brown shade and apply that onto my crease. I use the MAC 217 brush, I love using this brush because it works so well for applying and blending eye shadow. The key to eyeshadow is to first tap off any excess eye shadow from the brush and blend constantly.
I then take another deeper, matte brown shade, and apply and blend into the crease to add dimension to the eyes. A good rule for applying eye shadow is to blend inwards, and continue blending in windshield wiper motions. This will create that soft and smooth look around the eyes. You can then apply a foiled shimmer colour onto the eyelid or just a neutral shade, but keep in mind the colour scheme of the eye shadows that you’re using. If you’re going for a neutral earthy look, stick to those colours on your eyes. Using a 219 Pencil Brush by MAC, or any pencil brush of choice, take that same deeper brown shade, and apply it to your bottom lashes to create a shadow effect.
Now the challenge – lining your eyes! You can use liquid or gel eyeliner onto your lid, aiming as close as possible to your lash line. For winged liner, start thin on the inside, and gradually thicken the line as you near the outside edge. There are lots of great eyeliners out there for getting that perfect eyeliner wing, I enjoy using the Brushstroke Black Eyeliner by MAC. If you want to add a more dramatic effect to your eyes, you can apply a Khol pencil on your waterline, using the same pencil brush to blend it gently. If you prefer the wide-eyed look, use a nude colour into the water line instead.
For your brow bone, you can highlight using any matte or sating eye shadow for an added glow. You can also apply that colour near your tear duct to brighten your eyes even more. To finish off the eyes, go in with your favourite mascara. I love MAC’s Extreme Dimension mascara, and the Carbon Black Voluminous by L’Oreal, both come in waterproof! Or go all out with your favourite lashes, I go for the Wispies lashes by Ardelle, or the MAC 48 and Kiss lashes.
Master the magic of contouring
For contour, you can use either a matte earthy and cool tone powder, or a cream product to create a more defined bone structure to your face. You can also contour your jawline if you want it to appear more defined, and your forehead for smaller shaped effect. To create the illusion of a thinner nose, simply run your contour brush down the sides and under the tip for a thinner looking nose. You can also apply a little bronzer on and a little above the areas you contoured for that sun-kissed glow.
If you like the rosy cheek look, then I recommend applying the warm soul blush from MAC for a peachy pink tone. Light-handedly apply the product to the apples of your cheek, slowly going towards the temples to give a more angled look. For highlighter, my everyday choice would be the Global Glow product, and this is applied to the top points of the face. Such as at the top of the cheek bones, tip of the nose, on the chin, and even under and above my eyebrows.
Plump the lips and pucker up!
I always use a lip balm before I apply a lip products, you can use any lip balm that works well for you. For lip liner, the Soar Lip Pencil from MAC is my all-time favourite for its beautiful mauve-nude colour. The Maher lipstick mixed with Soar lip liner are a gorgeous mix. For deeper skin tones, I suggest trying the Whirl lip liner and lipstick, also by MAC. I also recommend trying liquid lipsticks, longer lasting product.
Bold brows are goal brows
I always start by grooming the eyebrows with a spoolie then use the Spike Shade eye brow retractable pencil by MAC and lightly fill in the areas needed. If your eyebrows don’t need much filling, use the pencil lightly. To finish off, go back over your brows, comb with the spoolie, and them with a clear brow gel.
Almost done – keep that gorgeous face in place with setting spray!
You can set your face with your favourite setting spray, any kind of spray will work to get rid of any cakiness and excess powder on your face. It also melds your face to give a natural finish, I prefer the MAC Fix Plus, and the Urban Decay setting sprays.
Majeeda Khan is a freelance make-up artist, and a graduate of uOttawa’s Department of Psychology and Department of Art History.