By this point in time, most of us would consider ourselves pretty decent at doing our makeup. Sure, there are days when your eyelashes just won’t stop clumping, or you glance in the mirror to realize in horror that your eyebrows are totally uneven, but that’s ok! We all make beauty mistakes, some worse than others (I’m looking at you, yesterday’s eyeliner), but that’s just a risk we take.
But then there’s the irredeemable looks – the ones that make us want to throw all our middle school photos in a box and burn it. Maybe it was a one-time thing, or maybe it was your high school makeup staple, but either way, we can all benefit from a look back at how far we’ve come. Here are the embarrassing makeup blunders we’ve all been guilty of, and if you still are, how to fix them.
1. Block Brows
Let’s be honest, very few of us would say we’re blessed in the eyebrow department. Thank goodness for brow kits, so we can all hide the shame of over-plucking, but at some point all of us have gotten way too excited and ended up with something that looked less like an eyebrow and more like Sharpie. To avoid this clunky look, use a lighter shade for the inner portion, and blend in the dark shade for the arches and the points. That way, you can still rock those sharp, clean ends, without the square appearance at the beginning.
2. Blush for Days
Blush is a tricky thing – one second you look youthful and rosy, and the next you look like your grandma’s creepy porcelain doll. When we first discovered blush, many of us fell in the latter category, through a combination of cheap makeup and overenthusiasm. If you use blush, make sure to keep the tones as neutral as possible, and sweep the powder up rather than concentrating it on a circular area.
3. Eyeshadow That Matched Your Outfit
Maybe it was just me, but when I first discovered eyeshadow I made the assumption that it was something to be matched, just like a shirt or jacket. Why did I think this looked ok? Who knows, but hopefully this doesn’t require explanation. Just, don’t. Natural tones are always better. Not even Selena Gomez can pull off blue eyeshadow.
4. Sticky, Gooey Lipgloss
Remember middle school, when you piled on clear, glittery gloss thinking you were the most sophisticated seventh grader the school had ever seen? Thankfully, those days are gone, and we all have the sense to realize that if our lips are sticking together, something is wrong. To avoid this faux pas, stick to a nude or muted gloss, and only use enough for a thin coat.
5. Raccoon Liner
Eyeliner was an exciting (and tricky) discovery for most of us. While most of us can now create a perfect wing on a regular Tuesday, back then we weren’t so refined. If you messed up, you could just line right over it, right?! That philosophy led to clunky, awkward raccoon eyes that could be spotted from a mile away. Keep your eyeliner relatively thin, and fix mistakes with a Q-Tip instead of drawing over them.
6. Orange Foundation
In our early teen years, most of us would have jumped at the chance to do anything to make our acne disappear, which is why so many of us ended up with caked-on, unnatural foundation. Now we know – swatching is important, people! If you don’t test your foundation shade, you could end up looking less like a glowing goddess and more like Donald Trump.
7. Glitter, and More Glitter
Hey, if you’re going to do something, you might as well go all out. When many of us first discovered makeup, that mindset led to glitter eyeliner, glitter eyeshadow, even glitter lipstick. If you’re looking for the sparkle without resembling a kid in a dance recital, use fine powders like shimmer or highlight – they won’t drop all over the face or get stuck in your eyes like their true glitter counterparts.
Aren’t you glad you grew out of this?!