This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at American chapter.
You may not know you’re making a mistake, but you probably are. Makeup can be difficult to do properly. As a friend, I’m here to help.
- Pulling your eyelids when doing eyeliner: this is very bad for your eyes. Pulling your eyelids to the side to make them taught for eyeliner, can cause premature aging and Crow’s Feet faster. If you want a neat eyeliner look but want to stop premature aging, it’s best to have a mirror close to you and then look downwards. This should keep your eyelids slightly hooded.
- Putting blush on the apples of your cheek: putting blush on the apples of the cheeks is a bad beauty habit that can cause the face to look sagging. Instead of applying blush to the apples of the cheek, one should but it beneath the cheekbones. Some good blushes that work on most skin tones are NARS Orgasm ($24), Milani Luminoso ($8), or BareMinerals Hint ($19).
- Only using bronzer under the cheek bones: using a bronzer for a contour is very important. If you wear nothing else, bronzer should always win over blush. However, you aren’t getting the full use of your bronzer if you aren’t bringing it up to your forehead. Make sure to bring your bronzer up to either side of your forehead; otherwise your forehead will look disproportionately large compared to the rest of your face.
- Applying mascara to the bottom lashes: while there’s nothing wrong with using mascara on your bottom lashes, it should be noted that mascaras formulated for bottom lashes (Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara, $10) can wear down your bottom lashes, which are more sparse and delicate than your upper lashes. Use bottom lash mascara sparingly, in order to stop lash fallout later.
- Applying face makeup before eye makeup: it seems everyone in the world applies their face makeup before their eye makeup. This isn’t the best way to apply makeup though. Eye shadow can often have fallout, liners can smudge and mascara can smudge. Remember that if you apply eye makeup first and mess it up, there’s less to fix if you don’t have concealers, foundations and setting powders already on. Doing your eye makeup first can ensure that the rest of your makeup doesn’t get ruined.
- Not using a primer: I know many of you are guilty of this one. You’re in a hurry before your 8:55 so you skip the primer all together, and find that an hour or two later, you have to bring a brush to your face in order to stop cake face. Don’t skip primer. Primer creates a barrier between your face and your makeup which can help your makeup last far longer and protect it from clogging your pores. I like the Smashbox Photo finish Primers, which comes in mini $10 sizes that will last the average girl at least a month. When it comes to primers, there’s no real reason to put it anywhere but your oily areas (T-zone for most people), unless you find you have very oily cheeks or blemishes outside of your T-Zone. A little primer goes a long way.
- Ignoring brown eyeliner: I’ve literally never met a soul who wears brown eyeliner often. I wear brown eyeliner as my go-to every day eyeliner during the day. It allows you to frame your eyes, without giving them the harsh lines that black eyeliners give. I promise as soon as your try brown eye-liners, you’ll wear them all the time. I like to use NYX Brown Liquid Eyeliner ($4). I also have this same eyeliner in Black. They’re matte, go on smooth and can create a thick or thin line. They’re versatile, cheap, and good quality.
- Forgetting about the lower lash line: at least once a day I hear someone complain about how they think their eyes look small or beady. There is a solution to that. It’s called white eyeliner. It may sound odd but if you use pigmented white eyeliner on your lower lash line, it gives the illusion that your eyes extend that much further. This trick works every time. If you’re not ready to dive into white eyeliners face first, you can try rose gold liners. They give the same effect without being as bold. Try NYX Cosmetics Retractable Eyeliner. Can you tell I’m a big fan of their eyeliners? ($5)
- Not using setting powder: ugh. This one drives me NUTS. I see girls in the bathroom using blotting pads 24/7, complaining about how shiny their foreheads are. Use. Setting. Powder. I cannot stress this enough. Setting powder is very important. Your makeup will slide right off your face without it. If you’re wearing liquid makeup, it stops it from transferring. If you’re wearing powder makeup, it gives a layer of protection. Don’t leave without setting powder. Put it in your bag. Worship it. I like BareMinerals Mineral Veil ($20), which comes in translucent and tinted forms as well as loose and pressed. I cannot stress this enough, when you buy setting powder do not, DO NOT, buy one with silica. I repeat, NO SILICA. Why? Silica causes flashback. Remember all those celebrities who’ve shown up on the red carpet and in their pictures there’s white all over their face? That is flashback. Do you want to take the perfect selfie and realize later that’s what you look like in the picture? No!
- Skipping your eyebrows: please, please, please, remember that your brows are one of your most important features. Whether they are thick or thin, you should always use a powder or a gel to keep them correctly shaped and in place. Having brows that look nice make the rest of your face look nicer. If you have to choose between eyeliner and brows, brows should win every time.
- You don’t need to wear makeup all the time: you’re in college! You’re busy! There’s no reason to wear a full face every single day all day. On the days when I’m not doing much, studying in the library, or going to work, I literally do my brows, brown eyeliner, mascara, and a touch of setting powder all over my face and don’t do anything else. If you have blemishes, a touch of concealer or a little tinted moisturizer/BB/CC cream is more than enough. You don’t need to put a crazy amount of makeup on every day. There’s no reason for you to use blush, highlighter, eye shadow etc every single day. Let your skin breathe! Take the day or weekend off!
- Not removing your makeup: I realize that this is an obvious one, but I’m going to state it anyway. Remove your makeup before you go to bed. It causes premature aging, and honestly, it ruins your sheets and your pillowcase. No matter how tired you are, remove your makeup. When you’re 45, you’ll be glad you did.
- Makeup remover wipes: these are like heaven for your skin. Makeup remover wipes are so underrated. It drives me crazy! These are great for taking your makeup off before you use a face wash because they allow you to get more of the makeup off the first time you wash your face. On top of that, even if you are wearing a lot of makeup, you don’t need to use a whole wipe. I buy Simple brand face wipes ($5-7) and cut them in half. The 25 pack turns into a 50 pack and will last me at least that many days. These go on sale pretty often, so when they do go on sale, I buy as many packs as I can and then save them!
- Concealers in general: there are like a million ways to mess up concealer. Don’t put heavy potted concealers under your eyes. They cake, and they’re not formulated to be there. Use something thinner and more liquid. Don’t use very liquid concealers on heavy blemishes. They can slide and move. Your best bet is a potted thick concealer. Don’t use medicated concealers for acne under your eyes. It can be harmful to the sensitive skin under the eyes and dry it out.