It’s 8.30am. In a zombie-like manner you thud over to the mirror. Horrified by the sorry state of your own weary reflection, you reach for your make-up bag, silently praying that today it will perform miracles. You have just 4 precious minutes to go from looking like Ugly Betty to looking like Beyoncé – this will be an epic challenge. Head down and eyes closed, you plaster on some cheap foundation, rubbing it in brutally like face wash. Two quick smears of a 5-year-old eye shadow are swiped across the lids with your index finger. It’s a little half-hearted and slightly panda-like but all lecture theatres are dark, right? A Crayola-esque streak of a blunt eye pencil lines, smudges and scratches your half-closed lids and (if you remember) you swiftly pat two circles of bronzer onto your puffy cheeks. To complete the look, you blink ferociously into a mascara wand and with your now colour-stained fingers you cake Vaseline onto your cracked lips. Cursing at the fact your trying efforts have only amounted to looking like a surprised Ugly Betty at the circus, you trip out of the door and avoid mirrors for the rest of the day.
If you’re anything like me you’ll have been stuck undertaking the same beautifying routine since you were 14 years old; while your face may have changed, what you do to it has hardly altered. The cosmetics industry has transformed enormously since the good old days when we worshiped Claire’s Accessories, Britney Spears and Um-bongo and now we should adjust ourselves and our makeup bags accordingly. Here are some tiny changes you can make that could make an enormous difference to your make up:
Primer
Not using a face primer is like going to a seminar without doing the prep. You can get by without it, but it can make things a little substandard and a tad uncomfortable. A primer is a fantastic addition to your make up bag as it not only prevents your make up from sliding off your face halfway through the day, but it also evens out skin tone and gives your face a healthy and dewy glow. If you’re blessed with an already gorgeous complexion, you may even choose to wear primer and nothing else.
With this season’s new fresh faced fashion trend there are a mind-boggling array of primers out there to suit everyone’s needs and anyone’s budget; here are my top picks:
Investment Buy: Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer – £26
Budget Buy: Rimmel Match Perfection Fix Perfect Primer – £6.99
Brushes
The importance of having a set of good make up brushes is extremely underestimated by most girls and I was shocked at how much of a difference good brushes can make when I invested in a decent set myself recently. Using your fingers, while quick and easy, can produce messy and uneven results, but a good brush will effortlessly create a flawless, well-blended finish that will last much longer. Ditch the cheap ones that come free with products too as these are often very poor quality and frankly no good. MAC does some amazing professional brushes but if they are out of your budget, EcoTools provide a fantastic set of environmentally-friendly alternatives:
Investment Buy: MAC Brushes – £16-£37 each
Budget Buy: EcoTools Bamboo 6 Piece Brush Set – £15.99
Shadow
For striking night-out make up, eye shadow tricks are innumerable and whatever your eye shape or colour something can be done to enhance it. Putting a white or very light shade in the inner corner of your eye near the tear duct can instantly illuminate the eyes. Similarly, dark shadow or an eyeliner flick on the outer corner and along the lash line can make the eyes look feline and beautiful.
Colour-wise, blue eyes look great with shadows in blue, bronze and light brown. Green eyes can look stunning with light browns, dark greens and lavenders. If you have brown eyes consider yourself very lucky, you can pull off just about any shade!
Liquid Highlighter
Another fantastic item often overlooked in many make up collections is highlighter. If applied correctly, highlighter can give you that glowing look where people can’t place what’s different, just that you look amazing. Apply it directly over blusher, mix with blusher, or use just above blusher and under the eyebrow arch to really emphasize the cheek and brow bones. A touch down the nose and above the Cupid’s bow will also freshen up your face instantly.
Investment Buy: Benefit High Beam Highlighter – £18.50
Budget Buy: L’Oreal Lumi Magique Touch of Light Highlighting Pen – £8.49
Beautiful Brows
Before I start let me assure you that by no means am I condoning the infamous Scouse Brow; we all know slugs should stay in the garden. However, having a well-defined, face-framing brow can make all the difference to how your visage looks overall. There are numerous ways in which you can darken and define your brows without looking like an idiot – stencils, pencils and mini sets of utensils to name a few. If you’re nervous, start off by filling in the eyebrows using a pencil. When you feel more confident a mini brow kit like the one by Urban Decay is great for experimenting with shapes and colour.
Budget Buy: Eylure Shape Shade Brow Pencil and Tamer – £5.39
Investment Buy: Urban Decay Brow Box – £15.30
Contouring
While I’m completely aware that the image to the right looks like something out of The Lion King, the picture shows the basic concept of getting dark and light colouring in the right places to really emphasise your best facial assets and transform the face from super-boring to supermodel. Contouring properly is quite complicated; here’s a video by the gurus of makeup, Pixiwoo, explaining how best to do it:
So there you have it, small changes that can make a BIG difference. Why not shake up your make-up and adopt a change today? You certainly won’t be avoiding mirrors quite like you were before!