Let me just preface this article by saying, when it comes to makeup, there are no rules. Makeup is a form of self-expression, and we are all free to do whatever we want with our own faces. That being said, there are some tips and tricks that will make your makeup look exponentially more beautiful, professional, and well done. Here are six common makeup mistakes and how to fix them!
1. Matching your foundation to your face
So, at first glance this may sound strange, but it actually will change your life. Your foundation should match with your neck and body, not with the color of your face. The face is typically the palest part of our bodies. The goal with foundation is match your face with the body in order to be one unified, glowing rockstar. Next time you go to pick out a new foundation, test out the shades on your neck and the color that disappears is the one for you! If you can still see it on your neck once it’s blended in, it’s either too light or took dark. P.S. Make sure you apply foundation on your jawline and down your neck, so there is no line of demarcation. Even if it is the perfect color the texture will sell you out, so make sure you blend downwards!
2. Not blending eyeshadow
This is something I see constantly, and it makes me want to explode. Something every girl who wears eye shadow needs is a good, fluffy eyeshadow brush. The difference between flawless eyeshadow and a mediocre job is blending. Use the fluffy brush in the crease of your eye in a mix of circular motions and windshield wiper motions. Blend, blend, blend! My favorite blending brush: Mac Cosmetics 224 brush.
3. Doing your makeup with dirty brushes
When I look through my friends’ makeup I almost always see brushes that look like they haven’t been washed since the dawn of time. If you use a dirty brush when doing your makeup, your makeup is going to look dirty. WOAH, MIND BLOWN. I recommend doing a deep cleaning of your brushes at least once a week and spot cleaning in between uses. Especially your face brushes! The liquid foundations and concealers that sit on those brushes accumulate more bacteria than powder products, which equals ACNE.
How to achieve deep cleaning: Wet the brush under the faucet, put a little baby shampoo in your hand, swirl around the brush, and rinse until it runs clean. For shape bristles, lay them flat to dry.
How to achieve spot cleaning: you can buy a brush cleanser or make your own! (1/4 rubbing alcohol, ¼ baby shampoo, ¼ purified water) Spray the solution on the brush, and swirl the brush on a washcloth or tissue until it runs clean.
4. Applying bronzer all over
After a day in the sun, your face gets more tan in certain places than it does in others. Apply your bronzer where the sun would naturally hit your face. A good rule of thumb is to do a 3E. (see photo below). Keep the bronzer on the perimeter of your face and then a light dusting of whatever’s left over on your nose. Don’t forget to apply bronzer to your neck, too!
5. Stretching your eye to apply top eyeliner
Top eyeliner is typically one of the trickiest feats for people to overcome when doing their makeup. The best tip I can give is to go slowly, and don’t try to draw one line in one go. Whether you’re using a gel liner, pencil, liquid, etc., TAKE YOUR TIME. It’s almost like you’re drawing teeny dashes along your lashline and then slowly connecting them. If you pull on your eyelid to apply your eyeliner because you think it will somehow be easier, it’ll look different when you let go. It’s actually easier to just look down into a mirror with your eye relaxed and go slowly. Pulling your eyelid is also speeding up the wrinkle process tenfold. Your eye area is so delicate and we want to be as gentle with that area as possible.
Good luck! If you have any makeup questions feel free to ask me at www.makeupbyrachelmalkin.tumblr.com