My makeup journey began at twelve years old. I would sneakily apply white eyeshadow from the palette my best friend gifted me. I kept it hidden from my Mom since I was “too young to wear makeup”, thinking she would not notice. In case you are wondering, yes I was successful (I think). Today, I am still no James Charles, but I came a long way when it comes to beating my face. I certainly learned a lot of different tips from friends, YouTube videos, the Internet, and other makeup wearers, so I would love to pass my wisdom down to you!
- Do your eyebrows and eyes first
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I used to think the only way to do makeup was to do your face makeup first, and then your eyes since it just made the most sense, but I found that starting your makeup routine with your eyebrows and eyes has tons of benefits. First off, doing your eyes before your face will prevent eyeshadow from falling onto your face and destroying the face makeup you worked so hard on applying. This issue is called “fallout”. Also, if you mess up your eye makeup (which happens too often), you will not need to wipe off any face makeup to reapply.
- Don’t apply mascara on your bottom lashes, blink instead
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Personally, whenever I tried to do bottom mascara, they always turn out spidery and long. I look like a creepy ceramic Annabelle doll. So, my solution to this is to apply mascara on the top lashes and then blink to get just enough mascara on your bottom lashes. It works like a charm!
- Don’t line your bottom lid all the way
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Instead of completely lining your bottom lid all the way, stop at the middle of the lid to make your eyes look more “awake” and widened. This trick is especially great for those who have almond-shaped eyes like myself. It should also be noted that pencil liners work best for bottom eyeliner.
- When lining your eyes, start from the middle and work your way out
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If you want the perfect dramatic, or basic wing, this is the way to go. Start from the middle of your lid and build your wing. Then, finish off with the thin line to the opening of your eye.
- Apply a little bit of a darker eye shadow shade on your bottom lid
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If you want a more dramatic look, take the darkest shade in your eye look of choice and apply it to the bottom lid. Just like your bottom liner, you are going to want to only apply this midway.
- Ditch the eyelash curler
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Whenever I would use an eyelash curler, I found it never did much. The mascara really does the dirty work. Plus, my lashes are growing a lot stronger now that I no longer use one. If you really want dramatic lashes, apply mascara with a shimmying motion.
- Bake, bake, bake!
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This trick was created by drag queens to help their makeup stay on while they put on intense performances. Use a wet beauty blender and apply setting powder on your face after applying foundation and concealer (after your eyes, of course). This trick “bakes” the makeup into the skin and helps it stay on longer. The best areas to bake are under the eyes, contour lines, and on the chin. Leave it on for a bit and take a large brush to brush it off.
- Apply highlighter with a beauty blender.
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I learned this trick from the one and only Jaclyn Hill. This will make highlighter really pop and the skin glow!
- Trust the process
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If there is one tip on this list that I live by, it is this one, makeup related or not! At first, your makeup may not look right to you, but that is perfectly okay. Unless you really feel like you have to, do not start over. Keep going! For me, I feel like the look finally comes together after I put on mascara, but everybody is different. Trust that everything will come together and trust your skills as an artist and the look will feel complete.