30 Makeup Tips

Do you like makeup tips? Here are 30 of them just for you by a make-up artist: me! 😉

Make your own tinted moisturizer or your own BB Cream

Tinted moisturizer is ideal to give you a little colour, even out skin tone as well as moisturizing but why spend more when you’ve got everything you need at home? Just mix a few drops of foundation with your moisturizer! You can adjust the level of coverage with the quantity of foundation used. This way you’ll also get the benefits that your favourite moisturizer has to offer.
BB Creams are very popular right now: as with the tinted moisturizer formula, mix a moisturizer containing SPF with some foundation (more foundation than with the tinted moisturizer formula). That’ll do the trick!-

Combine two mascaras for made-to-measure eyelashes

It’s not always possible to get the desired effect with only one type of mascara because it may only give volume, length or curl, not all three. So why not for example apply a coat of lengthening mascara and follow it with a volumizing one. Then you’ll get the lash look you want!

How to fix a mistake without starting again from scratch

If you’ve got a mascara or eyeliner smudge, simply soak a cotton swab in foundation and remove excess. Roll it gently over the stain and it will disappear easily!

Create you own gloss for pennies

No need to spend a fortune, use petroleum jelly for a glossy effect with extra moisturizing as a bonus. For a coloured gloss, apply a little lipstick over the top with your finger to get a transparent look or fill in the whole lip with a pencil (over the colourless gloss) and blend well.

First things first, don’t forget the base…

Primers are essential for best and long-lasting results. When you try one, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Whether for the complexion,, eyes or lips, they make an enormous difference. Try a correcting primer (anti- redness, or for radiance or a bronzing effect). Makeup artists have been using them for ever!!

The best place to test the colour of a foundation

I’ve heard all sorts of suggestions (wrist, back of hand, cheek etc.) but the only place you should test the colour is on your jawbone. The colour should match your own skin perfectly.

Apply streak-free bronzer

To get an even look, avoid sweeping it all over your face (avoid the jaw line). Apply it on the places the sun hits naturally, nose, cheekbone, chin and centre of forehead. Use a shade that complements your natural skin tone (it shouldn’t be too dark).

To make your lipstick or gloss last longer

When you apply your foundation, apply it on your lips too. This way you’ll neutralise the colour and it’ll be easier to makeup your lips (super for lip-liner) by creating a base for your lipstick: it’ll last a lot longer!

Home-made eyeliner…

You don’t need to spend a fortune on liquid eyeliner or a new pencil to go with your makeup. Just dip your eyeliner brush in water and then in your powder eye shadow (like a watercolour). The texture will be creamy and you’ll be able to apply this eyeliner as usual. Now you have several eyeliners without spending anything extra!
But be careful not to damage you eye shadow. If you keep applying water to it, it can dry up and become hard. To avoid this, scratch the surface and mix on the back of your hand.
For best results, make sure it’s not too wet or too powdery. The texture should be pasty but slippery too. Too much liquid and you’ll get watery eyeliner with not enough colour. Too much powder and the result will be lumpy and difficult to apply.

Smoky-look eyeliner

To get a more natural look than with a pencil or eyeliner, just use an eyeliner brush and your favourite powder shadow. Trace a line around the eye just as you do with eyeliner but just with the powder. You’ll get a nice soft, “smoky” effect.

An easy way to apply liquid eyeliner

If you find it difficult to apply a nice straight line, think of painting by numbers. It’s always easier to do a few short lines than a long symmetrical one. So place a few dots of eyeliner at strategic points and then join them up. Your eyeliner will be impeccable!

A simple trick to make your eye makeup last longer

When you powder your face, don’t forget your eyelids and your lashes. This way, your eye shadow and your mascara will last longer. You can also apply a layer of powder around your eye contour to increase the staying power of your eyeliner.

Pearly shadow on your lips for a great shine and staying power

An ultra-pearly or metallic eye shadow in a light colour like peach, gold or pink over your lipstick will give a lot of shine and staying power. Apply a little gloss over the top to keep that wet look or just in the centre of the lip for a plumping effect.

How to get rid of dry mascara lumps

We all know the old trick of sweeping a clean mascara brush over the lashes, but what to do when the mascara is already dry? It’s quite simple: dip the brush in eye makeup remover, then sandwiching your lashes between the brush and a tissue, sweep the brush from the roots to the tips against the tissue. For best results, do both sides of the lashes.

How to conceal a pimple

If this is a problem for you, try the following method. Start by applying a generous amount of concealer directly on the pimple then instead of blending immediately with your finger; let it dry for about a minute. (The product will be thicker). With a little brush, blend around the pimple without touching the raised part. Your enemy will be unnoticeable!

Lipstick on your teeth?

Just pinch you lips around the joint of your index finger as if you were going to whistle, then pull your finger outwards. Now you can give a big smile!

How to wake up tired eyes

Your eyes say a lot about the quality of your sleep but don’t worry; makeup can help you to look as if you’d just slept 12 hours. You’ll need a kohl pencil and a mascara in a bluish tone. This makes the white of your eyes look whiter and diminishes the appearance of redness. To increase the effect, line the lower interior lid with the blue kohl.

No time to pluck your eyebrows?

If the hairs are too long, rub eyebrow wax or a little paraffin jelly in the direction of growth and smooth it down so that it’s flat (not necessary if the hairs are short ). Then, long or short, apply a good layer of concealer and pat down. With a latex sponge, apply loose or compact powder. You can then apply your usual eye makeup and your superfluous eyebrow hairs will be hidden.

How to make your eye shadow last longer

Here’s a quick and simple trick borrowed from a pastry chef! What happens when you sprinkle flour over butter? It sticks of course! The same goes for powder eye shadow. Apply a light-coloured or same-coloured cream eye shadow under your powder shadow. You’ll get staying power and the colour will stay fresh. You could also fill in the whole lid with a creamy eyeliner pencil.

Thicker-looking lashes

You’ve used twelve coats of volumizing mascara and it’s still not enough? It’s possible to achieve phenomenal volume with any kind of mascara. You just have to apply a first coat, let it dry, then powder your lashes with loose powder using a big brush. Apply another coat of mascara and you’ll see results! But don’t forget to protect your cheeks with a tissue.

Making up your eyebrows

Before applying pencil or shadows to your brows, brush your brow hairs downwards. Why downwards? Because then you can see the highest root point. This is where you should draw the eyebrow line. It’ll prevent you from drawing your brows too low. Once you’ve drawn the line, you can brush the hairs back upwards.
If you’re in a hurry in the morning and don’t have time for full makeup, just focus on your brows; pluck and brush them properly. A touch of gloss and you’re ready! The eyebrows are the central point of the face and they give it its character.

Eye makeup

When you apply eye makeup, it’s best to tilt your head backwards and look downwards, with the eye half-open, rather than closing your eyes. Closing your eyes creates a fold at certain points on the lid and your resulting makeup won’t be so even.

Bleaching superfluous hairs

You used bleach on your arm hairs and now they look canary yellow? Never mind, buy a gentle, ammonia-free hair dye in a pale ash-blonde colour. I insist on ash blonde. Make up a small quantity of mixture and apply it on the yellow hairs. Wait about ten minutes and rinse well. The yellow will have disappeared. But sensitive skins beware and avoid eyebrows or bikini line.

Powdery or chalky complexion

If you realise that you’ve used too much powder or that you look a bit chalky, spray your face with thermal water, pat with a towel to get rid of the excess and then take a latex sponge and pat in the problem areas.
You can also take an ice cube, wrap it in a tissue and press it on the chalky areas with a wavy movement.

Puffy eyes

If you’ve been partying all night and your eyes are puffy and baggy, apply a little hemorrhoid cream under the eyes (not too near the eye however) and leave it for as long as possible. Rinse with toner before applying makeup.

Warm or cool?

If you’re not sure how to match up your makeup colours, think of water or fire. Your colours should be in one of these two categories. Warm colours (red, orange, yellow etc) or cool colours (blue, purple, pink etc).

Eyeliner

When lining the eye, always start at the outer corner. Start with a thicker line and thin it out towards the inner corner, applying less pressure as you go towards the inner corner. You can blend the end of your line with a sponge or a cotton swab. There’s nothing worse than a thick, clumsily-drawn line!
Try other colours too; brown and black aren’t the only ones. Plum, green, dark blue, are flattering colours for the eyes and give more punch than those dull, basic colours, people will tell you how nice your eyes look without being able to put their finger on the reason for that extra sparkle…;)

Clumsy?

If you always tend to cover your face with mascara smudges, eye shadow on your cheeks or smeary pencil marks, forget the usual order of things and make up your eyes before your skin. Some makeup artists do this when they’re doing a smoky eye. It’s ideal for concealer because if you apply it last, it won’t smudge. And you won’t need to do touch -ups…

Get comfortable

Have you noticed that it seems easier to apply makeup when you’re sitting down rather than standing up? Well if so, you’ll have noticed that having your elbow on a flat surface increases your dexterity. Also, when you’re sitting down, your body is more stable and you won’t sway about so much. Your movements will be more confident when you’re applying makeup, you won’t have to worry about falling over!

Pat and tap!

This is the makeup artist’s secret!
We’re always telling you to pat here and tap there. This is normal, the effect is always better. Patting is good for every aspect of makeup : it increases the coverage of foundation, makes concealer more effective, helps moisturizer or eye contour cream penetrate better, increases the camouflage effect of correctors, makes eye shadow look more opaque and last longer, patting your face dry with a towel is less irritating to the skin etc. So with all that, who would want to rub and wipe?

What about you? Do you have any beauty tips you’d like to share with us? I’ve just about run out for today… ;o)