Don’t fight me on this: makeup is an art form. Women and even some men can spend up to an hour to achieve a perfect full face, and the process of putting makeup on up to the final look is mesmerizing to watch. And while there’s generally a few rules to follow (such as not applying a hundred layers of beauty products onto your face), the great thing about makeup is that there’s no strict set of rules and people are free to put makeup on based on how they prefer.
However, if you’re putting on a full-coverage makeup, there are some steps you need to follow and some tools you will definitely need if you want to achieve the best look. And what a lot of people don’t realize is that some of the things they do could not only be preventing them from creating an amazing final look, but also harm their skin in the long run. Worry not, because these tips and tools can help.
Never – Ever — Use Your Fingers to Apply Foundation
Some people prefer to apply foundation with their finger tips over using a brush, sponge, or beauty blender. But if you want to maximize your foundation, keep your face clean, and achieve the best base for the rest of your makeup, you’ll want to avoid using your bare fingers in the future.
First of all, using the right foundation tool makes all the difference. You’ll find that instead of a streaky finish, you get a seamless, flawless finish these tools were designed to create. Spreading your foundation as much as possible can also help you maximize its use and decrease the need to apply concealer.
Second, the thing about foundation is that once it’s blended, it traps everything that’s on your face into your face and exposing it to your pores. It’s why makeup gurus tell you to exfoliate or do skincare before putting on foundation to ensure that your face is free of dirt, dead skin cells, or any impurities which, forced into your pores through foundation, could cause pimple breakouts and other blemishes.
It’s also why gurus, makeup artists, and makeup brands recommend people wash their brushes and sponges after every use. Even if you wash and dry your hands before applying foundation, you could be massaging bacteria from your hand onto your foundation and into your pores. It’s easier to use foundation to even out your skin tone than it is used to hide blemishes because of improper foundation application.
Get A Makeup Station (Or at Least a Designated Bathroom Vanity with a Good Mirror)
I wouldn’t recommend using the mirrors on your compact if you want to achieve the best full-face makeup look. Unless you’re out of your home and there’s no large mirror you can use, you should only use your small mirrors as a last resort if there is nothing else available to help you retouch.
Using a small mirror requires you to multitask between making sure you’re putting on makeup just right and getting the right mirror angle. Second, if you’ve heard about the parable about the blind men and the elephant, you know that what appears true in one part doesn’t account for the whole. Both eyes’ eyeliner or brows may look good, but a bigger mirror might be able to tell you that, next to each other, they’re visibly uneven.
I would recommend a makeup station in your bedroom or bathroom, but I know not a lot of people have the luxury of space and resources to install one in their home. Instead, you can turn your bathroom’s counter and sink into your own bathroom vanity. Each person is different though, so adjust the height of the vanity, the mirror, and the free counter space in such a way that you can put makeup on the most efficiently.
Invest on Eyelash Curlers
It’s already a given that you’ll find expensive makeup brands reaching almost a hundred dollars, and then drugstore makeup that sells at a fraction of a luxury brand price but offers more product. However, people bat their eyes when they see an eyelash curler worth a dollar and then, right next to it, an eyelash curler worth $30 that looks the same as the low-end one except for the brand logo.
Once taken out of the packaging, it’s difficult to tell eyelash curlers apart, so a lot of people think that they practically have the same function and they can save a few dollars buying the cheaper one. But despite its similar metal look, these curlers perform differently the same way high-end makeup features more benefits and longer wear over mid-range alternatives.
Nikki from Lipstick Latitude did a test on a $2 and a $25 Shu Uemura eyelash curler. Using her macro lens, she showed that the difference was in the curler’s construction. While we don’t notice the different parts that go into an eyelash curler, there are actually some bits that contribute to corroding, durability, comfort, and how the product works on your eyelashes. While we can’t really notice the differences that go into high- and low-end curlers, it’s these differences that provide a better output. While there are no hard rules in applying makeup, following these tips can help improve the way your finished project appears. Not only can you work better and put makeup more efficiently, you also avoid messing up your work and creating blemishes that can be harder to hide. And having a great full face of makeup can give you the confidence you need to look and feel great.
