Makeup should enhance your natural beauty and features, not disguise or ruin them altogether. There’s an art to applying makeup, and unless you’re a professional, most of us are making mistakes or doing things all wrong that are making us look less attractive and even older than we are.
1. Skipping Skin and Eye Primer
You know what they say—not priming is a crime. Before you put your makeup on, you should moisturize your skin and use a skin primer and an eye primer. Not only does this boost hydration in your face and make you look less dull, but it also stops your makeup from slipping and appearing cakey.
2. Wrong Base for Your Skin
Your skin becomes drier and duller with age, and applying a heavy foundation makes things worse. Matte foundations create a tired, cakey look as the heavy formula settles into fine lines and pores, making them look more noticeable. Skip matte foundations and look for a glowy, water-based foundation instead. And always make sure your base matches your skin tone.
3. Lack of Luminosity
There’s nothing worse than looking like you’ve had the life sucked out of you. Like foundation, blush that has a flat matte finish can make your skin look lifeless, a little gray, and tired. Shop for a blush that has a luminous glow to it in order to give your skin a little extra pep. But it’s not just the right product; it’s the right application that matters, too. Try applying your blush to the top of your cheekbones and lower temples for a model-like look.
4. Too Much Concealer
However much concealer you think you need, halve it, then quarter it. We’re all guilty of using too much concealer here and there. It’s tempting to do once you catch a glimpse of your purple eye bags, but be careful; a heavy-handed concealer application shows. Concealer is much heavier than foundation and can cake up your complexion quickly. Most concealers are so thick that you really only need a small dot of product in the corner of your eyes for full coverage.
5. Forgetting Blush
Blush completes a makeup look, it can add a human-touch back to your skin when it’s washed out with foundation and concealer. Without a little blush, you and your complexion can look flat, washed out, and aged. Avoid bright, unnatural shades and heavy textures, and apply a hydrating satin cream or liquid blush in a peach shade to the apples of your cheeks and along your cheekbones toward your eyes. You will quite literally glow with a touch of youthful radiance when you work blush into your makeup regime.
6. Heavy-Handed Face Powder
Face powder is a great way to seal your makeup and protect it against sweating. But you need to apply face powder sparingly. really, all you need is a light dusting across your T-Zone, which is your chin, nose, and forehead. Overdoing the powder, especially if it’s a matte finish, can make skin look dry and tired and emphasize wrinkles and imperfections. If you’re susceptible to dryness, the powder will also cling to these dry areas and exacerbate them.
7. Ignoring Your Eyebrows
You mightn’t think that your brows need doing in the grand scheme of things; however, if you neglect your brows during your makeup regime, it’ll show. Neglecting your brows can make your eyes look smaller, highlight a droopy brow, and make your entire look appear disheveled. A well-manicured, defined grow will open up the eye area, make you look more awake, and add structure and definition to your face. Even if you don’t want to fill them in heavily, run an eyebrow gel through them to give them a bit of emphasis.
8. Dark Heavy Eyeliner
Heavy eye makeup doesn’t look good on everyone, especially thick, black, or dark eyeliner. Rather than accentuate your eyes, it can make your eyes look small and squinty and create a heavy, tired appearance. Skip eyeliner together if you’re tired, and go for a bold lip instead. And always remember, you can have a bold lip and a natural eye, or a bold eye and a natural lip – but never both together.
9. Not Curling Your Lashes
We get it, by the end of your makeup regime, the last thing you probably want to do is pick up the eyelash curler, but this skipping this step of your beauty routine actually works against you. An eyelash curler helps to create volume, lift, and open up your eyes. Curl your lashes before applying mascara, especially if tired eyes and droopy lids are an issue.
10. Neglecting Mascara
Sometimes, the mere thought of having to take off your mascara at the end of the night is enough to deter you from wearing it altogether. However, not using mascara can make your eyes look less defined and more tired. A few coats on the lashes can open up your eyes and make you look more awake – even if it is annoying to take off.
11. Wrong Lipstick Shade
Lipstick is the cherry on top of a great makeup look. But, if you’re not careful, your lip color can smear and bleed, which can make you look unkempt and sloppy. To avoid your lipstick smearing, try lining your lips with a lip liner which will fill in all the small lines in and around your lips. Alternatively, you can blot your lips on a tissue or paper towel after application, which can also thwart smearing throughout the day.
12. Applying Nail Polish Badly
Nails say a lot about who you are and your appearance. If you’re going out and about with chipped polish, it might be giving off the message that you’re sloppy and don’t care about how you present yourself – even if that’s not the case. When it comes to doing a DIY manicure, make sure you’re applying a base and top coat to your nails to avoid them chipping and looking unkempt.
13. Unblended Lip Liner
Lip liner can accentuate your lips and even stop lipstick from bleeding around your mouth, but if you wear too much of it, you are ruining your makeup look. When it comes to lining your lips, trace the corners of your mouth or just outside, but be careful not to be too heavy-handed. Excessive lip liner can make you look like a makeup amateur; stick to a natural look to look your best self.
14. Makeup Overload
When it comes to makeup, there is such a thing as too much. As a general rule of thumb, create beautiful, glowy skin, use a hint of blush or illuminator to add definition to your cheekbones, and make sure your brows are groomed. Then, choose one feature to highlight. If you want to do a heavy, smokey eye, keep your lips soft and barely there. And if you do a bold lip, go easy on the eye makeup. A slick of mascara to open up the eye area is all you need.
15. Using Expired Products
Makeup is expensive, we get it. But just like food, makeup can expire. Once it’s expired, not only will it stop doing its job, but it could start growing harmful bacteria that can damage and irritate the skin. So, while it’s hard when makeup hits its expiry date, it needs to go to the trash.