Ten Common Makeup Misses & Fixes

For many of us, we go to the makeup counters and we are just overwhelmed by all of the products on the shelves.  Our heads start to fill with questions like, what colors suit me best? What formula is right for me? Which tools do I really need? With so many shades of lipsticks and eye shadows, so many textures of blush and foundation, we quickly turn to the salesperson for help. With excitement and a big smile of accomplishment on our face, we
purchase our recommended products and give them a place to call home in our little makeup chest.

However, even the most elite of makeup enthusiasts is liable to make a mistake here and there when it comes to application and product choices. Are you aware of the possible makeup blunders that you commit when applying your makeup each morning? Check out our list of top ten, makeup misses& fixes below, to make sure you aren’t committing any beauty crimes.

1) Dark lip liner and light lipstick.Unless you are planning on doing an ombre lip, then this is a no-no. It’s time to get out of the 80s and get with the program. Choose a lip liner that closely matches your natural lip color or the shade of your choice lipstick. If
you plan on wearing a dark lip liner, such as red or a deep berry shade, fill in your lips completely with the liner, then top with a sheer gloss.

2) Mismatched foundation.
I’ve seen to many people walk around with what’s called a floating head, because their foundation doesn’t match their neck. Foundation is supposed to even out your skin tone and seamlessly blend into the rest of your body. The best way to choose a foundation is to determine your skins undertone, whether it be warm, neutral or cool. Then you
want to pick three shades of foundation in the correct undertone family that you feel closely matches your skin tone and test them in natural light (daylight) Simple swatch each shade on your jaw line and choose the one that blends in or disappears mostly into the skin.

3) Clumpy mascara.
The unilash, as I like to call it, is so not a good look. De-clump those lashes girl! We all love full, thick looking lashes, however there is a right and wrong way to go about it. If your mascara brush comes out of the tube loaded with product, simply blot on a tissue paper to remove the excess, this will greatly decrease clumpy. After applying two or three coats of mascara, take a lash comb and separate those bad boys for all around even looking, full lashes.

4) Blending your makeup incorrectly
As contradicting as it may sound, your makeup should not be overwhelmingly obvious. Makeup is meant to highlight your best features and downplay your flaws. If it looks like you are ready to go to war, then you may have a blending problem. Your makeup shouldn’t have hard or obvious lines. You want your makeup to look soft and blend seamlessly into each color, it should enhance the contours of your face not outline them. Always apply your makeup in proper lighting, use the right tools and blend makeup until you cannot see where itstarts or ends.

5) Over tweezing your eyebrows
The days of the Jessica Rabbit brows are over girlfriend. That overly plucked, thin line you call a brow is just not working. Over thin/sparse eye brows can actually age you. If not careful, tweezing to frequently, can damage the hair follicle, preventing the brow hair from growing back. I recommend growing your brows out to its full capacity and then get them professionally shaped. If your brows are spares, a great way to make them look fuller is by using a brow pencil. Make sure the tip of the pencil is sharp and begin to create hair like strokes and fill in the areas of the brows that are sparse. This will give you a more natural, fuller looking brow.

6) Reverse raccoon eyes
Oh you wanna know what I mean by that. Well I will tell you. Reverse raccoon eyes is when you over highlight under your eyes by using a concealer way to light for your skin tone which leaves you with a halo effect under your eyes and appears even more obvious in photographs. Most of us woman suffer with dark circles under the eyes, but the way to
go about covering them up is not with a concealer five shades lighter than your natural skin tone, but with a peach/salmon concealer. This will tone done the bluish/grey dark circles giving you a more even toned look. Now for that bright, wide awake, fresh faced glow, you want to use a concealer that is one or two shades lighter than your skin tone, not five shades lighter. Simply apply the concealer on top of the salmon/peach corrector that you applied to get rid of the dark circles and blend, fanning out into the rest ofyour skin. Remember it should not be obviously, it should look like a glow from within.

7) Over-application of blush
The circus has left the town honey and unless you’re the clown, you should not be wearing that much blush. Blush can do wonders for the face, itinstantly brightens and adds color and depth, but it should look like a naturalflush to the skin, not clown paint. You always want to start with a light hand when applying blush, then you can gradually build up the color. The fluffier the brush the more dispensed and light the application. If you want a flushed look, smile and apple blush to the apples of the cheeks. For a more structured look, apply blush across the cheekbone then blend downwards to soften.

8) Over bronzingWe all love that sun kissed glow, but too much bronzer can make you look dirty or to orange or to shimmery, if not using a matte bronzer. Bronzer is not meant to be used all over the face, you want to use the bronzer on the high points of your face where the sun would naturally hit, such as bridge of the nose, eye lids, temples, cheek bones and chin. However you should select only a couple areas to bronze. The ideal area to apply bronzer and for a more natural look, is the temples and cheeks. Using a fan brush or a blush brush, begin to form a “C” starting at the temples or top of your forehead bringing the bronzer right down to your cheek bones.

9) Lipstick on the teeth
Ok so it happens to the best of us, lipstick on the teeth can be quite embarrassing and girl, if your friend let you walk around all day with that lipstick on your teeth, then you need a new friend. Always check the mirror before leaving the house. The best way to prevent lipstick from getting on your teeth is to not over layer your lipstick so that it becomes cakey. Do the finger trick, put your index finger in your mouth and pull it out to remove any excess lipstick that could find its way on your teeth.

10) Lipstick on dry, chapped lips
Girl if your lips are dry, chapped and look like they been through hell and back, you should not be wearing lipstick.  Lipstick applied over chapped lips will only emphasize the dryness and the darker the lipstick the worse it looks. Exfoliate chapped lips using a homemade scrub made up of sugar and a little honey. Moisten lips then in circular motions gently exfoliate your lips with the sugar scrub. Another way to exfoliate the lips is to apply some Vaseline to the lips and let them soak for 30 minutes, then, use a toothbrush to lift and remove the dead skin. Once your lips are nice and smooth, hydrate them with a lip butter to keep them soft and to prevent dryness.