Friday, May 2, 2014

Makeup Tips For The Everyday Girl

Hi Guys. First post, I'm super excited!

I'm sitting here being sick and medicated to the fullest and decided I should start this thing. I asked for some suggestions on Facebook and my lovely cousin Dennis made the suggestion to start with makeup tips. Full disclosure, as many of you know I am NOT a makeup artist, so take these advices with  a grain of salt, this is just what works for me, stuff that I have noticed, tips from all over the place that have helped me personally, so when in doubt just try it out!

First, let's talk foundation. It took me so long to find not only a match but a formula that played nice with my skin and looked just how I wanted it. What I learned was that to find my perfect foundation I needed to get to know my skin. Is it oily or dry? Cool or warmed toned? Olive? WHAT? I know, it was completely overwhelming, so many choices and everywhere you go to get matched they have a different opinion. What I have noticed when getting matched at different stores is that they like to "match" you with something darker because, you know, tanner looks healthier or whatever. But the point of foundation is to create a blank canvas for the rest of the makeup, the point is to even your skintone and make you look flat so you can add some color and dimension with other products. If you want to look tanner, don't use a darker foundation, just put some bronzer on.  Below is a video that I found extremely helpful by Lisa Eldridge. I suggest checking out her other videos too, she is amazing and her voice is so soothing.


When it comes to color, be it blush, countour, eyeshadow, or lipstick, I find it best to experiment and try anything that you are curious about. Ask for samples, stores like Sephora and department stores will most of the time give you samples so you can try at home and see how a product works for you before committing to a full size, make up is expensive so don't throw your money away.

A great tip pertaining application, always blend, blend, blend. Blend your products to reduce any harsh lines so it looks more natural. Blend the edges of your eyeshadow for colors to transition better, blend your foundation so it looks like skin and not like a mask, blend your blush so it looks like a flush of color. Good tools are essential for this. For some foundations clean fingers work best to blend, for others a blending sponge, like a beauty blender or other similar ones, or different types of brushes work better for some people. All these give different finishes and effects to your skin, experiment and find what you like. For eye color application a blending brush is a game changer, invest in a good one and it will make your life a lot easier. Find looks that you like and practice, practice, practice!

While we are on the subject of tools. Tools should be cleansed regularly. Product cakes up and accumulates in tools and it can greatly affect they way your makeup looks. It can also create bacteria that is harmful for your skin and good skincare is essential. Deep clean your tools at least monthly and spot clean between application. To spot clean use a makeup remover wipe and swirl your brush in it to remove product, you can also use an instant brush cleaner solution available at different beauty stores or you can make your own solution at home by adding: 3/4 rubbing alcohol, (over70% works better because it dries faster) glycerin or any type of baby shampoo or even dish soap (use a little bit of this, you don't want suds it is only for moisture as alcohol dries out the bristles) and the rest of distilled water, combine these in a spray bottle and that is it.
The beauty of beauty is that you can do whatever you want. Play with color, think outside the box, or perfect your signature look. There are a million products out there and they are all targeted to something different, so what works for me might not necessarily work for you.

I hope this was at least a little bit useful and helpful. Leave me a comment with your favorite beauty tips and questions.  I hope you enjoyed and stick around for more!

3 comments:

  1. Thank you! I learned a few things actually a lot that I didn't know. =) You rock!

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  2. Thanks did the brush cleaning solution recipe, that helps me a lot! Great start!

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