20 Makeup Tips For The Beauty Novice

I love makeup. I run a beauty blog so my love for a mascara or the latest foundation is pretty obvious and I'm constantly experimenting with new methods of application so that my makeup looks fresher and lasts for longer. I often forget that not everyone is as obsessed by makeup as I am and some people really struggle with knowing the right products to use and how to apply them. As I'm constantly being asked for advice and tips I've put together a small list to answer the questions that I get asked the most often.

1. Prep your skin beforehand by cleanse, tone and moisturising. This ensures that you're starting with a clean base, smoothing out the skin and makes it look a lot fresher. After applying wait a couple of minutes for it to sink into the skin before going in with any other product. This is especially apparent when using a powdered foundation.
Product Suggestion: Vichy Purete Thermale One Step Cleanser 3 in 1 / Vichy Aqualia Thermal 

2. Using a primer will make your foundation last longer as it acts as the glue between your skin and foundation. I suggest choosing a primer that is tailored to the needs of your skin e.g pore minimising, matifying or colour correcting.
Product Suggestion: Maybelline Baby Skin Pore Eraser / Illamasqua Matte Veil / Stila One Step Colour Corrector

3. Setting powders are a great finishing touch to your base to keep everything in place and to blot out any shine. It's also handy to keep one in your handbag for any touch ups that you may require throughout the day.
Product Suggestion: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish

4. To diminish dark circles underneath the eyes opt for a concealer that is one or two shades lighter than your foundation and apply in a 'v' shape. This will highlight the area keeping it looking bright.
Product Suggestion: Clarins Instant Concealer 

5. If you suffer with eye bags try using an illuminator alongside your regular concealer and apply dots to the line of the crease before blending out with your finger. The shimmer particles will reflect the light and smooth the area out.
Product Suggestion: Charlotte Tilbury Mini Miracle Eye Wand 

6. Starting from the edge of the forehead go around the temple, in along the cheekbone and back out around the jawline in a figure of 3 with your bronzer to get to the areas of that face that the sun would naturally hit, for a sunkissed look. I prefer matte bronzers without shimmer as I find they look the most natural.
Product Suggestion: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

7. To prevent your blusher from looking blotchy ensure to add a light dusting of powder to your cheeks beforehand. This will ensure that the foundation underneath is dry and will look a lot smoother once applied.
Product Suggestion: Sleek Blush / Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush 

8. If you don't want to do too much to your eyebrows but they're looking a bit sparse and you want them to look slightly more defined, I find that using an eyebrow pencil over other any other method is the quickest and easiest way. Be sure to use very delicate light strokes rather than going in too heavy and making them appear unnatural.

Product Suggestion: Collection Eyebrow Definer  / Soap and Glory Brow Archery

9. Simple ways to glam up your makeup from day to evening are with the eyes and lips. Go for a slighter darker smokey eyeshadow for a sultry look or make yours eyes pop with a shimmer. I recommend Sleek's Eyeshadow Palettes as they don't cost a lot but they have a good variety of different shades and finishes. Throw on a bold red lip to instantly add glamour.
Product Suggestion: Sleek i-divine Eyeshadow Palette  / Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet 

10. To make your eyes  really stand out, use a contrasting eyeshadow colour to the colour of your eyes. As a rough guide: Green Eyes- Purple Tones. Blue Eyes- Copper Tones. Brown Eyes- Gold Tones. 

11. If you use a pencil eyeliner on your top lid make sure you go for one that is smudgeproof to avoid it transferring onto the skin above. I would advise to spend a little more on a good quality eyeliner that is really soft and creamy on application but once dried it doesn't budge.

Product Suggestion: Charlotte Tilbury Rock 'n' Kohl Eyeliner Pencil

12. A nude eyeliner (not white) in your waterline is a great way to make your eyes look bigger and brighter. This is especially useful on a Monday morning after a heavy weekend.
Product Suggestion: Rimmel Scandal'Eyes Kohl Liner 

13. Always apply mascara after you've curled your eyelashes, never before. If you do it the other way round the curlers will stick to the mascara, can rip some of your lashes out or cause them to break and will make them stick up at an odd angle.

14. Give your eyelashes a quick blast of heat with the hairdryer to heat them up before placing on the eye. Test the temperature of the back of your hand to check that they are not too hot and then pump around the lashes for around 30 seconds to get them looking super curled. Wait another few seconds for them to cool down slightly before then applying your mascara. This will help to ensure that the curl holds for longer.
Product Suggestion: Tweezerman Great Grip Eyelash Curler

15. For a smooth base before applying your lipstick make sure your lips are exfoliated to remove any dry skin. This can be done by gently rubbing a wet toothbrush across your lips or you can buy a lip scrub instead.
Product Suggestion: Lush Lip Scrub 

16. Use a lip liner before applying your lipstick. This creates a bold outline so you can clearly see when going in with the lipstick and helps you to avoid going over the edges. Lip liners tend to be quite matte and work as a great primer so you can also apply all over the lips beforehand to keep your lipstick in place for longer.
Product Suggestion: Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner 

17. Using a lipstick with blue undertones is the perfect way to make your teeth look whiter.
Product Suggestion: Mac Ruby Woo 

18. After applying lipstick blot it by pursing your lips around a tissue. This removes any excess and stops it from getting everywhere, including your teeth. 

19. Once you've completed your makeup finish off with a setting spray. This is a great way to keep your makeup in tact all day long.
Product Suggestion: Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray 

20. Invest in good quality makeup brushes. Your makeup will go on much better which means for an overall improved finish. There's no point buying nice makeup only to apply it with terrible quality brushes. I often find that if it's been applied well then you can even make cheap quality makeup look expensive.
Product Suggestion: Zoeva Rose Golden Brush Set 

It can seem very overwhelming walking into a makeup shop and knowing which products to start with. I even feel the same when I read beauty blogs. Two blogs, two concealers, both have good reviews and both are similar prices. How on earth do I decide which one I want to try? Sometimes you literally just have to take the plunge and randomly pick one.  Give it a try and it you like it then it's a winner, and if not then try the other one. It's often a gamble when it comes to makeup. What may suit one person may not suit another so unfortunately it ends up being lots of trial and error but eventually you will work out what products you do and don't like. If you're conscious of wasting lots of money on makeup products that you're not sure if you're going to like, most high-end makeup counters will happily give you testers to try before you buy. 

Some of these tips may seem pretty obvious and some you may have already known but I hope from reading this you may have found out at least one tip that will help your makeup application a whole lot easier!

What's your favourite makeup tip?

love Katya x

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