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What are the best makeup tips and tricks you've gleaned from makeup artists?


What are the best makeup tips and tricks you’ve gleaned from makeup artists? Share your favorites!

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Always take care of your skin, wear blush/lipstick with your eye makeup, and makeup hygeine.

Thanks to Kim for this question!

32 Comments

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AnnaS Avatar

I’ve learnt how to use facial oils for radiance and how to steam clean my face daily. I use a warm muslin cloth with a few drops of lavender oil and place it over my face, breathe in deeply and let the steam do its work.
I apply facial oil daily and the combined results have been amazing.

Mora Avatar

i learnt using concealer from bobbi browns book “makeup manual”.

I was surprised by the effect. I look more awake and quite healthy without these dark circles under the eyes.

tremorviolet Avatar

I’m not sure if these count as tips or just advice but here goes:

1) Where you first place the brush is where the most color is deposited so think carefully about how you apply your eyeshadow. Sounds obvious but it made a huge difference in how I apply my eye-makeup.

2) You can wear almost any color, no matter how bright, even to the office, if you surround it with the right neutrals.

3) You can’t just put on the eyeshadow (no matter how skillfully applied) and expect a polished look. It takes a lot of products and attention to detail to get a nice, finished overall look.

4) It’s a make-up brush, not a magic wand. Make-up enhances your features but won’t change them, work with what you’ve got. (I gotta admit this one bummed me out, I used to think that if I just got good enough at make-up, I’d magically look like Cate Blanchett. Nope. 🙁 I look like a more polished version of me but it’s still me. )

dolce aria Avatar

I don’t know, how to do a cateye/different liner tricks with a nice gel or liquid liner?

Most of the skills i’ve seen makeup artists use are ones i see here, or on some other beauty blogs. Actually having someone make me up usually doesn’t breach anything i haven’t seen somewhere else.

Apologies if i’m incoherent. my boss is threatening my job right now so i’m still so angry I’m shaking.

Sally Avatar

Use a lipliner that matches your lips underneath your lipstick to avoid the dreaded ring around your lips.

Waterproof mascara holds curl better than non-waterproof.

and

To contour your eyes by putting a darker shade in the crease in order to create depth. (If you have very flat eyes like I do!)

Thincspot Avatar

Putting concealer and foundation on AFTER my eye makeup. I apply eye cream under the eye and eye primer on the lid to a freshly washed face and do my eye makeup. After it’s done (and I wipe all the little mistakes up with a q-tip and EVOO, I apply my primer, foundation and concealer. This way I don’t have to try and even out my (re-applied) concealer and foundation with any mistakes I’ve had to wipe off.

Erica Avatar

I have heard this too by many. No matter how hard i try i always get splothes of mascara on my already made face! My makeup routine is changing as i type this. lol

Rosanna Avatar

Fill in your lips with lipliner, add lipstick, then gloss for an overall trick to keep your lipstick colour on for hours. Learned from the Chanel makeup artist that did my highschool graduation. 😀

aradhana Avatar

i suppose it wasn’t really a ‘trick’, but the best advice from an mua would be the one mac artist who recommended me my first proper makeup brush (239 of course) and ricepaper/saddle shadows…all staples for me…
after that it’d be brush related again, with the pencil brush and smolder eye kohl…
i guess both examples are tools/colours/products that work really well for me.

Kaye123 Avatar

Shimmer above the crease makes you look like a crystal ball. Matte go above the crease and then you use a shimmer under brow to break the shimmer up.

Blending is key.

sheena Avatar

I think skincare comes before makeup too. Where I live people hardly wear makeup on a daily basis, so I would automatically look out of place if I ever wear a full made up face anyway. Also, someone told me once taking care of your skin means regularly taking a break from make up, and also primers are really bad for your skin. And if you take care of your skin, you wouldn’t need a ton of makeup anyway.

Rengirl Avatar

How to apply liquid foundation with a duo-fiber brush. I really hated liquid foundation and it always looked awful on me until I learned how to stipple it on. Now I hate leaving the house without it.

Linda Avatar

Use a good shade of eyeshadow and a nice eyebrow brush for doing your brows…specifically Bobbi Brown Blonde for me, with the BB eyebrow brush.

Salvinia Avatar

The BEST tip I ever learned was to use eyeshadow base!
I have pretty oily eyelids and any shadow I put on will inevitably crease within a few hours if I don’t use base, so who knows how I ever got along before learning about it…

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