Is there one beauty-related skill you'd love to master but still can't get the hang of?
Is there one beauty-related skill you’d love to master but still can’t get the hang of? Share!
False eyelashes! I’ve tried SOOO many tips and tricks, but I know the only way I’ll ever master it is if I really commit to and practice applying them. Well, that’s the hope.
Thanks to Kristin for today’s questions! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
Eyebrows! Mine are sparse and blonde, and whenever I try to help them out a little I look like a mugged myself with a magic marker. I just can’t get it.
Have you tried tinting them? I don’t have blonde brows but I hear tinting them will help the filling out process look more natural.
Winged Eyliner. I’ll just go without to avoid ruining a look.
I know the pain, LoL! I have that same issue with false eyelashes, except that that when my daughter worked at Sephora, I got nudged into buying some, and I have NEVER even worked up the nerve to at least try again! Terrible, huh?
Another one for me is putting my nail polish on without my left hand shaking and making a mess? Never fails to give my right hand a “6 year old did my nails” look! Yet, I am able to apply mascara lefty, go figure!
I feel your pain! My left hand always looks like the work of Da Vinci, while my right hand is more of a Picasso! :-/
Contouring my nose!! I try the whole ‘highlighting down the middle then blend’ but it just doesn’t look right!
Me too, for falsies. I just don’t like the glue.
The glue freaks me out too. I’ll only use DuoLash. Oh & watching girls who can just riii-iiiip them off at the end of the day always gives me some type of feeling that isn’t pleasant lol
~ Exactly, Christine! I had to wear them when I was selling them, oh-so-many years ago. They fell out of fashion, I haven’t worn them since. Well, now I need to wear them and just can’t seem to get the hang of it again! Like you said, Christine, practice makes perfect, eh?
Well, I have 3 …the cat eye, false eyelashes, and skilled contouring. Between work, the kid, and always rushing around in the morning, I don’t have the time or patience, but it’s on my wish list to master those skills.
Perfect eyeliner application. I’ve gotten better with time but getting perfectly symmetrical lines on both eyes is still tricky for me!
I once watched a video of Becky G applying eyeliner and she said something to the effect of “We don’t want them to be twins, we want them to be sisters” and since then I haven’t been so hard on myself to get perfectly even flicks/lines, and you shouldn’t either! 🙂
Same! Full strip false eyelashes are just so hard. I feel like part of the issue is that when my eyes are closed, my lashline is quite straight and flat rather than curved around my eyeball, if that makes sense–applying a pair of lashes with a curved lashband feels like trying to push a triangle through a circular hole. I don’t have trouble with individuals at least.
cut crease, smokey eyes and winged eyeliner on the first try are probably a few things i actually i am skilled enough
Flawless undereyes… Not going to happen..I have no idea how I could achive that with the amount of texture I have.
Eyeliner for hooded eyes. No doubt.
I’d love to be able to do a colorful, well-blended eye look. I’m pretty happy with my version of a subtle smoky eye though.
I would have to agree with false lashes. I bought a few pairs with good intentions to wear them for date night, but it just never happens. Also filling in my brows. I never feel confident or really happy with the end result. But I get by!
Flicked eyeliner! A few weeks ago, you asked about techniques we can’t seem to master and I was rather surprised and comforted to see that the cat eye flicked liner was really common because I thought it was only me!
EYELINER. I feel actual pain when I try to line my upper water line, I wonder if it’s because I’ve had laser surgery on my eyes. And winged eyeliner shouldn’t take like half an hour to do semi decently #justhoodedeyesthings
False Lashes are easier to apply to someone else than yourself. I’m definitely not quick at them, I wish I was faster but they are sooo worth it!
I think I need to master more FX textures on the skin and setting loose power with a blending sponge.
Yes! I’d love to be able to do the perfect super sleek graphic cat eye.
I have two! False lashes and liquid winged liner that doesn’t take an hour!
I don’t think I’ll ever get the hang of applying eyeliner to my upper lash line. I’ve used pencil, gel, and liquid and it always looks terrible. I also have hooded eyes so I feel like you can’t see my eyeshadow when I use eyeliner. I guess it’s not meant to be.
I also have hooded eyes and have trouble with pencils, gels, and liquids. However, I discovered that a cake liner applied along the lash line with a small, firm, flat, thin brush is perfect. It adds a lot of definition and creates the illusion of much fuller lashes.
Haha me too!! For me I think it’s not just lack of practice but my eyelids are kind of thick and my eyelashes grow in different layers already…so I just couldn’t place an extra layer of lashes on top of all those…don’t know if I am making sense here, but I have given it up and always envy those who can rock a pair of false lashes!
Cheek color – I get blush and highlighter but I don’t really know how to apply contour and bronzer or what shades of each, really. I don’t see any real impact with my face and maybe it’s because I’m not applying it correctly? I have Kevyn Aucoin’s Medium powder for contouring and a few others, and I have bronzers but I don’t understand the placement or how it’s supposed to work. When I do use them, I think I apply too little because I don’t want to look stripey or overdone.
False eyelashes for me also. Have tried off and on (mostly off) for years and can’t seem to master it.
I can’t apply false eyelashes. I’ve watched lots of tutorials and tried multiple ways and brands of glue but no luck!
Concealer (for acne, etc–I’m good at undereyes). Even when I carefully follow a step-by-step it takes forever and ends up too powdered/cakey or too slippery and wears off quick. I’d like to be able to wear concealer + tinted moisturizer, but for the time being I guess I’ll just stick with full-coverage foundation and call it a day. 🙁
Contouring. It always seems to look really fake on me
The smokey eye. It always ends up looking like I did it in the dark.
I second applying lashes. I can’t cut them down right on my tiny eyes and they end up so uncomfortable
False eyelashes. Cat eye is a close 2nd although I think it is a style best reserved for those under 40.
I second falsies. I can get the right eye perfectly, but I always totally screw up the left eye and spend a week picking glue out of my eyelashes! I’ve never actually gotten the left eye ON. I feel the need to wear them on a day to day basis, but it’d be nice to have the option for special occasions.
Winged liner
A cut crease
Liquid liner! There are so many great looks I’m missing out on because my cat is an inevitable train wreck.
Eyeshadow! I can’t apply eyeshadow for the life of me! Unless I do just one shade. But the whole “outer V and blend blend blend” thing is just impossible for me. Now I usually just use cream shadows. One swipe all over my lid! I’ve accepted defeat.
Gel liner; I can get a nice, simple line, but when I try to wing it, the result is just a big, globby mess… I recently bought Inglot Duraline, and if I use a “regular” liner brush, I can get decent to good results, but I still find liquid to be much quicker & easier. It took years of practice to get it down, but a winged eye with liquid liner really is second nature now (it’s something I’ve been doing for 25+ years!).
I have a similar problem with fake lashes, but Ardell Lashes just launched Press On Lashes that come pre mounted on a flexible plastic applicator. They are self adhesive so you don’t event have to put glue on them. They are so easy to use!
Yes!!! False lashes are impossible for me too! I usually end up gluing them to my lids, or else apply them crooked and have the corners lift up. And I *love* the look of full lashes :/
Eyebrows. I get them waxed at a salon, but I only started filling them in this last year. It’s not that they look bad, but I don’t think they look great. I feel like I’ve improved, but they’re never quite right. I can’t quite figure out why. I have yet to find the perfect brow product, either.
I never get winged liner right. Like Ever.
I seem to be in the majority when i list my lack-of-skill qualities for applying false eyelashes and creating the perfect cat-eye liner.
Waterline anything. It’s not comfortable and doesn’t look good on me. Part of me is convinced a professional can make it work, but sometimes things aren’t meant to be.
Also I have hooded eyes, so cat eyes are a struggle.
Contouring for sure! I can never find the right products so I don’t look too muddy, or aren’t shimmery, etc, and then I can’t get the hang of actually making it appropriate for everyday.
my brows! one side is OK but the other has a mind of its own! 🙁
Omg yes, Christine! & they’re sooooo in too! I can do accent lashes ok I guess cuz they only go on the outer part, but full-on falsies, uhn-uhn. Guess I need to practice.
& cut-crease. I’ve nvr even tried to do it on myself
-False Lashes (glue ends up everywhere except on my lashline)
-Winged Liner (always ends up covering half my eyelids)
-Contouring (my nose…)
-A black smoky eye (aka dark circle emphasizers)
Cat eyes!
I would love to master completely covering my dark undereye circles and expertly blending out my eyeshadow! If it had to be only one though, completely covering my dark circles! I have tried numerous highend and drugstore quality correctors and concealers, but they still peek through a bit! I’ve just learned to do the best that I can and go on! As far as eyeshadow blending, I’m sure a very good quality brush and practicing would work, so I need to jump on that!
A cat eye ! And false lashes !
Eyeliner for aging eyes.
Hi There is a Youtube channel called Hot and Flashy with excellent tutorials on applying eyeliner on mature skin, check it out!!
Eye brows – mine are really blond/grey and so pale. I have to be really careful when applying brow pencil not to end up look clownish.
Eye liner – very tricky when you wear/need your glasses to see what you are doing.
Winged eyeliner on my right eye. My left always looks great 😀
Dramatic eyes- smoky or glittery eye shadow, winged liner and applying falsies- I love how it looks but am still at the duo shadow neutral stage. I actually plan to treat myself to a makeup tutorial with an artist to learn this technique this Christmas…
Smokey eye and would like to know the proper way to contour..(and if we are making list.. sorry think you said one but eyebrows.. I am used to the “thinner look” which I like but the fuller look is in so I guess how to wax/pluck just enough to get the “in” look)
Tight lining the upper lid. I need to start trying this!
Also i need to master false eyelashes.
Tried all the tips and tricks but still make a mess of winged eyeliner
Liquid eyeliner! I always end up removing it because I have one thick line and one thin line.
Definitly winged eye liner!
It’s false lashes for me too! But I think so far, Eylure’s have been the easiest to apply. The band on theirs are curved. I also think eyeshadow shapes are tricky. (My easy way out is wearing winged liner, it makes almost all looks more cohesive!)
I was just trying to apply false lashes (again) one evening last week. I can’t seem to figure out how to best hold onto the lashes in order to apply them. I end up poking myself in the eye or attaching the falsies everywhere except where they should be! Two coats of mascara on curled lashes looks good enough for me to give up on falsies… for now.
I would like a quicker brow technique. I just don’t enjoy doing my brows but, at my age, I have to or it looks really odd after I’ve applied the rest of my makeup. I always joke that I’m going to have them tattooed on so that, by the time I’m eighty and gravity has pulled everything down, I’ll have permanent eyeshadow! 😉
I’ve never even tried false lashes because the idea of glue + eyelids squicks me but I wouldn’t mind if I could get over that and be good at it to wear some of the crazy new ones with feathers and lace and such, or just more oomph-y ones for evenings out.
Dealing with hooded eyes in general, but most of all, creating a natural-looking cut crease.
An amazing makeup artist did one on my eyes and all it took was a few master strokes of the brush and it looked amazing! Plus you could barely tell I had eyeshadow on.
Can I replicate it? No. ARGH!
Gel eyeliner. Eyeliner is the most important part of my eye makeup, but I cannot seem to make it smooth and even, it’s always a struggle.
Eyebrows. All I do is just brush them with MAC Beguille eyebrow set and that’s it. Would never be able to draw a perfect pair of eyebrows 🙂
Using more than two shades for my eye makeup. Just cannot grasp the concept, they just end up mixing to the point that they all look like one shade 🙂
Same! Definitely false eyelashes. Also, making my dark circles disappear. Concealing, colourcorrecting, I’ve tried it all. 🙁 Ends up looking cakey either way.
For me, either decent eyeliner or blow-drying, straightening, doing anything to my hair other than brushing it and letting it air dry.
Lol I was about to say contouring then I read Christine’s answer. Yes false eyelashes and eyebrows. The brows because I have pretty full brows but occasionally get gaps which can be more difficult to mask than when your brows are less full.
At first it was eyebrows but I managed to use a light hand and blend well.. problem solved… But now I feel like my foundation is not the best.. See.. I have acne marks and pores .. Not so great but I have seen other people who have horrible acne and their makeup looks great.. Im not sure what I am doing wrong..