Face Makeup Tutorial Blog

Face Makeup Guide

2009-08-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

There are many different products for face makeup and it can be difficult to know which one’s to use and for what purpose. Here is a quick guide to the different types of products available and what they are used for.

Face Makeup Primers

What exactly are makeup primers and what are they used for? Primers are used to help your foundation stay on longer by providing a better base than moisturizer alone. A primer should be applied after moisturizer but before foundation. Many people choose to do without this step but face makeup primers will keep your makeup looking good all day long.

Skin Brighteners

These are similar to primers in that they are used as a base for foundation, the difference is that they can give an extra glow to skin, these are not for everyone and if you have oily skin you can probably give brighteners a miss.

Face Makeup Shine Control

Depending on the product these can be applied either before or over face makeup. They are used to help control oil and are useful for anyone with oily skin.

Foundations

Foundation makeup comes in a variety of forms and can be chosen depending on skin type, they come in a variety of shades to suit every skin tone and are applied after moisturizers, primers and brighteners. You can most commonly buy foundation in cream, powder or stick form and there is also an all in one option that requires no finishing powder.

Face makeup – concealer

Concealers are used to help cover any flaws on the skin; they are commonly used to cover dark circles under the eye area and for pimples and scars. Concealer can be applied before foundation or used to touch up and lighten after foundation application.

Blusher

Blusher, when used correctly can give our cheek bones a natural looking, slightly flushed look helping to define the cheeks while giving the skin a warm glow.

Eye shadows

Eye shadows also come in a variety of forms such as matte, glossy, cream and pencil. They are used after foundation and concealer but before mascara application. Eye shadows can be used to add depth or brighten the eyelids and surrounding eye area.

Mascara

Mascara is applied after eye shadow and is used to help the eyelashes appear thicker and longer. When buying mascara look for a waterproof variety to save it running.

Lips and Lipsticks

There are many products available for making your lips look fuller or warmer, lip liner is used to define the lips making them stand out and lip balms are used to moisturize and protect the lips while lip gloss gives lips an extra shine. Lipstick is used to add color to the lips and comes in a wide variety of shades.

There are many more face makeup products available for all different purposed but you can create the same look with all of the basics listed above. You can blend foundations, eye shadows and even lip glosses to create different looks and effects. Experiment with the basics and see which results you prefer.

Make Up Tips

2009-08-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

We all love make up and finding a product that suits you will do wonders for your skins appearance as well as your confidence. These make up tips will help you to choose the best products for your skin type as well as advising you on the best products that you should have in your beauty box and the one’s you can do without. With tips for applying eye make up, face makeup tips and tips to give your skin a natural glow before you apply your make up.

Make up tips for an instant natural glow.

Before you put on your makeup you can do many things to give your skin a healthy looking natural glow. It may be something your gran told you, but pinching your cheeks can give you a natural blush, so it won’t last all day like your makeup will, but is a great trick for adding a little color to your cheeks in a hurry.

Skin cleansing, one of the most important things you can do before applying your foundation is ensuring that your skin has been properly cleaned. You should cleanse thoroughly before you consider putting anything on your skin. The next step is to give your face a generous covering of moisturizer and let it absorb fully. I prefer to moisturize my skin twice before applying make up as foundations and other similar products can dry out skin that is not properly hydrated before application.

Quick Make up Tips

Skin brightener’s give an extra glow to tired looking skin and should be applied after moisturizing but before foundation

If you wear glasses be sure to regularly clean the part of your glasses that rest on your nose, this area can aggravate poor skin conditions leading to black heads on your nose.

Do not stick to one foundation, it is a good idea to keep a few different tones of foundation in your beauty box, this allows you to blend your tones to match your skin perfectly, if your skin tone has changed slightly, due to tanning etc, you can blend your foundations and still have a flawless finish.

Always remove your makeup, this may seem obvious but after a date or a night out, the last thing most women want to do is remove their make up, however makeup can clog pores and lead to outbreaks if worn excessively or not removed at the end of the day. Ideally you should have a cleansing routine that you perform morning and night to keep your skin well hydrated and free of bacteria and germs that can cause poor skin condition.

A light shade of lipstick can be used as a cream blusher too, by using your lipstick as a blusher too, you can match your tones perfectly and have glowing looking skin. Never apply your lipstick straight from the stick, instead use your fingers, warm the lipstick by rubbing your fingers together and blend onto the skin.

Make up tips for Lips

Lips need moisturizing too; to help keep your lipstick lasting longer and avoid chapped lips you should apply a lip balm nightly to keep your lips supple and hydrated.

To keep your lip color lasting longer, use a lip pencil first to fully cover your lips, this gives a great base for applying lipstick and helps it to last longer.

Blot your lipstick with your fingers and add a small amount of blush powder to seal the color. Your lipstick will last much longer and is less likely to smudge.

Eye Make up Tips

If you have dark circles under your eyes avoid eyeliner on the bottom lash line, it will draw attention to the dark area of skin, making you look tired and can make the circles appear darker than they actually are.

To make your eyes stand out and look bigger, use a line of eye shadow below your eyes too.

Use an eyelash brush to separate lashes before applying mascara, this helps to prevent damaged lashes caused by the mascara sticking lashes together and pulling at tangled lashes and dont forget to use the correct eye makeup brushes when applying your eyeshadow.

For more make up tips read the foundation makeup tutorial

Bare Minerals Foundation

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Bare Minerals Foundation range is one of the most popular skin foundations on the market today and for a very good reason, it is a pure mineral makeup foundation made from all natural ingredients. It does not contain any ingredients that may cause skin irritation, which makes it ideal for anyone with sensitive skin or anyone who suffers from allerigies or skin problems.

Bareminerals offer a range of products from foundation, blushes to eyeshadows. With the exclusion of synthetic ingredients and fragrances it is said that mineral makeup can improve the overall condition of your skin while also providing protection from the suns harmful rays.

So what exactly is mineral makeup?

Mineral makeup usually comes in a light powder form that is applied using a wide brush, similar to a blusher makeup brush. Mineral makeup products are made from natural ingredients taken from the earth and ground into a fine powder. There are no added chemicals that could harm your skin and no dyes or non natural colorants are used.

Mineral makeup has been used for over thirty years but it is only in recent years that it has become popular, at the moment bare minerals products are some of the most sought after foundation and makeup products you can buy.

View the Bare Minerals makeup range available from Amazon

Face Makeup Tutorial - Applying Foundation Perfectly

2009-08-18T12:52:00.001-07:00

Face Makeup Tutorial

Many people seem to think that when applying makeup they can put on their foundation and powder quickly and that they will create the “look” with their eye makeup and lip makeup details. The reality is applying face makeup correctly means spending time preparing your face for makeup as well as carefully applying your foundation, concealer and powder. This face makeup tutorial will detail how to get a great looking makeup base to ensure that when you start the eye and lip details, they are being applied to an already flawless makeup base.

Preparing your face for makeup

Preparing your face properly for makeup application can mean starting a few hours before you want to actually apply the makeup. This depends on your skin type and treatments you use, as well as the current condition of your skin. Our skin condition can change depending on several things, which is why we may have a period of days where our usually normal skin is oilier than usual or we outside conditions may have affected our skins appearance temporarily. A good example of this is if perhaps we have been on holiday, or swimming, these could cause our skin to feel a little dryer than normal. This means that when we are preparing our face for makeup we may need to alter our usual routine to achieve a flawless look.

Makeup tutorial – Step one

Facial cleansing – most of us use a combination of cleansers, toners and moisturizers every day to keep our skin supple and free from blemishes. For face makeup application, you should cleanse your face with a gentle cleanser about an hour before makeup application. Unless your skin condition is different than usual you can use the cleanser you always use, if it is oilier than normal you should use a gentle cleanser and toner. For skin that feels dry you should also use a light cleanser but no toner.

Moisturizing – Keeping your skin hydrated is essential for healthy looking skin and you should moisturize immediately after cleansing your face. I like to do this after cleansing and again about twenty minutes before I apply my face makeup. I use my regular moisturizer after my cleanser to hydrate my skin and for the second application I like to use a thicker cream mixed with a small amount of liquid foundation. This give my skin a boost and light, natural looking tone before I have even started applying any foundation.

Makeup Tutorial – Step Two – Face Makeup Application

Concealer

Concealer is used to lighten dark circles under the eyes, many women skip this vital application, choosing to use their foundation on the under eye area instead. This is a mistake, concealers and correctors are designed for specific tasks and your foundation is not going to achieve the same results.

Apply concealer under the eyes starting at the inside and working outwards. You should cover any dark area with concealer and blend in using your finger. Lastly, seal the concealer with a sheer loose powder

Choosing makeup foundation – I like to use a blend of foundations to achieve the best match for my skin tone. Foundation is used to even out the skin tone and improve texture. When properly applied it can give a smooth and healthy looking appearance to the face, when applied badly it can looked caked and in some cases flaky. Badly blended foundation also shows lines, which make you look like you are wearing too much makeup.

Foundations come in a variety of forms, they can be light, like a tinted moisturizer, a tinted balm for very dry skin, liquid, whipped, stick or mineral foundation to name just a few. The only way to choose the correct foundation for your skin is to firstly asses your skin type, from there you can decide whether you need an oil free foundation, best for oily skin or a moisturizing foundation, which is better for dry skin. Stick foundation can be used for almost any skin type and is the choice for many professionals as it appears well on camera.

Finding the correct shade of foundation

This is not always easy and sometimes you may need to blend your foundations to get the perfect match. A good match of foundation should almost disappear when applied. The foundation you choose should be yellow based.

Tips for selecting foundation

Always test in natural light (the same goes for face makeup application)

Test multiple shades on your face, your wrist will not do, nor will the back of your hand.

Ask for assistance or advice if you are not sure when buying foundation.

Your face should be clean and dry when you go shopping for face makeup, there is no point in trying to buy makeup when you are already wearing some.

Applying your foundation

Using your foundation stick or applicator you should start by applying a small amount of your chosen foundation to the nose area; you should then sweep the makeup along the cheek to the hairline. Do this on both sides. Blend the foundation outwards. Starting each time from your nose, to cover the entire cheek where needed. For your forehead, sweep the foundation across the middle of the forehead and blend, do the same for your chin area.

Makeup tutorial – Step 4

Face powder – some women skip this step entirely but it is a great way to seal and set your makeup. You should choose a power that matches your foundation shade. If you choose a shade lighter by mistake you can remedy it by adding a little bronzer, but it is best to get a match.

These steps are an essential part of applying face makeup and if you take the time to choose the perfect shades for your skin, adequately prepare your face before makeup application and follow the guidelines you will have a natural looking, soft and smooth flawless finish. Next you can get artistic with your eye shadow, read the eye makeup tutorial for ideas!

Makeup Brush Guide

2009-08-18T12:51:00.006-07:00

Using the right tools to apply makeup can make all the difference to how your makeup looks, how long it lasts and what effects you can achieve. You will definitely need more than one makeup brush to achieve the best results. The basic makeup brushes that everyone from the professional makeup artists to the casual wearer are, blush, eye shadow, eyeliner and eyebrow brushes. You can buy great quality makeup brushes everywhere and because they are inexpensive you can afford to get a high quality makeup brush for each area of the face.

Finding the best makeup brush

It is easy to tell a good brush from a cheap brush and choosing the right one will be a huge benefit to you, not only will it last longer but your makeup application will look much smoother and it will be so much easier to achieve great results. To test the quality of a makeup brush all you need to do is pick one up. See how the brush feels in your hand, is it comfortable to hold or is the grip uncomfortable? Check the bristles, if you rub them, do a few fall out? You do not want a brush that sheds bristles; makeup will cause the bristles to cling to your skin and cause lines in your makeup application. Not only that, if you are trying to achieve a precise line, as you would with an eyeliner brush, a brush that spreads or sheds bristles will not give good results.

Makeup brush sizes

Most brushes that come in a pack are too small for proper use and they are not always of good quality. You should try to buy each brush that you need separately so that you can test each out in the store. If you do choose a makeup brush kit, try and find one that is from a good line, designed by a makeup artist or similar. You have a much better chance of getting a quality brush if you do, although it may work out more expensive this way.

Essential makeup brushes

Foundation brush – look for a synthetic bristle for this brush, synthetic brushes (as opposed to natural bristles which are very soft) are best for creamy makeup application, they are slightly harder and give a much more precise application.

Eye Makeup brushes – there are a few varieties of eye brushes and each is used for a different type of application, you can buy a wide brush to apply eyeshadow over the entire eyelid (lash to brow) and a narrower version (usually softer) to apply makeup to the lower eyelid. There is also a smudge brush, which is usually small and rounded and used to smudge eyeliner for a smoky looking eye effect. You will also need an eyeliner brush; these are usually flat and thin and are used to apply liquid eyeliner which gives a much better look than a standard eyeliner pencil.

There are many more eye makeup brushes available for blending eye shadow as well as other essential eye makeup tools such as an eyelash curler and eyelash comb.

Blush Brushes – These should be natural bristles, very soft and should be rounded for the best application. They should be wide to give a full sweep of the cheek in one movement.

Face makeup brushes – these are used for applying bronzer, blusher, powers or shimmer. They are usually curved and are quite similar to a blush brush.

Lip makeup brushes – usually a firm brush with an angled tip, used for precise lines and for full lip color applications.

Extra makeup tools

Although brushes are the main tools needed for makeup application there are other tools you will need to use alongside your makeup brush, some of these are, eyelash curlers, powder puffs and sponges. You will also need tweezers and it is worth noting that investing in a good tweezer is essential, find a quality angled tweezer to save yourself unnecessary time and effort in the long run.

Where to buy your makeup brush set

Makeup brushes can be purchased almost anywhere from high street pharmacies to beauty supply stores as well as beauty salons and department stores. Needless to say the quality will range from store to store and the only way to find the best makeup brush for you is to shop around. Many stores now have qualified staff on hand who are trained specifically in makeup application and depending on the store they will be able to offer you tips and advice on which makeup brush is best for which application, they may even demonstrate how they work or offer you a free makeup consultation.