Makeup Mistakes

You guys know a lot about make-up, so I don’t really need to worry about making a splash here with some gyan on makeup. But as an outsider that sits on the fringe without too much to have with the styling, I’ve observed some pretty intriguing, yet common mistakes that people around me seem to be making with their makeup. These aren’t mistakes the few of you that are into beauty blogging, make, but rather what those that aren’t pros in makeup wind up doing.

Here goes!


Mistake #1: Dark lip liner and light lipstick
Seriously, lady, what are you thinking? That you’re in the eighties? Using a lip liner that best suits the natural colour of your lips, colouring it in with a shade again suiting most closely the natural colour of your lips, and then topping it with gloss makes sense. If you must simply use a dark liner, then ensure that you fill your lips with the same colour completely and then top it with clear gloss. Light lipstick does NOT work well!

Mistake #2: Lip liner extending beyond the lip line
Faking a pout by colouring beyond the lines is not a good idea. Especially since natural lip lines are well defined. If you want to make a pout, do not extend beyond the lip line, but instead, embrace your natural lip line with a pencil, lining closely on a border. Then colour your lips in and if you really need it, use a lip-plumping product.

Mistake #3: Drawing your eyebrows
If you already have healthy, well grown and defined eyebrows, just tweeze them every fortnight or so to avoid over growth and thickness. Don’t draw in on them or dab colour on them – you may wind up looking like a goblin. If you have sparse eyebrows, don’t draw them in either – instead, use angled brushes and brow powder, moving it neatly along the natural line of the brow, extending it to the edge of the eye.

Mistake #4: Obvious line of blush
If you dab two circles of blush on both your cheeks, it wouldn’t look like you got make up done, but rather like someone slapped you hard on both sides of your face. Get rid of the tiny brush you get in the compact, and buy a big brush. Use it to dab colour onto your face more evenly, and spread it in upward strokes on the apple of your cheeks. Blend your hairline, ear and jaw line.

Mistake #5: Cake face much?
If you doll up too much with foundation, you might wind up looking like you landed face flat onto a creamy cake. Mix in a little moisturizer with your foundation, which will prevent the formula from seeping into the lines of your face. If you have too many blemishes, use mineral make up. And still better, are gel foundations. Yes, they’re pricey. But they’re brilliant.

At the end of the day, here are a few things I want you to always know.
Use make up to augment, and not to hide your true and radiant beauty.
Use make up to simply let your look be complete, not to be your look itself.
Use make up to be yourself, not to be someone else.

On that note, I’d like to leave you with this video.