Makeup allows you to enhance your natural features and express your own creative flair. But for beginners, knowing where to start with foundations, brushes, and contouring can feel daunting. Learn how to apply makeup like a pro with this guide to all the basic techniques and tools. Mastering the essentials will make you feel confident and gorgeous for any occasion.
Prepping with Primer for Makeup
Start by prepping your canvas – aka your face! After cleansing, apply primer to fill pores, smooth textures, and prep for long-lasting makeup. Primer forms a base that helps makeup adhere better. Apply a thin layer all over your face and eyelids before foundation.
Tip: Opt for primer suited to your skin type – hydrating for dry skin, mattifying for oily.
Finding the Right Foundation
Foundation evens out skin tone for a flawless base. Choosing the right formula and shade for your skin is key. Consider:
Skin type – Oily, dry, combo, mature
Coverage – Light, medium or full
Undertones – Pink, yellow, neutral
Finish – Matte, luminous, etc.
Test shades along your jaw to find the one that blends seamlessly into your neck. Sheer application with a beauty blender looks most natural.
Concealer to Brighten and Lift
Strategically conceal dark circles, blemishes, spots, and scars by applying concealer only where needed. Choose a shade lighter than your foundation to brighten these areas. Pat and blend concealer using a small tapered brush or beauty sponge. Setting powder helps it stay put all day.
Define with Eyebrow Pencil
Frame your eyes by grooming and filling in your brows. Use light, feathery strokes and short flicks to fill in sparse areas with brow pencil. Follow the shape of your natural brows. Brush brows upwards and trim longer hairs for a tidy, defined look.
Curl Lashes and Apply Mascara
No eye look is complete without accentuated lashes! First, use an eyelash curler from base to tips while looking down. Then apply mascara using a wiggling motion to coat lashes from roots to ends. Let each coat dry before adding another for intense volume. Finish with under eye lashes.
Play with Eye Shadow
For flawless blending, use a transition shade closest to your skin tone all over the lid and crease. Add a medium shade in the crease and outer corner. Sweep a shimmery or dark shade over the lid. Soften edges with a clean blending brush. Play with color combos and placement. Pro tip: Darker shades in the outer corner recede, lighter shades in inner corner widen eyes.
Warm Up with Bronzer
Warm up fair complexions and define facial structure using matte bronzer. Apply in a “3” shape along hairline, hollows of cheeks, and jaw. Dust lightly down neck to prevent obvious lines. Sweep onto nose, eyelids, and tops of shoulders too for an all-over glow.
Tip: Those with darker skin can skip bronzer and just use blush.
Pretty in Pink with Blush
Perk up your complexion by smiling and applying blush to the apples of your cheeks. Lift cheekbones with blush swept from upper cheekbones towards temples. For a natural flush, pick rosy pink, peach, or berry shades that complement your skin tone. Add highlighter on top of cheekbones to accentuate.
Finish with Lip Color
Complete your look with the perfect lip shade for your skin tone. Prep lips first by exfoliating and applying balm. Then glide on lip pencil to define shape and prevent feathering. Fill in with your lipstick color of choice. Blot with a tissue to set the color. Top with gloss for shine or keep matte for longer wear.
Feel Confident in Your Own Makeup Mastery
Don’t be intimidated by makeup – with practice, anyone can master the techniques for enhancing your natural radiance. Have fun, experiment, and express your personal flair through cosmetic artistry. Start with the basics here to build your makeup skills over time. The right tools, practice and learning what flatters your unique features will have you looking gorgeous in no time!
