Recently after a random burst of semester two motivation, I decided I would attempt to actually read the books on the suggested reading lists at uni! One of the books suggested was the ‘Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone From Beginner To Professional’.
I have to say this is most definitely worth a read and really does cater for everyone! Whether you just enjoy experimenting with make-up or aspire to become a make-up artist to the stars! The book is easy to quickly browse through and is full of useful make-up info! Flicking through the book myself I found some really useful info and tips I just had to share, especially for those who don’t want to buy the book or may not have access to it!
So here goes, a shortened version of ‘10 tips when applying your make-up’…
Tip 1
So before you even put make-up anywhere near your face, apply moisturiser, yes that goes for those with oily skin to! This creates a good base and will allow the make-up to sit nicely on your face! For my fellow oily skinned friends just don’t use anything to thick and heavy or with added or extra oil! Believe it or not one of the most effective products I’ve discovered for my troublesome skin is sudocreme!
Tip 2
The next step is to apply your chosen concealers, should you need them. Sticking to our colour wheel, yellow based shades of concealer will cover darkness under the eyes and any purple tones you may have throughout your skin. Bobbi also suggests applying concealer on the spot next to the inner corner of the eye stating “ This will open up your eyes and give a fresh, bright eyed look!”
Tip 3
Next apply foundation, I personally feel the way in which you apply foundation does not matter ,its what suits you. I personally find applying foundation with a foundation brush in a stippling motion suits me, however sponges or fingers may work for you! Try not to apply foundation all over the skin if its not needed! If your have clear skin embrace it!, if like myself you have a few blemishes, once foundation is applied, then apply concealer that matches the foundation exactly to the blemishes! Try to use this sparingly, when it comes to covering blemishes less really is more!
Tip 4
For a crease free, long lasting look, or to set your make-up, apply a slightly yellow toned or translucent powder lightly over the make-up. I personally recommend NARS translucent powder, it is slightly more expensive at around £24 but is ultra fine and gives a lovely finish, and you wouldn’t even know it was there! Which is what we want!
Tip 5
Defining brows: Now this is a tricky one for me, I personally HATE my eyebrows and have recently bleached them, they are now a combination of yellow and super dark hair, so suggestions on lovely brow pallets and powders are very welcome! So for this I’m going on exactly what Bobbi suggests! Use shadow or a pencil to define brows, begin applying in the inner corner and follow the natural shape in feathery strokes.
Tip 6
Eye Shadow; a lot of people are pretty familiar with the process of applying eye shadow ,where the highlight colour should go etc, but to refresh everyone’s memory or if you’re a bit unsure ,the lightest colour or highlight, should be applied first, the placement of this is from the lash to the brow bone! The medium shadow colour, or the flash of colour goes on the lid its self , a useful tip is to close your eye and follow the shape of your eyeball! Go no higher than the crease, we don’t want to look like pat butcher! Finally the darkest colour is placed in the outer corner up to just around the centre of the lid again follow the eyeball and blend!
Tip 7
Eyeliner; again I think eyeliner is personal preference! Go crazy and experiment! Does what you fancy and enjoy yourself, if you haven’t tried it all ready you could have a go at creating the Illamasqua speckled liner look! For which I have written a previous post.
Tip 8
There is often some confusion when it comes to curling eyelashes! mascara first?, curl after? . Nope. Curl your lashes first; hold your lashes in the curlers firmly for 5 seconds! Then apply mascara! Also don’t forget to apply mascara to the tops of your lashes as well! , In order to thicken your lashes without applying a lot of mascara I have recently discovered The Body shops Brow and Lash gel! This is a fantastic product! Definitely worth the £10.
Tip 9
Approaching the final stages, apply blusher or bronzer, and as stated in my previous blog post on creating a natural look, apply this UNDERNEATH the cheekbone, create an imaginary line from the top of the ear to the corner of the mouth and apply under this line.
Tip 10
Last but not least, Lips! Apply your favourite lipsticks, gloss or liner! Many individuals including myself struggle with rough lips or build up of product on the lips giving a rough finish! I can recommend, combating this Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream. Everyone I know who has used this product raves about it! It is a multi purpose product that can be used just about anywhere! To set brows, and even in the hair! It is priced around £30.
A cheaper alternative I have discovered for this however are The Body Shop born lippy ,lip balm, however these do require regular application throughout the day and are priced around £3-£4
Have fun and I hope this is useful!
