Whether you’re off to a new school, or starting your career, looking your best is an important part of the experience. Even if you’ve used makeup before, learning more about makeup essentials, including what makeup products are available and tips for using them, can help you make it a better experience.
The countless products and techniques available can make learning the basics seem overwhelming. But, with a little guidance and a few essential products, you can start building your makeup collection and create beautiful looks for yourself.
1. Get Into a Regular Skincare Routine
If wearing makeup is about looking your best, it’s important to start with what you already have: your skin. The healthier and better-looking your skin is, the better your makeup will look. So making skincare should be an integral part of your makeup routine.
Cleansing, toning, and moisturizing your face regularly will help TO maintain a healthy canvas for makeup. Additionally, using a sunscreen with SPF protects your skin from harmful UV rays – all year round.
2. Start with a Primer
If you’re a makeup newbie, you may not be familiar with primer. But, if your skincare routine makes your skin as healthy as possible, primer makes your skin ready for makeup. It fills large pores, lines and other blemishes to create a smooth surface for your foundation. It also helps your daily makeup application last longer.
Choose a primer that suits your skin type, whether it’s for dry skin or oily skin. Apply a small amount all over your face, focusing on areas with larger pores or fine lines.
3. Use the Right Foundation
The foundation is where you start to turn your makeup application into your own. That means choosing the right shade and formula for your skin. When you do, not only will you have avoided the ‘caked on’ look, but it will look as natural as possible.
When testing shades, try a small amount to your jawline to see if it blends seamlessly with your neck and chest. A good place to start is with a lighter foundation. Use a damp beauty sponge or a foundation brush to blend the product evenly over your face, starting from the center and working outward.
4. Add a Concealer
Concealers can hide blemishes, dark circles, and other imperfections. Look for a shade that matches your foundation. Depending on your needs, you can also get one that is slightly lighter for under-eye brightening.
Apply the concealer with a small brush or your ring finger, and gently pat it onto the areas you want to conceal. Blend it carefully into the foundation for a seamless finish.
5. Lock it in with Setting Powder
You now have a complete base in place for the rest of your makeup. A clear or tinted setting powder will stop your makeup from smudging or creasing and will keep it in place for longer.
Apply a small amount with a fluffy brush or a powder puff, especially to more oily areas, like the T-zone at the centre of your face.
6. Create Contours with Blush & Bronzer
Blush and bronzer add colour, warmth, and dimension to your face. Choose a blush shade that complements your skin tone and a bronzer that gives you a sun-kissed glow.
Apply blush around your cheekbones, blending upward toward your temples. Use a bronzer to lightly contour under your cheekbones, along your jawline, and on your forehead, for natural-looking contours.
7. Enhance Your Eyes
If there is one part of your makeup routine that has more options – and more opportunities for different looks – it is your eye makeup. The two basic makeup tool for enhancing your eyes are eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara. As a beginner, it’s a good idea to start with a neutral eyeshadow palette with a range of matte and shimmery shades. It’s a versatile choice that will help you develop your own palette.
Apply a light, neutral shade of eyeshadow all over your lid as a base, then add depth by blending a slightly darker shade into the crease.
Eyeliner will help your eyes and eye shadow stand out. Pencil eyeliners are ideal for beginners because they make it easier to apply the eyeliner, which can be tricky. Apply the eyeliner from the middle of your eye and lightly dot the pencil onto the base of the lash. Slowly work your way to the outer part of the eye, and connect the dots after you’re done.
Mascara adds volume and length to your eyelashes. And it’s easy to apply. Just dip the application wand into the mascara and apply one or two coats along the lashes of each eye.
8. Groom Your Brows
Your eyes may be a focal point of your face. And your eyebrows frame your eyes. Use an eyebrow pencil or brow powder to fill in your brows as needed. Use light strokes to make the brows look more natural. Keep your brows in place by adding a clear or tinted eyebrow gel.
9. Complete the Look with Lip Colour
A touch of lip colour complements and enhances your overall makeup application. Start with a lip balm to moisturize your lips. Then choose a shade of lipstick or lip gloss to suit your mood or occasion.
Applying makeup is like creating a work of art. You have a canvas and you can create an endless variety of looks on it. It’s important not to go overboard at the start. Take your time and try different products and techniques to find the ones that work best for you. And, if you really want to present your best face to the world, consider professional skincare and makeup treatments at Ashgrove Spa. Our estheticians can help you set your makeup routine off to the best start possible.
To learn more about keeping your skin healthy for better makeup results, check out our recent article Why You Should Use Skincare Products With Retinol.