Makeup has been the source of any number of controversies and hot takes over the years, with questions of “how much is too much?” often being to the forefront. Many people argue that a “natural” look is preferable, while rarely stopping to think that the “natural” look they are praising is usually achieved using makeup. Instagram is often the site of what influencers proudly hashtag their #nomakeupselfie – which, while seemingly well-intentioned, often creates an unrealistic beauty standard that can’t be emulated without makeup.
It’s important, before we go any further, to make one thing clear. There is no subterfuge at all attached to wearing a full face of makeup, any more than it would be considered progressive to not brush or wash one’s hair. It’s fine to use makeup to accentuate positive features or to de-emphasize aspects you’re not so happy with. If someone disagrees with that, ask them if they think it’s unreasonable to choose clothes that fit, or to wear deodorant. Like makeup, these decisions are simply another way of using something human-made to achieve a look you’re happy with.
That being said, and again just like with clothing, it is possible to get makeup wrong – or at least, to miss out on achieving what you intend to achieve with it. So it is worth taking a page out of the advice given by makeup artists when it comes to achieving the intended results, and so here we present the makeup commandments which will allow you to achieve the goals you want to meet.
If you want to do a good job, you need the right tools…
…and just as importantly, you need to maintain those tools. That means having the right brushes – it’s better to pay a little more for good brushes than to buy the most affordable and keep having to replace them. A beauty blending sponge, also, will form part of the best kit for achieving the right results. None of this will make much of a difference, though, unless you clean the implements regularly – before each use is not too often. If you’re not cleaning your brushes and blender, you’ll get a buildup of product on them – and that’s a disaster for anyone seeking an even finish.
A work of art needs a blank canvas…
The Mona Lisa would not look half as impressive had da Vinci decided to paint it over an earlier draft in which he hadn’t quite captured Lisa da Gioconda’s enigmatic smile. This is a (slightly pretentious) way of saying that you need to work with a clean face, so cleansing, toning and moisturizing are essential first steps. Any smears of old makeup, or anything else, will negatively impact the finished result. And speaking of impacting, anything that is on your face before you apply makeup will be pressed into the skin, setting you up for skin issues.
Makeup isn’t a home renovation…
Anyone who has painted a room or two knows it’s important to lay down a base coat first. That is not, however, the case when it comes to applying your makeup; at least, not if you’re doing your eyes as part of the routine. Having searched your soul and the internet for the perfect eyeshadow for green eyes, you should make sure to apply it before you apply any base to your face. The reason is that there’s a decent chance of some eyeshadow making its way onto your cheekbones – and that would mean starting over. So, eyes before… well, anything else.
Eyebrow plucking: too little is better than too much…
Thinning out the eyebrows is a part of the whole routine, especially if you’re intending to use a little help from an eyebrow pencil. It’s important, though, to give yourself the best chance of perfect results by plucking only as much as is needed. Err on the side of caution; if you’ve underplucked, you can always do a little more. If you’ve overdone it, there’s not much you can do about that other than try hard to draw them back in – and that’s hard to do without it looking obvious.
Prep your lashes before applying mascara…
Mascara is designed for a specific purpose – to accentuate your eyelashes. So it stands to reason that you’ll want to have lashes that are worth accentuating. A proper curl will make for the best results out of any mascara you apply, so work with eyelash curlers to get the best out of the process. If you’re wondering how much curl to apply, the answer is quite simply “as much as your eyelashes can take”.
Lips and eyes must not match…
This is a standard, classic rule, but it bears repeating. If you’re going for a splash of color with a bright red lipstick – and why wouldn’t you? – then you can’t double the dose by picking the same color for your eyeshadow. It’s too much of a good thing; if you’re going big on the lips, then take a more muted, nude approach for the eyelids. Equally, if you want to swing for the fences with a standout eyeshadow color, it cannot be matched on the lips. It really is one or the other – the rest of your face will be muted into the background, and that’s not a good thing.
If you’re going for a smoky eye, contrast it on the lower face…
A classic smoky eye is a stalwart look and it’s always worth adopting, but if you’re going to go to the bother of getting the eyelid just right, then don’t stop there. This classic style is at its absolute best when it’s contrasted with a highlighter just below the eyes. Your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose and the under-eye area just need a few dabs with the highlighter, with the result that both your eyes and the rest of your face will be shown in their absolute best light.
Don’t double-dip your mascara…
There are two reasons for this, the latter more important than the former. For sure, you’ll want a good coating of mascara on the brush when you’re applying it, but double-pumping to get more on there is simply going to create a gloopy mess that becomes an uneven application – and it’s hard to then correct this by touching up other lashes because that kind of precision is almost impossible to achieve. More importantly, though, if you double-dip, you’re going to let more air into the tube and this will lead to the mascara drying out prematurely.
Work with what you have, not against…
The shape of your face is what it is, and if you’re not so happy with that makeup is your chance to enhance it rather than changing it. Using blusher, bronzer and other similar products, the goal is to extend your natural lines. Contouring takes a bit of practice, but it is worth learning how to do it to get the right result because it will save you from fighting against nature. A result that looks natural and subtle will do more to overcome areas you consider problematic than any amount of working against it – which won’t work and will end up looking worse.
As you go on, you’ll get a better feel for the things that work specifically for you and which techniques lead to more confidence and compliments. Any rules for makeup are necessarily going to be somewhat general, and there is only one you. But the nine tips above are a very good place to start when it comes to getting the look you’re after.
Mia Guerra
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