Basics

I thought I'd make a quick post about some basic things I always do when applying makeup.

I always start with my eye makeup. This way if some of my shadow falls onto my cheeks it's easy for me to clean/cover up. I mentioned it before but I also always put powder on my eyelids to soak up any oil. If I use primer I'll put the primer on then put powder in it. That sets the primer and makes it a little easier to blend your colors. Primer on its own can make blending a little tricky.

Once my eyes are done (except for mascara) I'll do whatever needs done to the rest of my face. Powder foundation, blush and eye brows. I save the mascara for last so I don't get powder stuck in it.

I don't always do my lips but when I do I try to use a lip liner. I only have 3 liners- clear (which so far I find completely useless), a pink close to my natural lip color (I use this most often) and a bright red (absolutely necessary when doing red lips). I'll line my lips then fill in some color before putting lipstick over it. I also occasionally use a lip venom and a primer under my lipstick. I got a free sample of lip venom awhile back and it works alright. It burns a bit but does make my lips appear fuller. The lip primer (Urban Decay) works wonderfully. I don't do bright red lips without it.

The biggest bit of advice I can offer is to get a pencil eyeliner and just play around with it. Try out different types of lines and shapes to figure out what works best with your eyes. I do this all the time and I've discovered that I have to do a little bit of a cat eye or my eyes look sad. A little bit of a flip at the end of my eye makes them look more open and happier. Some advice says to not line all the way around your eye to make them look bigger but I've found that I can't pull that off. I just look silly so matter how much I try. So, get a pencil (easy to smudge, remove, etc) and start playing. If you need suggestions you can check out my pics or just Google image search makeup ideas.