But all through junior high and high school I did theater, so I learned how to apply makeup for that. Backstage I used a wet sponge and pancake makeup in Leading Lady #2 (hideous pinky foundation) navy blue Ben Nye cream makeup to cut the crease, blended not very well into white on eyelids and brow bones, a red dot near the tear duct area to "open up the eye", loads of mascara and false eyelashes, bright red blush in big dots on my cheeks, and crazy brownish red lipstick on my lips.
Which brings me to around Christmas last year, when I knew I wasn't doing the best job with my makeup, but had very little idea how to improve the situation. I'd watch a few Lauren Luke videos and several Michelle Phan videos, but when I discovered the Pixiwoos I realized how much I didn't know. And I began to collect some very useful tips.
I also began to try different things, and taking pictures of the results every day, so I could see how it was all working. I'm still learning and by no means am an expert on Beauty.
Let me know what you think, and if I've missed any key tips, please let me know in the comments section.
10. Prime Eyelids
If you want your eye shadow to last, and not to crease, put on a primer underneath.
Here's gossmakeupartist's review of my current favorite, Urban Decay Primer Potion. He's got some terrific basic skill videos, about applying concealer, avoiding cakey face, applying contour, and so on. He has also taught me a lot about European brands. And he introduced me to La Femme, which makes ridiculously low-priced and highly pigmented blush in any shade you will ever need.
9. Define Your Eyebrows
Eyebrows frame the face, and every great picture needs a fram. I was not doing anything with my brows before I started checking out my favorite YouTube gurus, but once I started, I realized what I was missing. All I had to do was photograph myself with and without eyebrow makeup and the difference was clear. I'm never going back.
Here's Nic from Pixiwoo's video on how to fills in brows.
8. Contour and Highlight Your Face
Lisa Eldridge's video channel is the Bentley of beauty YouTube Channels. Her blog is beautiful. Her technique is so soft and delicate. Love! Here she shows what an amazing difference contouring can make.
7. How to Apply Mascara
Seems like such a basic skill, but I kept getting blobs of black on my eyelids, and I wasn't putting it on in a way that best defined my eyes. Makeup Geek, who has her own line of makeup products, and whose site is full of inspiring makeup contests, gives some great tips here. Bonus: She also demos tight lining, which is my next Top 10 tip!
6. Tight Line to Define your Eyes
MakeupbyTiffanyD has a channel with loads of useful tips, so check her out. She is particularly good at explaining how to do things step by step. Here she uses a cake eyeliner, but I prefer to use a waterproof pencil.
I tight line myself like Nic from PIxiwoo does it. I roll my eyes back and just run the pencil along my upper water line without being able to see where it lands. I do it by feel. If you watch enough Pixiwoo videos, you'll see her do it many times. I think because this is a tricky thing to do so close to the sensitive parts of your eyes, each person needs to experiment and do it in a way that feels most comfortable to them. You may opt not to tight line, but I find that it always gives my eye look that extra something. And I don't like the way bare skin looks between my upper lashes, so I always do this, if I have time.
5. How to do Liquid Eyeliner
Here's MakupbyTiffanyD showing exactly how to do winged eye liner. This one is gold, so check it out! Once you master this technique you are ready for anything from that super-dramatic Madmen looks to just a basic every day eye liner look. I prefer to use my Milani pen. I find it's easiest to get a clean line with a felt-tip applicator. Maybelline also has an amazing felt tip eye liner pen, but I haven't been finding it in CVS lately, so maybe they are developing different packaging. You don't need a fancy department store version of this, though, so check out the Milani one, or go to Ulta and get the NYX one.
4. Cut Your Own Hair
I feel strongly that hair cutting is not rocket science and therefore, if you have a good eye and a steady hand, you can do it yourself. Rosebud143 gives you a simple technique to get her pretty layered look. If this video doesn't give you what you need, do some research. Ric Altieri has some great hair cutting demos on YouTube that are part of a professional hair cutting program. And there are many many more that can get you the techniques to achieve the look you want.
Yes, it takes practice, and courage, but before I did this, I was paying over $100 for a haircut and giving up around 5 hours of my precious free time every 2 months to get my hair done. I have huge respect for professional hair stylists. But I myself am not made of money, so I bought some shears and a raser comb and now I feel much more free now that I do it myself. I wouldn't go back.
3. Conceal Under-Eye Circles and Blemishes
A smooth polished look can't be achieved without concealing bluish, dark and reddish areas on the skin. We all have them. Here's Lisa Eldridge, whose careful technique has taught me so much. It is particularly important to get the right color for what you are concealing.
2. Get the Most out of Lipstick
Lisa Eldridge made this wonderful video on how to use 1 lipstick 4 ways. These skills mean you have to carry fewer products. It's like multiplying the space you have in your makeup bag!
1. Apply Foundation
Foundation doesn't have to be only for special occasions. With a Beauty Blender, you can apply a very thin layer, and it can make all the difference in your everyday look. If full on foundation is too much, you can use a tinted moisturizer. Personally, I use skin79 Hot Pink Super+ Triple Function Beblesh Balm, a Korean BB cream (with a redunkulously long name!) that has an amazingly high SPF, and has brightening and moisturizing ingredients. You can get it from Amazon.com here.
Here's Cora of VintageorTacky showing her full technique for flawless skin. I love watching her videos. She has a whole Disney Princesses series. She has a pale hard to match skin tone, so her talk on how to match your skin is really helpful. She does bold and gorgeous looks.
Have I mentioned that I love bright colors? I definitely have a punk side. Sometimes there's nothing more fun than a big, over-the top bright makeup look with full on false eye lashes. If that's what you're looking for, Cora is your gal. She's a genius at it, in fact. Enjoy!
I hope this post was helpful and introduced you to some new favorite YouTube gurus. There is so much out there to learn about beauty, and I, for one, plan to keep watching and learning.
Have a beautiful day!
Love, :)BeautyJones
