THE FIVE BEST TIPS THAT WILL ELEVATE YOUR MAKEUP GAME

I have been doing makeup professionally for over 20 years (yikes, I am old) and today I want to share the five best tips that will elevate your makeup game! These tips are game-changers and will make a huge difference in how our makeup looks and in the confidence, it will give you.

1. PREP YOUR SKIN

I can not stress this enough. Your makeup will only look as good as the canvas it is applied upon. You wouldn’t paint your walls without prepping them first, right?! The same goes for your skin. Makeup looks best when applied to clean & hydrated skin that is free of peach fuzz. I typically dermaplane my face once a month, which also exfoliates the skin, and then follow up with a hydrating mask, moisturizer, and eye cream. On the days I don’t dermaplane, I use a gentle exfoliant. The difference is HUGE.

GENTLE EXFOLIANTS:

HYDRATING MASKS:

MOISTURIZERS FOR UNDER MAKEUP:

2. INVEST IN GOOD BRUSHES

You can make inexpensive makeup look amazing with good brushes. In turn, the most expensive makeup will look like crap if you use cheap brushes to apply it. Brushes have come a long way in the past few years, but I still say, buy the best brushes you can afford. If you need all new brushes, buy a decent set and then upgrade them one at a time. Here is an entire blog post about brushes. Once you own a good set of brushes, it is really important to keep them clean. Otherwise, they will not work as they should and they will spread nasty germs all over your face. I will do a separate blog post on that soon.

SOME OF MY FAVORITE BRUSHES:

3. USE PRODUCTS SPARINGLY

One of the biggest mistakes people make when applying makeup is using too much product. Makeup is all about layering. It is like cooking with salt – you can always add a little more. This practice will prevent cakiness and that dreaded masklike appearance. This tip goes especially when applying foundation, concealer, bronzer, and setting powder. A little bit goes a really long way! You want people to notice YOU, not your makeup. The only product I approve a generous dose of is setting spray.

THE BEST CONCEALERS FOR MATURE SKIN:

FOUNDATIONS FOR DRY & MATURE SKIN:

THE MOST FLATTERING BRONZERS:

MY FAVORITE SETTING POWDERS FOR MATURE SKIN:

4. BUY A HANDHELD MIRROR

This tip is a game-changer! Your makeup will be so much cleaner and more detailed if you use a handheld mirror. I like the ones that have a magnified mirror on one side and a regular mirror on the other. What this does, is it lets you get really precise and see every mistake. Further, instead of manipulating your face, you can manipulate the mirror to have your eyes look in various directions to make it easier to apply eye makeup. I explain this more in this Instagram Post.

5. DO YOUR EYE MAKEUP FIRST

This is one of those things that makes complete sense, but no one thinks to do it this way. If you start with your eye makeup first, it lets you clean up any fall out under the eye, or any mistakes you make with your shadow or liner, before moving on to the rest of your makeup. You are starting with a clean slate, rather than “fixing” your mistakes after you have already applied foundation and concealer. Give it a try! You will never go back.

FAVORITE EYESHADOW PALETTES

EYELINER I LOVE:

MY FAVORITE MASCARAS:

I hope that by sharing the five best tips that will elevate your makeup game you will gain some knowledge and confidence when it comes to applying your makeup every day. Keep me posted!

XO,