We recently asked makeup artists in the BuzzFeed Community to share their best makeup advice with us. Here's what they had to say:
1. A lot of the value in mascara comes from the brush. If you find a brush that works for your lashes, save it and clean it after you finish the mascara it came with. You might be able to then buy a cheaper mascara and replace its brush with your salvaged brush to make it work for you!
You don’t need to shell out a ton of money for mascara, there isn't really a difference in the formula. The real difference between mascaras is the wand, that’s it.
2. Take a drop of primer oil (or coconut oil to save money) and add it to a matte full-coverage concealer to make it more radiant, easier to blend, and look more like skin without messing with the coverage.
I use it with Shape Tape and it even helped with creasing!
3. To tame full eyebrows, spray hairspray on a clean, disposable mascara wand and brush your brows up, then into the shape you want.
4. If you have oily skin, use a water-based foundation. If you have dry skin, use an oil-based one.
If your skin is a little of both, try both and see what works best!
5. Always wet your brush before applying highlighter for more glow.
6. Do not use your fingers when applying primer because it can cause micro exfoliation, which causes clumps.
7. If anyone tells you that you need a lip liner with your liquid matte lipstick, they’re a liar.
A solid 90% of liquid lipsticks do just fine on their own and the only reason you would need a lip liner is as a mediating shade between your pigment and your skin – a factor that is far more necessary for African-American folks to know and almost negligible for Caucasians.
8. If you're doing a full face, but keeping your eyes bare, put some of your matte bronzer in your eyelid crease and lower lash line. It'll help make your eyes look bigger.
9. Never use face soap with sodium laureth sulfate.
My best friend is a makeup artist and she says to never use face soap with sodium laureth sulfate because it dries out your skin.
10. For people with fine lines around and on your eyelids, stick to matte eyeshadows and powders.
@makeupbywoody says shimmer can often accentuate these areas and make them appear "crepe-y."
11. Prime your eyelids and let them dry before applying eyeshadow.
When creating a bomb eyeshadow look, always prime your eyelids and then use a light, neutral color that matches your skin all over the lid. This creates a base to make it easier to blend deeper colors together. Also, instead of going in with a dark color right on top, build the colors up by slowly going darker. This is a very easy way to create a soft, blended eyeshadow look without looking like a 5-year-old applied your eyeshadow.
If you want your eyeshadow to pop, you can never have enough eyeshadow primer. If you don’t want to shell out for that, though, any concealer you have works almost as well.
I recommend using concealer and translucent powder as your eyeshadow base. I think it keeps the shadow on longer than primer does.
12. Do your eye makeup before your foundation. You can wipe away eyeshadow fallout easier and you can clean up your eyeliner.
Don't put foundation on first if you’re wearing a dark or very pigmented eyeshadow (it makes it very hard to clean the eyeshadow fallout).
Applying eyeshadow before foundation is great for beginners or when using a palette with a lot of fallout.
13. Before you use a matte liquid lipstick, you should always exfoliate and prime your lips with a serum.
Cracked lips are off limits!
14. Use eyeshadow primer – like Too Faced Shadow Insurance – on the lash line, then sweep eyeshadow with a fine liner brush on top to create smudge-proof eyeliner.
This will allow you to transform all your shadows into eyeliners!
15. Use scotch tape angled from your eye to eyebrow for crisp and clean eyeshadow lines and a liquid eyeliner wing.
Most helpful piece of advice I've ever gotten.
16. Or you can fold a cotton pad in half for a straight cat eye line.
If you do your eyes before your foundation, and use toner, keep to the side whatever cotton pad you used to apply toner. After you’re done with eyeshadow, you can fold that puppy in half and swipe it from the corner of your eye to the end of your eyebrow for a sharp, clean look without using tape.
17. If you accidentally get mascara around your eyes, LET THAT SHIT DRY!
After like five-ish minutes, take a Q-Tip and flake it away. No smudges. You’re welcome.
18. Never share makeup brushes and always wash them.
Never share makeup brushes. It's super unsanitary!
Clean brushes apply makeup more evenly and smoothly than dirty ones! And don't even get me started on the bacteria brushes hold, you throw away old and contaminated makeup, but chances are you keep the brushes and use them in new makeup without properly cleaning them! Gross!!!
19. Tarte’s Timeless Smoothing Primer is an absolute must when it comes to a good makeup application.
It is soft and it doesn’t clog pores. It is especially good when you need to cover up a pimple! —kristytish
20. Imagine a line from the outer corner of your eye to the tip of your brow, this is where your eyeshadow should stop.
People often make the mistake of not bringing their shadow out far enough which can make the eye look smaller.
21. If you’re just starting out, or are not great at makeup yet, and you want to try and start contouring, put the contour color on a brush or sponge first.
If you draw it on directly like lines it will be harder to blend.
22. Don’t recreate the celebrities!
Those looks are made for them, their skin type, skin tone, and face shape. People always come into my shop and request to look like Kim Kardashian and I have to explain to them that it might not work on them and sometimes they even get upset when it doesn’t turn out. Yes, I can do it, but it won’t look good on you. Instead ask for something dramatic like Kim Kardashian or whatever you want but do not ask to look like them!
23. Don't sleep in your makeup!
Skin needs time to breathe and when you're sleeping, your body is repairing the most. Sleeping in makeup is not only messy, but it causes breakouts, premature aging, and stained bedding. Take care of your skin, loves!
Skin care is SO IMPORTANT! You need a fresh, clean slate before you start your makeup for it to look its best. ALWAYS wash your face before bed ESPECIALLY if you’ve worn makeup that day. Not washing leads to clogged pores and breakouts, which is never fun.
24. And invest in good skin care products.
Your makeup, no matter how much you paid for it, will not looks its best when it’s added on top of dry, scaly, splotchy, oily and just plain unhappy skin. Want to get makeup optional skin? INVEST in skin care.
25. If you're doing winged eyeliner, don't start the wing from the top lash line. Use the bottom lash line for a smoother, straighter wing.
Also, look at the wing you did first while etching the second wing.
26. Never store your makeup in a restroom cabinet. Humidity alters the makeup and can cause it to go bad before its time. Also, potty germs.
27. Blend your foundation out onto your neck.
When wearing foundation please blend it out. Put product on your jawline, and blend it out into your neck. Also blend the foundation along the edges of your face out. It’ll help create a natural look and make it less obvious you’re wearing foundation, plus it will visually improve your color match.
28. I see YouTubers use stark white concealers under their eyes, and it might look great on camera, but it does NOT in real life. It’ll just make your cheeks look too flushed and your under-eyes look white.
Use an under-eye concealer one shade lighter than your face concealer, not two or three shades. It will give you a naturally bright effect instead of a contrasting white effect, which looks super unnatural.
29. Apply setting powder with a damp beauty blender or brush or makeup sponge.
This does wonders for people with dry or textured skin and gives a smooth, airbrushed finish.
Apply a setting powder — like Coty Airspun — after you put on your foundation with a dampened beauty blender or makeup sponge.
Coty Airspun powder is a godsend. It will make your foundation and concealer last all day.
30. When it comes to eyeshadow, tap off the excess on the brush and hold the brush farther from the handle for more control.
31. Depending on your skin type, the same foundation that works for you in the summer may not work in the winter and vice versa.
For example, I use a more moisturizing foundation in the winter (Too Faced Born This Way) and prefer a more matte coverage in the summer (Hourglass Stick Foundation).
32. Blend your foundation into your hairline and make sure to contour up to your hairline as well.
Everyone knows to drag their makeup down their neck a little bit, but too often I see people with a line between their makeup and hair. Not a good look!
33. Stop blowing on your makeup brushes!
I can't tell you how many times I've seen people do this and it makes me cringe. Brushes already harbor bacteria if not cleaned and taken care of properly; you blowing on your brushes and getting saliva particles all over it isn't helping considering you're applying it directly to your face therefore causing breakouts, clogged pores, etc. If you've picked up too much product, just tap it off or give your brush a little shake.
34. Use a foundation one shade darker on the outer edge of your face to add depth.
35. If your skin is super oily, add a light layer of powder after you apply your primer and before you apply your foundation!
It’ll give you a smoother look. Also, baby powder works great for baking your face. I use it for everything!