I’ve been searching on the internet for issues people have regarding makeup and/or beauty. Based upon what I found to be a major problem for many people, I am going to present some solutions to perfect and polish your look.
1. Bumping your freshly painted nails…
1. Bumping your freshly painted nails…The picture to the left describes my nail aspirations in one glimpse: I love the look of black nail polish on pointy almond talons. In fact, I call them my “witch talons”. Sadly, I always ended up bumping the acrylic (since I do my own with a kit), creating a dent in the foundation of the whole look, or I smudge the dark polish by accidentally touching it or painting over top of it too quickly. The suckiest part? Black nail polish is the kind of color that needs to be flawless or else it looks icky.
Tip: If you can relate to smudgy nails, then I have two tips. As impatient as girls tend to be, I suggest you wait at least a minute or two to let each coat dry. You can do this buy painting one hand and then the other. This will allow the other hand time to set a bit before you come back to it. When it is all said and done, you have applied your top coat, and it looks perfect, VERY LIGHTLY apply a thick coat of vaseline/petroleum jelly on top. It will prevent smudging if you accidentally touch something. Of course, if you happen to bump the table, you are kind of screwed. So, try not to do that. Plus, the Vaseline will moisturize your cuticles. Leave it for at least 30 mins and then rubs it in with a light hand in case it is still drying. Focus on your cuticles when doing this.
2. Yucky Winged Liner…
There was a time when my cat eyes weren’t so feline and sleek. It looked much like the pictures above (I apologize if these pictures off of Google happen to be yours, by the way). I could never get them to match or even look like cousins. One wing would point down, the other up and long. Then when I’d try to compensate on one side they’d end up being so thick I might as well be a raccoon. Mastering liquid liner is a whole other animal.
Tip: Gel liner is your best friend if you don’t have a very steady hand. You will need a sturdy, precise brush to apply the product. You can use eyeshadow on an eyeliner brush to map out this step before darkening with eyeliner, as well. We’ve probably all heard this, but for educational purposes I’ll reiterate this strategy. Start by creating a thin line (you can thicken it later if you want) on your upper lash line. You will want to lightly pull your skin taut with your finger above your eyebrow (so that you aren’t directly pulling on your eye), especially when going near the inner corner. Following the natural line from your bottom lash line, extend it out as far as you’d like. Then, connect the lines with a straight line.
Now, depending on whether you did your eyes or foundation first, you’ll want to take either concealer on an angled brush (if you did your foundation) or vaseline on a q-tip (if you have not done your foundation) and clean up any odd shape that may have occurred on the bottom part of your wing and straighten the line.
3. Smearing Your Perfectly Applied Lipstick…
We all know that one day when we have our cupid’s bow perfectly shaped with our lower lip looking plump in a delicious red shade. The only downside? You are a human that a) get’s sick and needs to sneeze and use a tissue b) eats and/or c) lives in general. The result is bleeding, feathering, or smudging of your perfect pout that took so long to line, fill in, and perfect. Oh, the agony…
Tip: One easy fix to this problem is using liquid lipstick that go on like opaque lip gloss but dry totally matte and don’t budge. Although, if you do not have the funds to replace all of your traditional lipsticks, there is another easy solution. After you apply normally, blot your lipstick with a tissue. If it removes some of the pigment, reapply and repeat. If you want maximum staying power lightly dust translucent powder or an eyeshadow close to your lipstick color. Be careful not to apply too much powder, as it may get cakey and clumpy.
4. Flaked/Smudged Mascara…
Girls who do cheerleading understand exactly what I am talking about. You are sweating and your oily complexion goes into overdrive, resulting in you going home from the game to find out your mascara has either flaked or smudged halfway down your face. Suddenly your cute glitter eyeshadow and big lashes became a smokey eye on your cheeks.
Tip: I cannot stress how important it is to use waterproof mascara and eyeliner (especially if you use them on the bottom lashes). Waterproof tends to hold up a lot nicer throughout the day than regular ones. If you do not use waterproof and it rains or you sweat, you are screwed. I would also recommend to not do more than 2, maybe three coats. Take your time and apply even coats so your lashes will still be long. The more coats, the more spidery and flakey your mascara will get. Many people object to waterproof mascara because it is “hard to get off”. I have been through almost 4 tubes of my current Maybelline mascara and I get it off just fine with oil based eye makeup remover or Vaseline.
5. Your can never find the right shade of foundation…
I am the palest person I know. “Porcelain” just doesn’t cut it for me. Mac doesn’t make a foundation light enough and I don’t have the money to spend on white foundation to mix. I wanted to embrace my natural complexion, but all of these makeup brands were telling me to either to self tan or settle for a spray tan gone-wrong look.
Tip: This isn’t just only for pale people: know your skin’s undertones.
This will at least tell you which half of the spectrum you are in. Even if you are like me and half to settle for a shade lighter, you can easily blend it into your neck if it is the same undertone and relatively close to your natural shade. To try and see if a foundation matched your skin, test a small bit on your jawbone. Whichever looks closest should work.
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to leave comments, share, and let me know what else you’d like to see.
-Sabrina xx