Tuesday 8 May 2012

The Basics of Make Up

One of my friends said to me the other day; 'How do I apply make up? What do I put on first?' So I thought, why not write a post. I sometimes forget that some people are just starting off in make up and may not know the basics - I just assume that everyone does which is bad considering I had to teach myself from scratch as well. So here we go!
First of all start off with your skin care routine which basically should consist of cleansing, toning and moisturising. A good skin care routine is key to good make up and unless you have the right base, your make up is never going to sit right - think of it like a house! Next up, apply your primer. Don't seriously rub it into your skin like you would do moisturiser; I just gently press/pat mine onto the top of my skin so that it sits there nicely and fills in any pores/fine lines that I might have. After primer, I like to apply my eye make up if it's heavy. If you're going out for the night and wearing pretty heavy eye make up that consists of dark colours then it's best to apply it before your foundation. This is because if you apply it afterwards, you may end up with a lot of fall out that could potentially ruin your foundation and therefore make you start again. It's also good to apply foundation afterwards so that you can clean up any messes that you may have created. After this, apply your foundation unless you're using mineral/loose foundation then you should apply concealer first. Start with just one layer of foundation and then build it up as and where you need it so you don't end up caking your skin in make up. Once your foundation has 'set,' apply your concealer where you need it - under the eyes, on any blemishes and redness. I personally use a foundation brush to blend my concealer into the skin and I always use a light hand so it doesn't blend away to nothing. Now, when you apply your powder depends on what face products you're using. If you're going to use a cream bronzer, highlighter or blush then apply these before you apply your powder. But if you're using powder bronzer, highlighter or blush then apply these after you've applied your powder. This is so that the cream products don't interfere with the powder products as it could end up making your make up look horribly patchy which is never a good look! After this, apply your eye make up if it's light. If the make up that you're using is light then there's going to be no need to clean up afterwards and you won't have to worry about fall out so you can apply it after your base. I find that eye make up always looks better when it's been applied after my base. And finally, finish up with your lip products! Start with a balm, liner, lipstick/stain and then a gloss if you're going to use them all.
I hope that this has helped you and if you have any questions, just leave a comment and I'll get back to you!
xxx