One person’s biggest makeup mistake is another person’s signature look — you may not be on board with extra-long faux lashes, for example, but on your friend (or on a Kardashian) they somehow fit perfectly. The same applies to nearly every makeup tip you can find, save a few. Your idea of the perfect brows may be thinner and more arched than someone else’s, or you may not feel that your look is complete without a touch of glitter on your eyelid.
Be true to yourself first and foremost. But if you are feeling like maybe you could use a good tip here and there, there are a few makeup mistakes that Makeup Guru Lisa Monique has encountered and wants to let you in on:
Here are five common makeup mistakes that could be aging you.
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Not Brightening Your Eyes
If you’re starting your eye makeup routine and are about to apply shadow, liner, and brow gel, only to be confronted with red eyes, there’s a way to take care of that first. Your eyes may not be as bright as they once were, or could be red because of allergies and other health-related issues. Whatever the reasons, Monique recommends a few drops of an ophthalmologist-approved eye drop like Lumify Redness Reliever Eye Drops to alleviate redness in seconds, with the side effects you’ll find in some drops.
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Not Spot Concealing With Concealer
Foundation is great, don’t get us wrong. There is a time and a place for foundation, and that usually is a time and place where you want full coverage to make your skin tone look even. But a few things to keep in mind: CC cream is not the same as foundation — it can be thicker and look cakey if you don’t apply it well and blend. The goal instead should be to “soften discoloration,” according to Monique, who says swapping full-coverage foundation for full-coverage concealer is the way to go (and then you can use a lighter foundation on top).
Spot-concealing with concealer means applying it only where you need it. You can also use a peach-colored color corrector under eyes prior to concealer if you have a lot of discoloration in that area.
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Applying Too Much Setting Powder
Use the lightest bit of powder that you can when setting your makeup, Monique advises. Using too much powder can result in a cakey finish that is aging on the skin and can draw attention to every fine line. The better approach is a light hand with powder, and you can even following up with a moisturizing setting spray to help keep your makeup in place all day long.
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Dark Eyeliner On The Bottom Of Your Eye
A flick of dark winged eyeliner is an instant eye brightener that can lift your face. But applying too much dark liner on the bottom of the eye, whether it’s beneath the lower lash line or on your waterline, can drag your face down. Monique is not a fan of telling anyone they can’t apply makeup to this area, but she says it’s important to place the majority of your makeup on your upper lid and then keeping the bottom lighter. Even if you apply liner the bottom lash, keep it lighter.
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Not Lining Your Lips
If you’re wearing a dark lipstick or have deep lip lines, don’t forego lip liner. We know, lip liner has a confusing reputation, possibly because of how it was used in the nineties (darker lip liner, lighter lipstick). But when you apply a nude liner, or one that is slightly darker than your lipstick, you are actually filling in the lines around your lips and helping to make your lipstick stay and last longer. Follow the natural lines of your lips with the liner and then fill them in with the lip liner. Follow up with a slightly glossy lipstick or a lip gloss to make your lips look fuller and healthier.
