10 Eye makeup mistakes you probably are making

10 Eye makeup mistakes you probably are making

Unless you’re a professional makeup artist, you’ve probably made mistakes with your makeup. Practice tends to make perfect, but if you don’t know you’re doing something wrong, you won’t be able to start doing it right. It’s often ignorance that is the reason for making makeup mistakes, so here’s some useful information when it comes to your eyes:

1. Use makeup brushes

Most eyeshadows come with applicators that look easy to use and produce good results but you only think so because you haven’t tried a brush. Applicators, for example, don’t blend the colours very well and blending is a must when it comes to beautiful makeup (see below). So, invest in a brush or, better still, a few brushes.

2. Clean your brushes regularly

Clean the brushes you use to put eyeshadow regularly, either with a special brush cleaner or with a mild shampoo. If you can’t be bothered with cleaning, just replace them regularly. That will ensure that your makeup looks fresh and will help you avoid nasty side effects, such as eye irritation and redness. Yes, old, dirty brushes can do this.

3. Blend

You’ve chosen the right combination of colours, hopefully, and you’ve applied them but something looks very wrong. It’s the sharp line between shades. For a complete, gorgeous look, you need to blend these colours and the best way to do it is with that brush we talked about. Once you get that smooth look you’ll thank us.

4. Be bolder with the colours

No, this doesn’t mean combining bright pink with vanilla and cobalt blue for the company Christmas party. This means that too often we choose the eyeshadow to wear based on our eye colour. We often think that brown eyes go well with brown shades, green eyes go with green shades, etc. That’s actually not the best combination. The best one is using colours that are from a different color scale but complement the colour of your eyes. Green goes well with taupe, gray or purple shades, for example.

5. Don’t overdo it

Purple shadow from the base of your lashes to your eyebrows? Tons of sparkle to make your eyes stand out? Don’t do this. Eyeshadow should be applied within certain limits, especially, when it comes to some brighter shades. This goes double for sparkle – apply sparkly eyeshadow sparingly, lest you want to look like The Sparkle Monster. And, of course, only use it when it fits the occasion, not on an average work day, no matter how bold you feel.

6. Balance against the rest of your face

Accentuating one part of your face the most is always smarter, than piling up makeup everywhere. If you want smoky eyes, go easy on the blush and the lipstick. And vice versa, if you’re putting an intensely-coloured lipstick and a lot of blush, forget about smoky eyes, it would be too much. It’s a simple enough rule but many of us want to accentuate everything, especially, for a special occasion. Resist the temptation.

7. Be careful with the eyeliner

Eyeliner should be applied depending on the shape of your eyes and their position on your face. According to makeup pros, if your eyes are far apart, the thickest part of the eyeliner should be in the inner corner. Conversely, if you have closely set eyes, make the eyeliner thickest at the outer corner. Also, the thicker the overall line, the smaller your eyes will look, bear this in mind, if you don’t want to look ridiculous.

8. Curl first, put mascara second

Some of us first put the mascara on their eyelashes, then reach for the curler. This can only ruin your good look – it would clump your lashes and then you’ll need to clean the curler too. So, first things first: curl lashes, then put mascara. And, remember, both these should take place after you’ve put your eyeshadow, otherwise good colour blending will be impossible. The right order is: shadow, curler, mascara.

9. Don’t use it all up
The mascara, that is. Sometimes you find that once you start, you just can’t stop putting coat after coat after coat, to get a thick-lash look. What you’ll most probably end up with will be heavy, spiky eyelashes with clots of mascara here and there. Instead, settle for no more than three coats, and make that be the absolute maximum. If you want thicker, get some fake lashes.

10. Forget blue
Sorry to disappoint you but that’s what the makeup artists say. In fact, they say that unless you’re a model or are going to a retro party with a 60s or 70s theme, do not reach for blue eyeshadows. Any shade of blue. They are really insistent on this one, sorry. And no, it doesn’t matter what colour your eyes are. Remember what we said earlier: don’t choose your eyeshadow colours based on your eye colour. So, even if you have the bluest of blue eyes, no blue eyeshadow for you.

What are your favorite eye makeup tips?

Stay beautiful!

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