follow these tips to get that feminine look you always wanted
1. Apply eyelash glue to false lashes with the tip of a clean bobby pin.
Use the tip of a bobby pin to evenly disperse the glue along the base of your falsies. Then, wait a few seconds for the glue to get tacky and apply!
2. For long-lasting lip color, swipe on your shade, lay a tissue over your mouth, and then dust translucent powder over it to set the color.
This process may seem extensive, but the payoff is worth it. Not only does the translucent powder set a bold shade, like Elizabeth Arden's Ceramide Lipstick in Rouge, making it instantly long-wearing, but the tissue acts as a shield to your lip color, protecting it from lightening or losing it's vibrancy. (Translucent powder, even though it's supposed to be clear, still has a subtle white tint to it that can alter your lip shade.) (Tip via makeup artist Lauren Cosenza.)
3. Mix loose pigments with a salve or petroleum jelly to make your own custom lip gloss.
If you have loose eyeshadow pigments that you're obsessed with and want to wear as a lip shade, blend it with a little bit of a salve, like VMV Hypoallergenics Boo-Boo Balm, or petroleum jelly in a spoon and swipe it onto your lips. Voilà!
4. Perfect your Cupid's bow by drawing an "X" on your upper lip first as a guideline.
To make the Cupid's bow part of your pout look perfect, the easiest and quickest way is to take a lip liner in the same shade as your lipstick and create an "X" at your Cupid's bow. Then, apply your lipstick as you normally would and voilà!
5. Conceal dark circles and puffy eyes the right way by creating a triangle with your cover-up.
You might be a fan of dotting on your concealer in the spots you need it, but the best way is it to actually apply it in a triangular formation with the base of the triangle directly under your lashline and the point toward the bottom of your cheek. This shape helps conceal any redness at the bottom of your eye and at the sides, and then instantly creates the illusion that your face is lifted, since the brightest point is the most intense under your eye.
6. Make contouring look more natural by using a pencil, pen, or makeup brush handle as your guide to finding exactly where your cheekbone is.
Not everyone's face is created equal, so where your BFF might be applying her bronzer might not be the best place for you to contour. To tell where you should be dusting on bronzer, roll a pencil, pen, or makeup brush handle right below your cheekbone (directly in the pocket underneath the actual bone) to find the right angle for your face. Once you've found the correct placement, dust some bronzer on your face using a contouring brush, and then diffuse the color so it looks natural. (Tip via makeup artist Lauren Cosenza.)
7. Map the contours of your face with a gel eyebrow pencil, since it's easier to apply precisely and blend in.
After you've applied your base, mark the areas you want to contour — the hollows under your cheekbones, your temples, along your hairline, jawline, the sides of your nose, the tip of the nose, and the crease of your eyes — with a deeply colored brow gel pencil, like IT Cosmetics Brow Power Perfector Gel Pencil in Auburn. Brow gel pencils are really concentrated, yet very smudgeable, and it's easy to control the placement of their dark pigment, making them perfect for contouring. Next, use an all-over cream highlighter, like Mac Cosmetics Cream Colour Base in Luna, on the tops of your cheekbones, on the center of your forehead, the bridge of your nose, the center of your chin, and on your Cupid's bow. (Tip via makeup artist Lauren Cosenza and this tutorial.)
8. Blot your face in a pinch with a clean toilet seat cover.
Initially, yes, this sounds gross, but both blotting papers and toilet seat covers are made out of similar fabrics and will help sop up excess oil on your skin. So, if you're in a pinch and headed to the bathroom to freshen up anyway, grab one of these covers and pat it over your skin to decrease any excess oil on your face.
