Makeup Tips From a Professional Makeup Artist

A few weeks ago I was working on a fashion photo shoot and took the opportunity of quizzing the makeup artist for his key makeup tips. I wanted to know what makeup I really, genuinely needed in my life. They really are quite simple tips for everyday beauty looks, so I thought I’d share them with you.

If your skin is good the only things you really need are good eyebrows and good lashes.
Eyebrows frame the face, and if they are defined and well-shaped they will give your face a lift. This made me slightly uncomfortable as I have barely-there blonde ones, but I suppose I always knew this about brows and that’s why I get eyebrow envy! So his tip is to have well-shaped eyebrows (which you may want to have done professionally) and then make sure they are well-defined, which may mean tinting them or filling them in with a powder or pencil. Careful not to go too dark for your colouring though, as they should still look like your own natural ones!
Lashes just need a good mascara, and he also advised using a good waterproof mascara on your bottom lashes to make sure that you don’t get those dark under-eye areas after a day in your makeup.
If you have good skin all you should need is a concealer for the necessary areas. But if you need coverage he suggested you should go for light coverage only for daily use – maybe even go for a BB cream rather than a full foundation.
A lot of women choose foundation with the wrong undertones. He suggested most women try yellow-based foundations (it works best for skin with warm undertones) as this is a fresh, natural look.
Other than that makeup should just be used to accentuate what is already there. One additional tip is to highlight and contour the face with a highlighter and bronzer/blush to accentuate the shapes of your face whilst staying quite natural-looking. There are plenty good online guides showing where and how to highlight and contour.

And that’s that! They’re pretty simple tips really and I was probably already aware of all these things, but it’s good to have them validated by a makeup professional!