Five Make-Up Mistakes to Avoid

Along with clothes, accessories and hairstyles, make-up really helps you to express yourself visually. It is a good idea, then, to make sure you are creating the impression you want with your cosmetics, and that people are looking at you for the reasons you intended when you step out to face the world. This article outlines five common make-up mistakes that will detract from your beauty, rather than enhance it.

Too Much Powder

A light covering of translucent powder applied in the right places, with a brush, can help to set make-up and prevent shining. Take care not to overdo it, though, or your skin is likely to appear pale and chalky, and the mask-like finish will only hide your best features. Even worse, the powder will sink into any fine lines or wrinkles and magnify them, ageing you in the process. None of this is good news, so think twice before reaching for the powder pouf.

Playing up Eyes and Lips

It is a general rule that you should never wear heavy eye make-up when you are rocking dramatic lips. Not only can it be dating, but also there is a risk you will end up looking like a clown. Make a statement with one or the other, not both. By doing this, you will make the feature you are choosing to highlight stand out much more than it would if your whole look is too busy.

Unnatural Looking Foundation

If you wear foundation that is not the right shade for your skin, or apply too much, the chances are your face and neck won’t match and you will end up working the orange lollipop look. To avoid this particular beauty blunder, make sure you select a foundation that matches your skin type and colour. If you are not sure what to go for, visit any of the beauty counters at your local department store and staff will usually be happy to advise you.

Not Blending Your Products

Failure to properly blend your eyeshadow, blusher, concealer, foundation or powder can put you firmly back in clown territory when you should be aiming for a smooth, flawless finish.  If products are blended correctly, make-up can work like magic to accentuate your best features and contour your face. If you need a bit of help with this, there are plenty of online tutorials showing you how to blend and a key tip is to purchase the right tools for the job. With a bit of practice, blending brushes, sponges and wedges will help ensure there are no harsh lines and streaks.

Overdoing Lip Liner

Lip liner defines the lips and prevents lipstick from bleeding, so it is an important product for perfecting your pout. However, harshly lined lips or wearing a liner that is too dark will just look unnatural and dated. And if you stray outside of the natural line of your lips, you also risk emphasising any fine lines around the mouth. When working with lip liner, therefore, do take care to follow your lip line and make sure the colour is a good match for your lipstick. To avoid severe lines, choose a creamy pencil that is easy to blend. If you avoid using lip liner altogether, give it a go. When you get it right, you will probably want to kiss yourself.

If any of the above mistakes sounds familiar, don’t give yourself a hard time. Remember, even celebrities fall foul of them sometimes and they usually have the benefit of professional make-up artists. And at least when you are having a bad make-up day, there is unlikely to be a photographer on hand to capture your every blunder.