Common Makeup Mistakes and How to Avoid them

As women, we have good instincts when it comes to our beauty routine, and when there is a need for change. The only problem is, sometimes we don’t know what that change should be. When it comes down to it, the solution might just be tweaking your day-to-day makeup routine in small ways that make a big difference.

Makeup is a genuine art form, which usually takes a lot of experimentation. Practice definitely makes perfect, and there’s usually a makeup fail or two on the way to improving your makeup skills. Sometimes your brows will be like distant cousins instead of sisters, or your body looks like it’s had a week away in the sun and your face looks five shades lighter – it happens to all of us! So, to set you on your way to great makeup skills, i'll going to be going through top makeup fails (that we’ve all experienced), and of course, how you can avoid them or fix them in the future.

With the extra time on your hands due to the current pandemic, now is the perfect time to get in front of the mirror and practice your makeup skills. Read on to get your makeup right, every time!

1. Applying makeup before Moisturising

Dry skin is makeup’s worst enemy. Applying makeup directly to dry skin can cause flakiness, cracking and make your skin look tired which makes it difficult to blend the product into the skin. Before applying any makeup, make sure your face is freshly cleansed and moisturised. To help your skin long term, make sure to exfoliate weekly.

If you have oily skin this is not an excuse to not use moisturiser, people with oily skin also need to moisturise as sometimes your skin can produce even more oils as a way to compensate for the dryness. It is important to carry out proper skin care practices for for your skin type.

2. Too much concealer and not setting it correctly

I love concealer as much as the next girl, but be wary of using too much. Less is always more, applying too much concealer can lead to unwanted creasing, the dreaded lines can become worse throughout the day as oil builds up and as you make regular facial expressions.

Make sure to also correctly set your concealer to minimise creasing, if primer sets the stage, then setting powder steals the show. Powder helps lock your look in place, so your concealer can last all day.

Tip: Try to start off with as little concealer as possible, then add more where needed. Opt for more lightweight concealers that still offer good coverage for a more natural and luminous finish. You should always apply your foundation first and then concealer. Doing this will help you seamlessly blend the products together. It will also minimise your chances of applying too much concealer to coverup. A useful tip for setting your concealer is a technique known as “baking”, a method in which you add a thick layer of loose setting powder to the areas you applied concealer to lock the product in place, before lightly dusting off the excess powder.

3. Using the wrong shade of foundation

This is a makeup mistake we have all made at some point. Wearing the wrong shade of foundation can look very unflattering especially when taking pictures because your face won't match the rest of your skin and this can be very visible especially in flash photography. When choosing a foundation, make sure to shade match by testing on your jawline rather than your arm for the most accurate results. You can also try buying two colours that seem close to your skin tone, and either choose the shade that looks best in natural daylight or keep both to mix-and-match as your skin-tone fluctuates throughout the seasons.

Bonus Tip: If you have the wrong foundation shade its always more forgiving if its slightly darker as you can balance out the shade when you highlight using concealer, as long as it is blended to perfection. Lighter foundations coupled with setting powders will create a white cast over your face which can be very unflattering especially in pictures as mentioned earlier.

4. Over-doing your eyebrows

Filling in eyebrows too heavily is perhaps the biggest makeup mistake of all, as brows help frame the face. We love a dramatic brow, but there is such a thing as ‘too’ much. This can end up looking quite unnatural and can have you questioning your makeup choices in years to come.

We recommend using a light-hand when you apply your brow product, opt for a powder, gel or pencil slightly darker than your natural eyebrows to apply feathery upward strokes concentrating on sparse or uneven areas, rather than uniformly filling in the entire brow, for the most realistic finish. Make sure you start from the middle of your eyebrow outwards and then inwards towards your nose - follow the natural shape of your brows to get a natural look. Lastly, lightly comb through your eyebrows with a brow brush/spoolie to blend out the lines and even out the look. Voila! Great looking brows.

Bonus Tip: If you have long eyebrows that tend to move around throughout the day you can set it in place using a brow wax like soap brows, trust me you will never look back after using this product.

5. Not taking the time to blend your makeup properly

Proper blending is probably the most important thing when it comes to makeup, makeup that isn't blended well can look quite unnatural and unflattering. There is some flexibility in how you apply your foundation, however if you want the most natural photo ready finish, most makeup artists would agree that beauty blenders or any good makeup sponge are they way to go. This is because brush bristles can leave little streaks and lines on your face, and your fingers/ hands are unable to smooth out, blend and distribute foundation evenly and in a way that looks natural. When using your beauty blender/ makeup sponge make sure to dampen it in water as this makes blending a breeze.