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How to Avoid and Fix
Makeup Mistakes

Makeup mistakes are easy to make if you're clueless but they’re also easy to fix once you’re aware of them!

In most cases, harsh lines are the worst offenders! They can ruin a perfectly good-looking face!

When you first start using makeup, you are bound to make some mistakes but even seasoned makeup diva's can make ghastly goofs! At times, the process can seem totally frustrating but the key is to persevere. It should be fun to experiment with makeup and try new techniques and test new products!

perfect makeup image

Every woman’s flubbed up her makeup from time to time but wearing the wrong makeup is like being flat chested and wearing a DD bra. In both cases, it just doesn’t look right! (or good!)

However, if you have a heads-up about things you should avoid when you apply makeup, you’ll be a step ahead of the crowd. Knowing what works and what doesn’t work is worth taking the time to figure out! Here are some of the most common makeup mistakes that women make (so you’ll know what NOT to do) and how to fix them!

How to Avoid Makeup Mistakes

In order for you to get your makeup right the first time, every woman needs to pay attention! Having the right lighting is an absolute must-have! If you need a good makeup mirror, please do invest in one! You'll be using it for years so it really will pay for itself!

Its so much easier to avoid makeup mistakes if you pull your hair back out of your face before makeup application. Use a hair tie or a head band to ensure your face is clearly visible, in all aspects!

Using makeup primer is one of the best ways to avoid makeup mistakes, especially if you're over 20 and you have a few wrinkles. Makeup primers keep your makeup in place all throughout the day and night!

To ensure that makeup glides onto your face, make sure your skin is clean, use a toner to minimize large pores, use a beauty serum like Olay Regenerist under makeup, zip facial hair, eliminate pimples, and clean up eyebrow shape.

How to Fix Common Makeup Mistakes

Harsh blush lines – Everyone loves to have bright cheery cheeks but when you don’t blend blush into the surrounding facial skin, you only look like a clown! To ensure that your blush doesn’t stand out, try applying a light dusting of translucent loose powder over blush and blending with a large makeup brush.

Used correctly, blush is supposed to light up your face and cheeks. Your face should look sun-kissed. Blush not supposed to be visible though. Your blush should seem seemless with the rest of your skin.

To avoid blusher makeup mistakes, smile when you apply blush to your cheeks. Use short, upward strokes on the apples of your cheeks, blending up to the hairline and ears. Also apply a light dusting of blush on the center of your forehead, tip of the nose, and center of the chin. This gives your face a flushed, natural glow.

Clumpy mascara – No one likes clumping mascara and no one looks good wearing it either! To ensure that your makeup mistakes don’t include clumping, consider these tips to avoid mascara makeup mistakes:

- Make sure your mascara isn’t outdated. Old mascara can get ‘thick’ and cause clumping.
- If your mascara isn’t waterproof, you can run the wand of the mascara under hot water but shake off excesses to make sure you don’t dilute the rest of the mascara in the tube.
- Always brush lashes with an eyelash brush before using mascara.
- If you worry about clumping regularly, use a clear mascara before applying other mascara colors to help separate lashes and avoid clumping.
- If you get clumps when you’re applying mascara, comb through your lashes with an eyelash comb to separate them before mascara dries.
- Always allow mascara to dry between coats.

Not extending foundation past the jaw line – It just doesn’t look natural if you don’t extend foundations past jaw lines, down onto the neck below, especially when there’s a big contrast in skin tone colors. Always pull your hair back when you’re applying foundation and be sure to blend it further down than just your jaw. Use luminous loose powder with a big makeup brush to help create a flawless jaw line.

Using beige foundation with red undertones – If you have red undertones, don’t use beige foundations, which contain red pigments. Beige foundations don’t diminish red colors, they add them!

If you have red undertones, use buff, nudes, and natural foundation colors that are devoid of red colors.

Using too light foundation colors – Ever seen someone who unnaturally, looks like a ghost? It’s downright scary! As you age, you naturally stay out of the sun more often than when you’re young so complexions typically get lighter as you age. Also, applying a lighter foundation color can also help turn back the clock. However, using a lighter color than your natural facial tone is one of the worst makeup mistakes you can make. There are thousands of foundation shades to choose from so there is a correct foundation shade for your skin tone! Seek and you shall find!

If you accidentally get a shade that’s too light for your complexion, (which I did recently!) get a darker shade and mix them together to make your own foundation shade. To save money, never throw away perfectly good makeup!

wrong lip liner color image

Lining lips with a darker color than lipsticks – This looks totally unnatural and weird! Always choose lip liners in the closest shade to your lipsticks as possible. If you have a hard time applying lipsticks, liners work great and help as a lipstick guide. (Basic coloring 101: outline objects first, then fill in with color.)

To avoid this mistake, line your lips with a liner that's a close match to your lipstick color, as pictured above. Your lips will stand out because you got it right, not because you are being blatant!

If you're just starting out, try using a neutral tone that blends easily with most all lip colors. You can also get a lot more tips for lipstick and liner application here:

How to Apply Lipstick and Lip Liner

Pointing cupids bow with lip liner – OMG! This is one of the absolute worst of makeup mistakes! When I had my massage therapy business, one day this lady came by to ask me a few questions about massage. Not only were her cheeks too bright and clownish-looking, she also had pointed lip liner! If you don’t know what it is, your 'cupids bow' is the highest points on your upper lip, (/\/\), directly under your nose.

Lip liners should be slightly rounded and not look like the peaks on a mountaintop. I wanted to tell the lady that she was making a fool of herself walking around with pointed lips but I didn’t have the heart. Hopefully, someone close to her clued her in on it later! Fingers crossed, right?

Using the wrong eyeshadow colors – As a general rule, if you have dark hair, dark eyes, and sallow or olive skin tone, use bolder makeup colors. If you have light hair color, blue, green or hazel eyes, and a fair skin tone, wear subdued, softer colors.

Yellow eyeshadow is one of the worst shades to get wrong! If you have dark hair, use gold eyeshadow colors! If you have blonde, red, or light brown hair, you can use some lighter yellow shadow colors, just don’t overuse them or your face will look like The Walking Dead.

To avoid eyeshadow mistakes, find your makeup color season!

Mimi Bobeck from the Drew Carey Show image

Overdoing blue eyeshadow – This is something everyone’s seen that ever watched the Drew Carey Show. Mimi Bobeck, (who was played by Kathy Kinney), was infamous for overusing it on the show! I also have a neighbor here in NC who overused blue eyeshadow too! Thankfully, she’s toned it down over the years, and if you’ve been overusing it, you should too!

Blue shadow’s do work for some people though and there are some truly beautiful shades of blue colors on the market to choose from! Blue colors used on and around your eyes can make your eyes look whiter and brighter. Typically it’s younger ladies who look good with lots of blue!

If you don’t want to give up your bold blue eyeshadow just yet, use the side of an eyeshadow sponge to line under your bottom lashes (3/4 of the way only) or along top lashes instead. If you’re using bright colors, always use an eyeshadow primer like Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, under your makeup.

Overusing dark eyeliners – When you line your eyes all the way around, your eyes look deep set and smaller. Raccoon eyes may look great if you're Goth or performing on stage, but for most of us, its taboo to completely close up the eyes.

To remedy this, line along top lashes from inner to outer corner and then line only about 3/4 of the way along lower lashes, from outer to inner corner. Gently smudge the line (using a Q-tip or fingertip toward the inner corner of your eye and you’ll avoid closing in your eyes.

If you're stuck on lining your eyes completely, try using a white pencil eyeliner to line the rims inside your eyes too. White colors typically perk up black liners and can make your eyes appear brighter.

Most makeup mistakes are avoidable! Every woman loves to get attention but positive attention is so much better than negative attention. You’ll stand out in the crowd because your makeup is tastefully done, not overdone.

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