Most girls are regular makeup users and not all of us are blessed to know the secrets of makeup artists. Other than having mad skills and top notch makeup brands of high quality, makeup artists use products that some of us either have no idea exist or have no idea what they are or how they would add to our beauty routines.
The products below are professional quality and ones that I’ve personally tested, and I’m happy to report they were a success!
Primer
If you’re not a beauty expert or freak, you probably don’t know about this. In order to have your makeup stay on, you can use a primer as a base.
There are few choices for primers. Some are water based for oily skin and some are oil or silicon based for dry skin. Primer is mostly transparent, and mostly in liquid form. A primer is applied using your fingers or a flat top brush.
Having primer underneath your makeup minimizes the appearance of pores under your foundation and makes your foundation go on smoothly. If your primer is oil free, there will be no shine during the day and it will stay on longer.
Brow Gel
Now this is really a double weapon. Having your brow hair stay set in place can be a little bit hard, especially if you have a long day. Brow gel comes in mascara-like packaging with a gel-based liquid. There are two options for brow gels, clear and tinted.
Clear brow gel works on all brow types just to make the brow hair stay put. The tinted kind comes in shades of brown, which works wonders for natural blondes or red heads. Typically, light hair makes brows seem a little bit transparent, but the tinted gel makes them pop.
Eyelash Curler
Not all of us are blessed with curled, perfect lashes, and most of the mascaras that claim to have a curling effect are lying. The lash curler is a metal instrument with handles similar to a pair of scissors and an end that fits snugly on your eyelids.
The eyelash curler should be used right before mascara to give lashes a curled look. Putting mascara before using the curler can lead to lash loss. While the curler doesn’t really give any extra length or fuller lashes, it does make mascara look much better.
Blending Brushes
There are special blending brushes for both your face and your eyes. The face brushes are much bigger than the eye brushes. Blending brushes are fluffy rounded top brushes that are used to minimize harsh makeup lines. For example, seeing as the Soleil Tan de Chanel is a cream bronzer that blends easily, you wouldn’t use the same brush that you would use for eyeshadow, as this is way too small! Both bronzer and blush, which are supposed to slim the face and highlight cheek bones, end up looking artificial and sharp if not blended in with a big fluffy brush.
These tools are also what makes the difference between the smokey eyes you had at prom or in your engagement pics by the makeup artist you hired and the smokey eyes you try to achieve at home. The brush is used in a circular motion to blend different colors of eyeshadow together so they transition smoothly from one shade to the next.
Air Brush Foundation
First air brushing makeup was a crazy idea, then they created an actual air brushing machine that looks like a thin gun. Dior and M.A.C. have created easier and more user-friendly versions – a simple foundation in a bottle with a special spray top. This stuff works just as good as Photoshop, maybe a little less filtered.
Before applying airbrush foundation, keep your hair away up with a head band to protect your hair. Shake the spray bottle, then hold it about 10 cm away from your face and spray in a circular motion. A smart tip: Start with one half of your face before moving to the other half. Close the eye in the half you’re spraying and keep the other open to watch where you’re applying. Using a brush to blend is optional, you can also just spray it and go.
WE SAID THIS: You don’t need much to put your best face forward!