By BR Tabatha
We've all been there in that wonderful space where our makeup application is going perfectly. Your base is immaculate. Your lips aren't wonky. You've blended your eyeshadow for half an hour and it's seamless. Then you go to apply your mascara, you blink too quickly, and hellooooooooo spidery goodness on the top and bottoms of your eyes. Gosh darn it. (And you know those aren't the actual words that come out of our mouths!)
Thankfully, we can be saved from starting from scratch with these ingenious tips and tricks!
If you're anything like me your skin just has to see a hint of sun and suddenly your foundation is too light. Or, conversely, the sun goes away for a week and your usual foundation looks like you've had a spray tan applied to your face. Only your face. And you've gone all two-toned. Solution? Always have a summer and a winter foundation on hand, and don't be afraid to mix them up to create the perfect tone for your skin in those inbetween seasons. Bonus tip - different foundations have different formulations so it pays to mix foundations with the same formulations in order to avoid any separation or pilling of the foundation once it's on your face. (And if you want to fall into a wicked makeup geek hole of sciency goodness check out this thread on reddit about how to find out whether your foundation is oil, water or silicone based.)
Sometimes I think winged eyeliner was created as a form of torture. The concentration needed to get your flick just right is off the charts. And when it all goes wrong? Ugh. BUT this redditer recommends we use elf's Makeup Remover Pen to tidy up a wonky eyeline, and it's an opinion seconded and thirded by other redditers! You can also soak a cotton bud in makeup remover and use it to clean up a line gone wrong - but elf's pen sounds a whole lot more efficient!
Another tip to clean up eyeliner gone wrong - or drawn-on brows that are looking more like distant cousins than twins... break out the concealer and use it to cover up and carve out a nice looking line.
Concealer's not only good for cleaning up the eye area, you can also use it to create a barrier around your lips if you've a lipstick that feathers and you love it so much you just can't quit it. Simply take a small makeup brush, create a thin line around your lips using the concealer then blend it out so you don't look like you're attempting some bizarre beauty instagram trend.
Eyeshadow fall out. It happens. It's not the biggest deal, but cleaning it up is just another step that we can do without. First tip? Do your eyeshadow before the rest of your face, that way you can sweep it off quickly without worrying about the shadow smearing your base. If you're a fan of baking your undereye area you can layer up the powder, then do your eyeshadow and then if any fallout occurs it'll be swept away along with the leftover powder from your bake. Another quick and easy trick is to invest in Shadow Shields, which not only protect against fall out, but also provide a handy guide to give you fantastic looking eyeshadow application.
Forgot to tap off excess blush before going in on your cheeks and now you're looking like a clown? An easy fix is to take a fluffy clean brush and blend it up and out, if that doesn't do the trick, take some translucent powder on your brush and go over the area to tone down the colour. If you've gone overboard with a liquid blush then take a dampened sponge with a little foundation and dab over the area.
Gone bananas with the bronzer? The blush trick works for this too! (Phew!)
As for that mascara gone mad look? Don't wipe the mascara off while it's wet, you'll end up with dark streaks on your skin. Instead wait for it to dry, take a cotton bud, apply it to the mascara and twist it round to take it off your skin. No cotton buds? You can also gently flake the mascara off with your fingernail once it's dried down.
Great tips, thx Head Pixie!