We are back with part two of our 101 Little Beauty Miracles series. Don’t forget to catch up on part one!

In today’s post we’re sharing tips to get the base best, perfect brows and some tricks on how to apply blush, eyeliner and eyeshadow.

Base-ic Rights

26. Damp It Up

For even coverage apply foundation with a slightly damp sponge to spread the base around your face. We love the Beauty Blender!

27. Tone Up

Always choose a foundation that blends with your natural skin tone and never try to counteract your skin colour with makeup.

28. Avoid The Grey For Dark Skins

Too many foundations for dark and black skins are chalky and ashen. To find the right she, look for rich colours in a sheer formulation that will allow your natural skin colour to shine through, while evening out pigmentation. Very matt formulas are the worst culprits for a greyish cast.

29. Make Friends With Your Freckles

Sheer foundation is best for freckled skin, which can look unnatural if none of the freckles are allowed to show through. Use a concealer first, then aim for the natural look. Freckles are beautiful.

30. Blend, Blend, Blend

After you have applied your foundation, make sure you spend a few minutes blending it into your jaw line, hairline and slightly onto your neck. Spend twice as long on your foundation as you do on any other element of your makeup.

 

Brows

31. Take The Tint

Eyebrows should frame your face and eyes, but they may struggle to do this is they are too pale. Instead of filling them in with powder think about tinting them. This can be done in salon or at home. We love Eylure Pro-Brow Dybrow.

32. Powder And Peak

Powders give a soft effect and need minimal blending. To tighten the arch, apply an extra bit of colour at the highest peak to make it stand out. We love Benefit Brow Zings.

33. Brown Is The New Black

For brunettes, part from those with really dark hair, black can appear too harsh for eyebrows. Instead choose a dark brown pencil which will blend more naturally. We love Nyx Cosmetics Micro Brow Pencil.

34. Go To A Professional

Take the easy route to perfect eyebrows by having your brows shaped by a beautician the first time you try re-shaping. All you then have to do is keep the lines she’s created for you, which takes much less tome and risk!

 

Cheeks

35. Be A Peach Babe

Choose soft natural pinks, beiges and tawny peaches for daytime. These will blend with the tones in natural daylight and avoid making you look overdone. We love Benefit Sugarbomb.

36. Leave The Cream To The Cat

If your skin is oily, sweet clear of cream blushers, which can give cheeks a shiny look and make skin elsewhere on the face appear oiler as a result.

37. Give Yourself A Smile

To make blusher pay, smile into the mirror to find the apples of your cheeks, then brush the colour there in wide, sweeping movements for a natural, cheeky glow.

 

Conceal It

38. Don’t Go Too Light

The most common mistake women make when applying concealer is choosing a colour that is too light. This merely achieves the opposite effect by actually highlighting the problem, especially if you’re using it to cover under-eye circles.

39. Cover Your Eyes

If you’re covering up under-eye circles, don’t just put the concealer under the eye, which can give you a ‘striped’ look. Instead, cover the whole eye area and set with a light dusting of powder.

 

Eyeliner

40. Don’t Be Blunt

Sharpen your eye pencil every time you use it. This prevents eye bacteria building up on the round, blunt, end which could spread to other parts of your eyes. It will also help you to achieve high-definition as blunt ends are much harder to control.

41. Modernise Your Eyes

Instead of using eyeliner for daily make-up, use powder eyeshadow applied with a very narrow brush to give a smokey, modern appearance to the edge of eyes. Smudge further if necessary with a larger brush. Alternatively, use the powder wet for a shaper line of colour.

42. Widen With White

To give your eyes the appearance of being wider set, line the inside of the bottom rim of your eyes with a soft white or nude eyeliner pencil. This is also great for tired eyes and after flying. We love Rimmel Scandal Eyes WTP Liner Nude.

43. It’s Cool To Be Sharp

Eyeliners will sharpen better after a few hours in the fridge – the cold makes the ends firmer and less prone to stickiness. Let them warm up to room temperature before you use them or they’ll be too hard.

44. Keep Liquid Thin

Liquid eyeliners are great for a defined evening look, but don’t extend the line beyond the natural corner of the eye and keep it thin for the most glamorous look. If you have trouble keeping steady, try making three dashes – at the inner, middle and outer corners, then joining them up. We love Nyx Professional Makeup That’s The Point Eyeliner.

 

Eyeshadow

45. Lighten Your Inner Corners

Often the inner corner of your eye, near the nose, is the darkest part and can drag down your whole face. If you use a slightly lighter shadow or eye pencil on this area, it will bring it out of the dark and help your eyes look bigger too.

46. Be A One-Trick Wonder

As a general rule, let your eyes or your lips do the talking – not both. This doesn’t mean neglecting either area, just plumps for a more natural look for one and use stronger make-up on the other.

47. Creams Increase Creases

Lightly powder lids before eyeshadow to keep them crease-proof longer. If you;re prone to creasing, avoid cream colours in favour of silky powders.

48. Long May It Last

If you want your eyeshadows to last all day, primer your eyelids with a thin layer of foundation before applying your eye colour. If you forego shadow for a bare look, it will also help your eyelids blend in with the skin tone on the rest of your face. In this case use some mascara to add a little bit of definition.

49. Line Up The Brown

For paler skins, light browns and taupe eyeliners work best because they enhance the natural tones of the eye without overpowering the surrounding skin.

50. Don’t Overdo The Shimmer

Be careful with shimmy products, especially on your eyelids, as they tend to collect in the creases. They are best left for the evening, where the won’t have to hold the look for as long.

Check back next week for tips on face masks, lips, tools of the trade and hair care tricks.

Taken from 1001 Little Beauty Miracles: Secrets and Solutions from Head to Toe by Esme Floyd.