1. Apply translucent powder with an eyeshadow blending brush
Although such a simple beauty tip I'm so glad I discovered this after years of dusting powder over my entire face with a large powder brush. Sometimes powdering with a large powder brush is still needed, in summer for example, but day to day, makeup generally only requires mattifying/setting in a certain areas. So for this, a medium size fluffy eyeshadow blending brush works perfectly (see the £1.29 brush I love HERE - size D). Perfect for setting concealer under the eyes and dusting over the T-zone and around the nose. This means if highlighter has already been applied it can stay intense and the skin can still appear fresh and not matte. I now always keep an eyeshadow blending brush clean for this reason and love that I can keep certain areas oil free and the rest of my face free from powder.
2. Store eye gels/serums in the fridge
When it comes to anything aimed at reducing puffiness around the eyes I keep it in the fridge. This includes any cooling eye serums with my favourite Caffeine Solution from The Ordinary which does an amazing job of instantly bringing down puffiness. Not only do products feel super refreshing when applied straight from the fridge but I'm positive they work better by being cool. Products just out of the fridge are also good for midday slumps when you want to look and feel more awake. This can extend to your favourite facial spray or toning lotion. My favourites for the fridge are Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion, perfect for sweeping over the eye on non-makeup days and Pixi Vitamin Wakeup Mist which is extremely refreshing when stored in the fridge and smells like orange jelly babies!
3. Nappy Cream is the ultimate chapped lip saviour
Come colder months I'm prone to dry, chapped lips and for years slathering on lip balms both budget and pricey didn't do much... in fact depending on how chapped my lips got I struggled to find a lip balm that didn't sting on application! That was until I tried Bepanthen Nappy Care Ointment?! I haven't a clue why I decided to try it on my lips but I knew it was fragrance-free and mild but nourishing. Since then whenever I have a cold and get a dry top lip from excess nose blowing or just dry lips due to the time of the year I always go back to Bepanthen to bring my lips back to how they should be. As it's quite a white balm/cream it is something that can only be applied when in the house so I will apply a thin layer over the entire lips just before bed and on waking I'm always impressed with how much better my lips feel.
4. Blend eyeshadows together with a clean eyeshadow brush
For the longest time, I was a single eyeshadow kinda girl because although I loved the look of smokey eyes they would always end up looking muddy on me. The reason for this was how I was blending the shades together. Now I will always have a medium sized fluffy eyeshadow blending brush to hand to blend together shades seamlessly. And when that isn't enough I use a touch of translucent powder on my brush especially to blend out any harsh edges. Another game changer in creating a nice smokey metallic eye was buying an inexpensive dry brush cleaner tin. I picked mine up from eBay HERE for one £2.00! and it's just perfect for spot cleaning my eyeshadow brushes of colour in seconds so that I can dip into another shade without things turning muddy on the lids. It really has helped with eyeshadow application so much.
5. A light hand is key to good makeup application
This could also go back to eyeshadow application as when learning how to blend properly I watched a tutorial that mentioned needed to hold your makeup brushes towards the end and with a light hand so that the brush lightly blends over the skin and products you are applying. This instantly made such a difference to my application so I decided to use it for all types of makeup and found it worked just as well. A light hand is key to not only blending eyeshadows but contouring, applying highlighter and even when using an eyebrow pencil or pomade.
Let me know the beauty tips you slowly discovered over time that have been game changers for you - I'd love to know!
Fee xo.
