Makeup is truly a gift to mankind. It can accentuate your best facial features, hide imperfections, and make you feel like a queen! Thanks to the world wide web, anyone and everyone has access to tutorials created by the makeup gurus of YouTube and Instagram. Most mainstream makeup advice found online is pretty usable, with people from around the globe putting their own creative spin on basic techniques. But, sometimes, the makeup world takes a good-looking trend a step too far, and turns it into a beauty disaster! Here are a few examples of some makeup sins that should be outlawed ASAP.
1. Overdrawn lips
I love a plump lip as much as the next person, but drawing them on isn't the way to achieve them. The "Kylie Jenner" lip trend has led people to sketch out a bigger pout using lip liner. Trust me, honey, you just look like a botched surgery, not a social media mogul. (Side note: *please* wear a lipstick that matches your lip liner.)
2. Overfilled/overplucked eyebrows
A devastatingly popular eyebrow technique where you sketch a large brow then fill it in entirely, usually with a color much darker than your natural hair color. Brow pencil should accentuate your natural brow shape and color, not create a brand new hair growth pattern! On the flip side of that, if you want fuller brows, then stop tweezing them down to tiny little flagella!
3. Highlighter seen from space
A glow from within is always nice, but scrubbing multiple layers of highlighter all over your face is just plain wrong. Highlighter was made to bring out the prominent bone structure of your face, like your nose and cheekbones. When you glitter-ify your whole makeup look, it defeats the purpose of using highlight in the first place.
4. Too pale/too dark foundation
I understand that every once in a while the sun happens...or doesn't happen, and your foundation color is no longer the perfect match it once was. But, I promise that it is worth it to find makeup that compliments (not changes) your skin tone. If you resemble anything close to a bag of Cheetos or Casper the Friendly Ghost, it's time to hit up your local makeup store for a professional color match. The employees there can help you determine whether you need a warm or cool tone base.
5. Too much/too little blush
Blush is a beautiful thing! It brings color and vibrancy to your face. However, some people abuse this blessing, and create a "Pennywise The Clown Goes Clubbing" kind of look. These people need to give some of their blush to the people who believe wholeheartedly that they don't need it. If you are wearing a full face of makeup without blush, you look dead. You just do.
6. Sheer lipgloss with nothing underneath
I know you think you look like a Disney princess when you do this, but it just looks like you kissed an oil slick. Without a solid color underneath, your lips will melt into the rest of your face! Not cute.
7. Liner, liner everywhere
We've all experienced the moment when a dramatic smokey eye turns into a 2006 MySpace profile picture. Liner was meant to be used sparingly to avoid the "panda" look. Try just putting liner on the top lid and leaving the bottom bare, or putting a little black pencil liner on the bottom water line.
8. Spidery lashes
Clumpy mascara has been a trial for many through the years. Buggy-looking lashes can be easily avoided by using mascara sparingly and separating them with a brow brush or small wand. If your lashes aren't naturally full and dark, it's okay! Don't try to force it to happen.
9. Bronzer overload
Ah yes, the orange, dirty mess we all know and love. Finding the right bronzer for your skin tone and blending it in to the proper areas will make you a tan, glowing goddess. Picking up the darkest bronzer in Sephora and applying it like sunscreen will leave you looking like a mud monster. If your skin is any shade of ivory, don't go using the same bronzer as your olive-skinned best friend.
10. Blending with bizarre products
Your foundation should never be applied with anything but a beauty sponge or foundation brush! Same goes for concealer or any other creme products. People are trying to buff in product with crazy contraptions like silicon pads, bra inserts, boiled eggs. You can try the alternatives all day long, but nothing will ever be better than a real applicator.
Let me be clear, there are no rules to makeup! People should have the freedom to wear whatever they want on their face, without receiving hate from anyone! These makeup no-nos are just guidelines to accentuate your natural features! So go out, spend more at Ulta than you should, and have a great time exploring new looks with your newfound makeup wisdom.
