9 tips for flawless makeup this holiday season!

Hey guys!

Now that it's the holiday season, I wanted to share a few of my top tips and tricks that will help your makeup look flawless! Whether you're having family get-togethers or late nights out in the city, make sure you read below for simple ways to keep your makeup looking flawless all day/night long!

1) Prep your skin. Well moisturised skin is key for a flawless makeup base and will ensure a much smoother application too. Before special events, I always use a sheet mask. I leave this on for 10-20mins which is enough time for the nutrients in the mask to penetrate deep into your skin cells, leaving you with a hydrated & plump look. After removing the mask, I apply my moisturiser and start my makeup routine. If I know I won't have time on the day of the event, I use a sheet mask before bed the night before - bonus that it's super relaxing! If you have dry skin, this will ensure your makeup doesn't accentuate any dryness you might have. It will leave you with a flawless and glowy finish!

2) Know your skin-tone This is essential all year round but especially when it comes to flash photography! You're skin-tone will either have pink, neutral or yellow undertones. How can you find out? An easy way to estimate this is to take a look at the veins in your wrist. If you see more green veins, you're more yellow-toned. More blue veins indicates pink-tones, and if you're about 50/50 of each then you have neutral undertones. For my PoC, the struggle can be real in finding foundation that matches you perfectly! If you can't find the perfect shade, opt for a lighter colour as you can bronze up your face to match your neck! It's much harder to 'fake match' a darker shade. Just make sure the shade you do settle for is the right undertone.

3) Know your skin-type

It's important to tailor your skin prep and makeup application to your skin-type. For example, if your face tends to get greasy throughout the day, consider using a mattifying primer. If you have dry skin, it will be best to opt for a primer than will keep you hydrated! With your makeup application, opt for formulas that will look natural on your skin. If you have dry skin and you pack on lots of thick/creamy foundation paired with a heavy powder - this will only accentuate any dry patches and fine lines you have. Opt for more liquid-based products instead. Remember to keep checking your makeup throughout the day too - add powder or a facial spray only when necessary and don't forget to use a makeup fix spray after application to keep everything in place!

4) Don't cave in to all the makeup trends

With the growth of the beauty industry came 100's of new beauty/makeup trends. Fact: they won't all suit you & they're not all necessary. Less is more when it comes to makeup so make sure you're not adding unnecessary steps just because you saw it on Instagram! Baking under your eyes became a huge trend but it's really not practical for everyday use - it will slowly dry out your under-eyes! If you already have dry skin, stay away from baking! Pat powder under your eyes using a flat powder brush/beauty blender. Remember to brush off any excess powder before it sets into your fine-lines which will cause obvious creasing. For my combo/oily skin people, I found using a loose powder with damp beauty blender to give me the most flawless look! Press your beauty blender gently under your eyes, and the dampness of the sponge will prevent you from having a powdery look. DON'T squeeze the beauty sponge too much as the water will separate your makeup instead - not a good look!

5) Balance out your makeup look

I know it's easy for us makeup enthusiasts to get carried away with our makeup but remember you're creating a look. Everything you apply should compliment each other and shouldn't clash! Stick to the same tones and don't wear too many colours at once. The safe way to make sure your makeup looks balanced is sticking by the '2 out of 3 rule'. This is basically when you choose 2 out of your 3 main features (eyes, lips and cheeks) to focus on. Focusing on all 3 features will be too overpowering so choose 2 instead. For example, a smokey eye and a dark lip would look great with a light contour.

6) Pick your tools wisely

This one is important because it can be a complete game-changer to your makeup look! A beauty sponge is great for liquid bases but can be a nightmare for foundations with thicker consistencies. While a beauty sponge can give you a flawless and natural coverage, using a dense flat top kabuki brush will provide higher coverage. Also, using a dabbing motion to apply your makeup will give you a better and more even coverage than swiping your brush on your face (which can also leave you with streaks). You can always go back in with you beauty blender if you need to!

7) Blend blend and blend some more

Blending takes time but it can take your look from a 5/10 to a 10/10 so don't miss this step!! Harsh contour lines are never ideal and when it comes to your eyes, keep blending so it doesn't look like stripes of colours on your eyelids! If you end up applying too much product, dab you beauty blender over it or take your powder brush to just even it all out. It's easy to get a highlighter stripe on your cheekbones too so don't be afraid to take your contour brush and re-blend it all to give a seamless finish.

8) Highlight & Contour

Again, with all the crazy instavids out there, it can be confusing to know what you actually need to highlight and contour. Take some time out to study your face and contour where you want to create shadows and only highlight what you want to stand out. Don't feel as though you need to contour the same way your fave Youtuber does - you might not have the same face shape or features! One thing I see a lot of people do is to add highlight under the arch of their brow down to the tail of their brow. This gives a more droopy effect so instead, only highlight directly under the arch. This will give a better highlighted and lifted look to your eyes!

9) Have fun!

At the end of the day, you're gonna double-cleanse your makeup look off so don't even worry if your makeup didn't end up how you intended it to! Experiment with cut creases, add a bit of glitter or a pop of colour if you feel like it - it's really not that deep! We've all had bad makeup days and there will be more to come but don't let that stop you from experimenting with makeup. Make sure you wear makeup that makes you feel comfortable and confident and that's really the most important tip!

That's all for this post today, I hope you found this useful! These are just a few handy pointers that I wanted to share but I have a few more which I might include in a future post. 🤔 I hope you are all enjoying this festive time of year and I'll see you on the next post!

Kavita K xo

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