When you’re starting your makeup journey, the number of products and steps available to you in store and online can make the whole thing seem daunting. I personally find that makeup tutorials, while entertaining, often fail to lay out the details in a clear, step by step format. Additionally, most beauty gurus are often crafting gorgeous, intricate looks that take hours to complete. They rarely show a quick look that serves the purpose of enhancing your natural features and confidence day to day.
If you’re looking for the absolute basics of makeup laid out for you in a clear step by step format, you’re definitely in the right place. In this post I will lay out everything you need to know in order to craft your perfect daily look.
Before we begin I would like to note my biggest tip for any step of your makeup routine: Use as little product as possible. It is always easier to add more product than to take it away.
All products mentioned throughout this post can be found on Amazon here!
Finally I would like to reiterate, each of these steps are optional. There truly are absolutely no rules to makeup, these steps are simply what I have found achieve a great daily look on anyone but everything is up to personal preference. Feel free to omit any step you don’t like or feel comfortable doing and as always please reach out with any questions you may have at anytime through Instagram.
The Tools You Need:
Brushes
The very first thing beyond makeup you will need to achieve your perfect daily look is a set of makeup brushes. Below, I have created a diagram for you to refer to through your makeup journey. The set pictured is available on Amazon here: Brush Set
Cleaning Your Brushes:
Your brushes should be washed with Dawn dish soap at least once a month. If you are prone to acne I recommend washing them once a week and spraying them with 70% isopropyl alcohol after every use.
Some additional tools that may be helpful would be:
- Blending sponge
- Powder puff
- Eyelash curler
If you choose to use a blending sponge and/or powder puff, the same cleaning schedule should apply.
Step 1: Prep & Prime
The very first step is preparing your skin. These steps will help your makeup last longer and appear smoother.
- Skincare: Use a gentle cleanser (or micellar water if you’re lazy like me!) in addition to toner, any serums you may want to use and a hydrating moisturizer. Follow that up with your favourite sunscreen.
- WAIT: Allow at least 10 minutes for your skincare to sink into your skin before moving on to prevent peeling when applying makeup
- Prime: Use a makeup primer to smooth the skin, fill in pores, and ensure your makeup lasts longer. Choose one based on your skin concerns. If you’re unsure, a gripping or hydrating primer will be great for anyone.
Step 2: Base Makeup
Applying base makeup will help to perfect your complexion and hide any blemishes or dark spots. Any of these steps can be done with a brush or sponge (clean fingers work too!)
Regardless of the tool you choose make sure to use a dabbing motion. Swiping will remove product rather than adding it.
This step and step 3 can be switched if you prefer to do your brows first!
- Tinted Serum or Moisturizer
- The light weight and hydrating finish of tinted serums and moisturizers allow you to even your complexion without looking like you’re wearing a thick layer of makeup.
- Make sure to test the shade on your jawline to ensure it matches your neck and face.
- I personally find a large dense buffing brush to be the easiest method as its the quickest, easiest to clean and maintains the coverage of the product (this is the one exception to the dabbing rule, while dabbing would work, short downwards strokes will give you the best finish.)
- Concealer:
- Cover blemishes or redness with a concealer that matches the tone of your base. I like using a concealer brush and a tapping motion in order to concentrate the product directly on the area I am wanting to cover.
- Use a shade lighter or the same as your base under the eyes. Using a shade lighter will conceal dark circles and add brightness however purchasing multiple shades can get pricey therefore using the same shade will minimize the cost of your routine. For your under eyes, a brush or sponge will work however a brush will allow for better coverage.
- Make sure to add a small amount of concealer onto your eyelids to prep them for later.
- Set with Powder:
- Use a pressed translucent powder to set your base. Concentrate the powder under the eyes & on the eyelid to avoid your concealer creasing, in addition to any areas you may get oily throughout the day (I typically use a powder puff)
- If you tend to get oily throughout the day or prefer a matte finish, use a powder brush and lightly sweep additional powder across the rest of your face.
- Setting Mist:
- While optional, using setting mist at this point in your routine will help your makeup last longer and reduce any powdery finish your skin may have.
Step 3: Define Your Brows
I personally like to do this step prior to my base makeup but this is 100% up to personal preference (much like everything else)
This diagram demonstrates a guide for shaping your brows. Use a makeup brush to simulate the dotted lines on your own face.
Brow Glue: Use a clear brow glue/gel to set your brow hairs in the position you would like them.
Fill in Gaps: When dry, use a brow pencil or a brow powder with an angled brush to fill in any sparse areas.
Clean it Up: For a sharper brow, use a Q-tip and micellar water to remove excess product (works best if you do brows before your base) and/or use a flat concealer brush and a small amount of concealer to carefully carve out your brows.
Step 4: Add Dimension
Demonstrated in this diagram are the highlights (beige) and natural shadows in your face (brown) in addition to blush placement (pink)
Bronzer and/or Contour
Many people aren’t sure what the difference between these 2 products are, the way to determine what you need is whether you are looking to chisel your facial features (creating shadows), warm up your complexion or both.
- Contour will be a cool brown in order to simulate natural shadows.
- Bronzer will be a warmer brown to give the face a sun kissed look.
- Using both will create dimension and create warmth.
Both bronzer and contour go essentially in the same places however I like to keep my contour very focused in the areas shown while I am much less careful when applying bronzer. In order to achieve this, use a smaller brush for contour and a larger fluffier brush for bronzer.
Blush
Add the blush of your choice to the points of your face shown below. Blush placement can change the shape of your face more than you’d think. Placing it towards the top of your cheekbones onto your temples will give the appearance of lift in your face.
At this point I recommend using your powder brush or sponge to go over the edges of everything in order to seamlessly blend everything. I also would use a setting mist again for the same reasons mentioned previously.
Step 5: Simple Eye Shadow
Eyeshadow seems to be the number one thing people are looking for guidance on. In this section I will go in depth on the tools and techniques needed to create a simple daily eyeshadow look.
My biggest tips when it comes to eye shadow in general are:
- Tap your brush with your finger or back of your hand: This remove excess product. Not only is it very easy to add more and very hard to take some away, but you’ll minimize any loose shadow that may fall onto your cheeks, ruining your base.
- Be careful with black & purple or blue: From personal experience, this starts looking like a black eye very quickly once one thing goes only slightly wrong.
- Use a light hand: A light touch will give you a seamless blend and protect your delicate eyelids!
- Windshield wiper motions are your best friend: The circular motions most of us automatically want to do when trying to blend something is far less precise.
- Play with colours and tones: I have always gravitated toward warm browns burnt oranges and golds. Because of this I only recently realized that I look far better in cool taupes, charcoals and silvers. You never know until you try!
- Use your finger for shimmers/glitters: The pay off of the pigment is so so much better I promise!
Below is a diagram to help you with the terminology.
For a basic eyeshadow look you intend on wearing daily, I recommend having 3 brushes (all of which are included in the brush set above):
- Large blending brush
- Small blending brush
- Detail brush
I have included 2 separate looks for you to choose from including some ways you can easily spice them up and have fun with them!
OPTION 1:
The quickest option and one of my personal favourites is simply using a large blending brush to sweep a layer of your bronzer/contour all over your lid. Not only is it fast, you don’t need to purchase another product!
OPTION 2:
For this look you will want a light brown or taupe and dark brown. You will also need your large blending brush and a detailing brush.
- With a windshield wiper motion, use a large blending brush and the lighter shade to act as a transition in your crease and outer corner (or you could stop here if you’d like!)
- With your detailing brush and darker shade, carefully pat the product onto the outer corner of your eye.
- Without adding anymore product to the large blending brush used before, repeat the same windshield wiping motion to blend the darker shade and transition shade.
Of course, if you’d like to have fun with either look, try using different colours! I like to match my eyes to my outfit or the rest of my makeup (blush, lips, etc.) I also love to add a little bit of glitter or shimmer in my inner corner and/or lid.
Step 6: Lashes & Liner
In order to add more depth to your eyes, add some lashes and liner! Like everything these steps are optional- especially if you’re not comfortable having things in and around your eyes. Please be careful and go slowly to avoid poking your eye!
MASCARA:
My absolute favourite mascara is the ELF lash xtndr tubing mascara not only because it’s only 9$ on Amazon, but it does this… without an eyelash curler!
Tubing mascaras are not waterproof making them extremely easy to take off with only water. “Does that mean they smudge everywhere?” Nope! They are actually the only mascaras I have found don’t transfer onto my eyelids throughout the day at all.
Here are the steps to gorgeous lashes
- Curl your lashes as close to the base as you can without pinching your lash line.
- Apply your first coat of mascara focusing on the base and middle of your lashes.
- Place the wand as close as you can to your lash line and twist your hand outward (away from your face) while jiggling it lightly side to side.
- Once your first coat is dry, apply a second using the same method but focus mainly on the tips of your lashes. Repeat this step another time for more volume and length.
EYELINER:
There are several liner formulas and methods of application, all achieving a different look. Today we will look at the most popular. I personally like to do my liner (if I choose to wear any) prior to my lashes as I find it much easier to keep my line close to my lashes.
Natural
For the most natural look I recommend either an angled brush with a dark shadow or a gel liner pencil. You can use either on your lash line as close to your lashes as possible and/or, you can use a gel pencil in your upper/lower waterlines. Use brown for a soft finish and black for a slightly bolder look.
Bold
Liquid liners can be used in various ways but the most common is to do a winged liner. I will soon do an in depth post on how to do winged liner adapted for your eye shape but for now, I will tell you my top 5 winged liner tips:
- Do it looking straight ahead: 90% of the time people are looking at you when your eyes are in that straight ahead position and if you are someone with a hooded eye, doing your liner looking down as we tend to do will cause your wing to be wonky when you look ahead.
- Use tape as a guide: place pieces of scotch tape at the outer corners of your eyes. I like to continue them all the way up to the ends of my brows to make sure they’re at the same angle.
- Use brown eyeshadow and an angled brush to sketch it out: doing this first lets you check the shape and symmetry and adjust if needed without worrying about smearing black liner everywhere.
- Do your eyes first: even as a professional, I always do eyes before face when winged liner is involved just in case. It truly is one of the most difficult aspects of makeup for most people so doing it first will make sure the clean up of the wing doesn’t ruin any hard work!
- Keep your elbow rested on a table: if you’re team shaky hands like me, this combined with resting your hand on your face will give you so much more stability.
Step 7: Lips
While lips seem like they would be the easiest part, finding the right shade of lip product for you can be a serious challenge. So much so that as soon as I find a lip product or shade that I love, I stick with it for what seems to be forever. My absolute holy grail lip products that have looked good on every client and I use everyday are Clinique black honey and Kylie’s hazelnut lip oil. While these specific products are not available on Amazon, I have included some dupes for you in addition to other lip products I love!
Key Take Aways:
Understanding the basics of makeup is like learning any other art form- practice makes perfect I promise!
As you practice and explore, you’ll discover what works best for your features, skin type, and personal style. When doing your makeup on a daily basis, remember these key take aways:
- It is always easier to add more product than to take it away
- Use a light hand and windshield wiper motions
- Dab don’t rub!
- Play with colours and tones- there are no rules to makeup, Whatever makes you feel the best is what you should do!
- Practice makes perfect as always.
I truly hope this can help someone begin their journey in the world of makeup. Again, all products mentioned as well as others I recommend are available here. As always, If you have any questions or would like extra help, feel free to contact me at taylerfish@brightbeauty.ca or DM me on instagram.
