Jul 16, 2014 10:20
by Sarah Sayers
Don’t want to be taken for a beauty fool? I’ve listed some of my best beauty tricks that will make doing your makeup a breeze.
How to perfectly define the cupid’s bow of your lips
To avoid feathering and over-drawn lips, line your smackers with a lip pencil. To define your cupid’s bow neatly, draw from one peak diagonally across to the bottom of the other. Now repeat on the opposite side so that you create an ‘X’. By doing this, your lips will always be perfectly pointed and never uneven. Finish by lining the rest of your lips and fill with a pretty lippy. Too easy!
How to remove stubborn glitter nail polish without ruining your nails
Glitter nail polish is our frenemy – super pretty but so damn hard to remove! Luckily, I’ve learnt a way to strip even the chunkiest glitter nail polish and it’s all in the timing!
Take a cotton pad and generously cover it with nail polish remover. Cover your nail bed and hold for at least 30 seconds, without rubbing. The acetone will have enough time to eat away at the polish adhesive that’s sticking the glittery flecks down. When you do lift the cotton pad, the sparkles will wipe straight off.
Draw a backwards 3 when contouring
Don’t want OTT contouring like Kim K? The side of your face is where the majority of your contour work happens. Think the forehead, temple, cheek and jawbone. To dust all the right lines, use a large fluffy brush and draw a backwards 3 starting from the forehead, with the middle scooping under your cheekbone and finishing under your jaw. Then blend!
How far to extend your smoky eye
Don’t know how far to extend the shadow? Take a small brush and with open eyes, look to see where your eyelid creases end on the outer corners. Place a dot with a tiny amount of pigment as a marker. This will act as your guide when blending your eyeshadow outwards.
SLIDESHOW notes
1. X marks the spot! I crossed out my cupids bow with M.A.C’s Process Magenta Lip Pencil, $30
2. After lining the rest of my lips, I filled them in with Rimmel’s Moisture Renew Lipstick in Back To Fuchsia, $13.95
3. I wrapped my finger with a cotton pad doused in nail polish remover and I waited 30 seconds.
4. When I removed the pad, all of the glitter had come off with it! Hurrah! There is a beauty God!
5. I love Becca’s Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Powder in Topaz, $60.
6. With a fluffy brush, draw a backwards 3 starting from the centre of your forehead to the bottom of your jawbone.
7. When it comes to sexy smoky eyes, you can’t go wrong with a rich brown hue. I used CK One Mono Eyeshadow in Driven, $30
8. With a small eyeshadow brush, dot a tiny amount of pigment into the final edge of your eyelid crease. This will act as your marker.