21 Beginner Must-Have Makeup Products And How To Apply Them

When you’re just starting out, applying your makeup can be very intimidating just because we all have variance in our looks. We all have our different takes on what beauty is, therefore makeup for beginners can be very specific, petty, and personal.

First of all, when applying your makeup, there are a few important points to note, it is very important that you look after your skin as clear and healthy skin is a good canvas for any makeup look. You need to maintain a healthy diet, drink water regularly so you don’t get dehydrated, dehydration means dry skin which can affect your makeup look in general. It’s very important to keep a healthy everyday skincare routine starting with makeup remover, cleanser, toner, serums, moisturizer, and essential oil. It’s important to apply your SPFs during the day to prevent skin cell damage by the sun rays.

Now that these important basics have been covered, let’s get to makeup. First, to start your makeup you need to start with applying a good moisturizer, applying a moisturizer on the face before the application of makeup will give that overall healthy-looking makeup. Charlotte Tilbury magic cream will be the first place to start when looking for a good moisturizer.

Then applying primer, primers are a good way to protect your skin and pores especially from getting clogged up with foundation and powders because primers form a thin film on the skin so makeup products only seat on it without getting to your true skin. So opting for a good moisturizing primer is advised – they come in different formulas, some can mattify your makeup look – meaning your overall makeup look will be without too much shine(great for those with oily and combination skin) and some can be luminous – meaning a glowy dewy finish to makeup look(excellent for those with dry skin). Too faced has one of the best primers on the market.

The next step will be applying your foundation using a good makeup sponge(a makeup sponge is good to start with than a foundation brush), foundations also come with different formulas some for a matte finish and some for the dewy glowy finish, the option is yours. Some offer skin-loving ingredients like Hyaluronic acid to plump the skin, Vit C – an antioxidant that helps the skin fight against radicals, SPF to prevent sun damage e.t.c. There are also full coverage and sheer coverage depends on what look you want to achieve full coverage means all your dark spots and imperfections will be well covered, and sheer coverage simply means I don’t need much coverage as my skin is very clear and free from too much imperfections. They come in various skin tone shades, know your shade and ask for help at the cosmetic store when buying your foundation(speak to makeup professionals). There are also tinted moisturizers in case you do not want a foundation, you just prefer a soft makeup look to run errands, to work, or for hot summer days- Tinted moisturizers are moisturizers with a hint of foundation – very lightweight, sheer, and blurs. Beauty Blender Bounce foundation is where to start with your foundation, it has excellent formulation and is very affordable

Once your foundation is applied, it is time to move on to brows. With brow pencils, it’s always advised to know your color shade too(speak to makeup professionals at the cosmetic stores). When applying your brown pencil, gentle upward flicks to mimic your brow hair is advised until you’ve achieved the gradient you want(follow the shape of your brow and watch makeup tutorials on youtube to help). You can further tidy up your brow using your concealer. Huda Beauty #bombbrows will give you a head start.

This brings the next step, apply your Concealers to highlight your face at your t-zone area- Concealers(they can be matte or cream) are good at highlighting and covering up dark spots on your face. (to cover up dark spots, use before applying your foundation) You can buy two concealers, one that’s a shade to two shades darker than your skin tone to cover up imperfections and another that’s two shades lighter to highlight your t-zone area. Nars radiant concealer, RCMA VK concealer palette, and Kevyn Aucoin sensual skin pot are recommended.

At this point, applying setting powder comes in next, setting powder helps to seal your applied concealer and delay oil production from the t-zone area which is where most oil production takes place and should be applied (they can be loose or pressed, mattifying or luminous, translucent or various skin tone shades). But to start out, it’s advised to start with pressed setting powder and finishing powder with little to no color (choose the shade that matches your skin tone or speak to makeup professionals for help). Laura Mercier has the best loose and pressed setting powder and Charlotte Tilbury has the best finishing powder on the market.

Then bronzing (also can either be matte or shimmery glowy, powder or cream and various skin tone shades the choice is yours), similar to contouring. We won’t be covering contouring in today’s article but moving straight to bronzing just because you’re just starting out. Apply bronzers around the perimeters of your face which is a similar way to apply your contour. Start by using your brush to write or brushing in No.3 starting from your forehead, under the cheekbone to your jaw on both sides of the face and use the leftover from your brush to shape your nose – just brush the two sides of your nose ( watch makeup tutorial on YouTube for better understanding). And it’s advised to start with matte or shimmery glowy powder bronzer. Fenty Beauty is great to start with when it comes to bronzers.

Then to the eye makeup, because you’re just starting out, it’s good to always opt for mini eyeshadow palettes with nude color stories to create a simple gorgeous eye look. To create your eye look, start with the lightest color shade from the pans and apply all over your eyelids, then the medium-dark shade for the outer corner of your eyes, and finally the metallic for the inner corner towards the center of the eyelids. At this stage your eye look is complete, you can also use the darkest shade from the eyeshadow palette to darken your undereye line. Apply with brush and finger for finishing touches.

Then apply your mascara and your eyes are ready. Huda Beauty, Tomford, and Charlotte Tilbury have the best mini eyeshadows and mascaras. At this point, you’ll be expected to apply your eyeliner and eye pencil but we’re just starting out, so a simple shade around the top and bottom eyeline is just enough so we will be skipping those.

Then apply your blush(which can be matte or cream the choice is yours), which will be on top of your cheekbones, and apply your highlighter at the top of your cheekbones, the center of your nose, and other high points of your face that the light hits.

Finally, lips, to apply your lipstick, start with lining your lips with your favorite lip liner(which can also come in matte or cream formula) then apply your lipstick(either matte or cream, full coverage or sheer the choice is yours), rub your pouts together to blend, spray your setting spray(matte or luminous) all over your face to extend the longevity of your makeup and you’re are finished. Kylie Cosmetics lip kit is a place to start with lips and a simple hydrating setting spray by Milk or Urban decay is good enough to begin.

Quick note, creating a simple nude monochromatic makeup look is always a good place to start(meaning match the color of your eyes to your lips and blush and in nude shades). Use matte products if you have oily skin and luminous/cream products if you have dry skin or try both if you like to play with your makeup look.

Here are a few makeup products to help you to start:

CHARLOTTE TILBURY Charlotte’s Magic Cream £49.00 — Selfridges

By Lola Joseph

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