Make up mistakes we've all made this year - and how to avoid them in 2018
You know how you look back at photos of yourself from a few years ago and you instantly recoil at your make-up? Those skinny brows! That under-eye concealer that was two shades too light! That fake-tan that veers slightly too close to orange? Nowadays we have Instagram filters to blur away what we don’t like, but that’s no excuse for a make-up faux pas that could be totally unavoidable. And in an era of contouring, highlighting, fake lashes and fake lips, there is a hell of a lot that can go wrong. We’ve all done it – this isn’t about feeling bad about your make-up mistakes – but here are a few tips to avoid repeating the most common ones of 2017, as we make our way in to the New Year….
The one that looks ok in photos.. but not so ok in real life…
Let’s face it – contouring has been around for a couple of years now, but shows no signs of going anywhere – so we need to tackle this one. Contouring works really well in theory – defining your features, giving bone structure a more angular appearance and ‘reducing’ the size of any features you aren’t happy with -but in reality, or at least away from Instagram, contouring doesn’t translate so well. Too much definition can highlight lines, too much shading can make the skin appear dirty, and not enough blending just leaves you looking ridiculous. If you’re going to stay on the contouring wagon – and let’s face it, there are plenty that are – just remember to stick to these golden rules: it’s worth investing in a contour palette that has a variety of shades, so you can keep as close to your natural skin colour as possible; play around with formulas until you find the one that works best for your skin type – whether that’s cream, powder or a mixture of the two; and finally, blend, blend, blend.
The one that ruins your lashes
False lashes – we have a love-hate relationship with the things. While we adore the fat fluttery lashes they give us, fiddling around with glue and the inevitable lash fall out (seriously, how do you pull them off WITHOUT ripping out your own lashes?) puts us off. Give lashes a break from falsies and allow them to grow back to full strength, without forgoing the lash envy they create. CODE FFL Forget Fake Lashes £18 gives enough of a pre-mascara boost – enhancing short sparse ones and coating lashes with volumising and thickening ingredients – that you will genuinely forget you aren’t wearing falsies.
The one that doesn’t make the most of what you have
Wearing the wrong mascara is a bit like wearing the wrong sized bra – you won’t realise how wrong it is until you discover the alternative and then you’ll never look back. There’s a good mascara out there for everyone – and it’s such a personal thing that what works on your best friend won’t necessarily work on you – so make 2018 the year you find your one. You need to first figure out what you want from your mascara – do you have thin delicate lashes that need to gain some weight? Are your lashes full of volume but short and stubby, in desperate need of length? Are your lashes long but straight and in need of a little curl to give a wide-eye look? All of the above?? CODE VLM Volumising Lengthening Mascara £19.95 can be built up gradually, and adds length, volume, separation and curl, while nourishing lashes with vitamins and waxes that encourage natural lash growth.
The one that looks dated (even if it is back on-trend)
The Moschino S/S’18 show was all about a return to the 90’s: so we can expect the Spice brown lip liner/pale concealer lips combo to be making a return too. While this may look cute on the catwalk, in reality it looks unflattering and dated, plus it won’t help you achieve that plumped effect pout that you’ve been lusting after. Stay away from dark brown lip liners and instead stick to CODE SSL Soft Smooth Lip Liner £18 - which is the perfect nude shade - and you’ll create the perfect amount of volume and natural definition, without any telltale dark lines.