VigorBuddy|We’re all looking for that thing that will make us look flawlessly put together but will take us about 10 seconds to do. Makeup is a complex topic, and between the pressure to always do it and the wish to experiment all strung together in between not having enough time – it can become a real twister. So, to help you out, here’s a list of five simple techniques that anyone can use in a pinch to get the perfectly polished look.
The bitten lip
Don’t have the time or patience to line the lips, fill them in and apply your lipstick carefully? Then you’ll love this one. The “bitten” look is exactly what it sounds like, you want to make your lips look like you were biting them – but in a good way. First, choose your favorite shade (reds and pinks work great) and apply it only to the center of your lips. You want to get enough of it on so that it doesn’t look like you just missed a spot when you were taking off yesterday’s makeup, but not so much that it just looks like you started doing a full lip and quit halfway through. Use a vertical streaky motion to make sure it looks irregular, rather than like a small lip painted inside the lips. Finish it off with some lip gloss to tie it all together and you have a simple look you don’t have to worry about ending up on coffee cups.
Contour and highlight
The two most important steps to transforming a face are using shadows and highlights to accentuate your features. You can shop favorite cosmetics and you will certainly find a good dual highlight and contour stick that you can use every day and be done in just a few minutes. Just apply the highlight on the high points – the bridge of the nose, cheekbones, lids and inner corners of the eye, and the shadow on the low points like under the cheeks, side of the nose and corners of your forehead. Blend out (feel free to use a big fluffy brush or your fingers) and you will not be able to recognize yourself from the change.
Don’t skip skin color
The easiest way to add life and brightness to your face is through some color on those cheeks. The best option for a lasting finish is a cream blush. Find one that is subtle enough to be worn every day and just dab two dots onto your cheeks and blend them out using your fingers. You can also add some to the top of your nose for a cute and youthful look.
Hair matters
Although we’re talking about makeup, the key to a complete look is to know how your face will be framed. If your hair is usually up, just taking a few strands and letting them frame your face will bring movement and interest to your look, removing the need for lots of makeup. Of course, if you have your hair down, that’s half of the work already done, because often your hair will cast a natural contour around your face.
When in doubt – do the brows
One of the biggest visual changes, especially if you are blonde or have very thin brows, is to fill them in and get them in shape. You don’t have to spend half an hour drawing them in and you definitely don’t have to be precise with the shape – just go over your natural brow with an appropriately colored pencil in short strokes and you will look put-together and ready to go out in minutes, just thanks to the brows.
Next time you’re in a hurry and want to put together a good look – just think of these tricks and you’ll be looking ready to run the world in no time.