Essential Items For Your Make Up Bag

When putting together your make up collection, it’s easy to lose yourself in a world of sparkling lip glosses and shimmering eyeshadows – and completely forget the essentials of any home make up kit. Here’s a quick list of those boring, but essential, items:

- Cotton pads.

Inevitably, at some stage you’re going to apply make up and it’s going to go wrong. Keep a set of cotton pads handy in the same bag as your make up products to help make those unfortunate slips clean up easily.

- Eyelash curlers.

A mascara is only as good as the lashes it is going on to, so keep a set of eyelash curlers handy. Remember to apply a thin layer of mascara before using the curlers so you don’t damage your eyelashes.

- Vaseline

This small and affordable product can do anything, from smoothing out eyebrows to making lips appear glossy and healthy. Keep Vaseline in your make up bag so you have a go-to for any make up malfunctions, or just in case you want some extra shine.

- A pencil sharpener.

Eyebrow pencils and eyeliner always seem to run out at the least opportune moments, so get into the habit of keeping a size applicable sharpener with the products themselves. For total convenience, you can now buy liners and pencils that come fitted with a sharpener on the other end of the product.

- A pocket sized mirror.

It may seem obvious, but many women apply their make up in front of a bathroom mirror so don’t remember to keep a close up pocket mirror in their make up bags.

The Importance of Make Up Brushes

In a perfect world, we’d all be able to afford a make up artist to come to our home and make us look flawless every day – but unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world. Learning to apply your own make up to give you the best face possible is a big part of growing up, and everyone loves insider tips and tricks on how to get the perfect look.

There are many things that can make the difference in make up application – the quality of products, matching your skin tone and complexion to the shades you use, enhancing your best assets – but few things are as important as the tools you work with. Using the correct make up brushes for the correct products can be the finishing touch you need when it comes to creating a flawless finish; after all, the products you buy can only be as good as the tools you apply them with.

Most make up products and cosmetics come with their own applicators, such as small pads in eyeshadows or sponge materials with face powder. However, these applicators are less than ideal for applying make up due to their small size (they are usually sized so they fit within the palette) and poor quality creation.

Investing in a separate set of make up brushes will make a huge difference to the overall appearance of make up you wear. You can find full sets of face and eye brushes for as little as $10, or up to $50 for a deluxe kit. Give them a go, and see the difference they make for yourself.

Three Essential Make Up Tips: Eyeliner

Whether you’re looking to create an enhanced, theatrical Cleopatra-style look, or just something more simple for daytime wear, eyeliner is one of the beauty staples. Here’s a quick guide to getting the most out of this essential product.

Tip One: Liquid or Pencil

Most make up brands manufacturer eyeliner in two different genres; liquid or pencil. It’s worth having one of each, in a trusty black colour, in your make up kit. The type of look you are going for influences which of the two types of eyeliner you should select; for something dramatic, use liquid, while for a more conservative look, pencil is your friend. Alternatively, you can use both: use pencil on the inner edge of the eye for more definition, and liquid on the outside of the eyelid to give a sweeping curve.

Tip Two: Practice, Practice, Practice

Eyeliner is extremely tricky to apply. It requires a steady hand, a good mirror in a well-lit room so you can see exactly what you’re doing, and lots and lots of practice. Over time, you’ll be able to draw beautiful lines over and under your eyelids in seconds, but put the ground work in first. Practice until you can create an unbroken and even line in both pencil and liquid.;

Tip Three: Let Eyeliner Dry

This is such a basic principle but it’s also a common mistake. Whether or not the eyeliner you are using is pencil or liquid, it’s important to let it dry before applying mascara. This takes around two minutes; a very short space of time that will help you avoid the dreaded smudging and ‘panda eyes’ effect.

Three Essential Make Up Tips: Mascara

Mascara allows you to darken and extend your eyelashes to true movie starlet glamour, and forms the central piece of many women’s make up bags. Get the most from this essential bit of make up kit with these three essential mascara tips.

Tip One: Apply Mascara In A ‘Zig Zag’ Movement

Rather than simply sweeping your mascara brush from the roots of your eyelashes to the tip in one downward (or upward) motion, agitate the brush back and forth in a ‘zig zag’ motion. This motion helps reduce the likelihood of mascara clumps, as only the necessary amount of product is applied thanks to the short time the brush spends on the lashes. It may take a couple of goes to get this right, so practice before doing it for real.

Tip Two: Always Use A Clean Mascara Brush To Finish

If you want to avoid panda eyes – and let’s face it, who doesn’t? – then it’s important you remove all excess mascara from your lashes once the application is complete. One method of ensuring the amount used is appropriate is mentioned above, but it’s best to check after the application also. The best way to do this is to use a clean mascara brush, perhaps one previously used in a mascara that has been washed clean, to sweep over the eyelashes and collect any unnecessary product.

Tip Three: Emphasize The Corners of Your Eyes

For truly glamourous lashes without looking like you’re caked in mascara, just apply the product to the corners of your eyes. This opens your eyes out without making your lashes look thick with mascara.