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.

Why Not Give Budget Make Up Brands A Try?

Make up can be expensive; that’s an unfortunate fact. The most premium brands, offering products that promise to work near miracles in return for your hard earned cash, can be eye wateringly expensive – the kind of money you’d usually spend on rent. Thankfully, many budget brands of make up also exist, particularly those that are sold in grocery stores and supermarkets.

Unfortunately, the budget make up brands rarely get a decent write up from the premium obsessed beauty media. While you do get what you pay for, and the quality of budget make up may not be the quality of premium and designer brands, that doesn’t necessarily mean the brands are terrible either. By and large, the main difference in what the product claims to do.

For example, a premium mascara may be marketed with claims that not only does it apply colour to your lashes, but it also helps to extend and lengthen each individual lash. Whether it does or not depends on the product, but that’s the claim. However, budget make up brands will mostly be advertised on the strength of the colour they provide, rather than outlandish claims of lengthening, curling or even nourishing. That means you can steal buy mascara for an affordable price, that will still look good on if all you wish to do is darken your lashes.

Don’t dismiss budget beauty brands and make up. While some may not be for you, there are plenty of decent brands out there that don’t cost the earth, and genuinely do compete on efficiency with their premium cousins.

Three Beauty Uses for Vaseline

Vaseline (also known by its chemical properties name, petroleum jelly) is an essential item in any make up bag or purse, thanks to its wealth of uses. Here are three ways you can use Vaseline to enhance your complexion and appearance, without spending a fortune:

1. Eyelash Softener

Apply a light amount of Vaseline to your eyelashes every night before you go to bed, using a clean mascara wand if preferred. Leave on overnight (don’t apply so much that it comes off on to your pillow; just a light dusting will suffice). Over time, using Vaseline in this way will soften your eyelashes, as well as making them appear longer by separating the lashes apart. Mascara will sit on your lashes much better, giving an enhanced appearance.

2. Dry Skin Moisturiser

If you have serious problems with dry skin, you should probably use a medicated lotion (consult your doctor). However, if your suffer from the occasional weather-induced bout of dry skin, a thin layer of Vaseline is the quickest and most affordable remedy. Apply a plaster or band-aid over the top of the Vaseline for maximum healing.

3. Lip Balm and Softener

Rather than spending a fortune on expensive lip balms or lip salves, use Vaseline. The consistency is ideal for a protective layer if going out in the cold, or for healing if the damage has already been done. To this end, Vaseline produce a rose-tinted product which both heals and gives your lips a healthy pink glow, not unlike a lipstick would. There are also SPF Vaseline versions, ideal for holidays and sunny days.

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.

Three Essential Make Up Tips: Eye Shadow

Eye shadow is the cornerstone of good make up application. After all, who doesn’t want bigger, more beautiful eyes that sparkle with complimentary shadow? Here’s three essential tips for eye shadow application.

Tip One: Use Different Shades

One block of solid colour on your eyelids is not going to be flattering, so use at least two different shades to achieve the look. As an overall guidance, use the lightest shade at the front of the eyelid close to the lashes, and then darken the colour as you move backwards towards the socket. Use a large, flat brush to blend the shades together for a complimentary appearance.

Tip Two: Always Apply Eyeshadow First

Many make up demonstrations and videos will show people applying eyeshadow after they have applied their face make up (such as foundation, concealer and blusher). However, it is actually better to leave your face free of make up until your eyeshadow has been applied. As eyeshadow is usually a loose powder, it may spill or spray on to your cheeks if you aren’t completely careful, and this can ruin the appearance of your foundation. Applying eyeshadow first gives you the least mess to clean it.

Tip Three: Use A Wet Brush

We mentioned above that eyeshadow is usually a loose powder, and this is undoubtedly one of the make ups worst traits. To make eyeshadow easier to apply, lighten dampen the brush you are goingg to use to apply it. This will give you more control over where the colour goes, rather than a loose scattering of powder.

The Trick To Applying False Eyelashes

False eyelashes are definitely appealing, for various reasons. Maybe you wish to wear them because your natural lashes are not as long and lushous as you would prefer, or perhaps you natural lashes are light in colour and thus virtually invisible to the naked eye. In particular when going on a night out, a set of false eyelashes will drastically change your look in a way that mascara alone just cannot achieve.

However, even experienced make up users may have concerns about applying and wearing false eyelashes. The main reason for this seems to be the issue of glue. Eyelashes are literally glued to the skin of the eyelids, and stay in place for up to 12 hours depending on the price of the lashes and the brand. Understandably, many women dislike the idea of putting glue anywhere near their eyes, especially when comedy images of people gluing their eyelids shut are so commonplace.

Thankfully, there’s no reason to miss out on the stunning trend of false eyelashes, because mastering their application is down to one simple tactic. When applying false eyelashes, always apply the glue direct from the tube on the eyelash rather than your eyelid. Then slide the eyelash in to place, and hold firmly on while the glue sets. Specific eyelash glue will only take a few moments to dry.

By applying the glue to the lash itself rather than your own skin, you can be more delicate with where the glue goes and ensure that night of gluing your eyelashes together does not happen to you. Good luck!