While makeup is really fun and a way of self expression, you gotta admit that it can let us down sometimes. Mascara running, foundation slipping and mishaps that could happen, ruining the entire look we so painstaking create.
Personally, as someone who has oily skin, a lot of the issues I had to deal with including smudging and sliding. So here are the 5 common makeup problems that I’ve faced and tips and tricks that I have learnt on how to prevent them!
1. SMUDGING OF EYELINER ONTO EYELID OR LOWER LASH LINE
Especially if you have oily lids, this has probably happened to you. When I used to wear a winged liner daily, I remember searching for the perfect liner. Be it gel, pencil, liquid etc. Liquid pen liners worked the best for me, but sometimes I still find that it runs, becomes patchy or smudges.
To prevent this, I like to go over my eyeliner with a black eyeshadow. An angled brow brush works perfectly for this. The powder from the eyeshadow helps to set any emollient components of the eyeliner, making it last a lot longer. It’s the same theory as applying a thin layer of powder to set your make up. Try it out!
2. SMUDGING OF MASCARA ONTO EYELID OR LOWER LASH LINE
Similar problem to that above, mascara (yes, even waterproof ones!) tend to smudge onto my lower lash line throughout the day. I’ve always hated it, as it made me look exhausted as I felt like it helped to emphasise my dark undereye circles.
There is a way to prevent this and it has helped me tremendously. Whenever I wear mascara, I’d make sure to apply a layer of translucent powder onto my lower lash line area (right below the lashes as that is where my mascara always smudges). That’s because I rarely set my makeup these days.
If you experience mascara smudging onto your eyelids, go over your lids with a layer of powder as well.
If you already use translucent powder to set your entire face after makeup application, I’d recommend just going in once more under the lower lash line. The added powder helps to prevent or delay the interaction of the mascara and the sebum produced from your skin throughout the day. The interaction is the reason behind the smudging! Hopefully this trick will help your mascara last a lot longer!
3.FOUNDATION OR CONCEALER NOT BLENDING PROPERLY
Some formulations take a while to warm up and become more fluid to make blending more easy. For example, I had the old version of the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer a few years back (the one in the purple squeeze tube) and remembered how challenging it was to blend it with a brush or sponge. To tackle this, simply work the product by warming it up on the back of your hand or with your fingers.
Whenever I apply foundation, I would usually dispense slightly more than I would need onto the back of my hand and use my fingers to warm it up by going in small circles. Yes, this results in a little product being wasted but it beats struggling to blend it later. Once it is warmed up and more fluid, I’d go in and dot the product all over my face before I blend it out.
For concealer, I simply work it with my fingers. I’d apply some concealer onto my third/ring finger and just use the same finger of the other hand to warm it up. Then, I’ll just use both fingers to apply the concealer directly onto my undereye area.
Warming the product up helps to reactivate the emollients and helps blending.
4. BLUSH FADING THROUGHOUT THE DAY
Did you know that blush is the first part of your makeup to fade throughout the day?
This could be because of two reasons. Firstly, we rarely overdo the blush, so a little goes a long way. A light dusting of colour on the cheeks adds life and depth to the face whereas a heavy application can risk us looking gaudy. Next, many people use powdered blush, which is typically applied over a thin layer of powder that was used to set the liquid and cream products.
When I used to do freelance makeup, I would layer the blush so that it lasts a lot longer and requires less touch ups. Layering is the key to longevity! And it is really simple. You just apply a cream/liquid blush before applying your powdered one.
This is so that once the powder blush fades, the underlying layer of the cream blush would still peek through. Think of it as your backup. And since you usually set your cream/liquid makeup with a thin layer of powder, the cream blush would not fade or slide that easily either.
If you do not have a cream/liquid blush, try using a dab of your lipstick. It still gives you a flush (when used sparingly, of course) and add colour to the cheeks.
5. LIPSTICK BUTTHOLE
This is a really vulgar term but I hope you know what I mean. It’s when your lipstick closer to the gap of the mouth fades throughout the day, leaving you with colour on the outer edges of your lips and almost none in the centre.
This could be due to eating, drinking, talking and just coming into contact with more saliva. It isn’t the most attractive thing, especially if you’re wearing a bold shade. I also find this to happen faster with regular bullet cream lipsticks.
To combat this, I’d do layering again. I would use a similar coloured lip tint first before going over it with my cream lipstick. This could be a pinkish nude, or a bold red. This technique works well in preventing an obvious lipstick butthole when the lipstick fades or wears off.
I love to do this, versus wearing a liquid lipstick. As I have dry lips, liquid lipsticks tend to crack on me throughly the day as it can be quite drying. Removal can also be quite tedious. Thus, I rarely opt for those and this is the method I use. Of course, there are some days I just go with a lip tint as some are pretty pigmented by themselves!
Do note, the lip tints I’m talking about are those clear, liquid type. I mostly use my Labiotte Wine Lip Tints for this technique (you can read my full review and see swatches here). I know there are some creamy lip tints that work as a liquid lipstick too (like those Peri Pera Ink Velvet Lip Tints) so they probably won’t work so well with layering.
So these are the 5 common makeup problems that I commonly faced and my recommendations to preventing them from happening throughout the day. I hope my tips helped you! I have experimented for a long time, these are the techniques that I found to work for me, even till now.
What are some other common makeup problems that you face? Please share them with me in the comments below! If I can think of a way to prevent or fix them, I’ll be sure to write another post.
Take care,
