Makeup Ideas

We're all blessed with natural beauty, but sometimes, we need to enhance this beauty and take it to the next level. That is where these wonderful makeup ideas step in. Whether you'd like to keep it simple with a cute look, or you'd like to jazz it up for a girls' night out with a dramatic look, there's a little something for everyone. Take a look at these ideas that will help you play up your natural beauty and have you stand out in the crowd.

Cute Makeup

The basic principle to sport a cute look with your makeup is to keep it subtle.

1. The first step before applying makeup is to cleanse, tone, and moisturize the skin thoroughly.
2. Now apply a tinted moisturizer to give your face a clear, even skin tone, and to avoid the powdery look.
3. Conceal any under eye dark circles with a concealer, that blends well with your skin tone. You can apply it with your fingertips or with a concealer brush.
4. Apply a very thin layer of a semitransparent powder to set the makeup base in place. For those with oily skin, this step will also help avoid the shine caused by oily skin.
5. For makeup to look cute, apply a mild, subtle shade of eyeshadow on the eyes, from the upper lash line to the eyebrows. An eyeliner will make your eyes stand out. No eye makeup is complete without the use of a mascara to volumize the eyelashes.
6. Apply a very mild pink blush to the cheek bones and blend it well around the area.
7. For the lips, apply a light, and tinted lip gloss to give it that additional pout. You can go with a lip gloss that has a mild shimmer too.

Dramatic Makeup

Sometimes you may want to jazz up your look a bit, by going dramatic with your makeup.

1. Begin by cleansing and moisturizing your face with a light moisturizer. For oily skin, use a toner before applying your moisturizer. This will prevent the shine caused by excessively oily skin.
2. Apply an even layer of foundation on your skin, one that matches your skin tone. An excess will give the skin an unnatural tone, so be careful. Proceed to use highlighting powder, and under eye concealer.
3. For dramatic makeup, you have to play up the eyes. Pick out three colors of eyeshadow, as per your choice. However, these shades should proceed from light to dark, and should therefore, belong to the same family of colors. You could start with a light cream, moving to a slightly darker shade, followed by the darkest shade.
4. Use the lightest color of shadow on your eyelids, starting from the lash line to the eyebrows. Apply it well and let it blend evenly with your skin. To further dramatize the jazz, apply just one line of the eyeshadow below the lower lash line, from the inner to the outer corner of the eye.
5. The next step is to apply the next, darker shade of eyeshadow. You will apply this from the lash line only up to the eye crease. Now apply the darkest shade using an angled eye shadow brush. This is to be applied above the crease, only the amount of the width of the angled eye shadow brush. Begin with a little eye shadow, and proceed to apply more depending on how dark you want the shade to be. Ensure that you blend all the shades well. Let it proceed from light to dark, naturally.
6. Use a dark eyeliner pencil, and make the line starting just below the outer corner of the eye. Extend it slightly to create the cat's eye look, and bring it back right up to the inner corner of the eye, above the upper lash line. Now apply a fine line just below but very close to the lower lash line. The upper eyeliner can be slightly thicker.
7. Curl your eyelashes with a curler, and then use a mascara to add volume to them.
8. Use a blush on your cheeks that matches your skin tone. If your skin tone is lighter, use a rosy blush, and if it is darker, use a blush of nude shades. Apply it on your cheek bones, and blend it around the area.
9. Apply a shimmering lip gloss to your lips, one that matches your skin tone. You can also apply a darker shade, to jazz up your look a little.

You may already be a natural beauty, but when you try out these makeup styles, see the compliments pour in. Just remember to adhere to the basic rules of skin care, for these styles to have the desired effect at all times.