How to Apply Makeup Like a Pro: Tips from a Professional Makeup Artist

We have all had it: Puffy eyes, hungover circles, blemish prone skin. How do you hide your biggest flaws with a little cover-up and look like a million bucks without paying a million bucks? For me, it's all about creating beautiful peaks and shadows.

There are so many amazing makeup tips, but I am going to cover the basics with just a few helpful extras. First off, good moisturizer equals good foundation. Never, ever put on concealer and foundation, whether liquid or powder, without first applying a good moisturizer. Before applying your foundation, cover up blemishes, acne, or any diminishing characteristics with a dense concealer.

After applying concealer, use a highlighter (I use a concealer that is 1 shade lighter than my natural skin tone) above the eyebrows, along any creases and around the outside of the eyes. This gives your skin the appearance of youth by providing a glow in these areas to make them appear more awake/alive.

Afterwards, while skin is still slightly damp is the best time to apply your foundation, especially liquid, as it will apply smoother and you will use less. Make sure both the moisturizer and foundation are meant for your skin type.

Before applying any eye makeup, always use an eye primer on the lid up to the eyebrow, as well as the lower lid. This will help the eye colors to last longer throughout the day, as well help the colors appear truer. Always wait until the primer dries before applying makeup. Using an eye primer will also allow you to use much less eye color.

Once the eye primer dries, choose a tri-color palette. Your eye color does not have to co-ordinate with your clothes, but instead, the focus should be set on your eye color. I am a firm believer than any eye color can wear any eye makeup.

First choose a highlighter color, or the lightest color (preferably shimmery/matte creams, light pinks, light golds) to open up the eyes and give them an appearance of open-ness. Apply the highlighter color starting from directly underneath the eyebrow on the outside and follow along the eyebrow until about 3/4 of the way to the inside of the brow on both eyes. Then apply along the inside of the eyelid along the lash lines about halfway across the eyelid.

Next choose your mid-tone. These colors should be taupes, browns, deeper golds or mid-tone pinks. Apply the mid-tone everywhere on the eyelid and above surface that you did not apply the highlighter color. Do not worry about blending. Most people at this point are going "eek-this looks horrible". It's all about the blending, which we will do at the very end.

Lastly, you want to choose a shadow tone. This color will be the one to bring warmth and a depth to the eye area. This color can be any darker shade-grays, greens, blues, deep browns, darker pinks-anything! You want to apply this only on the eyelid from the outside of the lid, and halfway along the lid only.

After all three colors have been applied, apply just a bit of the highlighter color onto your makeup brush, and use this color to blend the lines to create shadows. If any part of your eye picks up too much color, you can always use your fingers to blend, or a tissue with just a BIT of eye makeup remover to blot up excess color.

When your eyes are looking fantastical by this point, you want to choose a co-ordinating eye liner and apply it in a line along the top lashes. I also recommend smudging some eyeliner along the bottom lashes to create a warmth in the eye. I never recommend a liquid-only a pencil/liquid pencil. You want to choose something soft and smooth that is easily blended. Finish with a plumping, lengthening mascara for a nice finisher.

Do not forget to fill in the eyebrow if they are not the perfect color or pluck. Take your eyeliner and hold it up against the outside of your eye and the base of your nose. Now take the eyeliner and hold it up against the inside of your eye and the base of you nose. Using those imaginary lines, never draw your eyebrow line beyond these lines. Create a nice arch, and blend with your fingers for a more natural look.

Now to the cheeks: Applying cheek color can be tricky, but with these tips, you'll find it the perfect look every time. Always follow the line of your cheekbone, but as you approach your nose, always stay two fingers away from your nose. The reason you do this is that we do want want to draw excess attention to our noses. The point is to play up our cheekbones, not our noses. Apply the cheek color along this line and blend with your makeup brush to create a shadow effect. You want to avoid the look of lines anywhere on the face.

Every woman wants the perfect pouty lip, and it can be achieved with a few makeup trips, not botox. The first step to a great lip is exfoliation. None of us like to = see the crusty lip. Gross. Take care of this by using a tbsp. of sugar with a bit of water to dampen, and rubbing it for about 30 seconds on the upper and lower lips to get rid of any dry skin. The next step is a must: Always, always, always use lip liner. We eat, we drink, and all these things cause deterioration of the lipstick. Filling in the entire lip with lip liner will prevent bleeding as well as lip color wear down. Choose a coordinating color that will either darken or lighten the lipstick color. Fill in the entire lip, then apply your lipstick. To create a pouty lip, take your favorite lip gloss and apply a dot in the center of the upper and lower lip and blend just in the middle. This will give you the effect of the perfect pout.

My staple is to always finish with a flattering bronzer. Don't go overboard, but apply lightly all over, keeping focus on the cheeks. This will give you a youthful glow, even in the dead of winter.

All these tricks and tips may seem overwhelming, but once you put them into practice, you'll never look back, and everyone will be looking at you!