From wearing the wrong shade of foundation to forgetting to moisturise daily, find out what are some of the biggest makeup dos and don’ts.

set of decorative cosmetic powder, concealer, eye shadow brush, blush, foundation

Makeup DOs

Prep Your Skin

To achieve a flawless complexion, your skin prep routine should start the night before. Make sure you apply your favourite night cream or serum. After washing your face in the morning don’t be tempted to skip using a light moisturiser or primer before putting foundation on. If your skin is taken care of, applying makeup will be easier, and the outcome will appear more natural.

Set Your Foundation With Powder

If you are going for an evening look, a hard-working powder often comes into play. However, there are many light powders out there that are perfect for a day look. After putting on foundation, simply dust over a powder that has a feather-light formula. Doing so will help set the foundation, weather-proofing your look and making it easier to proceed to contouring or applying blusher.

Clean Your Brushes

It is important to keep your beauty tools as clean as possible, preferably cleaning them once a week. As your brushes come in contact with your face, and then get put into cosmetic bags or other makeup storage, they become breeding grounds for bacteria.

Using brushes that haven’t been cleaned in a long while may result in clogged up pores, infections or even more defined wrinkles. Cleaning brushes will not only be a lifesaver for your skin but also for the brushes themselves as they will break less and serve you longer. Make sure you read our guide on how to clean makeup brushes.

Use a Magnifying Mirror

This is the best-kept secret of many makeup artists and beauty professionals. To make sure your coverage is even, your eyeliner is sharp and your lipstick is applied beautifully, invest in a magnifying mirror. While some may opt for mirrors that magnify up to ten times, just a standard one that magnifies up to five times will tick all the right boxes, especially in the morning before you dash off to the office.

face of young beautiful healthy woman and reflection in the mirror

Makeup DON’TS

Settle for the Wrong Foundation

Going for the wrong foundation shade will make your skin look uneven and will clash with the natural tone of your neck, shoulders and hands – and let’s face it, this has never been a good look. Make sure you find the right foundation for your skin tone. You can find some great tips on this in our Ultimate Guide to Foundation.

Skip the Moisturiser

If you are used to washing your face with warm or hot water you’ll notice a tight, pulling feeling on your skin if you don’t apply moisturiser. If you apply foundation straight to dry skin, it can start to flake resulting in an uneven tone with even the tiniest flaw underlined.

Similarly, if you don’t use moisturiser designed specifically for oily skin, the unwanted shine will appear faster and your make up won’t be as long lasting. Don’t be tempted to skip the morning moisturiser – your makeup at 6pm will thank you for it.

Obsess about the Eyebrows

Over-plucking your eye brows is a major no-no. If you are not sure how to shape your eyebrows, simply go to a brow bar where a professional will do it for you and leave you equipped with tips on how to maintain the shape.

If you are going for more natural brows, avoid using too much gel, pencil or brow mascara as this may takes away from that subtle, healthy look. Make sure you keep the shape of your eyebrows tidy without over-plucking them and filling them in lightly to achieve a natural finish.

Skip Washing Makeup off Before You Sleep

Not washing your makeup off before you sleep is likely to result in breakouts or even rashes if you have sensitive skin because of the irritants and chemicals within the cosmetics. If you do it consistently, it will contribute to the premature aging of your skin and lead you to develop more wrinkles.

This is because makeup that is trapped in your skin pores causes a reaction that prevents skin repairing itself when you sleep, resulting in a dull complexion and fine lines. What our mums told us has been true all along - no matter how tired, wash your face before you sleep.