For those looking to make any beauty resolutions in 2017—such as improving your makeup artistry or getting more experimental with your looks—we’ve got you covered. Whether it’s finally finding the right foundation shade or mastering contouring techniques, anything is possible with key tricks of the trade. We’ve compiled a guide of seven (realistic!) habits to pick up in 2017 for flawless makeup application every time.
A Beauty-Filled New Year
Prior to applying makeup, always make an effort to cleanse your face. Applying product over buildup and excess oils can spread bacteria onto your products and tools, not to mention clog your pores.
You can confirm the expiration dates on individual cosmetics by checking the cylinder symbol on each product. The cylinder symbol states how many months a product lasts after being opened.
Finding your skin's undertones is essential for choosing foundation, concealer and color correctors that are best for you. Undertones can be warm or cool, and usually best determined by looking closely at the inside of your arm (do you see yellow, olive, pink, etc?). If you're still, unsure, a makeup specialist can help you.
While heavy contouring trends may be staying behind in 2016, there's nothing wrong with sculpting and highlighting your face in a subtle manner. Creating a face map of areas you'd like to illuminate vs. chisel can make the process easier and help you perfect your technique.
One of the biggest enemies of makeup lovers is a camera flash exposing all of your unblended areas. Take the time to really blend your concealer to the point where it's seamless with your foundation, and test it under different lighting.
Believe us, we understand how tedious this step can be. However, spreading bacteria onto your skin and shortening the life span of your brushes and sponges is just not worth skipping a routine cleaning.
But seriously, just do it. Everyone says they'll stop crawling into bed with a full face of makeup on after a long day, but plenty are still guilty of doing so. You're risking clogged pores, pimples and dirty pillowcases by not washing it off. Help yourself out by keeping a stash of makeup wipes at your bedside—at least it's some form of cleansing.
