Style June 15, 2018
For those of us who need to look good on the go.
As someone who does not wear makeup and is always late, I am thoroughly screwed when it comes to dates and interviews. In these moments, I need helpful makeup hacks. Fast.
After about four years of trial and error, I’ve accumulated some ways to look good on the go. Whether it’s for school, a fancy party or an important meeting, here are four quick makeup hacks specifically designed for those of us who don’t wear makeup.
If you’re like me and you have more grease on your face than your car has in its engine, you need some powder in your life. Before I bought powdered foundation, I would use baby powder to soak up the excess oils on my face.
At first, baby powder can make you look vampire-pale, but if you brush or towel it off your skin tone will even out. You don’t need a lot, just enough to reduce the shine!
For oily skin, you should also put on some moisturizer before adding the powder. As weird as it sounds, drying out your skin tells your body to produce more oil.
And as a final tip: if you only have liquid foundation and you need it powdered, adding baby powder after applying is a good last-second fix.
Anyone who has worn eyeliner knows that it doesn’t happen in five minutes, especially if you’re stressed. Unless you want the smudged look, do yourself a favor and don’t go down this road. This goes triple if the only eyeliner available is liquid.
Instead, use mascara! At the very bottom of your upper lashes, gently press on your eyelid (without hurting yourself!) and wiggle the mascara wand from side to side. This will transfer a line of mascara to your upper waterline. It’s not drastically noticeable, but you’ll get some definition around your eyes, and it only takes a couple of seconds.
Quick Makeup Hacks: use white eyeliner in the highlighted areas. PHOTO VIA UNSPLASH/@Liam Welch MODIFIED BY JENNIFER MARER
If you have time to buy makeup insurance for any future mishaps, invest in some white eyeliner pencil (NOT liquid). It acts as a mini highlighter in place of all those expensive contouring tools.
I put it on the inner edges of my eyes (the skin around the tear ducts), down the very middle of my nose and just under my eyebrows. The goal here, like in all highlighting and contouring, is to accent the places light is likely to hit.
The point of white eyeliner is to naturally highlight the eyes, so make sure you blend it into your skin! It’s not supposed to be noticeable. If you don’t have white eyeliner, you can also use white eyeshadow if it’s not too flashy!
The problem with cheap concealer is that it doesn’t have a wide range of shades. If you get a color lighter than the rest of your skin, the pimples stand out. If you get a color darker than the rest of your skin, it’s obvious you’re wearing makeup. Skin tone varies from season to season. How do you deal with the change?
Well, the upside to cheap concealer is that it’s cheap. If the sticks are three to five dollars each, you might as well get two. I pick out the two shades closest to my skin color: one darker and one lighter. Then I mix them on a brush in different proportions until it matches the rest of my face. It might take an extra couple of seconds, but you’re still saving some bucks, and with a good concealer color you can avoid painstakingly fixing your foundation.
To all my fellow procrastinators, I hope these makeup hacks help! Kill those interviews and get those second dates!
