What is the best way to apply my makeup?

Did you know makeup was once seen as provocative, impolite, and even taboo? Thankfully, we’ve overcome those stigmas, and today we wear our makeup with pride. It boosts our confidence, takes years off our appearance, and even doubles as skin care. All you need to start your personal journey of discovery is a few expert makeup tips from Clarins

1. Step One: Base

The first step in learning how to do makeup starts with creating a clean, even base on which to apply your foundation, eye makeup, and lip color. The more flawless your base is the better your finished makeup look is going to be. Especially if you plan to rock the latest natural makeup looks!

Apply your primer makeup to cleansed and toned skin. What does makeup primer do? Essentially, it brightens the skin’s appearance and provides soothing hydration while helping to set your makeup.

Now you’re ready to learn how to put on makeup like foundation and concealer.

Wondering how to apply foundation? The two most important things you need to know about how to apply foundation is to avoid using too much product and to always blend, blend, blend! Dot foundation onto a fingertip and dab onto the skin, then finish with a blending sponge or foundation brush, starting in one area then move on to the next until you’ve achieved the coverage you would like. When applying concealer, use only on the areas that need it such as the inner corners of the eyes. To cover any imperfections, apply onto the blemish and dab with your finger or a soft makeup brush.

After your foundation and concealer application, you can move on to your highlighter makeup if you’d like to use it. Getting just the right look with bronzers and highlighter makeup can be tricky. Be sure to watch a few makeup tutorials and practice before applying for a special occasion.

2. Step Two: Eyes

Now that you’ve taken care of your complexion, it's time to focus on how to apply eye makeup.

Here’s how to apply eyeshadow. Your Clarins 4-Color Eyeshadow Palette is all you’ll need to create great-looking eyes. Each palette comes with four intensely pigmented eyeshadows, and has everything needed to prime, shade, line, and define—delivering intense color payoffs with finishes of velvet, satin, foil, and metallic. A 2-in-1 formula enriched with the priming properties of natural Bamboo Powder to keep your look fresh, crease-proof and stay-put.

Learn how to put on eyeshadow. Begin at the lids and work toward your brow. Start with the color in your eyeshadow palette that almost matches your lids. Cover the entire lid all the way to your brow bone. Apply the medium color to your lid only. Now, sweep the darkest shadow into the crease of the eye and carefully bring your applicator out of the crease and around the outer corner of the eye. Finally, use the lightest color in your eyeshadow palette to highlight the inner corners of the eye and the highest point of your brow arch.

Now, here’s how to blend eyeshadow like a pro. Reaching for your makeup brushes, use a clean, dry brush to blur the lines between your four colors. Clarins Blending Brush is perfect for blending all cream and powder eyeshadows, and for smudging eyeliner – every makeup kit should have one! This makeup artist-quality flared eyeshadow brush is designed with soft synthetic fibers for precision blending. Even when applying those intense makeup looks, never fail to blend and blend, then blend some more. If you find after blending, you’d prefer more color on the eyes, build intensity by applying additional eyeshadow and blending until you have your desired look.

How to apply eyeliner? Sticking as close to your lash line as possible, trace a line around the eyes with a sharpened pencil. Start at the outer corners for a more natural makeup look and blend with the tip of a shadow applicator or a cotton swab. For the best eyeliner that’s long-wearing, try Clarins Waterproof Pencil. This extreme-wear gel eye pencil lines and defines in six high-intensity hues and it’s infused with skin-loving pure plant extracts and rich pigments for a soft texture that glides on effortlessly, delivering a fluid line and an immediate, intense color payoff.

If you prefer a liquid liner, learning how to apply liquid eyeliner is the same as applying an eye pencil. You’ll probably need to watch at least one tutorial on how to do winged eyeliner before getting that line just right, and you won’t want to blend, once you’ve pulled off the perfect flourish of liquid eyeliner. Clarins Graphik Ink Liner Liquid Eyeliner Pen has an easy-to-use felt tip that follows the curves of your eyes, making it possible to create any type of line with precision, even for beginners, from thin to thick. Your liquid eyeliner is long-wear, transfer-proof, and an intense, luminous black.

If you have thick, well-defined brows – simply shape and use a brow gel to keep them in place throughout the day. For thinner brows, fill in with a brow pencil, using small feathery strokes, and then blend with a brow brush.

Whether you’re after a natural makeup look or dramatic effect – always finish your eye makeup application with mascara. For nude makeup or if you’re fair-skinned, opt for brown mascara. For extra drama or darker skin tones, choose a black mascara or even a blue mascara for intensity. If it’s the drama you’re after – Wonder Perfect Mascara 4D takes lashes to bold new dimensions: visibly lengthening, curling, defining and volumizing for a captivating, wide-eyed look. This best mascara for length and volume has a unique formula that combines intense carbon-black mineral pigments with fibrogenic Rose Wax for long-wearing color and holds. Clarins’ exclusive Lash Boosting Complex of Sphingony and Panthenol helps to protect lashes. It’s considered the best mascara for sensitive eyes, promoting visibly thicker, longer-looking lashes even after you've removed your mascara!

Knowing how to apply mascara will make you feel invincible. Make sure to never pump the wand in and out of the mascara container. This introduces air that can dry out your mascara. Begin application at the base of your upper lashes and move the wand in a zigzag motion from side to side, working towards the lash tips.

Remember to invest in a good quality eye makeup remover. For more about how to remove makeup, watch Clarins’ how to remove eye makeup tutorial for expert tips.