Makeup for Newbies, Part 2: Amplify Your Eyes and Brows

 So, this is part 2 of my "starting out in makeup" series. If you haven't read part 1... where have you been? Go go go and read it! Obviously I'm going to be talking about eyes and eye brows for part two (as you probably saw from the title), but I must tell you, I can't inform you of everything in this one short blog post. I also don't know absolutely everything, but I'm excited to share with you the many things that I have learned. So let's get started. 

Mascara:
Mascara is Probably the most familiar makeup product. When your just starting to wear makeup, mascara is one of the very first things you should buy, this is because it makes a strong enhancement to your appearance without the use of a lot of product or practice. It's hard to tell which mascara is going to suit you best, since everyone can't test them out in the store (that would be pretty gross). Research will be very helpful when your looking for a great first mascara, or simply just a new one. Mascaras tend to get popular by word of mouth, many of the products I've tried are ones that I've been recommended, and they've never steered me wrong.
You have to decide what your looking for in a mascara before you buy. Do you want it to give you...
- Volume
- Length
- Separation
- Combination  
Every mascara will give you a different result. You can also decide if you want your mascara to be waterproof. These aren't ideal for everyday use but are fabulous for a fun day at the beach or a pool party with friends. If you want to read about some super awesome mascaras, check out my older post "5 Different Mascaras for 5 Different Occasions" to learn more.

Shadow:
When it comes to eye shadow the possibilities are endless. There are not only millions or varieties of powdered shadows, but also cream shadows as well. Eyeshadow, in my opinion, the most complex part of makeup. The best way to learn about eye shadow application is to watch tutorials on YouTube. That is how I have learned everything I know. I would highly recommend the channel called Pixiwoo. But when you want to wear shadow in public and aren't confident with techniques of blending in the crease, lashline, under the eyes or inner corner, you can easily apply your shadow all over the lid. When you do this you'll want to..
- Apply very little amounts at a time.
- Be careful not to get the shadow too high up or to far out to the side.
- Blend with a clean, fluffy eye brush once you've added your desired amount of product. To blend simply make very small circular motions around the edge of your eyeshadow. This will give your shadow a seamless, clean and effortless look.

With eye shadow, you generally get what you pay for. Drugstore eye shadows tend have a very chalky texture, a very weak pigment and a lot of fall-down when applying. However, not all expensive eye shadows are perfect either. Again, it's helpful to look at reviews on a product before you buy it, especially if it's extremely expensive. Perfect shadows are hard to come by, but are available for a high price. M.A.C eye-shadows, although NOT the MOST expensive you'll find, they are fantastic, and very hard to beat.

Liner:
Eye liners come in a variety of shapes and forms. You have your liquid liners, eye pencils, kohl liners and gel liners. With so many different choices it can be hard to find the best place to start. Eye pencils are the easiest of all the liners to apply. They can have a smoky, smudgy look or provide a lighter, softer look, depending on how strong your applying the pencil. I find it very useful to have a very small eye brush (a lip brush would work as well) to smudge your eye liner, this way you don't have to worry about drawing a perfect line.
Gel liners are much harder to apply then a pencil. But with a lot of endless practice, you can get quite comfortable with it. I'm not going to lie and say that you'll get a perfect cat flick on the third try, but if you really take your time, it can be very doable. Gel liners normally will come in a cute little pot, and are applied with a thin, fine brush.
And then, there is the dreaded liquid liner. I have a very "love-hate" relationship with liquid eye liner because it is very finicky to put on. Even when your going very slowly, and really taking your time, even the slightest of movement can ruin everything. Until you get super good and applying it, I wouldn't be rushing in the morning to apply it. The best thing to do is practice in your free time, and also watch tutorials on YouTube. Because liquid liners are so difficult to master, I would heavily advise you NOT to spend ridiculous amounts of money on your first liquid liner. The best thing to do is to first get a cheap one and practice with that, then later get the one you truly want.

Brows:
Filling your brows in isn't necessary for everyone. You may have super thick eye brows and really don't need any extra volume. However, you may have fair or thin brows, in which case you'll want to invest in something to make them look more noticeable and thick. Before you go "drawing on your brows" really perfect the shape or your brows. The easiest way to do this is to take an eye liner, brow pencil or even eye shadow, and plot out YOUR perfect eye brow shape over top or your current brows. From there, you can pluck to fit the shape you've created. While your plucking make sure you...
- Continuously look in the mirror from a distance, as it can look much different then close up
- Take your time and be very patient. Best to leave around 15 minutes of your day just to be safe, you really don't want to be rushing.
- NEVER pluck the top of your brows, only ever the bottom!!! 

You have a wide variety of brow products to choose from. You can go for the classic eye brow pencil, with these you simply must make small, feathery, light strokes, to create the illusion of real hairs. Same goes for if your filling them in with a gel, in which you'll want to apply it with the same kind of brush you would use to apply a gel liner. And last but not least you can choose the easiest root of filling in your brows with eye shadow. This, I consider the easiest because you don't really have to learn any new application techniques. All you have to do is find an eyeshadow that matches or is slightly darker then your hair colour, from here take an angled brush and, again, make short, light stokes. And voila!! Your brows will be perfectly angled and amplified.

                                                                                              

I'm sorry that this post has come quite late, I had to do it over again since it was all lost the first time. :( Stupid technology. I hope you enjoyed reading this and were able to take something away from it. My series of "Makeup for Newbies" will continue for another two posts so please stay tuned! Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!