A Makeup Artist Talks About How to Do Makeup on a Budget and Look as Great as a Hollywood Star

Hi! My name is Elena Danilova, I’m a makeup artist from Saint Petersburg. The art of makeup is both my job and my hobby. My social media pages don’t have any cat or food photos, but what you’ll find instead are detailed critiques of celebrity makeup and different tricks and tips.

This is a secret I’m revealing especially for Bright Side readers: any of us can do Meghan Markle’s makeup (a cheaper version of it). And I will tell you how to do it in the bonus.

If you don’t want to throw away your summer foundation

Many women have some leftovers of their favorite summer foundation. And during the fall, tanned skin begins to get more pale and we need a lighter tone foundation. If you don’t want to throw away your summer foundation, you can use a special tone thinner. You’ll need to mix it with your foundation until you get the color you’re looking for. This life hack is also used in situations where you need to lighten your face because it is more tan than your neck or your arms.

3 disappointing beauty mistakes

1. I don’t recommend drawing on eyebrows in one solid dark line. It looks unnatural and cheapens your look. Instead, it is better to leave the eyebrows fluffy and use the hair technique, filling the empty gaps and shaping them into a beautiful, natural looking eyebrow.
2. We often apply bronzer only under our cheekbones. So, the cheeks become red which makes the face look weird. Instead, get a bronzer that imitates the natural shade of our skin.
3. It is impossible to look fresh if you apply the concealer right under the eyes. You should apply it in the Hollywood triangle (as shown in the photo).

The brushes you should always have with you

In the modern world, it is hard for a girl to do without the following tools:

1. foundations and other creme textures brush;
2. powder brush (can also be used for the bronzer);
3. concealer brush and shading;
4. highlighter brush (the same used for blush);
5. sponge (your magic wand that can quickly remove any excess cosmetics).

If you have almost no eyebrows

I was born with dark hair and almost grey eyebrows. So, just using a transparent gel is not for me. A better solution for me would be a waterproof tint.

This product should be carefully spread around the eyebrow, Then, brush the eyebrow in order for the tint to work like a “veil.” The last step is to apply a fixing gel with shimmer, to make the color softer and more natural. The space under every eyebrow should be covered with concealer.

What you need a green corrector for

Makeup artists know well that problems on the skin are neutralized with a color that is the opposite on the color spectrum. Yellow corrector fixes the blue spots and traces of acne, green hides acne and blood vessels, violet neutralizes a yellowish color, and apricot and orange hide dark circles under the eyes.

How to correctly apply cream under the eyes

I did a survey on my blog. The question was, “In which direction do you make the motions when applying a cream under the eyes?” I found out that almost 70 % of women do it wrong. The motions should always be in the direction of the massage lines (as shown in the photo).

Firstly, this way, the skin will be stretched less, and secondly, you will activate the “beauty spots” on the eye muscles. As a result, you will do some lymph drainage massage. Remember that the motions should be circular, soft, and sliding.

What you need a luminizer for and how to use it

This decorative beauty product contains microparticles of mica and other minerals. It is used to hide some of the imperfections of the skin and create a natural glow. A luminizer is kind of like a highlighter but it is lighter and transparent, which allows us to avoid the sensation of a thick mask on the face.

Here are some simple ways for how to use it:

• mix it with your foundation to achieve the effect of healthy skin with a delicate glow from the inside (if you don’t have any acne);
• apply it as a highlighter;
• use as the base layer for the concealer and lighten the dark circles under the eyes;
• apply it to the center of the lips to make them visually more voluminous.

How to highlight the eye color the best

The color scheme for brown, blue, and green eyes should be planned in order to avoid any overlap. It is better to use the shades of high-contrast colors.

In the pictures above, you can see the color scheme you need in each case. Of course, you can use the “safe” colors (for example, for those with brown eyes, it’s brown, ochre, and copper). But makeup artists think that makeup is supposed to highlight the eye color, instead of being the same.

You can wash your sponges in the washing machine.

This is about those special round makeup sponges. These sponges are used to apply foundation. Obviously, they will need to be washed from time to time.

My sponge can withstand a 30 minute wash and then being steam dried for 30 minutes. By the way, these can be washed with other clothes and will look as good as new afterward. Have you tried this?

To save money, use the “2 in 1” products.

If you want to have as few beauty products in your bag as possible and you want to spend less money on makeup, you definitely need this life hack. Yes, you can use lipstick on your cheeks. By the way, there are many “2 in 1” products now (the products for hands and nails, moisturizing and sun-protection creams).

And if you don’t like the way your lips look with lipstick, you can use lip balm. It moisturizes the lips, and gives them a light natural color (just like your natural color but a little bit better), it’s not sticky, and you can’t feel it at all.

Bonus: Meghan Markle’s makeup and secrets from the stylists of Kim Kardashian

In order to feel like a lady from the Royal Family, you will need:

1. base with a glow;

2. foundation with a natural finish;

3. eyebrow pencil

4. eyeliner, brown shades, and mascara for volume;

5. bronzer;

6. nude lipstick.

I calculated that the cheapest versions of these products will cost you around $70, and the luxury version of these products will be around $280.

Kim is the queen of contouring. She has naturally fluffy eyebrows and fat lips that look great with almost any color.

However, there are areas that makeup artists have to do a lot of work on:

• pigmentation and uneven face color — neutralized with a colored primer;
• dark circles under the eyes — hidden with a concealer (peach in her case);
• a relatively low forehead — the hairline is changed (the extra fluff is removed).

What beauty products do you have in your bag and how much time do you spend doing your makeup every day?