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5 professional makeup artists on the one beauty rule they swear by

The experts have spoken.

We’re always looking for new ways to improve our makeup routines and get model-worthy skin – minimal effort ensuing.

But, instead of trawling our way through countless YouTube tutorials, we decided to go straight to the experts.

Take note, these are the rules professional makeup artists swear by.

Rule #1: Don’t overdo it

My number one rule: Wear less foundation. ’Cause you probably look great –  Shella Martin

Rule #2: Look after your skin

Skin is number one! ALWAYS remove all traces of makeup and cleanse your face at the end of the day, following with a good quality moisturiser. Well-looked after skin needs less makeup, looks healthier and has a natural glow – Cat Smith

Rule #3: Moisturise and exfoliate

I wish there was only one rule but my main rules are moisturise and take great care of your skin. You don’t need to use expensive products or have a 20-step program from head to toe. Just use something that best suits your skin and your needs. Also, exfoliate once or twice a week to remove any dead skin. This will make your makeup application glide on more smoothly – Maria Gullace

Rule #4: Keep your brushes clean 

I’ve always been complimented by models and clients on how clean and soft my makeup brushes are. It’s important to have hygienically-cleaned brushes ready to use each day. Once I’ve used my brushes for the day’s application, I roll them up on a separate towel ready to take home. They DO NOT go back into my makeup brush roll. This stops any bacteria spreading through the rest of my makeup brushes plus, I’m only washing the brushes I’ve used. After they’ve been washed, I like to use a very small amount of conditioner to keep them soft. They are dry by the morning and ready to use the next day – Bradwyn Jones

Rule #4: Always blend it out

Fuse and fusion – or in other words blend, blend, blend. Flawless, seamless and natural looking makeup, not matter the intensity, will always have that professional touch if you can’t see where it starts and stops. Your foundation, blush, highlight and shadow should all fuse with what lays beside it on the face. Don’t cut time on blending and graduation of colour, it’s such an important part of the application process.

For foundation, if you struggle to end your application seamlessly, use a clean blending brush to work around the perimeter of your face after application. Using circular motions will buff and fuse the product away to nothing.

For blush and contouring, again use circular motions and if you need to create a more natural and seamless finish, work the brush you used to apply foundation gently around the edges of your blush.

If you struggle to apply a clean contour, try using two different shades to achieve the depth: use a powder foundation a few shades darker than your skin tone as the base, then deepen the shade with a darker contouring powder. For shadow, like contouring, it’s about using a variation of shades to create a graduation of colour, as opposed to using one shade and over-blending it – Kate Squires

Image from FJ Shoot: Sky High

Photography: Jason Henley
Styling: Jana Bartolo @ Network Agency
Makeup: Cat Smith @ Union Management using MAC
Hair: Taylor Redman using R+Co
Model: Emily @ IMG models

 

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