Makeup Products Tips and Tricks

 So every once in a while you stumble on some really useful makeup tricks and hacks to help you along. Luckily I've stumbled across a few whether from Youtube videos, blogs, or just luck. So I thought I'd share some with you that I actually do use and that I find very helpful.

• Removing the stopper on your concealer if it's a wand style tube. This is especially good for the NARS Radient Creamy Concealer. The stopper is the very top of the tube that the want goes into and it connects to the part that screws on. I use some needle nose pliers to remove it. It's like another 3 months of concealer folks. You don't have to put the stopper back in either you can just screw the cap back on when you're done.
• Cutting off the tops of squeeze tubes. This isn't anything new but it's something we forget. I do this especially with skincare products or squeeze concealers. I keep it in a ziplock back though once I've done it to keep from making a mess.
• Storing your makeup wipes upside down. I ran across this from Makeup By Tiffany D a long time ago. Basically by doing this all your makeup wipes get an even amount of cleanser on them instead of, when you get to the bottom, they're super wet while the top ones usually aren't wet enough.
• Fixing a broken shadow or powder. This I use the most and I came across this from Kandee Johnson. I will link the step by step video of her's here but this is how I do it: when I have a shadow that breaks I bust it up or crush it up even more and use a cloth or napkin wet with alcohol and just press it all back together. It' won't look perfect but the alcohol binds it together. It may break easier as time goes on but at least you know how to fix it when it does. I do not use this method on highlighters like Becca highlighters or foiled shadows. I don't know if you can since the formula is so different. Then again if it's already broke it's worth a shot I guess.
• Another trick I use often is adding oil to your foundation. I use jojoba oil to do this. Oil thins out the consistency in creams but doesn't change the finish. So I don't just use this in my foundation, I use it for dry concealers, and brow pomades. I got this tip from Wayne Goss which he only talked about foundation but I've used it for a lot of other things to make them easier to work with. Your pigment and finish will stay the same you'll just look less cakey and dry. Maybe even use less product. You can use facial oils or almond oil as well.
• Next is using oil to take off your makeup. Oils are my favorite way to remove liquid lipstick as well as eye makeup. Back in the day it was very common for women to use Vaseline to remove their eye makeup. I prefer to use facial oil or coconut oil. Just rub on some oil and wipe it off.
• Another good trick is using eye shadow as cheek highlight. I use Kat Von D Thunderstruck as a highlighter all the time. Along the same lines as that I use my powder bronzer as crease color a lot as well. It matches the rest of the face and therefore pulls the whole look together in my opinion. So if you need a transition color or blending color try your bronzer as long as it's matte.
•  Lastly one of my favorite tricks through the years is using contact solution to wet my brush for pigments or shimmer shadows. I know it seems kinda random and most people use a facial spray for that but I prefer contact solution because it's cheaper and also I think it's wasteful to use a spray on a brush. It works great and I still do it sometimes but it makes me cringe knowing I could just use my contact solution and save my spray for my face. Just one or two drops will do the trick and you might need to blot the brush first before you try to pick up your pigment because if it's too wet the pigment will look too thick and weird on the lid. 

So that's it. That's my tricks and tips that I use frequently. I hope it helped you in some way.