1. White Eyeshadow Base
Feel like your colored eye shadow never really pops? Try using a white cream liner or shadow as a base instead of a flesh-colored one. One of the most popular is Nyx’s Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in the color Milk, but there are plenty of them on the market. Just apply the pencil all over the lid area, place your eyeshadow of choice on top, then blend out the edges with a brush or your finger.
2. Concealer Lip Contour
If you want to make your lips stand out without using an obvious liner or dark lipstick, you can actually use concealer or highlighter to make them pop subtly. Apply a light-colored cream highlighter or concealer around your lips, then blend out with your finger. Be sure to leave a sharp line around your lips to make them stand out.
3. Baby Oil Makeup Remover
If you struggle to remove your eye makeup at the end of the night, the solution is probably already in your bathroom! Apply some baby oil to a cotton pad, and use it to gently remove your eyeliner and mascara. It’s cheap, easy to find, and since it’s for babies, it won’t irritate your eyes.
4. Translucent Powder Lashes
Many makeup brands have recently released pricey lash primers or white mascara bases to make your lashes look fuller. However, you can actually achieve the same look by applying some translucent powder to your lashes between the first and second coat of mascara. This is not only cheaper and easier, but the translucent powder doesn’t leave the white cast that so many mascara primers do.
5. Foundation Contour
If you are struggling to find the perfect contour color, try buying a stick foundation or concealer in a color that’s a few shades darker than your natural skin tone. Foundations are easy to blend out and are formulated to look natural on your skin, so you won’t get the orange cast that sometimes happens when you use bronzer to contour. There are also plenty of foundation sticks that you can purchase at the drugstore inexpensively, so you won’t break the bank.
6. Lipstick Cream Blush
If you need to touch up your blush throughout the day and don’t have your compact handy, you can actually use your lipstick. A pink or red lipstick in a satin formula blends out nicely and creates a natural flush. This is also a great trick to use while traveling.
7. DIY Lip Gloss
If you have a broken eyeshadow color that you’re just not ready to part with, you can actually turn it into a lip gloss by mixing it with petroleum jelly. Just make sure the eyeshadow is in powder form. You can also combine more than one color to create a unique, custom look that nobody else will have.
8. Hairspray Brow Gel
Struggle with flyaway brows? Apply some hairspray to a spooly or an old toothbrush, then run it through your brows to set them in place. They’ll hold their shape all night long, and you don’t need to spend money on an expensive brow gel.
9. Lip Highlight
To take your matte lip color to the next level, try applying a shimmery or frosty powder to the center of your lips after application. It will give your lips a subtle fullness and depth. Just be sure that the powder you use complements your lipstick shade.
10. Saline Solution for Dry Mascara
Has your mascara gone dry before it reaches it’s three-month expiration. There’s any easy way to revive it. Pour a few drops of saline solution into the tube – it will make your mascara good as new, and you’ll be able to get every last drop out before it expires.
11. Larger Cupid’s Bow
If you want to make your lips appear subtly larger, there’s an easy way you can fake it with lip liner. Draw an ‘x’ shape on your upper lip under your cupid’s bow, and then use that as a base to line your lips, slightly exaggerating your natural lip line. Your mouth will look full without seeming over-the-top.
12. Mascara as Gel Liner
If you’re traveling or just have run out of liner, you can actually use your mascara in a pinch. Stick your angled liner brush into your mascara, and apply the way you normally would to your upper lashes. You’ll never be able to tell the difference!
13. Shave Balm Primer
Looking for a primer that will really help your makeup last all day? There’s actually a very cheap, unexpected option in the drugstore. The Nivea Men Sensitive Shave Balm contains glycerin, which gives it the perfect consistency for primer, and since it’s for sensitive skin, it won’t break you out.
14. Fix a Broken Eye Shadow
Place a few drops of rubbing alcohol into any broken makeup product to help it set back together. Press it back together with a spoon or other tool with a flat surface. Just make sure to let it dry before using.
15. Skin Colored Eyeliner
Worried everyone will see how tired you are at work today? Apply a light or white eyeliner to your waterline to brighten your eyes. This trick really makes your eyes pop and creates the illusion of being more awake.
16. Credit Card Winged Liner
To create the perfectly straight, even wings that every girl desires, hold a credit card up next to your eye at the angle of the wing. Then, gently mark out where you want the wing with a pencil, and go over it with gel or liquid liner. If you don’t have a credit card handy, you can use any other small object with a straight edge.
17. Bobby Pin Eyelash Glue
If you always put too much eyelash glue on your false lashes, use a bobby pin to apply it. You’ll have more control, and it will be so much easier to get the perfect amount on the lashes. Just make sure you give them enough time to get tacky before applying them.
18. Hashtag Smokey Eye
To create a quick smokey eye without too much hassle, use a dark brown, deep purple, gray, or black eyeshadow pencil to draw a hashtag shape on the outer corner of your lids. Then, blend out with your fingers, and complete with liner and mascara. This trick disperses the eyeshadow perfectly, so you get that perfectly messy, undone eye look.