A new season is upon us, and there is no better time than autumn, with plenty of time spent indoors, to de-clutter the drawers, clear out the cupboards and give your makeup a shake up. It may be easy to get stuck in a makeup rut, sticking with the faithful red lippy, the same old foundation you wear year in, year out, but jazzing up your makeup routine will do wonders for your beauty care.
Why not try out the tips from Annabel Jardella, MUA and founder of ReCover Cosmetics, on updating and de-cluttering your makeup routine?
TIP 1. SHAKE UP YOUR MAKEUP
Makeup formulations and technologies have developed so much and there are some real differences between newer and older products – so don’t stick too faithfully to those makeup choices you’ve been using for years. You’ll find that products are often ‘new and improved’ or re-launched and that is a good opportunity to try a new texture. If you’d like to try something new ask for a makeover at a counter or buy travel sizes, so you can try out a new product with minimum investment!
TIP 2. CHECK YOUR BASE
It is important to check that your foundation, concealer and powder shades are correct through the changing seasons. The shades you wore in summer may not be a perfect match for your skin tone in autumn. To check your shade is working for you, apply to your cheek and jaw line then look in a mirror by a window with natural daylight – the shade shouldn’t be ‘standing proud’ from your skin!
TIP 3. TOP SWOPS FOR A FRESH LOOK
The great thing about makeup is that there are no rules. However, if you want to enhance your look but are worried you aren’t using the right products, then consider updating your makeup bag with these fab swops:
- Swop a powder blusher for a creamy cheek colour; simply blend a dot over the ‘apples’ of your cheeks with your fingers.
- Swop matte foundations for a ‘dewy’ tinted moisturiser; as we age powdered looks can emphasise any fine lines, so try a lighter base, finished with a dusting of translucent powder.
• Swop lip gloss for a creamy lip colour; lip gloss can ‘bleed’ into fine lines around the mouth so choose a creamy lipstick as the latest formulations are better at staying put, and also moisturise lips.
TIP 4. USE THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR THE JOB
Skin can change from time to time and sometimes you may notice you have redness, dark circles or spots. To cover always choose a formulation specifically designed for that particular concern. If you have redness then try a dot of ReCover Correct & Conceal Red on the affected area, as it contains specially selected yellow pigments to neutralise redness in an instant!
TIP 5. INVEST IN BRUSHES
I can’t work without brushes. They can make such a massive difference to how things blend, the precision of application and the shapes/styles we achieve. They can also assist if there is something you find more tricky to do. For example; concealing a spot without a brush is hard as you need to feather lightly to keep the product in place. If you have a limited budget these are the four brushes that I recommend as you can multi-task with them:
- An eye shadow brush,
- a thin liner brush,
- a flat lip/concealer brush,
- a larger brush for powder or blush.
TIP 6. KEEP IT CLEAN
We sometimes keep products that don’t suit us ‘just in case’, but a regular makeup clear out will mean you always have an edited makeup selection to use. Try following these easy steps next time you’re having a clear out:
- Empty your makeup bag out and wipe around with a wet wipe or warm soapy cloth and leave to dry.
- Wash makeup brushes every 2-4 weeks in warm, soapy water and leave to dry.
- Always put lids back on products tightly and wipe any excess product away from screw threads on wand products to keep them from getting ‘gunky’.
- Sharpen pencils and if you’ve shared lipsticks you can even ‘flame’ them (pass the bullet over a lighter really quickly to kill any bacteria).
- Take a look at the Period After Opening (PAO) symbol on your cosmetic packaging – a small jar with the number of months that product can be kept open for.
