Great Make Up & Beauty Tips To Take You Through Life

1. For those with naturally medium-tan to tan to caramel skin tones- generally, your undertones will be warm and golden (probably with some red tones here and there, but nothing too cool), so instead of using that so-called "translucent" powder that was supposedly made for all skin types, use a bronzer! I use Physician's Formula Baked Pyramid Matte Wet/Dry Bronzer in Baked Tan because I like the mattifying coverage on my combination skin. I lightly buff it into my skin with a soft, dense brush, so as not to cake it on or look too orange. Although it's matte, any bronzer will add a sun kissed glow that looks completely natural. You don't need to use a matte one, though. Try bronzers with a subtle shimmer to get you through rough, dull winters.
2. Moisturize your skin, no matter what skin type you are- remember that dry skin can still break out! When your skin is dry, it will start producing oils to make up for the lack of moisture, in turn breaking you out. And inversely, if your skin is oily, drying it out will not only do what I just mentioned, it can potentially change the pH of your skin. Moisturizing oily skin will actually help control the shine as your skin will feel like it doesn't need to produce as much oil as it has been. Dry skin types should look for lotions in the day time and thicker creams for the night, while oily types should stick with a lightweight moisture all around. Combination skin types, like myself, need to adjust accordingly to where they fall closer to in the spectrum; for example, I wear a lightweight moisturizer in the daytime but since my skin is acne-prone, I use Retin-A at night in replacement of a moisturizer. 
3. Highlighting protruding features will instantly brighten skin- putting a highlighter on the peaks of your cheekbones, top of your cupid's bow, down the center of your nose, on the brow bone (this includes under the eyebrow AND above the brow arch) will accentuate your features, creating a more defined face. Light will reflect off of a highlighter's pigments, creating an overall glow to the skin that looks healthy. For fair to light skin tones, stick with white or silver highlighters. For tan to dark tones, go for golds and bronzes. Once again, those stuck in the middle with Medium skin tones should choose between the golds and silvers to see which compliments their undertones most.
4. Contouring your face will recede features- by doing so, you will slim down your face and everything around the contours will naturally stand out more when the light catches them. Using a matte contouring shade (or a bronzer one to two shades darker than your current skin tone), sweep the shade just under your cheekbones, along the jawline and under the chin, along the temples, down both sides of your nose, and along your hairline on your forehead.
5. Not feeling foundation but still want some coverage?- mix two parts of a lightweight moisturizer with one part foundation for a quick and easy tinted moisturizer, without buying a different product.
6. Don't spray perfume all over yourself- instead, apply it to pulse points (inside of wrists, on the neck, inside your elbows, behind the ears, and behind the knees) because your body's chemistry will take in the fragrance instead of having it diffuse into the air, which is why most people complain about a fragrance not lasting long enough. Spraying it all over your neck and décolletage will age that skin faster. Fragrances rise with hot air, so using a rollerball or patting the fragrance on will allow it to last longer as well.
7. For hard to remove lip color- put on a chapstick or lip balm, let it sit and your body's temperature will melt the lip color with the balm, allowing you to easily wipe off the pigment. This is a neat trick if you need to change colors during the day.
8. Sport streaks in your hair without committing to one color- mixing pigments with clear pomade will add color to hair, setting and locking it in for a night out.
9. Make a nail polish color you could never find- buy cheap clear nail polish and put the right mix of pigments into the bottle. Shake and/or stir, and voila, you've created a new nail polish color. Adding glitter can also be done to jazz up your polish even more.
10. Moisturize under your eyes- trust me, using a rich cream under there will leave you happier in the future. If your skin is sensitive and you get millia (clumps of protein, keratin, and dead skin that look like tiny bumps under the skin) easily around there, opt for an under-eye serum or gel instead.
11. Tan to Darker skin tones- try red blush. It will not look as harsh as it does on lighter skin, and it will give you the classiest flush ever. A light handed application does wonders to pep skin up.
12. A little goes a long way- and less will always be more when it comes to make up.