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8 Makeup Mistakes You’re Making Right Now

I grew up in southern Virginia in the eighties. Like a good Southern girl, I started wearing makeup when I was about 13 and never looked back.

I wore a ton of makeup in high school, but once I got to college in New England, I ditched the clown face and went for a more natural look. I even went through a phase in my early adulthood when I only wore face powder, blush, mascara and lipgloss.

But as I got older, the natural look just wasn’t so cute anymore, and I gradually began wearing more makeup again. As my blogging gig started providing opportunities to get professional makeup touchups, I realized I was making a LOT of mistakes with my makeup.

I’m still learning, and of course, makeup application is more art than science, but there are some basic rules that are good to know, especially as we age.

Here are eight makeup tips and/or mistakes you might be making that you can fix right now.

makeup mistakes you're probably making and how to fix them

8 Makeup Mistakes You’re Making Right Now

1. You’re wearing the wrong color foundation. 

I read somewhere that 75% of women are wearing the wrong color foundation. This is definitely a product that is better off purchased at a makeup counter with a knowledgable makeup artist to help you. If you are trying to match foundation on your own, apply it to your jawline and make sure it blends in. You will need to reassess the color of your foundation with each change of season. I always go a shade darker in the summer, and then I often use bronzer on top of that to adjust my face to match my body.

For a polished look, I love MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation — it’s a fantastic product that provides great coverage without looking cakey. I recommend going to a makeup counter and having a professional help you choose the right color. When I’m mostly going to be at home and don’t need as much coverage but I want to even out  my skin tone and give it a nice finish, I use jane iredale PurePressed Base SPF 20. You can see my tutorial on using this product in THIS POST.

2. You’re putting on your foundation too thick. 

As my grandfather has been known to say, It takes a lot of paint to cover that old barn. Haha! I know we want to cover those age spots, fine lines, and acne scars; but packing on the foundation is NOT the way to do it. That just causes it to look caky and it tends to sink into your fine lines and make them more pronounced, which only makes you look older.

You’re better off applying a light layer of cream or liquid foundation and then building it up in the problem areas where you need more coverage. Then if you still have areas you want to disguise, try applying a mineral powder with a big brush in those areas.

I also recommend using a foundation brush to apply liquid foundations. I use the Sigma F80Flat Kabuki Brush and I love it.

3. You’re not using foundation primer. 

Primer Base

This goes along with number two. Again, when we reach a certain age, our foundation tends to gather in our lines and pores. A good foundation primer will smooth out your skin tone so your foundation goes on evenly and doesn’t sink into your lines and pores. It also allows you to use less foundation so you don’t look unnatural.

4. Your eyeliner is too thick and/or isn’t applied close enough to your lash line.

Make sure you can’t see your eyelid between your eye liner and your lash line. Apply your eyeliner right into the upper lash line with a soft pencil, or better yet, use a smudge brush and eye shadow to achieve the same effect. Then make sure to blend so you don’t have a harsh line. Also, go easy on lining the lower lash line. Heavy liner on the lower lashes looks dated, and it’s just not flattering. See how I use eye shadow and a smudge brush as eye liner.

5. You’re not wearing lip liner.

Lip liner is a life saver, but you definitely want to apply it properly. Be careful not to make it too harsh; your lip liner should blend into your lipstick, not be a different color. Choose a color that is just a shade darker than your natural lip color. Use your lip liner to outline your lips and then fill in the lip area. This helps your lipstick adhere and stay on longer. Next, apply your lipstick or gloss. Done!

My favorite lip liner is the MAC Lip Pencil (I use Spice for a neutral everyday look). It goes on really nice and smooth.

6. You’re not curling your eye lashes.

eyelash curler

I know no one wants me to start another paragraph with “as we get older…” lol. But really, it’s true. I didn’t need to curl my eyelashes when I was younger, but now it seems to make a big difference in how my finished eyes look. It really opens them up and makes them look bigger and bolder.

I recently picked up this Tweezerman eyelash curler at Ulta. Life changer! My eyelashes have never looked longer or prettier. It works so much better than the flimsy one I had before. I even find myself wearing less mascara now because of this little tool. It takes all of 10 seconds to use. DEFINITELY a must-have any any woman’s beauty arsenal.

7. You’re not filling in your eyebrows.

Our eyebrows tend to thin out over time, plus some of us may have gotten over-zealous with the tweezers, not that I would know anything about that!

Too-thin eyebrows are aging, so be sure to fill them in with a soft pencil or eye shadow (see my video above) that’s a shade lighter than your hair color. Then use an eyebrow brush to blend so it’s not too harsh. My all-time favorite is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz pencil (I use Dark Brown). I buy these two at a time because they run out without warning and I can’t be without it.

8. You’re not blending your blush.

Be careful that your blush isn’t too dark and that you blend it so it practically disappears into your skin. Start by applying to the apples of your cheeks and then sweep it up towards the hairline, just above your ears, making sure to blend it out so there are no harsh lines. If you get too much blush, you can tone it down with some loose powder. I like using a big fluffy powder brush to apply my blush so it doesn’t go on too dark.

I could keep going, but I think this hits the highlights. It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut, so if you haven’t updated your makeup routine in a while, consider going to a makeup counter somewhere and asking for some suggestions. I find the ladies working the makeup counters are usually very knowledgeable, and I always learn a new trick or two when I let them do my makeup.

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23 Responses

    1. I wasn’t sure, so I consulted my good friend, The Google. I think the short answer is no. A CC cream is supposed to be an “all in one” but you can try it and see if you get better staying power. A CC cream is primarily for color correcting (that is what CC stands for) and it acts as more of a skincare treatment than a foundation, although of course most do both. FTR, I don’t usually use primer under my CC cream.

  1. I love the Supergoop, but when you use actual foundation, which one do you use/like? I can’t find any that are a great match or that look natural. Thanks!

    1. Good question. Currently I like MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation. https://bit.ly/1qCKjLi

      I went to the MAC store and thats what they recommended. They also helped me find the right color.

      And I use their mineral powder over top of that in the summer.

      In the winter I use another mineral powder over the same foundation (it’s lighter and gives more coverage). Jane Iredale PurePressed Base. https://rstyle.me/brzztgthw

    1. Yeah, I like eye shadow primer a lot although I don’t use it as regularly as I use foundation primer. But now that the weather is getting warmer, I’ve noticed creases in my eye shadow so I’m using it more to help prevent that.

  2. I wear eyeliner and it ALWAYS runs by the end of the day and I basically look like a raccoon. I use waterproof and I use Laura Geller primer, cream concealer and powder foundation. Any suggestions? Thanks.

    1. Hi Lana. What kind of eye liner is it? Honestly I have never had that problem, so I don’t have any sage advice. I have taken to using eye shadow as liner and it works really well. But it could be that different skin behaves differently. Do you have more oily skin? I am quite dry.

      1. I’m currently using Lancôme black waterproof eyeliner (the twist kind). I have that problem w/ every eyeliner I’ve used. I must have oily skin under my eyes, though I don’t notice it anywhere else. Would the CCC cream possibly work?
        Thanks for your help!

        1. I don’t think the CC cream will help your eye liner not run. I really don’t know what to tell you. Definitely ask at the Lancome counter and see what they tell you.

          1. I’m a retired make up artist. At the young age of 58, my eyeliner started running. Just something else to readjust! I worked for Estée Lauder, Lancome and Clarins and non of my favorites were working! Also it’s only my right eye. So I finally tried Mabelline Lasting Drama Liner and it’s water proof. I just checked again and no raccoon eye! Woo Hoo If I had all the money that I’ve spent on lipstick and lip liners, I would have a pool and a pool boy and a fat wallet! Use my favorite Cover Girl 24 hr long lasting lipstick. It doesn’t come off and doesn’t run in lipines! One thing I won’t change is skin care. Sorry ,cheap is not better. If your skin doesn’t look good, your makeup won’t either.

  3. I loved this post! I got the Supergoop face sunscreen a couples years ago and loved it! I can’t wait to try the CC cream- thanks for the info!!❤️❤️

  4. I forgot to ask you this in the above comment- have you ever tried Tarte Amazonian Airbrush powder foundation?? I know you use Jane Iradele, I used to use it too, but it didn’t last very long for me and I was finding I was purchasing the refill quite frequently. I did love it though! I just got the the Tarte- and I’m still trying to decide if I like it?!!!

  5. I love make-up, but there is always so much new to learn. I know I always have problems with foundation. Sometimes it is so hard to decide at the store as well.
    That was a helpful post, thanks 🙂

  6. Do you use the primer serum on the eye area too, or does it make your eye makeup run? I seriously have to overhaul my makeup. I just did my hair products, now its time to do my makeup 🙂

  7. Thanks for the (re)post – this was helpful to me! Definitely would like to try the Supergoop CC cream. I have rosacea, too, and am looking for better coverage!

    1. I wouldn’t suggest the Supergoop for great coverage. It does even out the skintone, but nothing works as well at hiding rosacea as a good cream foundation. I often use a mineral makeup over my Supergoop to give more coverage. I do love it, though, and I still use it for most daily wear. I wear foundation when I want to look more polished. Hope that helps!

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