makeupbykayla0-blog

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My first tip for a beautifully blended eye look is having the right tools. Morphebrushes.com offers a great selection of makeup brushes for a very reasonable price. See my first post for more details. When starting off your eye look, it is important to prime your lids. Many companies make eyeshadow primers, such as the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, but I prefer to use a full coverage concealer. My personal favorite is the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer ($27). I apply this all over my lid and blend it out with my Morphe E27 brush. Now, you can choose to set your lid with a light colored eyeshadow or a translucent powder. I tend not to set my lids because the look turns out more pigmented when the concealer is still slightly wet. This step if completely up to you and your preferences. The key to a flawless eye look is having different shades of the same color to create a beautiful blend. With a fluffy blending brush, dip into the lightest shade, otherwise known as your transition shade. Facing your brush upward, begin to pack this color into your crease and blend towards your brow bone. To do this, you should use circular and windshield wiper motions. Be sure not to apply to much pressure, otherwise your look will not blend as well and may end up looking patchy. For the next color, take another fluffy brush that is slightly smaller than the first. The deeper into your crease you go, the more straight you will want your brush to be. With your brush still facing upward, but not as much, begin to place the color into your crease. Blend this color slightly below your transition shade. When you are finished blending, take your first brush and more of your transition color and blend the two shades together. This will get rid of any harsh lines and ensure a seamless gradient. Continue these steps for the darkest color you are using, except this time using a smaller brush and keeping it almost completely straight in order to get deeper into your crease. Once you are finished blending all of the shadows in your crease, you can now take a shadow of your liking on a flat brush and pack it onto your lid. I personally like to use shimmery shadows for this step, but feel free to use a matte shade as well. Now, taking a very small blending brush, take your darkest color and pack it on your outer v. Using the same brush, blend the shadow into the shade you placed on your lid. To finish off the look, blend the shadows in the same order onto your lower lash line and apply your favorite mascara. If you’re feeling bold, feel free to pop on some false lashes as well!

Some of my favorite eyeshadow palettes to use are the Anastasia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance palette ($42), the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette ($42), the Morphe x Jaclyn Hill palette ($38), and the limited edition Morphe 39A Dare to Create palette (no longer available).

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When starting off my face makeup, I always make sure to moisturize. Before I added this step into my makeup routine, my makeup would tend to look more cakey and would emphasize my dry patches. Whether your skin is dry or oily, it is important to give your skin the moisture it needs before piling on a ton of products. The moisturizer I use is the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Moisturizing Water Gel ($16) . After moisturizing, it is time to prime! Because my pores tend to show through my makeup, I like to use a pore filling primer. My favorite is The Porefessional Primer by Benefit Cosmetics ($31). A great dupe for this primer is the No Poreblem Primer by Touch in Sol ($18). I apply this primer on my nose as well as my cheeks and chin. On the rest of my face, I like to use a hydrating primer. My favorite is the Becca First Light Priming Filter Face Primer ($38). To make sure these products really sink into my skin, I rub them in in a circular motion. Once I’ve prepped and primed my face, I start to apply my foundation. Lately, I love to use the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation ($34). This foundation is a medium coverage foundation that leaves your skin looking natural and dries down completely matte. Although it is a matte foundation, it is not drying and it allows your skin’s natural glow to shine through. To apply my foundation, I use a beauty blender. I start in the center of my face, bouncing the tool on my skin rather than dragging it. This technique will blend your foundation flawlessly without leaving streaks. For the most natural look, be sure to blend out to your hairline, along your jaw, and down your neck. The next step is concealer. My favorite concealer to use is the Tarte Shape Tape Concealer ($27). I apply this on the areas of my face that I want to be more highlighted. For me, these areas are my under eyes, my nose, and my chin. Again, I blend this out by bouncing my beauty blender on my face. Because the Fenty foundation dries down on its own, I only set the areas of my face where I applied my concealer. To do this, I use my Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder ($38). I blend this into my skin the same way I blend out the rest of my face. Doing this will ensure that your makeup will stay in place all day and will prevent creasing. This powder may be pricey, but it is definitely worth it. Next, I take my Hoola Bronzer by Benefit Cosmetics ($29) and Bronze my face. I Then take my Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette ($49) and chisel out my cheeks. I apply both of these products right below my cheek bone and blend upward. After this is blended, I apply my Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in the shade Paaarty ($29). To finish off the look, I apply whatever highlighter I’m loving in the moment, and I set my face in place using the Mario Badescu Rose Water Spray ($7-12).

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When filling in your brows, following these five simple steps will make your routine much easier. If you are going for a more natural look, a brow pencil is the tool for you. Some of the most popular products to use are the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz ($21) and the Benefit Precisely my Brow Pencil ($24). If you aren’t willing to drop that much money on a brow pencil, a good dupe for these products is the ColourPop Precision Brow Pencil ($5). When starting off your brow, a tip for making them even is to mark where the front of your brow and your arch begin and where the tail of your brow ends. The beginning of your brow should start along the bridge of your nose. Your arch should line up with the edge of the iris in your eye. To find where your brow tail should end, line your pencil up with the corner of your nostril and the corner of your eye. Now that you have an idea of how your brow will be shaped, you can begin sketching it out. Start connecting all of the marks you made. Once the shape is drawn out, start filling in the tail. To keep the look natural, use light hairlike strokes to fill in this part of your brow. Make sure to use your spoolie brush to blend everything together. When filling in the front, you want to use a very light hand. Applying too much pressure will give you a solid, sharpie like brow. After your brow is filled in, clean it up with your favorite concealer. To keep you brows in place, you may want to use a brow gel or a clear mascara, but this step is not necessary.

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Brushes Every Makeup Lover Should Own

The key to a flawless makeup look is having the right tools. Morphebrushes.com offers high quality tools for very reasonable prices. Here are some of my favorites that I think every makeup lover should add to their collection.

1. This first brush is a small, fluffy brush that I got in a set off of Amazon. A brush this small is perfect for blending shadows on your lower lash line as well as blending colors in your outter V.

2. This is the Bella Pierre Cosmetics Eyeshadow Brush #35. I love to use this brush for packing shadow onto my lid. Because it is so small, it allows you to be more precise.

3. The Morphe M505 blending brush is a small tapered blending brush that works really well for blending colors deep in your crease. The pointed tip really allows you to tuck the eyeshadow in your crease without it blending too far up.

4. The Morphe M433 brush is another brush perfect for blending in the crease. This brush is much more fluffy than the M505, therefore allowing you to blend the colors in your crease as well as slightly above it.

5. My favorite brush for transition colors is the Morphe M441 blending brush. This is a fluffy tapered brush that will blend out any shadow flawlessly.

6. This brush is another one that I received in a set from Amazon. It is a flat concealer brush that I love to use when cleaning up my brows.

7. The Morphe E27 brush is perfect for buffing out concealer on your eyelid and setting your eye base.

8. The perfect highlighting brush is the Morphe M501. This brush allows you to apply your highlight in a more natural way, rather than using a fan brush that may leave it looking streaky.

9. Again, this brush was found in a set on Amazon. It is a large tapered blending brush perfect for bronzing and contouring. The fluffy bristles spread the product out beautifully, and the pointed tip allows you to really carve out your cheek bones.

10. The Elf Angled Blush Brush is my absolute favorite brush to use for applying blush. It allows you to pack the product on without it coming off too intense and does a great job blending.