Beauty Tips I Learned This Year

Despite being thirty and having been a lifelong user and lover of all things beauty and skincare (I used to have a beauty blog back then!), they do not stop me from learning new things as I experiment with more products and trying new tips. I came across a few amazing products this year and did some changes to my makeup routine by using different products that I didn’t realise I already had in my collection. Doing makeup declutter is working wonders for me as I ‘reconnect’ with old favourites that just… work.

Opting for brown eyeliner instead of black

For the longest time, I wasn’t a fan of black eyeliner as they tend to make me look harsh. My eyebrows are jet black and on the thicker side, and whenever I used black eyeliner I always looked like I was about to swallow people who gave me the slightest inconvenience. I found a dry brown eyeliner in a pot from Maybelline that I haphazardly revived by using the hair dryer technique and consequently used for my next makeup routine.

OH MY GOD. Brown eyeliner on me is just twenty times better. It softens my features and I just love how shimmery brown shadows look with it. I was mind-blown! I will, however, purchase a new pot brown eyeliner because the usability of the one I currently have is a little bit concerning. I don’t even remember when I purchased it, yikes.

Doing brows first

Still at the topic of brows, I recently came across a TikTok video of a girl doing her makeup and she basically said to always do brows first and foundation later. And I GET IT. I seriously do. I used to do foundation first since the day I wore makeup, and my brows were always a hit or miss. Why didn’t I think of doing brows first? Honestly, I don’t know. It might be muscle memory of always doing my makeup foundation first.

When you do foundation first, some of the liquid will get into your brows and that makes brow carving a lot harder as you need to use a little bit more force to make it show. Often times, the end result gets you a thicker, bushy brows that don’t look good at all. Happened to me more times than I care to remember.

It’s okay to splurge on good quality products

Our beauty and skincare journey started with drugstore products for the majority of us and honestly, there’s nothing wrong with it. They are accessible, fairly cheap, and hey it if works, it works! Eyebrow pencils, mascaras, eyeliners, and lipsticks are some of the products I swear you don’t need expensive ones to get amazing results.

However, as I grow up, I like my collection to be a little bit more refined and posh. I can’t deny the luxury appeal of expensive makeup products that has us by the throat and I am one of the victims. Despite all that, I do my own due diligence and scour every part of the internet for reviews. If there is even one too many negative review that applies to my skin condition, I’d tap out. If I were to spend a quarter of my net worth on expensive makeups, they better work.

Clear skin equals to good makeup

Taking care of the skin is not a walk in the park. If you are blessed with flawless gene, well congrats to you–I’m officially jealous. We tend to slather pound upon pound of makeups to cover up acne or any imperfections on our skin but we cannot change the fact that once all of that is removed, we are left with the imperfections and that mess with our confidence.

I feel that on the deeper level. I have my fair share of struggles with my skin ever since I could remember. There are certainly some good and bad years but I could never exactly pinpoint what triggered the breakouts. Last year was hard for me to the point where I almost cried looking at my skin. I still have the photos in my phone to remind me of how far I’ve come in this journey. Wearing makeup when my skin is calm and happy gives me that boost of confidence!

Smaller but curated collection is the way to go

As someone who watches makeup videos since she was thirteen, I must confess that I had an unrealistic view of how much makeup a person should own. They had drawers upon drawers of makeup and the old me couldn’t help but think that I needed them as well. It’s with the rise of TikTok I realised the amount of makeup those YouTubers own is not normal. Nobody should own that much makeup. Seriously.

Like I mentioned, I recently decluttered a lot of my makeup and purchased new products I think my collection lacked of such as a new liquid concealer and contour powder. I know that I will use all of them in rotation because I actually do really love every single one of them. Maybe we’ll see a makeup collection post in the future?

Those are five things I learned this year that change my makeup game for the better. Albeit being a makeup lover, I do want to feel comfortable in my own skin. I want to be able to go full-coverage-full-beat, you-slay-girl makeup look one day and go bare faced the next. That is the true meaning of empowering in my opinion.