When I tell people I am a makeup artist, almost immediately, they hide their faces or say something along the lines of ‘ Oh my God don't look at my face' .

It seems that the moment they realise a person who applies makeup for a living is in the room, they become ashamed of what they have done with their faces that morning.

The truth is, most of the time, the makeup I see is generally not the complete  disaster they make it out to be… but sometimes it is, and it doesn't take a makeup artist to see it!

To avoid becoming the person people take a second look at it the street ( in the wrong kind of way ) make sure you are not an offender of one of the following crimes;

1 )The orange foundation line.

We all know someone  (or have perhaps been that someone  ) who has worn foundation that is a few shades too dark for them! Girls… let's get one thing straight here…. no one…, NO ONE, looks good with an orange line that separates their face from their neck !

Why do people do this?

Either they  want to look more tanned than they really are or they believe that using a darker coloured foundation will help disguise bad skin or scars.

What can you do if you have identified this as yourself

Firstly, if you are using your wrong colour foundation to give yourself a bit more ‘colour' try this instead; Match your foundation perfectly to your skin colour, once you have your flawless base you can then choose a powder that is slightly darker than your skin colour. Powder is a lot easier to blend down your neck and décolletage than it is to smear foundation all over ! If you a still feeling like you need a bit more of a tan, then you can take out your bronzer and apply in the appropriate area.

Secondly, if you are committing this crime because you believe it will help you cover bad skin or scaring, think again! The best way to cover flaws on the skin is to not draw any extra attention to it! Once again, match your foundation perfectly to your skin, however this time try using a different formula.    If you are finding that your usual liquid foundation isn't giving you the coverage you want, then try switching to a stick foundation.

2) Chunky eyelashes

Never a good look! It's actually quite scary to bump into someone who has overloaded their eye lashes with mascara making them chunky and clumped together.

Why do people do this?

Either they believe that this is creating more ‘Volume' or they haven't changed their mascara is a few year s!

What you can do if you have identified this as yourself?

If you believe that this technique of layering your mascara is giving you more volume… in a way you are right because you r lashes will be a lot thicker… however there are many other ways to create beautiful thick lashes than to cake on mascara making your eyelashes look like spider webs! Try using a volumizing mascara… two coats are more than enough.. or if you just can't get enough then false lashes might be for you! They may be fake but they will look a whole lot better than makeup crime number 2!

If you are still using the same mascara that aunt Judy gave you for Christmas the same year you got your braces taken off you might like to think about replacing it !! Mascara needs to be replaced every three months ! Even if it hasn't run out . Mascara breeds bacteria because it is being used on your eyes every day so if you are not regularly replacing your mascara you may be doing more damage to your eyes than good!

Same place next week…