Mistake No. 5: Over-tweezing (or ignoring) your eyebrows
"When [brows are] well groomed they can enhance your eyes and your entire look," Patel says. So head to a professional to get an ideal shape. While you do want to tame overgrown brows, Patel stresses that you don't want to tweeze too much. "As we get older, our brows naturally become sparser, so if you tweeze your brows too thin they might never fully grow back," she says. So just stick with cleaning up the area around your brows and follow their natural arch for your best shape.
We confess: "I've totally over-tweezed my eyebrows," says associate editor Alexis. "What usually happens is this: I try to clean up the strays and notice a few stragglers on the end. I remove a few hairs from the end, and then think it looks uneven. Before I know it, half my eyebrow is missing. On both sides. This is why I get them threaded -- professionally."
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Mistake No. 6: Wearing an entire eye palette on your lids
"Just because your compact came with four or more colors packaged together doesn't mean you have to paint them all onto your eyelids at once," Patel says. Instead, she recommends wearing no more than three shades at a time: a medium one on your lids, a lighter one near your brow bone and a dark one as liner. But for everyday, you really only need a sweep of one shade across your lid.
We confess: "Yes, I had delusions of grandeur and thought I could get all fancy on my eyelids," says senior editor Sarah. "I had a different shade of liner on my top and bottom lash lines, a brow highlighting shade, crease shade and at least two shades on my lids. Had this been done by an actual makeup artist I'm sure it could have been quite beautiful -- but since I'm so not one -- it looked like a hot mess. The only saving grace: I had enough time before going out to wash it off and start over."
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Mistake No. 7: Trying to "sculpt" your face
Yes, we would all love chiseled cheekbones and a dainty, ski-slope nose, but if nature didn't deliver, makeup isn't going to help. Patel says contouring is best left to professionals, and only for photography or film. "No matter how skilled you are with the makeup brush, it's nearly impossible to use dark colors that aren't glaringly obvious when viewed in person, especially in broad daylight," Patel says. "Focus instead on pretty, soft makeup that plays up your best features."
We confess: "OK, so I have a round face and therefore use whatever means necessary, i.e. makeup, to help slim it," says associate editor Anna. "It's safe to say I have gotten a little heavy-handed with the bronzer under my cheekbones on more than one occasion."
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Mistake No. 8: Using pencil on your eyebrows
"A penciled eyebrow looks painted and weird (hello Joan Crawford)," Patel says. Nevertheless, many women still go this route to fill in brows. A better option: "Choose an eyeshadow color that matches your hair color and apply with a thin, stiff, angled brush using tiny strokes," Patel says.
We confess: "I used to use pencil to fill in my brows and I recently switched to a waxy powder," says Meghan. "I can't tell you the difference it makes! With the pencil, you could totally tell that I did some filling in work. This waxy powder is so much easier to use, easier to fix if I mess up, and looks way more natural."
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Mistake No. 9: Wearing black eyeliner in the daytime
"Here is a general rule: dark colors shrink and recede," Patel says. "Light colors advance and bring forward." That's why she recommends skipping black eyeliner (especially underneath eyes) during the day, so your eyes look more open and awake.
We confess: "Yikes, I do this almost every day," says Sarah. "I do like how the liner defines my eyes. I think I look tired without some liner on. But I will admit that black can be a bit harsh for daytime, so maybe a switch to brown liner is in order. Same effect without the goth undertones."
In theory beauty editors shouldn't be making makeup mistakes. We interview expert makeup artists all the time, we try new makeup products daily, and we write about bad makeup on celebrities and vow never to do the same to ourselves. But in reality, even the most experienced makeup mavens can mess up now and then.
That's a lesson we learned the hard way when we talked to New York City makeup artist Susmta Patel. When she told us about 11 super-common makeup mistakes she sees almost daily, we were stunned. And more than a little embarrassed. Because all of us at some point or another had committed these blunders (and most of us thought we looked pretty good at the time to boot).
However, once we recovered from our shock and humiliation, we were glad she shared. We'd rather know (and fix!) our makeup mistakes than strut around looking like clowns. And now that we know, we can share these mistakes with you, so you never walk out of the house with bad makeup (again). Plus, in the spirit of sisterhood and community, we've each 'fessed up to the makeup mistakes we've committed. Join in and share which ones you're guilty of -- no judgment. After all, your confessions will make us feel a bit better about our own misguidedness.
