Apply Makeup for a Fancy Party

Getting ready for a fancy party isn't just about the dress and hair. Your makeup is one of the key components to achieving a fancy look. Applying makeup for a fancy party is much like applying every day makeup, except you can go bolder on the colors and more dramatic. You'll also want to do extra preparation on your face so that your makeup lasts throughout the event.

Steps

Preparing Your Face

1. Cleanse your face. Before you apply makeup, you'll want to wash your face and remove any excess oils or dirt. Use a gentle cleanser and wash your face with warm water. Carefully, pat your face dry with a towel. If you are going to an evening party and have makeup on from the day, remove the makeup with makeup remover cloths or solutions before you wash your face.
   • You can leave your makeup on from earlier if you prefer or if you are short on time. But, your makeup will look best on a fresh face. Wearing old makeup can make it look caked on or old, especially if you apply new makeup over the old. But, if you don't have much time, wipe your face with a warm washcloth and remove your eye makeup if possible.
2. Moisturize your face. Use a moisturizer suited for your skin type. Look for one that is oil-free and noncomedogenic, so that it won't clog pores. Apply a quarter size drop of moisturizer to your face and blend it in.
   • Moisturizer is important to apply before makeup because it restores the natural oils to your face and keeps your skin from drying out or becoming flaky.
3. Apply primer. Primer goes on before the rest of your makeup and helps your makeup last longer. If you are going to be up late or at a party where you won't be able to reapply your makeup, primer will prevent you from having to continually reapply your makeup. Primers are available in a variety of finishes, so you can create a matte, dewy, or glowing look. Apply a few small dots of primer across your forehead, nose, and cheeks and then blend it in with your fingers or a sponge. After you have applied your primer, let it sit for a few minutes before you apply your foundation.
   • A little goes a long way with primer. Don't apply too much since it's only supposed to be a light application. Try avoid the eye area since you will apply an eyelid primer later. Make sure you allow your moisturizer to dry before you apply your primer.
4. Use a foundation. After your primer has dried, apply foundation to your skin, blending it in with a foam sponge, your fingers, or a foundation brush. Apply foundation to the center points of your face (your forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin). Blend the foundation outwards, going from the center of your face, to the outside of your face.
   • Use a foundation that is suited for and matches your skin type and color. If you aren't sure, first test it on your jawline and then look at your skin in the light, making sure the color blends in.
5. Conceal blemishes or dark circles. Using a concealer that also matches your skin color, dab your blemish areas with a small dot of concealer. Then, blend it in softly with your ring finger (which applies the least pressure on the delicate skin of the eye area). As you blend, don't press too hard or blend it in too much since this can create redness or even remove the concealer. This is why using your ring finger is better, because with your index finger you may apply more pressure.
   • You can also highlight the waterline of the lower lids with a flesh, peace, cream, or white eyeliner. This will open up your eyes and make them appear larger. If you want to apply concealer under your eyes, be sure to extend the concealer in a triangle shape down along your nose. This helps it blend with the rest of your face.
6. Set your makeup with powder. Powder also helps your makeup stay put and keeps your face from looking extra oily. Use a powder brush and dip it into loose or pressed powder. Then, gently pat the powder across your face so that it doesn't ruin your foundation.
   • Make sure you choose a powder that also matches your skin color. Translucent powders are also available. These appear white but suit every skin color when applied.
7. Use a highlighter. Contour your face using a highlighter. Apply highlight to your upper cheekbones, the flat part of your nose, a little on your forehead, near the middle of your chin, and along your jawline. This can create a glowing effect if you don't also use a bronzer. Select a highlighter that works with your skin tone:
   • For fair skin: Choose pearl-colored (avoid bronze tones) tones.
   • For light skin: Look for an ivory or vanilla colored tones.
   • For medium skin: Find a champagne tone with a little bit of color.
   • For olive skin: Choose a peachy-gold highlighter with yellow undertones (and avoid pink tones).
   • For golden skin: Look for bronze tones in a shimmer or satin finish.
   • For dark skin: Pick a gold or deep yellow tone (and avoid white, pink, or champagne tones).
   • For deep skin: Use a darker peach or orange highlighter.
8. Consider using a bronzer. Use a bronzer to create a glowing and tanned look by applying it where the sun would normally fall on your face. Choose a bronzer that is one to two shades darker than your skin color. Use a fluffy brush to apply and blend the bronzer like you would a highlight. Sweep it across the top of your cheekbones, the middle of your forehead, the center of you chin, and down the center of your nose.
   • If you have pale skin, you may want to skip or use very little bronzer. You don't want to unnaturally darken up your face.

Accentuating the Eyes

1. Apply an eyelid primer. Dip your ring finger into the primer and apply a thin layer on your upper eyelid just below the crease. This primer will help your eyeshadow last longer, just like the other primer you applied. Allow the primer to absorb into your skin and sit for a minute or so before you apply the rest of your makeup.
   • Choose a primer that matches the color and finish you'd like to achieve.
2. Choose your colors. There are so many different color combinations you can do for fancy makeup. If you are going to a more formal event you may want to stick to browns and greys. If you are going to a fun event you may choose to use a shimmery eyeshadow. If you aren't sure what looks best on you, try out some different shades before your party. It is really your personal preference, but here are some guidelines for eyeshadow colors:
   • For brown eyes: Because brown is a neutral color, you have a lot of options for your eyeshadow. You can go with coppers, purples, and blues. Really, brown eyes can get away with most colors, but usually darker shades look better.
   • For hazel eyes: Pastels and metallics look best for this eye color because they help make light brown eyes sparkle. Heavy shadows can hide the subtle green and gold in your eyes.
   • For blue eyes: Soft tones like coral and champagne often look best on blue eyes. Very dark, smoky looks can distract from your eye color, so sticking to the lighter shades will draw attention to your eyes without distracting from your eye color.
   • For green eyes: Build on the color you already have in your eyes. Choose eyeshadows in shimmery browns or even a muted purple.
   • Using a color wheel to find your eye color's opposite is a great way to make sure your eyes stand out. For example, orange is blue's opposite, so eye shadows with orange tones will help blue eyes pop, etc.
3. Apply eyeshadow. Start by applying a light, neutral shade of eyeshadow to your upper eyelid, below the crease and blend it into the crease with an eyebrow brush. Apply a light, shimmery eyeshadow like cream or white to the inner corners of your eyes for an extra highlight. Then, blend a darker shade into the crease of your eye. You want the color to be one or two shades darker than your eyelid color. Add a dark color right above your crease and blend it into your crease with an eyeshadow brush. Make sure that your eyeshadow doesn't meet your eyebrow. It should end a little bit above the crease of your eye and not any higher.
   • For blue eyes, you might consider using a light champagne color for your eyelid, a peach, coral color for your crease, and a light brown, gold, or darker peach above your crease.
   • For brown eyes, choose a light color for your eyelids and go darker as you move your way up. Try to stay in the same shades though. For example, don't use a purple on your crease and a brown above your crease.
   • For hazel eyes, you can do a light smoky eye by using a light, shimmery grey above the crease of your eye, or you can do a purple eye. Use a light color on your eyelid, move to a pale or pastel purple on your crease and then apply a rich purple above your crease (don't go as dark as plum though).
   • For green eyes, go for a shimmery brown look. Choose a light champagne for your eyelid, fill in your crease with a golden or beige eyeshadow, and then use a shimmery bronze above your crease.
   • To achieve a smokey eye look for events especially fancy, start with the lightest tone of eyeshadow in your inner eye (usually shiny whites, peaches, or very light browns), then move across the eye (towards the ears) with every shade getting progressively darker. For example, on a blue eye, you could start with a light white on the inner corners of your eyes, then cover most of your lid with a peach color shadow, and finish with a darker peach/gold/bronze (or whichever darker color matches the shadows you've used) on the outer corners of your eyes, blending into the outer portion of your crease and around the edges of the outer eye.
4. Highlight your eyes with an eyeliner. You can use a liquid or pencil eyeliner on your eyelids. Draw a thin line of eyeliner on your top eyelid above your lash line, starting from the corner of your eye and moving to the end of your eyelid. For a more dramatic line, you can create a wing or cat eye with your eyeliner, drawing the line out past your eyelid half an inch or so.
   • When doing top eyeliner, it can be helpful to place a piece of tape next to your eye, so that your eyeliner has a nice boundary. Take a piece of scotch tape one inch long, and line it up with the outer edge of your lower eyelid. Place it at an angle so that extends away from your upper eyelid towards the end of your eyebrow.
   • The color you choose for your eyeliner is up to you. Black is good for a fancy party, but if you have naturally light lashes, a light or dark brown may be better suited for you. You can also choose a fun color like a shimmery bronze or blue if you want to add some glitter to your eyes.
   • You can use eyeliner on your lower lash line as well, but this often makes people's eyes look smaller. Instead, apply a white liner to your waterline and a brown liner from your outer corner to almost halfway under your eye. Smudge it slightly to soften it and make your eyes appear larger.
   • A thin slanted eyeshadow/eyebrow brush can be used to help smooth out any eyeliner bumps and perfect that fierce wing. Simply place a small bit of eyeliner onto the tip of the brush and carefully touch up any issues.
5. Apply eyeshadow under your eye. Use a medium shadow (like a beige or brown) and apply a thin line of eyeshadow from the outer corner of your eye to the middle of your eye using a thin eyeshadow brush. Smudge and blend it in with ring your finger or with an eyeshadow brush.
   • It is really your personal preference what you want to do under your eyes. Start by applying your upper eye makeup and if you feel like you need something more, you can add under eye eyeliner or eyeshadow. If you like the way you look without something under your eye, then leave it at that. You could also choose a fun color for under your eye like a light blue or purple.
6. Apply mascara. For the final touches to your eye, choose a mascara (they often come in black, brown, or black brown). Dip your mascara brush in your bottle (making sure you don't pump it as this can dry out the mascara) and start at the base of your top lashes, underneath them. Wiggle your mascara brush through your lashes. After you have applied one coat, apply one or two more coats until you have your desired color.
   • Repeat this step on your lower lashes, but apply the mascara to the top of the lashes instead of underneath them.
   • Choose a warmer brown mascara for daytime or casual looks. Use black mascara for more glamorous events or for an evening look.
   • Before you apply your mascara you can use an eyelash curler to add definition to your eyelashes.

Adding Final Touches

1. Apply blush. If you plan on taking a lot of pictures at your party, blush is important because it can help highlight your cheekbones and prevent your face from looking pale or washed out. Smile to locate the apple of your cheeks and then sweep on blush with a blush brush, blending it in until you get you desired color. Choose a blush color suited for your skin tone:
   • Fair/ivory skin: Choose a baby pink or pale pink for your blush color. This is the most natural look for very fair skin because other shades can look orange. For fair skin that is a little bit darker, you can use a peach blush in a satin or sheer texture. If you want to go a little more dramatic for a night out, you can use a plum colored blush in a translucent shade. Choose a plum colored blush that is a shade or two darker than your lip color.
   • Medium skin: Wear a blush that is an apricot shade to bring out the natural warm colors in your skin. You can also wear a pink-berry color. A medium pink will look good on medium skin. For a more dramatic look, choose a muted mauve (pale purple) color that has a hint of plum.
   • Olive skin: Look for warm tones like an orange-peach which will hide the green undertones in your skin. Wear a rose or bronze colored blush for a more dramatic look that will add warmth to your skin and help boost the olive color. If you have fair olive skin, you can use these same colors. Just don't apply as much blush.
   • Dark skin: Go for bold, highly pigmented shades like raisin, brick, and cranberry. For a dramatic look, choose a bright tangerine that will be pretty and subtle on dark skin.
2. Moisturize your lips. Apply a sugar or exfoliating scrub to your lips. Rinse it off and apply a layer of lip balm. Allow the lip balm to sit on your lips for a few minutes, then blot it off with a soft tissue.
   • This step is important if you are going to be wearing lipstick for a long time. Moisturizing your lips helps prep them for your lipstick by removing any dryness.
3. Use a lip liner to line your lips. Choose a lip pencil or liner that is slightly darker than your natural lip color. This will help contour your lips, making them appear fuller. To keep the color from fading from your lips you can also color in your lips with your lip liner.
   • Filling in your lips with liner can keep the lipstick color intact. It will also be less noticeable if your lipstick wears off.
4. Apply a lipstick. Choose a color that works well with your eye makeup, even if it's a nude lipstick. Start from the center of your top lip and swipe a thin layer of lipstick outwards, trying to stay inside your lips. Apply lipstick to your bottom lip and rub your lips together to evenly coat them. You can choose a bright red, dark red, or pink. If you want something simple or natural, choose a neutral color. Here are some ideas for lip colors:
   • For fair skin: Choose berry colors or blue-based shades of reds and purples, light pinks like candy pinks and sugars, nudes like pearl, honey, and peachy coral, honey browns, and deep plums for a dramatic look.
   • Medium/tan skin: Choose bright, orange based reds, bright or berry colored pinks, shimmery peaches and corals, gold-based browns and deep berries.
   • Olive skin: Choose brick or rusty reds, light and glossy pinks, brown-based shades of peach and tan, berry browns with hints of pink, medium shades of plum or berry.
   • Dark skin: Choose ruby, candy apple, and garnet reds, punch and fuchsia pinks, coppery peach nudes, deep, rich browns, mulberry and deep plum.
5. Blot your lips with a tissue. Once you have applied your lipstick, you may want to remove some of the color or any excess lipstick. Take a tissue and fold it in half, and then place it between your lips. Press your lips down firmly over the tissue a few times until no more lipstick comes off of your lips when applied to the tissue. Touch up the edge or outside of your lips with tissue and concealer.
   • Another way to blot lipstick is to carefully hold a tissue over your lips and dab at your lips with a big fluffy brush (like a blush brush). This takes the excess lip color evenly off of your lips without getting any on your face or the brush (as long as you only dab your lips and don't dab too hard.
6. Set makeup with makeup setting spray. After you have applied all your makeup, you can spritz a setting spray to your face so that your makeup will last longer. Hold the spray a foot or so away from your face and spray a light layer across your face. Allow it to dry.
   • This spray is suitable for all skin types, but if you have sensitive or dry skin try to avoid sprays with alcohol since they can dry out your skin.
7. Consider your finished look. Decide if your makeup is complete. It's a good idea to always start with a light layer of makeup and add on from there. It's much easier to add makeup than take it off.
   • Remember that your look should match the type of party you're attending. If you are going to a formal party, then a more natural looking makeup may look better. If you are going to a party like prom or a dance then darker, bolder colors may be better.

Tips

• If your skin is naturally oily, try to use more oil-free skin products.

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Sources and Citations

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