Your Guide to Perfect Makeup.

Ah, my first time putting on makeup. I remember it well. The year was 2008 and the look was something my mom affectionately called "angry raccoon." In other words I probably would have been better off if I'd had access to the kind of Instructable I'm making today. Although it occurs to me that many of the people following this will be young kids who are trying to learn how to do makeup maybe for the first time so I want to tell you something that I've never seen in any tutorial: You are most beautiful when you look like you. That can mean you wear natural makeup, or no makeup, but it can also mean you wear the kind of wild zany makeup that you feel expresses who you are on the inside. So whatever you do with your brushes, don't do it because someone else is telling you that's the 'right' way to do it. There is no right. There are only guidelines.

For this particular look I used:

• Elf mineral primer
• Bare Minerals BareSkin liquid foundation
• Urban Decay Troublemaker mascara
• Maybelline SuperStay matte lipstick. (shade Ruler)
• NYX Super Fat eyeliner marker
• Elf setting powder
• Elf color correction palette
• Covergirl Katy Kat sparkling white eye pencil
• Urban Decay Nocturnal shadow box
• Urban Decay Naked Illuminated Powder
• and a random contour palette from TJ Max.

Ok, let me give you the lowdown. Most of the products in this 'ible are optional. But I've done makeup for photoshoots, bridal events, plays, and haunted houses and I will never skip the primer again. Not only will it create a barrier between your skin and all that makeup, it's what makes the makeup stick.

to apply just put a pea sized amount in clean hands and rub it over your entire face.

Dot your liquid foundation on your chin, nose, forehead, and cheekbones. Then take a foundation brush and drag the color over your whole face, ears, and neck with quick strokes. Then dip your powder brush in your setting powder and 'buff out' your foundation with small circular strokes until you are satisfied with how it looks.

Most of the time I recommend using makeup brands you know and trust but my favorite contour palette is a fluke. I got it because I was in Seattle with my best friend and we saw it in a random TJ Max when we were trying to get out of the rain. Life is funny that way.

Before we start, there are two different kinds of highlighter. One is meant to be pretty and sparkly and light up your face like a disco ball. The other is used for contouring and is essentially like a lighter shade of foundation. Since a shade lighter than my foundation would actually be paper white I don't personally use that kind. When I have applied it on other people I put it on the forehead, t-zone, and cheekbones.

To apply the darker contour use a fluffy, angled brush and apply beneath your cheekbones, at your jawline, and on your temples if you're feeling adventurous. Remember that you can always add more but it's very difficult to remove any without having to restart all of your makeup. Blend everything out with small circular strokes like you did in the last step.

You can use any kind of eyebrow makeup and the basic principle is still the same. If you drew a line straight up from the side of your nose than that's where your eyebrow starts. If you look ahead and draw a line from the side of your nose to your pupil and beyond then that's where your eyebrow arches. A line from your nose to the corner of your eye is where it ends.

To fill them in first draw a line at the bottom of your brow to define the shape. Add a few small vertical strokes to the beginning of your eyebrows then start doing diagonal and horizontal strokes. When you reach the downward part of the arch then make diagonal downwards strokes.

There are may different shapes and styles of eyeshadow, but as long as you can master this simple, rounded look than they shouldn't give you much trouble. We're going to start with our darkest shade. For this I used a dark brown but it could really be any dark color. Apply it with a soft brush in the 'outer v' (the outer corner of your eye.) Then take your soft blending brush and drag that color into your crease, blending until it looks like the picture above.

Next you'll use your mid tone. I'm using a nice pink that's mostly glitter. Apply it to the middle of your lid with a flat eyeshadow brush then blend with your soft brush. Make sure not to move the color too mush when you blend it. Keep it in the middle of your lid.

Take your lightest shade and apply it to the inner corner of your eye and just under your eyebrow.

With a smaller brush, take a bit more of your darkest shade and run it under your eyes. Pack a little more into your outer v and blend it all.

I could make a whole Instructable on different ways to do eyeliner, (and maybe I will if you guys like this one,) but today we're sticking with some classic winged liner. It can seem daunting and I've had more than a few wings that were definitely less than satisfactory. But after a bit of practice and some helpful friends I can almost always apply it nicely on the first try.

Start by drawing a line from the corner of your eye out. When I first started doing this I drew them too high. Remember, these are closer to horizontal than vertical. Once you have your line and you're happy with it, run the marker or brush from the inside corner of your eye to the tip of the line. It's really that simple.

For your mascara just sweep the wand from the base of your lashes to the ends on both the top and the bottom. If you're scared you'll blink and mess it up just open your mouth while you apply it and you won't blink.

If you want really bright eyes add a bit of shimmery white eyeliner to the inner corner of your eye.

Most makeup artists will line the lips with a pencil then apply the stick to the bottom lip, then tell the subject to rub their lips together. This works very well if you're using a classic lipstick. However, if you're using matte liquid lipstick like I am it's a lot less forgiving.

It helps to treat it like a kind of lip liner. First, use the tip of the wand to draw the outside shape of your top lip. Then fill it in with the flat end and repeat for your bottom lip. You may need to touch it up if you eat something oily, but otherwise this type of lipstick will stay firmly put.

If you've made it this far, then congratulations. The hard part is over. Technically I did my lipstick before this but it doesn't really matter. The last thing to do is add some of that sparkly highlighter we were talking about earlier. Just swipe it over your cheek and browbone until you're satisfactorily shimmery. It's the easiest thing in the world.

Spritz some setting spray over the whole thing and step into some natural light to admire what a great job you did!

If you like this Instructable and want me to do more like this, let me know down in the comments. If you have a second I would really appreciate your vote for my 'ible in the Beauty Tips contest! Thanks for reading and have a great day!