How to Apply Party Makeup – Skin Care and Beauty Ideas

Getting ready for a party isn’t only about the dress and hair; cosmetics is an important aspect of attaining your fancy look. Applying makeup for a lavish party is similar to applying makeup for a regular day, except the colors can be stronger and more dramatic. You should also apply extra facial prep so that your makeup lasts throughout the event.

1. Prepare Your Face

Cleanse your face

Before applying makeup to your face, cleanse it to eliminate any excess oils or grime. Wash your face with a light cleanser and warm water, then pat it dry with a towel. If you’re heading to a nighttime party and have makeup on from the day, remove it with makeup remover cloths or solutions before washing your face.

Moisturize your face

Moisturizer is essential to apply before makeup since it replenishes your skin’s natural oils and prevents it from drying out or flaking. Use a moisturizer that is suitable for your skin type and is oil-free and noncomedogenic to avoid clogging pores. Apply and blend a quarter-size drop of moisturizer on your face.

Apply primer

Primer is applied before the rest of your makeup and helps it last longer. If you plan on staying up late or attending a party with a lot of dancing, primer will save you from having to constantly reapply your makeup. It also gives your face a more matte appearance, removing any shininess. Apply a few small dots of primer to your brow, nose, and cheeks, then blend with your fingertips or a sponge.

With primer, a little goes a long way; don’t use too much because it’s only supposed to be a light application. Avoid the eye area because you will be applying an eyelid primer afterwards. Allow your moisturizer to dry before applying your primer.
Allow for a few minutes after applying your primer before applying your foundation.

Apply foundation

Apply foundation to your skin when your primer has dry, blending it in with a foam sponge, your fingers, or a foundation brush. Use a foundation that is appropriate for your skin type and attempt to find one that matches your skin tone. If you’re not sure, try it on your jawline first, then look at your skin in the light to ensure the color blends in.

Begin by applying foundation to the main parts of your face (forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin) to properly blend it. Then, mix the foundation outwards, starting in the center of your face and working your way outwards.
Before moving on to the next phase, compare the color of your neck and jaw. You want the colors to mix together; you don’t want your face to be a different hue than your neck, so blend it in thoroughly.

Conceal blemishes or dark circles

Put a small dot of concealer on your blemishes with a concealer that is the same color as your skin. Then, use your middle finger to gently mix it in. When you blend, you don’t want to press too hard or blend it in too much because that can cause redness or even take away the makeup. This is why it’s better to use your middle finger, since you might press harder with your index finger.

You can also use makeup to make your eyes stand out by putting it under your lower eyelid and blending it in a little bit. You want these highlights to look natural, so blend in your makeup until the area under your eyes is lighter.

Set your makeup with powder

Powder also helps your makeup last longer and keeps your face from looking too messy. Use a powder brush and dip it in loose powder. Then, gently spread the powder over your face and mix it in by swirling the brush in small circles. Use downward strokes to finish. This will keep the little hairs on your face from being pushed in a way that doesn’t look right. Make sure you pick a powder that is the same color as your face.

Apply bronzer to contour

Apply a bronzer one to two shades darker than your skin color to your face to create color and contouring. Sweep a brush across your face in a three-step motion, beginning at your forehead, traveling to your cheeks, and ending at your chin. Along your hairline/upper forehead, behind your cheekbones, and just below your jawline, apply bronzer. Using your brush, blend it in.

If you have fair complexion, you should avoid using bronzer. However, don’t be scared to add a touch of bronzer. You can apply the same methods as above, but use less bronzer because you don’t want to darken your face artificially. Bronzer will simply aid to bring color and dimension to your face.
Bronzer is frequently used for contouring, but it is also used to simply warm the skin. A shadow color, such as a light brown or grey-brown depending on your skin tone, is required to fully explore contour. The purpose of contouring is to play with the light and shadows on your face, so when darkening behind the cheekbones to give shadow, choose a hue that seems just a few shades darker, like a true shadow on your face.
The fluffier the brush and the more blending you do, the nicer it appears and the more even the tone will be.

2. Eye Makeup

Apply an eyelid primer

Apply a tiny coat of primer to your upper eyelid, just below the crease, with your finger. This primer, like the other primer you used, will help your eyeshadow last longer. Allow the primer to sink into your skin for about a minute before applying the remainder of your makeup.

Apply eyeshadow

Begin by applying a light, neutral eyeshadow to your upper eyelid, just below the crease, and blending it in with an eyebrow brush. Then, for an added highlight, apply a light, sparkly eyeshadow like cream or white to the inner corners of your eyes. Then, integrate a darker shade into your crease — the color should be one or two shades darker than your eyelid color. Finally, apply a dark color just above your crease and blend it in using an eyeshadow brush.

Consider a light champagne color for your eyelid, a peach or coral hue for your crease, and a light brown, gold, or darker peach above your crease for blue eyes.
You have a lot of options for brown eyes. Basically, start with a light color for your eyelids and work your way up. But try to stick to the same colors (don’t use a purple on your crease and a brown above your crease).
You can apply a light smokey eye with a light, shimmering grey over the crease of your eye, or a purple eye with hazel eyes. Apply a light hue to your eyelid, then a soft or pastel purple to your crease, and finally a rich purple above your crease (but not as dark as plum).
Choose a shimmering brown look for green eyes. Choose a light champagne for your eyelid, a golden or beige eyeshadow for your crease, and a shimmery bronze for above your crease.
Make sure your eyeshadow does not touch your brow. You want your eyeshadow to terminate just above the crease of your eye, not higher.
Start with the lightest tone of eyeshadow in your inner eye (typically shiny whites, peaches, or very light browns), then go across the eye (towards the ears) with each shade getting increasingly darker. On a blue eye, for example, you could start with a light white on the inner corners of your eyes, then a peach color shadow on the majority of your lid, and finally 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.

Highlight your eyes with an eyeliner

You can use a liquid or pencil eyeliner on your eyes. Draw a thin line of eyeliner from the corner of your eye to the end of your eyeball, above your lash line. For a more dramatic line, you can make a “wing” or “cat eye” by extending your eyeliner about half an inch past your eyeball.

When applying top eyeliner, a piece of tape close to your eye can assist create a lovely boundary for your eyeliner. Line up a one-inch piece of scotch tape with the outer edge of your lower eyelid. Set it at an angle so that it stretches from your top eyelid to the end of your brow.
The color of your eyeliner is entirely up to you. Black is appropriate for a formal occasion, but if you have naturally light lashes, a light or dark brown may be preferable. If you want to add some glitter to your eyes, consider a vibrant hue like a shimmering golden or blue.
You can also use eyeliner on your lower lash line, however this tends to make people’s eyes appear smaller. Using eyeliner above your lash line and then highlighting your bottom lashes with eyeshadow will make your eyes appear larger.
To smooth out any eyeliner bumps and finish that ferocious wing, use a fine slanted eyeshadow/eyebrow brush. Simply dab a tiny amount of eyeliner onto the tip of the brush and gently touch up any flaws.

Apply eyeshadow under your eye

This can be used in place of or in addition to your under-eye eyeliner. Apply a thin line of makeup from the outer corner of your eye to the middle of your eye with a thin eyeshadow brush and a medium shadow (not white but not dark grey). Then, using your finger or an eyeshadow brush, smear and mix it in.

What you choose to do under your eyes is entirely up to you. Apply your upper eye makeup first, and then add under eye eyeliner or eyeshadow if you think you need more. Leave it alone if you prefer how you seem without anything beneath your eyes. You might also decide on a vibrant shade like light blue or purple for the area under your eyes.

Apply mascara

Select a mascara that matches the color of your hair for the finishing touches on your eyes. Start at the base of your top lashes, underneath them, and dip your mascara brush into the container (avoid pumping it as this might dry out the mascara). After that, twirl your mascara brush between your lashes. Apply one or two more coats after the first one until the hue you want is achieved.

Apply the mascara on the top of the lashes rather than the underside of them when doing the same for your lower lashes.
Use a black mascara if you have dark hair. Consider using a dark brown or brown mascara if your hair is light. Your eyelashes will still primarily appear black, but they won’t appear spidery.
You can use an eyelash curler to give your eyelashes more definition before applying your mascara.

3. Final Touches

Apply blush

Blush is crucial if you want to take lots of photos at your party since it can draw attention to your cheekbones and keep your face from looking pale or washed out. Locate the apple of your cheeks with a smile, then apply blush with a blush brush and mix it in until you achieve the correct shade. Pick a blush hue that complements your skin tone.

Choose a baby pink or pale pink blush for fair/ivory skin. Because other hues can look orangey, this is the most natural look for very fair skin. Use a peach blush in a satin or sheer texture on fair skin that is somewhat darker. If you want to opt for a more dramatic look for a night out, apply a plum blush in a translucent hue. Choose a plum blush that is one or two shades darker than your lip color.
Medium skin: Use an apricot-colored blush to bring out the inherent warm tones in your skin. You can also wear a pinky-berry color; because a pale pink flatters fair complexion, a medium pink flatters medium skin. Choose a subdued mauve (light purple) with a tinge of plum for a more dramatic effect.
Olive skin: Look for warm tones, such as orangey-peach, to conceal the skin’s green undertones. Wear a rose or golden blush for a more dramatic effect that will warm up your skin and enhance the olive tone. If you have fair olive complexion, use the same colors as above, but apply less blush.
Dark skin: Choose bright, highly pigmented colours such as raisin, brick, and cranberry. Choose a bright orange that will be lovely and subtle on dark skin for a stunning impact.

Moisturize your lips

This technique is useful if you know you’ll be wearing your lipstick for an extended period of time. By removing any dryness from your lips, moisturizing them helps them prepare for lipstick. Lips should be exfoliated using a sugar or exfoliating scrub. After that, rinse it off and apply lip balm. Allow the lip balm to rest for a few minutes before blotting it away.

Use a lip liner to line your lips

Choose a lip pencil or liner that nearly matches the color of your natural lips. This will enable your lipstick not to bleed past your lips. You may also use your lip liner to fill in your lips to keep the color from fading.

Apply a bold lipstick color

You have the option to wear a vibrant or interesting lipstick color because you are attending a posh party. Starting in the middle of your top lip, lightly glide lipstick outward while attempting to stay inside your lips. Next, dab some lipstick on your bottom lip and brush your lips together to distribute it evenly. Bright red, dark red, pink, or a neutral color can all be chosen if you prefer something straightforward. Once more, it depends on your preferences. Consider these options for lip colors:

For fair skin: Berry colors or reds and purples with blue undertones; light pinks like candy pinks and sugars; nudes like pearl, honey, and bright coral; honey browns; deep plums for a dramatic effect.
Medium/tan skin: Bright reds with an orange base, bright or berry-colored pinks, shimmering peaches and corals, browns with a gold base, and dark berries.
Olive skin: Brick or rusty reds, light, glossy pinks, peach and tan shades with a brown base, berry browns with pink undertones, and medium plum or berry colors.
Dark skin: Ruby, candy apple, and garnet reds, punch and bright pinks, coppery peach tones, deep, rich browns, mulberry and deep plum.

Blot your lips with a tissue

After applying your lipstick, you may wish to remove part of the color or excess lipstick. Fold a tissue in half and then place it between your lips. Press your lips firmly on the tissue a few times until no lipstick comes off your lips when you apply it to the tissue. Then, using a tissue and concealer, touch up the edge or outside of your lips.

Another method for blotting lipstick is to carefully place a tissue over your lips and dab at them with a large fluffy brush (similar to a blush brush). This evenly removes excess lip color without getting any on your face or the brush (as long as you only dab your lips and don’t dab too hard!).

Set makeup with makeup setting spray

After you’ve finished applying your makeup, spritz your face with a setting spray to make it linger longer. Spray a light layer across your face while holding the spray about a foot away from your face. Allow it to dry after that.

This spray is excellent for all skin types, however if you have sensitive or dry skin, avoid alcohol-containing sprays as they can dry up your skin.